Absolute Regression Chapter 561

561
The sword dance was silently watching the bloody swordsman drink tea.

I’ve had tea many times before, but today felt different than usual.

“I’ll do it.”

Dan-ah said she would go and take his place because she couldn’t just sit there.

“It’s okay.”

Although he spoke bluntly, the gaze of Hyeolcheon Doma toward Dan-ah was gentle.

Dan-ah helped Hyeolcheon Doma from the side. She tried to look good to Hyeolcheon Doma. As a ronin, she couldn’t afford to hear people say she was rude.

“You lived as a ronin with your younger siblings?”

“yes.”

“You must have had a hard time.”

Dan-ah felt unfamiliar with those words. She had never heard such words from an adult before. Everyone around her, whether children or adults, was desperately trying to survive.

“If that guy is bothering you, come and tell me anytime.”

I could feel the sword dance. What was on Hyeoncheon Doma’s mind today?

For him, today is the day his son brings home the person who will become his daughter-in-law.

Unlike Seo Dae-ryong, who was fidgeting a little bit away from the two people, Ilhwa Sword Master was silently watching the back of Hyeolcheon Doma.

What is she thinking now?

Is he thinking of the Bloody Claws of his youth, reciting poetry to him? Or is he thinking of himself listening to the poetry?

The days when my father traveled all over the Central Plains with his horse, the days when we were all young.

The eyes of Ilhwageomjon and Geommugeuk, who were about to turn their heads out the window, met.

“Little leader.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“As time passes, time really flies.”

“Aren’t there still more days left?”

“Is that really so?”

“You may even be able to return it.”

Ilhwageomjon shook his head with a look of embarrassment.

“Don’t think it’s over. In ten years or so, you might look back on today and regret not doing what you did back then, right?”

She looked out the window again. Her deep eyes made it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Meanwhile, Hyeolcheon Doma and Dan-ah came with tea.

“It smells good.”

The swordsman sniffed and savored the fragrance.

The first one to express admiration was Dan-ah.

“It’s so delicious. It’s the best tea I’ve ever had.”

Then the swordmaster said to her.

“Of course. He said he would give it to an honored guest, but he never gave it to us.”

Dan-ah took that as a joke, but Seo Dae-ryong nodded as if to say that it was true.

Ilhwageomjon also joined in.

“This is my first time drinking this tea.”

Natural Dan-ah’s face turned red.

She was really happy. Most of the joy she had felt so far was the joy of surviving. She had completed this mission safely. Her siblings were safe, too.

But the joy I feel now is different from that joy.

Right now, she is drinking tea that the master of the man she likes has specially prepared for her. In front of her is the Ilhwa Sword Master she has always admired, and also the small cult leader who saved her and her younger brother. And most of all, Seo Dae-ryong is next to her. It is a moment that feels like a dream.

When was the last time you weren’t nervous and alert around other people?

When was the last time you felt the relief of being loved and protected by someone?

So the vibration that was resonating deep within her heart right now was something she had never felt before.

“thank you.”

Dan-ah’s trembling voice contained all her emotions.

“You can stay here while Daeryong is training.”

Seodaeryong practiced late into the night after work, so it meant that he wanted to stay with him.

At that moment, when Seo Dae-ryong was more moved than her, Ilhwa Sword Master suddenly spoke.

“He’s a swordsman, so what good would it do to watch him swing that ignorant sword?”

“How ignorant!”

“If I look at that stuffy priest, I’ll get angry. So… … .”

Then he said something surprising.

“Come to me sometimes when you have time.”

Dan-ah opened her eyes wide. The person she had admired was telling her to come see him. Ilhwageomjeon, whom she could not even dare to face, and who was inconceivable to even be in the same place.

“Is that really okay?”

Ilhwageomjeon nodded.

“Thank you so much. I will definitely go.”

Geommugeuk could tell that a new wind of fate had begun to blow for Dan-ah as well.

Geommugeuk said to Seodaeryong.

“You have to buy the drinks today!”

* * *

Hanseol was crossing the lake on a boat.

The person who steered the boat was the third generation of drunkards, Yeo-bin.

Hanseol made Han Bingsanggeom wait across the lake and boarded the boat alone. Sahan said no, but Sobing sent him to do so.

“Why on earth are you doing this?”

Sahan couldn’t understand his wife. At first, she had been more concerned about her escort than he was about himself.

“It’s the same with the demon cult leader, and the minor cult leader. It’s the same with the evil soma we saw. Was there a loophole?”

Even the demons I saw while passing through the Cheonmasingyo had good discipline.

“If you’re going after the princess, you’ll definitely need the permission of the Demon Lord. Can we stop it?”

“Does that mean I should give up my escort like this?”

“It’s not about giving up, it’s about letting the princess see and play freely.”

Sahan guessed why she was doing this.

“You believe in the cult leader.”

“I don’t believe in the religious leader.”

Her gaze turned to Hanseol, who was on the boat far away, as she answered firmly.

“Han Seol is no longer the little girl we knew. Now, we believe in the princess who is trying to become an adult.”

The boat Hanseol was riding arrived at an island in the middle of the lake.

She climbed up to the Chumongru pavilion under the guidance of Yeobin.

Chwima was drinking alone in Chwimongru.

“Meet the Amazon.”

“Your Highness, come quickly! I heard you came.”

I came to Cheonmasin Church, and although I don’t know about the other demon lords, I felt I had to find Chwima, so I came to say hello. He was the one who saved the North Sea Ice Palace together with the younger cult leader.

“The lake is really beautiful. This pavilion is also beautiful.”

“The problem is that there is an incurable drunkard living in this beautiful place.”

Hanseol smiled at Chwima’s joke.

“You look good here.”

Chwima felt that she had changed since the last time he saw her at the Ice Palace.

“Okay, sit down.”

Hanseol looked at the cup on Chwima’s waist.

The drunkard put the glass down in front of him.

“Do you know what kind of glass this is?”

“Yes, it is the Ice Palace Holy Grail, a treasure of our school.”

“Have you ever tried drinking from this glass?”

When Hanseol shook her head, he poured some alcohol into her glass.

“This is a clean glass, so have a drink.”

“I will drink it gratefully.”

Hanseol drank the wine from the Ice Palace Holy Grail. Although he was not a person who enjoyed drinking much, Hanseol’s eyes grew wide.

“The alcohol tastes really good.”

“Because good wine goes well with a good glass.”

So the two of them drank a few glasses of alcohol, giving and receiving.

She looked at the lake for a moment and then said to Chwima.

“I never thought I would end up here.”

Chwima gave her an expression that showed he understood her.

“I was with the head cult leader and when I came to my senses, I realized it was the main cult?”

Hanseol nodded slightly with a faint smile. It was an exaggeration, but it was almost the same.

“When I’m with him, I start to think things I’ve never thought of before in my life.”

“For example?”

She was lost in thought for a moment.

“I want to live like this person.”

“Chwima said, pouring alcohol into her empty glass.

“That’s normal.”

“yes?”

“I’ve thought about it dozens of times.”

Hanseol looked at Chwima with a surprised face because it was an unexpected remark.

“You compare and get jealous. Then you get angry and want to make excuses. But do you know what? When you get angry and want to make excuses, that’s when you can get to know yourself the best.”

When I get angry and when I argue back, am I there?

It seemed like I knew, but it also seemed like I didn’t know.

Chwima smiled and emptied his glass.

“The bottom line is that we can’t live like the cult leader. The cult leader is crazy!”

Hanseol smiled and drank with him. The thought that he was crazy was something that could only be heard from a drunkard.

“Come on, let’s have a drink together, comrades!”

I thought it was a good idea to come see the show. Actually, I hesitated a little bit. I came because of the words in the sword dance drama.

I hope you see a lot on this trip.

In any case, I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be easy to escape from the Geommu Theater. I thought that if I came here, I would only talk about myself and the horse, but I ended up talking about the little cult leader again.

Still, the reason I was able to have a conversation with Chwima without feeling awkward was because we had a topic about sword dance.

“I guess I’ll be drinking at the Pungryu Bar tonight.”

“How did you know?”

“It has something to do with alcohol, right?”

Chwima gave the entire box of liquor that was in the corner of Chwimongru to Hanseol.

“Tell the young sect leader that I congratulate him on his safe return to the sect.”

* * *

When Hanseol arrived at the Pungryu Tavern, no one had arrived yet.

“welcome!”

Jo Chun-bae greeted her politely. He knew that she was the princess of Bukhae Ice Palace because he had greeted her before.

“Come this way.”

“Before that, take this first.”

Han Bing-ssang-geom handed him the box of liquor he had brought.

“This is a gift that the Master Chuma gave to the Sogyoju.”

“Yes, I will serve this drink today.”

It would have been bad if alcohol had come in from outside, but Jo Chun-bae didn’t care at all. She didn’t know yet how close the relationship between Geommu-geuk and Jo Chun-bae was.

Jo Chun-bae guided her to a fixed seat on this floor.

Han Bingsanggeom did not follow up and waited on the first floor.

If it had been the original, Sa-han would have come up to this floor and sat down in the corner, but this time, So-bing just told him to wait here. And he went one step further.

-Honey, let’s have a drink too. I haven’t had a proper drink since I came to Jungwon.

– Let’s do that. If the princess is going to die anyway because of something wrong, we should at least have one last drink.

I said it as if I was giving up, but that wasn’t my intention.

Whenever something big happened, I trusted her intuition and judgment, and I survived well until now. I still trust my wife’s judgment.

Hanseol, who was about to sit down on this floor, was startled when she accidentally saw the writing carved on the wall.

“Is this the writing left by the real cult leader and leader?”

Jo Chun-bae answered proudly.

“Yes, that’s right. You left it at the tripartite meeting.”

Not only them, but there were also writings left by the Amazons.

It was her first time seeing such writing on the wall of a tavern. It was refreshing and surprising.

The words, “Your Majesty, please say something too,” lingered in Jo Chun-bae’s mouth, but he did not dare say them out loud.

At that time, Geommugeuk and Seodaeryong entered the tavern.

“Sir, this person here is the one buying drinks today, so please take good care of him.”

“Why are you doing this? I have people to feed now, too.”

“There are people who will eat well and live well even without you.”

After that, the Dan sisters followed in. Since I will be joining a new organization starting tomorrow, today will be the last day I can drink comfortably for a while.

Danyeon took Seo Dae-ryong’s side.

“Don’t bother my brother-in-law!”

Dan-ah scolded her for being so rude and Seo Dae-ryong just smiled.

“You are too much, Youngest Lady! How can someone without a sister-in-law live in sorrow?”

Jo Chun-bae, who came down from this floor, spoke to them.

“Don’t worry about the cost of drinks today. The master has sent you some. I will treat you to a meal for the first time in a while.”

Seo Dae-ryong’s expression brightened. He looked at Dan-yeon and whispered.

“I have some money, so I’ll give you some pocket money!”

The sword dance ended with a laugh. It was the first time he had seen Seo Dae-ryong so happy.

Yeah, smile like that.

The reason I returned was to protect this smile. So laugh and have fun.

Just then someone entered the tavern.

“Your Majesty!”

The person who arrived this time was Demon Lord Jangho.

“Your Majesty! How have you been?”

“Little Master! I am glad you returned safely.”

The two were happily reunited. Jang-ho, who always looked sturdy, seemed to have gotten even bigger in muscles.

“Your Majesty!”

The person he was truly happy to see was Seo Dae-ryong. He was eager to show off Dan-ah in a place where only the two of them were present.

Because aside from the sword dance, the only people he could brag about comfortably were Ian and Jangho.

At that moment, Geommugeuk saw someone sneaking a peek inside the door and then passing by.

“Kang Dae-ju!”

He was Kang Dal. He came because the Geommu Theater invited him, but he hesitated several times whether to come or not. He might have been invited just out of courtesy. Even now, I was thinking of just passing by and turning back.

“Here you are, where are you going!”

The warm welcome of the Geommugeuk drama made him relax.

“I don’t know if this is the right place for me to come.”

“This place started with Daejoo Kang! If it weren’t for Daejoo Kang, this place wouldn’t exist in the first place.”

Kang Dal was happy to hear that. He had been busy adjusting to the situation since coming to the main office, so he didn’t even know he was happy. But when the Geommu Theater came back, he started to feel like a human being.

“Hello, my lord!”

Kangdal greeted Jangho politely. He never expected that the Demon Lord would be present at this drinking party.

“Nice to meet you.”

Was it because the sword dance was right next to it? The Demon Lord I saw here felt different than when I saw him in the school.

The last person to arrive was Cheon So-hee, Kwon Ma’s successor.

“It’s been a while, Your Majesty.”

Since she became the successor of Kwonma, I knew she would only focus on her martial arts training, so I called her today on purpose. I called her not for Hanseol, but for Cheon Sohee. People should look at her and take a breath.

With the entrance filled like that, the Geommu Theater looked up at this floor.

“They’re all here now.”

Hanseol looked down at them with a surprised expression. She said she had friends to introduce to the school, so she thought there were one or two people.

But I didn’t know you would call this many people. Why don’t you call all the new believers?

The horse riding horse came to mind.

‘Yes, this guy is crazy.’

The sword dance took the lead and walked up.

“Master, close the door and set the table!”