The Regressor Only Protects Me Chapter 153

Episode 153. The Return of the Hero (2)

I got off the Ogre bus and looked up at the ancient palace.

A defensive wall blocking a wide road.

It was a fairly sturdily constructed defensive wall that had its own unique appearance, although it was made by tearing down the building's shutters and firewalls.

And beyond the defensive wall, the royal palace and the old Manan police station came into view.

It was a huge and beautiful building.

Behind the Manan Police Station, there was a stepped structure reminiscent of a pyramid.

And the walls of the stepped structure were covered with murals.

“Hey, bro. These are all your achievements, bro?”

Choi Myeong-jun said in admiration.

What he said was true.

A boiler that can withstand the cold.

The scaffold that executed the tyrant.

Ogre.

And the war with the time.

In addition, the records of my past remained in the form of a huge mural.

Looking at these murals, I felt a bit out of place, but on the other hand, I was thankful that they were able to maintain the beautiful scenery for the past five years.

My face was also carved into the mural, but it didn't look that similar, perhaps because it was drawn from memory.

While they were watching, a white-haired guard approached them from the wall.

“Stop. Do not come any closer. This is a restricted area.”

The soldier pointed his spear at me and threatened me.

Then Choi Myeong-jun stepped forward with a vengeance.

“Hey, X-Bar thing… … . Do you know who this person is?”

"don't do it."

“Yes, brother.”

I stopped Choi Myeong-jun from shouting at the soldiers.

I could understand why he was so upset for me, but right now I had to avoid causing a scene.

My current goal is not to be a king, but to travel around as a wanderer.

Before meeting Ha Yoon-ha, I wanted to quietly check on the changed Man-gyeong.

The white-haired guard spoke again.

“This is a sacred place where heroes are honored. It is not a place for vagabonds like you. Get out.”

“Ah! I memorized your face. See you later! Huh?!”

“Get out. I won’t tell you more than three times. If you don’t respond, you will be arrested.”

In fact, it would be so easy to break through if you used the power of the edict, but is it really necessary?

I'd rather walk around the city without anyone knowing.

I turned around.

Then another soldier from Man-Gyeong stopped me.

He said, examining the expedition's right arm.

“You. Are you wanderers? Why aren’t you wearing name tags? And. Wanderers must move to the union office by 6 p.m.”

“… … .”

As I was quietly looking at the soldier, Jin Jae-hee stepped forward with a fierce expression.

But I stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

"are you okay."

Their reaction was understandable, but there was no need to get upset.

They are doing their job.

If they hadn't come forward this way, if they hadn't been fully carrying out their duties, there would have been a problem.

'This means that Ha Yoon-ha has been managing her power well so far.'

It would have been right to just step back here.

Besides, our current appearance in power may not have been a very good choice.

No matter what the public's approval rating is, there may be forces that do not recognize me.

* * *

Man-gyeong, the Wanderer's Union.

It was a village within a city, surrounded by iron bars within the city.

It had a rather unique structure.

A structure where the old middle school and high school are combined and surrounded by a fence.

The wanderers here live within the Man-gyeong and take on the role of receiving or requesting quests.

Of course, the citizens of Man-gyeong also gave quests, and there were various alien species as well as humans here.

The dormitory building, renovated from a school, was decorated more comfortably than expected.

In the playground, some residents and vagrants set up tables and had a raucous party.

A large tent made of tarpaulin was set up, giving the impression of a market place.

“Wow, wow… … . All these wanderers gathered in one place… … .”

The person who found the sight most amazing was Choi Hyeon-ji, a former wanderer.

The wanderers basically did not trust each other very much.

They were beings who lived solely by relying on themselves, wandering through the harsh wasteland and fighting their way through the league as individuals.

But when I looked at the scenery of this wanderer's hostel, those things were erased from my memory.

This place was truly a guild.

“Looking for a group to go to Gangnam! I am a player who has received guide certification from Man-gyeong! I can guarantee your safety for 50 lighters!”

“We will help you with your identity verification at Man-gyeong! Only 10 lighters!”

“Looking for Incheon Union news source! I will make sure you don’t feel disappointed!”

“I’m buying a map, a map. Southern Gyeonggi Province.”

“Buying all kinds of monsters… … , by-products… … . Buying all kinds of monsters… … , by-products… … .”

Wanderers trading with each other's assets.

The quest boards scattered throughout the streets were full of interesting information.

Today's Major Request List

6th Mining District, request for exploration of mineral veins. Client: 6th Mining District Chief

Change Monster Ecology Survey. Client: Director of Border Control

Delivery to Incheon Union… … .

Numerous wanderers from around the Gyeonggi area were all gathering at Man-gyeong.

The road to the south was blocked by dense forest, and to the north it was a battlefield.

Therefore, the best choice for the wanderers to make a base was Man-gyeong.

In the commercial district directly managed by Man-gyeong, that is, the Wanderer's Union, transactions were safer than in other areas where fraud and smuggling were frequent.

In addition, it was rumored to be the best base for wanderers because it had well-developed infrastructure for wanderers, such as accommodations and a request bulletin board.

In this way, wanderers gathered from all over the country and exchanged information and supplies with each other.

Man-gyeong entrusted these gathered wanderers with a task that was difficult to solve on their own.

It was a system similar to the 'guilds' that appeared in other novels and comics.

As more and more wanderers flocked to Man-gyeong, he began to accumulate more wealth.

Not only was the income from the facilities where the wanderers ate and slept significant, but the commissions received from commissioning wanderers were also significant.

Man-gyeong swallowed up the market of all the powers in the region.

The fact that the market was swallowed up meant that all the money was flowing into Mankyung.

The currency of Man-gyeong could be broadly divided into three types.

The smallest unit, a coin.

Regardless of type, it has the value of about 500 won.

Next, a lighter that acts as a bill.

This also recognized only lighters with the unique Man-gyeong pattern as currency, and had a value of approximately 5,000 won.

Next was a pack of cigarettes.

Tobacco was a substitute for gold in the old world.

There are several ways to store cigarettes, but the most common method is to store them in an iron case.

Although it was not an official currency, its value was around 20 lighters per magpie.

Moreover, due to the nature of consumables, their value was bound to increase further.

In fact, over the past five years, cigarettes have nearly tripled in value.

For this reason, people collected cigarettes even if they were not smokers, and for a long time, there was a strange phenomenon in which smokers could not smoke because they felt it was a waste.

Man-gyeong grew rapidly.

It was all because Kang Shion, who was the first monarch and hero, had laid a good foundation.

Of course, not everything could be as beautiful as white jade.

Wherever people gather, there are bound to be evil beings.

A building in Man-gyeong, Beom-gye.

“… … .”

There were corpses lying one after another in the hallway.

A man walked up there.

The woman with the knife bowed her head to him and said.

“All. Taken care of.”

“… … .”

The man walked down the narrow hallway, avoiding the corpses, smoking a cigarette.

At the end of the dark hallway was a half-open wooden door, with a faint light coming out of it.

The man walked around avoiding the corpse, and became irritated when he stumbled upon it.

“Hey. Get this sorted out. Hurry up and clean it up.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I’ll take care of it right away.”

The woman who was following behind instructed her two subordinates to dispose of the body.

The man called the manager frowned as he opened the wooden door with his cigarette in his hand and went in.

He was wearing a white suit and calfskin shoes.

He had a luxury watch on his wrist, and his hair was pulled up, revealing his bright face.

The man tied to the chair trembled and shouted at the manager.

“Hey- Hey- Chief!!! I’m sorry. I-. I’m sorry.”

The manager looked at the fingers of the man who was tied to the chair.

There were nails driven into every joint of his fingers.

“Just once-. Just once-. Forgive me. Actually, I didn’t know that this manager was still-. looking after my back.”

“Behind? No, what are you talking about, hyung?”

The manager squatted down and looked up at the man.

“Not behind… … . Brother. The problem is that you brought up that stupid story and reported it to the King.”

“I’m sorry… … . Because I’m sorry. It was all my fault.”

“What did you report?”

Phew. Phew-.

The manager took a deep drag on his cigarette and blew smoke at the man.

The bleeding man answered trembling.

“Hey, hey, the hero is back… … . Hey, the hero! T, but! Chief Lee! Listen to me. What I’m saying is… … ! The hero… … . really came back. But I’m sorry! I, I, I’m sorry. I didn’t think of Chief Lee… … !”

The man had no front teeth, so blood spurted out whenever he spoke.

“Chief Lee, you don’t like heroes, right? Kang Shi-on? That guy. That, that, that guy? That dead guy!!!”

“… … .”

The manager listened to the man's excuses while smoking a cigarette in silence.

“I’ll help you! This manager. This manager is after Kang Shi-on’s cigarettes, right? T-True?! The huge amount of cigarettes in the palace!!! I know. The way to that room!”

Kang Shi-on's property.

That was the legacy of a hero that Ha Yoon-ha had risked her life to protect for the past five years.

Ha Yoon-ha did not use Kang Si-on's property.

But other Man-Gyeong executives thought differently.

That property.

Those cigarettes are more precious than gold.

The hero's wealth and treasures of the world are piled up in the room.

If I had just that, I could become the god of this world.

Director Lee Seok-jin and current Man-gyeong's land director, Ha Yoon-ha, were a thorn in their side.

Ha Yoon-ha is guarding the enormous amount of wealth that is locked up in the palace.

Chief Lee Seok-jin did not like the hero's return.

If that happens, what about the property left in the palace?

They will all return to their original owner, Kang Si-on.

The manager took out a small dagger from his inner pocket.

“Brother. Brother, you really… … make people feel awkward. When did I ever say I didn’t like heroes… … ? Kang Shi-on. A hero and the first king. He is the founder who built this beautiful city. The fact that I eat and live here… … and that you have a place to eat in Man-gyeong thanks to me… … . Mooodoo.”

chin.

The manager continued, aiming the dagger at the man's groin.

“… … It’s all thanks to the hero, right? I respect the hero. But. What did he do? In the past five years. In the midst of the turbulent war… … . What did he do? Didn’t he run away?”

“Yes, yes… … ! That’s right. Everything Manager Lee said is right. I totally agree!!! So Manager Lee, please… … !”

The manager gently stabbed the man in the groin with a dagger.

“Ah-! That’s what I mean! What am I saying?! Yes?! Brother. No, after running away for 5 years and coming back to Man-gyeong… … . Isn’t it a bit much to be in the same position as a king? Huh? No, that’s what I mean. You fu*king brother. Do you know what I’m trying to say?”

The manager glared at the man with a sharp look in his eyes.

Those were truly greedy eyes.

“… … That money. Those cigarettes. It’s a waste. It would be better if you spent it on our Man-gyeong.”

The man nodded vigorously at the manager's words.

Every time the man nodded, blood spurted everywhere.

The manager concluded his speech.

“… … Brother, you crossed the line. People die because of their tongues.”

“Hey, wait a minute! Manager Lee! Listen to what I have to say… …!”

Whirik-. Phewwww!!!!!!

“Khaaa …

The man fainted.

The manager looked at the dagger stuck in the man's groin.

Blood and mud were soaking between his legs.

The manager frowned.

And then he gave instructions to his secretary who was watching the whole scene from behind.

“Throw this little bastard to the ogre farm. And. Did you find out any information about Kang Shion?”

“Yes, sir. I heard he is currently residing in the vagrant residential area.”

“Assemble a watchdog. Report to me every move without fail. And.”

Bam-.

The manager threw the cigarette he was smoking at the unconscious man.

The cigarette butt hit the man's cheek and fell to the floor.

“The Emperor has doubled the number of guards under the pretext of protection, and has forbidden them from leaving the palace for a while. Kang Shi-on, our hero. We will kill him.”

The manager left those words behind and went back out through the corpse-filled hallway.

The remaining secretary bowed his head to him.

“Yes, sir.”

(Continued in the next episode)