The Regressor Only Protects Me Chapter 206

Episode 206. The Last Beginning (1)

On the map, Mangyeong (formerly Anyang) is not far from Suwon.

However, the reason there was no exchange between Suwon and Man-gyeong during the last round was because of the 'dense forest'.

A forest of death where even the slightest touch will drain your life force. A dense and lush forest where even the most skilled wanderer will get lost.

There was no reason to risk damage and cross the dense forests of Man-gyeong-do and Su-won-do.

For that reason, it was an area that had been abandoned until now, but now the situation has changed.

Man-gyeong and Su-won now have a deep relationship.

Since the top leaders of each force were blood brothers, active exchanges between the nations were necessary.

Man-gyeong didn't have the skills to break through the dense forest, but Su-won did.

That was Kang Jun-ho.

Kang Jun-ho, floating in the sky, looked down at the dense forest.

He remembered what had happened in this forest long ago.

Kang Jun-ho, after gathering his thoughts for a moment, released the power of the artifact.

Woof-.

In an instant, a black space appeared across the dense forest.

Kang Jun-ho's artifact ability is gravity.

And the point where that gravity is strongest creates a black hole.

Kang Jun-ho's 'Black Space' became a black hole, sucking in everything around it.

From polluted soil to trees, rocks, monsters, etc.

Everything returns to nothing in front of Kang Jun-ho's ability.

The black hole swallowed everything as if it had never been there in the first place, and a deep and wide canyon was created on the land.

“Coolook… … !”

Kang Jun-ho coughed once.

He had very powerful artifact abilities, but he was also human.

It had near-infinite power, but it wasn't infinite.

But for his brother, Kang Jun-ho was the one who could use limitless strength.

Kang Jun-ho wiped the drool from his chin and looked at his brother's procession again.

They started moving towards Man-gyeong again along the valley that Kang Jun-ho had created.

This created a passage between Man-gyeong and Suwon.

* * *

The sun was slowly setting.

The return procession was forming a long line and exiting the canyon.

The carriage that Kang Si-on was riding was surrounded and escorted by soldiers from Suwon.

Zion tried to dissuade him, saying that it was unnecessary to go this far, but Junho was firm.

Because he was whining that he couldn't send it unless he did something like this, Kang Shi-on had no choice but to say that he understood.

Zion sat at the end of the carriage, gently pulling back the covering tent to look outside.

Even though it was a deep valley, sunlight was pouring down.

Then, I looked at Jin Jae-hee, who was sitting across from me, with a small groan.

Jin Jae-hee was covering himself with a blanket and not saying anything.

"cold?"

"no."

She stretched out her hunched body and said she was okay.

Zion looked at her and nodded.

"okay."

Then he looked again as if he was looking at the scenery outside.

Some time passed.

Jin Jae-hee cautiously called out to Kang Si-on, who was looking outside the carriage.

"excuse me."

When Jin Jae-hee called, Kang Si-on looked at her.

She said straight away.

"……thank you."

"what?"

Jin Jae-hee swallowed his words.

There was definitely a reason to be thankful, but it didn't come right away.

It was a personality issue.

Since a long time ago, Jin Jae-hee has not been good at expressing personal feelings like gratitude or apology to anyone.

In common parlance, it was because I was embarrassed, but in reality, I was just ashamed.

But she realized through Kang Jun-ho that she had to speak when she had to speak.

The human mind is truly a tricky thing. In the end, if you don't express something with words, the other person won't know. That's why I had to say it.

“… … Thank you for telling me that I am precious to you.”

“… … .”

Kang Shi-on thought about those words, smiled and said.

“That’s not like you. What? That’s okay.”

“… … and I’m sorry.”

Jin Jae-hee had to say sorry as well as thank you.

In fact, there were still unresolved feelings between the two.

Even during the war, and when dealing with Woo Ji-hye, there was something wrong between the two.

Jin Jae-hee said that the reason there were such discrepancies was because of his unchanging heart.

I had to apologize for that.

“I was willing to do anything to achieve my goal. We each had our own purpose. I thought that saving you would get me closer to my goal. Because you are so great. You are incomparable to me.”

“… … .”

“But I think you thought differently. You must have heard the story of my past life. I was your subordinate’s subordinate. We weren’t equals, and we weren’t close enough to casually meet eyes. So I was in a position to serve you, and I was someone I had to protect. I didn’t think of the people I served as friends.”

She managed to finish the sentence with a stammering voice.

From Jin Jae-hee's perspective, it took a lot of courage to say that.

She put her nose into the blanket.

Even though it was inside the carriage, it was chilly.

I felt like winter was coming again.

“… … But you think of me as a friend. You think of me as such. I was grateful. I was sorry. So… … . So… … .”

But Jin Jae-hee couldn't continue talking.

“You promised. On the rooftop.”

Kang Shi-on turned his head again and looked at the procession outside the carriage.

“… … .”

Jin Jae-hee still had her nose buried in her blanket, and turned her eyes to look at his face bathed in the sunset light.

“… … I had the same dream. I said I would go back.”

Kang Shi-on had only one goal from beginning to end.

It was about finding his own younger brother.

And he found his brother.

Jin Jae-hee was with me on that difficult road.

This was a 'future-opening' task that had never happened in a previous life.

“We haven’t achieved our goal yet. Your dream remains. Even I can’t be sure that this story will end. As promised, I will send you back. Even if I remain in this world and you go alone.”

“Don’t say that.”

This time, Jin Jae-hee interrupted him.

“We had a dream together… … It was a dream, right? So we should go back together.”

“There’s no way the manager would let that happen.”

“I’ll make you watch it. And if that happens, I won’t go either. You have to come with me.”

Kang Shi-on raised his head and met her eyes.

The two of them stared at each other like that for a while.

The silence was broken when Jin Jae-hee sniffed.

Kang Shi-on said with a chuckle.

“I wish so. Me too.”

“I will make it so.”

“Are you quite stubborn?”

“This is… … No, I’ll be stubborn about this one thing.”

Jin Jae-hee lowered his head and mumbled.

"okay."

Kang Shi-on snickered and turned his head again.

It may have been fate that he had no choice but to continue watching the situation outside the carriage. Or maybe he just wanted to think.

Kang Shi-on was confident in the steadily rocking carriage.

Now the final story will begin.

Whether the ending is death or our dreams come true.

Or, we get another ending.

That it will definitely end.

* * *

When Kang Shi-on returned with a huge gift, the citizens cheered.

"Viva-!"

"Viva-!!!"

The citizens of Man-gyeong poured into the streets where the carriage procession continued and worshipped Kang-shi-on.

In this round, Man-Gyeong was not in a good strategic position compared to other forces, and was short on food and troops.

But Kang Shi-on did it again.

By creating something out of nothing, he once again gave great benefits to the powers that be.

The victorious monarch's approval rating soared to the point where the number '100' was not enough.

and.

The news that Kang Si-on had returned was also delivered to Ha Yoon-ha and Jung Hyun-soo, who were receiving treatment.

Ha Yoon-ha, who was feeding porridge to Jeong Hyeon-su, saw Kang Si-on coming in through the door and ran out, spilling the porridge.

“Hero!”

Thanks to that, Jeong Hyeon-su ended up having hot porridge poured over his face.

WHACK!

However, Jeong Hyeon-su endured the heat and welcomed the king.

“Hey, hey, hero. … … you. Aww. Hot.”

Ha Yoon-ha ran out and stood next to Sion, while Jeong Hyeon-su looked like he had difficulty moving because he was covered in bandages all over his body.

Kang Si-on told Jeong Hyeon-su to stay still and sat down in front of Jeong Hyeon-su's bed with Ha Yoon-ha.

“You’ve worked hard. How are you feeling?”

In response to Kang Si-on's question, Jeong Hyeon-su wiped away the porridge spilled on his face with his hand and clenched his fist.

“If you just give me the order, I can sortie right now. You don’t have enough troops to subdue the remnants of the Metro ants, do you? Send me!”

"okay?"

Kang Si-on, who asked like that, pressed the bandage on Jeong Hyeon-su’s wound with his finger.

Then, Jeong Hyeon-su suddenly screamed.

“Eww! Aah!”

“It doesn’t look like a body?”

“… … Ah, no. This is… … .”

Jeong Hyeon-su quickly became sullen and lowered his tail.

“… … I’m sorry. Actually, I can’t even move.”

“When you can rest, get plenty of rest. … … Yoon-ha, talk to me. Are you okay?”

“Oh, yes! I have no problem. I didn’t fight in the first place.”

“Me too! Can’t I follow you too?”

When Jeong Hyeon-su tried to get out of bed with difficulty, Kang Si-on stopped him with a blank expression.

“Rest. That’s an order.”

"……yes."

Jeong Hyeon-su tucked his tail between his legs again.

Kang Si-on took Ha Yoon-ha outside.

This place was originally home to a monster.

But after 2.5 rounds, the monster was gone, and all that was left were the filth and trash it left behind.

A lot of people were involved in the restoration of Man-gyeong.

Moreover, the number of people still receiving treatment was still too high.

Through this war, Kang Shi-on lost a lot, but also gained a lot.

Above all, it acquired a vast territory, a large population, and the central city of Seoul.

They came to possess overwhelming numerical and resource superiority over other forces.

Kang Si-on said this while walking side by side with Ha Yoon-ha through the downtown streets of Man-gyeong, which was being rebuilt.

“You’ll be very busy from now on. You’ll have to work hard to rebuild your power. Above all, you’ll have to gather technicians to control the red ore. Think about it slowly. The important thing is to restore the market structure of Man-gyeong before the war breaks out.”

“Don’t worry. That’s my specialty. But what are your plans for the future, Hero?”

“We have to move on to the next step right away. Where is there any time to rest?”

“Are you feeling okay? Are you overdoing it? I heard you just had a big battle… … .”

Ha Yoon-ha gently grabbed the hem of Kang Si-on’s clothes.

His worried mind was reflected in his actions.

Kang Shi-on shook his head slightly and said.

“No problem. On the contrary, my body feels lighter. Oh, and there will be workers coming up from Suwon. You should manage them too. If I give them orders, they will all follow.”

“In Suwon… … ?”

The two left the narrow road and entered a wide road.

At that time, Ha Yoon-ha couldn't help but be surprised.

A huge number of people, each with their own tools and materials, were working to rebuild the city.

Not only that, there were a lot of pigs gathered together.

Ha Yoon-ha asked, covering her mouth.

“… … Those people and the pigs?”

“My younger brother gave it to me as a gift.”

At that sound, Ha Yoon-ha was startled and asked back.

“Huh?! Your younger sibling? Your real brother?”

"huh."

When Kang Shi-on heard that he had found his younger brother, Ha Yoon-ha was delighted as if it were her own business.

“I’m so happy! Really… … really congratulations. Hahaha. Ah, I’m really happy.”

“That’s just my personal business. But the important thing is rebuilding the city. I need your help. From now on, I’ll give you full authority over the post-war process. So please.”

Ha Yoon-ha nodded, clenching her fists.

“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely do it. I can make the environment much better than before the war, right?”

“If you will.”

Kang Shi-on ended up laughing.

In fact, restoring it to its original state will not be an easy task.

Because whether the country is victorious or defeated, it suffers enormous damage after the war.

In addition, Man-gyeong has now acquired territory several times its original size.

It will also be Ha Yoon-ha's job to utilize these territories.

For now, since the bridge has collapsed, we plan to only manage the territory south of the Han River.

After Kang Si-on asked Ha Yoon-ha that, they talked a few times and then tried to leave.

But Ha Yoon-ha caught Kang Shi-on who was returning.

“Why? Do you have anything left to say?”

In response to Kang Shi-on's question, Ha Yoon-ha carefully began to tell the story.

“… … I have a personal favor to ask of you.”

“Tell me anything.”

Kang Si-on was willing to grant Ha Yoon-ha any request.

Because Ha Yoon-ha was a valuable talent that was indispensable to the forces.

Besides, everything Ha Yoon-ha has done for Man-gyeong up until now has been great help.

“… … .”

Ha Yoon-ha remained silent for a moment, let out a breath, and barely managed to speak.

“Can you give us a state funeral? … … Not specifically to honor my local sister. In this war, many civilians have lost family members or friends… … I’m worried that the approval ratings for the national leadership will drop… … .”

“You don’t have to say that.”

At that time, Kang Si-on placed his hands on Ha Yoon-ha's shoulders.

And then he looked into Ha Yoon-ha's eyes and said.

“Choi Hyun-ji… …is it because of that?”

“… … .”

“Do as you wish. I also want to honor that child. You can handle it as a national project. I will also agree with your wishes. Oh, right. You said it well. Before reconstruction, prepare a joint funeral first. I will help too.”

Kang Si-on placed his hand on Ha Yoon-ha’s head.

Ha Yoon-ha nodded silently.

(Continued in the next episode)