Regressor Instruction Manual

“I told you so, lady saint.”

“Oh…”

“Didn’t I say that not all poor people were nice people?”

When I looked down, she looked as if she had been through a lot of stuff, and of course, I knew what she experienced because I had been watching this immature woman from the beginning. Her face was covered in tears and snot and it was full of fear. Of course, as soon as she saw me, she looked as if she saw a ray of hope, but I didn’t really feel sorry for her. The amusing part was the big difference in her attitude. Her attitude changed completely compared to this morning and when I saw that, I couldn’t help but smile.

‘As expected, humans are fun.’

The poor people that she thought she needed to protect became the assailants and I was in a situation where I was about to become her savior when previously, she held me in contempt. It would be odd for me not to laugh because personally, this was the most amusing situation that I had encountered so far.

Sun Hee-Young must have gotten hit a lot because her face was swollen and her hair was in a mess. The tidy look she had in the beginning was no longer there as she had bruises all over her. She must have also gotten scratched from somewhere because she was bleeding. If I didn’t reveal myself this early, she would have experienced something worse.

“Ahh…”

It only took a moment for the tears that were in her eyes to fall down and I felt that robber bastard’s eyes on me as he continued to pull on Sun Hee-Young’s hair.

“Who the hell are you?” the man asked.

“That’s none of your business, you trash,” I answered.

“Damn it…this ridiculous situation is making me speechless. Who the hell are you, you bastard?” he asked again.

“Don’t move,” I told him.

Of course I didn’t have the confidence to kill everyone that was here since I was an outnumbered and weak mage. Moreover, I couldn’t trust Jung Ha-Yan, who was reciting a spell behind me. The people that I trusted were actually those people.

They were nothing but trash who only cared about fulfilling their desires. They were the type of people that were strong against the weak and weak against the strong and as expected, I saw that they started to become cautious. The attitudes that both Jung Ha-Yan and I had were no different from theirs, but they felt intimidated because of our confidence.

“W-Where are you from?” he asked.

“None of your business,” I replied.

“That’s…”

When I glanced back, Jung Ha-Yan released the spell that she had been reciting. Just as she spoke, an unknown magic surged and tied them up. Amidst the confusing situation, I heard screams.

Even Sun Hee-Young, who was trembling with wide eyes, started running towards me in a hurry because she realized that I was the only one that could protect her.

“I told you that it was going to be dangerous,” I told her.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for helping me,” she said.

“You can keep your distance from me since you’re already safe, lady priest,” I said.

I saw her grabbing onto my pants leg.

“How was it? Exploring around the slums?” I asked.

“Thank you. Thank you for helping me. Quickly…l-let’s, let’s leave quickly. Quickly…from this place…”

I guess it was impossible for her to think properly. It must be because of the immense amount of fear that all she could think about was escaping from this place. I was not sure what she experienced during the tutorial, but this woman definitely didn’t have the tolerance for this kind of situation. Since I wanted to have somewhat of a serious conversation with her, this situation wasn’t that great for me. Rather than simply rescuing her, I wanted to have a more in-depth conversation with her.

“Let go,” I told her.

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“I said let go before I throw you back to them. You’re just a woman that knows nothing about the world,” I said.

“P-Please don’t do that. You were right, everything you said was right,” she said.

Sun Hee-Young wasn’t thinking properly and desperation was the only thing that filled her face. She wasn't desperately shouting because she regretted her thoughts from before, it was because she simply wanted to escape from here.

“Ha-Yan, release your magic,” I ordered her.

“Okay, oppa,” she answered.

“Don’t do it! Please don’t do it!” Sun Hee-Young yelled.

I didn’t order her to release the bind that stopped those people from moving. I was referring to the illusion magic that was casted on Sun Hee-Young. I wanted it undone so that her true face would appear.

When Jung Ha-Yan slowly released the magic, Sun Hee-Young’s true face appeared.

“Look straight over there,” I told her.

“Excuse me?” she asked.

The faces of the trash that were persecuting our dear lady priest turned because they realized who they were messing with. The scum looked more like they messed up than regret, but I was sure that they realized the fact that they messed with the wrong person. These scums messed with an important person that was loved by many clans. As such, watching them curse was amusing.

“I…”

“You want to live?” I asked, finishing the scum’s sentence.

I saw them nodding, so I spoke with a smirk on my face. “Would you be able to…kill this woman?”

They looked confused and it seemed like they needed a bit more explanation, so I continued talking again. “I asked whether you would be able to kill her.”

These brute-like bastards started nodding as if they have been possessed.

“Why…are you asking that?”

“Personally, my impression about her isn’t that great and I think it’ll be a good sight to watch and there’s no reason for scums like you to know the reason. The important thing is whether you can do it or not. I’m giving you guys this chance,” I explained.

“...”

“You’ll die if you decline,” I warned.

“I-I’ll do it,” they said.

“Of course.”

I saw an absent-minded expression on Sun Hee-Young’s face.

“H-Hyung-nim…how,” they asked.

“Just shut up and do as I say, you bastards! Nothing is going to change anyways,” I told them.

“Is it really okay?” they asked.

I nodded lightly and I responded. “Of course.”

“Really?” they asked again.

“I’m not sure whether we’re lucky or not, but…thank you for saving us,” they said.

“Hyung-nim…still…”

“Shut up, you bastard. This bitch is the same as the other bastards. Her saint of the forsaken title is a bunch of bullshit. Didn’t you see her crying earlier? Stay out of it if you don’t want to do it, you bastard,” one of the men said.

“I-I’m not going to stay out of it…”

“You’re saying that you didn’t like her from the start. Not sure why she made a big fuss about helping people when she isn’t all that great…I am thankful that I didn’t have to starve because of her, but who knew that things would turn out like this? Hahaha. You never know, right? You never know what’ll happen in life,” the man explained.

“You’re right,” I said in agreement.

The atmosphere must have excited the man with the burnt face because he was saying things that were pushing me toward an advantageous position. Just by looking at his face, anyone would be able to assume that he was a scumbag, but this great reveal went beyond my expectations that I was close to laughing out loud.

Sun Hee-Young no longer looked like she was scared. On the contrary, she looked like she had given up. I wasn’t exactly sure what she was thinking, but I was sure that she was more confused than I was. She was being denied by the people that she volunteered for and helped for her entire life and even though I didn’t know what that felt like, I was sure that it felt similar to the time when Jung Ha-Yan thought that she lost me.

In the end.

Sob…

I heard her cry pathetically.

“Hahahaha.”

The way the thugs started laughing as if they didn’t feel bad for her was a sight to see. Actually, it wasn’t a great sight to see.

I started to slowly walk away. When I approached them, of course, the scums that surrounded Sun Hee-Young started to back away slowly. When I turned my attention to her, the expression that was on her face was difficult to describe.

“There was…hiccup…no need to go this far,” she said.

“Now we can have a proper conversation,” I told her.

“You didn’t have to go this far,” she said again.

“I just helped you so that you’ll become a bit more realistic. So, how was this place?” I asked.

“You were right. Hiccup…I said that you were right. I was wrong. I…”

“No, that’s not what I meant,” I said, cutting her off.

“What…”

“You weren’t wrong,” I said.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“It’s just like I said, Miss Sun Hee-Young. You weren’t wrong. You were fantastic. Being able to sacrifice for these people is something that an ordinary person isn’t able to do,” I answered.

“...”

“I respect you. If I were you, I wouldn’t be able to wake up every morning and volunteer for these people, but you did not volunteer for them because you expected something back. Despite the fact that you can receive help from a guild or clan, you did not focus on the materialistic aspect and protected your value. You took the lead and helped these people while working hard. You did exactly that,” I explained.

She looked like she was spacing out. I think that she didn’t really understand what I was telling her.

“You’re at a much lower position than them and excuse me for saying this, but I observed where you lived. When considering your position within society, it’s definitely a place that doesn’t fit you. You have yielded everything, literally everything and even moved others. You made it so that other clans and guilds would take interest in the poor. Yes, you’re fantastic,” I explained.

“D-Don’t be…dumb,” she said.

“You’re not the one that turned them into lazy bastards. What I said before was out of jealousy because you had something that I didn’t have. Your nobility, beauty and honesty are things that I can’t have. I’m the one that’s twisted,” I told her.

“...”

I saw her crying and I wasn’t sure whether it was because she felt comforted or because of the current situation, but I could at least see that I changed her mind.

“You haven’t done anything wrong,” I said again.

“Okay…hiccup…”

“You’re fantastic.”

“Thank you…”

“You’re a respectable person,” I told her.

“Thank you…”

“The ones that are wrong are…”

“Yes…”

“Those people,” I said.

“Yes.”

“Those lazy brute-like bastards are the ones that are wrong because they don’t know anything about grace,” I said.

“...”

“They didn’t appreciate what they were getting and even betrayed you, which makes them wrong. These people are the ones that are making Lindel, the Holy Empire, and society rotten. Even if those with noble minds continue to contribute to society, it won’t get any better because of these people. Yes, it’s because of them. It’s because of them that the slum isn’t improving, why they’re needlessly getting misunderstood and why the light of your nobility is fading away,” I explained.

“Okay…sob…”

“It’s not the people that are trying to improve, but the people that aren’t even thinking about improving themselves that are making this place rotten,” I added.

“Yes, yes, I understand,” she said.

“Now then…”

“...”

“Let’s start a genuine volunteer work, lady priest,” I said.

I didn’t hear an answer regarding my bullshit, however, I watched as Sun Hee-Young slowly got up and grabbed the dagger that I handed over to her.

“Let’s make a beautiful Lindel, together,” I said.