A Regressor's Bucket List Chapter 131

The Beastkin were, in themselves, a sore spot for both Tom and Jerry.

So much so that Tom, who had been determined to kill Jerry on the spot, twisted his own arm to avoid a little Beastkin kid who appeared before him.

You could call it a kind of ‘inviolable’ territory.

For both Jerry and Tom.

The guilt that had accumulated in their hearts for over decades had built a fortress-like fence of protection around the Beastkin.

Was it because of that?

This scene, with numerous Beastkin watching, created a peculiar atmosphere all on its own.

To the point that even the formidable Tom couldn't move rashly, and even Jerry’s poker face momentarily crumbled.

And for me, such an atmosphere was more than welcome.

‘…….’

This situation was the perfect backdrop to resolve this long-standing conflict.

Step, step-

“…The kid’s better than the adults. Isn't that right?”

Pat-

I naturally stepped between the two, placed a hand on Jackie's head in a gesture of praise, and looked at Tom as I continued speaking.

“The Beastkin here. They're all people that Jerry saved from slave traders. Well, he couldn't very well tell them he was a Vampire, so hiding his identity was unavoidable……”

“……”

“From these people's perspective, he's the one who saved them, just like the kid said.”

My words were meant for Tom, but also for the Beastkin surrounding us.

Most of them didn't know the full story of the Beastkin forces' end anyway.

They had only heard what was commonly known, what Tom had just shouted—that the Beastkin fell because of the traitorous Vampire Clan.

Even Tom and Jerry, who were directly involved at the time, didn't know the real truth, so there was no way these Beastkin, with no direct lineage to the events, would know the full details.

Incitement has always been easy, and clarification, much harder.

They couldn't be swayed and confused by the word 'Dracula'.

For the explanation I was about to give to be effective, I needed to more firmly implant the gratitude that had already settled in their hearts.

“…Hah!”

Tom, who had forcefully set his twisted arm, snorted.

“Don't make me laugh. I couldn't understand why the Beastkin were being trafficked among slaves in the first place, but now that I’m out, I see.”

“……”

“It’s all because that bastard was alive. Saved them? What nonsense… It’s obvious he was pulling some strings behind the scenes again. That’s the only kind of thing his prideless race is capable of.”

Jerry’s poker face had already crumbled since Tom’s appearance.

“……”

He didn't offer a rebuttal, but the look on his face as he turned held a considerable amount of indignation.

…Of course, it was just a slight furrowing of his brow, and I was probably the only one who could read that emotion as indignation, but at least I knew for certain.

That there was a point he found deeply unfair.

“Hmm……”

Well, it wasn't as if he knew the clear sequence of events either, and if this was a stigma that could be cleared up with a single word from him, the rift of misunderstanding would never have grown so deep.

…And I.

For his sake, I raised a finger in front of Tom and began.

“Alright, here’s a quiz.”

“……?”

“Why did the Vampire Clan, considered one of the top combat clans along with the Lycan Clan, defect to the Demon King's Territory?”

As soon as I asked, Tom’s shallow answer came back.

“…For power, obviously. The Demon King offered him a title, so he ran without a second thought…”

“Do you really think so?”

I countered before he could finish his sentence.

“…What are you trying to say?”

“If he truly coveted power, it would have been better to stage a coup within the Beastkin forces at the time.”

“……”

“Why would he stupidly go to the Demon King's Territory? The Beastkin were a group that understood him far better, and someone like Dracula had enough justification to install a puppet king and pull the strings from behind. It’s not like he was treated that well in the Demon King's Territory either.”

I cut him off, pointing out the unclear links in the story.

“…Stop spouting nonsense and get out of the way.”

He didn't look particularly flustered.

It seemed he too had thought that the motive for defecting had a fishy side to it.

…However.

With everyone who remembered that time gone, there was no way to uncover the truth now, and rather than asking further, he seemed to have no desire to do so, instead ordering me to leave.

“…I don't know what you're thinking, spouting such nonsense, but it doesn't matter. His clan betrayed the Beastkin and deserves to be punished. I'm holding back for the sake of the Beastkin, and this is as far as it goes, so get out of the way. If you keep blocking me, you too will……”

Seueuk-

“What do you think?”

Ignoring his words, I turned around and asked Jerry.

“…I was told that the clan was facing a crisis because its position within the Beastkin was weakening.”

Even Jerry, who could be called a party to the events, didn't know the truth.

Psik-

“Wrong. You’re both wrong.”

“……?”

“The correct answer is because the Vampire Clan became too strong.”

* * *

“…What is that supposed to mean?”

“…That’s not a story I’ve heard.”

Both of their brows furrowed at the same time.

The meaning seemed slightly different, but their gazes, which had been fixed on each other, now poured onto me.

It wasn't just the two of them.

The Beastkin surrounding us were also holding their breath, listening intently to my voice.

I turned my head, scanned them once, and continued.

“Literally.”

“……”

“The Vampire Clan.”

Seueuk-

“…To be precise, it was because a single Beastkin named ‘Count Dracula’ became too strong.”

Now, he's been dead for a long time, and due to the tragic end of the Vampire Clan, his reputation has been somewhat diminished.

But in his prime, Count Dracula's strength needed no explanation.

“Count Dracula was an out-of-spec Mutant who appeared in the Vampire Clan, which was already considered the top combat clan among the Beastkin. He was called a Count, but just looking at his rank in the Demon King's Army, he was a being who, as a single entity, held a rank just below the Demon King's top commanders.”

“……”

“On top of that, the number of Counts itself wasn't very high, and Count Dracula was among the most powerful of them.”

Tom, who had been listening in silence, growled and urged me on.

“Well, in the first place. While Counts usually command several races, Count Dracula insisted on his small clan composed of a single race, the Vampires. And despite that, he maintained a combat power that was not just equal to, but superior to, the other Demon Counts… Is that explanation sufficient?”

“……”

“…What are you getting at?”

“Just listen for a bit.”

In fact, if you think about it simply, the emergence of a strong Beastkin was a welcome event for the Beastkin Nation.

Maintaining neutrality when the Demon King's Territory and the Order’s Territory were dividing the continent as two great powers was no easy task.

For the Beastkin, who, while not officially, acted as the leader of the neutral forces, it was something they couldn't have hoped for more.

Therefore, the Beastkin Nation did indeed welcome Dracula's birth.

…That is.

From the perspective of the ‘Beastkin forces’, at least.

The problem was that the Beastkin Nation wasn't the only neutral state on the continent.

“Back when Dracula was still part of the Beastkin Nation, his reputation as the strongest in history became a significant threat to the surrounding neutral nations.”

“……”

“If before, the Beastkin Nation was merely the strongest among the neutral nations, after Dracula, they came to possess a military power on a completely different level from the other neutral nations. They started to worry.”

“……”

“That the Beastkin, just like the Order and the Demon King, might swallow up all the neutral territories to form a massive power.”

And it went without saying, but that thought wasn't limited to the neutral nations.

“Of course, the ones who feared the growing Beastkin forces even more were the Order's Allied Forces and the Demon King's Federation.”

“……”

“At the time, the two powers were in a tense stalemate and knew the balance would collapse the moment one side showed any sign of intervention. So publicly, they pretended not to care, but behind the scenes, they were hard at work.”

The sight of a human reciting the history of the Beastkin Nation in front of them was a bit ridiculous, but soon, no one was interrupting my story anymore.

Even Tom, who had been picking fights at every turn, was now focused on the story.

Just as I was thinking something was off about the strange tilt in his eyes.

Du-du-

I felt a bizarre vibration from the Source Stone near my heart.

‘…Is it because of this?’

It didn't appear in the system window, so I didn't know the exact reason, but it seemed the Source Stone was playing some kind of role.

It felt similar to when it self-generates magic stones.

‘…Heh.’

It wasn't intentional, but it seemed I had ended up doing some ‘scheming’.

I considered stopping to avoid any potential misunderstanding, but it seemed unlikely another opportunity like this would arise.

Therefore, I continued speaking.

“…Of course, Dracula knew that the surrounding neutral forces feared the Beastkin Nation. Jerry, you of all people should know that the Vampire Clan's strength in battle lies less in direct combat and more in the meticulous planning beforehand. He, who was strong in information warfare, must have clearly seen the fate of these neutral nations.”

“……”

“Honestly, even if all the other forces ganged up for a direct clash, the Beastkin, with their combat power boosted to the max by Dracula's appearance, would have drawn at worst, but never lost.”

“…The Order and the Demon King's Army.”

“Right. The problem was the Order and the Demon King's Army, who were covetously eyeing the neutral forces from behind.”

Jerry added a word.

“If a war actually broke out, regardless of the outcome, the weakened neutral forces would be devoured by the Demon King's forces and the Order's forces. Just as those two powers had always done.”

“……”

“A dilemma. If they stayed put, it was obvious the frightened coalition of other neutral forces would declare war. But if they struck first, it was obvious that regardless of the war's outcome, they would be divided and absorbed by the Order and the Demon King's Army afterward.”

It was an unavoidable problem.

The expansion of the Demon King's and the Order's forces was a massive tide, and the shrinking of the neutral forces was a consequence of it. The Beastkin Nation's presence wasn't small, but compared to the two great powers, the Beastkin Nation itself only occupied a small position.

It was a situation so blocked on all sides that even in hindsight, there was no clear alternative.

“Then, all of a sudden, a brilliant move came to Dracula's mind.”

“……”

“Ah. If this whole problem arose because of his own appearance… then if he alone were to leave, it could all be resolved.”