A Regressor's Bucket List Chapter 132

“Ah. If this whole problem arose because of his own appearance…”

“……”

“Then if he alone were to leave, couldn't it all be resolved?”

The brilliant move Dracula devised was precisely this.

For the entire Vampire Clan, including himself, who made up a large portion of the Beastkin's combat power, to leave the Beastkin Nation altogether.

It was a bit harsh to blame the strange current flowing between the neutral forces at the time on a single being… but it wasn't an entirely baseless story.

The peculiar atmosphere that arose in the balance of the three powers—the Order, the Demon King, and the neutral forces, which had been well-maintained until then—had clearly begun with the appearance of the powerful leader ‘Dracula’ who led the Vampire Clan.

Before him, the unity of the neutral nations had never once been broken.

In other words, regardless of responsibility, it was something that would never have happened if Dracula hadn't been there in the first place.

If that were the case, the balance between the neutral forces, which had been so well-maintained, would not have collapsed.

And if the coalition of neutral forces had remained strong, neither the Demon King's forces nor the Order's forces would have dared to covet the neutral zone so rashly.

Of course, since the birth of the Mutant named Count Dracula was an event beyond anyone's control, it was impossible to turn his existence in the Beastkin Nation back into nothingness.

But achieving a similar effect by having Dracula leave the neutral forces entirely was not impossible.

All Dracula had to do was lead his clan and defect from the Beastkin.

That was the conclusion Dracula reached after deep contemplation.

“…And Dracula wasn't the only one who thought of that.”

“……?”

“The Order was thinking along similar lines.”

As is often the case with politics, the choices and actions of a large group are inevitably intertwined with numerous interests.

Dracula’s defection wasn't the choice of a single person, but rather the result of him leaning in the direction the winds of the era were blowing.

It wasn't that his own will was absent, but the Vampire Clan's defection couldn't be explained by such a simple reason alone.

“The clouds of war among the neutral forces back then didn't just appear because the balance of power collapsed. The Beastkin Nation was an exclusive country to begin with; it had no history of accepting other races into its forces, nor did it have any intention of doing so. It was literally a case of smoke without fire.”

“……”

“…And the reason there was smoke without fire was, of course, because someone else came and lit it.”

I couldn't list them one by one, but the small choices made by the great powers to secure their own interests had accumulated to produce such a result.

“The Demon King's Army was intentionally sowing discord from behind the scenes, creating an atmosphere of war. They intended to swallow the neutral forces all at once through the Demonic Species they had planted in advance, should a war break out.”

“……!!!”

“From the Order's perspective, having figured out this scheme, they had to prevent a civil war in the neutral zone at all costs. And so, through the King of the Beastkin, they made a request to Dracula, asking if he would ‘pretend to defect to the Demon King's Territory’.”

Tom’s eyes,

“They said it was the best solution to resolve the current situation.”

widened in an instant.

* * *

‘…Dracula’s defection was at the King’s request?’

Thomas Lycan Hardist.

As a descendant of the Lycan Clan, the proud combat family of the Beastkin, and an outstanding Vampire Hunter.

Tom had hunted countless Vampires, but the story now flowing from U-jin's lips was one even he had never heard before.

All he had known was that Dracula betrayed the Beastkin and joined the Demon King's side, and as a result, the weakened Beastkin Nation gradually collapsed until the nation itself was destroyed.

He didn't know, nor did he try to know, the story that unfolded behind the scenes.

Of course, he didn't trust everything coming out of U-jin's mouth.

No, to be honest, there was no reason to trust it at all.

U-jin was clearly an outsider with no connection to the Beastkin.

And there was no way to verify the source of all the information U-jin was spouting.

Dracula's defection had happened before Tom was even born.

The time the Beastkin forces lost their nation was also a story from the distant past, when Tom had just begun to distinguish himself within the Lycan Clan.

It didn't make sense, logically, for U-jin to know the details of a story that old.

…If it had come from Jerry Junior’s mouth, maybe, but for Tom, it was too much to accept the current story at face value.

Of course, since Tom had a complete aversion to anything academic, he had never studied the history of the Beastkin.

Therefore, Tom couldn't confidently present any evidence to the contrary either.

But, as the saying goes, ‘Even a dog at a village school recites poetry after three years’.

No matter how far removed Tom was from that field, if this story were true, there was no way he wouldn't have known.

If it were, at least one of the Vampires who died by his hand would have spilled the beans before their death, if only to save their own life.

Yes.

That's why Tom thought so.

This was all U-jin's lie, nothing more than a crude sophistry pieced together by Jerry and U-jin, though he couldn't tell who the mastermind was.

“……”

However.

Even as he thought it was a lie, Tom’s lips couldn't move rashly.

The reason was simple.

For some reason, U-jin's words, which should have been sophistry, felt like they were fitting together perfectly.

…Moreover.

『…….』

Though he had forgotten it, Tom himself had once had a similar thought while hunting countless Vampires.

He was confident in tracking the traces of Vampires, a skill that had become second nature through decades of experience, but outside of that, Tom was terrible at the detective game of gathering clues and assembling the puzzle.

He had no talent for using his head, and all the friends who could have helped him organize such thoughts were dead, so at the time, it had passed by as a fleeting notion.

A long, long time ago.

Tom, too, had subconsciously thought.

That there was something, something fishy about the Vampire Clan’s defection.

“…Don't make me laugh.”

However, changing a belief that had been held for decades and had hardened into a conviction was no easy task.

“That’s impossible.”

“……”

“Just look at the dumbfounded face of the bastard behind you. Anyone can tell your words are sophistry.”

Although a corner of his heart felt a sense of unease, Tom tried his best to ignore it.

“If that were true, there's no way I, who have hunted so many Vampires, wouldn't know…”

And before Tom could finish his sentence,

“Because they didn't know.”

U-jin cut him off, holding up three fingers as he added.

“Only Count Dracula knew. The rest of the Vampire Clan simply followed him, their clan leader.”

“……!”

“You know the saying, to deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your allies. If the Demon King's side found out they had defected under false pretenses, they would all be killed instantly. At the time, only three people knew this secret.”

Seueuk-

“The Beastkin King, Count Dracula, and the previous generation's Inquisitor of the Order, who was in charge of handling the Demonic Species and their undercover operations.”

Tom’s eyes wavered once more.

Tom Hardist wasn't the only one thrown into confusion by U-jin's words.

A stir arose among the Beastkin who had been timidly listening to the story while watching the scene unfold.

—What in the world is this? The Vampires were definitely…

—He says the King ordered it?

—…What, so it wasn't the Vampires' fault…

They didn't accept it as the gospel truth, but that didn't mean there was no agitation.

Especially.

‘…The King.’

That word was present in most of the conversations exchanged among the Beastkin.

He was now so distant that, aside from someone of Tom's stature, no one had seen him in person.

It was a tale from a bygone era, but the Beastkin had once been ruled by a being known as the Beastkin King.

Naturally, with most Beastkin wandering as slaves without a country, no loyalty or reverence could be found in their voices as they muttered the word.

But it seemed his influence hadn't vanished entirely, as the Beastkin were particularly stirred by that word more than any other.

Grit-

Was it the word ‘King’ that provoked him?

“…Do not speak his name so carelessly. He is not so light a being that the likes of you can mention him so freely.”

“……”

“Did you think I would believe your sophistry if you just spout whatever nonsense comes to mind without any proof?”

His face filled with rage, Tom shot a glare at U-jin and strode towards him.

Then he looked straight down at U-jin and said.

“…Move.”

“……”

“Even if a part of what you say is true, the fact that their race participated in the downfall of the Beastkin Nation does not change. Paying the price in blood is the only way that detestable race can atone to the Beastkin.”

As if he would attack U-jin if he didn't move.

His overbearing voice was filled with considerable anger.

And U-jin’s answer to that warning was,

“…There is proof.”

quite unexpected.

“…What?”

“I have proof. That what I'm saying is true.”

Answering Tom, who asked back in a dumbfounded voice, U-jin then raised the corners of his mouth and brought both hands to his right ear.

“Although Dracula himself thought it was the right thing to do, his standing within the Beastkin at the time was significant. His defection was not something the Beastkin could take lightly.”

“……”

“They were one of the two pillars of the Beastkin's combat forces, and at the time, Dracula’s individual power was so exceptional that he occupied an even larger share. For the Beastkin, it was an event that would cause a considerable weakening of their military strength.”

He then unfastened the earring he wore and added.

“So, in exchange for defecting to the Demon King's Territory, Dracula received two promises from the Order's Inquisitor.”

“……”

“One, since the Vampire Clan would take on all the burden and play the role of the villain, the Order would serve as a public notary to ensure the Vampire Clan could later return to the Beastkin.”

Jingle-

“And the other was that while the Vampire Clan was away due to unavoidable circumstances, the Order would take its place in fulfilling the duties of a combat family of the Beastkin. In other words, the Order would take over the ‘protection of the Beastkin royal family’.”

Having removed the red cross earring from his ear, U-jin held it up for all to see and added.

“And…”

Jingle-

“This earring, passed down through the generations of the Dracula family, is the proof of that.”

His words were meant for Tom, but also.

They were meant for Jerry.

“……!”

…Jerry's expression completely crumbled as his left hand slowly rose to his own ear.