A Regressor's Bucket List Chapter 141

A temporary alliance between Tom and Jerry was formed.

Of course, for two people who had been at each other's throats just moments ago, it would be impossible for a sense of camaraderie to suddenly spring forth from a single handshake.

But, at the very least, it seemed the alliance would hold until they achieved their common goal of finding the next princess of the Beastkin Nation.

Well… in truth, although it was a common goal, their specific objectives were different.

In my case, the goal was to establish a guild and gain strong influence through the reconstruction of the Beastkin Nation.

In Tom's case, it was to find the princess and restore the fallen status of the Beastkin.

And in Jerry's case, it was to somehow stay alive, away from Tom, and carry on the will of his predecessors.

But if their goals had been exactly the same in the first place, this process wouldn't have been so difficult.

Despite the various situations, it was all a necessary process to bridge the differences between them.

Still, the fact that it succeeded as planned was encouraging.

Even with my Regression, it was impossible to see clearly inside their heads at that time.

I had a hunch that it would work out somehow, but even I wasn't certain until the very moment they shook hands.

“Phew.”

In any case.

The bloodline that would continue the throne of the Beastkin Nation, the Beastkin princess who would ascend to the throne.

[Valencia la Vael Tigris]

The preparations to find her were already complete.

As I had told them before.

I already knew her location, and bringing her here wasn't something that would be helped by bringing any particular supplies.

Therefore, we could depart immediately, but…….

“We’ll depart the day after tomorrow.”

“……?”

I decided to take a short break.

“…Why aren't we going right away?”

“……”

Of course, we didn't have the luxury of time.

‘A gift will be on its way soon, junior.’

‘It was supposed to take a bit more time… but I wanted to see how you’d react, so I moved it up a bit. Hope you receive it well.’

I had a lot to do in the first place, and according to Isaac's words in the Darkest Dungeon, it seemed that something I thought was far off in the future would become more urgent.

Considering the butterfly effect that it would bring, there was no time to relax and laze around.

However, departing immediately in this state didn't seem like a good choice either.

“Look at your faces.”

“……”

“If we leave now, I bet it’ll turn into another chaotic mess in less than 30 minutes.”

The situation leading up to the truce had been intense, and although they had shaken hands as if swept up in the moment, both of them wore expressions that clearly revealed their complicated and subtle feelings.

I didn't know for sure, but it seemed they needed time to sort out their own troubled minds.

Well.

It wasn't just for them. Finding Valencia and bringing her here was no easy task.

I also needed some time to prepare myself.

“…First things first.”

The Demonic Species.

I needed to start by understanding more about this unsettling power.

* * *

Tom Hardist found a secluded corner of the mansion where no one was around.

There was no particular reason he had to find that spot, but it had been a very long time since he had been in a space with so many people.

He had lived alone in the Darkest Dungeon for a long time, and he wasn't thick-skinned enough to shamelessly show his face to the Beastkin and declare, ‘I am Tom Hardist.’

Well, he had always been the type to prefer corners, even as a child.

…To be precise, it wasn't so much the corner that was the point, but rather that he liked places where his entire field of vision was clear before him.

Flop-

Since it was such a remote spot, it hadn't been cleaned, but Tom paid it no mind and sat down, leaning his back against the wall.

And then.

Flick-

He familiarly took out a cigar, stuck it in his mouth, and lit it.

Gaze-

Within his line of sight, he could see the Beastkin.

— …I failed to tell you beforehand.

— It’s okay!

…To be more precise.

The Beastkin were huddled together awkwardly, and in their midst was Jerry, offering words of apology.

Normally, seeing such a sight would have surely filled him with resentment.

He would have thought him shameless for betraying his clan and destroying their nation.

But perhaps because a wave of emotion had already passed.

There was no such feeling of welling anger.

Just a complex, subtle emotion that was still hard to define, faintly prodding at the area around his heart.

‘…You can kill me.’

‘…I, too, have experienced the loss of losing my parents. They were hunted by a Vampire Hunter and died a gruesome death. I think there is nothing more foolish than judging another’s feelings, but I do not believe your sense of loss is any less than mine.’

‘…….’

‘Therefore, I believe you, who lost your entire family because of my grandfather, have the right to kill me.’

Puff—

As he exhaled a cloud of pale smoke, the words Jerry had spoken while kneeling before him flashed by like a revolving lantern.

“……”

Was he truly sincere?

Normally, he wouldn't have even cared, let alone wondered.

But strangely, the image of Jerry kneeling kept replaying in his mind.

This was also why he had agreed to that ridiculous handshake earlier.

Even Tom himself found it difficult to precisely define the emotions he was feeling.

The being he had lived his entire life thinking of as his mortal enemy had turned out not to be his enemy.

…No, to be precise, saying he was no longer an enemy wasn't an accurate expression either.

‘…But please, give me a little time. There are things I must do before I die.’

‘…….’

‘Until the Beastkin Nation is rebuilt, I ask that you give me time.’

As Jerry had requested, Tom had only postponed his death; he hadn't forgiven him.

The scars and memories engraved in his heart could not be so easily erased by a few words.

He now understood there were circumstances, but that didn't mean their act of destroying the nation could be turned into something righteous.

The fact that they had left the Beastkin Nation to join the Demon King's Army, and the fact that they had destroyed it, were both undeniable truths.

“……”

Nevertheless, there were two reasons why Tom had agreed to that absurd handshake and to accompany them, and why he had decided to postpone Jerry's death.

One was because of the vampires he had killed while working as a Vampire Hunter.

The moment he saw Jerry kneeling and begging him, fragments of memory flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.

The countless vampires who had died at his hands, so many he couldn't even remember them all.

Among them, there must have been some whose fates were decided as they were swept up by the grander flow of events and the destiny of their race, regardless of their own will.

Objectively speaking, among the Vampire Clan who didn't know the story behind the scenes, there must have been some who were unfairly wronged.

Acknowledging that now wouldn't bring back the dead, but the sliver of guilt remaining on his conscience prevented him from raising his hand against Jerry, who was kneeling and begging for a postponement of his death.

The enemy who killed his family in exchange for their lives.

It couldn't substitute for the price of Jerry's life, but he thought that granting him time, as Jerry had asked, might be acceptable.

After all, now that he knew he was alive, he was confident he could find him anytime, even if he ran away.

“……”

And there was one other reason.

It was the name that came from U-jin's mouth.

Valencia la Vael Tigris.

It was because he had been told of the survival of the one he once served, the bloodline of the Beastkin royal family, the woman who would have become the next queen of the Beastkin.

“…Princess.”

He had thought she was dead for sure.

He had scoured the former territory of the Beastkin Nation hundreds of times and searched all plausible nearby regions and prominent areas across the entire continent.

Tom had searched for her so diligently that he had even gone to underground information brokers, paid them, and asked them to look for her, yet he had been unable to find even a single trace.

And yet.

U-jin had said it.

That she was alive.

To simply deny it as impossible, the credibility of the stories that had come from U-jin's mouth so far was too high.

The matter of the vampires alone was such a complete story that when he assembled the puzzle in his mind, he couldn't think of any errors.

He had a precise understanding of the reasons for the unknown incidents and developments discovered at the time, to the point where it was difficult to deny even if he wanted to.

If there was one unsettling part, it was how on earth U-jin, a mere Hero candidate, knew such information.

But at this point, the quality of the information was too high to argue about its source.

“…For now.”

Taking another drag of his cigar, Tom decided to erase everything else from his complicated mind.

And he left only two sentences.

1. Kill the enemy of my family, Jerry Dracula Junior. However, delay the timing until the reconstruction of the Beastkin Nation.

2. Confirm the Princess's survival and find her. Then, rebuild the Beastkin Nation.

Of course, the possibility that U-jin was lying was not entirely nonexistent.

Although U-jin's explanation was very complete and his credibility up to that point was high, it didn't mean that Tom trusted his every word.

It might have been different if there was some sort of physical evidence to give him certainty, but the only things that could be called evidence were a strange cross-shaped earring that he didn't know much about, and the fact that U-jin knew the princess's name, ‘Valencia la Vael Tigris’.

These two things alone could raise the credibility to some extent, but they weren't great enough evidence to provide certainty.

But Tom decided to move forward for now under the assumption that U-jin's words were true.

If U-jin was lying, he could deal with that when the time came.

The two things he had sworn upon for the rest of his life.

Avenging his family was as good as accomplished, having secured the last Vampire, ‘Jerry Dracula,’ right beside him.

In that case, the only duty remaining for him was to restore the status of the Beastkin Nation.

For now, his task was to find the princess, who might be alive.

And to do what would be helpful to her.

Sizzzle—

By the time he had finished the cigar and pressed it out against the wall.

His complicated mind had become quite organized.

And just as Tom was about to get up from his spot.

“…Hey there. Dog-like fellow.”

“……?”

“I have something I want to talk to you about for a moment.”

A familiar voice came from above him.

It was the little companion of U-jin's whom he had sent flying when he first arrived here.

It was Shim Cheong.