A Regressor's Bucket List Chapter 85

The Guild House was situated in a rather familiar location.

Kunlun.

The undeveloped land near the Murim Empire where I had briefly stayed when I fell off the train.

“…I never thought we’d end up setting up here.”

I was indeed the one who had asked Jerry to find a ‘Guild House’, but I hadn’t specified the location.

『…Impossible. I can guess your general intention, but this method is obsolete, and it’s not something I can handle on my own.』

『…No matter how I think about it, it’s impossible. This isn’t something that can be solved with money alone.』

『…I have no idea what level of luck would make this possible.』

『…Understood. I will at least make an attempt. However, as this is unprecedented in the last 100 years, I cannot guarantee success.』

…Just as he had adamantly refused back then.

I was well aware that creating a new ‘guild’ at this point in time was in the realm of impossibility.

And because of that, I knew just how absurd it was to hope to get a Guild House in a location I desired.

That’s why I figured if he did succeed in acquiring a Guild House, it would probably be somewhere in a border region of a deserted Demon King's Territory, tucked away in a corner of the Order’s lands.

However.

“…To think there was a place like this in the Kunlun region.”

The area was much more central than I had anticipated.

No matter how Kunlun was classified as undeveloped land, it was, in reality, close to the Order's core territory, within the Murim Empire's sphere of influence.

Therefore, compared to what one would typically think of as undeveloped land, the proportion of Magical Beasts was not high.

The Guild House was situated in a relatively less dangerous location.

‘…Well, strictly speaking, the territory itself is likely classified as the Order’s lands, not undeveloped land…’

Swoosh—

Shaking off the thought, I raised my head and looked up at the Guild House.

A Guild House with a neat exterior, looking like a cross between a castle and a mansion.

While I was being sold off here and there as a Penal Soldier, it seemed some work had been done, as the Guild House was now quite well-equipped.

Ironically, the best indicator of this was the surrounding territory that came with the Guild House.

‘…….’

Unlike the cleanly maintained Guild House, the surrounding area, which could be called the territory, presented a stark contrast.

I could see traces that there were once buildings and that people had lived there.

But that was all that was visible to the eye.

It was, in a word, ruins.

All sorts of buildings, which looked as if they had been abandoned long ago, were crumbling, having lost their original forms.

It was hard to consider it a living territory, as there was no sense of life, and it was so devastated that it was difficult to imagine its past appearance.

“……”

It was desolate.

There was nothing, and no one.

But for that very reason.

“…Not bad.”

I liked it even more.

That bleak atmosphere.

It felt so similar to my own situation, having to start with nothing after my regression.

Step, step—

Putting aside my impressions of the Guild House I was seeing for the first time.

I walked over and opened the main gate of the Guild House.

Creeak—

The scene that greeted me as soon as I opened the door looked quite peaceful(?).

“That’s why I said I would storm that abominable place called a prison and get Oraboni out!”

“Storm it? What do you think the Order is, a neighborhood gang? We’d be caught together before we even set foot inside the entrance!”

“Hmph! That won’t happen. This one is invincible.”

Eliya and Cheong-yi seemed to be having a discussion(?) about something important.

“…How noisy.”

Jerry, who was sipping coffee on one side of the lobby where blackout curtains were drawn to block the incoming sunlight, was judging the discussion with a frown.

“Indeed.”

“……”

“…Should I just put them both to sleep?”

Loxy, who seemed to have already knocked over her teacup due to the commotion, muttered while wiping her face with her right hand.

Observing the perfectly peaceful atmosphere and trying to gauge the right moment, I cleared my throat to announce my presence when the time felt right.

“So……”

Ahem, ahem—

“Long time no see, everyone?”

“…H-Huh? Hero?”

“You……”

“Oraboni! It’s been so long!”

“…So you broke out.”

* * *

Towards my companions who greeted me with a variety of reactions, I briefly explained the situation.

The fact that I had heard from Louis that the result of the appeal would likely be ‘underground imprisonment.’

And the fact that I had requested(?) a special leave from him because of that.

“…The Darkest Dungeon, you say.”

And that I would probably be entering the ‘Darkest Dungeon’ soon.

As expected, what they focused on was not my sudden leave, but my scheduled ‘underground imprisonment.’

It was still a bit awkward to reveal the full details of the deal I made with Louis over the Indulgence, so I didn't mention the Quark.

Regardless of the relatively positive outcome of a ‘reduced sentence’, Eliya’s expression looked quite grave.

The reason was simple to guess.

Although it was a lesser punishment than a suspended death sentence with a fixed lifespan, the weight carried by the term ‘underground imprisonment’ was nearly equivalent.

Grit—

“……”

It was called a prison.

But the most realistic description of underground imprisonment was closer to being ‘released into the wild.’

And a complete wilderness at that, with no lower or upper limit to the creatures inhabiting it.

In the Darkest Dungeon, which preserved the primordial chaos.

From Eliya’s perspective, who knew well that surviving the full sentence and coming out alive was not a common occurrence, a reduced sentence was apparently nothing to be happy about.

I could understand where she was coming from.

After all, what she had wanted from the appeal was my acquittal (無罪).

“…When do you go in?”

“I’m not sure, but probably as soon as the sentence is confirmed. They gave me a two-day special leave, and the final hearing for the appeal is in three days.”

Shrug—

“I’ll probably go in as soon as the leave is over.”

“…I see.”

Jerry nodded along with his reply and sipped the coffee he was holding.

At the end of that brief conversation, he fell into thought, quietly looking down at his coffee cup as if something had come to his mind.

“There is nothing to worry about.”

The only one who showed a positive reaction to the news of my impending underground imprisonment was Cheong-yi.

“I once learned the saying ‘He who is willing to die shall live, and he who is determined to live shall die’ from my father.”

“……”

“It means that if you are willing to die, you will live. And if you are determined to live, you will die. It holds the meaning that with a strong human will, anything can be accomplished. Therefore…”

She patted my back—*thump, thump*—recited the idiom she had learned, and gave me a thumbs-up.

Thrust—

“Go and die.”

“……”

“You must, Oraboni.”

…It was a bit of a chilling comment for a cheer, but it seemed that was what she was thinking.

Swoosh—

“…So that means it’s not the worst-case scenario.”

“Well, something like that.”

Loxy, who had been quietly observing the situation, concluded it, and it seemed the debriefing on my leave was over.

And.

“…Then there must be a reason why a busy man with only two days of freedom would take the time to come here.”

“……”

“Why are you here?”

…As expected from the only one who knew I had regressed.

She threw a question that cut to the heart of the matter.

Just as she said, there were a total of three reasons why I had pressured Louis for a leave and come here.

One was to personally check the Guild House that had been set up during my absence while under sentence.

Another was to check if they had completed the assignments I had given them through individual counseling during my absence.

And the last one was to carry out the eleventh bucket list item, which I hadn't been able to handle due to being hastily imprisoned.

So.

“…To have a barbecue?”

[Bucket List #11]

「A barbecue party to celebrate completing 10 bucket list items.」

* * *

While the others were busy preparing for the barbecue party, I took the opportunity to ask Jerry for a tour of the Guild House.

It was my first time visiting, and while Eliya might have helped a bit with the administrative parts, Jerry was the one who had been solely in charge of procuring this place.

If anyone was to give a tour, he was the right person.

‘…….’

Well.

…The more fundamental reason was that I had something to tell him separately before I entered the Darkest Dungeon.

Swish—

As I threw open the curtains of the Master Room at the top of the Guild House, the ruined territory I had seen before came into view.

“This is nice.”

“……”

It was a bit of an unfitting thing to say while looking at ruins.

But I truly thought so.

That this collapsed city was quite a sight to behold.

Swoosh—

“You kept saying it was impossible.”

“……”

“How did you manage to find a place like this?”

When I turned my head and asked, he frowned, shielding his eyes from the sunlight, and answered.

“…It took a vast amount of funds. Both to find this place and to purchase it.”

…It was only natural.

Considering the current era, establishing a new Guild House was an utterly ridiculous notion.

If so, the only way would be to buy out an existing guild entirely.

That wasn't something that could be done with just money, and considering the scale, it would have required an almost astronomical amount of funds.

“…It was the only blind spot I found after restoring all the expunged records classified as undeveloped land.”

“……”

“The other territories had either completely lost their status in the Order's database and were absorbed into the Constellations' jurisdictions or were deleted after being classified as undeveloped land. But this place was the only one that was treated as a dormant territory while still being an Order-affiliated land near a jurisdictional area.”

The method he used to establish a seemingly impossible Guild House was a loophole, close to the latter option but not exactly the same.

I didn't know the exact legal principles, but he had aimed for a blind spot in the law, where a guild had effectively become dormant and lost its status but could regain it if certain conditions were met.

Simply put, he had bought the territory of a guild that could be conditionally ‘revived’.

…Of course, satisfying those ‘conditions’ wouldn't be an easy task.

In any case, the fact that he had acquired a Guild House and its accompanying territory as I had asked was worthy of praise.

“Well done. Brilliant.”

Clap, clap, clap—

To express my inner thoughts, I gave him heartfelt praise and a round of applause.

But his face didn't look very happy.

“…I don’t think this is a situation optimistic enough to be clapping.”

It seemed his comment was pointing at my state of confinement.

…In a way, it was an understandable reaction.

I had told him to find a territory suitable for a guild, then got caught by the Order, only to show up months later saying I was going into the Darkest Dungeon.

From his perspective, there could hardly be a more tangled situation.

Pfft—

“Is that so.”

Letting his words slide, I looked out the window again.

To be precise.

I was looking at a small cat beastkin child who had appeared among the ruins outside the window.

The little cat beastkin, curious about the suddenly bustling Guild House yard, was peeking in our direction.

—Jackie! I told you not to come out on your own!

Soon after, a mother Beastkin who had appeared from somewhere grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and dragged her away.

“……”

As if he understood the meaning of my gaze.

After a moment of silent contemplation, fiddling with his eyebrow, he explained in a low voice.

“…They are Beastkin slaves I purchased from Shandong this time. In the process of buying this territory, the land they resided on was sold, so I am letting them stay in the ruins temporarily until they find a new home.”

“……”

“…If necessary, I will tell them to move out by tomorrow.”

Jerry’s voice was calm as he explained.

But I could clearly read what was dissolved in that voice.

A measure of bitterness and a measure of familiarity.

And the slight desperation born from the two.

That faint emotion, hidden behind a thorough poker face, was so faint that an ordinary person would have difficulty discerning it.

But for me, his ‘partner’, it wasn't that difficult.

“There’s no need for that.”

“……?”

My reply, shaking my head, must have been unexpected.

Jerry's pupils trembled as he looked at me.

“…Because this territory was acquired for that very purpose anyway.”

“……!”

Fiercely.

Endlessly.