A Regressor's Bucket List Chapter 95

Stretch-

As I stretched, a satisfying series of cracks echoed from my joints.

“…I feel like it’s been a really long time since I’ve slept this soundly.”

One might wonder what was so special about sleeping deeply.

But for me, it was something I couldn't help but find strange.

Ever since I became a member of the Suicide Squad before my regression, I had lived at odds with deep sleep, and especially after regressing, I would invariably wake up screaming internally from terrible nightmares.

Due to the nature of dreams, I couldn't remember every detail, but I knew for certain because the emotions I felt in the dream lingered for a while even after waking up.

This was the first time.

The first time I had fallen into a sleep so deep that I didn't even dream.

“…Is the bed just that good?”

Pang pang—

Wondering if Eliya or Jerry had placed some kind of magical device, I channeled some mana and patted the mattress a few times, but seeing as there was no particular reaction, that didn't seem to be the case either.

‘Hmm.’

I didn't know the exact reason, but it wasn't a bad feeling.

The refreshing sensation I felt for the first time in a while was nice, and once I entered the Darkest Dungeon, I wouldn't be allowed the luxury of deep sleep, let alone a catnap.

Whatever the reason, a good thing was a good thing.

“What should I eat for breakfa—.”

Beolkeok.

As I was scratching the back of my head and opening the door, an incomprehensible sound like *euhek—* came from outside the door, followed by a stream of curses.

Udangtangtang—

“G-get away, you demon bastard!!!”

“……”

“You fucker!”

“……”

Scratch scratch—

“Uh……”

The one who had fallen over upon seeing me was none other than Loxy.

I had no idea what she was doing in front of my door, but she was wearing a necklace of unpeeled raw garlic cloves and thrusting a makeshift cross made of wooden chopsticks at me.

Her appearance certainly resembled the traditional rituals for chasing away demons, so I could roughly tell she was trying to perform an exorcism.

But that part right there was the strangest thing.

“So… if I were to offer a rebuttal.”

“……”

“Putting aside whether or not I'm a 'fucker', I'd think you're closer to being a demon than I am……”

Seeing an actual Demonic Species with the blood of demons acting like this, I had no idea how I was supposed to react.

“Be gone!”

Hwik— Hwik—

“……”

After waving the pathetic-looking(?) cross she was holding a few times while glaring at me, she glanced around and furtively put the cross away.

What on earth was that?

‘…Is this some kind of welcome prank?’

It was too random to be a simple prank, but I judged from the fact that she had put the cross away…

That her prank, or whatever it was, was over.

But my assumption was dead wrong.

“What on earth were you doing in front of my roo—.”

As I took a step toward her to ask the reason for this inexplicable behavior, a stream of water flew at me.

Chwaak—

“……”

“…Get away, you fuckin’ bastard!!!”

Perhaps my rebuttal that I wasn't a demon had some effect, as the title 'demon' was missing from this round of curses.

Ttuk ttuk—

From the context, I had a rough idea of what she had sprayed on me.

Seeing as she had carefully thrown it to avoid her own body, if I wasn't mistaken, this wet stream was likely the Holy Water I had fed her in the Gateway Zone.

…I could figure that much out, but where on earth did she get this?

“…Haa.”

Just a moment ago, I was feeling refreshed and perfect.

‘If you’re going to defy me, at least do it properly…….’

This wasn't a coup, nor was she running away.

It was an absurd situation that I couldn't grasp at all.

Kkiiik—

“…What is all this commotion at this hour.”

I wasn't the only one bothered by the sudden disturbance.

Apparently woken by the noise, Jerry, in his pajamas and with dark circles under his eyes, peeked his head out of the next room and muttered.

“I was just about to fall asleep. I would appreciate it if you would be a little quieter in the hallway. Furthermore, when I have no schedule, my bedtime is from 7 AM, so please be particularly mindful during this time… Ugh—.”

The guy, who had been pointing us out with a deep frown, promptly covered his nose with his arm and slammed the door shut.

Kwang—!

It seemed he had belatedly noticed the raw garlic Loxy was wearing around her neck.

— …I would appreciate it if you would get lost from in front of my room immediately.

His low request could be heard from beyond the violently shut door.

“……”

I tried to recall the events of yesterday just in case, but nothing came to mind.

The thought that the story of the 'Messiah' might have been unpleasant for her, a servant of demons, did cross my mind for a moment, but it didn't make sense for her to suddenly drop the formal speech she had maintained the whole time, start speaking informally, spray Holy Water, and do something as bizarre as bringing raw garlic to wear around her neck.

To see it as an act born of simple displeasure, her behavior today was far, far off the rails from the normal demeanor she usually showed.

At least in my head, I couldn't possibly deduce where this current situation originated from.

Therefore, I had no choice but to ask her for the cause of the situation.

“Speak.”

Heumchit—

“In a way I can understand.”

When I spoke with a little more force in my voice, she, who had squeezed her eyes shut while spraying the holy water, slowly opened them and scanned me up and down.

Then, she suddenly made a strange sound at me.

“…Ugeugeugeuk.”

“……”

Once more.

“…Gororok.”

“……”

Seeing her muttering while twisting her fingers bizarrely, it wasn't hard to tell she was mimicking some kind of sound, but I myself couldn't figure out what she was mimicking at all.

“…Just stop. Seriously.”

Peok—

Ugh—

At that point, having concluded that whatever happened last night, her current state was not normal, I chopped the back of her neck to roughly knock her out, stepped past her, and went down to the lobby.

* * *

Dalgeurak, dalgeurak—

“You fuckin’ bastard!”

“……”

That damn 'fucker' chant continued even after I came down to the dining room.

I had left Loxy passed out on the 5th floor, so of course, it wasn't her who said it.

It was Cheong-yi, who had been bustling about below preparing a 'last supper', mimicking the sound she heard from upstairs.

“…Cheong-yi, you too?”

As I sighed at the sound uttered before I had even taken a single bite and looked at her.

Cheong-yi answered with an innocent expression, as if she knew nothing.

“Isn’t the pronunciation interesting? In all my life, I have never heard such a word… I like its very strong nuance.”

“……”

“I think I will come to use it often.”

“…Do you even know what it means?”

Tilting her head at my question, she soon shrugged and answered vaguely.

“…I am not sure. But the suffix ‘saekki’ usually means something cute and small, so is it not a good thing?”

“……”

At a loss for words at her answer, I roughly chewed a forkful of the salad in front of me and stuffed it into my mouth.

Eujeok eujeok—

It was awkward to explain, and besides, I figured that curses weren't something you teach, but something one learns on their own after overusing them.

Therefore, instead of correcting her further, I turned my head to another person sitting at the table.

I asked Eliya.

“The Holy Water. You gave it to her, right?”

“Pardon? Holy Water?”

“No?”

The only channel I could think of for Loxy to obtain Holy Water was Eliya.

Since this Guild House itself was far from the Church Territory, it was impossible for her to get it herself, and from what I heard, she hadn't gone out much while I was away.

Eliya, who had traveled to the outside world for matters related to me, would have been the only channel to supply Holy Water.

“She suddenly started spraying it at me, calling me a demon.”

Tilting her head at my words, she searched her memory before something seemed to come to mind, and she turned her head to look at the kitchen.

Then.

“Ah, then……”

“It was you, right?”

“It wasn't Holy Water. But a glass of water I had poured for myself to drink this morning did disappear.”

“So it was……”

“But that wasn't Holy Water, just plain ordinary water……”

“…What. So it wasn't even real Holy Water.”

Well… it wasn't a particularly important detail.

It seemed she had mistakenly taken it, thinking that water poured by a Priest would have a similar effect to Holy Water, but whether it was real or fake…

What was important was the fact that she had tried to spray such a thing at me.

‘…But why.’

Her words and actions were so strange they needed no explanation, but to say she was under a spell, I couldn't feel any mana.

Whether it was by magic or something else, if one's mind was tainted by mana, it was bound to leave a trace, but nowhere on her did I smell the scent of another's mana.

In other words, she was definitely showing these abnormal behaviors of her own free will.

‘…….’

Why?

The reason she had come to fear me overnight without any warning signs.

The reason she would suddenly call me a 'demon' and come at me with a cross and garlic, not to mention suddenly looking for Holy Water.

A reason for her to show a 'madness-crazed' appearance, deviating from her usual self…….

‘…Huh?’

Suddenly.

A possibility flashed through my mind.

‘Don't tell me…….’

What if.

What if Loxy's inexplicable abnormal behavior stemmed from 'that name'.

There was one possibility that could explain this incomprehensible situation in one fell swoop.

It was an unbelievable thing, but.

If I had muttered 'that name' in my sleep as if talking in my sleep, and if she had happened to overhear it during the night, it would explain her abnormal behavior to some extent.

I hadn't thought of it because I had subconsciously ruled out that possibility.

But the behaviors she showed did align to some degree with those who had gone mad after hearing 'that name'.

However, despite the faint feeling that I had found some fragments of the truth, I had no choice but to shake my head.

‘…No way.’

Just as I had ruled out the possibility from the beginning, I was the one who knew best that it couldn't be true.

First of all, if such a thing had happened, even in my sleep, the very fact that I didn't know about it now didn't make sense.

And Loxy herself wouldn't have just ended up showing strange behavior; it would be natural for her to have gone completely insane, her ego consumed.

Among those who heard that name to their face, those who could maintain a clear gaze could be counted on one hand, even among the most elite members of the Suicide Squad.

It was inexplicable for a mere underling, a Demonic Species belonging to the 'Magical Beasts' at that, to hear that name and maintain her sanity.

“Phew……”

I was back to square one.

Leaving behind the reason for this still-unresolved phenomenon, I decided to bury the matter until she woke up.

It was a waste of energy to keep holding onto a question that didn't have an answer after this much thought.

And asking her directly when she woke up would be the fastest way to find out the exact reason.

“…Let’s just eat.”