How To Use Regressors

36 – Meeting, and Things Unraveling

I obtained permission from Kang Seongjun and arrived at the prison where Joo Seunghwan was being detained, brushing aside the opposition of my party members.

“Oh… Are you Mr. Yi Yoonseong?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

“Please follow me. I’ll guide you.”

“Then, I’d appreciate it.”

Not long after the guard led me, I arrived at the place where Joo Seunghwan was imprisoned.

It seemed like he noticed me and started shouting, his face lighting up.

“You…! You son of a bitch! Because of you…!”

Clank! Clank!

The guy seemed to lose his sanity when he saw me. Well, since his fate had been sealed, it wouldn’t have been easy to keep his composure inside the prison.

I asked the guard for some privacy, as I wanted to have a conversation with Joo Seung-hwan alone.

“May we have a private talk with this gentleman?”

“Yes, it’s possible, but… Are you sure it’s okay? As you can see, he’s in this state…”

The guard was probably worried that Joo Seung-hwan might harm me. However, it was an unnecessary concern.

As far as I knew, the guy was wearing restraining cuffs that reduced his physical abilities and sealed his magic.

“Yes, it’s okay.”

“Understood. When you’re done, just come back up. If you don’t return within 30 minutes, I’ll come down.”

“Thank you.”

The guard left, and I spoke to the guy.

“It’s been a while.”

“A while?… A while?! This damn brat who deserves to be torn to shreds—!”

Bang!

He seemed unable to control his anger and started pounding the iron bars with his fists.

Indeed, titles don’t lie. His behavior was fitting for someone with anger management issues.

“I don’t understand… Why are you getting angry?”

“What did you say?!”

“If someone sees me counting, they might think that I’m deliberately trying to make you feel unjustly humiliated.”

“This bastard…!”

That’s absolutely true. I dislike people like this. Of course, I myself have not refrained from doing dirty or bad things when I was on Earth.

However… shouldn’t one be prepared to endure the consequences of their own actions if they come knocking?

If you’re thinking of pulling out a knife to stab someone, it’s only natural to be prepared to get stabbed by the knife yourself.

“Don’t you find it strange? I’ve been threatened by you, I’ve been beaten by you, I’ve been on the verge of being killed by you, so what’s the reason for you being angry?”

“…”

“Isn’t it right for me to be angry with you?”

“Shut up!”

“That’s why you’re rejected by the clan and even by the clan master. You fucking idiot.”

“Aaaaah!”

Clank! Clank!

“I… It’s fine… that my arm is shattered. After all, I’ve received treatment again.”

The guy was amazed to see that my left arm was perfectly intact.

“How… How is this possible?”

“Our clan master is a better man than yours. He even called upon the priests of time to heal me. Honestly, I never thought he would reward me to this extent.”

“…. What?”

“You idiot. Well, in the end, I didn’t lose anything, and you ended up being the only one looking like a fool, right?”

“You… you bastard…”

“The world is quite amazing, isn’t it? You, a high-ranking member of a large clan, look like this, while I, a newbie just entering the continent, look like this.”

“……. “

“Come to think of it, I have something to be thankful for to you. Thanks to you, I’ve received various rewards. Haha… Thanks, you idiot.”

“Haha… Hahaha! Hahaha!”

The guy seemed to lose his sanity with each of my words.

“Hehehe… I’ll definitely kill you. This bastard… Someday, I’ll tear you apart and feed you to the monsters…”

“Do you know something? It’s a phrase I often use on Earth… Plans or thoughts are just delusions until they become actions. You’re an idiot.”

“Hehehe… A chick that doesn’t know its place…”

“Well, I was going to say earlier… As long as I have my life, my arm being like this is not a big deal.”

“……. “

“But… there’s something that I just can’t forgive.”

Yes, I was prepared for the possibility of losing my right arm in that situation. If the situation demanded it, I could endure the pain to some extent.

However…

“Because of you… I almost lost Seo Yooju.”

“…. What?”

“You tried to kill Seo Yooju, who came to save me?”

“…..”

“I made up my mind when I found out about that. I had to get rid of this bastard by any means necessary.”

“This bastard… dared to… betray me?!”

“It’s fortunate that this bastard managed to self-destruct without me needing to do anything, but at the same time, it’s disappointing. You… I wanted to send you to ruin myself, but it’s a shame.”

“Even if you, for some reason, didn’t stab yourself with the dagger! This…!”

“Oh, is that what you’re wondering about?”

“……”

“Should I enlighten you?”

“What… as expected…! What have you done! You bastard!”

Thunk!

“Speak the truth! Why on earth did you act that way back then? You bastard…! Answer me!”

“Uh… well…”

“…….”

“For no reason at all. I just rebelled to stay alive, and that’s how it happened.”

Thud!

“Don’t bullshit me!”

Perhaps he was convinced that I had used some trick. Well, it doesn’t make sense for someone to suddenly self-harm without any reason in that situation. So, no one believed his explanation.

I don’t know if there’s a recording device similar to an Earth tape recorder in this world, but it’s better to be careful.

Of course, even if everyone found out that I deliberately stabbed him with intent, it wouldn’t be a big problem… just in case.

In life, it’s best to be cautious about anything. The saying “Even a stone bridge needs to be tapped before crossing” isn’t without reason.

I had decided to meet him because I was curious about what emotions I would feel when I faced him.

“… It’s pointless. I can deal with the living later.”

I didn’t dwell on it. I just thought that his exile was the end, and I would deal with it later.

“I have to get rid of this resentment.”

I left the prison behind, ignoring the man screaming in the distance.

******

In the end, our party decided to join the Eternal Clan, one of the three major clans, after much consideration. We had also considered operating as a party without joining a clan, but it seemed that the party members were quite anxious, so from a utilitarian standpoint, it seemed like we had made the decision to join the clan.

The conditions were slightly lower than the Divine Clan, but everyone, including myself, ended up joining under favorable conditions.

In particular, it was because of Yoo Hyun’s value that skyrocketed even further due to the demonstration.

The master of the Eternal Clan was a blonde woman, and she seemed delighted when we were accepted.

However, there was a problem with An Tae Woo.

Before we made the contract with the Eternal Clan, An Tae Woo must have thought that we wouldn’t join the clan, so he had already made a contract with another medium-sized clan without telling us.

That’s why An Tae Woo is pleading with Seo Yoo Joo here.

“How…! How can I be the only one left out of joining the Eternal Clan?!”

“Mr. Tae Woo…”

“This can’t be…! How can you all join the Eternal Clan and leave me out?!”

“…..”

“And yet, can you call us comrades like this?!”

Hyunjin tried to calm down an excited Antaeu by his side.

“Taehyung-hyung… Please calm down for now!”

“Let it go! You must feel comfortable, right? Because you decided to join the Infinity Clan!”

“Hyungnim…”

Seoyuju, who had been listening to Antaeu’s words, spoke up.

“Taehyung-ssi. It’s unfortunate but… there’s nothing we can do.”

“What do you mean there’s nothing we can do?!”

“… You’ve already joined another clan without saying a word to us.”

“That’s because you didn’t seem like you wanted to join the clan!”

“… Then, isn’t Taehyung the strange one? If we don’t join the clan, he won’t follow us, but he’ll only follow if we join a good clan… It’s weird, isn’t it?”

“…!”

The reason why everyone didn’t sympathize with Antaeu was because of this. He had prepared to live his own life, thinking that we wouldn’t join the clan, and now he’s complaining because he heard that everyone is joining the Infinity Clan.

“Is it really true that Taehyung sees us as comrades? This… feels like he’s using us.”

“…”

“… I’m sorry about this, but there’s nothing I can do. If you had discussed it with us, maybe things would be different, but without any discussion, I can’t do anything from my position.”

“Guardian…”

“… Yes?”

“We all agreed to join the Guardian Clan together, but we became the laughingstock because of Lee Yun-sung, right?! That’s what I had to say!”

‘Well, you shouldn’t say such things…’

It’s not because I’m feeling bad. It’s because I’m worried about Ahn Tae-woo, who’s speaking those words seriously. Because I know that others won’t just stand by after hearing that.

“We were originally supposed to join the Guardian Clan together! I had no talent, so I had no other way to survive!”

Seo Yoo-joo spoke to Ahn Tae-woo in a cold tone.

“… Enough, be quiet.”

As the others were about to react to Ahn Tae-woo, they fell silent in the face of Seo Yoo-joo’s icy voice.

“… Mr. Ahn Tae-woo, this is not because of Mr. Yun-sung, but because of the Guardian Clan. Speak the truth.”

Ahn Tae-woo momentarily froze at Seo Yoo-joo’s cold tone, but he continued to speak, evidently deciding that he had to say what was on his mind.

“It’s because of this attitude! You always… always! You show no interest in me and only care about Lee Yun-sung!”

“…. What?”

From Noble mtl dot com

“I worked hard too! I cleared dungeons with all of you and, despite having no talent, I worked harder than anyone else! Even more than that guy, Lee Yun-sung!”

‘… Hmm…’

I acknowledge that Antaeu made an effort. I have seen him diligently train to overcome his own lack of talent.

However… if there is one thing I have realized in my life, it is the fact that comparing oneself to others and belittling them despite how hard one may have worked is a shallow mentality.

Simply stating that one has worked hard, that one has put in this much effort and suffered this much – it is a psychological desire to seek recognition from others. It is an emotion that everyone has, and it is not something to be ashamed of.

But the moment one spews out words comparing oneself to someone else, saying that they have worked harder than that person, it transforms from a confident desire for recognition into petty jealousy and showmanship.

The people around oneself are not so foolish as to not notice such a fact.

“Why are you only interested in that man? Not just Seo Yujoo, but everyone is the same! Am I not visible? I’m saying that I worked much harder than that man! How…!”

Kang Isuh interrupted Antaeu’s words and harshly spat out his own.

“What the fuck, sir. What did you just say? You worked much harder than Yoon Sung? Why are you belittling him? How great do you think you are?”

“You be quiet…!”

“I understand that you worked hard. But… Yoon Sung didn’t work hard? Why are you comparing? Fucking hell, you’re getting on my nerves…”

“You wouldn’t understand because you have talent!”

“Oh, really? Then does Yoon Sung have talent?”

“……”

“You, do you have any idea how much Yoon Sung has struggled during the three months of lecture time? He even injured his arm this time…! Are you the only one going through a hard time? Stop whining, you bastard!”

Seo Yujoo, unable to contain herself any longer, began speaking after Kang Isuh finished his words.

“Mr. Ahn Tae-woo, there’s one misconception you seem to have. Did Joo Seung-hwan really only intend to threaten Mr. Yoon Sung?”

“…What?”

“You were lucky. After Yoon Sung, it would have been your turn, Mr. Ahn.”

“…Isn’t that something that didn’t happen?”

“…Ha, forget it. I don’t want to mix words anymore. But since we’ve been through life and death together, I’ll tolerate the insults. Let’s just go our separate ways, shall we?”

Ahn Tae-woo seemed unable to hide his anger at the fact that nobody stood up for him.

“You all… do your best on your own. Huh… Seo Yoo-ju. I was a fool to trust and follow you… damn it…”

Thunk –

As soon as Ahn Tae-woo left the lodging, everyone started muttering.

“Ha… damn it, who was that? That crazy… if I had known… sigh…”

“…Your Highness, I don’t think Tae-woo hyung meant that from the heart. It was just… said out of anger, maybe…”

Yoo-rim and Yoo-hyun couldn’t hold back their words.

“Ha… without even acknowledging how much effort Yoon Sung oppa put in…!”

“Hyung! Don’t pay attention to what that person said! We don’t think like that.”

While messing up Yoo-rim and Yoo-hyun’s hair, I replied.

“Okay, thank you.”

Seo Yooju let out a sigh and spoke to us.

“Phew… Anyway… We can’t help An Taewoo for now, but since tomorrow is the graduation ceremony, everyone should get some rest.”

“…. Yooju, you worked hard.”

“Oh no, it’s Yoon Sung who really worked hard.”

Honestly, I didn’t have positive feelings towards An Taewoo. However, there was still a sense of camaraderie as colleagues who had gone through life and death together.

“So that’s why… I don’t feel… happy.”

I couldn’t help but feel bitter about the thought that both me and An Taewoo didn’t have to end up like this.