Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1420. Aina Peneloti (11)

I couldn’t help but feel worried by the sight before me. Looking at her now, it was clear that she had completely lost her mind. At first glance, she seemed to be functioning normally, but inside, she was probably rotting from the core.

There was an indescribable madness reflected in her eyes.

To exaggerate it a bit, it was like I was staring at Song Soo-Kyung. That guy had always been mad, so it didn’t feel strange, but I found it hard to get used to the madness I was seeing in Pastel.

Where had the girl who used to follow Peneloti around like a little puppy gone?

‘She’s...’

She completely snapped after Aina Peneloti's disappearance. She probably believed she was sane, that she was making the most correct and rational judgments, and that it was everyone else who had changed, but in reality, she was the insane one.

The very fact that she was still here proved it.

‘She’s not in her right mind.’

And it didn't look like she had been like this for just a day or two...

Early in the war, she probably moved around, gaining experience and meeting comrades, but ever since the Republic set foot here, everything changed. She had been living entirely in this castle, and even though the Republic’s forces were about to arrive, she remained here.

She had completely lost it, and perhaps her hatred of Paint was a product of her paranoia.

“Peneloti...” Pastel mumbled.

The way she held the small gravestone in her arms was ridiculous.

“Peneloti... heuk... heuuuk... heuk...”

She cried herself to exhaustion and fell asleep.

‘Damn, what am I supposed to do with her?’

I wanted to raise her as a mercenary strong enough to make a difference in the Outer Gods War, but at this rate, the Brigade was going to end up recruiting a new member.

No, she would probably die before then.

Having confirmed that Pastel was asleep, Commander Jin began moving. He was carrying me, so I found it hard to tell exactly where he was headed, but it was clear that we were leaving the castle.

The ridiculous part was that the castle actually looked fairly well-maintained. It wasn't anything grand, but as soon as we left the room where we had "died," colorful flowers greeted me.

‘When the hell did she plant all this?’

There was a huge variety of flowers before me. The flower Pastel had just taken out had to have been picked from this garden. The space was fairly large, and it was filled in every direction with flowers, making it look like a carefully tended garden.

The sight of a flower field overtaking a ruined castle was so shocking that I found myself staring at it blankly for a moment. Even Commander Jin looked visibly taken aback.

“This is ridiculous,” Commander Jin commented.

“Why would you say that? Do you have any idea how much effort it must’ve taken to maintain this place?” I said to him.

“All I see is someone obsessing over pointless things... No matter how I look at it, this isn’t normal,” he said.

‘Can’t really argue with that.’

“...”

“...”

‘No matter how you look at it, it’s pretty bad.’

“...”

“...”

Commander Jin frowned upon hearing my response. I definitely believed he found the sight to be incredibly incredulous. Unlike what I had expected, he looked fairly composed, but he was surely hurling curses in his mind.

“I’m asking just to be safe, but... this isn’t your handiwork, is it? Like an error in the subspace or something—”

“That’s nonsense. I’ve already plotted all possible side effects, and I haven't found anything like this,” Commander Jin answered.

“Well, as you said, maybe this is something even you haven't discovered yet,” I said, pointing out something crucial.

“If you’re trying to pin the blame on me, I suggest you look elsewhere. This isn’t my work,” he said.

“Come on, this isn’t about blaming anyone. I’m just saying that it's a possibility,” I clarified.

“That’s a conclusion you’d only reach because your level of knowledge is shallow, Lee Ki-Young. Manipulating the flow of time isn’t something trivial. It’s not something you can solve with a simple mana-based formula. An error made time flow slowly only inside the subspace? You’re letting your imagination run wild,” he explained.

‘Why is this guy so damn grumpy?’

“Then what do you think the problem is?” I asked.

“For now, I’m inclined to believe that the ones who came with us tampered with the hexagram,” he assumed.

“But why would they have any reason to mess with it?” I asked.

“Isn’t that something we can ask them directly? We’ll find out soon enough whether time actually flowed differently while we were in the subspace, or whether the entire subspace was warped to a different point in time. If it’s the former...” he paused.

“They’d have aged,” I said.

He nodded slightly, as it was the most obvious answer. It wasn’t exactly reassuring, but at least the communication channels still seemed to be alive.

Sure enough, he reached out here and there. In the meantime, we decided to hide in the ruined city. Since he picked out a spot carefully, it was relatively clean compared to the surroundings.

After scrubbing the place once with a cleaning spell, he sat down on a chair, striking an annoyingly smug pose.

“What, no response?” I asked.

“No, they said they’re on their way,” he answered.

‘At least it’s not just us who were dropped here.’

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

When I cracked it open, a familiar figure barged in and hugged me tightly.

‘It’s Hee‑Young.’

The masculine Sun Hee-Young was replaced by the usual Sun Hee-Young.

“Sub Guild Master!” Sun Hee-Young called out.

“You’ve been working hard, Miss Hee‑Young,” I greeted.

“Have you been well? Any discomfort anywhere...?” she asked.

“No, not at all. Commander Jin took good care of me, so I was able to rest properly. You don’t need to worry. And you, Miss Hee‑young?” I asked.

“I’ve been doing well myself,” she answered.

One by one, familiar faces appeared.

“It’s an honor to see you, sir.”

Lee Chang‑Ryeol, and beside him was Ha Yeon‑Soo.

“You look well,” I commented.

Alps and Belier were nervously offering greetings nearby, along with the others. At first, I was worried that perhaps they had been waiting here for us all this time, but that didn’t seem to be the case. It became clear that they were warped here along with us.

“Did... you happen to touch the gate?” I asked.

Sun Hee-Young shook her head immediately.

“Then... how long have you been here?” I asked.

“After you and Commander Jin disappeared, we spent five days there, and about three days here,” she answered.

“What exactly happened?” I asked.

With that, she proceeded to explain exactly what had happened.

After our disappearance, they followed Jin’s instructions immediately. While the Union of Kingdoms and the Empire were busy cleaning up, Ha Yeon‑Soo and the others dealt with the Peneloti Family and returned.

Lee Chang‑Ryeol continued tracking the Brigade. There was nothing particularly unusual. The Peneloti Family was already on the brink of ruin, and they were given enough gold to leave safely.

Sun Hee‑Young continued to stay in the city.

Everyone had been gathering information and waiting in the city when they were suddenly transported here, all except for Lee Chang-Ryeol.

“Oh? Then Mr. Chang‑Ryeol...” I asked.

“I was far away. I was outside the range of the hexagram when it happened,” Lee Chang-Ryeol answered.

“So... you've been alone all this time?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“For how many years...?” I asked.

“Four years,” he answered.

‘Damn... good thing he has plenty of mana. He didn’t age that much.’

“Were you okay?” I asked.

“Yes.”

‘Chang‑Ryeol... damn it...’

I really...

‘...need to take good care of you.’

“You don’t need to worry about that, sir. It was unavoidable,” he said, reassuring me.

“How can I not worry? You were here alone for four years... So during that time...” I trailed off.

“Just as you said, I tracked the Brigade and monitored their movements. Less than ten days after the continental war began, I judged there was no longer any reason to watch them, so I focused on investigating the background and the progress of the war,” he explained.

“So you know everything that happened,” I said.

“Yes. I can’t say I know every detail perfectly, but I recorded how the war progressed and any notable incidents. I don’t know how useful it will be, but...” he trailed off.

“Of course it’ll be helpful. We’ve been through a lot ourselves. Come on, have a seat here, Mr. Chang‑Ryeol,” I offered.

“No, thank you, sir,” he said.

“Ah, Commander Jin, stand up for a moment so that Mr. Chang‑Ryeo will have a seat,” I told him.

‘He’s been through so much. His face shows it.’

“...”

“...”

“There’s a lot I want to ask about, but the war story can wait. Right now, figuring out why we were transported is more important. Just to confirm again, Miss Alps, Miss Bellier, Miss Hee‑Young, and Miss Yeon‑Soo, you’ve never been anywhere near the gate, right?” I asked.

“Yes.”

‘Alps, Bellier, are you really sure? You’re not just keeping quiet because you’re afraid of admitting a mistake, are you?’

“N‑no... we’ve never been near it,” the girls answered.

“And Mr. Chang‑Ryeol, what about you? I’m asking to be safe. Did you ever see any of the Brigade moving separately? Heading anywhere near the gate...?” I asked.

It was unlikely, but there was a chance First Ki-Young had opened the gate.

“As far as I know, some moved independently, but none returned to the Union of Kingdoms,” he answered.

“Could it have activated on its own?” Alps asked hastily.

‘Of course that’s possible.’

While there was no particular reason for it to happen, the fact that this gate had caused chaos on its own more than once made it far from improbable.

Someone able to interact with the gate saw that we were trapped in a subspace, so they probably felt frustrated and decided to activate it. It could also be their way of signaling that the previous gate was finished, and it was time to move on to the next.

Sometimes, I even felt like the hexagram gate had its own will. In truth, I wasn’t wrong. It had always acted based on its desire, trying to piece together the first and second life as if they were a natural phenomenon or a rule.

Of course, it wouldn’t cause an accident, but it was capricious, strong-willed, and would always express whatever it wanted.

Considering most of the participants at the debutante ball were incapacitated, it wouldn’t be surprising if it brought me in to fix things.

For now, this was the most likely hypothesis, but...

‘I'm not even sure about this.’

If this theory didn’t hold, then there was only one theory left.

“Kim Hyun-Sung,” I muttered.

He had to have activated the gate.

“...”

“...”

“Sir... your eye...”

One of my eyes was glowing faintly.

“...”

“...”

I had no choice but to speak.

After all, this was why the expedition was assembled in the first place.

“He must be somewhere in this timeline.”