Everyone Else is a Regressor - Chapter 83

◈ Everyone Else is a Regressor (83)

Chapter 16. Racial Alliance (3)

“Meow! Is this cat abuse?”

Even while being dangled helplessly in KiJun’s grasp and carried into the room, the creature kept up its noisy wailing.

“Bad monster, tormenting a good cat!”

“If you keep making noise, you might get arrested for illegal entry.”

“Meow…”

Catsee, dressed like a doll in cat clothes, froze on the spot.

Only once they were inside the room, where no one could interfere, did KiJun drop Catsee onto the floor and lean in close to ask,

“Now, tell us why you came to us and what you want.”

The fierce glare in his eyes, intensified by the mask, shrank Catsee considerably.

In the oppressive atmosphere, making a light joke about merely wandering around and stumbling upon his party was out of the question.

“Ugh…”

“There, there, all good.”

At that moment, as Catsee’s body stiffened under KiJun’s gaze, Cyntilla stroked its head and spoke.

“Don’t be too hard on the cute cat, Jun.”

“Meow, meow.”

“You should snap out of your delusion soon.”

Rodim, who had been quietly perched on KiJun’s shoulder until now, sighed and hopped onto her shoulder, lightly tapping her cheek with his paw. However, it was futile.

“Ah, Rodim. Are you jealous? How cute.”

―Koooh…

At the sight of their master hugging both Catsee and herself, rubbing her cheeks against them, Rodim sighed and looked to KiJun for help.

He shrugged and called for Lucy.

‘Is it possible?’

―Of course. It seems this woman has gone completely mad, lowering her magic resistance significantly…

Considering that Única had snapped out of her delusion the moment KiJun grabbed her, the fact that Cyntilla, a more powerful being, couldn’t break free from her own delusion was a grave issue.

However, once Lucy’s spirit power touched her, it didn’t take long for Cyntilla to regain her senses.

Coming to, she blinked a few times, carefully set Catsee down on the floor, and bowed her head to KiJun.

“I’ve made a fool of myself. The cat was just too cute.”

“Are you sorry for deceiving me… Catsee’s illusion is quite strong, but it doesn’t last long. Isn’t that strange?”

“Let’s skip the apologies and get to your purpose here.”

The atmosphere finally allowed for a conversation.

KiJun, reclining on the sofa in the hotel room, sighed and spoke, prompting Catsee to clear its throat and climb onto a nearby table to speak.

“Actually… I came to find out about the request you received.”

“You’re part of Demander. Why don’t you just ask them directly?”

“That’s the problem…! They’re proceeding with this power struggle without including us Catsees!”

As expected.

It was suspicious from the moment one of the five representative seats was vacant.

As KiJun faced Catsee with a serious expression, gaining courage from it, Catsee slammed its tail on the floor and exclaimed,

“This power struggle is unacceptable on many levels! It’s a scam!”

“Go on.”

“Sever has only recently joined the alliance! Originally, that spot should have been Catsee’s!”

“And how did Sever end up participating in the power struggle in place of Catsee? Catsee is one of the five representative races of the alliance. Logically, there’s no reason for it to be sidelined.”

“That’s…”

Catsee’s explanation was simple.

Catsee had always been one of the weaker members within the alliance, but it secured its position as one of the five representatives based on the strength and achievements of its race’s guild master, ‘Imagine’.

However, this guild master, Catsee, was too stubborn, often clashing with the other representatives.

The other representatives, who never really liked him, took advantage of his absence on a long-term mission to plan the power struggle and conveniently excluded the Catsees, pushing the recently joined Sever into their place.

“Catsee has always relied on a few elites, including our leader. But with the leader and most of the elites away on a mission, those of us left in the alliance have been reduced to mere underlings!”

“It sounds plausible, but there’s one thing that bothers me. The goblin representative, HoneyPub, said that Sever participated in the power struggle without understanding the stakes.”

“That’s even better.”

Catsee stroked the white fur on its chest and said,

“A weaker competitor means the goblins have a better chance of winning the power struggle. They only have to deal with trolls! This power struggle is entirely orchestrated by the goblins!”

“Listening to you, it does seem that way.”

Sever is a race that only appeared on the Reta continent a few years ago.

They are presumed to be from a single civilization, acting cohesively and cleverly concealing their race’s representative.

The guild master of their race’s guild, ‘Hide’, is merely a figurehead, likely put forward to conceal the real power.

“They must have decided to give up on winning the civilization war and instead focus on surviving as long as possible on this continent. They joined the race alliance just to scrape up whatever benefits they could.”

“It does sound like they’ve thought things through for the survival of their civilization.”

“They might already be siding with the goblins. It’s infuriating and heartbreaking that such trash could take the place of our noble Catsees, making it hard for us to sleep…”

Looking at Catsee in front of him, KiJun doubted whether this race could win against goblins and trolls in the power struggle and claim victory.

As KiJun narrowed his eyes, Catsee snorted and said,

“You might be wondering,but our elite Catsee knights, led by our leader, are different! With Lord Boots leading us, Catsee could defeat both goblins and trolls and win the territorial battle!”

“But your leader is currently absent.”

“That’s a valid point… Oh, if only our leader’s return wasn’t delayed, we wouldn’t have to suffer this humiliation…”

“Have you not contacted him? You must have a RetaPhone.”

“I’ve contacted him long ago, but he insists on finishing his mission first and won’t listen…”

Indeed, he seemed to be a terribly stubborn person.

Depending on the outcome of this power struggle, the race guild alliance might face significant changes.

But that’s something for Demander and Catsees to resolve.

“So, what do you want to do? From what I hear, it seems like a lost cause for you.”

“Not at all.”

Catsee perked up and its eyes gleamed.

“If we can push back the power struggle itself, we’ll have another chance! Once the leader and the knights return, we can push out Sever and participate in the power struggle!”

“Is that even possible?”

“There’s enough flexibility in the territorial battle schedule to make it possible! Those damned goblins lobbied the nobles to secretly advance the power struggle schedule just to exclude us Catsees!”

The more KiJun heard, the more his prejudice against goblins seemed to grow, but he decided to take only half of it seriously.

KiJun was still unsure what race Catsee belonged to.

Although HoneyPub, the goblin representative, had been trying to coax him and had been irking Única, that alone wasn’t enough to conclude that all goblins were bad.

“Even if you ask anyone on the street, they’ll tell you that this power struggle by the Demander was originally meant to include Catsee!”

Right, at least that much seemed to be a fact.

Moreover, holding a major event within the alliance with one representative missing seemed suspicious. If there was any way to postpone the power struggle to ensure fairness…

KiJun realized his sympathies were leaning towards Catsee and clicked his tongue.

Not being swayed by prejudice and acting according to one’s own standards is indeed difficult.

But perhaps even Nietzsche would prefer a cute cat over a vile goblin that stirs up trouble.

“What do you think, Única?”

“If you trust the horn on my forehead.”

Única, a descendant of the Monoceros clan with the ability to distinguish good from evil like a nymph, stroked her softly glowing horn and spoke calmly.

“At the very least, they seem more trustworthy than goblins. If there’s no loss on our side, maybe we should discuss further.”

“If you think so…”

Finally, seeing KiJun nod, Catsee’s eyes sparkled as it pounced on him.

“Can you explain the power struggle to me? Maybe we’ll come up with a solution!”

“That might be possible, but, hmm. How can I trust you?”

Due to the magical contract, KiJun was restricted from discussing the power struggle details with others.

Of course, it was impossible to keep it a secret from everyone, so he could share some information with those closely connected to him. However, Catsee in front of him was far from being in such a relationship.

“Grrr, no choice then…! If it’s necessary, now’s the time.”

After pondering for a while upon hearing KiJun’s words, Catsee finally sighed and said,

“Give me a pair of shoes.”

“Shoes?”

“Yes, shoes. I’m not yet worthy of boots, so give me a pair of slippers.”

“Boots? And now a cat in slippers…”

KiJun felt like he understood what Catsee was trying to say.

Although he hadn’t read the original work by French author Charles Perrault, it was likely that half the world, with eyes wide open, would remember the cute ‘Puss in Boots’.

The cat that spoke human language, cleverly helped its master, and could transform into anything―even turning an ogre into a mouse to devour it.

There were many stories that the cat was inspired by Catsee.

And that meant…

“Are you saying you want to become my subordinate?”

Catsee looked surprised at that.

“You figured it out. This is a traditional ceremony passed down among us Catsees.”

“Do you really need to go that far? Even if you listen, there might not be a solution.”

“If it can help our race, I’m willing to sacrifice myself!”

But… honestly, this cat didn’t seem very helpful.

However, Catsee was adamant, and KiJun had no choice but to give it a pair of sneakers he had in his inventory.

They were made of divine beast leather.

“Such a fine gift?!”

“Jun…?!”

Both Catsee and Única were astonished at receiving it.

KiJun shrugged and explained,

“After completing the requested item, there was a tiny bit of leather left, so I told them to make whatever they wanted with it. It’s good that someone of the right size showed up.”

“I see…”

Única seemed convinced and quietly observed the tiny sneakers in Catsee’s hands.

She appeared somewhat envious.

KiJun was also wearing new underarmor made from the divine beast Hati’s leather, hidden beneath his armor.

“…Única? Should I make you a pair of shoes next time we catch a divine beast?”

“I would gratefully accept just the thought… But last time at the forge, you mentioned something similar. It’s almost as if you’ve already marked the next divine beast to hunt.”

“……”

“Jun?”

As KiJun exercised his right to remain silent, Catsee, now fully standing on two feet with the sneakers on, joyfully bounced on the desk.

“I never expected such a generous gift! Thank you, meowster!”

“There’s no need to call me master. And can’t you do something about that ‘meow’?”

“That’s impossible. Oh, by the way, my name is Nabi.”

A name that would suit a real cat.

The moment Catsee, wearing the sneakers KiJun gave, revealed its name, he felt a connection similar to when he made a contract with a spirit. It was probably a spiritual link he could sense due to his ability to manipulate spirit power. Thinking this, he took off his mask and revealed his real name to Catsee.

“Alright, Nabi. My name is KiJun.”

“Weren’t you the burning monster?! And my name isn’t Nabi! It’s Nabi!”

“Right, Nabi.”

“Meowww! It’s not Nabi, it’s Nabi!”

“Nothing has changed…”

It seems the unique speech pattern is just as frustrating for Catsee itself.

Realizing that the magical contract’s restrictions didn’t apply to Nabi, KiJun promptly explained the power struggle to it.

“Hmm, hmm… There seem to be quite a few loopholes.”

After hearing the explanation, Nabi’s eyes sparkled, and it nodded its head.

“Especially the condition that ‘outsiders’ cannot approach the ‘battlefield’ during the power struggle. This means, doesn’t it imply that we can use tricks from a distance?”

“Are you a cat or a demon?”

“But sniping them from a distance one by one would quickly get us caught and end everything. We need a more fundamental plan to overturn the board…”

After pondering for a moment, Nabi’s eyes sparkled again.

“What if we tamper with the teleportation devices they’ll be wearing? Causing them to malfunction and teleport everyone before the power struggle even starts!”

“Then the power struggle wouldn’t be the issue. They’d immediately hunt down Nabi for breaking it.”

“I’m already caught!”

As Nabi, who had sworn allegiance to KiJun in exchange for information on the power struggle, struggled to come up with a useful plan, KiJun wondered if it would be better to take back the shoes and chase the cat away. Just then,

“Hmm. If we can avoid determining a winner in the power struggle, how about this approach?”

Única hesitantly spoke up.

“It’s a heavy burden on you, Jun, but I’ve been considering this issue ever since the power struggle was first explained…”

―Koooooo!

As the ogre, known as the king of terrestrial monsters for its ferocity and strength, bellowed with all its might, the dealers from various parties gathered for the raid were knocked to the ground.

“This bastard, ugh…! Its ‘Battle Roar’ skill is at least unique grade!”

Someone shouted, but that information did little to help defeat the beast.

“It’s impossible, my body… I can’t move!”

―Kuaaa!

The nearly 4-meter tall muscular monster smashed nearby warriors into pulp with a horrifyingly powerful punch and roared again.

“Reserves, should we step in? Or do you want to try more?”

As YeMin quietly spoke while watching from behind, the heavy armored beastman mercenary leading the main raid party clenched his teeth.

He disliked YeMin’s party, which had been gaining achievements and support from the guild, and had tried everything to exclude them from this raid.

Eventually, convincing the guild that three parties were enough for the ogre raid, given their ‘long-term’ achievements, he managed to make YeMin’s party the reserve force…

―Kuaaaa!

As seen, the rampaging ogre was tearing through the three parties one after another.

The problem was the ogre’s unexpected strength and the numerous skills it possessed that they hadn’t anticipated.

The raid leader, realizing they were heading towards total annihilation, gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Damn it… Engage! Now!”

“Just like that?”

“What?”

And this was the moment YeMin’s real battle began.

“When you tried to exclude us from the fight, you were all eager, but now that your main force is in danger, you want us to fight? The situation has changed, so the conditions should too.”

“Conditions? What are you talking about?”

“If we’re going to fight…”

YeMin and her party began to retreat significantly.

The man panicked and urged her to step forward, but the ogre reached him before she did.

Half of the raid participants were already rolling on the ground, with half of those never to return.

The rest, still standing, weren’t in good shape either, illustrating just how fearsome the ogre they faced was.

“The guild must have thought the raid would fail without our party.”

“We learned in the tutorial that when fighting monsters, we should focus solely on the monsters. It seems these people never went through a tutorial.”

MokSoo muttered disdainfully, and YeMin snorted in response.

Their conversation was interrupted when EunShin suddenly mused,

“Would it have been different if we’d joined the Union?”

This reminded YeMin of the man who had recently visited their guild, urging them to join the human-only guild, “Union.” They had declined, seeing no need to complicate their successful situation with guild support. Recalling the man’s distrustful gaze, she couldn’t help but think he was an idiot.

“Pfft, they’d be worse. Those who unnecessarily stir up a sense of kinship and emphasize group identity are the worst.”

“And the one who fell for it is an even bigger fool.”

“Both of you still seem to have hard feelings towards Mr. Choi…”

“I simply don’t trust someone just because they’re the same race.”

Watching YeMin’s immediate response, MokSoo smiled and asked,

“But are we really okay with this? If they die, we’re next.”

“We can win. It’s not like they’re dying for nothing.”

No matter how unexpectedly strong the ogre was, the raid wasn’t entirely without damage.

The problem was that the blood shed by the ogre was far less than that of the raid participants.

“If we could take down that thing by ourselves, we wouldn’t need to resort to such annoyances.”

“That would be cool. Oh, looks like the raid leader is about to surrender.”

“Damn it… I’ll give you everything, everything!”

At that moment, YeMin smiled satisfactorily and discarded the magical device the guild had provided.

It was a device that measured the damage each party inflicted on the raid target to fairly distribute the monster’s loot. Now, it was unnecessary.

“Get the signatures, Shin.”

“Got it.”

EunShin quickly collected signatures from the surviving raid members with a magical contract in hand.

Realizing that YeMin’s party had prepared for this situation, they gritted their teeth but had no choice but to sign, given they had attempted to trap them first.

They would be shocked to know the guild had anticipated this and prepared the magical contract.

Of course, that was a secret.

―Kooooo!

“We can’t hold it off for long―!”

As the ogre charged, not sparing the humans gathering signatures, MokSoo stepped in to draw its attention.

Despite being only uncommon grade, MokSoo, with his high-quality equipment from the second tutorial and advanced defensive skills, had significantly higher defense than the other tanks!

“5 seconds is enough!”

YeMin replied shortly and leaped forward, activating ‘all’ her legendary-grade skills.

With the ogre’s health already below half, draining her resources to leave it near death was no challenge.

“Die―!”

YeMin’s longsword, radiating dazzling light, tore through the ogre’s thick neck as it attacked MokSoo, cutting more than halfway through.

The slender swordswoman, wielding only a needle-thin sword against the ogre’s massive body, achieved a result that left all survivors wide-eyed in astonishment.

“Impossible, such power…”

“Human beings can’t… it must be at least unique grade…”

As the survivors gaped and muttered, YeMin, having swiftly dealt with the situation, wasn’t at ease.

‘If we could have killed the ogre without interference, we wouldn’t have needed these schemes.’

The mercenaries here were only active in small towns.

Merely landing the final blow on an ogre wasn’t enough to celebrate.

She needed to become stronger.

Especially for the day she would reunite with KiJun, she had to become much stronger.