WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: Ryuu

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◈ Everyone Else is a Regressor (84)

Chapter 16. Racial Alliance (4)

The sound of chocolate snapping crisply reached Lora's ears, sweetly resonating.

It was like a medicine that calmed the vampire urges that surged up every so often, virtually supporting the remnants of her human life.

Initially, Lora loathed herself for thinking of the victims whenever she ate the chocolate, but consuming it daily gradually faded those feelings.

"Delicious, isn't it? Once you're used to this, why not try sinking your teeth directly into a human's neck and drink their blood? It'll surely be much sweeter and tastier, Lo――ra."

"Shut up, you trash."

She had grown accustomed even to Carmilla's voice, which intruded at all times.

She muttered insults, unthinkable in Mr. Jun's presence, inwardly as she chased away that voice.

She nibbled on a piece of chocolate, letting it melt in her mouth.

The soaring euphoria, the faint spread of sweetness, the scent of blood.

An unquenchable, sticky thirst clinging to her throat, akin to regret.

"My lovely Lora, you can't hold out with just that forever. Look around, there's someone you want to suck the blood from."

"Go away."

"Such a pity it's not me. Because you know, the one a vampire desires to feed on is――”

"Go away!"

She hastily stashed the remaining chocolate in her inventory and stood up, sensing someone approaching from afar.

In the early dawn, there weren't many who would gather in the rented lodging's backyard, including her.

Soon, a young man with two wolf ears perked up appeared and greeted her.

"Lora, you're here early."

"Did you sleep well, Gin?"

Relieved that it wasn't Jun but someone else, Lora also greeted him, checking if her lips had loosened.

Eating chocolate slightly uplifted her mood, and showing that face to someone else would make her want to die of shame.

Moreover, she needed to regain her composure before Jun arrived, especially since she got excited chasing away Carmilla's voice.

"Calm down, calm..."

"There."

Gin, hesitatingly calling out to Lora, who was patting her cheeks to compose her expression, said,

"Lora? If there's something bothering you, I can listen."

"What?"

"I mean, I've been in a similar situation before... so it might help. Maybe."

Lora found it commendable that she didn't scream at that moment.

Similar situation? Of course, Gin had aspects similar to hers, but presuming to empathize with her situation uninvited was unwelcome.

Gin wouldn't feel the desire to drink the blood of someone he respected or be tormented by a vampire spouting nonsense in his head.

Knowing nothing and suddenly saying they're similar, she wanted to rebuke him, but――

"――Thanks. I'll ask for advice if I feel like it."

Thinking even this surge of anger was due to Carmilla's influence, Lora managed to reply with a neutral response, clearly a polite rejection.

Even a fool would understand that.

Gin's shoulders drooped a bit dejectedly―― and so did Única's, who appeared similarly disheartened.

"Good morning, both of you."

"Ah, good morning...?"

"Única, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Probably."

Única replied tersely, obviously not fine.

The reason for her expression was simple, as evident from her early dawn presence here―― Jun had dragged her into training as well.

"Is everyone here? What about JiHye?"

Then, the person responsible for gathering them all, Jun, showed up.

As expected, Cyntilla was already clinging to his side.

'Latching onto Mr. Jun so brazenly when you've barely met him...!'

Lora muttered inwardly, grinding her teeth.

It was extremely irksome, but there was nothing she could do if even Jun couldn't handle it, let alone her intervening.

As Única, having greeted Jun, said,

"JiHye said she'll come down after finishing her makeup."

"Why bother with makeup when we're just going to sweat and fight right away..."

"Hehe, even Mr. Jun doesn't know everything. ...I also wear light makeup."

"What?!"

Startled by Única's confession, Jun silently turned to Cyntilla.

She nodded, indicating she too was wearing makeup.

"But why...? It'll all just get ruined during training."

"Jun. Over half the female population on this continent is in combat roles, so naturally, cosmetics are developed to suit that, right?"

"So why?"

"It's not just for skin protection, but to look pretty. Especially for you right now."

"That, that so..."

Overwhelmed by Cyntilla's profound response, Jun stepped back and turned to Lora, asking,

"What about you, Lora?"

"I'm still, also due to my priestess status... I hesitate to adorn myself too extravagantly."

"Is that so."

Jun, visibly relieved, made Lora feel somewhat better.

But she soon realized his relief wasn't exactly pleasing for her.

'Does he see me as just a child, not needing makeup, when I'm an adult too...?'

If Jun knew her usual thoughts, he'd likely be shocked.

Lora's gaze lingered on Jun's neck.

The healthy veins pulsating on his alluring neck.

And the sharply defined collarbones below...

She swallowed her saliva.

Imagining herself leaning on his sturdy shoulder, sinking her teeth into his sweet-blooded neck.

'No.'

She bit her lip, suppressing the urge.

The chocolate, hastily concealed due to Gin's early arrival, filled her thoughts.

But even if she wanted to sneak away for chocolate, JiHye's fully-armed appearance made that impossible.

"I'm here, KiJun oppa."

"Then let's start today too. Everyone, attack together, don't hold back if you see an opening!"

"I've thought about it, but this is just too brute-force, Mr. Jun!"

"That's rich coming from you who suggested it. Now, everyone, attack!"

"I didn't mean I wanted to fight Mr. Jun directly――!"

As usual, the training turned into a small-scale raid where everyone attacked Jun.

Lora sighed, wondering if she could last until the training ended, but knowing Jun wasn't someone to take lightly, she gripped Rotten Mood, emptying her mind.

"Here I go, Mr. Jun!"

And she, too, charged at Jun, who had already repelled all other members with a roar.

The idea Única came up with after hearing about the cat butterfly wearing single shoes was simple yet unbelievably difficult.

'If we rank by the impact on Mr. Jun, wouldn't it suffice to defeat everyone without getting hit even once?'

Nabinia looked incredulous at her words, but KiJun thought it seemed plausible.

If successful, no one could blame KiJun, and it would complicate determining the victor of the faction fight.

Hesitant until now due to unawareness of the detailed circumstances, KiJun made up his mind with those words.

'I can legally postpone the territorial war without anyone getting hurt. It means achieving our goal without getting deeply involved in the guild alliance's complex situation.'

The reason no one anticipated such a possibility was that they couldn't imagine participants of the faction fight being annihilated without even touching KiJun.

However, KiJun excelled in blocking attacks, boasting ownership of Adamant (L), considered the pinnacle among defensive skills.

'I just need to deflect every attack from all directions without taking any impact.'

Judging the level of the goblin representative he saw that day, KiJun humbly admitted that with his current abilities, he couldn't deflect every attack without damage if participants were as capable as the race representatives.

Thus, for the two weeks until the faction fight, to sharpen his evasion and defense in multi-opponent situations and to help Única and the party members grow, he arranged such a crude training schedule.

―Kuuooooong!

With the roar of the Flame Cat, a giant flame hurled towards him.

At the same time, Única, speeding from the left, kicked powerfully, channeling dense mana into her elongated leg.

From the right, Gin, with his axe strengthened by divine beast bones and teeth, charged, baring his teeth.

The coordination among the combatants, including Única, was starting to click.

"Kyak!"

"Kuh!"

Yet, the sharpness in each of their attacks was still lacking.

KiJun's shields, wielded with tremendous force, easily repelled Única and Gin.

Immediately after, he infused one shield with holy fire and threw it straight ahead.

The shield, spinning through the air, blocked Cyntilla's fireball, igniting bright flames――.

"――Caught it."

"Ah!"

Lora, who tried to sneak up behind KiJun, was caught off guard by his swift turn, and he grabbed her wrist holding the sword.

"Mr. Jun... Aaack!"

"You shouldn't let your guard down just because you caught someone from behind."

The moment KiJun caught her, the pink fantasies that bloomed in Lora's mind crumbled and rolled on the ground along with her wrist.

It was the price for momentarily forgetting that KiJun, usually gentle and gentlemanly, showed no mercy during training.

"Oppa, you were the one off guard!"

"Hm?"

Then, with JiHye's sharp shout, KiJun felt a powerful magical restraint constricting him.

While he was dealing with the others, she had completed her magic with unique-grade mana, binding his legs and arms tightly!

―The Unbreakable Internal Clock resists the powerful magic trying to restrain the body.

"Oh, JiHye, when did you learn such magic."

"This isn't the time to be impressed, Jun!"

In front of him, Cyntilla, who had just hurled a fireball, was now charging straight at him.

Initially reluctant to attack him, she became quite adept at sharp assaults after being repeatedly told it would aid his growth.

Though she still lacked murderous intent...

"Ha."

Then, the shield KiJun had thrown into the air to block the fireball returned to him as if tied by an invisible string, aiming for Cyntilla's back of the head.

Rodim, guarding her back, leaped towards it, firing flames to block it.

With Rodim distracted, Cyntilla kicked off the ground, closing the distance, and aimed a fiery fist at KiJun's immobile abdomen.

"No way!"

As she was about to land the punch, one of KiJun's shields surged up, deflecting her fist.

"Huh!"

"Huuuuuh――."

―Crack, craaaack!

Despite Cyntilla's relentless attacks with both fiery hands and feet, she was repeatedly thwarted by KiJun's shields.

―Boom!

Eventually, a heavy kick from him hit her thigh, sending her sliding backward.

Even then, an indelible smile lingered on her lips.

"You're still strong, Jun!"

"No, Cyntilla, you should be more serious."

"I am serious. I didn't hold back at all."

"You're lacking resolve, resolve."

Certainly, the flames Cyntilla produced and the power in her fists and feet were formidable.

But crucially, the will to defeat him was absent, making their exchange feel less like a desperate battle and more like a rhythm game where he just needed to match the timing to defend.

KiJun grumbled as he caught the shield that circled back through the air and smoothly wore it, while JiHye, who had been blankly watching, suddenly regained her senses and exclaimed.

"How can you just deflect all that mana I poured in and move around like it's nothing!"

"Didn't I tell you? My unique skill has evolved, so now these kinds of restraints, barriers, or status effects don't work well on me."

"That's not something you can just brush off――!"

"So, next time, stick to offensive magic like Cyntilla. You can try close combat too."

"How can I go toe-to-toe with oppa!"

With Gin and Lora, both rare-grade or higher in close combat stats, rolling on the ground, how could she, not even reaching uncommon, dare to approach KiJun for close combat...

Imagining herself turned into a mess, JiHye shook her head and slumped to the ground.

"Anyway, I'm out of mana. I can't go on."

"Mr. Jun, I'd like a break too... We've been fighting for about three hours now, I've never done such extreme training in my life...!"

Única, undoubtedly skilled in combat but lacking in endurance and battle sustainability, also declared forfeit.

Gin and Lora didn't expressly give up, but after hours of continuous fighting, their spirits seemed drained, their eyes cloudy.

And Lora, still holding her wrist and blushing, had a strange expression...

"Lora, is there something wrong with your wrist?"

"Ju- Mr. Jun. It's fine, just a little... ah. Ahhh."

KiJun carefully infused the light spirit's power into Lora's wrist, which he had snapped earlier.

Lora, being Ishtar's Priestess and also carrying vampire blood, shouldn't lag behind KiJun in regenerative ability. However, considering how the holy fire in all his attacks might have affected her, he poured in more power than necessary.

"How is it, better now?"

"Ah, yes. I'm fine...!"

Her focus still seemed off, despite claiming to be fine.

Her face was red as if she had a fever, and she appeared restless.

Suddenly, KiJun noticed her gaze was directed below his face and touched his neck.

"Is there something on my neck?"

"No... gulp."

Lora, seemingly parched, swallowed her saliva and inched slightly closer to him.

For some reason, KiJun too felt his body tensing up at her movement.

It was then that Cyntilla intervened, separating the two.

"Ah."

"Lora seems tired too. Let's call it a morning and go have something to eat."

"Sounds good, it's about time anyway. Let's eat and rest a bit before we start the afternoon session. Única, JiHye, you can't skip."

"Understood..."

"This darn oppa."

However, the two, who had been utterly drained, perked up and clung to KiJun upon hearing he had been cooking stew in the kitchen since morning.

Gin, who had been rolling on the ground, also sprang up and followed him.

"Sigh."

Lora, gazing intently at KiJun's departing back, let out an indecipherable sigh and was about to follow when――

"I'll join you..."

"You."

Before she could, Cyntilla blocked her path.

Lora looked up at her quietly, and Cyntilla asked in a low voice,

"Did you try to bite Jun just now?"

"I don't understand what you mean."

Unable to face Cyntilla directly, having hit the nail on the head, Lora averted her gaze.

Cyntilla glanced around to ensure no one was nearby, then, igniting flames in her dark eyes, glared at Lora.

"From now on, you better be careful. I... I can do anything to protect Jun."

"Is that so."

She had no choice but to nod, guilty as charged.

However, unable to suppress the emotions brewing inside her since seeing Cyntilla glued to KiJun's side that morning, Lora eventually added,

"That's for a complete stranger to say."

"You."

"Please, just ensure your excessive obsession doesn't become a burden to Mr. Jun."

"......"

"Hmph."

Stung by her words, Cyntilla's expression hardened, but Lora brushed her off, dusting her nun's habit and checking her clothes underneath before leaving.

Internally regretting her harsh words, blaming them all on Carmilla, who incessantly annoyed her, Lora bit her lip, realizing she could never return to her once pure self.

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