WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 020

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Choi Ji-won is rude (3)

Instead of the cute wife‑cat[1], Ji‑won came into sight in front of my face.

“Uh… hmm…”

Her beloved sword was resting quietly inside its scabbard, but I knew full well she could draw it at any moment.

I had considered the chance that Ji‑won might come looking for me in turn.

Once this many people returned to the clearing, even an idiot would sense something off, and they would naturally wonder who was behind it.

I just did not expect her to act this fast.

“…”

I need to think this through.

If I act all shifty and ask, “What brings you here…”, Ji‑won‑ssi will probably decide, “He is hiding something. Better knock him out first,” and smack the back of my neck.

First, consider how she even tracked me down.

She must have heard my appearance and whereabouts from one of the survivors who came to the clearing, then back‑tracked my trail all the way here. She could not have found me so quickly, otherwise.

That means she knows I am the one who sent them, so I have to figure out why she has not swung her sword yet.

“…Hello?”

Which also means I do not have to start the conversation myself. Rather than babble nonsense, it is safer not to regress if I simply answer whatever Ji‑won asks.

“The reason.”

“Pardon?”

“Why did you send people to the clearing?”

As expected, Ji‑won never beats around the bush and goes straight for the point.

If I try any push‑and‑pull here, I will end up testing her fists or her headbutt.

“Weren’t you the one guarding the clearing?”

I have to be shameless here too.

“What?”

Ji‑won’s face twisted, but I could not back down. The more intense the stare, the more confident I must look.

“From the moment I first woke up in the clearing, I could tell. Of all the people gathered there, you were the strongest.”

“…”

She cannot deny that part.

Because she, by some method of her own, must have sensed that I was no pushover either.

When I was cutting grass in the clearing, the back of my head kept prickling. Anyone could guess whose eyes those were.

“If someone that strong was only practicing swordplay out there, I figured the reason had to be to protect the people, right? I just evacuated the weak to a safer place.”

“…”

“Sure, I am stronger than most, but I cannot protect everyone. So I sent them to the clearing where you were. Is there a problem with that?”

Ji‑won did not answer right away.

She probably imagined I was up to something shady, but once the truth was laid bare, I was just a decent citizen.

She must be pretty flustered. She planned to settle this with a single slash, and now she could not.

“…Food.”

“Yes?”

“How did you know I was going to distribute food?”

“…”

Crap.

I left the clearing exactly one day after waking up there.

Meaning I departed on the morning of day two.

Ji‑won handed out food for the first time at lunch on day two. Information I am not supposed to know.

I must not panic. Answer naturally.

“…Since you resolved to protect them, I assumed you would provide food as well.”

“Hmm.”

Ji‑won frowned, lost in thought at my reply.

So far so good. She did not end the talk with a sudden slash, and she still lead the topic.

All I need to do is put on the good‑guy mask I wore to learn her swordsmanship once again.

The testimonies of the people I saved will breathe life into that mask.

I saved more than a handful of them after all. Looking only at this cycle, I really have been a good guy.

“Fine. I see your intent.”

After thinking it over, Ji‑won nodded slightly. Her ponytail swayed with the motion, catching my eye.

“But take responsibility.”

“…Sorry?”

Take responsibility? Me?

I mean, Ji‑won is pretty and has a great figure, but her personality is, well…

“There are too many people in the clearing now. I cannot secure enough food alone. I need your help.”

Ah.

The responsibility she meant was not her life, but the people I brought to the clearing.

“You must have some stockpiled rations. Lead the way.”

Ji‑won folded her arms and looked straight at me.

“…Sure. Let us go.”

The meat I got from the mutant goblin was far more than anyone could finish in a day or two, so I packed it all up and buried it under a big tree.

Whether it was her trait or just sharp deduction, she somehow guessed that. My hard‑earned food was about to be taken overnight, but fine.

“By the way, may I know your name? Ah, I am Kim Jun‑ho.”

“…Choi Ji‑won.”

One way or another, I had been recruited as Ji‑won’s helper.

In this cycle, I will grow close to her and I will strip every scrap of information about her, down to her underwear.

Just wait, Choi Ji‑won.

I cannot wait for the day you crawl to my doorstep.

“…You are allergic to grass?”

“Yeah. My skin swells up if it touches the stuff.”

“…Then let us take the path you cleared.”

I casually dropped the honorifics, and Ji‑won did not react at all.

I had been using polite speech each cycle because it was our first meeting and she was the benefactor who taught me swordsmanship.

But now, it is time to stand as equals. Speaking casually is the first step.

With loads of food on our backs, Ji‑won and I walked toward the clearing.

Moments like this really make me feel how my level‑ups have boosted my physical stats. I even see some lean muscles on my arms now.

“…”

Of course, I was nothing compared to Ji‑won beside me.

Her arms were corded with muscle and her palms were thick with calluses. Even taking that into account, her strength was outrageous.

Truly combat‑honed compact muscle. In the Tower, you cannot judge anyone by looks. You never know what kind of broken trait they might have.

“…We are here.”

Ji‑won murmured under her breath.

Just as she said, the inside of the clearing came into view.

“…Wow.”

Now I understand in an instant why she came looking for me.

Back when I squatted here all day, the clearing had maybe ten members.

Now there are around thirty people inside.

You cannot help but feel the difference.

And every single one of them was a fledgling who ran away from the brutal reality outside.

If their food intake is triple, their bathroom output is triple, and the space they need to sleep is triple… Oh, crap.

“First, let us divide up the food.”

“Sure.”

Ji‑won and I hurried around the clearing handing out food here and there.

It had looked like a lot when we carried it, but after distributing, everyone only got enough for two meals.

After everything was done, Ji‑won, tireless as ever, picked her sword back up.

I plopped down right beside her.

Whoosh, whoosh.

Looking closely, she was swinging the blade along the exact same path in the exact same stance every time.

Compared to usual, her speed was deliberately slow.

Is she repeating the same sword route on purpose, moving slowly and consciously? I should try it when I practice later.

“Um… Ji‑won‑ssi?”

“Just call me Ji‑won.”

At least she answered this time.

Good‑guy buff plus helping with the work equals she answers, though still curt. That seems to be the formula.

“Okay, Ji‑won. Why are you feeding this clearing?”

From the Tower creator’s perspective, people living in the clearing is clearly abnormal.

It is hard to gather food here. The goblins in the brush only drop junk. It may be safe, but the thick undergrowth makes coming and going a pain.

It is literally the starting point.

Even the timid ones who cannot bring themselves to leave should eventually be driven out by hunger and thirst. That is the normal course.

But because Ji‑won keeps bringing in supplies, the place has turned into a total safe zone.

“For someone like you… finding a Golden Marble would not have been hard.”

Even I killed one mutant and got a marble.

Ji‑won could probably wipe out every mutant she sees.

So I was curious why she stayed with the weak instead of moving on to the next floor.

“…”

Ji‑won keeps swinging her sword in silence.

I figured she was ignoring me as usual and was about to lie down for a nap when,

“Because that is what I was taught.”

She spoke while swinging.

“They said it is the duty of the strong. Even if you cannot save everyone in a crisis, you must at least save the weak right in front of you.”

“…”

“I am just doing as I was taught.”

The look in her eyes as she said that was somehow tinged with sorrow.

“…I see.”

Choi Ji‑won definitely had a story.

The fact that she beats people up for the slightest suspicion must also have a reason.

My heart was about to melt with sympathy for her until I remembered, “How many times have I regressed because of that woman?” and I snapped out of it.

No one in this world is without a story. Even I have my own.

So what decision should the cool‑headed, logical regressor Kim Jun‑ho make now?

Let’s think again.

That look in her eyes was the look of remembering the past.

Family, fellow disciples, a master, who could it be?

I do not know, but one thing was certain.

Whoever told her those words is either dead or unable to be with her for some reason.

And the trace of that person is still lodged deep in Choi Ji‑won’s heart.

Judging by how warm those words were, they must have been a truly kind soul.

“Hmm.”

Come to think of it, whenever I put on the good‑guy mask, Ji‑won never treats me harshly.

She teaches me swordsmanship, tells me why she protects the clearing.

“…Bingo.”

Choi Ji‑won, you see in my act some overlap with that person.

The puzzle pieces snap together in my head.

I now know exactly what I must gain in this cycle.

The day I learn everything about whoever that person was to Choi Ji‑won…

will be the day I hold her leash.

Footnotes:

[1] In Korean, the word is a pun between a wife and wild cat, hence wife-cat.

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