Regression is Too Much - Chapter 291

WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Regression is Too Much

________________

Chapter 291

──────

The regressor fights (10)

A small cafe, rented out for money. Inside, just me and the cat beastman. Only the two of us. (Choi Ji-won had stepped away to give us space. For the record, the cat beastman was male.)

"Ah... is this the right way to do this..."

Even after coming all this way, the cat beastman still looked hesitant. Like a traitor right before spilling information he shouldn't share.

"It's fine."

I gave him a gentle smile, trying to ease his nerves.

"Have you noticed Guntar-ssi hasn't seemed well lately? Look at the state of him. Killing humans left and right. Don't you think so too?"

Other beastmen liked me, which told me something, but there was normally a bit of a wall between different species regardless. Still, this kind of open hostility, this kind of indiscriminate killing, was not normal. Disliking someone was one thing. Killing them was a whole different matter.

"Nnngh..."

The fact that this beastman had agreed to talk with me at all proved he wasn't some extreme species purist, but a perfectly reasonable, sensible person. Which meant he agreed that Guntar's current state was not normal.

"More importantly, did you say Guntar?"

"Ah, isn't that his registered name at the Colosseum? The wolf beastman."

"Guntar. Guntar. Ah. Right. That was the alias he decided to use."

"Do you know his real name?"

"...I know it, but I can't tell you. Only family can call him by his real name."

"Ah, I see."

Then why bring it up at all? I wanted to ask, but I bit my tongue. Couldn't very well snap at someone who'd come to help.

"When we leave our home planet, we're given a new name. We believe names hold power, so we think the true name needs to be hidden."

The cat beastman's voice trembled as he spoke.

"But since the new name is chosen based on each person's traits... some of us end up liking the new name better. Guntar... was one of those."

"Guntar meant 'trickster,' right?"

"That's right. He was always full of mischief, even as a child... such a sharp mind, and yet so much mischief in him... if I tell you about his childhood, on our planet..."

The cat beastman's trembling voice gradually steadied. His nerves must have loosened, because he launched into a story I hadn't even asked for.

"He always loved new things... new knowledge, new information, new pranks... new friends. Always wearing that mischievous smile, always bringing back some strange story..."

"Ah, I see."

"There was this one time too. Everyone thinks 'I'd risk my life for a friend' is just a figure of speech, right? But Guntar actually did it... most of the clever ones tend to value their own lives too much, but Guntar was different..."

"Mm..."

"Is my story boring you, by any chance?"

"No, no. I just don't react much, that's all..."

"Ah... good, then... anyway, to continue where I left off... Guntar wasn't the strongest among us, but he was certainly the bravest and wisest. He buried himself in knowledge like a bookworm, and yet he looked after his friends better than anyone..."

Trouble. The cat beastman's nerves had loosened way too much. I ended up listening to another three hours of his stories about the past. Most of it was about how brilliant and brave Guntar had been.

"Isn't it remarkable? It's been a long time since we last saw each other, but I've always kept his mischievous smile in my heart... I heard about a thousand days ago that Guntar was active at the Colosseum and came here... but he'd already left. I could only see him about once a year..."

"..."

"But not long ago... I met Guntar again after a very long time..."

"..."

"It was a brief meeting, but..."

"...Wait, hold on. You met him?"

"Ah, yes."

I straightened out my scattered thoughts. Finally. Finally, we were getting somewhere.

"It was a brief meeting, but it was quite a shock."

The cat beastman's tone turned careful again.

"I greeted him warmly, like I always did. We were... close, after all."

"Don't tell me."

"Yes."

A brief silence. Then the shocking declaration.

"Guntar... didn't recognize me at all."

"I'm not doubting you, but... was that really the Guntar you were close to as children?"

"Yes, it was him. And yet he asked, like a total stranger, 'Who are you?'..."

The cat beastman buried his face down low.

"Guntar... never hated humans. He wasn't a species bigot. The way he is now... is clearly wrong. Like a different person entirely... Guntar isn't a slaughterer..."

"Hmm..."

"I already heard some crazed human went around killing my people indiscriminately... but Guntar isn't foolish enough to blame an entire species for one person's mistake... that sharp mind of his... why..."

"Hang in there."

I patted the crying cat beastman on the back while my mind drifted into thought.

Lost his memories, huh.

What makes me, me? Ask a philosopher and you'd get a different answer every time, but memory has to be part of it somewhere. Memory is the parchment that records everything about who I am.

If someone loses their memory, you might as well call them a different person. In Guntar's case... it was probably fair to say he lost his memory and went mad at the same time. From what the cat beastman said, Guntar had been quite the fine person, which made this all the more of a shame.

Feeling sorry was one thing, but I still had to analyze this. Why had Guntar ended up like this?

Something felt off. Something didn't sit right. I was missing something.

"Guntar won't even see me anymore... I'm not even given the chance to talk to him... What... should I do..."

"Don't worry. I'll see what I can do."

"...Thank you, even if it's just words..."

After the cat beastman left, Ji-won took his seat.

"...What's with all this fur."

Choi Ji-won brushed off the fur. I laid out everything I'd learned from the cat beastman for her, nice and clear. The truth behind the slaughterer was a beastman suffering from memory loss.

"So, memory loss, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm."

"With this information... is there any way to approach this guy? I'd at least like to talk to him."

"Here's what I think," Choi Ji-won said, slowly.

"Does losing your memory really change someone that much?"

"Hmm."

"If I lost my memory, I don't think I'd suddenly become a serial killer going around murdering people. That's usually not how it works, right?"

That was exactly what had been nagging at me. Did losing your memory turn someone into a psychopath overnight? Could it turn someone into a species bigot?

"Is this the Empress's ability? Or Guntar's own ability?"

Simple memory loss wasn't enough to explain this. There was something more, something I was missing.

"Anyway. I figured out a way."

"A way to what?"

"A way to get a chance to meet Guntar."

"Really?"

Choi Ji-won's eyes went wide.

"But... didn't you say he ignores even his childhood friend's attempts to reach him... that he just stays locked up in his room... if he's the one refusing contact, how would we manage it?"

"It's probably not a total refusal."

Guntar wasn't rejecting all contact.

"That guy's only targeting 'humans.' Right?"

Just looking at registered names alone wouldn't let you tell who was human. On top of that, Guntar was targeting humans ranked in the upper tier.

"You can only see the upper rankings on the screens in the hallway."

"Ah, right!"

"And how many humans are even active these days? Most of them have already moved on to the next Floor."

Guntar's targeting was aimed exclusively at the upper rankings, and yet, despite never once stepping out into the hallway, he somehow had a wealth of information about top-ranked humans. On top of that, I'd never heard of him targeting a player who'd already vanished. At the very least, he was choosing humans who still existed. Whether they refused him was a separate matter.

"So Jun-ho, you're saying..."

"This Colosseum is cooperating with Guntar."

The Colosseum had a friendly relationship with Guntar. Which meant the thing keeping us from meeting him... might be the Colosseum itself.

"So simply forcing our way in probably won't be enough to get us in front of Guntar."

"So we'd need to pressure the Colosseum and find a way to meet Guntar at the same time?"

"Well, here's the thing."

I pulled it out from inside my clothes.

"I'm a regressor, so... I've got one cheat code."

The phrase 'the largest Colosseum in the universe' carries real weight. It means popularity on a massive scale. It means enormous sums of money changing hands. It means countless eyes watching. And plenty of stories to go around.

"Uhhh, hooohh...!"

Which was why, in one building out of dozens, one cat beastman crying his heart out among countless beings wasn't exactly going to draw much attention.

"Everyone!!! For Guntar's sake!!! This medicine needs to reach him!!!"

That is, if a beastman enthusiast with the Curiosity trait and the Mysterious Aura trait hadn't been screaming his lungs out right beside him.

"This medicine!!! Is called an 'Elixir,' famous for its miraculous effect on treating the mind!!! With just this medicine!!! Guntar can go back to how he used to be!!!"

"Who's Guntar?"

"Come on, that human slaughterer."

"What? Guntar was definitely, back in the day..."

"He's changed a lot."

Some ignored it. Some mocked it. Some took an interest.

But the overall pool was so massive that even that "some" amounted to a whole lot of people.

"Isn't that medicine a scam?"

"It's not! With just this, Guntar can get better!"

"Uhhh, hooohh..."

"That's the beastman enthusiast guy. The one who only goes around looking for beastmen. Probably not a scam."

"Is the target this time the slaughterer?"

"Sounds like it could be interesting."