episode_0013

9th regression.

By this point, I’ve completely adapted to regression.

In the past, I would feel dizzy and throw up my stomach as soon as I returned, but now I don’t feel any pain. I just feel a little weak.

I shook off my exhaustion and quickly figured out what time zone I was in. The method was simple: just ask her how old she was.

Her answer came back.

From what I’ve heard, it seems like she’s regressed to her age of 8. It’s been two years since I picked her up, right after her burn treatment.

Already there… My regression was nearing its end. If I die a few more times, I will regress to before I picked her up. Twice? Or once? I don’t know for sure because the timing of the regression tends to be a bit random. But I’m sure there’s not much left.

It’s a question I’ve been thinking about for a while. What would happen if I went back to before I picked her up at the slave market?

The reason she tries to kill me is because she has a relationship with me. If I had never had a relationship with her, she wouldn’t have been killed.

And there’s no need to even consider that in the first place, if I don’t go to the slave market, she’ll die…

She was a burnt-out slave on the verge of being disposed of.

I bought her instead of having her thrown away because they thought she had no commercial value.

That means, without me, she’s dead.

In that sense, if I go back to before I picked her up, I will never see her again. Ever.

Of course, it hasn’t happened yet, so it’s better to focus on the current task.

The situation is complicated enough as it is.

I looked at her.

She was 8 years old. It was already hard to kill her, but now that she’s gotten to this age, I don’t even think about killing her. I just sigh.

What kind of outrageous development will they use to kill me this time?

One thing I learned from the last episode is that you should never fool her… If you get caught messing with her, not just your hand, but your entire empire will be blown up. It’s better to confront her cleanly and sincerely.

So I just told her the truth.

It started with something like, ‘You are the princess and…’ I had done it several times already, so I was very good at it. In a few minutes, I told her the whole truth. At the same time, I fell flat on my face.

“······That’s why it turned out like this. Please forgive my rudeness, Your Highness. I will take you to the palace.”

This time, I was thinking of going with a completely formal approach. The problem was that I had been too close to her. I would completely exclude feelings and take her to the imperial palace in a businesslike manner. Then, she wouldn’t be obsessed with me.

She was startled when she heard me speak politely.

“Ma, please lower your voice. Master···!!”

“No. How dare I··· The princess is the one who speaks to me in a humble manner···”

“Please··· Please··· Master···”

I couldn’t help but cry as I spoke to her.

“Please, I beg you too···”

In the end, we came to an implicit agreement to respect each other. She seemed very shocked by my consistent attitude of drawing a line.

Regardless, my goal was simple: to get her to the zodiac and keep her distance while making sure she was completely detached.

I don’t know if it’s possible or not. I’ll just give it a try. I’m going to die anyway. The only thing worth considering is that I’ve only been raising her for two years.

From that day on, I served her with utmost devotion.

“I’ll do it, Master. I’ve always done the dishes···”

“Absolutely not. Asking the princess to do such a chore. If anyone found out, they would be in trouble. Or are you trying to punish me later? Are you trying to punish me after I have deliberately made the crime worse? Please forgive me just this once. I will apologize.”

“I, I wouldn’t do that···”

“If not, I’ll do the dishes.”

“Ugh···”

I took all her jobs away. It was a desperate attempt to avoid being caught in a single trap. I won’t say anything later about how hard it was to live as a slave.

So we headed towards the zodiac.

The pace was slow because I had to keep up with her pace, who was still eight years old. At this rate, it seemed like it would take at least half a year. It was a little unsatisfactory, but it wasn’t all bad because it gave me more time to get used to it.

I maintained a completely cold attitude toward her. Even when she tried to talk to me earnestly, I only responded in a businesslike manner. Of course, I never spoke to her first. She, who had tried to ease the awkwardness by talking to me, also felt my attitude and became upset.

Time passed.

The ecliptic was getting closer and closer. The closer she got to the ecliptic, the more restless she became.

“Master··· Can I not go···?”

“Honestly, even if you say princess, I don’t know··· I just feel more comfortable by my master’s side···”

He dismissed her pleading, telling her not to talk nonsense.

She now falls down on purpose and hurts her ankle.

“Master, Master··· My ankle hurts so much I can’t walk anymore··· That’s all for today···”

I haven’t seen him fall for decades, and now he’s falling… and seriously enough to get hurt? It was an obvious trick for anyone to see. A trick to get to the zodiac as late as possible. Such an obvious trick can be dealt with with the right method.

“Please upload.”

“Yes? But that’s too···”

“Hurry up.”

The girl who was carried on my back was initially pleased that I offered her my hand, but when she saw me continuing to walk, sweating profusely, she eventually burst into tears and said that she would walk herself.

“Please come down··· I’ll walk on my own feet···”

There were some minor incidents, but one way or another, we steadily made our way to the zodiac.

The zodiac was starting to come into view. It was the day before we were due to arrive at the zodiac.

The incident occurred then.

“What are you doing···?”

“Look···! Master··· I can do it··· I can do the dishes··· I can do anything··· I’ll be of use to you···! Please don’t throw me away···”

When I couldn’t see her, I went to look for her and found her diligently washing dishes by the river. I clearly told her not to.

The way she washed the dishes and tried to prove her worth seemed somewhat painful and desperate.

And that was just a signal that this round was doomed to fail.

As someone who experienced regression number 9, I can tell you that it was obvious that it would come to me a few years later. It was a sure thing.

To be honest, I already had a gut feeling that it was over, but since I couldn’t really do anything else now anyway, I decided to just stick to the concept until the end.

“Haa··· Stop talking nonsense and follow me.”

“Master!! Please!!”

I abandoned her in the zodiac without hesitation.

She cried and begged and begged until the very end, but I ignored her. And we parted ways as best I could, wrapping things up nicely. There is a saying that there is a chance… Of course, it was not a very meaningful action.

A few years later, I was taken to the palace.

Eventually, I knelt before her again.

At this point, I was just indifferent.

It felt like an inevitable natural disaster. What can I do in the face of a natural disaster? I will try my best, but if it doesn’t work out, then there is nothing I can do. Anyway, if I die a couple more times, this horrible regression will probably end. I just have to accept death. Dying will be painful, but after the regression, the pain will disappear, leaving only a slight sense of exhaustion.

Just close your eyes and face death.

But this time, she showed a different reaction.

“···Why did you abandon me···?”

***

As I was dumbfounded by her new pattern, she shouted.

“Tell me!! Why did you abandon me!!”

She asked me why I abandoned her, as if she was venting her anger. Her tone was aggressive, but she was basically polite. I was dumbfounded. What kind of new pattern is this? Normally, her reaction is to assault or kill someone as soon as we meet. It was only slightly different in the third time. Now that I think about it, the current situation was similar to the third time. Of course, she seemed very angry, unlike the third time.

I answered her.

“What are you talking about··· Just kill me quickly··· You’re going to kill me anyway···”

Actually, I had been asked that question several times. It was a question I usually heard while being tortured. It was a question I heard a lot, especially during my early regression. It was a long time ago, so I don’t remember it clearly, but I definitely remember how I responded to that question.

First of all, you shouldn’t answer seriously. If you say things like you’d be happier living as a royal, or that it was a choice for you, he’ll definitely get mad. The standard way to deal with it is to just silently apologize and repeat. However, since I’ve become a skilled regressor, I’ve come to a point where I can see the bigger picture. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s better to just die cleanly than to live a long time saying sorry. That’s why I just left.

But she paid no attention to my arrogant attitude and only vented her frustration. Her emotions were more sadness and reproach than anger.

“I told you I don’t need anything···!! I just need you··· But why···”

This is difficult. It would be easier to die all at once, but if this continues, the worst possible future will unfold, where I will slowly be tortured with hope and die.

After screaming to herself for a while, lowering her head, and sobbing repeatedly, she slowly raised her head.

“······If you promise to stay with me even now, I will save you······”

She suddenly offered to save my life. I don’t know why, but she seemed very anxious. It was a little unfamiliar. Has she ever said something so openly? I’ve said things indirectly, but never said anything outright like she’ll save me or kill me. What on earth is going on? I felt puzzled.

And at the same time, I felt creepy. The words “I’ll save you” reminded me of the first time I was raised by her with my limbs cut off.

That won’t do. I’d rather die. If I did that, I wouldn’t be able to kill myself. In the end, I shouted. Just like the first time… I pressed the suicide button, so to speak.

“Huh, stop talking nonsense and kill me quickly!! I brought you here to kill you anyway!! This piece of trash···!! You don’t even know the favor of raising me!! As expected, blood is thicker than water, you must be the devil’s child!! Why did you abandon me?!! Look at how you look right now!! Am I the type that wouldn’t abandon you!! A bitch like you··· Cough···?!!! Ugh!!”

While we were talking, she rushed at me and started to strangle me. Thank goodness. Her grip on my neck was so tight that no matter what I did, it didn’t seem like it would loosen.

“Keeek··· Kek······”

I met her eyes. This is the first time I’ve died like this. Dying while looking into her eyes…

She had a strange expression on her face. An indescribable strangeness…

Ah… I’m losing consciousness. My head is spinning. My vision is blurry.

My eyes are closing more and more···

Then at some point

I suddenly lost consciousness.

…That was my 10th regression.