Chapter 130: Regression

Want me to help you?

The moment he heard those words, the first thing that came to Isaac’s mind was that she was under some kind of sorcery.

It just didn’t make sense.

From her personality, her words, the current situation, and so on.

No matter how hard he tried to think about it, none of it made sense. Regardless, Sharen’s bright smile remained.

“…”

“Uweeh?”

Isaac grabbed Sharen’s cheeks and pulled them to both sides. Perhaps because she was a Helmont, her cheeks were the most elastic ones he had ever stretched.

With her cheeks in that state, her words naturally slurred.

“Hai hae hou hoing hisss?!”

(Why are you doing thisss?!)

“…Yep, this is Sharen alright.”

The way she quickly snapped at him and grumbled was solid proof that she was the same ol’ Sharen.

After looking around, Isaac quickly dragged her to somewhere with fewer people.

“So, how did you know that?”

“Hm?”

“The regression thing.”

“Ahh!”

She let out a bright smile and placed a hand on her waist.

“I overheard you and the Grandmaster talking!”

“…”

“Back at Baron Volten’s mansion! I was actually awake back then!”

She boasted, sticking her nose up high.

Though it was foolish of him and the Grandmaster to let their guard down that much, Isaac was glad that she knew of his circumstances in that way.

After all, if she was actually directly connected to his regression, he probably wouldn’t be able to trust anyone ever again.

Because the Sharen he knew really didn’t give off that kind of vibe at all.

Anyway, it’s good that she is just the usual Sharen.

She’d probably get mad if he were to say that out loud. Regardless, he felt relieved.

Meanwhile, Sharen stared at him with sparkly eyes.

“But Isaac, if you came from the future, you must’ve seen the future me, right? How was I? Was I tall and plump, unlike my sister?”

“…”

“How was I? How was I?”

As she said that, she made a ‘sexy pose’ that only God knows where she learned it from, while Isaac scratched his cheek in secondhand embarrassment.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen you again after I left Helmont.”

“Huh…? Really? Aww…”

“But, why didn’t you say anything if you knew?”

“Huh?”

At that, she grew flustered.

Her eyes darted around, as if she was trying to hide something.

What?

“W-Well, you know, back then, I thought that you two were just talking nonsense!”

“…”

“I-I didn’t hear the whole thing! I-I woke up in the middle! T-That’s why—! B-But, don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone!”

“Sharen?”

“I-I gotta go!!”

He grabbed Sharen’s wrist to prevent her from running away, but he couldn’t beat a Helmont’s strength and was forced to let her go.

In fact, his body was lunged forward and almost dragged away by her momentum.

“Just what…?”

It was strange.

The way she acted made it seem like she was hiding something.

Isaac’s doubt didn’t last long though.

Because he noticed the villagers had started running around busily near Rianna.

Which meant it was time for them to enter the Primordials’ Land.

He joined the Northerners. Tying a rope around his wrists, he was being faithful to his role as a sacrifice.

Silverna, who shared the same rope as him, snickered before pulling on the rope.

“Woah?!”

Naturally, he was pulled to her embrace.

And there it was, the ‘tall and plump’ body that Sharen had mentioned before.

“Hehe.”

Silverna stared down at him, whose face was buried in her chest, with a smirk.

But Isaac just calmly fixed his position.

He couldn’t afford to show any reaction here.

Gulp.

After all, the Guardian of the North was watching him closely from behind.

Any kind of reaction he made would make him angry no matter what, hence why he chose not to react at all.

“Stop messing around.”

“Seriously, your reaction is too bland!”

“Do all good-looking guys act like this?”

Anna, who had been watching from the sides, chimed in. Considering that she usually was the one who made Silverna do such a thing, Isaac wasn’t surprised to see her nearby.

At that moment, Pressing Stone, who had been hanging out with Sharen, approached them with a gloomy look.

“Haa… I really don’t want to go in…”

It said with a gloomy tone.

Everyone immediately stared at it.

“What’s wrong? Why don’t you want to go there?”

Isaac asked, but not because he cared that much about the big rock, but rather because he thought he could get useful references from it.

To that, Pressing Stone answered in a weak voice, as if scared.

“You humans might not know this, but to my race, the Primordials’ Land is…”

It didn’t even get to finish its sentence as it started to tear up. Isaac had the feeling that if he urged the rock to answer it’d just start crying for real.

But, as they approached the massive stone wall, Isaac could understand why the big rock was acting that way.

Bam!

At that moment, the stone wall opened its eyes.

Well, not exactly the stone wall, but rather one of its bricks.

“Huh? Pressing Stone?”

Then it started talking.

Isaac felt goosebumps appear all over his body, as if he had seen a ghost, but Pressing Stone answered the brick, as if it was already used to this situation, though its voice still sounded gloomy.

“That voice… Flat Stone? You’re there too?”

“Yeah. I was rolling around and accidentally bumped into a Transcendent and killed him.”

“Oh my, that was a big accident. You’re lucky that you’re still alive!”

“Are they going to turn you into bricks too?”

“N-No, of course not!”

Brick?

Isaac was reminded of their first meeting with Pressing Stone.

[P-Please spare me! I-I didn’t intentionally try to play a prank! I don’t want to become a brick! I’m not as hard as my comrades! I’m too inadequate to be used as a wall!]

Now it was clear why it was so afraid of Rianna and Sharen the moment it mistook them as Transcendents—or rather, why it was so afraid of their sorcery.

The reason was laid out right in front of their eyes.

“This wall… Is it all…?”

Hearing Silverna’s muttering, the eyes on the brick turned to her.

“A human? That’s rare.”

“I-Is it? T-They said they brought us here as sacrifices…”

“Just like us, then.”

There was no emotion in the brick’s voice, as if it was a stone wall—which it was.

Everyone there had seen how lively Pressing Stone was.

Seeing the brick which not only had been deprived of its limbs but also emotions gave them a complicated feeling.

“Why did they do this?!”

Silverna asked, clearly worked up.

That question of hers seemed to wake up the other bricks as countless eyes popped up in the stone wall, all focusing on her.

But, none of the bricks said anything.

It was as if they had forgotten how to speak.

“Because it’s efficient…”

It was Pressing Stone who answered that on behalf of its kin.

“Demonic Beasts are plenty, but there are only a few Transcendents. As a wall, our kin can inform them of incoming Demonic Beasts, and even deal with the smaller ones.”

“Is that really all?”

“It’s also because our kin won’t break nor tear no matter how much time passes.”

What about the bricks that didn’t open their eyes? Are they those who have lost their will?

The more I look at it, the more this feels like a graveyard for its kin…

A stone tomb where one died not because of losing one’s life, but one’s self.

After that conversation, the group went through the wall.

But, even as they passed, Silverna’s gaze continued to linger on the bricks.

Is she trying to make eye contact with them?

That question popped in Isaac’s mind, but he didn’t bother to ask it out loud.

When they got inside, they were greeted with a more peculiar sight than they expected.

The peculiar houses in Benheim Village stretched out, filling their sight, their lower half hidden by not-so-tall stone walls.

It was a serene, calm place.

Save for the Transcendents who passed by, who clicked their tongues, glaring at the group as they walked.

“Humans?”

“Tsk, hope those guys are gonna be burned at the stake.”

“Prisoners? Good, good.”

“Are they gonna be sold as slaves? Please tell me they are.”

“Do you even have the money to buy them?”

“Should I buy one of them and sell them again later for a more expensive price?”

“These merchants are gonna be rich.”

Such eerie words kept pouring in.

Hearing how they were being treated as if they were horses or sheeps, naturally no one in the group had a good expression.

They then headed towards an alley that was visibly deserted.

Earlier, Rankelon had boasted that he knew someone here, and that they could temporarily stay in his place for a while.

“Hehehe, I’m already looking forward to the humans’ land.

Speaking of the guy, he kept hanging around Rianna’s side, chattering away.

Even though he had gone through that long journey, he didn’t look exhausted at all. Instead, he seemed to be excited at the thought that he was going to visit the humans’ world soon.

“I will pull out all the grasses and trees there and let them know that all those things that we are fighting over are merely feeble things.”

“…”

“Then, we’ll achieve true peace. If there’s no reason to fight, then everyone will stop fighting, and both our kinds would grow without a hitch, without any conflicts.”

At this point, Rankelon was already used to Rianna’s expressionless face. Although, he wasn’t Isaac who could notice the irritation on that blank face.

“Ah, I’ll go ahead and talk to them.”

Before they walked deeper into the alley, Rankelod stopped them, telling them that he’d go on ahead and talk to his acquaintance.

And so, they had a brief time to themselves.

Since the other villagers were posing as merchants, they immediately dispersed towards the market.

As planned, they’d come back as long as they were given a signal.

Thinking that the timing was good, Isaac stared at Rianna, who quickly noticed his stare, tilted her head, and approached him.

“What’s the matter?”

She also seemed to notice that he had something to say to her.

Silverna, who was sharing the same rope as him, stared at him from the side, but he just let out a cough and glanced at Sharen.

The girl in question was sniffing around, trying to figure out where the good scent that entered her nose came from.

“Did you…notice anything wrong with Sharen lately…?”

“Sharen?”

Rianna tilted her head to see the girl who was at the end of Isaac’s gaze.

The girl was tilting her body forward restlessly.

She looked like she’d go after the scent she smelled at any given moment, making Rianna feel uneasy.

“Like, if she’s been acting strange—no, I mean, acting stranger than usual… You know what I mean…”

“…”

Rianna kept her mouth shut and went deep into thoughts.

“Nothing came to mind.”

Unfortunately for Isaac, he didn’t receive a satisfactory answer.

Silverna, who had been listening from the side, decided to chime in.

“What happened? Is there something wrong with Sharen?”

“No, it’s just…”

He tried to come up with something to say, but in the end, he gave up, let out a sigh and dismissed it as nothing.

“Ah, actually, there was something.”

Perhaps desperate to help out Isaac, Rianna squeezed out an answer.

“I noticed that I should make her study more.”

“Study?”

Silverna asked, tilting her head.

Isaac also stared at her in confusion.

“Last time, she asked me what the word ‘regression’ meant. She is clearly lacking in her studies…”

“…!”