Chapter 20: How Long Does a Regressor Live?

“I’ll contact him soon enough, so don’t worry.

I was planning to enter the palace the day after tomorrow anyway.

So, how did your outing go?”

At Hyeonwol’s urging, Kang Ryun subtly erased his confident attitude from just moments ago and wore a guilty expression.

Kang Ryun’s complexion was visibly uncomfortable.

From that expression alone, Hyeonwol guessed that even Kang Ryun, one of the top martial artists within Wolsigak, had failed to follow Seol Cheon-yu’s outing.

Smiling as calmly as ever, Hyeonwol gestured with a composed expression.

“I didn’t expect anything in the first place, so don’t even think about following that child from now on.

If you get caught tailing him, it’ll only become awkward between us.

Let’s just flip through these books together.”

“…What if I just closed my eyes and tried once?

He wouldn’t kill me, would he?”

“How can you be sure of that?

What if you close your eyes and charge in, only to never open them again?”

“Still….”

Though usually obediently faithful to his duty of guarding Hyeonwol, a martial artist’s competitive spirit apparently didn’t disappear.

Kang Ryun alone was among the world’s top martial artists for his age, and moreover, Seol Cheon-yu was young enough to be called their junior, so constantly yielding like this might bruise his pride.

Hyeonwol understood, but still, the opponent was that Seol Cheon-yu.

This guy, going against the world’s beloved number one—presumably—without knowing the value of his life?

Startled, Hyeonwol shot up from his seat.

Kang Ryun, unaware of Hyeonwol’s movement, was flipping through documents.

Swiftly moving behind his fearless guard, Hyeonwol swung his sleeve toward his target—Kang Ryun’s back.

The black robe fluttered for an instant, and a smacking sound echoed through the office.

“Ow!

Hey, why is even my lord doing this?

It’s not like you caught it from the Deputy Head!”

“Look at this.

A guy who can’t even dodge my hand dares to talk about the Heavenly Demon!”

“No, this is habit….”

“Habit?

A so-called martial artist habitually showing his back defenselessly?

That’s quite impressive, isn’t it?”

“…….”

Kang Ryun fell silent with an aggrieved expression.

He looked like he had plenty of excuses, but since Hyeonwol wasn’t entirely wrong, he had no choice but to pick up the book beside him with a dissatisfied face.

Hyeonwol had noticed that Kang Ryun possessed martial arts more outstanding than he showed and was deliberately not revealing part of his skill.

Objectively speaking, however, Hyeonwol himself was also a martial artist not far behind Kang Ryun, so whether he could have dodged if he genuinely tried was uncertain.

In that context, challenging Seol Cheon-yu was absurd.

Perhaps inwardly aware of this, Kang Ryun soon returned to his usual demeanor and quietly began examining materials.

He glanced sideways at the person who had just shown him such warm concern.

His broad-minded lord was circling the office looking for materials after standing up.

Hyeonwol had regained an elegant and composed appearance, making it hard to believe he was the one who had just shown rapid and intense movement—nearly equivalent to unleashing martial arts.

His demeanor seemed like a completely different person from the chaos moments ago.

Was everyone born into royalty like this?

No, Hyeonwol was an unusual type even before being royalty.

Shaking off idle thoughts, Kang Ryun shook his head.

Examining materials, Hyeonwol quietly spoke.

“The urgent matter now is the Blood Cult’s future movements, which haven’t been identified yet.

Since the spies we planted near the Demonic Cult have been completely uprooted, there might be some different movements soon….”

“That’s true, but separately, I’m not sure we can continue to hide the fact that Wolsigak is tracking the Blood Cult.

Wouldn’t they have noticed by now that the Demonic Cult has tracked them all the way to the capital?

If it’s discovered that their whereabouts are being handled from Wolsigak… if that reaches Noble Consort Yu’s ears, it’ll become troublesome in many ways.”

“It was bound to happen someday.

In the first place, is there any orthodox sect that wouldn’t oppose the Blood Cult, even if it means joining hands with the Demonic Cult?

The key is just hiding the relationship between Wolsigak and the First Prince’s side well.

The Head’s duties are publicly handled by the Deputy Head, so my face being exposed shouldn’t be a concern for a while.

You too, Kang Ryun, few people know about your mother, so….”

Walking around the room while speaking, Hyeonwol flinched and trembled.

Kang Ryun, listening attentively to Hyeonwol’s words while examining information, sensed something wrong and turned his eyes to him.

“My lord?

Is something the matter?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Hyeonwol, with a smile on his lips, briefly gripped the book in his hand tightly.

This situation, unfolding more urgently than the original story, felt not necessarily bad in a way.

That is, wouldn’t the resolution of the conflict running through the story also accelerate accordingly?

Only….

It seems unlikely I’ll live out my natural span after this.

“I’ll be out for a moment, so please organize the rest of those.”

“What?

All of this?

Wait, my lord?”

Hyeonwol hurriedly left the office.

Trying not to show the throbbing pain in his ankle that hadn’t healed despite the praised gold wound ointment.

It was unfortunate for Kang Ryun, who was suddenly left with a mountain of documents to handle alone, but he couldn’t afford to delay as he keenly felt the effects of the herbal medicine he’d drunk a few days ago wearing off.

The pain, now too familiar, didn’t even elicit a hint of annoyance or complaint from Hyeonwol, but being human, he worried it would inevitably show.

Knowing better than anyone that there was no way to resolve the cause of this pain, Hyeonwol had no choice but to hide it as much as possible so those around him wouldn’t waste mental energy on this problem.

After moving to the Medical Department without meeting anyone, silently, Hyeonwol lowered his eyes, recalling what he’d been trying not to think deeply about.

Now that he’s faced the protagonist, how much time does a regressor have left?

***

Having successfully procured the herbal medicine from the Medical Department Head, Hyeonwol briefly left Wolsigak and went out to the streets.

Thanks to the quickly acting medicine, his physical condition was optimal.

It wasn’t entirely refreshing, as he planned to kill time until Kang Ryun finished handling all the agenda before returning.

Perhaps.

Hyeonwol’s destination was the back alleys of the capital.

There was a reason he took a brief moment between busy work and difficult hospitality to go out.

The matter of the thugs he’d encountered on the day of his reunion with Seol Cheon-yu still weighed on his mind.

Though recently busy with martial world affairs and somewhat neglecting it emotionally, what he had consistently paid attention to since before becoming an adult—before being invested as Crown Prince—was the public safety of the capital.

Of course, in this vast capital where millions of lives surged, he couldn’t oversee the safety of those at the very bottom.

Wasn’t the prime example none other than the young Seol Cheon-yu?

Nevertheless, Hyeonwol’s nature wouldn’t tolerate stagnation in this area.

From the time he could move freely as a royal and a martial artist, he had personally recruited and supported like-minded people to gradually purify the capital’s underworld, where dark culture prevailed, and maintain order.

That organization gradually took on various tasks and ultimately formed what became Wolsigak.

In other words, the organization that was originally Wolsigak’s original form had the role of controlling the capital’s underworld.

Since the goal was regulation and purification, not domination, calling him the head of the underworld might not fit at all, but anyway, Wolsigak definitely had the power to lead and suppress underworld culture as long as it didn’t cross certain lines.

Thus, among those belonging to the capital’s underworld, unless they were special cases connected to high-ranking nobles, virtually everyone bowed to Wolsigak.

Though Wolsigak primarily focused on connections with merchant associations and escort agencies as means of gathering information, the information network using underworld elements also significantly contributed to its intelligence capabilities, so its scale was well known.

Given these various circumstances, in the present where Wolsigak’s influence was clear, incidents of thugs robbing passersby in back alleys had noticeably decreased over the past decade.

He was sure of that….

But having personally experienced and witnessed it in one day, how could it not weigh on his mind?

Hyeonwol, winding through dim back alleys even in broad daylight, headed for the building of the Black Snake Gang, which operated the largest gambling den among local organizations.

Since they also gathered and managed nearby thugs as gambling den security, he intended to find out if something had gone wrong with their management system.

The Black Snake Gang building, dark enough to shout ‘I’m a black path organization’ at first glance, also served as an inn for lodging.

Hyeonwol kicked the door open as if it were his own house.

Bam!

As the door noisily swung open, the gazes of the burly martial artists sitting around tables drinking all focused, shining sharply.

Without any sign of intimidation at those looks, Hyeonwol maintained a smiling demeanor.

The Black Snake Gang martial artists casually rose from their seats.

They seemed to have noticed that the handsome-faced young man wore the same martial arts robes as them under his black outer garment.

“Who are you?

A martial artist?

What confidence makes you so bold without even a weapon?

Scrawny thing….”

“Didn’t you come to the wrong place?

You look like you should go to a gisaeng house instead of a place like this.

Hehehe….

Unfortunately, there’s no one here suitable to accompany you to that kind of place, but I’ll entertain you myself….

Keok!”

It happened in the blink of an eye.

The two approaching men collapsed to the floor with a thud.

Simultaneously striking one in the solar plexus with his elbow and using a knife-hand strike on the throat of the man who had been spewing ridicule, Hyeonwol, with an unchanged smile on his lips, quietly spoke.

“Call your gang leader.”