Absolute Regression - Chapter 396



Only Noblemtl

No, it’s not the 396th! This is a trip!

The moment I heard the words Bukhae Ice Palace, this thought came to mind.

‘Ian, I guess it’s fate that tells me to go see you.’

It was a place I had never thought of, but I heard about it twice in one day. And it wasn’t something I just heard in passing. Aren’t both Ian and Chwima people who have deep connections with me?

“Why are you so surprised?”

“I thought my brother was someone who received alcohol gifts from the Ice Palace every year.”

“I won’t be ignored by you. If I go out, I will be recognized as a person.”

How can you not know? I know better than anyone else. How scary a drunkard can be when he gets really drunk and goes wild. The word drunkard is a word that can only be used to describe someone who is a bloodthirsty demon.

“But is it really something that you need to discuss with Sword Master about not sending alcohol from the Ice Palace?”

For a moment, a look of confusion flashed across Chwima’s eyes.

“You don’t know how delicious the iced wine is there.”

“Then, while we’re on the subject, should we go to the Bukhae Ice Palace together?”

“The two of us?”

“If you don’t send me the alcohol, I can just go and drink it myself. If I go there myself, you wouldn’t give me a glass of ice wine, right? Let’s have a glass of ice wine at the top of the mountain.”

It would be a lie if I said that I didn’t care about Chwima, who always lamented that he was the last to take a backseat. I wanted to spend time with Chwima this time.

Drinking iced tea with your partner while getting hit by the falling snow on top of Seol Mountain?

Oh, I get excited just thinking about it. It will be a truly unforgettable moment.

Besides, didn’t I go to the hot springs in the snowfield yesterday? Yes, this is destiny to go to the North Sea.

“Let’s go together.”

I thought he would naturally say yes, but unexpectedly, he refused.

“I’m done.”

“What? You said you wanted to hang out with me every day. Was that all you did? You said you wanted to go on a trip?”

“I have something to do.”

Judging by the way he looked, there definitely seemed to be something going on.

I wondered if there was something unspoken about the Ice Palace, but I didn’t ask.

Among the demons, Chwima was the one who treated him most openly. That’s why he could ask him questions one by one, and even act coy, saying that it was because he didn’t want to be separated from Yeo-bin.

But that wasn’t the case.

When the other person signals, “Here we go,” you should back off. We always make mistakes and are rude to people who are comfortable.

The more comfortable someone is, the more considerate and caring you should be. That is, if you think about the efforts of the other person that are incorporated into that comfort.

So I changed the subject first.

“How did you think the meeting went yesterday, hyung?”

“Do you know why I particularly liked this meeting?”

“What is it?”

“The fact that the meeting was held in a tavern. I like the fact that your magician is in a tavern even more.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Chwima’s words. It was the moment when the Pungryu tavern gained another meaning. It was the place where my magic way and Chwima’s drinking way met.

After talking about this and that with him, we parted ways. Neither he nor I ever brought up the topic of going to the North Sea.

* * *

After parting ways with Chwima, Geommugeuk returned to the residence of Hyeolcheon Doma.

The reason I came to Doma today was to express my gratitude for helping us conclude the meeting successfully. However, the purpose of my visit has now changed to a greeting before leaving for the North Sea.

Doma and Geomjon were chatting in the yard while looking at the flowers they had planted.

Geommugeuk stood next to the two people and spoke.

“The flowers are really pretty.”

Just looking at it makes me feel good.

Ilhwageomjon looked at Geommugeuk looking at the flowers. He felt that he really liked the flowers and that he wasn’t pretending to like them just to show them to himself.

“Should I plant some flowers in the yard too?”

“No, I’ll die soon because I’ve been running around so much. I’ll have to go out again this time.”

“Where?”

“I have some business to attend to in the North Sea.”

At the word Bukhae, Hyeolcheondoma asked with a surprised expression.

“Why there?”

“My right arm says my heart is frozen there.”

Bloodthirsty Demon didn’t understand the nonsense of the Sword Dance.

“What are you going to do next?”

“What could be more surprising than the Jeongsa-ma meeting?”

“If it were you.”

Bloodthirsty Demon sighed and shook his head.

“I thought spring had come, but it’s starting to snow again!”

Ilhwageomjon accepted those words.

“Blood will be sprinkled on the pure white snow.”

Judging from what I’ve shown so far, I deserve this kind of misunderstanding.

“No, don’t get me wrong! I’m just going to meet people! I’m going to meet Ian. Laughing, talking, sightseeing. I’m going to look for a good place to eat in the North Sea.”

The two looked at each other as if they hadn’t heard and sighed.

“How many more will die this time?”

No! This is a trip to the North Sea!

* * *

Before leaving for the North Sea, I went around diligently to say hello. Last time, when I went to rescue Jo Chun-bae’s family, I left school in a hurry, but this time I said hello to everyone. This time, I planned to go around the Central Plains with Ian.

My father only said one thing.

“Don’t have an accident!”

Master Kwon Ma added a word to the words, “Do not cause accidents.”

“The Ice Palace Master is a cold person.”

I know. How cold that person is. That’s why he has a personality that fits the name of Ice Palace Master so well.

The Poison King and Ma-bul never met. The two of them went deep into the Cheon-dok-rim to dig up poisonous plants.

“That’s too much! Do you two always drink together without me?”

The words he left for Sangseon to be passed on echoed throughout Cheon Dokrim.

Of course, that’s what they said, but I feel like when the two of them hang out together, it’s a positive influence on both of them.

The Subhonmajon unexpectedly calmly revealed his true feelings.

“I hope there will be a day when I can go out with you too.”

I guess he was jealous of the way I hung out with other Amazons.

I gave her the most encouraging words.

“You are the first Amazon of the next generation. You will have many opportunities to do so when the time comes.”

Seophon-ah, don’t forget that now is the time to bury your life in effort. Only when you have that time can you become the Demon Lord you are looking at now. Could the big fist of Kwonma and the shining mask of the evil Soma have just been created?

I just hope she grows up to be a wonderful Amazon.

And the person who impressed me more than anyone else was the evil Soma.

When I entered the abode of the evil soma, I was shocked.

The room had changed. A new bed was placed on the opposite wall from the one I had brought. And surprisingly, the evil Soma was sitting on that bed. He was always standing in the middle of the empty room, sitting on the bed.

“Soma-sama!”

“Are you here?”

“Finally, Soma-sama has a bed.”

“I bought one this time.”

I was really happy. He knew my heart that I had moved my bed to his room. Now I can sleep comfortably in my bed.

“Sleeping in bed is more comfortable and better than I thought.”

I sat on my bed and looked at the evil Soma sitting on the other side of his bed.

Since the position has changed, the view he sees will also change. This change will also change him. Just like me, Soma was getting stronger.

“I plan to go to the North Sea.”

“What brings you here?”

“I’m going to see the pretty heart.”

When I first used the expression “beautiful heart,” the evil Soma was also there. So you probably know who I’m referring to.

“I used to think that I wouldn’t become strong if I didn’t take care of it, I would become strong if I just left it alone. I think I’ve reached my limit now. I have to go see it.”

The two eyes behind the white mask smiled charmingly. He spoke, recalling a joke he had made to tease Ian before.

“If the heart you are talking about is the ugly heart I know, it will beat well even in the cold.”

* * *

That night, the drunkard came to see me.

“Want to have a drink?”

“Okay.”

Whenever I drink alcohol with my partner, I always drink at the drinking establishment, but today, we sat across from each other in the front yard of my house.

“I’m going to go to Bukhae by myself. You know Ian, who was my bodyguard? He’s there right now. But since you mentioned the Ice Palace, I wanted to go and see it.”

“The reason I said I wouldn’t go with you is.”

It seems like that was on his mind. He kept complaining that she wouldn’t play with him, but when it came time to go, he basically said no.

“There is a place inside the Ice Palace where they brew alcohol. It’s called Baekjuseolwon (百酒雪院). I know Wonju and the cider there.”

I asked just in case.

“Is Wonju a woman?”

Chwima nodded in surprise. Hyung, don’t be surprised already. I can guess what’s going on.

“He likes my brother.”

Chwima drank his alcohol without answering. It was a silent affirmation.

It was a love affair between Chwima and the craftsman who brewed liquor at Bukhae Ice Palace. Chwima probably didn’t accept her feelings for a long time. But coincidentally, the liquor didn’t arrive at the time when he opened his heart to Yeo-bin, so he must have thought that the woman was heartbroken.

“You think I didn’t send you alcohol because I heard that you and Yeo-bin got along well?”

But this time, he shook his head firmly.

“No. If she had sent me alcohol with such a personal intention, I wouldn’t have accepted it from her.”

I could feel the sincerity in Chwima’s words.

“The liquor that Wonju sent is really great. It is a communication between the liquor maker and the drinker.”

The master of wine and the best drinker.

The two had that kind of relationship.

“Then why didn’t you go?”

Then Chwima said something unexpected.

“The spirit of alcohol has gone bad again.”

There was a time when I cleaned up the rotten alcohol together with the drunkard. Since I had never done that before since becoming a demon, the drunkard said it was ominous.

That spirit has been hurt again.

“That’s why I’m putting it back and looking into it. That’s why I said I wouldn’t go because it’s hard to leave at a time like this. I was going to say it earlier, but I didn’t say it because I thought it would make you worry.”

I could see that even though I had returned and changed a lot, I still couldn’t change the fate of the fire weapon coming.

“Was it the same as before?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Did I ever vibrate as rotten as I did back then?”

Fortunately, Chwima shook his head.

“It’s less painful than before. It was terrible back then, wasn’t it?”

What significance does this difference have, but if it had been given meaning in the first place, then it would have been meaningful. I believe that the situation has improved.

The wine we made this time will definitely spoil less, because this meeting may have changed our fate a little bit.

“Brother, don’t worry too much. If it gets hurt, just put it in again. If it gets hurt again, just put it in again.”

Soak, and soak again. This is exactly how I deal with firearms and evil. I don’t attach much significance to it.

Firearm, you won’t be my everything. You’re the one who’s restless and choking on me. Why isn’t it working? Why isn’t it working? Be anxious and burn inside.

Perhaps the best revenge would not be to kill him, but for me to live happily ever after.

Firearm? Who was it?

* * *

The next day, as I was leaving school early, a demon came to visit me.

“Let’s go together.”

Chwima has already come prepared for the trip.

Even her attire was different from usual. It was the same clothes she wore on the day of the meeting, but the picture was different.

At that time, it was the clothes of a drunken Jushin smiling, but today, it was Jushin drinking alone in a boat on a lake where the moon was rising. It was like a scene from a poem.

“The clothes are really nice. If you have any spare clothes, give me one too.”

“I’ll give it to you when you come back.”

I didn’t ask why he changed his mind and decided to go. There are things you can know without asking.

“Let’s go to the North Sea at light speed. I’ll run at your speed.”

Then, Chwima made a dumbfounded expression.

“You’ll do it at my pace?”

“Of course. The fast one should keep up with the slow one.”

“You haven’t really played with me, have you?”

“You are the one.”

“Shall we make a bet?”

You want me to bet with you on light air? This is basically a bet to see who can laugh at my dad better?

“We are people who drink and fight. What if we get into trouble after drinking? We have to run away. We are people who are good at running away.”

Chwima was confident.

“If I lose, I’ll give you this.”

Chwima took out a small bottle of liquor from his bosom.

“It’s Fire Dragon Wine.”

Hwarongju was the best of all elixirs made from alcohol. It was truly a precious drink.

“You’re going to give me this precious thing?”

“I just kept it because my internal energy and temperament didn’t match.”

“Are you doing this because you’re afraid I’ll feel burdened if you just give it to me as a gift?”

“Don’t fall down and cry!”

The horse has really bet big. The fact that he has bet Hwa-ryong-ju first means that he also has something he wants.

“What if you win? Is there anything you want?”

The conditions that Chwima set were unexpected.

“If I win, just do me one favor.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll tell you if I win.”

“What should I do? I can’t even do that favor?”

After deciding on a destination, we started running.

It was definitely fast. It was so fast that I thought it was the fastest among the demons in terms of lightness. It wasn’t like I was going to give him the Hwa-ryong-ju because I was this fast. It was a bet to win.

But unfortunately for him, it wasn’t as fast as the speedster that achieved great success.

Brother, I have a conscience, so I’ll listen to your request while drinking Hwa-ryong-ju.

Faster, faster, faster. We raced northward like that.