Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1348. Return (8)

‘No way they won't notice.’

The public had no idea that the Honorary Cardinal had gotten younger, but my face looked so similar to the Honorary Cardinal's that there was no way they couldn't put two and two together.

“Huh?”

“Uh... uh....”

“W-what do we do, Carlton?” Big Boy asked.

“...”

“...”

‘Yeah, damn it. Of course they should know.’

“T-this kid must be the child of some noble family or something,” he said.

“...”

“...”

‘I was an idiot to expect anything from them.’

I decided to emanate a holy air. There was no need to overdo it and reveal my wings. Simply staring at them and letting a faint light radiate from me had to be enough for them to realize that I was the Honorary Cardinal.

As I looked at them while bathed in what could only be seen as a halo, their faces changed one after another. Big Boy still appeared clueless, but the most perceptive Carlton seemed to have figured out what was happening and what kind of being was standing before him.

Of course, he probably had many questions.

Why had the Saint of Sacrifice and Revival become young? Why had he come to the Stragglers’ Lane, and why so many things he couldn’t possibly comprehend were unfolding before him?

Even if he couldn’t comprehend what was going on, he could definitely recognize me. More than anything else, he instinctively knew he was facing a transcendent being—an otherworldly existence.

Explaining it with words would be the most straightforward way to make them realize it, but...

‘That would make me look pathetic.’

As I quietly gazed at them, I saw Carlton drop to his knees without realizing it.

“P-please forgive our sins!” Carlton shouted.

‘What sins could you guys possibly have committed?’

The hesitant Yoojin saw that and dropped to her knees as well, shouting, “Uh... uh. P-please forgive our sins!”

The clueless bastard, Big Boy, was still confused.

“W-what’s wrong with you guys? Why are you...” Big Boy asked.

“Shut up and get down, you idiot!” Carlton yelled at him.

“Huh?”

Carlton hurriedly pulled down Big Boy.

“What are you doing?!” Big Boy shouted.

“He’s the Honorary Cardinal!” Carlton replied.

“Huh? Huh?”

“He’s the Saint of Sacrifice and Revival, you moron!” Carlton exclaimed..

“Are you out of your mind, Carlton? How could some brat be the Saint of Sacrifice and Reviv—” Big Boy couldn't continue his sentence. Upon taking a closer look at me, he panicked and threw himself flat on the ground.

“W-we have committed a sin worthy of death!” Big Boy yelled.

‘Come on, why do you keep saying you committed a sin? You guys haven’t done anything wrong.’

“Please kill us!” Big Boy screamed out.

“W-we worthless ones...”

Now, they were calling themselves "worthless ones."

“We, worthless ones, have committed a sin worthy of death! Please, have mercy! We’re not as bad as we look. Of course, we aren't completely innocent... but we really aren’t that awful. Please forgive us. We will repent!” Carlton begged.

I could bet that they had no idea what they were saying. I found it absurd to see them kneeling on the ground, asking to be killed while begging for forgiveness at the same time. Still, their reaction could actually be considered normal.

They probably have never actually seen me in person. If they had been lucky enough, they could have seen me during a prayer meeting, but I felt like everything they knew about me was through the media.

It was natural for anyone to panic upon suddenly coming face-to-face with a popular star or someone out of reach.

‘And on top of that...’

Their idea of what counted as a sin probably wouldn't line up with an actual sin, but they clearly thought their lives weren't exactly "clean." The first thing they assumed was that I had descended to punish them instead of bless them.

They met my gaze once and buried their faces in the dirt as if they couldn't even look at me. If they were other people, I'd accept it without a second thought, but honestly, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant sight to see.

“Raise your heads. I didn’t come to punish you,” I said to them.

When I spoke, I saw them cautiously lift their heads. Carlton and Yoojin seemed only a bit shaken, but Big Boy looked as if all the bad things he had ever done in his life had come rushing back; he was crying and sniffling, looking like he was truly repenting.

“...”

“...”

‘Shit, I didn’t think it would get this bad... How the hell am I supposed to fix this?’

From their perspective, it had to have felt like a sacred, transcendent being had suddenly walked into the middle of their domicile, so their reaction was understandable.

I was drowning in a thousand different thoughts when I heard a knock at the door.

Ji-Hye noona had been watching quietly from the sidelines, but it seemed that she had decided to come here and help smooth things over.

“There you are, Honorary Cardinal,” Lee Ji-Hye said.

And to make things worse...

‘Archbishop Jernihan?’

Archbishop Jernihan was here; he was the reliable pro-Vatican archbishop who had contributed a lot during the Templar Gen kidnapping incident. He was trustworthy enough, but he was hot-tempered, so I had always thought he wasn’t the best fit for something like this.

Sure enough, I saw him rushing into the room with the Holy Knights behind him. He looked as if the memory of that kidnapping was still fresh in his mind.

As the situation grew even more chaotic, Big Boy and the others only became more confused. The inquisitors and Holy Knights suddenly filled the cramped room, so how could they not freeze up?

However, the words that came from Archbishop Jernihan’s mouth made it clear—both to them and to me—what direction this situation was going.

“You’ve been told repeatedly not to walk away by yourself during undercover missions, Father Lee Ki-Young...”

‘Is that the idea he’s going for?’

“...”

“Moreover... going undercover at such a late hour without notifying the Order... If we had known in advance, we could have prepared the Holy Knights for you... and you didn’t even bring any members of the Blue Guild with you.

"Recalling the unfortunate incident last time, I couldn’t just stand by. Please forgive my rudeness...” Jernihan continued.

“I apologize, Father Jernihan, but—”

“I understand that you wish to get closer to your followers and observe their lives firsthand, but I also hope you can consider our position. We must protect you. When I heard about what happened, I was really shocked that I didn't even know what to say."

I had to look at Ji-Hye noona. I was sure she was the one who reported this to the Vatican.

“...”

‘She really intends to give me the full reward, huh?’

I felt like she was planning on turning them into the savior of the Order. Even Big Boy and the others finally realized that I hadn’t come to punish them. However, they were still as stiff as wood, and it was probably because Archbishop Jernihan’s cold gaze was transfixed on them.

“...”

“Are they... perhaps...” Jernihan asked.

I hurriedly said, “These people helped me.”

“...”

“...”

“Eh?”

“U-Us?”

‘If they just stay quiet, I can convince him.’

“We—”

“They provided me with meals... and helped me stay for a while in a safe place,” I interrupted.

I wasn’t wrong.

“H-huh?”

“We... just...”

‘I got it, so just stay quiet.’

“They kept me safe. Rest assured. Nothing happened, so you don’t need to worry about it, Father Jernihan,” I reassured him.

“Ah... I see.”

Father Jernihan’s face finally relaxed. His gaze casually swept across the room and lingered on the shelves. There were religious symbols of the Order of Benigoa and a wooden statuette of the Saint of Sacrifice and Revival on the shelves.

‘No matter how I look at it, these guys don’t seem like actual followers.’

Perhaps they bought those things as a souvenir upon visiting the Capital. The fact that they were covered in dust made it clear to me that they simply bought and forgot those things.

Whether the statuette and the religious symbols were maintained or not didn’t seem to matter at all. Father Jernihan smiled, looking happy to know that they were followers.

Sure enough, he turned to Big Boy and said, “So you three are followers, then.”

“...”

“...”

“Huh? Y-yes! W-we are fervent followers of the Order of Benigoa and the Saint of Sacrifice and Revival!” Carlton answered.

“How can we ever repay this kindness....” Jernihan muttered.

“Kindness? That’s far too much. It’s an honor just to be of help to the Saint of Sacrifice and Revival... Ha... hahaha... r-right, Big Boy?” Carlton asked.

“Y-yes. T-this guy is right. We are indeed fervent followers,” Big Boy answered in agreement.

‘I can’t let them say whatever they want.’

I had a feeling that if I were to let this continue, it would end up as an event for the Order, so I had no choice but to speak to Archbishop Jernihan. After all, the commotion had somewhat settled down.

“Father Jernihan, could you give us some privacy?” I requested.

“Huh? But—”

“Please,” I begged.

“...”

“...”

‘Might as well give them a blessing.’

And it wouldn't be just a trick, I was talking about a real blessing here. Archbishop Jernihan, the Holy Knights, and the inquisitors stepped back. The trio remained tense.

I hesitated briefly, wondering what to say, but there wasn’t much I wanted to say.

“It was really delicious,” I said.

“W-what?”

‘Honestly, it wasn’t very good.’

“And thank you so much for taking care of me, even though it was brief,” I added.

‘Not that you took very good care of me, though.’

“W-well... we...”

As I spread my wings slightly, I saw the three idiots staring blankly at me.

“Uh... huh?”

“Uh...”

The sight needed no explanation. They stood up quietly, looking bewitched as if they were witnesses to a miracle.

As I took a cautious step closer to them, I saw them flinch.

When I spread my arms, they just stared at me, frozen and unsure of what to do. They were oblivious. I even stood in front of Carlton, the sharpest of the three, but he had no idea what I was trying to do. In the end, I had no choice but to hug him myself.

Of course, given his huge frame in comparison to mine, it ended up looking like he was hugging me instead. Carlton was stiff out of nervousness. As I patted the head of the kneeling boy, however, he eventually calmed down.

Then...

‘Why are you crying?’

I could feel him wiping away his tears, and his eyes looked as if they were broken faucets. Before I knew it, he held me tightly.

“May the blessings of Benigoa be upon you...” I said.

Next was Yoojin, the easier one. She saw Carlton cry nonstop, so she had a good idea of what to do. As expected, she hugged me tightly without hesitation. She was crying, too.

“May your path always be filled with good fortune...” I said.

Finally, there was Big Boy. The most nervous of them all. He had confessed his past misdeeds and shed tears earlier, but I noticed that he looked confused upon seeing the crying faces of Carlton and Yoojin.

The moment I stepped toward him, tears streamed down his face. His unwashed smell tickled my nose, but it wasn’t unpleasant at all. Honestly, I was slightly missing his scent.

“Huh?Uh...”

“May you always be happy...” I told him.

Without using any flowery words, I sincerely blessed them, and a halo of light descended. They still had no idea what was happening to them. They simply looked at each other, letting their tears fall.

I stared at them quietly before saying, “Thank you all so very much.”