Chapter 186

Zich thought it didn’t really matter to him even if Glen had regressed. He had also previously decided that it didn’t seem like Glen was a regressor either, but this time, he thought, ‘Could there be a possibility that he regressed but doesn’t know the words he said to me?’

Zich racked through his brain. ‘What if he did regress, but not at the same time as me?’

He hadn’t thought of this; from his experience, he naturally thought that if Glen had regressed, he would have regressed during that last battle like him.

‘No, wait a moment. I can’t just conclude that Glen regressed.’ Even among his companions, there was somebody who didn’t regress but had all kinds of knowledge about the future (although she didn’t have most of her memories of course).

‘Is he the same case as Lyla?’ That meant Glen Zenard could have a connection with those assassin guys.

‘Therefore…’ Zich’s face hardened.

The assassins were a group who made Demon People in the empire, and before the regression days, the person who killed off the most Demon People was none other than the Sun Hero, Glen Zenard. If those two had any connection with each other, it meant that Glen was a…

Imposter. That immediately popped into Zich’s head.

‘What if he made Demon People for fame and honor?’ Zich crossed his arms and tapped his feet. ‘I am definitely going too far with this one.’

Yet, if Zich thought about his experiences, there was no guarantee that there wouldn’t be a crazy bastard like that.

‘Even I go through all kinds of trouble to screw a person over. It would be ridiculous of me to suggest that there’s no one in the world who would make Demon People to gain fame and honor.’

Zich was someone who could objectively assess himself, but it was too early to reach a conclusion.

‘There could be a completely different reason.’

Glen could be someone like Lyla who ran away from the assassin group. Zich clutched his head at the ever-increasing number of possibilities.

‘There are way too many possibilities.’

If Glen had regressed like Zich, there was a high chance that his regression looked different from Zich’s, whether it be timing or something else. If Glen was like Lyla who had information about the future, it was likely that he was connected to the assassins in another way.

‘If he is connected to the regression, he might even know how to regress.’

The reason why Zich hadn’t been concerned with the possibility of Glen’s regression was because he thought Glen would have regressed in the same way as him; in other words, Zich thought Glen would have regressed because of the Key that Distorts Destiny. Yet, if Glen regressed at a completely different time than him, he might have regressed in a different manner.

‘Then, he might know the reason or method for regressing.’ He could possibly fulfill one of the reasons why Zich was traveling around the world.

‘He could also be plotting with the assassins.’ Zich’s eyes turned sharp.

‘Should I try catching him and beating the truth out of him?’

In his Demon Lord days, Zich would’ve immediately done that. However, the current Zich wasn’t Zich Moore. Above all, there was a person who didn’t want him to become a Demon Lord.

“Huh? Is there something going on?” After returning from her shopping, Lyla saw Zich and Hans in the garden.

“No, it’s nothing. I will tell you later.”

“Okay.” Lyla nodded lightly and went inside the building. Seeing how she was humming to herself, it seemed like she had a satisfying time shopping.

‘Well, nothing is definite yet, so I should let things go for now. No, if I think about it again, isn’t it actually beneficial for me?’ Zich smiled.

‘Whether or not Glen regressed or is connected to the assassins, I have something similar to a clue.’ If Glen was really ‘someone who made Demon People for fame and glory,’ Zich had to approach this issue even more cautiously.

‘If he really made Demon People for his own benefit, that means he’s the guy who led me down the Demon Lord path.’ Then, that meant Zich finally found the person who manipulated his life.

‘I will have to give him my full treatment then.’ Far more than anyone he had screwed over until now, Zich would have to pour his heart and soul into this treatment.

Hans, who had taken Estellade out again to train, flinched at Zich’s face.

‘What is Sir Zich thinking again?’ He had never seen a target of that smile meet a good end, but Hans quickly stopped concerning himself with the matter. ‘It doesn’t matter. He wouldn’t target an innocent person anyways.’

Hans swung Estellade again and focused on his training. He simply felt sympathy for the person in Zich’s head.

Zich stopped smiling. The thoughts he was having didn’t extend beyond guesses. They had no definite basis or evidence but were simply ‘maybe’ projections that he made while considering the circumstances.

‘If someone heard my thoughts, they might laugh at my wild ideas.’

At the same time, this was an issue that he could look deeper into.

‘For now, I should learn more about this guy.’ Zich took out Windur from his back. It was the sword that had combined with the item that caused his regression: the Key that Distorts Destiny.

‘This guy and that weird tree also resonated.’

Leona had told him that her grandmother might know more about that strange tree. That was why he thought he should go to Leona’s hometown to learn more about it.

‘I have one more reason to go to the elves' forest now.’

Zich hung Windur on his back again, and he passed by Hans who was still training. Even as he headed towards the building, Zich continued to think.

‘If Glen is really a dirty, underhanded guy like that, then the last words he said to me were…’

Zich could clearly remember Glen’s face as he told Zich with full confidence to live a kind life if he was reborn. To express his admiration for Glen’s strength for defeating him, Zich thought about trying to live a kind life in this timeline.

‘If he really is a hypocrite who ruined my entire life though, how should I accept his last words?’

Zich thought Glen’s words were sincere as a hero, but if Glen was an imposter, his words would be nothing but meaningless blabber.

‘Then should I…follow that type of person’s advice?’

Grab!

Someone tightly clutched onto his sleeves.

“Zich!”

It was Lyla. It seemed as if she had come back to the lobby after organizing her shopping items, and she was now clutching onto him. Her face was pale as if she had just seen a ghost.

“Huh? What’s the matter? Did something happen?” Zich asked Lyla, but Lyla scanned his face in a hurry. Zich wriggled his eyebrows.

“What？ What are you doing?”

“…Hwoo!” Lyla didn’t even reply to Zich’s question and let out a sigh.

“Hey, how can you let out a sigh after seeing my face? Do you have any complaints about this handsome face of mine?” Zich swept his cheek once.

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

Zich stared at her suspiciously as she usually would have made sarcastic remarks about his ‘handsome face,’ but Lyla waved her hand as if it was nothing.

“It’s really nothing.”

“All right.”

Zich dropped his interest since she didn’t seem like she wanted to tell him.

“Then I’ll go up. Ah, I will tell you about what happened later.”

“Okay. It’s fine if you tell me while we’re eating.”

Zich went up the stairs one by one. Lyla watched his back until he fully disappeared to the top floor, then collapsed into a chair. She lost all strength in her legs. She wrapped her arms around them and trembled from head to toe.

‘…That face.’

When Lyla came down to the lobby and saw Zich’s face, she thought her heart was going to freeze. His face was in a state of deep thought. It was a familiar face, but it was also not familiar at the same time.

‘That… that face was definitely…!’

It lasted for a moment. As soon as she grabbed his sleeve, that expression disappeared. However, it was a face that was clearly imprinted in Lyla’s memory.

‘The face of Zich Moore.’

Even if it was only for a few seconds, why did Zich have the face of a Demon Lord? Lyla buried her face behind her two hands.

* * *

Glen and Browning slowly moved away from the hotel. There was a crowd of people surrounding the hotel who all came to see the faces of the city’s heroes. While Glen was glancing at them, Browning asked, “So how were they?”

“What do you mean?”

“Those people called heroes. You met two of them.”

“They weren’t bad. I already knew that person named Zich before, and that person named Hans seems to have a strong sense of justice.”

“You think so too?”

Glen stared at Browning. She had a very bright expression, and Glen thought back to how he saw Browning and Hans conversing with one another.

“Now that I think about it, you were talking with that person.”

“Yep! I was a bit hesitant about it since he was the companion of someone I fought with, but after talking with him, he seems like a really good person. It was easy to talk to him.”

“Is that so?”

Browning told Glen about what they talked about. While putting a smile on his face, Glen carefully listened to her words. No, it only seemed like he was listening to her.

“You seem to think very favorably of him.”

His words seemed to hold a hidden meaning. However, Browning merely nodded her head.

“Yes, I haven't had such a good meeting in a long time.”

“Then that’s great. Browning, have you thought more about using a shield instead of a sword?”

“Ah, that…” Browning made an awkward smile and turned her head around. “I-I haven’t yet…”

“It’s alright. It’s not a very important matter, but be careful about not taking too long.”

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”

After saying that, Glen kept his mouth shut. The atmosphere had become tense, and in the silence, Glen began thinking about Zich.

‘Zich Moore. There's definitely something off about him.’

Glen had approached Zich to make sure, and he was now certain that this was true. Even though the world sometimes changed beyond his expectations, the world had changed too much this time.

‘Why are the Earth’s Tyrant and Leona hanging out with him? And why is one of his companions holding Estellade?”

Those weren’t the only strange parts.

‘Zich Moore himself changed too much. He should not have such a rough personality at this point in time. No, he should still be rolling around in Steelwall.’

After a while, he’d then begin his path of becoming a Demon Lord. However, Glen couldn’t explain their present situation. Nevertheless, a Demon Lord like Zich was being called a hero. He even held the title of Karuwiman’s Honorary Knight.

‘Lubella seems to be close to him too.’

Lubella was always careful and serious, but she joked around with Zich. This was the first time something like that happened.

For these reasons, Glen thought of a tentative possibility. ‘Perhaps, did he also regress like me?’

When he first met Zich, he thought that the person who made Zich change was the reason for Zich’s different attitude and choice. Could one person be able to ‘twist’ the world’s trajectory like this? If this wasn’t the case, was there another regressor like him? After pondering about this for a while, Glen finally shook his head.

‘No. There’s no way that could be true.’

There was no way there was another regressor.

‘A special power like this.’

It was a power that made him special and unique.

‘There is no way a different person has the same skill as me.’

The only person who was ‘special’ was him. With this thought in mind, Glen erased the small suspicions sprouting in his heart.