Absolute Regression
Chapter 35: Better That You Don't Forget
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TL: FoodieMonster007
"I've been wronged. I didn't do it!"
Bae Jongtak, a martial artist from the Flower Sword Supreme's Northern Heaven Sword Sect, pleaded his innocence in the Sanzu River Hall's interrogation room.
He was accused and arrested for raping a young servant girl from a sword family. In the past, such an incident would not have even become a case. This time, however, Bae Jongtak was arrested the day after the accusation was filed.
"That servant girl is framing me! Let me confront her. I'm innocent."
"Why would the servant girl frame you?"
"How should I know? Maybe someone put her up to it, or I made some mistake toward her, but at the very least, I did not rape that girl."
He looked genuinely wronged.
"Fine. I'll let you confront her."
"Bring her in right now."
I gave the signal. Seo Daeryong, waiting outside, brought in a girl who looked about thirteen or fourteen. The child was terrified.
"Hey! Why the hell are you doing this to me!"
Bae Jongtak roared at the girl.
I raised my hand to calm him down.
"Quiet! If you shout one more time, this confrontation is over."
"Yes. It's just that I've been wronged."
I asked the girl.
"Is that the man who raped you?"
The girl slowly nodded.
"Look at that! She nodded without even looking at my face properly."
"She already knows you. Why does she need to look at your face?"
"She can't look at me because she feels guilty."
"Are you sure you didn't do it?"
"I didn't. I swear to the heavens I didn't. Punishing me based only on this child's word would be incredibly unfair. Think about it. If I was lonely for a woman, I could just go to a brothel. Why would I touch a little kid like that?"
"How would I know? You tell me. Do you get excited when you see little kids?"
"Didn't I just say it wasn't me?"
Bae Jongtak glared menacingly at the girl.
"You don't know how scary the crime of false accusation is, do you? I'll forgive you, so just tell the truth. Say it's not true!"
The girl flinched, terrified.
"Look at her! She's trembling, isn't she?"
"That's because she's scared. Didn't you say you would find and kill her family in her hometown if she revealed you raped her?"
This girl hadn't reported the incident herself. The child told another servant girl, who then went to the Sanzu River Hall Branch across from the Alluring Inn to report it for her friend.
"Why do you only believe her?"
"Because I believe her."
"Isn't that too biased?"
"Because it's certain you raped her."
"Then give me some solid proof! Don't just believe her word."
I glanced at Seo Daeryong. He went outside and returned with two more girls, both slightly older than the first.
Bae Jongtak flinched the moment he saw them.
"You remember them, right? They're the girls who used to be your servants."
"I know them. You've all grown so much!"
Bae Jongtak greeted them cheerfully, but the girls kept their heads down and did not respond.
"While listening to the girl's testimony, I suddenly grew curious. If he did it this time, had he done it before?"
So I looked for his previous servants and investigated. As a result, I found out they had also been raped.
"They've already given their full testimonies. You raped the girls the same way and made the same threats. You'd toy with them for two or three years, then replace them with another girl."
Bae Jongtak's expression changed, realizing he could no longer deny it. The pleading man vanished, revealing his true nature.
"I was drunk and made a mistake. Please, just let it go this one time."
The bastard's calm demeanor was a stark contrast to the man pleading his innocence moments before. It was like watching a street performance.
The bastard calmly told the girls.
"Honestly, you girls liked it too, didn't you? I even gave you money each time."
The youngest servant girl pulled coins from her clothes and threw them on the floor. They scattered with a CLATTER. She hadn't spent a single one, saving them all for today.
Bae Jongtak pretended not to see, turning his head to plead with me instead.
"I've heard that in the Sanzu River Hall's history, no one has ever gone to prison for touching a servant girl."
"You even did your homework. That's right."
"I'll make sure this never happens again. I'll swear it to the heavens. I'll even write a pledge. No, I won't keep female servants anymore."
"You're not going to prison."
The girls lifted their heads at my words, their faces filled with fear.
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
The bastard grinned at the girls. They all avoided his gaze and lowered their heads.
"But you do have to go somewhere else."
"Where is that?"
"Here."
SHIIK! PUUK!
My sword sliced through the bastard's neck in a single strike. He died instantly, not even screaming as he fell backward with his chair.
The startled girls cried out. The bastard's blood flowed over the coins scattered on the floor.
I immediately turned to the girls.
"The one who tormented you is dead. Your families won't be killed. From now on, live without worry."
The girls stared at me, their faces shocked.
"You'll never forget what happened to you, not until the day you die. Since you can't forget it, you'd be better off not forgetting today either. Let this moment, when this bastard paid for his sins, cover what you endured. Remember him only by this end."
This was the best I could do for them.
The girls looked from the corpse to each other.
A moment later, the oldest girl stepped forward and bowed her head respectfully.
"Thank you so much for avenging us."
The other girls bowed their heads as well.
"Thank you, Elder. Uhhhk."
The youngest servant girl burst into tears. Another girl hugged her, tears streaming down her own face as she offered comfort.
No one cares how servant girls are treated. In the past, I was the same.
"There's no need to thank me. We punished that bastard because you bravely testified. This was your retribution. So continue to live bravely."
"……"
"And don't worry about retaliation from this man's friends or family. That will never happen. The Sanzu River Hall will protect you from now on."
Now, even the oldest girl was shedding tears.
"Thank you… really."
Father, if we fail to protect these children while lost in the false name of 'survival of the fittest', then those bastards from the orthodox sects you despise so much will cut off our heads. No, we would deserve it. We would have no room to complain.
Investigators came in and led the girls out. I had already told them to pay special attention to these girls, so they had nothing to worry about.
This incident will spread as a rumor within the sect, and the number of bastards who mess with servant girls will decrease. The mistaken idea that such things are acceptable just because we are the Demonic Cult… that is the first thing that needs to be corrected.
Lee Ahn, who had been watching, shook her head.
"When I saw that bastard denying it earlier, I really thought he'd been wronged. It's truly frightening."
"Humans are scarier than ghosts."
"But that man belongs to the Northern Heaven Sword Sect. Will the Flower Sword Supreme just let this go?"
"Her own subordinate repeatedly raped young servant girls. Is she going to make an issue out of me killing someone like that? It would be better for her if she didn't."
"Aren't you scared, Young Master?"
"I am scared. I'm scared I'll die before I can clean up all this trash."
"Since you became the Sanzu Hall Director, Young Master, our Cult has been getting nicer. What if we end up filled with people more righteous than the Murim Alliance?"
I immediately corrected her joke.
"Not raping servant girls isn't being nice, is it? It's just the obvious thing to do."
"Ah, that's true."
"And until now, we haven't even been able to do that obvious thing."
Just then, Seo Daeryong returned.
"Director, why did you do that?"
"What?"
"You killed him intentionally, didn't you? Isn't it your philosophy that bastards like him should be locked in prison to suffer?"
Because our Cult's prison was a place more painful than death.
"That's right."
"Then why did you kill him?"
As expected, Seo Daeryong is sharp. I deliberately handled this case involving the Flower Sword Supreme myself, and just as he said, I killed the man intentionally.
"Killing him like this was the only way to create an official reason to see the Flower Sword Supreme."
Seo Daeryong was startled.
"The issue with the Blood Heaven Blade Demon is already a headache. Why are you trying to meet the Flower Sword Supreme?"
"Because I need a second tiger."
"What?"
I looked at the bewildered Seo Daeryong and gave an order.
"Send word to the Sword Supreme right now. Tell her a problem arose during the interrogation and that I will go meet her personally to explain."
Two hours later, I headed for the Northern Heaven Sword Sect with Seo Daeryong.
"Do you really have to take me with you?"
"This is an official visit. Can the Director go alone? His right-hand man has to follow."
"When did I become your right-hand man?"
"A power-hungry and cold-hearted man who loves only one woman, a rebel who raises his hand alone when everyone else is silent… you're more than enough to be my right-hand man."
"Good heavens!"
"Which description do you like?"
"I don't like any of them!"
Before long, we arrived at the entrance of the Northern Heaven Sword Sect.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon's Southern Blade Sect occupied the southern part of our Cult's territory, while the Flower Sword Supreme's Northern Heaven Sword Sect dominated the north.
"This is my first time at the Northern Heaven Sword Sect. None of the cases I've handled have been related to them until now. Unlike the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, the Flower Sword Supreme manages her subordinates well. The demonic swords of the sword family also value honor."
"Is that so?"
When I responded indifferently, Seo Daeryong asked.
"Do you think otherwise?"
"From what I see, the demonic swords and the blade demons are all the same. Should people who value honor have eyes like that?"
The demonic swords guarding the entrance did not have friendly gazes.
Word of Bae Jongtak's death had already spread. Their reaction was not 'He died because he committed a crime,' but closer to 'You killed one of our martial artists for just touching a servant girl?' Of course, they wouldn't dare provoke me now, so they all soon bowed their heads respectfully.
Seo Daeryong said to me in a low voice.
"As a pacifist, I've been seeing that kind of look a lot lately. I keep seeing it whenever I'm with a certain someone."
"I'll add 'pacifist' to the list of modifiers that describe you."
"Ah…"
A martial artist waited to guide us.
"The Demon Supreme is waiting for you. I am Sa Woojong."
Sa Woojong was known as the Flower Sword Supreme's right hand. He was one of the top three martial artists in the Northern Heaven Sword Sect, and his aura was as sharp as a blade.
I know this man well. Not from any personal connection, but because his end was quite impressive.
"A pleasure."
"Please follow me."
Sa Woojong led us deeper inside. We passed the buildings where the demonic swords resided and entered the innermost area.
A small thatched cottage stood there.
This cozy, well-decorated cottage was the Flower Sword Supreme's residence.
"The Sanzu Hall Director has arrived."
At Sa Woojong's announcement, the cottage door opened. A woman in white robes walked out.
"Welcome, Director Geom."
The woman with the gentle voice was the Flower Sword Supreme, So Yeonrang.
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