Chapter 175: Looking into the Past

Thu–ku-dug! Thu–ku-dug! Thu–ku-dug!

The sound of galloping horses could be heard amidst the whistling of the wind.

Presently, Regis, Pandora, Killian, and Aurelia were each riding a horse on their way to Bakurad Fortress, the final destination of their current adventure.

They had just left Delimoro City after procuring travelling horses that were specifically bred for long-distance travels.

"If nothing goes wrong, then we’ll be able to reach Bakurad Fortress in 2 months."

Regis spoke out loud as he glanced at the sun that was already starting to set, coloring the sky in a beautiful crimson hue.

"Affirmative, Boss. Just tell us if you sense something." Killian was the first to reply.

Meanwhile, Aurelia caressed her stomach, "Ugh, I’m hungry already. I think it’ll be fine for us to rest more on the way since we already saved a lot of time because of what happened in Vistruk Swamp."

"Why are you always hungry? Are you pregnant?"

"What a rude thing to say! Are you really a noble?’

"He is. It’s just that he skipped most of his etiquette classes. Now, he’s like those people born from the slums." Pandora chimed in from the side, speaking with a deadpan expression while gazing at the sunset on the horizon.

Hearing her words, Regis could not help but interject.

"Um, hey..."

Pandora had an apologetic expression on her face, "Oh, sorry, Brother. I’m not..."

A wry smile bloomed on Regis’s lips, "Haha, I’m just messing with you."

"Mean." Pandora pouted as she snapped her head towards the sunset once again.

Her reaction made her three companions chuckle.

’Thank goodness... Nothing changed.’

Regis could not help but feel grateful towards his friends for not changing the way they treated him.

When her first got access to his consciousness, he was not able to avoid the responsibility of explaining his origins from the time he lived in the slums, to the time he became a demonic human.

Of course, he also explained his Perfect Adaptation’s ability, his gift which enabled his body to adapt to various phenomena.

There was really no reason to hide it since he trusted both Pandora and Killian.

Meanwhile, Aurelia signed a second contract with him aside from the one they made when he saved her from the brink of death.

Thinking about their conversations, Regis could not help but find it funny.

’To think that they would pity me instead of looking at me with disgust...’

***

A few days ago, when Regis had first landed on the island that appeared in his consciousness...

Vanessa was the first one to approach him, "What happened now? Why did an island appear out of nowhere?"

Hearing her words, Regis looked around his consciousness again.

There were now four suns that hung in the bright blue sky amidst the milky white clouds.

Heat could be felt as the suns shone over them while a breeze could be felt from time to time.

Regis crouched down and grabbed a handful of dirt.

Feeling the peculiar texture of the soil made him sure that it was indeed real dirt.

He then looked towards the dense canopies of trees which looked like a rainforest from where they were standing.

"I think my consciousness has become like the real world and can accommodate physical bodies now too..."

That was the idea Regis had concluded through his observations.

’So that must be why I took over a week to "perfectly adapt" to the "living people" that had suddenly appeared in his consciousness, that had only been able to contain souls up until now.

’Since my Perfect Adaptation was enhanced last time this happened, I wonder how strong it is right no—’

Before he could continue thinking, he saw Pandora, Kilian, and Aurelia nearby.

"Huuuu—"

Knowing that he could no longer hide his past, Regis chose to face the situation head-on.

Thus, after taking a deep breath, he walked towards them with a serious gaze.

Vanessa noticed this and kept silent.

"This is going to take quite a while, so let’s sit down."

Following his lead, his companions followed suit and sat down on the ground.

Vanessa, Greg, Lea, and the other children also sat down.

From afar, it looked like they were merely a group of children on a sightseeing field trip which made the scene quite comical, considering that the topic of their conversation was Regis’s past, including his time as a demonic human.

Regis then did not waste any more time as he spent a few hours narrating his life to his companions.

He told them how he lived his days in the slums scavenging trash cans, stealing moldy bread, and even pick-pocketing in order to have a chance of filling his and Dahlia’s stomachs.

He told them how Aunt Amabel was like a parental figure to the two of them.

Of course, Regis knew that he did not need to go into too many details. He even knew that if he chose not to explain himself, his companions would not question him.

That would be fine if all he wanted to do was to work with them, but it was not— he wanted to be friends with them.

Regis wanted their trust.

And for that, he did not mind exposing a little more of himself.

Therefore, he spent hours more telling his story under the gazes of the crowd before him.

From the time he first took a human life to the time he experienced his first massacre of a whole village.

Regis described how he felt guilty and how disgusted he was with himself.

His storytelling session ended when he met Pandora, whom he was thankful for for making him feel less lonely despite everything he had gone through.

As he finished speaking, his eyes hovered on his companions, as well as towards Vanessa, Leah, Greg, and the other children.

Of course, Regis also took the time to introduce that all the children in his consciousness were his companions during his time as a demonic human.

He also took this time to tell them about Ruvalkar, the demon who possessed the demonic human leader.

This revelation caused most of the other children to feel a myriad of emotions.

Some rejoiced, some cried, some did not know what to feel.

After a few hours of non-stop talking he finally finished.

Pandora, Killian, and even Aurelia did not know what to say after hearing everything that Regis, the leader of their party and friend, had gone through.

Pandora was the first to take action, immediately hugging Regis.

She did not speak of any words, and instead hoped that she could express what she was feeling through her actions.

This made Lea flinch, but she ultimately held her arm and looked down with a gaze of sadness.

"Hey, don’t block me."

She then heard Greg’s voice as he stood in front of her, casually blocking the sight of Regis being hugged by another girl.

"Thanks." Lea whispered.

"Dunno what you’re talking about." Greg replied, making her smile.

These events were noticed by no one.

At this moment, Killian changed the topic in an attempt to ease the atmosphere, "So that was why they had such intense bloodthirst... almost made me pee in my pants."

His awkward expression caused the other children to giggle amongst each other.

Pandora also felt that she had been hugging him for too long, making her back away in a sudden manner as her cheeks blushed like the color of rubies.

"I-I’m sorry, Brother. I didn’t know what to say..."

"It’s fine. Thank you."

Although Regis did not say any more, a smile could not help but creep up Pandora’s face.

Seeing this, Killian asked with a shy expression, "Boss, can I hug you to—"

"I don’t swing that way."

His instantaneous reply made Killian pause, before bursting into laughter, "Hahahahahaha!!"

Ignoring Killian’s laughter that was no less crazed than that of the lich’s, Regis’s eyes then wandered over towards Aurelia.

Her black dress still had not a touch of dirt despite the fight they had gone through.

However, if one looked closely, the white gloves on her arms were no more which made him remember something as a pair of white gloves materialized in his arms.

This phenomenon made everyone’s eyes go wide as various reactions were heard by Regis.

"Where did that come from?"

"I don’t know. Maybe it’s one of Regis’s abilities?"

...

Like the children’s eyes that were shining with amazement, Killian could not help but exclaim, "Are you perhaps a god, Boss?"

"What’s with the nonsense? I just got them from my storage pouch."

Regis responded without taking his eyes off the white gloves while walking towards Aurelia while immersed in his thoughts.

’So this meant that I can indeed take things from the outside world to my consciousness...’

’...does this mean that my consciousness is essentially a large storage pouch??’

Seeing the ever-so-familiar white gloves in his hand, Aurelia’s pupils constricted.

"Are those..."

"Yes they are." Regis replied before she could finish her words.

He scratched the back of his head as he spoke, "You see, Aurelia."

"Hmmm?"

"If I tell you that I can help with your circumstances, would you like to hear about it?"

"Huh?"