Chapter 8. The Transmigrator and the Regressor

In the butler’s office of the Hunt Grand Ducal residence, which was as uncluttered as its master.

An eerie silence flowed through it.

“I see……”

Tanner exhaled heavily.

But the weight pressing on his chest didn’t lessen at all.

Today, the parents of Saintess Liliana… no, Charlie Frazer had died.

Unlike in the previous life where the cause was a magical attack, this time it was a carriage accident.

The sunlight illuminating the room suddenly dimmed, and a chilling air wrapped around Tanner’s body.

In the communication orb, Audrey couldn’t raise her head, seemingly ashamed.

It wasn’t Audrey’s fault.

He knew that she had done her best to save Liliana’s parents.

That she had tried her utmost, even sacrificing herself, not letting go of even 1% of hope.

Her pale, withered complexion, looking like she might collapse at any moment, was proof of that.

But Tanner didn’t have the emotional capacity to comfort anyone right now.

“…I understand.”

Tanner, barely managing to give a short greeting, raised his fingertip.

As the light from the communication orb disappeared, a deep shadow fell over Tanner’s face.

‘Does this mean that what’s meant to happen will inevitably happen…?’

Tanner buried himself deep in his chair.

The ticking of the second hand seemed particularly loud.

After returning to the past, Tanner had scoured the entire continent trying to find Liliana before she awakened as a Miracle.

But it took years just to discover that ‘Liliana’ was an alias.

‘This is the punishment for not being interested in Liliana as a person, rather than as a Saintess.’

‘Liliana’ was a name given by the temple.

Even if one is a commoner, if their holy power is determined to be at Master level or above, they become part of the imperial family and receive a noble title.

Other matters related to those who are a Zero but possess holy power were top secret to the temple and the imperial family.

Finding Liliana without knowing her name or even her hometown was practically impossible.

But Tanner didn’t give up.

He couldn’t give up.

In the midst of these difficulties.

[I just… saw them and bought them.]

It was the day when Leon, unusually, bought fruit instead of meat as snacks for the Hunt Knights.

Ripe raspberries.

Seeing them, Tanner suddenly recalled a past memory.

In the past, Liliana, who had been refusing all food, ate a whole slice of cake once.

[She said she used to eat them often in autumn…]

That’s what the maid had answered when Tanner asked if there had been any changes in Liliana.

Originally, raspberries ripen in summer, and while nobles in the capital enjoyed them even in winter through preservation magic, it was different for commoners.

If so, the ‘raspberries’ Liliana mentioned were likely ‘thimbleberries’, a type of raspberry that grows only in high mountainous areas and is in season in autumn.

In other words, there was a high probability that Liliana had lived in a mountainous region.

From that day on, Tanner began inquiring about villages in the Graham highland areas.

And he found Liliana in the Daymond village of the Heron Mountains.

“Hello, Auntie.”

* * *

Tanner didn’t bring Liliana, whom he had found with great difficulty, to the Grand Ducal residence.

Perhaps, if it had been Tanner before returning to the past, he would have brought her without a moment’s hesitation.

Even if he had to drag her forcibly.

But Tanner, who had returned to the past, couldn’t bring himself to trample on her happiness.

He also knew from experience that it was the worst method.

It was on a day when he was just watching from afar as usual.

“Get out of here!”

Liliana, who had entered the store with her arms full of envelopes, was suddenly thrown out.

Just as Tanner was about to step in,

“B-but you promised to give me one trang for sure.”

Liliana desperately clung to the door.

Liliana had never been one to express her own opinions before.

But now she was even clinging to the door?

Tanner stepped back and observed the situation.

“What?!”

The owner, who was about to close the store door again, frowned deeply.

“You said yesterday that if I finished all the envelopes, you’d give me one trang…”

Although her voice was small and trembling severely, as if whispering, Liliana was clearly demanding her rights.

If Liliana had also returned to the past…

“Who am I supposed to sell this crap to now!”

The owner threw away the envelopes Liliana had made.

“I was going to charge for the materials, but I let it slide thinking of Nova, and now what? One trang?!”

As the owner said, the crookedly glued envelopes were smeared with glue here and there, rendering them worthless as products.

“Just my luck, a Zero first thing in the morning.”

“……”

Ptui–

The owner spat on the ground and went back into the store.

Liliana blankly stared at the closed door.

A Zero, without even a class ranking.

Having to skip dinner because she didn’t have even one trang.

This was the life she was in.

“Are you alright?”

At that moment, a large hand stretched out in front of Liliana.

Following it, a familiar scent penetrated her nostrils.

“!”

Liliana, who was raising her head, turned pale and sat down right there.

* * *

Inside a small, shabby cafe.

“Do you need anything else?”

The employee who had placed two drinks of the same color but different taste on the table asked.

“No.”

“If there’s anything uncomfortable…”

“I’ll call you then.”

Tanner, cutting off the employee’s repeated words, smiled slightly.

His tone was gentle and the corners of his mouth were slightly raised as he pretended to be kind.

But Liliana, knowing what it meant, flinched.

Displeasure, contempt, and intense killing intent.

“Yes! Please call anytime!”

On the other hand, the employee who didn’t know him returned to the counter with ears flushed red.

Daymond was a small rural village consisting only of Bronze, Silver, and a few Gold.

Meanwhile, Tanner was a high-ranking Master, rare even in the capital.

Even though he had tried to conceal his pheromones, it seemed they were still too strong for a Silver to handle.

“I apologize. I unintentionally caused a commotion.”

Tanner, who had blocked the sound with magic, apologized to Liliana.

It was magic that a Master could easily break, but a Silver wouldn’t even recognize it as magic.

“N-no, I’m fine…”

“I’ve blocked the sound, so they won’t be able to hear our conversation now.”

“……”

Tanner glanced at Liliana’s tightly clenched fingertips.

This was a habit Liliana had when she was scared.

He couldn’t waste the time he had barely earned by calming her down.

Tanner hurriedly changed the subject.

“I should recommend marshmallows to the employee later.”

“Pardon?”

Swish–

Tanner nodded towards Liliana’s cup of cocoa.

“Didn’t you like it?”

Liliana, like Tanner, had also returned to the past.

Yet why hadn’t she run away?

It’s unknown when and how she returned, and how much she remembers.

But one thing was certain: pretending with Liliana would only backfire.

“Putting something sweet on top of something sweet, I mean.”

Tanner erased his false smile and took a sip of coffee.

“I was curious about the taste and tried it once, but the way it made my mouth sticky wasn’t particularly pleasant.”

Originally, if you want to get close to someone, you should first understand their preferences.

If done well, it could create common ground, and even if not, at least a conversation could be had.

“Ah…”

Perhaps she was imagining Tanner eating marshmallows floating on top of cocoa with an expressionless face.

Liliana’s frozen expression softened a little.

“I recommended it to His Grace once, and he chased me out barefoot, asking if I had a death wish.”

“!”

Hector Hunt.

Tanner’s words caused Liliana’s face to turn pale.

Tanner knew it wasn’t a welcome name.

However, if he didn’t gradually lower her guard like this, Liliana would reject Hector for life.

Tanner pretended not to notice Liliana and continued the conversation.

“Still, after about a year of effort, I managed to get him to take a sip.”

“What?!”

A surprised voice echoed through the shabby café.

Liliana was so shocked that her mouth was agape.

Tanner elegantly set down his coffee cup.

“Why are you so surprised? It’s not like I made him eat something inedible.”

“Ah, well…”

Liliana stammered, unable to express what was really on her mind.

“Although I couldn’t hold back my laughter and was chased out barefoot again.”

And it wasn’t just Tanner.

Mateo, who had prepared it, and even Leon couldn’t escape his anger.

“I suppose after having died and coming back to life once, I lost all fear.”

Finding his own words amusing, Tanner let out a soft chuckle.

Cynical yet full of arrogance.

It was Tanner’s signature smile.

“……”

Liliana didn’t respond at all.

She just kept her lips tightly sealed and sipped her cocoa.

They didn’t know how long the silence lasted.

“I’m not trying to persuade you to come with me.”

When Liliana’s cup was about half empty, Tanner spoke softly.

“I won’t tell His Grace either. After all, His Grace now doesn’t even know of your existence, Saintess.”

Liliana glanced at Tanner.

Tanner shifted his gaze to the window.

“This place is too poor for you to stay.”

The northern region under Hector’s grand duchy and the eastern region of Edwards.

The Heron Mountains, where the Daymond village is located, marks the dividing line between them.

Since ancient times, the Heron Mountains have been a militarily-sensitive border area.

Originally it was the land of the Hunt Kingdom, but after being annexed by the Graham Empire, it became the property of the Edwards family, so perhaps it was natural.

Therefore, Hunt regularly patrolled the Heron Mountains and kept an eye on the Edwards family, while Edwards neglected the Heron region as if avoiding conflict with the Hunt family.

Due to its rugged terrain and barrenness, even the imperial family showed no interest in the Heron Mountains.

The reason why the imperial hand didn’t reach the Heron Mountains until Liliana’s awakening was probably due to this, along with the old minister’s omission in reporting.