Infinite Regressor, Chapter 462 - I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell

Chapter 4 Before him lay two undeniable statements: A. Go Yuri has died. B. Yu Ji-won has killed. Neither proposition made sense to encounter during his first trip abroad. If one were to ask which statement shocked Go Yo-il more, the answer was straightforward. Go Yuri had died. Even she, Go Yuri, could die. And so simply, too. "......" Go Yo-il stood there, drenched in the rain, feeling detached from reality as he gazed at the body sprawled on the street, hair scattered in the puddles. From childhood, he had always perceived her as invincible. She was family. A mentor. Whether he called her ‘Guild Leader,’ or used the equally odd title ‘Brother,’ or on rare occasions addressed her as 'Mr. Go Yo-il,' there was always a playful confidence lingering around her lips. Ah, with her, surely we could press on until the end of the world. Such thoughts often crossed his mind without him realizing it. But now, there she lay, bleeding and collapsed. Gone. Long before the ‘end of the world’ she oft-mentioned had arrived. "Hmm." Another family member, though they never addressed each other as brother or sister. In Go Yo-il’s mind, Yu Ji-won, the girl, was even closer to a sister than Go Yuri. Though objectively, she was merely the 'girl next door,' she was crouched, rummaging through the deceased’s belongings. "Indeed." Amidst the torrential rain, Yu Ji-won’s voice somehow rang clear. "The passport is missing." "......" "I sometimes found it peculiar." Why did she kill? When did she start tailing me? She must have decided before the rain started falling, yet why bring a raincoat? Was she in her right mind? Go Yo-il could have asked countless questions. With family murdered before him, he was certainly within his rights to ask. "......Peculiar? What’s peculiar?" However, knowing that both the victim and perpetrator were, in essence, his family, squashed any meaningless questions automatically. The capacity to swallow a great deal without asking 'why' — be it positive or negative — was a hallmark of familial bonds. "Sometimes, an unidentifiable scent lingered from Mr. Matiz’s room." "......" "That same scent faintly clung to Grandma. Sometimes, she even muttered about having a 'younger sibling.'" Yu Ji-won set down her backpack. With a zip, familiar tools emerged: gloves and a large plastic sheet. It took Go Yo-il back to a night last summer, to the very 'tools' he had taught her to use. "Did you know, Mr. Matiz? I set up light CCTV cameras to check the alleyway. My parents ‘disappeared,’ and with Grandma senile, I had more than enough excuses for any situation." "......" "So, even before Mr. Matiz confessed about the ‘Reincarnator,’ I was aware of this woman’s existence." In Go Yo-il’s eyes, Yu Ji-won's true talent wasn’t her looks or intelligence—it was her decisiveness. Imagine reaching out for a glass of water. You wouldn’t often stop your hand midway with a cup sitting right there. Almost never. For Yu Ji-won, all actions were like that. If she decided to 'drink water,’ she’d reach out. It was such an obvious process that hesitation was unnecessary. She had no reason to delay. Killing, an act that would be monumental for most, was just another 'action' to Yu Ji-won. “With all these stepping stones gathered, now I can confidently leap towards my conclusion.” Yu Ji-won packed up the body and started to move. Her actions were so matter-of-fact, and then Go Yo-il realized. They had shared all the details with this girl about where they would stay. A business hotel away from the city center. Not a single streetlight in sight on the nighttime path. Even if investigators pursued them, no one would suspect foreigners would commit a murder 'on the first day' of their trip. For Yu Ji-won, if one were to kill, it would be on the first day. "I respect Mr. Matiz’s opinion and, although not as much, Grandma’s too. While I don’t recall having a younger sibling, if this person is a ‘Reincarnator,’ their testimonies align perfectly." "......" "Thus, it’s highly possible that the Reincarnator gathered abnormal amounts of information on me. Mr. Matiz’s involvement in my parents’ ‘disappearance’ plausibly aligns with many aspects." Additionally, ordinary people didn't lend much credence to others’ wild claims. Claims like the world’s end, the existence of Reincarnators, or siblings not present in their memories. No one took those unrealistic testimonies seriously. Yu Ji-won was different. To her, ‘realism’ didn’t matter. For her, reality was always something surreal. The statement 'Humans exist' and ‘Reincarnators exist’ were, to Yu Ji-won, of equal weight devoid of any bias. Conclusion. “There was, in fact, a teacher or observer for the incident Mr. Matiz and I thought we alone knew of.” Yu Ji-won faced the facts calmly. "And Mr. Matiz, though I hardly see the need to express it, unlike you, I do not trust this Reincarnator." "......So." "Yes, so I killed her." Of course, that wasn’t the sole reason, she murmured, as she carefully set the body down. "Hmm. It’s heavier than I thought." "......" “Could you help me?” Together, as a family, they would bury her. The simplest of summaries felt heavy to Go Yo-il—a weight inexplicable to anyone else, akin to the silent mass of a body. 5. Compared to the 'disappearance' from last summer, their burial of the body this time felt haphazard. Yet, Go Yo-il had a gut feeling. Even if the body were discovered, the likelihood of them falling under suspicion was practically zero. "......The police won’t even identify the body." "Yes." Dawn broke. As planned, Yu Ji-won and Go Yo-il began their bike ride. Before setting off, they warmed up together in front of their accommodation. "That’s why the presence of the passport was crucial." "Did you somehow deduce Go Yuri was capable of teleportation?" "No. It's just, a Reincarnator preparing for the end of the world would naturally conceal her identity. Even if there were a passport, it was likely a fake." "......" "But, really now. Did she have teleportation powers?" Every advantage could be a disadvantage. Teleportation, the ultimate weapon for Go Yuri, ironically turned into the cause of a ‘perfect crime’ in this scenario. Where did this body come from? How did it suddenly appear? Who was she? From abroad. By teleportation. A Reincarnator. No one would naturally arrive at this conclusion. There was no alibi to dispute. The investigation was over before it even began. "If the ambush hadn’t succeeded, it could have been dangerous. I must expand my imagination a bit further." The bike wheels moved with a lively rhythm. For two hours. It was now late enough to be called morning, and they stopped at a restaurant. "It's too sweet for my taste." Upon her first bite of the chain’s gyudon, Yu Ji-won gave a straightforward assessment. "I’ve heard that Japanese food tends to be sweet. It's no lie." "......I wasn't the one who spent a year building towards this trip—you were." "Oh, yes. Precisely, it's a pre-scheduled agenda that’s been repurposed for a different build-up." "She’s the cautious type: meticulous. Surely, she didn’t expect a trip planned a year ago, the very first day even, to be used as part of your plan. Here, have some karaage." "Thank you. To others, it’d appear as a romantic tale—a girl rescued from her oppressive home by Mr. Matiz. Hardly anyone would suspect a premeditated event unfolding. Hmm, the karaage is quite alright." "Is it? Isn’t the pepper flavor a bit strong?" "Whether due to the condition of the chicken or not, maintaining a consistent taste must be the tactic of a franchise. It's quite reasonable." It seemed like an ordinary breakfast setting, but their conversation topics were peculiarly strange. Go Yo-il sighed. "......I expected romance too. Having family involved in such a thing, it’s the worst." "Hmm." Yu Ji-won hummed quietly, looking somewhat remorseful. After finishing their meal, they bought Pocari Sweat and stood outside the convenience store where Yu Ji-won resumed speaking. "Mr. Matiz." "What?" "Those who speak casually of another’s death must also be prepared to accept their own just as indifferently." "......" "Above all, Mr. Matiz, you had half-lived a life brainwashed by her." "Brainwashed......?" "Gaslighting, you could say. You lived according to her plans, structuring your personality as she intended. It wasn’t a healthy relationship." "......" Go Yo-il remained silent. Again, they rode on. Three hours later, the conversation continued over a simple convenience store lunch. "The world will end, she said. Apparently, I’m needed to prevent it. Honestly, wouldn’t some brainwashing be worth it?" "Hm. That's not for me to decide." "You psychopath......" "I never understood why Mr. Matiz suddenly decided to mentor some sisters and leave. It must have been a scheduled event planned by her, like the disappearance from our household. Isn't that right?" "You're right." "Forget it." "......" "Mr. Matiz, have you ever planned anything entirely by yourself, without her influence?" There was such a time. This trip was the first. "......" "Wasn't it?" "......" "For Go Yuri, this trip must have appeared as a futile waste of time. Whether you traveled or not, her influence on you wouldn’t have diminished." "......That's true." "But Mr. Matiz, you embarked on this trip regardless. Why?" "......" "Allow me to tell you why." Yu Ji-won finished her meal, put it down, and wiped her mouth with a napkin. She looked straight into Go Yo-il’s eyes. "It's because Mr. Matiz wanted a relationship that was purely between the two of us." "......" "You thought Yu Ji-won would kill her parents; you believed she could play a key role in the world’s end project. Hence, she aimed to win Yu Ji-won over while her heart was still soft. That must have been Go Yuri's plan, and Mr. Matiz was merely a pawn." "......" "But Mr. Matiz, you were sincere." No, Yu Ji-won shook her head. "More accurately, Mr. Matiz was likely the only person who could be genuinely sincere to me. That’s why he was chosen as a pawn." "......" "Mr. Matiz felt guilty. He worried about deceiving me. So, to prove his sincerity to both himself and me, he embarked on this 'useless journey.'" "......" "I'm sincere too." Yu Ji-won retrieved another napkin. Standing up, she came over and gently wiped away the streaks from Go Yo-il’s eyes. "She was someone precious to you." "......Yeah." "I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?" "Yes." Yu Ji-won embraced him, burying her head into his shoulder. "I'm sorry for not consulting you earlier." "I wouldn’t have agreed, anyway." "I hadn't initially considered murder as a certainty. But after listening, I judged it was the best course." "She’s a Reincarnator. She knows everything you’ve done. Who knows what she might do to you in her next life." "I'm not afraid. It doesn't matter to me." Yu Ji-won gently patted the back of Go Yo-il's head. "Right now, you are here in front of me." "......" "Let's go on a journey, Mr. Matiz. Just the two of us." Go Yo-il thought to himself. Perhaps, it would be a long journey.