Infinite Regressor, Chapter 475 - I’m an Infinite Regressor, But I’ve Got Stories to Tell

The atmosphere buzzed with chatter. “Oh my, this is an impressive hotel.” “Yes, it is. Originally, you can reserve adjoining suites here. We have so many people, after all. Nowhere else can accommodate us.” “A bourgeois lifestyle, indeed. Even during the apocalypse, we managed to stay in fairly upscale lodging... ahh. The luxury of civilization is truly unparalleled...” [It’s like comparing the bedroom of a prominent medieval noble to the life of a modern middle-class family.] “Then, as the benefactor who booked this lodging, I hereby claim the bed next to Ha-yul's as mine!” “Ah, unnie! That's so unfair!” Liveliness filled the room. “But unnie, why didn’t we book separate accommodations for Sim Ah-ryeon? Doesn’t she need to be quarantined?” “Why are you treating a person like nuclear waste… This is truly insulting…” “Yes, but isn’t the transgression we committed against Ah-ryeon far less criminal than the offense she poses to the concept of humanity?” “Relax, little sister. This great unnie has everything planned out.” “Planned? What kind of plan?” “The person who will share a room with Sim Ah-ryeon and be assigned the bed next to hers will be decided! Through a draw! Right now!” “Eeeek!” “…Really. This is truly beyond impolite…” “I see. It’s a punishment game no one wants to lose. Let me remind everyone that I cannot distinguish faces visually and have a highly developed sense of smell. Should my sense of smell become impaired, there exists the danger of mistaking anyone for Sim Ah-ryeon.” “Damn, as much as I hate to admit it, that’s a damn persuasive threat...” “Doesn’t Uehara have any potions that would help with this? Like a potion that restores rationality or makes one itch all over if they don’t bathe daily.” [Not easy to manage.] Lee Ha-yul turned her head. Ever since she became the legitimate daughter of one of the main presidential candidates, her subtle gestures were caught perfectly on camera. After all, the top-of-the-line camcorder, bought for this day, was running. Ha-yul scribbled on a sketchbook. Then, she raised her questions toward the ‘director.’ [What have you been doing since departure?] [Why is the person who's usually the most excitable during these times staying so quiet?] “Ahhh.” The camcorder trembled slightly. The director was waving her hand. “You don’t have to mind me! It’s a spending mind, a spending mind!” [It's more natural to say 'never mind.' You're really otaku-like.] “Hey.” The voluntary director for this trip. Simultaneously, she was busy storing the camcorder footage onto a ‘laptop.’ She was Oh Dok-seo, the director. Her lively laughter was recorded behind the screen captured by the lens. “This group activity, it’s our first trip together without a care in the world, isn’t it? Who knows when another event like this will come around? I just want to record these precious memories of this moment!” [Very suspicious.] “How should I put it... the calm inside a storm? The calm before the storm? The last peace before hell. The peace of our era, maybe.” [ ? ] “Anyway, it’s a moment with historical value. This is true. As a humble writer worshipping culture, I cannot afford to let a single second pass in vain.” [I honestly have no clue what kind of nonsense you’re saying.] “Oh, don’t you know? ‘That.’ Fine then. It’s too early to say what ‘that’ is. But, sure. Is it like that…” Inside the camcorder, Ha-yul’s expression soured. On the sketchbook, in beautiful handwriting, a single Chinese character with five strokes was drawn.凸. [Besides, isn't the fact that we’re ‘all’ gathered now inaccurate? Seo Gyu-uncle isn’t here, right?] “Ah, I personally sent Seo Gyu a private message with the wrong schedule on purpose.” [ ? ] [Is that why he's been sending that crying-old-man emoticon in the group chat??] [Are you insane??] “Yeah... I’ll admit it. By now, Seo Gyu will probably realize, seeing all the travel photos popping up in the group chat, that he’s been excluded. But, Ha-yul, do you know? Even a day later, Seo Gyu will feel grateful towards me. It’s no exaggeration to call me a benefactor of his life…” [Seriously, what are you plotting??] “Author here. Spoilers. Problematic.” At that moment, Cheon Yo-hwa exclaimed. “Ding-dong! By default loss in the draw, Oh Dok-seo will share the bed next to Sim Ah-ryeon!” “Gaaaaaah! O heavens!” “...Until everyone here takes turns being assigned next to me, I... will not go to the pool nor bathe... at all...” There was commotion all around. Outside the chaos, apart from the bustling conversations, the outsider group (Noh Do-hwa and Jeong Ye-ji) surprisingly enjoyed the trip. This was primarily thanks to Cheon Yo-hwa's efforts. She proposed the concept of a trip where one ‘doesn’t have to lift a finger’ from the start to ensure success. Including the Eight Trigrams attendants, various helpers followed to accommodate the alliance members. That's not all. Even the cultists residing near San Francisco and Los Angeles were mobilized. The difficulty level of the trip had hit zero. Reservations at restaurants? All privately booked. Communication? They could get by speaking only Korean without issue. The alliance members didn’t even have to drag their suitcases around. Simply moving about, lo and behold, their luggage had been delivered and nicely arranged in each room of the signature suite. Even cosmetics and clothes, items they barely remembered packing, appeared as additional gifts. For the first time in their lives, the members tasted the true power of authority and wealth. Until now, they had mistaken those as means to protect humanity from destruction. However, Cheon Yo-hwa was thoroughly enjoying her recent ‘leave the fortune with a friend, and somehow the family's wealth doubled’ event, making a bit of indulgence trivial. ‘This is delightful!’ Dang Seo-rin was also thoroughly relishing the trip. ‘Delicious!’ Munch. Eating a bite of the dessert supposedly made by a famous store that had conveniently appeared in the hotel room, happiness seemed to spontaneously recharge. ‘What’s this? I thought they were just nuisances crashing my trip... but surprisingly, they fit well with us.’ This sentiment was somewhat misplaced. Firstly, this wasn’t ‘my trip,’ but ‘Yu Ji-won’s trip.’ Strictly speaking, the interloper was Dang Seo-rin herself. Yu Ji-won had promised this trip with the Undertaker since her middle school days. It was even the very day she decided not to pursue suicide anymore. Into this pivotal first life experience barged a bunch of ‘juniors’ who only met the Undertaker long after. Yet, Yu Ji-won, without even batting an eye, passed it off with ‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ showcasing her abnormal magnanimity and transcendent spirit. A gesture beyond human. However, on the matter of harmony among the alliance members, Dang Seo-rin’s insight was on point. ‘Hmm... but how strange. I mostly remember us constantly fighting and bickering whenever we gathered.’ In truth, it wasn’t all that strange. Not only Dang Seo-rin but also Cheon Yo-hwa, Jeong Ye-ji, and others sitting around the table or couch, sharing similar reflections like, ‘Aren’t we friendlier than we thought?’ To see such amicability among this assembly of humanity’s mightiest mentally challenged—one might wonder how. Yet, pondering further brought understanding. The times had been utterly insane! From the internet comes a saying: to truly understand someone’s nature, give them the ordeal of extreme situations. This instance proved the truth that internet proverbs are utterly useless. Anyone could sense something was off just by substituting ‘ordeal’ with ‘battlefield.’ Before reaching a happy ending, the world experienced by the alliance members was, quite literally, a battlefield every single day. In the jovial group laughing heartily in the hotel now, not a single person hadn’t been stationed at the front lines of war. The anomalies came incessantly, haunted their dreams, and, with the slightest bit of carelessness, taught them the meaning of ‘corruption’ from within. Keeping sane was logically impossible. Immersed in extreme stress, a human’s head would explode even if their lover touched their wrist. How much more for those warriors at the frontline of the anomaly's apocalypse? The truly strange thing was the regressor who, despite everything, nonchalantly listened to, comforted, and advised her comrades with, ‘I see,’ ‘You must’ve struggled,’ ‘I’ve got a coffee I’ve customized over hundreds of thousands of years for you, and it’s really good,’ ‘Want to relax with this?’—all with a serene smile. A gesture beyond human. In essence, the ‘mental illnesses’ of the alliance members were somewhat exaggerated. Or rather, largely so. Anyone thrown into that era would naturally go mad. When crazy rubbed against crazy, friction was inevitable. Thus, now when a knock was heard at the door, there was no need to suspect ‘an anomaly?’. Nor was it necessary to wonder if the dessert appearing automatically in the room was ‘an anomaly?’. “Well, then, I’ll head to the university with Matiz. Thanks to Cheon Yo-hwa, Supreme Grace, I’ve been granted the honor to freely tour the campus.” “Oh! Me too, me too!” Surprisingly, Dang Seo-rin wasn’t driven by a duty of ‘I can’t leave Yu Ji-won alone with the Undertaker.’ Instead, she simply thought, ‘The hotel is nice, but I’m bored,’ ‘It will be fun to move around with these guys, hehe,’ and energetically raised her hand! “Let’s go together, Do-hwa unnie!” This statement, too, was indeed from Dang Seo-rin. Just now, Dang Seo-rin had referred to ‘Noh Do-hwa,’ ‘former Director of National Road Management Corps,’ as ‘unnie.’ An achievement established not even 24 hours since the start of their trip to America. “Ugh, damn it… if you’re going, go by yourselves. Why do you keep trying to involve me…?” “Oh, come on. If not now, when will you get a chance to witness Stanford? I heard the campus is really beautiful!” “I-I’ll go too. Uhh. With so many people around, I bet I can graffiti on the school walls without getting caught.” “No, Ah-ryeon. No matter how much our sect has indulged its generosity, that's crossing the line, so please refrain.” “Hieeng…” Each alliance member had, in their way, survived a hellish era. Few left understood the shared reality that the natural laws of ‘this world coming naturally to you’ absolutely weren’t a given. “Let’s all just go together. I called for a limo.” “Waaaa—!” Comrades in arms. “What? Ah-ryeon, did you start a YouTube channel?!” “Y-yeah. I might have enough money for life from what I entrusted to Ye-ji, but... I want to showcase my work occasionally. But I don’t want to mingle with people in the real world. So, I’m debuting as an incredibly talented, stunning genius artist and drawing attention…” [Anonymous Comment: Sim Ah-ryeon < They say she doesn’t wash her hair or bathe, is that true?] “My goodness. L-look. No video is even up yet, and the hate comments are already rolling in. Scary. A true genius of a charming young artist indeed…” [We've got a problem. Can’t pierce through. Even going so far as to call oneself a young beauty genius rather than a mere beauty.] “Ah, please do not reveal creepy or disturbing artworks via videos! Our sect will buy them at a high price instead.” A beautiful camaraderie. Slowly, inside Dang Seo-rin’s mind, the idea that ‘hanging out with these guys and traveling the world might be far more fun than playing alone with the Undertaker,’ ‘Let’s get Cheon Yo-hwa to buy us a luxury yacht!’ and ‘World travel on a yacht!’ was gaining more and more persuasion. “Hm?” “What is it, Ji-won?” “Over there, on the lawn. If it wasn’t just my imagination, I thought I saw a bubble… maybe a mirage of Leviathan’s water flea.” “What?” “Let’s get closer and check. Everyone, in case there’s danger, please stay behind me.” A luxury yacht world tour. “...Well, it seems there's nothing here. Aside from this part being unusually damp with water, there are no anomalies detected.” [How about digging?] “Excellent suggestion, Miss Lee Ha-yul. A keen insight befitting the de facto leader of the future presidential office that will dominate the Korean Peninsula.” “Hold on. I'll ask one of our members to bring a shovel! Don’t want our clothes getting dirty.” For reference, the yacht was indeed a boat. “Hm?” “This is…” “A box?” “It’s a box indeed.” “We have no choice but to open it.” “Are you out of your mind? Now, without the regressions or anything, you want to open an obviously anomalous item? Do they still think they're awakened beings…” “That’s why we must open it, Ms. Noh Do-hwa. Our lack of powers implies the absence of the Outer God entities. Therefore, currently, no anomalies should exist that could pose a threat to us.” “Wow. I'm the Supreme Grace Young Lady, and Ha-yul is also the Young Lady, but with the National Road Management gone and times changing, she's just Ms. Noh Do-hwa now…” [Not easy.] “So everyone—let’s open the box.” And a boat was indeed a boat. “...?” “What?” “Huh?” “Hm?” “What the...?” “...” “...” “Ah...?” In other words. “....” “....” “....” “....” “....” “....” “....” “....” Nice Boat. ---TL NOTE: The raws literally says: Nice Boat. IN ENGLISH. ---