A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 167 : White Tiger (5)

A faint memory surfaced in her darkening vision.

From a time when the world as Valencia knew it still existed intact.

In other words.

A time Valencia herself didn't remember, when the Beastkin Nation had solidified its position as the leader of the Neutral Zone and stood firm in its place.

『Dad!!』

A young Valencia suddenly appeared, shouting in an innocent voice.

『Ahem.』

A man who exuded such dignity that anyone could tell he was no ordinary person.

His reply was a stern reprimand of her words and actions.

『…Did I not tell you not to use that title carelessly?』

However, the expression on his face did not exactly suggest a strict or frightening father.

『You must call me Your Majesty now. Valencia.』

While the content of his words was certainly scolding her, the unconcealable affection in his voice was the very picture of a doting father.

『Ah, my mistake.』

At Valencia's short and cheeky reply, Allen Tigris III shook his head and urged her once more.

『It happens too often to be a mistake.』

『Haha…….』

『There are many watchful eyes outside your palace, so try to restrain yourself as much as possible. Even if it seems we are alone, the world is wide, and there are many listening ears.』

At the time, she didn't understand what he meant.

After all, the world Valencia had experienced was not that wide.

Her father, Allen Tigris III.

Her bodyguard, Thomas Lycan Hardist.

And a few servants whose names she could no longer recall clearly.

The alleyways of the Beastkin Nation, which she saw on her occasional trips outside the palace.

That was the entirety of the world Valencia knew and had experienced.

So it was only natural that she couldn't understand her father's words about the world being wide.

『I’ve heard rumors that you’ve been going outside the palace more frequently these days.』

『…That Thomas.』

『Restrain yourself. It’s not that I don’t know of your frustration. But the times are not good right now.』

『…….』

『Follow Thomas’s words. I have seen many men of the Lycan Family, but I have never seen one as loyal as he.』

Of course, regardless of whether it was big or small.

Valencia was happy.

Though the world inside the small palace was a bit suffocating, it was enough to occasionally slip away from Thomas and run.

Just running through the alleyways for a few minutes would quickly relieve the pent-up frustration from the palace.

That brief escape was enough for the young Valencia.

Rather.

It was when that small world shattered.

When.

Dracula attacked the Beastkin Nation, and the entire country collapsed.

When she came face to face with the ‘wide world’ her father had spoken of, the world that unfolded before her was overwhelmingly vast and merciless.

『…….』

In an instant, everything vanished.

It wasn't a metaphor; in the most literal sense, the entire world that had surrounded her was destroyed.

The palace that protected her had crumbled, Thomas who was always by her side was gone, and her steadfast father was slumped on the throne.

Flames and the debris of collapsed buildings filled the Beastkin Nation.

Acrid smoke and hazy dust rose chaotically, filling the surroundings.

Her vision was obscured, and the alleyways of the Beastkin Nation, once filled with her laughter, now echoed with piercing screams.

A scene of utter pandemonium.

It was so terrifying and dizzying that the horror could not be described with words.

In that moment, Valencia instinctively realized the role she had to play.

It was less a process of thought and more of an intuition sensed in the realm of the unconscious, something akin to an instinct flowing through her DNA.

For a princess who had grown up in a palace without even reaching the Yakgwan age of twenty to feel the immense responsibility to ‘lead the Beastkin Nation’ the moment she witnessed the raw reality of the world.

It was not something that could be explained by common sense, at least.

Valencia at that time, no matter how optimistically one looked at it, was nothing more than a newly hatched chick.

This wasn't a metaphor; considering the relatively long lifespan of the Beastkin, it was literally true.

This was even more so given that a Beastkin who had not yet reached the Yakgwan age and had not undergone a coming-of-age ceremony could not hold any position of responsibility in the nation.

…Was that why?

Even though Valencia knew what her duty was, she turned away from it and ran.

Witnessing the raw horror of the world's underbelly was more than the young Valencia of that time could bear.

And so, Valencia fled the scene as if escaping.

Of course, no one could blame her.

It was not only physically difficult for her, who had not even had her coming-of-age ceremony, to immediately succeed the throne in place of the deceased Allen Tigris III.

Even if she had succeeded him, the situation was not one that could have been resolved.

Thus, leaving the Beastkin Nation behind, Valencia began to wander from place to place.

There were numerous threats.

She was nearly captured by slave hunters, and there were times she came to her senses in the den of a Magical Beast without knowing how she got there.

She was even falsely accused of being a witch in some country and nearly burned at the stake.

After going through all sorts of experiences while wandering, Valencia arrived at a quiet village.

And that place was ‘Aileen Village’, where she had been staying ever since.

She hadn't originally intended to stay there.

It wasn't that she had a plan; rather, at the time, her mind and body were utterly exhausted, and the only instinct left in her head was to run as far away from the Beastkin Nation as possible.

The reason she, who had been constantly moving to distant places, stopped in that village was because of the actions of one person who suddenly appeared before her.

『Have we always had a stray cat like this in our village?』

It was a trivial encounter.

She had been walking unconsciously when she sensed a presence and instinctively changed her form.

『…….』

…She was still not used to completely transforming into a human to hide the signs of being a Beastkin.

If anything, the Complete Metamorphosis she had learned unknowingly while running from Thomas was more familiar to her body.

Therefore, at the sudden presence, Valencia had used her transformation without thinking, and with her perfect cat-like appearance, the person didn't even suspect a thing and was convinced she was a stray.

『Hmm… I don’t think I’ve ever seen one with such a unique appearance. You must be a stray.』

Then, noticing her poor condition from not having eaten for days.

『…You look like you’ve been starving for a while.』

『…Nya.』

『Wait here. I’ll go get you something to eat and drink.』

The person gave Valencia some water and a little food.

It was nothing grand.

A small help, just once, when she needed it most.

…Because of that trivial encounter.

Valencia ended up settling in Aileen Village before she knew it.

『Whitey! Have some tuna.』

『Blackie!』

『White Tiger~!』

It was quite comical how everyone called her by a different name.

The people treated Valencia quite well.

It wasn't just about being well-fed; in Aileen Village, she experienced a friendly affection she had rarely felt before due to her status as a ‘princess’.

For Valencia, who had lost everything and run away, Aileen Village became a new home.

Of course, compared to her life in the palace where servants took care of everything, there were many things she had to do herself and many relative inconveniences.

But it wasn't all bad.

To Valencia, the inconvenience came as a new experience, and she actually felt a sense of pride without realizing it each time she accomplished something on her own.

It was like learning how to live, one thing at a time.

And through those experiences, Valencia realized.

That the things she had taken for granted were not so granted after all.

And so, how much time had passed in peace?

At some point, after she had grown accustomed to the people's affection and gained some confidence in her life as a stray cat.

Valencia suddenly felt she needed to do something to repay them.

Just as the conveniences provided to her as a princess of the Beastkin Nation were not actually a given.

She had come to realize that the peace that had been so natural in the Beastkin Nation was no longer a given.

She wanted to repay them in any way she could, while she could.

She didn't think it would happen, but.

If by some chance her current peaceful daily life were to be shattered again, she felt she would be left with regrets.

『…What should I do?』

And what caught the eye of the pondering Valencia was none other than a Villain.

A vile Villain hiding his dark intentions, mingling among the crowd.

Valencia realized that among the many people living in the village, reading their inner thoughts and exposing the villains was something only she could do.

…Of course, as is true of all humans, there was no one who was completely devoid of evil intent.

Everyone had a little bit of wickedness in their hearts and was bound to make mistakes.

Valencia was not unaware of this either.

Therefore, the people she clearly defined as villains had to meet several conditions.

A wicked person whose every thought was heinous, who had already committed a crime, and who showed not the slightest sign of remorse or reflection for the crime committed.

She decided to define only those who met all three conditions as villains and deal with them.

That was the beginning of the ‘unidentified Man-eating Beast’ that appeared in Aileen Village.

A power that manifested without her realizing it as she made the decision to deal with the villains.

The Master of All Species.

One of her golden eyes sparkled, and at that moment, her father's Thought Form appeared from somewhere.

As if it had been waiting, the Thought Form of Allen Tigris III appeared, glowing with a blue light, and dealt with the villain just from her resolve alone.

This was not a one-time event but was repeated several times thereafter.

The repeated disappearance of villains.

At first, the people were afraid, saying a man-eating beast had appeared, but as the evil deeds of the disappeared people came to light, they began to change their minds one by one, and eventually, they came to trust her father's Thought Form so much that they called it a ‘Guardian Deity’.

Valencia's small world, found again.

This was comfortable and good.

Her father was gone, but his will remained as the Guardian Deity of Aileen Village.

Thomas, who used to guard her, was gone, but there was also no one who would go out of their way to come here and attack her.

The servants who had assisted her were gone, but she had learned to do things on her own.

In the palace, she had been frustrated by her ignorance of the outside world, but now, it no longer felt frustrating.

It might not be large, but.

It was a happy, small world of her own.

……That was enough.