A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 179 : Beastkin Faction (6)

Tan.

To be honest, I hadn't guessed he was a UMC agent from the moment I first approached him.

Judging by his outward appearance, he looked exactly like a man from Aileen Village.

…No, if my thoughts are correct, Tan probably did spend his childhood in Aileen Village.

Otherwise, his natural demeanor couldn't be explained.

However, there must be a hidden context, like he was scouted by the agency during that time, or perhaps he was raised and trained by the agency from childhood.

“……”

If I hadn't known from my pre-regression information that a UMC agent would be observing the area around the Thought Form at this time.

I might have just dismissed it as a vague suspicion.

It was only because I kept that fact in mind and continued to observe that I was able to identify him. I almost fell for it myself.

“……”

Fear and bewilderment.

Tan, his expression somewhere between those two emotions, asked me.

“…What is your identity?”

Seeing him ask such a cliché question, it seemed my earlier explanation hadn't cleared up all the questions in his mind.

『You don't have to worry. I'm not some lackey of the Demon King. If I were, I wouldn't be having a direct conversation like this; I would have just cracked open your head and scanned it long ago. Wouldn't I?』

It was an explanation based on common sense, so of course, it wasn't that he couldn't accept it.

If I were truly a lackey of the Demon King, there would be no reason for me to approach a low-ranking agent of an executive agency with such a cooperative attitude.

He must have understood that much.

And yet, the reason he still insisted on asking about my identity was...

『Contact with the agency. Is it possible?』

『……!!』

It was likely related to the question that followed.

Even if I wasn't someone from the Demon King's side.

From the Order's perspective, the Demon King's Army wasn't the only troublesome entity.

‘…….’

Among the groups based within the Order Territory, there were plenty of organizations that engaged in sabotage against the Order's activities.

Even at this very moment, the names of several organizations were probably flashing through his mind.

He probably couldn't even guess how I knew about the UMC, an executive agency that operated in strict secrecy within the Order.

The fact that I was actively requesting contact with the agency seemed to make him think I might be a member of one of those disruptive organizations.

However.

“What you just heard is all there is. I'm a Hero belonging to the Order.”

Shrug

That was all I could reveal.

Of course, since I wanted a friendly relationship, it would be nice if we could speak openly with each other.

…But I couldn't very well reveal that I was a regressor from a ruined future.

“…Am I supposed to believe that right now?”

The identity of a Hero of the Order was a convenient calling card that could explain a great deal, but as expected, he asked again, as if that wasn't enough.

It wasn't strange.

Certainly, if all my actions could be explained with the single word 'Hero', the Order would have steamrolled the War against Demons, Demon King and all, a long time ago.

It had been a long time since I had deviated from the path of a typical Hero, and I was well aware of that fact.

“You should know better than anyone.”

“……”

“I might be a bit unique, but for now, that's all there is to it.”

But regardless of how exceptional it was.

In truth, it was highly likely he already knew my superficial identity and information.

Perhaps even about the things I had tried to hide beyond the superficial.

The reason was simple.

After all, since he was the agent who had approached us first, Tan must have received a certain level of general information from the executive agency.

And as a secret agency, the UMC's authority over information was at the highest level within the Order.

“…Didn't the UMC tell you?”

Even if he was a low-ranking field agent, his assignment was none other than the Thought Form of the fallen Beastkin Royal Family and its descendant.

They wouldn't have assigned just any personnel to it.

Of course, in terms of direct combat ability, he would naturally be weaker than those on the front lines of the war, but his stage of activity wasn't the War against Demons.

He seemed skilled enough in espionage and camouflage that even I couldn't immediately identify him.

He wasn't someone to be taken lightly.

In other words, his last question was a kind of 'probing question', asked despite already having a general idea of who I was.

And.

His probing questions didn't end there.

“…What is your ulterior moti…”

Another cliché question.

From the looks of it, he seemed to be trying to buy time and find some way out of this.

Of course, from my perspective, I had to refuse.

Having been dragged here helplessly, no matter how much he racked his brain, it was unlikely any special solution would present itself.

Besides this, I also had to sort out the Beastkin faction, and time was quite tight to handle everything.

I vehemently refused to continue this exchange of trite questions and answers.

Therefore, I cut him off and got straight to the point.

“I don't really have any ulterior motives.”

“……”

“The reason I brought you here wasn't to use you as a hostage or anything like that. It was simply because I didn't want any unnecessary talk to spread.”

Naturally, the biggest reason I brought Tan here was to make contact with the UMC.

But in truth, I couldn't say that was the only reason.

If that had been the only reason, the UMC would have probably contacted me first even if I had let him go without restraining him.

The reason I went to the trouble of restraining him and bringing him here was to prevent what happened in Aileen Village from being exposed to the outside.

“You get the gist of what I'm talking about, right?”

In Aileen Village, I wasn't in a leisurely enough state to be able to weigh my options and act carefully.

My original plan hadn't succeeded as intended in the first place, so too many variables had popped up instantly.

Even if that weren't the case, since it wasn't something I had directly experienced pre-regression, I couldn't guarantee success or failure.

Therefore, I didn't have the luxury to hide anything, so the entire process was laid bare, and if I'm right, Tan witnessed it all.

It goes without saying, but he must have also kept a record to report to his superiors.

If I had let Tan go, everything that happened at the scene would have been reported to the UMC exactly as it was.

That was one of the reasons I bothered to drag Tan all the way here.

To hide more information than necessary from the executive agency, whether by mixing in lies or by silencing him.

Of course.

It was impossible to block everything at the source.

Just like the saying, "Walls have ears," no matter how concealed the space where something happens, it's bound to spread to the public in some way.

It was impossible to catch all of it and block the information.

In fact, some people in Aileen Village must have directly witnessed the bizarre developments at the scene.

However, just because a complete block at the source was impossible didn't mean that blocking information was entirely meaningless.

At the very least, it slowed the speed of information and bought me time to respond to some extent.

If blocking information was a completely meaningless endeavor in the first place, there would have been no reason for me to go to the trouble of acquiring a guild house and a Territory to escape the gazes of the Constellations.

Loxy's 'Demon's Singularity', which had helped me since the Gateway Zone, would also have been meaningless.

The reason I went through such troublesome tasks was that a partial block of information could cause a delay in its transmission, buying me enough time to respond to any variables that might arise.

And Tan's case was no different.

“…What is it you want?”

Fortunately, Tan seemed to be someone I could reason with.

He seemed to have understood my intentions without me having to add various explanations.

The fact that he asked first meant he was somewhat willing to negotiate.

This made the conversation easier.

“It's simple. I'm not asking for that much.”

“…Telling me not to report to my superiors is impossible. At the point the demon hunter disappeared, hiding this fact became impossible anyway.”

I shook my head at his question.

Side to side

At my immediate denial, the expression on his face tilted further toward 'bewilderment'.

“I'm not saying not to report at all, just to modify the contents a bit.”

His brow furrowed.

“…Modify the contents?”

“Well, 'modify' just means adding a few things. You don't have to take it so strangely.”

“Adding?”

His face was now colored with complete bewilderment.

He had likely expected the word 'modify' to mean omitting content, so he seemed unable to understand why I was suggesting 'adding' instead.

Normally in this situation, one would be told what *not* to report, but my request was the complete opposite.

However, in my experience, when you need to hide something, hiding it is important, but feeding contaminated information is just as crucial.

Because humans are creatures who find it difficult to change their minds once they're convinced of something.

‘…Besides, there's only one thing I need to hide in the first place.’

Of course, I had no intention of explaining it to him in detail.

He was just a messenger, after all.

“First, let's say that you revealed your identity and approached me first, not that I discovered you.”

“……!”

“For the excuse… just say that you realized force wouldn't work, and since 'Valencia La Vael Tigris' was about to leave, you thought you might lose her.”

“…….”

“Second, tell them that I wish to contact the agency directly, and that if they want, I can also cooperate on matters regarding the existing 'Demon Hunter'.”

“……”

“And third, mention that with the heir of the Beastkin King joining, a new Beastkin faction might be established here.”

I shrugged.

“…Oh, and of course, you shouldn't say that ‘I’ told you this. It's not that difficult, is it?”

The important thing was how well the recipient of this story understood the meaning of its contents.

Tan, whose role was merely to deliver the message, didn't need to understand everything.

Of course, to guide things exactly as I intended, it would be safer to have Tan explain it based on his own understanding.

But if the current head of the UMC executive agency is the 'him' I remember.

This much content would probably be enough.