A Regressor's Bucket List

Chapter 184 : Aberdeen (1)

“The train will be stopping shortly. Passengers wishing to disembark at ‘Aberdeen-Delta’...”

Along with the Guardian Train’s announcement, the cityscape unfolded beyond the window.

A city adorned with colorful neon signs, where the unique, somber hues of magic engineering bloomed chaotically, differing across its four districts: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta.

Aberdeen.

It wasn’t my first time seeing it, but my impression of the city remained the same, no matter how many times I saw it.

‘If the word “future” were to take shape, it would probably feel something like this…’ That thought, and...

『…But seriously, isn’t this weapon, a gun, far more romantic than swords and blades? It’s a weapon that makes anyone who holds it the strongest.』

『…….』

『Once it’s properly completed, it has the function to allow even a five-year-old child to deal with a demon in one go…』

‘Emily.’

Thoughts of her.

Those were the only two things.

“...I was planning to come here anyway.”

Meeting her was also part of my bucket list.

To be precise, ‘Emily’ wasn’t the name written on it.

It was because, due to my unique inherent ability, every weapon I touched quickly reached its durability limit.

Throughout my previous and current lives, the only weapon I could properly use was the magic engineering firearm she had custom-made for me.

Of course.

That didn’t mean the quality of the weapons I currently possessed was inferior.

In the case of the ‘Demonic Sword Chiyou’ and the ‘Fragment of the Nameless Sword’, they were clearly objects that surpassed the level of an Artifact and reached that of a Holy Relic.

Therefore, naturally, they were free from the damage caused by me twisting my Mana.

However, even those were unusable for their own reasons.

First, Chiyou was strictly Cheong-yi’s sword, who had inherited the Demonic Cult.

If I used it, I couldn’t draw out its true power, reducing its efficiency.

Moreover, while borrowing its power occasionally might be fine, trying to carry it around and use it day and night would surely hinder the situation rather than help, thanks to that uncooperative fellow.

And in the case of the Fragment of Nameless Sword…

‘…I can’t use it right now.’

For one, it currently had no function as a weapon.

I knew it was an important and meaningful object, so much so that the Emperor, who could be called the head of the Murim Empire in my previous life, used it.

However, at that time, the Murim Empire chose mutual destruction along with the Demon King’s Army.

I didn’t know what abilities it actually possessed.

I only had a vague guess, through conversations with Allen, that it might be related to the divine beasts known as the Four Guardian Spirits.

Even if that were true, it would only be possible once all the fragments were collected and it was fully functional.

With only a half-fragment now, its sole role was to serve as a vessel containing the Thought Form of ‘Former King Allen Tigris’ that resided within it.

Even that, it seemed, had to be entrusted to Valencia for the time being.

Furthermore.

‘…It’s still more comfortable to use what I’m used to.’

Although I could use any weapon, there was inevitably a difference in proficiency.

Even with a sword, it’s best to use the one you’re accustomed to.

It wasn’t that I hadn’t used other weapons in my previous life.

Countless weapons passed through my hands during the War against Demons until I settled on the weapon she made, and the reason I settled on it was that its nature suited me and was appropriate for me.

To use a weapon permanently, I’d have to find an Artifact on the level of a Holy Relic anyway, and considering the time and effort to find and master a new one, it seemed better to just use what I was accustomed to.

Therefore, even if it weren’t for this matter, I was planning to visit Aberdeen soon to commission a firearm from her.

Although the situation was quite different from my previous life, making it uncertain, if her personality was still as I remembered, then persuading her wouldn’t be too difficult for me.

‘…….’

However, one thing bothered me at this moment.

The reason I visited this place wasn’t to find Emily, but because of UMC’s summons.

『PS. Three weeks later, Aberdeen Delta.』

It wasn’t that I hadn’t expected UMC to request a meeting.

I had probably thought so from the moment I sent Tan, and I was almost certain when the reply came via carrier pigeon.

Strictly speaking, the very act of stating “I can cooperate regarding the Allen Tigris matter” through Tan was tantamount to me initiating contact to some extent, so it wasn’t strange.

The problem was the location.

Aberdeen Delta.

Why would UMC specifically choose this place as the meeting spot?

One thing was certain: they couldn’t possibly think I had any connection to Emily.

‘…….’

As far as I knew, Emily’s location at this time was precisely in Aberdeen’s Delta district.

So, when Jerry first specified that location to me, I did wonder if that was the reason.

Unless there was someone else who Regressed besides me.

It would be impossible for them to think that I knew of Emily’s existence at this point.

‘…That can’t be right.’

Publicly, the name ‘Emily’ was treated as non-existent.

In reality, the recent advancement of magic engineering itself originated entirely from the mind of one genius girl named ‘Emily’ – that was the truth I knew.

However, this fact was completely unknown to the public.

They merely believed that the field of magic engineering had developed because The Order had heavily invested in it, to the extent of creating the artificial city of Aberdeen.

They had no idea that this development was due to the keen genius of one girl.

…In fact, it was quite obvious.

Putting everything else aside, it was wartime.

Currently, a massive war, the War against Demons, was ongoing between the Demon King’s Army and The Order’s forces, and magic engineering itself was a new, emerging technological field that The Order had invested in to gain an advantage in the War against Demons.

Simply put, magic engineering itself was a type of major war technology.

Furthermore, magic engineering had developed with an unrivaled growth rate, unmatched by any other of The Order’s numerous investment fields.

Most importantly, it was already a mass-produced technology being used in the field.

If it became known that all the advancements and achievements in magic engineering stemmed from a single individual, the Demon King’s Army would certainly not stand by idly.

It would be natural for them to find that one person and either kill or persuade them.

Therefore, from The Order’s perspective, they had no choice but to publicly conceal Emily’s existence to prevent that.

It was a top-secret matter, incomparable to the location of a slave prison.

…It’s a ridiculous story, but the division of the city of Aberdeen into four districts—Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta—was also done for that reason.

Each district, as if by agreement, took the lead in distinct, major fields, each representing a pillar of magic engineering technology.

On top of that, each of these fields had a chief research team, like the Alpha Project or the Delta Project.

Each chief research team would hold annual conferences to present their research findings, which was supposed to contribute to the development of magic engineering technology.

In reality, however, all the chief research teams in each district merely acted as Emily’s puppets.

They simply presented what Emily had devised, experimented with, and invented alone in Aberdeen’s underground, filling in the research data haphazardly.

They weren’t truly the main agents leading the experimental processes.

Well, of course.

The Order had, of course, set up the process so cunningly and thoroughly that the chief research teams of those projects actually believed they were in charge of the experimental process.

…Anyway.

It was a clear fact that UMC choosing Aberdeen Delta as the contact location was not because they knew of my relationship with Emily.

‘…Then is there another reason?’

But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t guess any other reason.

Aberdeen was located far from both UMC headquarters and my guildhouse.

It was truly what you’d call a third-party region.

Out of the many territories of The Order, the choice of Aberdeen felt somewhat suspicious to consider a mere coincidence, yet there was no particular evidence to suggest otherwise.

Chii-eek-

Thump-thump-

Of course, time didn’t wait for my contemplation, so I couldn’t come up with a suitable reason even as I disembarked the train and stepped onto Aberdeen-Delta.

Tak-

“......”

I got off the train, but there was no particular reaction.

It was unexpected.

“...I thought they would come to meet me since there was no specific address.”

Of course, UMC’s methods were beyond my knowledge, but I figured if they expected me to make more moves than this, they would have provided a more specific location.

“...Did that Jerry forget to tell me something else that was written?”

I hadn’t brought anyone with me.

Of course, just like in Aileen Village, Eliya had pestered me to let her accompany me, but it would likely make UMC uncomfortable.

And I, too, found it somewhat inconvenient for her to be with me here.

‘…Since I don’t know when something might happen.’

There wasn’t much time.

I didn’t know exactly when Isaac’s foretold event in the dungeon would occur, but it was best to save as much time as possible.

Furthermore, Aberdeen wasn’t particularly close to the guildhouse, so it was only natural for me to think that since I had come all this way, I might as well meet Emily before leaving.

It made sense from a logistical perspective, and also timely, as weapons weren’t something that could be conjured up instantly upon request.

To use them when needed, it was always better to place commissions early.

I wanted to avoid another squabble with Eliya about how I knew of Emily’s existence.

Thud-

And so, waiting for UMC, who might arrive at any moment, I settled onto a bench at one side of the train station.

And the moment I sat down.

“Faster than I expected.”

“......?”

Suddenly, an old man sitting on the adjacent bench spoke to me.

“Is it because you’re young?”

He had a newspaper spread wide, covering his body, so I couldn’t recognize him by appearance.

But the moment I heard his voice, I recognized his identity.

“...I didn’t expect you to come yourself.”

“If I sent another subordinate and they came back after just messing things up, I felt like my blood pressure would explode.”

…Ludwig Allegro.

The leader of UMC.