Throwing Bait (1)

“Where’s the ‘what if’? There are only facts!”

“No, I’m saying it’s a ‘what if.’ Lee Hyo-ju, you’re acting too much like a girl.”

“What? You wanna die? And don’t throw around baseless assumptions that converge to 0% out of nowhere!”

“C’mon, not even 0%. Martial Star and Demon Star could be on the same side. If they’d met early on they’d probably have been allies, right?”

“Ah… seriously! Kim Han, is your brain literally made of muscle? They can never be on the same side. Demon Star’s crazy about fighting, Martial Star’s obsessed with strength — they’re the same kind of person. If they were on the same side, they couldn’t fight each other and wouldn’t get stronger! So they can never be together!”

“W-well, still, they could be together, right? What’s truly impossible?”

“Ha! There’s only one case where Demon Star and Martial Star would be on the same side.”

“What is it?!”

“When a monster-like existence appears that neither of them could beat even together. Do you think that’s possible?! You brainless idiot!”

―Before the regression, the small daily life of the Rebound Legion.

The first actor to appear, unsurprisingly, was Violentia.

She blinked at the wide-open gate, then doubled over at the sight of continentals coming and going through the manor so freely, and couldn’t bring herself to enter.

If I hadn’t spotted her first and gestured her in, Violentia would have awkwardly lingered outside the gate for quite a while.

Even after pushing through the crowd to the terrace, the surprised expression on Violentia’s face hadn’t faded.

“Why that look on your face?”

“Ah, no. It’s amazing. A party with continentals. Whew… there are really a lot of people.”

“There are probably more who couldn’t come in. By the way, did news that we’re holding a party reach the western residences?”

“What? Ah! Hohoho. No. I came to see Kim Han.”

“Ho? Me? What business do you have with me?”

“Well, you see, with us…”

Just as Violentia was about to get to the point, Album strode over leading someone to me.

I had already instructed beforehand that if a guest came looking for me, bring them over no matter if I was in conversation, so Album unhesitatingly brought the person who looked like a representative.

“Mr. Kim Han.”

“Huh? Album? Why?”

“The Messenger says he wants to meet Mr. Kim Han.”

“Oh? Got it.”

I gestured to Album and invited the representative to come up to the terrace.

A man who wasn’t a rugged southern type nor a pretty boy, but a somewhat slick handsome man, bowed politely and introduced himself.

“Hello. Captain Kim Han of the Rebound Legion. I’m Giorgio, assistant to Benialis.”

“Giorgio?!”

Giorgio! Ah, him! How could I have forgotten him! I blamed my own stupidity and complacency.

How could I have forgotten Giorgio, the famous representative who had been with the Heavenly God camp alongside Martial Star Proy Rium and Compassionate Star Benialis?

‘Wait! He’s serving Benialis?’

Strange. Originally, Giorgio was….

‘Check.’

Indeed, it was that Giorgio—an absurd number of talents compared to his stats.

He’d likely evolve further over time, but I clearly remembered that peculiar status window where all his talents specialized in devising schemes.

However, the reason I found it odd that he was serving Benialis was Giorgio’s sobriquet.

The Tongue of Martial Star, Giorgio.

It was what his mockers called him, and Giorgio took pride in that nickname.

They said that when Martial Star followed Giorgio’s plans, his power doubled.

He rose to fame from the story that Martial Star alone killed 444 representatives following Giorgio’s scheme.

He was indeed Martial Star’s tongue—Martial Tongue Giorgio.

From all that, you could tell he was a man who had followed Martial Star to the end in his previous life.

In the final battle between the Heavenly God and Demon God camps, if Benialis hadn’t checked Giorgio, or if Martial Star had fully trusted Giorgio and supported his plan, that day’s outcome might have been different.

But in the end they lost the battle, and Giorgio stayed by Martial Star’s side to the end.

Later there were rumors that he left together with Martial Star, and others said he self-destructed to buy Martial Star time to escape.

In any case, I knew him as a man more loyal to Martial Star than anyone.

In truth, Giorgio was one of the representatives I planned to recruit later or quietly kill.

And yet he was following Benialis?

‘Well, Martial Star might have joined Benialis’s camp and he followed afterward. No, that’s actually quite likely.’

Just from seeing him being spied on by Benialis, I thought he might later volunteer to follow Martial Star. Giorgio was treated like garbage to that extent.

I didn’t know about others, but I thought it likely that Giorgio was the one managing Benialis’s camp.

“Mr. Kim Han? Do you happen to know me?”

Giorgio’s words snapped me out of my reverie.

Only then did I realize I was standing with a startled expression, staring at Giorgio.

I recovered and spoke, trying not to show my embarrassment.

“Ah! I’ve heard you’re the right-hand man of Benialis, who is sharing Exorsus with Violentia. I was surprised. Nice to meet you.”

I admitted my surprise and turned my gaze away from him toward Violentia.

As expected, Giorgio was greatly surprised at the name Violentia and stared at her.

Unlike when she faced me, Violentia looked down at Giorgio arrogantly, as if daring him to greet her first.

But Giorgio responded with an unexpected attitude.

He quickly masked his surprise and glared at Violentia, as if protesting, “Why should I be the first to greet someone like you?”

At Giorgio’s reaction, the two women beside Violentia flared.

“Mr. Kim Han.”

Album’s voice cut the odd tension between them.

Just as they were about to snap and clash, the standoff ended, though their looks at each other remained unfriendly.

“What is this?”

“Two representatives have come to see Mr. Kim Han.”

“Bring them in.”

And the representatives who approached the terrace were the ones I had been waiting for.

A man with thick forearms and a rough, faded energy, plainly rugged. His hair was tousled in all directions and an untrimmed beard gave him a bandit’s look—Martial Star Proy Rium.

The other man had a disposition entirely opposite to Martial Star’s.

His sharp, neat clothes looked carefully pressed. His hair was slicked back and tied, and his pristine silk garments and tightly bound heroic sash made him look like he’d stepped out of a martial novel.

The Sword Star Makiara, whom I was meeting for the first time in this life.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Makiara.”

“Oh! So you were Kim Han after all. Well, there’s no one else who’d take first place but you.”

While Makiara greeted me politely and composedly, Proy approached as if meeting an old friend.

“Welcome. I’m Kim Han, leading the Rebound Legion, though it’s still lacking.”

Giorgio watched the two newcomers with interest, while Violentia’s face registered far more shock than when she first met Giorgio.

Then something interesting happened.

Makiara, the Sword Star, also looked at Violentia and was greatly surprised.

The sword star wasn’t normally talkative, so his silence wasn’t shocking, but it was rare to see him so startled that he unconsciously brought his hand to his waist and then drew it back.

“Ho?”

Even Martial Star uttered an exclamation. He, too, seemed acquainted with Violentia.

The three people, who seemed unconnected, knowing each other… it suddenly sparked my curiosity.

Violentia and Makiara stared, raising their presence as if about to duel.

“The three of you seem to know each other.”

“Ah…!”

“Hmm…”

Violentia and Makiara, hearing my voice, realized their state and made small noises as they broke their concentration.

Unlike them, Proy’s eyes stayed fixed on me. His bushy beard moved with a refreshing smile.

“You know, this is the second time, and oddly both times it’s been at your place. But the owner of the place where we met doesn’t even know why we met? Haha, this is amusing!”

Seeing the Sword Star and Martial Star arrive together and chat occasionally, they seemed familiar with each other.

But they didn’t appear to have a close relationship with Violentia.

If so, it meant the three of them had met here twice… once was today…

One more time—what kind of event would make the three of them appear simultaneously?

‘Ah…!’

“Oh? You noticed?”

“Not long ago some intruders broke into my house. You must have met them then.”

At my words Martial Star nodded vigorously and laughed, the Sword Star fell silent again, and Violentia’s face hardened as she frowned.

Their reactions differed, but one thing was the same—their gazes.

They exuded a chilling, burning murderous intent, as if remembering an unforgettable enemy.

When Kailum incarnated, these people probably first saw each other here. Given the scale of Kailum’s rampage, it’s likely they sensed it from afar and moved toward Exorsus.

Fortunately, they didn’t bring up Talis or Bioss but instead flared murderous intent about Kailum, so perhaps something happened to them that day?

My curiosity stops here for now. It’s not important.

Now all the actors had gathered. I stood to raise the curtain on the play.

Just as I was about to speak, Album’s voice surprised me this time.

“Mr. Kim Han.”

“…Yes?”

Everyone who was to gather had gathered. But Album calling me meant another representative wanted to meet me.

I glanced to see if it might be Benialis, but no—he was still drinking. So who was it?

“The Messenger says he wants to see Kim Han.”

“…Then have him come in for now.”

I resolved that if he was a worthless fellow I’d beat him half to death, and waited for the representative who wanted to meet me.

And the moment Album left and I saw the face of the man who entered, I understood. He was a man fully deserving of being here.