### Chapter: 301
After finishing his conversation with Arthur, Kraush headed straight to the Lion’s Order training ground.
Throughout the walk, Kraush’s face was deeply lost in thought.
This was all because the conversation with Arthur kept swirling in his mind.
Maybe there was a timeline where he and Arthur could have had a good relationship.
That thought oddly led Kraush to ponder many things.
[ Seriously, all these regressors are practically itching to get depressed. ]
His musings were interrupted by Crimson Garden.
Crimson Garden always showed a jaded reaction when it came to regression.
Kraush had no idea why she reacted like this.
“Crimson Garden, have you met any other regressors?”
At Kraush’s question, Crimson Garden fell silent for a moment.
[ I have. ]
And then came a heavy response.
“’I’ve met’ means…”
[ It means there was one in the world where I lived before it crumbled. ]
Kraush’s steps halted suddenly.
His gaze landed on the window outside.
There sat a black crow on a tree branch.
It was the crow of Crimson Garden.
“So that means that regressor is no longer around?”
[ Right. That guy voluntarily left to prevent the world that had already crumbled from collapsing again. ]
Kraush’s expression went blank.
A self-deprecating laugh escaped from Crimson Garden.
[ It’s almost as if he left, saying, “We’ll meet again anyway,” without a hint of worry. ]
Surely in Crimson Garden’s world, the regressor would have encountered her again.
But now, the Crimson Garden cast aside in this world could no longer see him.
No matter what she experienced in this world and how much they had grown together,
for the regressor, it was simply part of one timeline.
The regressor had left.
Crimson Garden’s world had perished.
[ Leaving behind just a single dead body in that ruined world was a sight that was truly absurd upon reflection. ]
What remained before her was merely the shell of the regressor.
Once the regressor left behind the world after its collapse, that was how she was left behind.
[ Now that I think of it, I really doubt if I ever truly regressed. ]
All she could see was just one corpse.
She couldn’t tell whether the regressor really went away or not.
[ Did he manage to stop the destruction, or is he still trapped, spinning in a meaningless life of regression? ]
To protect the world that had crumbled,
the regressor was living caught in a Mobius strip.
“…Crimson Garden, is it true that you wanted to give up on immortality because of the regressor?”
The regressor left saying they’d meet again, but Crimson Garden was forever unable to see him.
That reality must have had more impact on Crimson Garden than she could imagine.
[ …I don’t know. ]
Crimson Garden still didn’t have an answer.
[ I just realized vaguely how meaningless it is to cling to immortality. ]
Flap—
The crow outside the window flapped its wings and soared into the sky.
Soaring gracefully against the blue sky, the crow seemed free from all thoughts.
“I’ll take your immortality into my own hands.”
Just as he had promised at the beginning, Kraush declared he would surely take her immortality.
[ You’re still far off. ]
Crimson Garden merely tossed her words nonchalantly.
Seeing her looking a bit lonely today, Kraush simply moved on in silence.
*
At the Lion’s Order training ground.
Upon arriving, Kraush spotted a woman with ocean-colored hair sitting in a corner.
Beside her stood the guard, Sera Betella.
At that moment, sensing someone’s presence, she turned her amber eyes toward him.
Then she gave a cheeky smile at Kraush, whom she hadn’t seen in a while.
It was Sigrid Ephania, the fourth princess of the Ephania Empire.
“Sir, long time no see.”
“How long do you plan to keep that title?”
Having teased him a few times before, it seemed she was now utterly attached to using that title.
“I’ll use it forever. After all, we’re betrothed as recognized by both the Empire and Starlon.”
“That’s old news by now.”
“Sadly, it’s still ongoing.”
Sigrid shrugged, claiming there was no way to escape from this.
“Neither the Empire nor Starlon seems willing to drop this. They probably want to improve relations as much as possible between the two somewhat strained nations.”
If Kraush maintained his engagement with Sigrid, war between the two would not erupt anytime soon.
He could erase the option of the Empire aiming their spears at Starlon.
That alone was a tremendous advantage.
“Sorry about the Hardenhartz kid. I unintentionally stole your fiancé’s spot.”
Sigrid didn’t seem too thrilled about this part either.
She didn’t want to be in the annoying position of being someone pulling a thorn from a hedgehog.
“It’s alright. I’m planning to get married this year.”
And with that bombshell declaration aimed at Sigrid, Kraush remained completely nonchalant.
Though she had an inkling of it, she hadn’t expected him to say it outright, leaving her stunned.
“Well, saying that in front of me is one thing, but if you say that in front of the others, it will be chaos right there.”
“I’m not clueless about that.”
“Then where’s your sense when it comes to relationships? You’re practically blind as a bat!”
Sigrid shook her head in disbelief.
“Just make sure the Empire doesn’t find out. I’ll handle things on my end once the Empire settles down.”
“You can cover up the engagement?”
“That’s beyond my power. But I can probably manage to change a few things.”
Sigrid held up two fingers.
When Kraush looked at her in confusion, a mischievous smile broke on her face.
“That’s a green light for a second wife.”
It was as if she had no intention of stepping down from the position of the first wife.
Kraush looked at her in astonishment.
“Do you, by chance, have feelings for me?”
Sera’s eyes widened in disbelief at Kraush’s direct question.
Was he seriously asking that?
Sigrid blinked her large eyes.
Then, in an instant, her eyes twirled around as a slight blush crept onto her cheeks, a subtle smile on her face.
“Maybe a little?”
Whether she meant it or not, Kraush found it hard to understand Sigrid’s reaction.
To be honest, it was hard to imagine Sigrid genuinely liking someone.
Then Sigrid began to twist her body playfully.
“Isn’t it true? You saved me twice; once as a child and once more, risking your life. Isn’t it natural for a girl to have feelings for a guy who literally risks his life for her?”
“If falling in love like that were the case, ambulance drivers would be drowning in admirers!”
“What I’m saying is, I think the same way too. Above all…”
Sigrid jumped up from her seat.
She then rushed over to Kraush, tugging at his tie playfully.
The sudden pull made Kraush lower his posture a bit, bringing their faces closer.
“Talking to you is fun. That’s worth a 67-point Sigrid score.”
“That’s oddly specific.”
“Get 100 points, and I might just give you a kiss as a reward.”
“What’s the way to make it go negative?”
“You just got another point added.”
Kraush was determined to guard his cheeks.
“Rather, I want to talk about something serious.”
Sigrid had clearly anticipated that.
“It’s about my sister.”
Kraush wanted to talk about Sigrid Ephania, who dismantled the White Ghost and returned to the Empire.
He wanted to know what she was up to.
“Do you know what Sigrid is doing right now?”
Sigrid was in a very unstable mental state.
Having lost Arthur and repeatedly facing failures in her own plans,
perhaps the cursed one who had regressed could be doing better than her, sending her mental state into chaos.
Considering her unpredictable behavior,
Kraush knew he had to be extra cautious.
“She’s holed up in her room.”
At that, Sigrid responded with a nonchalant shrug.
“She’s holed up, huh?”
“Yeah, just as it sounds. She’s closed off every ear to the outside world and is isolating herself while doing absolutely nothing.”
Kraush narrowed his eyes a bit.
Even if Sigrid was mentally unstable, he didn’t believe she would do absolutely nothing.
‘Something’s fishy…’
It seemed he would need to visit the Empire soon again.
‘Arthur mentioned that Sigrid was one of the causes of the destruction.’
Leaving her alone wasn’t an option.
“Alright. Keep an eye on her closely. If anything happens, let me know immediately.”
“Easy peasy.”
Kraush said that and turned to look at the training ground.
There, he saw people practicing, completely oblivious to his presence.
Of course, Bianca was among them.
Bianca, maturing day by day, was now deeply focused on her training.
Kraush couldn’t help but smile slightly because he knew exactly who she was training for.
Certainly, when they next met, she would be even stronger.
‘Looks like she’s doing well. That’s a relief.’
After Kraush had been wheeled back to bed, he had only seen her briefly.
He hadn’t talked much because he needed to recover.
“Why not go talk to her? She’d probably like it.”
Sigrid suddenly dropped a suggestion.
Yet Kraush shook his head.
“I have things to do. This might take a while.”
If it weren’t for the training, he might have said a word or two to her.
But given how focused she was, he decided against approaching her.
“After declaring you’re getting married this year, now you plan to take forever?”
“I will make time regardless. So don’t say I just came out to play.”
“You really are a dense one.”
With that, Kraush waved at Sigrid and exited the training ground.
Next, he planned to head to the Chancellor’s office.
‘God of Creation Weapons.’
Kraush needed to master that power for the upcoming confrontation with Ixion.
“Sis, you aren’t even going to greet me?”
Just then, Kraush turned his head at the voice he heard.
There stood a woman with dark blue hair, looking just like him.
Charlotte Balheim.
She was Kraush’s sister.
“Sis.”
Charlotte walked over and gave Kraush’s shoulder a light pat.
“You seem busy, so I won’t hold you back much. But do stop by once in a while. We could at least share a cup of tea.”
With just those words, Charlotte gracefully entered the training ground.
She still had that carefree attitude that was so characteristic of her.
‘She’s grown stronger.’
Feeling that Charlotte was much stronger than before, Kraush couldn’t help but smile.
Realizing that everyone was in their prime, it dawned on him.
The Sky Generation was growing robustly.
And it was all thanks to Kraush that they were surging ahead at speeds unimaginable compared to the past.
‘Anything that can prepare for destruction is fine by me.’
Kraush took a step forward.
As the Sky Generation got stronger, he too had to strengthen himself to stand next to them.
For just one purpose, Kraush marched on today.
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