The Insane Regressor: Throne of Pride

In front of Ravian, three people climbed up into the fighting ring.

One of them wore an elegant red suit—he looked like a middle-aged man, with ordinary features and black hair.

And yet, he seemed to be the person of the highest standing in that ring at the moment.

Because the two standing beside him were half-naked. Literally.

They wore nothing but a few rags over their bodies to cover their privates.

But Ravian wasn’t shocked by this—not in the least—for he had known this was a fighting ring from the very first moment he laid eyes on it, and he knew that the people here bet on every fight like madmen.

Yet all of that seemed trivial to him—until he saw the appearance of the two who were about to fight each other.

For they were, in a strangely familiar way... gray-skinned?

’...The Rassasians.’ Ravian’s gaze froze on the two who were, by the look of it, about to fight one another.

’What’s going on here...’

”Ladies and gentlemen!” the man in the red suit suddenly shouted from the middle of the fighting ring—he was now the only human present in it—and his shout caught Ravian’s attention.

”We’re already done with the boring matches that were announced earlier! And now, for the show you’ve all been waiting for...” the man said as he roamed the ring like an announcer on a stage, firing up the crowd with his expressions and impassioned hand gestures before stopping to let curiosity ripple through them.

”A battle of the Children of Sin!” cried the man who seemed to be the host, sweeping his arms toward the two shackled, gray-skinned figures standing brokenly behind him.

”Hoorayyy!”

”Yes!”

”Now this is real entertainment. Let those bastards tear each other apart, man!”

Cheers erupted at once from the crowds around the ring and at the wooden tables in front of Ravian, their eyes glinting with sparks of fury and vengeance.

’Children of Sin?’ Ravian turned the name over in his mind—it was the first time he had ever heard it.

But it seemed the host wasn’t finished.

”And of course, this time—out of the Seven Forbidden Lineages known as the Children of Sin, the ones in the ring before you, as you came to know earlier, are our current enemies on the Empire’s eastern front, the very foes our fighters wage ferocious battles against every single day—the ones standing before you today are two members of one of those seven accursed peoples: the Rassasians!” declared the red-suited host, the thrill of vengeful glee glittering in his eyes as he shoved the two Rassasians forward, presenting them like animals on the slaughtering block.

”Yes!”

”Let those lunatics kill each other!”

”That’s what you get for making an enemy of mankind, you damned Rassasians!”

The cheering swelled even louder as people hurled their leftover food at the two shackled figures in the fighting ring—even though most of those scraps never made it past the fence around the ring in the first place. Still, it seemed to serve as an outlet for them.

Meanwhile, amid all that uproar, Sophia listened to everything with an expression caught somewhere between indifference and habit.

The white-haired, crimson-eyed young man beside her, however, stood rooted to the spot.

’Seven? That means there are six entire races besides the Rassasians in this world—races with different appearances, customs, and civilizations, all hostile to humanity!?’ This was bigger than Ravian had expected.

He had thought the Rassasians were merely a race hostile toward humans over present-day political reasons.

But after hearing the term ”Children of Sin” and the way the host described them, Ravian was certain the matter ran deeper than he had believed.

’But why ”Children of Sin,” specifically?’ Suspicion seized Ravian at once as he repeated the name in his head over and over.

’Could it be that they’re connected to the Seven Sins...’ Ravian’s heart pounded hard at the mere thought of that possibility—every situation he found himself in became absurdly dangerous whenever those fourteen lunatics were involved, and he was far more wary of the Seven Sins than of the Seven Saviors.

By now, the host appeared to have begun gathering bets from the crowds around the ring, while Ravian turned his gaze back to Sophia, who had been watching all of it beside him as though she were used to it.

”Miss Sophia, do you know why they call them the Children of Sin?” Ravian asked her with a smile that seemed to be testing her—though in truth, he didn’t know either.

”Huh? No, Mr. Rayan. Is there a reason they’re called that?”

Unfortunately for Ravian, what showed on Sophia’s face was confusion and curiosity—the opposite of what he had expected—for he’d assumed she would shower him with information then and there, but that didn’t happen.

”That’s exactly why I’m asking you,” Ravian said.

”I don’t know, Mr. Rayan. People have always called them that, and it’s the name that gets printed whenever they’re mentioned in the papers. But I don’t know why exactly they were given that name. Do you know, Mr. Rayan?” Sophia asked, peering intently at Ravian as she waited for an answer.

”Ah, that’s because... their colors are weird?” Ravian blurted out when he found himself backed into a corner.

Sophia frowned in reproach.

”That’s racist, Mr. Rayan.”

’Damn it! That’s not how I meant it, girl!’ Ravian was writhing inside at being branded a racist for no reason, yet not a single change showed on his face.

”Haha, I’m joking, Miss Sophia. I don’t know either—I just wanted to lighten your mood after what happened earlier,” Ravian said, scratching the back of his head.

Sophia’s expression brightened at once when she heard that.

”It’s all right, Mr. Rayan, I’m fine. Actually, you finally saved me from that perverted bald man. He’d been harassing me nonstop.”

”I couldn’t get rid of him without conclusive proof of his harassment, and at the same time, I didn’t want to take the risk of obtaining proof like that—and then you simply came along and saved me. Thank you,” Sophia said, bowing respectfully before Ravian.

Ravian studied her for a few moments, genuinely marveling.

’Either this girl has acting skills beyond compare, or my whole idea of the people tied to the Fourteen Taboos is completely wrong.’

Up to this point, Sophia Candice had been an utterly normal girl—like any other young woman working in a tavern, trying to hold fast to her steady principles and values.

’Were my assumptions wrong? Weren’t they all crazed cultists?’

Ravian was truly at a loss over the fundamental difference between how Emy and Xavier had behaved before, and how Sophia was behaving now.

Then an idea struck him.

”By the way, Miss Sophia,” Ravian called out just as she was about to leave.

”Hmm? Yes, Mr. Rayan?” Sophia asked, coming back over.

”Are you happy working here?” Ravian asked her, his eyes fixed on the ring.

The question seemed to catch her off guard—Sophia paused where she stood for a moment, just staring at Ravian’s face.

But she quickly shook her head clear before looking at him again.

”Yes, Mr. Rayan, I’m happy working here,” Sophia said with a smile that never quite reached her lips, stealing glances at Ravian.

’And what could Mr. Rayan possibly do for me anyway? I’m just a tavern maid.’ Sophia lowered her head, thinking.

”Are you sure you’re happy working here?” Sophia heard Ravian’s voice once more, making her lift her head and look at him.

Only to find that he was looking at her now—with utter seriousness and resolve.

”I...” Sophia stopped mid-sentence.

”Speak,” Ravian said calmly.

”I’m not happy working here,” Sophia said at last, lowering her gaze bashfully once more.

In that very instant, a triumphant smile spread across Ravian’s face. He hadn’t wanted to obtain her Records by killing her—Sophia seemed like a good girl to him, so far at least—and that was why he hadn’t wanted to act wrongly in a way that would harm or exploit her.

And now that he had found an opening through which to reach her, he would make the most of it—without hurting Sophia, of course.

Ravian nodded with a faint smile at her reply.

”I’ll come by for you within three days, so you can work with me on my project—at a salary several times higher than what you make here... What do you say?” Ravian offered, extending one of his hands toward her.

The offer came out of nowhere for Sophia, freezing her in place.

”Work? With you—on a project?” Sophia repeated.

”Yes. Doesn’t that sound good enough?” Ravian said, noting that she hadn’t mentioned the salary at all.

Instead, she had focused on the fact that it was different ”work”—and that it was ”with him.”

”What line of work are you in, Mr. Rayan?” Sophia said, stepping closer to him, her expression brimming over with joy and her eyes sparkling.

”I can tell you everything—but are you going to leave my hand hanging in the air this long?” Ravian said, waving the hand that was still outstretched even now.

Sophia’s eyes widened as she realized she hadn’t responded to it, before she reached out and clasped Ravian’s hand.

”My apologies, Mr. Rayan—I got swept up in the conversation and forgot,” Sophia said apologetically, blushing red.

”It’s fine, it’s fine. How about sitting down for a bit? I’d like to ask you a few more questions,” Ravian said, pulling her by the hand toward the wooden chair beside him.

”O-Okay.” Sophia hesitated for a moment, but that hesitation quickly dissipated like smoke when she looked into Ravian’s confident eyes.

’Got her.’ The smile on Ravian’s face grew wider still.