I’m not a Regressor - Chapter 239: Baptism of Stars (1)

“…”

“…”

The awkward silence was only broken by the occasional ticking of the clock.

Finally…

“Pfffft!” Ohjin’s barely-suppressed laugh escaped from his mouth.

“Eeeek!” Ha-eun had put on a white gown and moved as fast as light, using one of her long, slender legs to kick him hard in the stomach.

Craaack—!

“Keuhuk!” A sound that shouldn’t have come from a person’s stomach resonated, and Ohjin went flying into the wall.

Ha-eun, her face red, glared at him while he slid down from the wall and sprawled onto the floor. “Sh-shut up! If you laugh, you’re dead! Got that?!” she yelled.

“Kyahahahaha! So funny!” NT, no, Rebecca burst out into laughter and clutched her stomach.

“Ugh…” Ha-eun’s shoulders shook, and she chewed her lips since she couldn’t kick a girl who looked 10 years old. Her fists shook with rage. “So… this kid is the Star of Celestial Shining Pearl?” If looks could kill, Rebecca would’ve been long dead. The girl just remained sitting on the sofa and patted her legs, though.

Ohjin moaned in pain as he stood and nodded his head.

“Nice to meet you; my name is Rebecca Bell,” the girl said, reaching out to shake Ha-eun’s hand.

Ha-eun frowned. “Why did the Star of Celestial Shining Pearl come here?” she asked in irritation.

“Hmm. Actually, I followed Ohjin because I was a little interested in him… I didn’t expect to see a scene like that.” Rebecca looked back and gave Ohjin the type of smile that a 10-year-old girl should’ve never been capable of.

“…What? In-interest?” Ha-eun stammered. Her jaw dropped in shock. “Y-you punk. You even touched a kid?!” A cat-like leap brought her onto Ohjin so she could shake the collar of his shirt.

Ohjin gasped as if he were suffocating before giving Rebecca a sharp look and saying, “That’s enough; stop joking around.

“Hehe. Okay. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” Rebecca shrugged and flicked her hand, causing a leaf to grow out of a decorative plant in the room before it wrapped around her body, and she slowly transformed into an adult woman.

“What’s this?” Ha-eun’s eyes widened. Rebecca was so beautiful that other women had no choice but to gasp in surprise when they saw her. “…” She suddenly remembered how Rebecca had said she was ‘interested’ in Ohjin, and an unpleasant feeling crawled through her.

Rebecca shrugged and shook her head. “If it’s about what I just said, then you don’t have to worry. I’m interested, but that doesn’t mean I’m desperate enough to go for a man who’s already taken.” She looked at Ohjin and added, “Well, the story might change if he’s interested as well.”

Ohjin smiled beneath her blatant stare. “As you can see, I already belong to someone else.” He gripped Ha-eun’s hand and lifted it as if to show off.

Rebecca crossed her arms and began to pout. “Oh, my… Don’t you know that a relationship between a man and a woman is the most unsure thing in the world? Even if they profess undying love for each other, you never know when—”

“No.” Ohjin shook his head and interrupted her. “Never, ever.” Instead of making a determined oath or a motivated declaration, he spoke calmly, as if stating a fact.

“…Huh.” Rebecca’s eyes flashed in interest. Unlike Ha-eun’s panicked reaction, Ohjin’s eyes were as calm as a solitary lake at dawn. Upon seeing it, she knew it was impossible to change his mind—not even a celestial could be of help in that regard.

“I’m a bit jealous.” She gave Ha-eun a playful look. “Why does he love you so much?”

“Wh-what do you mean by that…?” Ha-eun stammered. “It’s, um…”

“Well, I guess that’s bound to happen if you wear such risque underwear and pose seductively in front of the door for him while muttering something about your baby.”

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Ha-eun screamed and jumped at Rebecca, who burst into laughter and took cover behind the sofa. “I… I told you to shut up!”

“Hehe. It’s fun to tease you.” Rebecca acted like she’d found an interesting toy.

Ha-eun frowned. “Now that you’ve been clearly rejected, why don’t you go back to your room?”

“Right,” Rebecca agreed. “I don’t want to disturb your cozy night.”

“I want to ask you something,” Ohjin said before she left.

“Huh? What is it?”

“I’m going to receive the Baptism of Stars in a week, and I’m wondering what the whole process is like.”

“Oh, that?” Rebecca nodded. “When you enter the sanctuary, the celestials will guide you to the Milky Way Spring.”

“Is it in the sanctuary?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” Ohjin tilted his head. She’d already been to the Milky Way Spring once, but she didn’t know?

“You go through something like a teleportation spell the celestials have to cast together to move you there.”

“Oh.” So they’d be teleporting instead of walking?

“When you arrive, you will have to submerge yourself in the Milky Way Spring for about 10 minutes; then, your celestial will personally recite a prayer.”

“Is that it?”

“Yes.”

It didn’t seem like that big of a deal. “What about the rumors of stigmas rising in rank after you enter? What was that about?” he asked.

“Oh, that’s a little different from person to person.”

“Different?”

* * *

* * *

“You’ll be surrounded by a huge amount of mana once you soak in the Milky Way Spring,” Rebecca explained. Of course, Ohjin already expected as much since three dragon veins connected there. “Then, depending on how much the Milky Way Spring ‘shines’, the mana flowing into you will differ.”

“Hmmm.” She was saying there would be a difference in how much mana you could receive depending on how much the spring shone? “How much does it usually shine?” he asked.

“When it was my turn, it was like a fluorescent light.”

‘Does a fluorescent light shine a lot?’ Ohjin wondered.

“Well, I don’t know much because I haven’t asked the other Seven Stars, but I heard Allen’s spring shone about as bright as a torch,” she said.

That was enough for Ohjin to understand. A fluorescent light was much brighter than a torch, after all. “So you’re saying the spring shone more for you than for Allen?” He’d thought it would be better for Allen since he was an apostle of a North Star.

“Well, I’m a unique case, right?” Rebecca stuck out her tongue and shrugged.

Ohjin remembered how Manager Han had mentioned the Star of Celestial Shining Pearl a couple of times. ‘Didn’t he say the Star of Celestial Shining Pearl became a high-ranking Awakener in just two years?’ Even when he used himself as a comparison, her growth was tremendously fast.

“Well, not as unique as you, Uncle…” Rebecca shook her head and gave him a wry smile. She had often heard that she was a genius and had been blessed by the stars, but she couldn’t compare to Ohjin—his talent was so incredibly absurd that she’d even believe it if someone said he was a reincarnation of Titan, the Celestials’ creator.

“Anyways, having it be as bright as a fluorescent light was good, right?” he asked.

“Yes. I went up to 10-Star thanks to that,” she confirmed.

“What…?” She became a 10-Star there? ‘Then… if things go well, then I can also…’ Did it mean that he could become a 9-Star if he was baptized? ‘Waiting a week is going to be a challenge.’ He barely managed to suppress his excitement, but a small smile tugged at his lips.

“Do you have anything else you’re curious about, Uncle?” she asked.

“No, that’s pretty much it.”

“Hehe. I’ll be going now. Let’s get in touch later.”

“Oh, one last thing…” He stopped her again.

“What?” she asked.

“What’s my title going to be?” Since the Stars of Celestial Pivot and Celestial Rotating Jade were taken before, did that mean he would receive one of the two titles?

“Um… the celestials will decide on that. For you…” She smiled and shook her head. “No, I’ll leave that for later.”

“…?” Ohjin looked at her with suspicion. She probably knew something, but he didn’t press the issue.

“I’ll go now. You two have a good time.”

“Ugh.” Ha-eun gulped after Rebecca left and said, “I don’t like her.” She gritted her teeth and continued to glare at the closed door.

“But there’s nothing wrong with getting to know her,” Ohjin argued. It wasn’t easy to personally meet a member of the Seven Stars, even if one poured a country’s whole budget into it. Well, he had become a Seven Star as well, so it made a bit more sense.

“Haa, how come there are more and more women around you, bastard?” Ha-eun sighed and pinched his cheek. “Still…” She smiled and leaned in to give him a small kiss on the cheek she’d just pinched. “I was touched by what you said.”

Ohjin slowly reached for her and pushed the white gown she was wearing up. “What was that you said earlier? ‘My baby’?

“Ah! Hey, you said you wouldn’t say anything, you bastard!” Ha-eun exclaimed.

He pulled her in by the waist before she could retreat. “There’s no one watching now, right?” he asked.

“B-but…” She did her best to avoid his gaze.

Then, he pulled her in and kissed her. “You said you’d give me a special reward when I become a Seven Star, didn’t you?”

“…Ugh.” Ha-eun stopped trying to argue and bowed her head. She’d had to go through indescribable shame, but the plan she’d buried slowly came full circle. “Fuu…” She calmed her thumping heart and stroked Ohjin’s cheek while trying to relax as much as she could.

She just barely managed to squeeze out, “What sort of present does my baby want from his big sister?”

Ohjin drily gulped and gave her a deep look before opening his mouth. There was only one thing he could say in such a situation…

“Waa.”

‘I’m just a baby. Give me food.’