The Extra's Regressor Wives

"Would you like to make a deal with me?"

Lathel stared at the black box resting on the counter.

The red-violet patterns across Pandora’s surface still gave off a faint glow, while the lock at the front had somehow opened on its own. A thin line of violet light leaked through the gap beneath the lid, causing the newly opened mana pathway inside his body to tremble continuously.

A deal.

Just hearing those words was enough to make Lathel feel that nothing good was going to come from this.

He raised both hands. With one, he pointed toward Pandora. With the other, he mimed placing something in his palm before exchanging it for something else.

His meaning was simple.

’What do you want in return?’

Pandora remained silent for several seconds.

Then the woman inside the box suddenly spoke in an extremely serious voice.

"I understand."

Lathel was slightly surprised.

She actually understood?

"You want power."

Lathel: "..."

His hands froze in midair.

Pandora continued with complete certainty.

"Not ordinary power. You want enough strength to crush everyone who ever looked down on you and make them kneel at your feet."

Lathel immediately shook his head.

"Oh? Still not enough?"

He shook harder.

Pandora thought for a moment before her voice suddenly brightened with realization.

"I see. Simply defeating the people who bullied you is far too small-minded. Your ambition is much greater."

Lathel began to have a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Pandora continued,

"You want to become the strongest Grand Mage in the kingdom, build your own army, destroy every hostile House, and seize the throne."

Lathel: "..."

He hurriedly waved both hands.

"Still wrong?"

Pandora fell silent for two seconds.

"Could it be..."

Her voice slowly lowered.

"You want to conquer the entire world?"

Lathel closed his eyes.

His hands slowly dropped to his sides.

At that moment, he genuinely felt that communicating with Leviana—even when she deliberately mistranslated his signs—was still easier than talking to the box in front of him.

Pandora seemed completely oblivious to the helplessness on his face.

Instead, she continued analyzing the situation with great seriousness.

"I really couldn’t tell. You look so harmless on the outside, and you were even planning to tend horses in exchange for a place to sleep, yet deep down you’re hiding such terrifying ambition. Start from the stables, then conquer the world step by step?"

Lathel opened his eyes and stared at her.

Pandora immediately said,

"Don’t look at me like that. Your eyes have already confessed everything."

Lathel had absolutely no idea what his eyes had supposedly confessed.

He drew in a slow breath and tried again.

He pointed toward Pandora, then traced a circle in the air to represent whatever she intended to give him. Next, he pointed toward himself and extended his hand as though returning something.

’What do I have to give in exchange?’

Pandora watched carefully.

Lathel deliberately made every gesture as slowly as possible.

There was no possible way she could misunderstand this time.

"Oh."

He immediately looked at her.

"You want to know how much power I can give you to conquer the world?"

Lathel: "..."

He slowly raised one hand and covered his face.

A quiet giggle immediately came from inside the box.

By now, Lathel was beginning to seriously doubt that she misunderstood him at all.

She was doing it on purpose.

He lowered his hand and stared at Pandora with a completely expressionless face.

"Don’t look at me like that. I already told you, I don’t understand sign language." Pandora sounded perfectly innocent. "I’m merely making guesses based on your expressions."

Lathel stared at her for several more seconds.

Pandora immediately asked,

"Are you saying you want to unify the continent now?"

He turned around.

"Wait!"

Lathel continued walking toward the door.

"All right, all right. No more conquering the world."

He stopped.

Pandora gave a small cough.

"Come back. I’ll do the talking, and you only need to nod or shake your head. That way, we won’t have any communication problems."

Lathel found that idea much more reliable.

He returned to the counter.

Pandora sounded extremely pleased with herself.

"First, let me examine your condition."

Lathel immediately took half a step back.

The patterns on the box had just begun to glow when they abruptly dimmed again.

Pandora went silent.

"You’re wary of me?"

He nodded.

"I’m only checking your body."

Lathel continued staring at her.

"It won’t cost money."

His expression did not change.

"And it won’t cost your life either."

Lathel became even more suspicious.

Pandora immediately snapped,

"I only said that casually! Could you stop looking at me like I just admitted I was planning to murder you?"

Lathel said nothing.

After a moment, Pandora clicked her tongue.

"Fine. I won’t force you. But if I can’t inspect you directly, then I can only judge based on what I can sense from the outside."

Lathel relaxed slightly.

At least she knew when to stop after he refused.

Pandora fell silent for a moment before continuing,

"One mana pathway has only just been opened. Your mana core isn’t even fully formed, and the amount of mana inside you is pitiful. On top of that, your throat can’t produce complete incantations."

Her voice gradually took on a genuinely puzzled tone.

"How have you even survived this long?"

Lathel: "..."

He felt that question was a little excessive.

Pandora continued,

"No magic, no strength, no money, and you can’t speak. Judging from your clothes, you don’t look like some noble with status either."

Lathel raised his hands, intending to point out that he could at least work for a living.

Pandora immediately spoke.

"I understand."

His hands stopped.

What did she understand this time?

"You’re saying that even though you have nothing right now, one day you’ll use these two hands to personally carve out an empire?"

Lathel slowly clenched both fists.

Not because he was filled with determination.

Because he was trying very hard not to punch the box in front of him.

Pandora laughed happily.

"Don’t get worked up. I’m only guessing."

Lathel stared at her for a long time before finally deciding not to use sign language anymore.

He pointed at himself.

Then toward the door.

Next, he mimed sweeping the floor, carrying boxes, and finally pressed both hands together beside his face as though sleeping.

Pandora watched with great concentration.

"You want to..."

Lathel waited.

"Rob a merchant caravan, take over their house, and sleep there?"

Lathel: "..."

He turned around for the second time.

"Wait! I really didn’t understand that one!"

Lathel did not turn back.

Pandora hurriedly said,

"Work?"

His steps stopped.

"You want to find a job?"

Lathel turned around and nodded firmly.

Pandora fell silent for several seconds.

"That’s all?"

He nodded again.

"You’re not looking for work so you can secretly build your own faction?"

Shake.

"You’re not trying to infiltrate the stables so you can steal warhorses?"

Shake.

"You’re not planning to use being a stable hand as the first step toward taking over the kingdom?"

Lathel stared at her.

Pandora cleared her throat.

"I’m only confirming."

He raised two fingers.

One pointed toward his mouth.

The other pointed at the floor before he mimed sleeping.

This time, Pandora did not answer immediately.

She seemed to think about it for a very long time.

"You want... food and somewhere to sleep?"

Lathel nodded.

"That’s really all?"

Another nod.

Pandora fell silent.

The antique shop became strangely quiet.

Lathel was already expecting another comment about conquering the world when laughter suddenly came from inside the box.

At first, it was faint.

Then the entire box began trembling on top of the counter.

"Ha... Hahaha..."

Lathel stared at Pandora.

She laughed for so long that it took her a while to form a complete sentence.

"Wait... let me make sure I understand this. You went outside today just to find a job that comes with somewhere to sleep?"

Lathel nodded.

"No secret plan?"

He shook his head.

"You don’t want to become a king?"

Shake.

"You don’t want to become a Grand Mage?"

Shake.

"You don’t want to conquer the world?"

This time, Lathel shook his head so hard that the hair over his forehead moved with it.

Pandora burst out laughing again.

"What kind of pitifully small ambition is that?"

Lathel did not see anything wrong with it.

He had already died once.

Even in his previous life, the things he wanted had never been complicated.

A stable job.

Enough money to eat.

A small room to return to after work.

This life was no different.

If he could live peacefully without relying on House Kirlinghalm, that was already more than enough for him.

Pandora remained silent for a little longer.

When she spoke again, there was less laughter in her voice.

"You’re surprisingly easy to keep."

Lathel frowned.

She sounded as though she were evaluating a pet.

"All right." Pandora gave a faint tremble on the counter. "If all you want is some money and somewhere to sleep, then my deal becomes much simpler."

Lathel immediately became wary again.

"I can let you use magic."

He paused.

"No incantations. No complete mana core. You won’t even need to rely on the pathetic amount of mana inside you. As long as you borrow my power, you’ll be able to use things that ordinary mages spend years learning."

This time, Lathel could not deny that he was tempted.

No incantations.

That alone struck directly at his greatest obstacle.

Ever since arriving in this world, Lathel had tried many times to learn magic. He could memorize incantations and understand part of their basic structure, but his throat could not pronounce the words clearly enough.

Every attempt had ended the same way.

Useless.

Now Leviana had helped him open his first mana pathway.

If there truly was a way to bypass incantations entirely...

Then he might actually be able to use magic.

Pandora seemed to sense the shift in him.

"Well? Interested now?"

Lathel did not nod.

He instinctively raised both hands, but halfway through the motion, he remembered everything that had just happened.

His hands stopped.

Pandora immediately asked,

"You want enough power to blow up the royal palace?"

Lathel closed his eyes.

"Or flatten an entire city?"

He opened them and stared at her.

"No? Then—"

Lathel pointed directly at Pandora, then at himself, before miming something being taken away.

Finally, he pointed toward whatever power she was offering.

His expression was so obvious this time that the question may as well have been written across his face.

’WHAT IS THE PRICE?’

Pandora remained silent for several seconds.

Then she slowly said,

"You want to use my power... to make the entire world pay?"

Lathel: "..."

He genuinely wanted to cry, but had no tears left.

Pandora burst out laughing.

"All right, I’ll stop teasing you. You want to know the price."

Lathel stared at her.

Of course.

She understood him.

At least this time, there was absolutely no doubt.

Pandora immediately added,

"Don’t look at me like that. Your expression was simply too easy to read."

Lathel did not believe a single word.

"The price is very simple." Pandora’s tone slowed. "Every time you borrow my power, I will also take something of equal value from you."

Lathel frowned.

He pointed toward himself.

"What will you take?"

Pandora did not answer immediately.

"Something you possess."

Far too vague.

Lathel immediately shook his head.

"I haven’t finished yet."

He kept shaking.

"It might only be a small amount."

Shake.

"Sometimes, you may not even notice that it’s gone."

Lathel shook harder.

Pandora went silent for several seconds before asking,

"Do you know how many people would kneel and beg for an opportunity like this?"

He did not know.

Nor did he care.

If a deal refused to clearly state its price, Lathel had no reason to accept it.

Magic was certainly tempting.

But he had already lived a long time without it.

Even if his future amounted to tending horses, working in a warehouse, or copying books, he could still survive.

At least every coin he earned that way came with a price he understood.

Pandora seemed unable to understand his choice.

"With power, no one would dare bully you so easily."

Lathel shook his head.

"With power, making money becomes easy."

Another shake.

"With power, you could become a noble."

Shake.

"You could make everyone who ever looked down on you regret it."

Lathel did not even need to think.

He shook his head.

Pandora remained silent for a long time.

"Then what if it were enough power to rule the world?"

Lathel immediately turned around.

Her laughter rang out behind him.

"All right! I’m joking."

Lathel took two steps before stopping.

He pointed toward the door, asking whether he was allowed to leave now.

Pandora watched him for a moment.

"You really don’t want it?"

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