Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 69

EP.69 Secret Part 4

The first question that came to mind after hearing about the hero’s resurrection was when this letter was written.

‘Before I was resurrected? Or after?’

The meaning behind this letter would change depending on its timing. Determined to find out, Jeong-hyeon began by examining the letter’s condition. While he was doing this, Miria tilted her head and asked.

“What are you doing?”

He explained what he was trying to figure out, and after some thought, Miria offered her insight.

“Well, judging by the faint mana still lingering on the letter, it seems it wasn’t opened too long ago.”

She proceeded to explain further, summarizing it as follows:

When exchanging confidential information, it was common to seal letters with a bit of mana. If the mana was still present on the letter, it indicated that it had been opened only recently.

“And the paper itself was popular this past spring. So, it’s likely the letter was written in the spring…”

“I don’t know whose blood this is, but since the blood is only on the outside and not on the letter itself, it’s more likely that the recipient, not the writer, got the blood on it.”

“Also, considering the recipient was Princess Karina, and given her status as a sword saint, it’s unlikely she would have been involved in any small skirmishes. So, the blood probably came from a large battle.”

“It’s highly likely that she received it after the Battle of Baras, which took place two weeks ago.”

Miria murmured something under her breath before finally concluding.

“Hm… if that’s the case, the question is when exactly the letter was written. Since that type of paper was popular in the spring and the battle happened at Baras, it was probably written about two or three weeks ago. After all, letters sent directly to the princess usually carry a high priority, so they would have been delivered quickly.”

Listening to this, Lucia had been nodding along and muttering “That’s right, that’s right,” but at some point, she started to zone out and then busied herself picking up the broken pieces of her teacup.

Jeong-hyeon glanced at Lucia, shaking his head, and summed up the conclusion briefly.

“So, it’s likely the letter was written two to three weeks ago?”

“Yes, that’s my guess.”

Three weeks at most…

Hearing this, he once again fell into deep thought. Since he had already been resurrected three weeks ago.

‘Could it just be a rumor?’

But that didn’t seem right. The existence of the hero was a secret known only to those involved, so sending a message about the hero’s resurrection to the princess on the battlefield made no sense.

‘And beyond that…’

The fact that this letter had been carefully stored in her drawer after being carried from the battlefield to the castle suggested it wasn’t just a random gossip letter.

‘This is complicated.’

He didn’t know where to start unraveling this mystery. As he continued to ponder, a sudden thought crossed his mind.

‘The magic circle installed within the academy.’

What if its purpose was to restrain and seal Jeong-hyeon, the hero?

This thought came to mind briefly but quickly dissipated. After all, the purpose of summoning the hero was to defeat the Demon King, not to seal or restrain him within the academy.

‘And besides, they already know they can control me with just that damn collar. There’s no way they’d bother setting up such a massive magic circle.’

As Jeong-hyeon was getting deeper into this labyrinth of thoughts, his eyes caught the bloodstain on the letter—demon blood. The words associated with it swirled in his mind, and soon enough, a different theory emerged.

‘Did they set up that magic circle to capture the Demon King?’

He laughed at the absurdity of the thought. The Demon King resided in the heart of the demon realm, in the Demon King’s castle. Setting up a sealing magic circle here in the academy and waiting for the Demon King to fall into it made no sense at all.

‘Damn it, I don’t know.’

The more evidence he found, the more confused he became. For the first time, he felt utterly clueless, and he couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

‘Well, there’s only one option left.’

Jeong-hyeon had to go to the owner of this letter and get to the bottom of it.

‘Why rack my brain over this when I can just torture them and get the truth?’

With that decision, he was about to head straight for Karina. But then he remembered she was a sword saint and stopped in his tracks.

‘A sword saint… I’ve never fought one seriously, but while I might be able to win, there’s no way I could completely overwhelm her.’

That meant, unlike with Lea, he couldn’t just subject her to a one-sided beating.

He needed to get even stronger.

‘The ideal scenario would be to enter the Trial Chamber, drink the World Tree Elixir, and focus on training…’

The problem was that he hadn’t accumulated enough achievement points to level up.

Like before, it seemed that clearing every dungeon in sight was the best course of action. So, Jeong-hyeon turned to Miria and asked her to gather information.

“I figured you’d ask, so I’ve already been collecting information since the last time you mentioned it. I’ll grab the files when we get back, so just hang tight.”

Jeong-hyeon couldn’t help but nod awkwardly, gazing at the suspiciously competent Miria.

‘What is her true identity?’

Miria was far too skilled to be just a student, and the sheer amount of knowledge she possessed was unsettling. By now, Jeong-hyeon was starting to feel genuinely suspicious.

‘I’ll have to ask her later.’

For now, he decided to focus on the immediate issue and pushed those thoughts aside.

***

While Jeong-hyeon was momentarily looking after Hana, Miria returned and handed him a stack of papers, speaking with a casual tone.

“Here you go.”

Curious about the contents, Jeong-hyeon took the stack and found it filled with detailed information about various dungeons, monsters, locations, and other specifics.

“I’ve included exact locations this time, so you should be able to find them even without me tagging along.”

“Really?”

“Yep. I’ve even added some that are outside the academy, so there’s quite a few this time.”

“…Looks like it.”

Jeong-hyeon nodded while flipping through the documents. Miria shrugged her shoulders and explained further.

“Since it hasn’t been long since you last leveled up, I thought it’d be better to focus on quantity rather than quality this time. I mapped out a route so you can hit every dungeon and boss monster in the area.”

“Is that so?”

“I also based the expected completion times on your previous dungeon runs, so you can decide whether or not you want to tackle them.”

After hearing this, Jeong-hyeon couldn’t help but ask a question in a somewhat dazed manner.

“Who exactly are you?”

Miria laughed, seemingly amused by the sudden question.

“Haha, what are you talking about?”

“No, I’m serious. I can’t wrap my head around it.”

Still thinking he was joking, Miria continued laughing before finally answering.

“I’m just an ordinary noble, that’s all.”

But Jeong-hyeon wasn’t convinced. The speed with which she handled things, her knowledge of royal encryption—there were too many suspicious aspects. He shot her a skeptical look, but Miria only gave an awkward smile and explained further.

“It’s hard to explain, but my parents work in a related field. I just picked up some of their skills along the way.”

Related field? The phrase made Jeong-hyeon recall the investigators he had encountered in the past. He began to wonder if Miria was part of the intelligence department, but—

“Oh, it’s got nothing to do with the kingdom.”

Her unexpected answer only deepened his confusion.

‘Nothing about this makes sense.’

Normally, as things progressed, at least some pieces would start to fall into place. But the more they uncovered, the more perplexing it all became. Jeong-hyeon found himself completely at a loss.

As he pondered this, Miria playfully pushed him forward.

“Anyway, hurry up and go. It’ll be less of a hassle for me if you leave while Hana’s still sleeping.”

“Fine, I got it.”

“And bring Hana a present when you come back.”

Jeong-hyeon absentmindedly nodded and headed toward the door. But just as he was about to leave, Lucia, who had been watching them from the background, started trailing behind him, speaking up.

“I-I’ll come with you!”

Jeong-hyeon was a bit surprised at her decision to join, but he welcomed the idea. Having someone in the back to provide healing or buffs could help him clear dungeons faster.

“Sure, why not?”

“…Yes!”

With a gesture inviting her to follow, Jeong-hyeon headed out of the dormitory, and Lucia quickly followed behind.

***

As they walked toward the dungeon, Lucia, who had been trailing behind, called out in a strained voice.

“J-Jeong-hyeon…!”

Jeong-hyeon turned around, giving her a questioning look. Lucia fidgeted nervously, her hands wringing together, before she spoke in a quiet, almost hesitant voice.

“I… I have something I need to tell you…”

Jeong-hyeon wondered what she was trying to say. Urging her to continue, he nodded for her to go on.

Lucia hesitated, nervously fiddling with her fingers as she tried to gather her courage.

“I’ve been meaning to say this for a while… but I couldn’t before… The truth is… um…”

Seeing her hesitate endlessly, he sighed and decided to take a guess.

“You knew I was the hero, didn’t you?”

At his words, Lucia froze. She looked at him with wide eyes, her body trembling slightly as if wondering how he had figured it out. Jeong-hyeon chuckled and gave her an answer.

“It was pretty obvious.”

“I-I was that obvious? That can’t be…”

Lucia’s confusion was evident, and although Jeong-hyeon was tempted to bluntly point out the facts, he held back and simply explained.

“Remember in the infirmary? You called me a hero back then. When you stumbled over your words, I realized you already knew my identity.”

Lucia’s face turned pale as the weight of his words sank in. Jeong-hyeon, seeing her reaction, couldn’t help but smile.

“So, is that all you wanted to say?”

“Ah… yes, that’s all.”

Lucia seemed both relieved and a little deflated that the conversation had ended so quickly. She stood there for a moment, looking at him with a blank expression. Jeong-hyeon thought to himself that her current look reminded him of Hana’s innocent, clueless expression at times. Just as he was about to turn away, Lucia grabbed the edge of his sleeve and spoke again.

“D-Don’t you hate me…? I mean, after everything you went through… I couldn’t do anything to help you…”

From the way she spoke, it was clear she knew about his hardships. Jeong-hyeon looked at her, a bit surprised, but then shook his head.

“Not really. If anything, I’m thankful.”

“… Huh? Thankful? Why?”

Jeong-hyeon thought back to the time when everyone had tried to forget him. In that time, Lucia had been the only one to believe he was still alive and had honored him in her own way. He shrugged casually.

“Who knows?”

Lucia, frustrated by his vague answer, pouted and asked him to tell her the real reason. But Jeong-hyeon, with a mischievous smile, deliberately dodged her question and continued walking toward the dungeon.