Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 84

Ep. 84 This Is Really Pissing Me Off

The awkward atmosphere lingered as they returned to the royal lodgings. Miria, ever perceptive, seemed to pick up on the tension, and she opened her mouth as if to say something but quickly changed her mind. Instead, she shook her head and steered the conversation to a new topic.

“Anyway, that’s not what’s important. Hana finally managed to tame the golden goblin!”

Hearing that, Jeong-hyeon glanced over at Hana, who wore a proud expression, clearly expecting praise. With a quiet smile, he reached out to ruffle her hair. Hana’s eyes sparkled, and she looked up at him with a bright smile.

“Good job.”

He said.

As Jeong-hyeon watched Hana’s delighted smile, he lifted her onto his knee, deciding to ask her a few questions about the golden goblin.

‘Could it travel between dimensions?’

If that were possible, then maybe there was a chance to return to Earth. He felt a spark of hope as he asked her.

“… He says no, because it’s a different… uh, ‘jurisdiction’?”

Hana answered.

Apparently, Earth and this world fell under the control of different gods, making travel between them impossible.

“And… he also says he can’t take anything bigger than himself when he travels.”

She added.

The goblin was about the size of a five-year-old child, so transporting anything large was out of the question.

‘So small explosives could work, but not larger ones.’

Jeong-hyeon thought, feeling a tinge of disappointment. He’d been considering compressing divine power for explosive effects, and this confirmed he’d need to focus on making that process more compact. Still, his primary goal of establishing contact with the Demon King seemed achievable, so it was only a minor setback.

With another pat on Hana’s head, Jeong-hyeon noted her contented smile as she pressed into his hand, pleased just to receive his praise. He asked her a few more questions, taking mental notes on what she shared.

After a while, once he’d gathered enough information to be satisfied, a message appeared in front of him.

*-*

[Congratulations! You have earned a massive amount of Achievement Points!]

– Golden Goblin Taming

[Not much more to go until the next level-up!]

*-*

Jeong-hyeon let out a low whistle as he read the system message. From Miria’s earlier excitement, he’d suspected the reward might be substantial, but he hadn’t anticipated it being this impressive. Feeling pleased, he smiled, and Hana mirrored his expression with a bright smile of her own. Gently patting her head once more, Jeong-hyeon decided it was time to handle some of his pending tasks.

‘First, I should send a letter to the Demon King, then a congratulatory gift to Regina for her recent success.’

He could also use the opportunity to check in on Esich.

On a small slip of paper, he quickly scrawled a short but pointed message: “Let’s work together to bring down humanity.”

Normally, he might have added more context, but knowing that the Demon King had once been a Hero like him, Jeong-hyeon trusted he would understand the message without extra explanation.

Handing the note to Hana, he asked her to give it to the golden goblin for delivery. She carefully tucked the letter into the goblin’s arms and whispered a few words, sending it on its way.

Who knows how the Demon King will respond? Jeong-hyeon thought with a smirk. If he chose to become an ally, things were bound to get a lot more interesting.

***

The next day, Jeong-hyeon went straight to find Regina. While they weren’t on such close terms that he could drop by unannounced, their contractual relationship meant that she couldn’t easily push him away or refuse his visit. As he entered, Regina’s expression hardened momentarily, and she hid her trembling hands beneath the desk.

“… What brings you here?”

She asked, trying to sound confident but failing to conceal the quiver in her voice.

Sitting down across from her, Jeong-hyeon replied,

“I came to congratulate you on your victory. And to give you a gift.”

Regina seemed to want to say something but instead clenched her mouth shut and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. When she finally opened her eyes, she rose from her seat, lifting her skirt slightly to reveal her pale thighs as she said,

“I have a lot to do today, so let’s just end this with a single thigh… please.”

Hadn’t he just said he came to congratulate her? Jeong-hyeon was perplexed by her immediate thoughts of violence. Instead of taking up her offer, he drove a dagger into the desk instead.

“Without Lucia around, let’s save it for next time.”

Regina’s expression morphed into one of relief—or perhaps disappointment—as she sank back into her chair, nodding. Seeing her like that made him smile.

“I didn’t expect that from you, but I appreciate your willingness to take charge. So, how about you keep that proactive attitude next time as well?”

Regina’s face turned pale, and Jeong-hyeon realized she had misinterpreted his words. He considered clarifying but decided against it, opting to move on to the main topic instead.

“Anyway, that’s not what’s important. There’s something I need you to do.”

“… Something I need to do? What is it?”

Regina asked, her eyes filled with apprehension.

Jeong-hyeon leaned in, his tone serious.

“Have you ever tried to buy people?”

Regina stared at him, caught off guard by the unexpected question.

***

Although many students had already left the academy, a good number remained. Jeong-hyeon began to peruse the profiles of the students still present and turned back to Regina.

“I want you to identify students from influential families or those with powerful parents, and set up secret meetings with them.”

Regina frowned at his command, clearly displeased. But as Jeong-hyeon reached for the dagger still embedded in the desk, her expression softened, and she nodded in agreement.

‘That stubborn pride of hers.’

Jeong-hyeon thought, impressed by how she continued to stand her ground despite the situation.

“Also, once you’ve made contact, gather them into a group.”

“… A group?”

Regina asked, puzzled.

“Not just any group. It will be a collective of students dissatisfied with the current regime, aiming to overthrow the government.”

“Wait… Isn’t that treason?”

“Exactly.”

Jeong-hyeon replied nonchalantly.

Regina’s face turned a deeper shade of shock as she processed the unexpected request. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry. If anything goes wrong, their parents will take responsibility.”

There was a reason he was targeting those from esteemed families; they possessed considerable resources and influence.

‘If I can gather enough of them, the kingdom will have no choice but to be concerned.’ He mused.

After contemplating for a moment, Regina scratched at the desk with her nails, her voice trembling as she said,

“Even so, rebellion… it carries too many risks.”

Jeong-hyeon chuckled softly.

“That may be true, but it’s not something I need to take responsibility for, so it doesn’t matter to me.”

“…”

Given the situation, Regina had no choice but to close her eyes and acquiesce to Jeong-hyeon’s request. He lightly patted her shoulder and said,

“I’m counting on you.”

In truth, whether Regina carried out his plan or not didn’t matter much to him. If she succeeded, it would benefit him; if she failed, he could use her failure as leverage to tease her.

‘No matter how it turned out, I had nothing to lose.’

Most importantly, he would obtain a list of names, which he could pass along to Miria for further action. There was no real need to rely solely on Regina.

‘Well, anyway,’

He thought as he left the room, believing that not having hit or bullied her today was already a significant gift.

“Congratulations on becoming president.”

He called out as he stepped outside.

***

‘There’s a lot to do.’

Jeong-hyeon reflected on how exhausting it was to see how the threads he had laid out would unfold. He decided to head to the head of the magic faculty, Esich, next.

However, upon arriving, he was met with a sign that read, “Due to personal circumstances, magic classes will be conducted by another instructor for the time being.”

‘What the heck?’

He thought, puzzled by the sign.

‘Where could he possibly be at a time like this?’

With the second princess facing a terror threat, it was only logical for Esich to remain on guard to protect her. It was odd that he had left and handed off his responsibilities to someone else.

‘Something must have happened.’

He considered, wondering if it had anything to do with Esich’s sudden absence since the last time they spoke about the location of the corpse golem.

Curious, Jeong-hyeon decided to revisit the area where he had found the golem. Following the now-familiar path, he entered the large cavern where he had discovered the corpse golem, only to be greeted by the sight of the second library’s corpses.

Recognizing the bodies, he quickly scanned the scene and noted the lingering traces of divine power.

‘Did the church come here?’

It was rare for any faction to take down the mage libraries so decisively, especially since those who wielded divine power were primarily associated with the church. It seemed likely they had come and massacred the library’s protectors.

But why had the church suddenly appeared here?

‘I can’t figure out the reason.’

He thought, finding himself at a loss despite his contemplation. After a moment, he let out a hollow laugh.

‘This is infuriating.’

He was frustrated that he was the one stuck pondering this situation when it should have been the church’s members worrying instead. Feeling a sense of injustice, he decided to conduct a bomb experiment using the golden goblin against the church.

‘This might be a great opportunity to test its power.’

He felt a thrill of anticipation as he headed back toward the royal quarters.