Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 128
EP.128 Creating a Cult is Enough
As soon as Jeong-hyeon opened the dormitory door and stepped inside, the first thing he saw was Hana crouched in a corner, and Lucia nearby, holding a plate of food with a flustered expression.
'What on earth are they doing?'
Though he didn’t understand, he felt a sense of relief and waved his hand to approach them. However, he halted momentarily upon hearing their conversation.
"You need to eat this. Otherwise, ouch, ouch."
"Nooo... I want to see Daddy. If Daddy doesn't come, I won't eat..."
"Uh, Mr. Jeong-hyeon said he'd be back soon. How about eating and waiting?"
"......"
"See, I sent a doll and a letter saying he'd be back soon. If you eat well and wait, he'll return soon."
Hana was clutching a doll and a letter, tears streaming down her face, while Lucia seemed at a loss.
'And... over there, Miria is collapsed.'
Thinking that all of this combined into a chaotic mess, Jeong-hyeon quickly approached Hana and spoke.
"Hana, Daddy's here."
Feeling like a guilty person, he awkwardly said this. But Hana, seemingly unconcerned, jumped up and hugged him tightly upon hearing he was there.
"Ahh..."
Then, as if overwhelmed by sorrow, she burst into tears, burying her face in his chest without any intention of letting go.
"... I'm sorry."
"......"
It seemed Jeong-hyeon would have to carry her for a while. He patted Hana's back and spoke to Lucia and Miria nearby.
"You did well."
"... It's a relief Mr. Jeong-hyeon is here. Truly."
"......"
Lucia, exhausted, slumped to the floor with a sigh, and Miria, seemingly fainted, gave no response. Jeong-hyeon awkwardly smiled at their state, watching them.
***
Hana clung to Jeong-hyeon for quite some time, then suddenly seemed to remember something. She dashed to the door, returning with his shoes in her arms.
'What is she doing?'
Jeong-hyeon couldn't understand why she suddenly brought his shoes, so he watched. Hana looked around, then spotted the sofa and shoved his shoes underneath it.
'Why put the shoes under the sofa?'
He was dumbfounded by her inexplicable actions. Lucia, standing beside him, awkwardly laughed and explained.
"It seems like Mr. Jeong-hyeon puts on shoes when he goes outside. Maybe she hid them to mean 'don't go out.'"
Listening to her, it seemed plausible. Jeong-hyeon awkwardly laughed and spoke as Hana snuggled back into his arms.
"Hana, should Daddy not go out?"
At his words, Hana's eyes sparkled, and she nodded quickly. Jeong-hyeon awkwardly smiled at her, when suddenly Miria, who had been lying like a corpse, sat up and picked up some documents nearby.
"... You're here?"
Though Jeong-hyeon had arrived a while ago, Miria only now acknowledged his presence. He waved his hand in greeting, and Miria sighed deeply before speaking to him.
"I really want to punch you hard just once."
Given his significant wrongdoing, Jeong-hyeon could only smile. Miria placed the documents she held in front of him and spoke.
"Anyway, I've organized everything you asked for before, so take a look when you have time."
"Ah, thank you."
"However, in the case of these two, Princess Karina personally handled it, so it's better to hear the details from her."
Since Karina was responsible for the matter, it would be best to confirm it directly with her. After calming Hana, Jeong-hyeon decided to find Karina and hear about the situation.
'Might as well establish some discipline.'
As he made this decision, Miria, with dark circles under her eyes, touched her face and spoke.
"In that sense, I'll leave early."
What exactly did she mean by that? Jeong-hyeon wanted to joke about not letting her leave, but seeing her worn-out state, he couldn't bring himself to say it and simply waved her goodbye.
'Well then, let's go find her.'
Excited at the thought of meeting Karina after a long time, Jeong-hyeon poked Hana's cheek, smiling.
***
Karina was lost in thought as she looked at the piles of documents before her. The workload had become overwhelming due to her duties as a principal and managing the cult.
'This is troublesome.'
While she could delegate some of her duties as a principal, the cult management required her personal attention due to the need for secrecy, making the workload intense.
'If it becomes known that I'm involved, it could cause various problems.'
Beyond just clashing with the cult, rumors were spreading that demons and royalty might be secretly connected. If she, a royal, openly established a cult right after another's downfall, it would lend credibility to those rumors.
'It's best to keep it quiet for now.'
Sighing heavily at the situation, she closed her eyes when someone burst through the door.
"I'm here."
The confident tone and casual speech. Seeing his face, she felt both a contradictory sense of relief and fear.
"... Hero?"
"Yeah, it's me."
He continued, driving a white sword into her desk.
"So, how's the task I gave you going?"
"... You're asking the obvious. It's progressing well, of course."
"Really? Report it."
He sat on a nearby chair, propping his feet on her desk.
'Why he didn't wear shoes, I don't know, but it's best to report first.'
Deciding to postpone her questions, Karina began to report on the tasks he had assigned.
"I sent a letter to the former principal but received no response. I conducted a separate investigation."
"And?"
"Upon checking, the former principal initially headed to the front lines, received some recognition, and returned to the kingdom. However, shortly after, he was reported missing, which likely means he's dead."
When a report stated someone was 'missing,' it usually specified where they disappeared. If it simply stated 'missing,' it often meant someone high up had orchestrated their 'murder.'
'So, the former principal was likely killed by someone else.'
Someone in the kingdom had likely covered it up. The issue was that, as the second princess, Karina couldn't obtain precise information.
Jeong-hyeon pondered for a while upon hearing about the principal's death, then posed a question.
"Can you roughly guess who killed him?"
"I can't say. There are too many possibilities."
"... I see. So, what about the cult?"
"The cult is progressing smoothly with Regina's help. However, since the cult collapsed unexpectedly, it's currently difficult to operate."
"Really? Give me the list of members, current size, and detailed information."
After receiving the information, Jeong-hyeon reviewed it, smiling with satisfaction, and pulled out the holy sword.
"Since it's time to start activities, gather them under the pretext of a meeting."
"... As I said, it's difficult to operate immediately."
"Don't argue and just do as I say."
"......"
The sword was close to her face. Instinctively fearing it, she closed her eyes tightly, trying to suppress her fear. Jeong-hyeon lightly poked her shoulder with the sword and spoke.
"I've said it many times, but you're nothing more than a disposable item to me. If you're useful, I'll keep using you, but if I find you worthless, I'll discard you immediately."
"......"
"So, try your best not to be discarded. Who knows, if you work hard, I might forgive and accept you someday."
It was similar to what he had said before. If she worked hard, he might forgive her someday. She could only nod, clenching her fists at his words.
***
Jeong-hyeon looked at the blood on the tip of the holy sword from Karina and smiled. It was somewhat amusing to return what he had suffered.
'It was awful back then, but doing it myself is fun.'
He resolved to continue returning what he had endured to these people and moved forward.
'Now, I'll use the cult I've established to start a rebellion.'
It was time to finish the tasks he hadn't completed. As he read through the list of believers in his hand, he noticed some familiar names.
'Jer, Hena, Miz.'
They were on the same team during the joint exam. Seeing their names made him smile, and he thought about how to use them.
'I made them sign contracts before, so I can use those to control them.'
He could give them positions as cult executives and proceed with his plans. He was pleased to have three more people who couldn't betray him, and he planned to inform Karina to promote them to executives.
'This will be fun.'
He thought the cult was becoming increasingly interesting and believed it was time to reap the seeds he had sown.