“Yerina unnie, I reported. The search in Basel returned empty-handed.”
“Wow. You tricked your respected sister without batting an eye? That’s so mean.”
“Who ordered me to do that?!”
“Ordered? You did it because you liked it.”
“That’s…! True, though…”
Alicia leaps up, ready to unleash her anger, but then sits back down.
Don’t get the wrong idea.
I didn’t threaten Alicia or shut her up.
She just judged on her own that she can’t let me meet Yerina.
“But I still can’t believe it. What does your sister even see in a guy like you?”
“Still can’t believe it? Want more evidence?”
“Whatever!”
Alicia’s face turns beet red as she glares at me like I’m trash.
Of course, when I revealed that Yerina is my ex, whom I’ve never met in this round, Alicia’s reaction was intense.
However, since Alicia is also very close to Yerina, she had plenty of evidence to counter me.
For example, the way Yerina loves small animals only in front of her close friends.
Or the way she ties her hair after showering.
Or how she sleeps when she wakes up.
And the spot of a mole on her back.
“I can’t believe it. When Yerina kisses, how-…”
“I believe! I believe! So please stop talking about it! And I have no clue about girls’ kisses!”
Huh.
Don’t close friends kiss each other?
Where did my common sense go…?
Anyway.
Alicia will now believe that I was Yerina’s ex.
It doesn’t make sense timing-wise, but I can’t help but believe since I laid out information that only those extremely close to Yerina would know.
And since Alicia respects and likes her sister so much, she will be very cautious about me meeting Yerina again.
Thus, Alicia has no choice but to cooperate with me.
Our understanding that we don’t want to let Yerina meet comes together, allowing us to unite to deceive her.
“What’s your plan now?”
“What do you mean?”
“I need to keep track of your movements to prevent my sister from patrolling in your direction.”
That makes sense.
“There’s no specific track. I’m just wandering around dungeons, going on a continental tour. Oh. I’m not planning to go to the Northern Continent for a while, so don’t worry.”
“Dungeon? Were you a mercenary?”
“Doesn’t my outfit give you a clue?”
“Hmm. That’s good news to hear. I would be more than happy if you died while recklessly challenging a dungeon.”
That’s exactly it.
If Yerina has a good intuition, she’ll quickly realize Alicia is lying the moment they meet.
By then, I can subtly hint to Alicia that I died in a dungeon.
Then Yerina will also believe that I’m dead through Alicia and can’t pursue me anymore.
It wouldn’t be bad to spread the news of my death tomorrow…
But I still want to utilize Alicia a bit longer as Palana’s special agent.
I haven’t been to the Northern region for so long that I don’t know the current situation there at all.
At the very least, I need to know how Yerina is doing right now.
“Then do your best to prevent Yerina from getting close to the Black Star Dungeon.”
“The Black Star Dungeon? Why? It’s not like that place…”
“I’m currently exterminating the roots of the Black Star Dungeon. After sweeping the Southern region, I’ll head to the North. I’ll call you then.”
“Huh? You’re joking, right? How could you possibly clear the Black Star Dungeon alone?”
“…Alone. No.”
Mi Jeong, not wanting to be left out, jumps in.
Yeah. It’s not just me; it’s the two of us.
I owe my life to Mi Jeong last time too.
“I believe you know, but everything we discussed today is confidential. The moment anything leaks, I’ll quit being a mercenary and marry Yerina for an easy life, just so you know.”
“Understood! I’ll keep it secret. But can I ask just one thing?”
“No.”
“Ah! Seriously!”
I stand up and put Mi Jeong’s hood on.
The leak of business secrets ends here.
This is the only information that Alicia can safely know.
“Just one!”
“Hey. You want to lose the suppressor again?”
“Ugh…”
Alicia clings to my wrist.
But when I give her a curt response, she hiccups and perks up her rabbit ears.
Twelve hours without the suppressor must have been tough on her.
I mean, she might wet herself if I even touched her.
I don’t think she wants to experience that again.
“Pl-please. There’s something I really need you to answer… I’m begging you…”
“Sigh. What is it?”
She’s gotten quite polite.
Compared to when we first met and she treated me like a thug, this is a huge improvement.
Alright. It makes me feel good.
Ask me one more.
“I don’t believe you, but! What if, just what if, you are the one who’s been challenging the Black Star Dungeon in the Southern Continent… What’s the reason for that? Why are you risking yourself in such a dangerous dungeon? You must have earned enough to live a lifetime of luxury by now.”
“Well, I don’t know.”
“What?!”
“I was just lying, like you said. That’s not me.”
“What?!”
She doesn’t believe it.
Then let’s just go with it being a lie.
“So can I leave now?”
“Wait, just a moment! You mentioned ‘what if’! What if you really were the one challenging the Black Star Dungeon… What do you think the reason would be?”
Persistent, aren’t you?
The reason someone would rampage through dungeons?
Simple.
You need to clear all the dungeons to awaken the Final Boss Draken, who has been slumbering in the hidden world, sucking the energy dry from the dungeons.
Of course, it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t wake him up.
Then Draken will slowly engulf the hidden world and destroy it in about a thousand years.
Naturally, that has nothing to do with our generation.
This fact is kept strictly confidential, so the confused masses won’t incite a riot.
That’s why the ending of not defeating the Final Boss can still be considered a happy ending.
“What if I were that guy?”
“Yeah.”
But that story has nothing to do with me.
To hell with everything; I just want to go back to reality.
I want to end this grueling regression, which has already repeated thirteen times, and return.
“To prevent the world’s destruction. Maybe that’s why.”
“…..”
Of course, I don’t plan to share that outright.
Alicia’s expression goes blank after hearing my answer.
“Well then, I’m off. Take good care not to lose the libido suppressor again.”
“I won’t lose it! It’s not like I’ll meet a shameless person who sticks their hand inside a lady’s underwear again!”
“Yeah. Be careful not to meet such a guy again.”
“….. Take care.”
Whether she believes it or not is Alicia’s freedom.
Regardless of the purpose, it’s true that I am trying to prevent destruction.
But that’s all a story for when defeating the Final Boss is successful.
“I should really Spec Up hard.”
Since I’m already marked by Belphegor, other Four Heavenly Kings could jump out at any moment.
I need to be prepared in advance.
I still have a long way to go; I need to grow much stronger.
.
.
.
“To prevent the world’s destruction.”
It’s an answer that should make anyone laugh.
What does a dungeon have to do with world destruction, anyway?
If I said that somewhere else, people might have mocked me for having delusions.
‘That guy… How much does he know…?’
But I couldn’t laugh at him.
I vaguely understood the nature of the dungeons that appeared around the world a few years ago.
When dungeons first started to appear.
At that time, people thought the world was about to end.
Suddenly, giant doors showed up all over the place, with monsters popping out nearby.
But once it became clear that the rewards from dungeons were quite rewarding, dungeons became treated as gold mines.
Mercenary groups began to specialize in dungeon raids, and many markets flourished due to the dungeons.
Of course, there are dungeons that remain unsolved and neglected.
But as long as we invest a little in troops to hold back the overflowing monsters, it’s not a big problem.
The Blessing of the God for humanity.
In some circles, dungeons are referred to like that.
But what I learned in the Magic Tower is far from reality.
‘Do dungeons connect to the hidden world? Or does he know even more?’
The research at the Magic Tower concluded that dungeons serve as a role to extract our world’s energy and send it to another dimension.
The complex traps and monsters inside the dungeons are there to protect them.
And the rewards given are the most convincing argument to obscure the dungeons’ true purpose.
So who summoned the dungeons?
Who is receiving the energy extracted from the dungeons?
What do they plan to do with that energy?
All these questions remain in the realm of speculation.
No one knows the truth.
Opinions are divided even within the Magic Tower.
Among those, the most chilling theory, one that everyone wishes is not true, is that the entity of the hidden world has plans to destroy our world using enormous energy.
‘To prevent the world’s destruction.’
As I recall Yoo Jin’s words, a chill runs down my spine.
That can’t be true.
That slacker couldn’t possibly know of the secrets kept in the tower.
‘What if it is true…?’
I envision Yoo Jin again and plunge into confusion.
Though our meeting was brief, it was anything but light.
I learned quite a bit about that guy.
During the time we spent together, it was clear that Yoo Jin acted like a clown and a madman, but he wasn’t truly insane.
His actions were all based on reason and rationality.
If someone like him has unwavering conviction, there must be evidence behind that conviction.
The rationale that leaving dungeons unchecked will lead to the world’s destruction…
‘How could that guy find out something that the Magic Tower couldn’t?’
But no matter how much I think, it doesn’t make sense, and that’s unsettling.
It should be something I can just dismiss as him being a madman.
Yet, for some reason, Yoo Jin’s words continually come across as convincing.
Is he someone from an organization that surpasses the research capabilities of the Magic Tower?
Or is he some being who transcends mortality?
Nah. No way…
‘I should visit the Magic Tower again…’
I need to head back to the Magic Tower I left long ago and check out the latest research findings.
If I find evidence of the world’s destruction there…
If it all turns out to be true…
‘Then Yoo Jin must be fighting alone, risking his life to prevent the world’s destruction…’
Maybe just a little.
I think I might understand why my sister fell for that man…
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