Not A Regressor-Chapter 334: Treasure Hunt (13)

The demonkins in the underground city, including the Golden Knights, hastily retreated from the mine after Deimos died. This was only natural since the central figure, the archduke, had died.

“Where do you think you’re running off to, you bastards?!” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“Why don't you guys just die quietly?” Isabella added.

Of course, the real reason they desperately fled was because of Song Ha-Eun and Isabella.

Song Ha-Eun was now just as strong as an eleven-star Awakener with the Draconic Eye, heart, and soul forming a trinity.

Isabella stood just on the edge of a ten-star. Soon, she would become an eleven-star Awakener thanks to Kwon Oh-Jin’s blood.

The Golden Knights were helpless against the overwhelming strength of these two superhuman women.

After all the demonkin in the underground city retreated, Kwon Oh-Jin freed the salamanders and decided to rest inside Deimos’s now-empty castle.

“Wow, there’s seriously not a single thing here that’s not shiny.” Song Ha-Eun looked around in awe. She approached Kwon Oh-Jin with a handful of golden teacups and candlesticks. “Hey, Oh-Jin, should we take some of this with us?”

“What for?”

“To sell, duh! Isn’t this all infused with star mana?”

They could make a fortune if they brought this gold back to Earth and sold it.

“Nah. It’s not like we need money.”

Even without selling all this gold, they already had enough to live comfortably.

“Wow... I never thought I’d hear you say you don’t need money.”

Knowing how obsessively he used to save money, it almost seemed unthinkable that he would say such a thing.

“That was all for you, Ha-Eun.”

Now that she had recovered, he didn’t need money anymore.

“R-Really?” She scratched her cheek and blushed.

As warmth filled the air between them, Isabella asked, “Where’s Elder Megrez?”

“He’s probably in a room somewhere,” Kwon Oh-Jin answered. His face darkened when he thought of Baek Mu-Kang. “Should we go check on him together?”

“Sure. It’s about time to eat anyway,” Song Ha-Eun said.

They all headed to Baek Mu-Kang’s room.

Baek Mu-Kang was lying in bed, grinning ear to ear, as he clutched the worn-out envelope. “Hehe.”

As soon as he saw Kwon Oh-Jin, he sprang up from the bed and ran over. “Ah! Nice person! Nice person is here!”

“How are you feeling, elder?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“My arm still doesn’t move too well, but it doesn’t hurt anymore!” He raised the arm that Deimos had crushed and smiled brightly.

“That’s a relief.” Kwon Oh-Jin smiled faintly and looked around the room.

He noticed Deneb’s Star Sword, tossed aside at the corner of the floor, and chuckled.

I can’t believe the Star Sword wasn’t the treasure.

The strange sense of disconnect he had felt when Baek Mu-Kang first shouted that the Star Sword was his treasure made sense now. It felt like the misaligned gears finally clicked into place.

He never needed the sword in the first place.

The crumpled envelope hidden inside the hilt mattered more to him than the Star Sword granted by his Celestial.

No one would've guessed that the hilt was hollow.

A normal sword wouldn’t have space inside the hilt, but Deneb’s was different with a cavity to engrave sacred runes.

No one would’ve known besides Deneb or the elder.

Kwon Oh-Jin had held the sword too, but never noticed anything due to its perfect weight and balance. Like all divine relics, it adjusted its weight and balance to suit the user.

“Elder, won’t Deneb get angry if you just leave the sword lying around like that?”

“Ah! I forgot!” Baek Mu-Kang hurried over and gently placed the sword on the bed.

“T-This is a secret, okay? Don’t tell Lord Deneb!”

Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled and nodded. “Yes, I promise.”

Just as he was about to suggest that they eat, Song Ha-Eun said, “Um... Gramps, can I ask you something?”

“Hmm? Yeah, yeah! Go ahead!”

“It’s about that envelope.”

One thing still felt off about that worn, dirty envelope.

“Why... haven’t you ever opened it?”

It remained sealed despite years of wear on the envelope flap.

Baek Mu-Kang’s smile froze. After a long pause, he faintly smiled again, but that smile looked like it could shatter at a single touch.

“I did a lot of bad things to my wife, so she’s probably really mad at me.” He sounded like a frightened animal.

The hand holding the unopened envelope trembled slightly. He had tried many times to open the last letter that she left behind, but could never bring himself to do it.

“There must be... something bad written in it,” Baek Mu-Kang mumbled.

He feared that her final words would be filled with hatred toward him and that the life they had shared would turn into a lie.

“That’s why... I can’t open it.” Baek Mu-Kang curled up, clutching the envelope to his chest.

Song Ha-Eun watched him with an aching gaze, unable to offer a single word of comfort. It wasn’t just her. Kwon Oh-Jin and Isabella also couldn’t bring themselves to say anything because none of them knew what was written inside the letter.

Kwon Oh-Jin deeply sighed as he looked at the envelope still in Baek Mu-Kang’s hand.

Didn’t he say that she took care of him for five years?

His wife had passed away just before the first rift appeared on Earth, which meant that Baek Mu-Kang wasn’t Deneb’s apostle yet. They had no children since his wife was infertile, and she had cared for him alone while he suffered from dementia.

Then, she fell ill and passed away before him.

Even just hearing the story left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Isabella broke the awkward silence first. “A-Ah, d-dinner’s ready. Should we eat now? We have dumplings too, your favorite.”

Baek Mu-Kang lit up with a bright smile and nodded as if he hadn’t been sad at all. “Yay! Dumplings! I want dumplings!”

***

Munch, munch.

“These dumplings are so tasty!”

“Eat lots, elder.”

After the meal, Kwon Oh-Jin’s group split up to different rooms in the castle.

Kwon Oh-Jin sat down by the window with a sigh. “Haaa...”

Since the castle was built inside a mountain, only dull gray granite could be seen outside. For some reason, the image of Baek Mu-Kang hugging the letter in fear wouldn’t leave his mind.

Just then, someone softly knocked at his door.

Knock, knock.

Thinking it was Song Ha-Eun or Isabella, Kwon Oh-Jin opened the door. However, Baek Mu-Kang stood there.

“Is something wrong, elder?”

“I have a favor to ask.”

A favor?

“This.” Baek Mu-Kang held out the envelope in his hand. “Can you read it for me...?”

His eyes trembled as he looked at Kwon Oh-Jin.

Kwon Oh-Jin carefully accepted the envelope. “Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t open it?”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Baek Mu-Kang nodded with sorrowful eyes. “I’ve thought about it a lot by myself.”

After losing his treasure, he regretted it deeply. He felt terrified at the thought that he would never know her final words.

“But I need to know.” He had to read it now in case he ever lost his treasure again. “B-But I’m scared.”

“So, you want me to read it for you?”

“Yeah. You’re a nice person, so I can trust you.”

“But I don’t know how to read Chinese...”

They had managed conversations through translation devices, but reading was a different matter.

“My wife was Korean. She didn’t know much Chinese either, so the letter should be written in Korean.”

“I see...” Kwon Oh-Jin looked down at the worn envelope in his hand.

It probably only held a single sheet of paper, but it felt unbearably heavy for some reason.

“Alright.” Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t refuse after thinking of how much Baek Mu-Kang probably struggled to ask.

“O-Okay. Thanks.” Baek Mu-Kang nervously took a step back and looked at Kwon Oh-Jin.

Kwon Oh-Jin carefully opened the envelope. Inside was a single, neatly folded piece of paper.

On the snow-white sheet, printed in firm characters was—a divorce agreement. It felt like the air had been sucked from his lungs. Kwon Oh-Jin stared at the letter, or rather, the document, and bit his lips.

“Did your wife give this letter to you directly?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“Hmm? No, my wife collapsed while she was out working and never woke up.”

“Then, this letter...”

“It was in her coat pocket.”

In other words, this hadn’t even been an actual letter to begin with.

“...”

It was somewhat understandable. Taking care of a husband with dementia for years couldn’t have been easy, especially if she was working while sick just to get by. Her life had probably been sheer hell. No matter how much she loved him, love alone couldn’t solve some things in life.

She definitely suffered, experienced pain, wanted to give up everything, and just run away.

Because in this world... plenty of things can’t be solved just by enduring.

The world wasn’t a movie. Life wasn't a drama. Only a rare few could stand tall through endless suffering and despair.

“W-What does it say?” Baek Mu-Kang asked, his eyes tightly shut.

Kwon Oh-Jin quietly looked down at the document in his hands. “It says she was happy to have met you, elder.”

He ran his hand across the paper and used Transformation. A black cloud erased the printed words on the document and rewrote them with new ones.

“R-Really? Does it really say that?!” Baek Mu-Kang’s eyes shot open as he snatched the letter from Kwon Oh-Jin’s hands. “Hehehe.”

A single tear traced down the wrinkles beside his eye. He held the letter that he had never dared to read tightly to his chest.

“Thank goodness... Hehe...”

Kwon Oh-Jin watched Baek Mu-Kang shed tears of joy with a faint, bitter smile. “I’m happy for you, elder...”

Sometimes, lies were necessary to make the bitter truth bearable.