Chapter: 98
Was I talking about how there are many unfortunate people among the characters in Soul Academy?
To be more precise, there are fewer major characters who aren’t unfortunate.
Big or small, everyone carries some misfortune, and solving or overcoming that is what character quests in the game Soul Academy are all about.
Just look at the characters I’ve met so far.
The pitiful prince, Arthur Soladin, is a man tormented by the obsession that he must be perfect after losing his mother.
Frey Kent is a lunatic obsessed with life-and-death struggles because she can’t feel emotions.
Phoebe is a ticking bomb filled with various misfortunes she doesn’t even know about.
The reason I consider Joy my favorite character is because she’s the only one who seems largely unaffected by misfortune.
Her family is just fine, her personality is good, and the only worry she has is that it’s tough to make real friends. Plus, her silly antics are adorable.
I couldn’t help but laugh when she desperately tried to catch up with me and Frey this morning, only to collapse on the floor from exhaustion.
Her actions are truly foolish, yet it’s amusing to see the cold villainess when she finally catches her breath.
Anyway, given the situation, it’s no surprise that even the inferiority complex boy has his share of misfortune.
His performance is questionable, but he’s still one of the major NPCs.
There’s even an achievement related to defeating Jack.
Jack Burrows’ misfortune lies in his inferiority complex about his brother.
The brother who was overwhelmingly superior to him.
The brother who was expected to prosper the Burrows family one day.
The brother who had such exceptional brilliance that he cast a shadow over Jack.
The brother who threw himself into danger to save others in a freak accident.
Jack Burrows has been unable to escape that shadow even after his brother’s death.
His parents still can’t move on from the death of his brother.
The family’s members compare the deceased brother with Jack and belittle him.
Even Jack himself kept comparing himself to his brother, pushing himself into muck.
There’s a reason why Jack, who used to love play, is striving to become the best.
“How do you know this?”
And the necklace I’m holding out is a keepsake of Jack Burrows’ brother, Zael Burrows.
The necklace Zael Burrows always wore.
The necklace that was supposed to be given to Jack according to Zael’s last wishes.
The reason I’m holding this item is simple.
Someone stole it and sold it as stolen goods when he died for others.
The dead say nothing.
“By pure chance…”
“I found it by chance. It stood out because it had the Burrows family emblem.”
Jack couldn’t possibly not recognize it.
He’s been following in his brother’s footsteps since childhood and is still living in his shadow.
He must vividly remember the items his brother had, right?
If the story in the game starts unfolding now, Jack will ask for this item back.
Then, as his hand touches the necklace, the magic embedded in it will activate, and a quest will emerge.
Once we solve that quest together, Jack’s heart will open like a door!
After that, I can just wait and see what the shoddy god will give me!
Imagining a happy future while waiting for Jack’s response, I noticed that his expression was anything but normal.
“So what are you trying to say?”
Jack slowly raised his head as he stared at the necklace.
What reflected in his eyes was hatred as deep as the crimson color of his hair.
“I’ll ask you again. What are you trying to say?”
What comes out of Jack’s mouth in the game isn’t supposed to be such lines.
In the game, he would say that item is not something a loser like you should hold and demand the necklace back.
“Were you planning to make a deal with that necklace? How unfortunate. I’m not interested in that item.”
‘Liar.’
“Dear inferiority complex prince, do you want to deceive yourself? What a sloppy thought.”
The words that slipped out without thinking were translated into the language of Mesugaki and seeped into Jack’s ears.
He didn’t frown.
He didn’t get angry.
He simply stood up and left without a word.
His back, holding his book as he walked away, was so heavy that I couldn’t catch up to him.
I didn’t come to my senses until long after Jack had left the library.
What… What just happened?
Why did Jack leave without even looking at his necklace?
Why?
*
Jack Burrows remembered his brother.
The one who seemed to have never known the word lack.
The brother who was expected to flourish the Burrows family one day.
And the fool who threw himself away for others before fulfilling that expectation.
It was inevitable.
The second hand of the Burrows family, having lost the gear called Zael, hadn’t moved a step since that day.
Jack hated that.
He despised his mother, who cried every day looking for her son.
He despised his father, who spent his days drunk and yelled at Jack every day.
He despised the family members who had fallen into silence.
None of it sat well with him.
So Jack tried to escape from that day.
He gathered strength to become a proud son.
Instead of the games he loved so much, he started training.
He embraced the books he once whined about needing to read.
He worked hard to possess the dignity of a noble.
To take Zael’s place for himself.
To become the gear of the Burrows family.
To move the clock hand forward.
But no matter how hard he struggled, nothing changed.
No matter how outstanding Jack became, his parents never looked at him.
The family’s members only praised him outwardly, but compared him to his brother behind his back.
He was left as an outcast in a world that had stopped.
All Jack could do was resent his brother, who had left him behind.
That’s why when Lucy Allen showed him the necklace, he immediately recognized what it was.
He couldn’t help but remember Zael’s smile, which had greeted him just before his death, and the necklace he wore around his neck.
Why is Lucy Allen holding that?
Unable to grasp that, when Jack brought it up, Lucy smirked with her annoying smile and said,
“I found it by chance.”
By chance.
Fortuitously found it.
It was the kind of chance that left Jack dumbfounded with disbelief.
The necklace belonging to the brother he was struggling to surpass.
Lucy Allen, who was currently instilling inferiority in him, had “found” it by accident.
Jack hated Lucy Allen.
There was no profound reason for that.
Simply put, Jack hated her because she was better than him.
In academics, Lucy Allen was a dominant force.
Her score on the Academy entrance exams was legendary.
For Jack now, it would be unimaginable to catch up to her.
Combat?
Just look at her humiliating Frey Kent in a previous tournament, treating him like a toy.
A level apart.
But was there any other area where she fell short?
Not at all.
The only thing Lucy Allen lacked was her personality. Her arrogant and condescending attitude toward anyone above or below her.
That alone was why she was still avoided within the academy.
In the past, it might have been different, but Lucy Allen wouldn’t be unaware of Jack now.
She must know that if she pretends to be nice, she could win people’s favor.
A fool who doesn’t understand even that wouldn’t place first in the entrance exam.
To Jack, that arrogance was a declaration that she wouldn’t bow her head to anything.
It was a steadfastness to walk her own path, regardless of what others thought.
Jack resented that steadfastness.
Because he couldn’t be steadfast.
He had to live in accordance with the desires of those around him.
Even if he wanted to be steadfast, he would end up broken.
He hated that steadfastness he could never achieve.
So when he saw the necklace.
And when he lifted his head to see Lucy’s irritating smile, he remembered his brother.
He recalled that steadfastness that received love from those around him, even while living without considering others’ gazes.
So he shouted that he wasn’t interested in the necklace.
He said he was not conscious of his brother even a bit.
If he said Lucy Allen needed the necklace, it would feel like admitting he was overshadowed by his brother.
“Dear inferiority complex prince, do you want to deceive yourself? What a sloppy thought.”
In that moment.
It seemed like Lucy Allen caught on to his inferiority complex and smiled.
Seeing that smile, Jack abruptly stood up.
Rude? Impertinent?
He didn’t care about that.
He felt he couldn’t endure any more conversation with Lucy Allen.
So he left the library, walking for a while without any thoughts, and when he stepped outside and looked at the cloudy sky, he struck the academy’s white walls.
“Inferior? Me?”
Lucy Allen.
That damn girl.
*
I had never thought Jack would refuse the necklace, so my head was all jumbled.
What’s going on? Why did he leave that necklace behind?
He looked shocked upon seeing it, so he clearly recognized what it was.
Since it was an event that had never occurred in the game, I couldn’t speculate at all.
I couldn’t figure out what variable had appeared.
Ah, damn it.
If this is the case, I’ll have to abandon my plan to raise Jack’s favorability and clear the quest from the shoddy god.
If I knew what the problem was, I could try to solve it, but I have no idea how to address it.
Guess I’ll have to find another route.
While searching for ways to raise Arthur or Frey’s favorability, if those don’t pan out, I’ll just have to consider other options.
There’s no harm in that. There are countless ways to go about it.
Still, it’s a disappointment. What I thought would be an easy situation has turned complicated.
Why can’t anything go my way since falling into this world?
Is Agra involved in this as well?
While frowning and pondering, I lifted my head upon sensing a presence nearby.
There was today’s special dessert from the academy that I ordered.
A parfait.
It had come out quickly, not long after I ordered it.
I took a spoonful and put the ice cream on top in my mouth, waving my hand at the sweet, smooth, and cool taste.
Sweetness is definitely the way to go when you have a headache.
Thank goodness it’s a medieval fantasy.
If it were a real medieval world, I could never dream of such luxury.
With my mouth full of sweetness, I smiled and started moving my spoon while continuing my thoughts.
Changing my plan itself isn’t difficult.
Once I obtain the crow’s seal and gain access to the Newman family, I’ll have plenty of means.
For now, all I can do is wait for Kurze Newman to quickly find that potion.
“Yum.”
Until then, I guess I’ll have to grind with Joy and Frey.
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