<372 - A Common Occurrence>
2nd Hat was just a poor student trapped in that
The unexpected connection was enough to fluster even a veteran player like me.
“Hmm?”
To say that the letter in that box was written by the Foundation’s Agassi and one of the previous Agassis that Jonnas knew.
So that means 2nd Hat was a senior Agassi!?
“Hmm hmm. I see how it can be like this!”
It’s fascinating, but the pieces fit perfectly.
Typically, a character’s backstory, favorability events, and unique stories often hide related people or items around them.
Such as the history of an item or a secret concealed by those nearby.
Take Jiang’s
This setup of having a former Agassi lurking around me, a Foundation’s Agassi, is an event that fits perfectly into my unique story as a playable character of Oknodie.
“When I look at it this way, it really feels like I’ve become a game character!”
Honestly, it’s fun.
It fills my heart with deep satisfaction that I’m becoming part of the world I’ve enjoyed repeatedly.
“Is it okay if I don’t tell Jonnas?”
“What will you not tell him, Agassi?”
[Please don’t tell him yet. I don’t want my identity to be exposed. I also don’t want to be retrieved by the Foundation.]
What would happen if I said something?
Still, since she doesn’t want me to, I’ll let it slide.
“Agassi?”
“No, I’ve made my decision. This is how it will be.”
Her hand stretched toward the table, grabbing what she desired, and instantly set the letter box ablaze.
[Unexpected Event [Pandora’s Box] Completed]
[You did not open the box that contains the unknown danger waiting.]
[You, who turned a blind eye to the catastrophe in the name of peace. The unease that today’s avoided crisis could lead to another catastrophe arises vaguely and disappears.]
[There is no reward for this choice.]
[Due to your curiosity about the unopened letter, you have been afflicted with the status abnormality [Insomnia].]
Jonnas stared at me with wide eyes.
Jiang and 2nd Hat looked just as surprised.
“Why is everyone looking at me like that?”
“I thought for sure you’d open it based on the flow.”
“Oh come on. How could Jiang be so oblivious?”
Newbies can be so blind, it’s impossible not to lecture from a veteran’s perspective.
“Listen carefully. If there’s a linked quest, and you have a choice between taking the quest and a choice where you just take the reward without accepting the quest, you must always go for the latter!”
“What’s a quest? What’s a choice?”
“I presume you’re talking about the old sage’s tales warning against ignoring immediate difficulties to seize sweet fruits before you, leading to future regrets.”
“Jonnas is really smart!”
That’s exactly what I meant.
It’s like the puppy ‘Hold On!’ experiment.
If a dog can’t resist one kibble and gulps it down but later finds out its owner had hidden a handful behind them, how unfair would that feel?
That’s when they’d whimper in their kennel, unable to sleep at night.
Linked quests hide similar traps.
If you get blinded by small gains, you end up suffering significant losses, losing out on the larger picture.
New scripts may seem tempting, but resisting them brings greater rewards, right?
Besides, in either case, it’s a new experience for me as a veteran.
Since 2nd Hat already confessed to writing part of the letter, I can sneak a peek at its contents without anyone knowing, basically nullifying the insomnia penalty.
There’s no reason to make the mistake of opening the letter box under such favorable conditions!
“Are you sure it’s okay? The Foundation won’t just sit by.”
“It’s fine. I have a rough idea of what Papa will do!”
Now that I’ve discovered the Foundation’s presence behind events that I previously thought had no connections in the game, I can anticipate a few things.
What events might threaten my academy life intertwined with Foundation intrigues?
“A way to torment the professor is to prevent the students from attending their lectures!”
It seems the Foundation’s mid-level ninjas, or rather, mid-level spies, are about to start their antics.
Moving forward, my task is to identify the Foundation’s mid-level scholarship spies!
And once I find them, what will I do?
Shall I subtly deal with them as if it were an accident, just like in the game?
Since from the second semester of second year onwards, there’s already content about identifying and removing spies from external organizations or criminal groups, it’s not exactly unfamiliar territory.
Well, it’s not something I need to stress about right now!
“Anyway, is Jonnas satisfied now?”
“Is Agassi… okay with that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Can you maintain our current relationship without any suspicion, even if I bury the past and flaws of the butler serving you in darkness?”
I find it hard to believe there would be any suspicion. After all, 2nd Hat, who knows Jonnas’s past, is right above us.
Even if Hat knew something I don’t, I wouldn’t get angry over a setting booklet.
“Do you have an ex-girlfriend among the Agassi?”
“I do not engage in impure relations with Agassi.”
“Did you ever help the Agassi while they were lifting weights, only to try to hit on them?”
“I do not treat valuable training as a joke, meant to become a part of their blood and flesh.”
“Well, that’s fine! No problem!”
“Still, I feel like I may have burdened Agassi unnecessarily. Maybe I’m not cut out to be a butler after all…”
“Don’t make that face!”
Seeing a butler with a face full of despair from the pouring rain, reminiscent of Titosogass, feels a bit like I’m a cruel employer.
Especially since that butler from the days of [The All-In-One Character Love Marine] had been wearing such a gloomy face alone, it really pricks at my conscience.
I occasionally had him fetch ingredients I was too lazy to collect, or ordered him to buy delicious food from different parts of the world as capital, or had him hoard enhancement materials while avoiding the Empire’s eyes, but I always gave him bonuses on top of his salary.
Thinking back on it, I still don’t know why the butler reacted like that.
Jonnas wouldn’t make that face.
“It’s typical for capable characters to have unfortunate backstories. Just look at Irene; she once accidentally frozen soldiers to death during her childhood due to her underdeveloped magic skills.”
“…”
“But with growth, she became a brilliant cool beauty, so we can just move on, remembering she had that experience. Plus, knowing the reason behind her cold personality is also valuable. Backstories are truly wonderful things not to hate!”
Jiang’s gaze from beneath his mask feels extremely piercing.
“Wah?”
“Sigh. What’s the point? Asking now feels stupid.”
I tried to comfort them maturely, but Jiang’s reaction was rather unhelpful.
Jonnas’s expression only seemed to deepen in worry.
“Is that so… I shall engrave your words of encouragement upon my being as if they were a golden rule. From now on, I vow to serve with even greater sincerity.”
Jonnas spoke with a fierce determination on his face.
I’m glad he seems motivated!
*
‘Coward.’
I had advised him to make his own decisions, and after a night of contemplation, the result was this outcome.
“Shoving important decisions onto a woman, what a cowardly man.”
“Woo. Jiang~ Don’t speak badly of Jonnas!”
“Oknodie, you’re a problem too. Getting pulled along by such a bad guy, are you worried about your future?”
“Jonnas isn’t a bad man!”
“Ye~ Yeah. I’m sure he isn’t.”
Jiang huffed and turned away.
As she tried to leave, Jonnas called out to her.
“I heard you’re looking for a missing student named Dobi. If you’re looking for that student, you should visit the research labs of the border professors.”
“…sigh. Your Foundation knows everything, huh? Were you pretending to be clueless the whole time while having this all figured out from the start?”
I began to understand who Oknodie might have learned that annoying habit of asymmetric information from, standing above people’s heads.
“Oknodie.”
“Wah?”
“Play with the hat later; just help me for a bit.”
“Um… only if it’s for 1 hour and 45 minutes!”
“What are you doing in 1 hour and 45 minutes?”
“Training my cooldown function!”
“Gonna hide again?”
“No. Observing!”
“Training a weird ability. Why observation all of a sudden?”
“I’ve been playing with Papa and learned a lot about observation and insight. If I boost it just a little more, I might unlock a new character privilege!”
So Oknodie learned observation and insight from that Director…
It’s dangerously unsettling, like a walking minefield.
But defusing that mine will be for later.
For now, I must find out which research lab that Dobi, the very reason for all these events, is being held in.
“Hmm? 2nd Hat has a professor in mind!”
“Hat?”
“2nd Hat is the second self dwelling within the Dark Aptitude Evaluation Hat the Foundation brought! The first Hat was trapped in a wall; wanna go visit? We could check on how they’re doing.”
“Not really curious.”
“Hmm.”
“How do you suspect the professor who’s presumed to have kidnapped Dobi through that Dark Aptitude Evaluation Hat?”
Oknodie, deep in thought as he gripped the hat with both hands, suddenly had a lightbulb moment!
“Professor Weird kidnaps failing lowerclassmen every year around this time, claiming they lack talent and perseverance for studying or training!”
“…What does he do with them? I can’t see such dumb students pulling off tasks at a professor’s required level.”
“Last year, he had them awaken spirits necessary for the practicum.”
“Spirits? Spirit summoners need quite a bit of talent. Isn’t that something for gifted students?”
“The person who woke the spirit gets battered by it, but they need someone to take that hit instead!”
…So there’s a sandbag slave in the research lab? What in the world is Professor Weird’s lab like?
Jiang recalled the information she had about Professor Weird.
– Professor Weird has flowers on their head!
– Their physique is amazing…
– I wish all women dressed like Professor Weird. It’s natural and lovely.
– But the handwriting is terrible.
– Ha… they’re really good but such an awful professor…
– I heard Professor Weird is recruiting freshmen for the lab; should I go? There’s no written test there, right?
– Seniors absolutely warn against it.
– Why?
– They’ll feed you rocks.
– …
The expressions of students discussing the Professor Weird turned from excitement to agony all at once.
Do I really have to go to such a lab?
The growing discomfort towards Professor Weird began to overshadow the pity I felt for Dobi, making Jiang ponder seriously whether this was a trip worth taking or not.
