Chapter 272

In countless games, the ‘character’ of the protagonist often becomes a meme.

Especially in games with high degrees of freedom, this aspect stands out, and Soul World is no exception.

Although it’s an academy story, the freedom is so vast that committing all sorts of crimes is even possible.

If you commit a crime, your ‘honor’ points drop infinitely, and the lower your honor, the more penalties you face.

For example, shopkeepers might refuse to sell to you or even rip you off. There are quite a few disadvantages.

However, that doesn’t mean that crime or illegal activities are inherently bad. In some cases, they happen for ‘convenience.’

Because of this, there’s been a meme among users that the protagonist of Soul World has significant flaws in character.

It’s just game allowances, but they also commit all sorts of crazy acts, and sometimes even illegal ones.

Of course, all of these actions are the ‘choices’ of the users, but the protagonist who carries them out without hesitation has their own flaws.

“Is it because of their pure evil nature that Chaos didn’t choose them?”

I couldn’t help but gasp at Luna’s shocking words.

Regardless of their righteous heart, there’s something about them… they show psychopathic traits from time to time.

You know, those characters who occasionally say something shocking without a second thought.

They say words reflect a person’s character; Luna has a strong tendency to slip up in her speech, but now it’s different.

“Even in Soul World, even if your honor drops, your actions won’t change…”

More than anything, this place is reality. No one knows how Luna’s character will change.

Maybe it’s better to correct her now. Otherwise, she might fall into a path of evil.

In Soul World, if your honor hits rock bottom, you’re treated as a complete villain. We need to prevent that.

“No, person and animal might be treated differently.”

I was troubled in many ways. In fact, Luna has a ‘pure’ side, which is the problem.

I didn’t feel any malice in that shocking statement. It must have been her idea of efficiency.

Should I be glad she didn’t say it to people? Or should I be worried that she’s already showing troubling signs?

I looked at Luna with a complicated gaze. Luna seemed to be lost in thought, ignoring my look.

“How can I learn to fly quickly? I still need to grow, right?”

“Chirp?”

By the way, I decided that I’d be the one to take the baby bird, Pijon-tu, out of the nest.

Even I, who grew up in the wilderness, couldn’t bring myself to accept Luna’s suggestion. It wasn’t just cruel, it was downright brutal.

When the baby bird grows, it has to learn to flap its wings on its own. So, they often leap out of the nest.

What if it fails to flap its wings? Then it would just die according to the laws of nature.

But Luna just flung out a cruel idea, disregarding nature’s way.

“Maybe she’s just a fool for thinking that way?”

Luna grew up in the countryside. It’s possible she lacks common sense.

The pure evil nature might have developed because of that. For now, it seems best to keep an eye on her.

“Let’s head down now.”

“Got it. We’re just leaving the others behind, right?”

“Yeah.”

We planned to leave behind the baby birds that weren’t the ones Luna selected.

If they got hungry, they’d gnaw on the corpse of a dead mother bird or something. The problem is that even that might be tough for them.

The baby birds often rely on their mother to feed them directly, since just opening their mouths brings food right to them.

So, most of the time they end up just keeping their mouths wide open right in front of food.

They need to figure out how to flap their wings and eat on their own to survive in this nature.

“Ugh.”

“Chirp! Chirp!”

“Whoa. Whoa. Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.”

When I lifted the baby bird, it freaked out.

Thankfully, Luna calmed it down while saying to relax, or I might’ve lost my balance.

“Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”

“Chirp! Chirp!”

Did it think its sibling was in danger? Other baby birds flapped their wings and tried to confront me.

Despite being about the size of a human, they were a bit annoying but no big deal.

I decided to handle Pijon-tu first before they could threaten me.

“Ugh.”

“Chirp!! Chirp!!”

I just flung it straight out of the nest. Instantly, Pijon-tu startled and began flapping its wings.

Even with its fluffy feathers, instinct kicked in, and it was struggling to survive.

If I stopped there, I’d be no different from Luna. So, I jumped out of the nest as well.

Whoosh!

It was quite a high cliff, and I could feel the air resistance vividly. While falling, I glanced up.

Pijon-tu was flapping its wings desperately to survive. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it looked pitiable.

Thud!

Finally, I landed lightly on the ground. Falling from a height is okay as long as I have physical enhancement.

Next up was catching Pijon-tu. The shadow on the ground was growing rapidly, so it looked like it was about to drop.

I quickly looked up. Pijon-tu was falling, still fluttering its wings weakly.

Thud!

“Ugh.”

I caught Pijon-tu easily and set it down on the ground. Its confused chirp echoed in my ears.

Once I set it down, Pijon-tu stared at me with a dazed expression. It was incredibly cute, being a baby bird.

“Stay here.”

“Chirp?”

After I made that request to Pijon-tu, I climbed back up to the nest. Climbing the cliff wasn’t difficult at all.

Soon, I was back at the nest and came face to face with Luna by the edge.

It seemed she rushed over, startled by me jumping out of the nest.

“Are you back? Where’s Pijon-tu?”

“Down below. It’s fine.”

“Really? Where?”

Luna leaned out of the nest to check on Pijon-tu’s status.

Finally, having found it, she waved her hand calling out to Pijon-tu. I ignored that and got straight to work.

“Neoburi.”

“Caw?”

“You come too.”

I put Neoburi on top of my head.

“Luna.”

“Yeah?”

“Excuse me for a sec.”

“What? Aah?!”

I grabbed Luna under my arm and leaped right out of the nest.

Carrying the princess made it hard to maintain balance since I couldn’t use my arms. But it’s better to treat her like luggage than risk safety.

Thud!

I landed safely below the nest. Pijon-tu was calmly sitting there, seeming unusually gentle.

Anyway, everyone and the pets have now come down. The only thing left is to return to the Academy.

“Sivar.”

“Yeah?”

“Um… sorry but…”

Luna stammered, holding back her words. I looked at her with a puzzled expression.

Then Luna gazed back at the nest atop the cliff, chuckling like a fool and carefully said,

“When we raise Pijon-tu later… could you help in that way?”

“Flung it out and catch it?”

“Yeah. Would that be a problem?”

That much is fine. After all, if Pijon-tu grows properly, it will be a huge help to me.

A flying mount, or whatever you call it, is a useful pet anywhere. Plus, Luna and I are in the same boat.

Pijon-tu, flying freely in the sky, will be overwhelming in mobility. I’m more than willing to help in that sense.

“I’ll help.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Luna smiled brightly. In that moment, she felt like a pure and innocent country girl.

“I’m relieved. I actually thought of something else, but this seemed more efficient.”

“Something else?”

“Yeah. I was thinking of dropping all the baby birds up there and letting you pick which one to catch before they fly. But that seemed way too difficult.”

“… …”

She’s definitely pure. But there’s a lot of evil packed in there.

What’s absurd is that Luna’s idea actually seems more efficient.

Focusing on raising just one pet whose growth potential is uncertain is less favorable than picking one that’s already grown.

“Is she someone who values efficiency?”

I naturally wondered about that since I haven’t spent much time with Luna.

Anyway, I didn’t have much time, so I only took Pijon-tu. But due to its size, it was quite noticeable.

“Chirp! Chirp!”

“Speaking of which, what food should I give it? Bugs probably won’t work.”

“Think about it.”

“Hmm… perhaps it’ll eat meat? The mother bird looked like a hawk or an owl kind of.”

Birds each have their food preferences. Generally, larger birds tend to prefer meat.

Considering the size of the mother bird, it might need to eat livestock like cows or pigs. That’ll cost a fortune.

“Do you have any money? You need to have a lot of money.”

“Uh… a little? Maybe I can double it with stocks?”

Luna cautiously glanced at me and subtly asked for a tip on stocks likely to rise in value.

But unfortunately, sadly, there won’t be any stocks that will rise dramatically anytime soon.

There are plans for big and small conflicts to break out across the world, and even a rebellion in the Hwan Empire.

The most probable options are Tartar and Byzantium, but they won’t rise dramatically. The reason is quite simple.

“She doesn’t have much common sense.”

With demons attacking the Academy, who cares about stocks and stuff? Just a little thought would make that clear.

From this, I realized Luna is leaning on me, especially concerning the future.

That’s not a good habit. I’ll help Luna within my abilities, but she shouldn’t depend on me.

She is the protagonist after all. Despite having somewhat shaky traits, she needs to cultivate her own ability to navigate through challenges.

“Nope. I can’t tell you now.”

“Why?”

“Do it on your own. Don’t rely on me.”

“… …”

When I replied sharply, Luna made a sulky face.

Seeing her like that made me feel guilty. But I needed to be firm now.

Even if she improves her skills, if her judgment regarding situations is low, it won’t mean anything. She could easily get swept into political entanglements.

“Got it. I’ll try to do it myself from now on.”

“Good.”

It looks like Luna gained some sense and didn’t ask any more questions. That’s a relief.

“Where should I invest? Should I invest in the Eastern Empire?”

“… …”

She didn’t show any signs of concern, but my mouth itched to shout a warning.

It would be nice to go out right now, but sadly that’s not possible. It’s getting dark, and we are in a forest.

There’s nothing riskier than wandering around a creepy forest. Moreover, we’re deep inside the Chaos Forest.

I have a compass, but it’s safer to camp.

“I’ll take the watch.”

I spread out a makeshift spot and relaxed.

Even at night, I thought nothing much would happen.

“Oh, right. Sivar.”

“Yeah?”

“Later, let’s find that guy. Duke.”

“Ah.”

I almost forgot about that.

“We should at least find a corpse.”

“… …”

Didn’t even cross her mind that he might still be alive?

That’s a normal judgment, but coming from Luna, it just felt eerie.

---