Jonnas was a soft-hearted butler.
He had the immense power to kill anyone in the world, yet his heart was as tough as steel.
Faced with trials he couldn’t handle with strength, he trembled pitifully like a rebar on the verge of breaking.
“Stop this. If you turn back now, you can smooth things over as if nothing happened.”
“If I stop, then I’ll say goodbye to my butler forever, right?”
“Even if you don’t stop, nothing will change.”
“Then I’m right. At least now, I can spend my last moments with my butler.”
“What in the world do you have to complain about?!”
Jonnas exploded in anger.
“Your parents sold you to the Foundation for a few coins. You could have been dragged to the Light Stand, but you chose to step into the world’s best educational institution thanks to your butler’s choice. You received an education beyond your means and excellent knowledge that could change your life, even if you are in the Lower Class. Can you not be satisfied with this?”
“Jonnas, you’re right. My parents were poor, so they sold me, and you, as my butler, valued my talents and gave me an incredible opportunity.”
“Then why the hell are you complaining?!”
“So I’ve always wondered. You are the most skilled among the butlers. Despite having the right to choose an ‘Agassi’ among the foundation butlers before anyone else, why did you choose me over Charlotte?”
“…!”
“I don’t know the reason. If you don’t tell me, I’ll never know it for life. But I realized you have kindness toward me, so I thought this.”
Jonnas’s first Agassi.
The 2nd Hat’s past confessed mournfully with a smile.
“I want to think of you as my father.”
“!!!”
“So I do not regret it. At least this second father did not abandon me. I can confirm that with these two eyes and feel it in my heart.”
Yet, she felt sorry for her butler.
The Foundation’s policies.
She wasn’t a stranger to those cruel hands.
“I’m prepared. Please do what you have to do.”
The lady, closing her eyes and exposing herself defenselessly.
A delicate lady whose neck could be snapped with just a touch.
A pitiful lady who called Jonnas her father and relied on him.
To dispose of such a lady.
With his own hands.
“…”
His arms, trained to match the weight of millions, grew heavy as they rose.
The opponent his hands had to twist wasn’t this fragile lady.
Yet, Jonnas’s arm slowly lifted.
Crack!
And then he caught her.
Around the lady’s neck.
A frail weakness that could break with just a bit of strength.
The whole being wrapped in the collar of her coat, easily crumpled with a punch to the chest.
“The wind is chilly. Tighten your collar.”
“Jonnas…?”
Tears welled up in the lady’s eyes.
“This shouldn’t be happening.”
“You’re the one acting like a child.”
“Even so, how can you accept it? I merely chose where I’d die.”
“You will be punished, Lady. Consider the agony of knowing what your butler will risk because of your childishness. That is my punishment for you.”
“Jonnas…”
“Accept this. A scroll that clings to an object, even if it means abandoning your body, to escape the watchful eyes of the scholarship students.”
Jonnas looked down at the lady with stern eyes.
“Don’t take this lightly. A spirit trapped in an object without a body who cannot communicate with anyone is a common occurrence. It might bring about an outcome worse than death.”
“Then kill me now. I might not want to die at the hands of someone else, but if it’s you, I can accept it. Please.”
The lady grabbed Jonnas’s rough hand and brought it to her neck. But he couldn’t muster the strength to do it.
That was their last meeting.
Back at the Academy alone.
While second-years were practicing the [Pass Wall] spell, she naturally used it to conceal herself.
People thought she was an unfortunate first-year who died recklessly trying to imitate upperclassmen’s techniques, but they didn’t ponder the meaning of a torn scroll piece.
Thus, Jonnas’s first Agassi, Alice, lost her body and hid her spirit within the academy.
Waiting for Jonnas’s next Agassi to come someday, believing that a reunion was possible.
*
“Waaah! So sad!”
As tears streamed down like Titosso, the 2nd Hat lowered their brim and wiped his tears.
“Are you stupid? Why cry over something like this?”
“But the 2nd Hat has never done anything wrong enough to lose their body.”
“It was only a matter of time. As soon as Jonnas left and returned to the academy, the next order arrived.”
“What was the order…?”
“To kill the second-years stuck in the middle of their practice with the [Pass Wall] spell.”
“Really!”
“It turned out for the best. Thanks to failing that order, it would naturally be perceived that Jonnas was at fault by the Foundation.”
The Foundation pushed those who wished to die.
Even if they carried out the order, reviving afterward would be difficult.
Second years versus first years.
Which group was more skilled in the Pass Wall spell?
The odds of an accident were much higher for the first years.
“I’ll get my revenge!”
“Who on?”
“Whoever gave the order to the 2nd Hat!”
“Stop it.”
“Don’t you want to get revenge?”
“Even if that person is your papa, could you take revenge?”
“…!”
“It’s all about timing. Who knows who gave the order? The one who gave the order wouldn’t remember such trivial matters. I was just a lowly scholarship student used for Charlotte’s growth.”
The 2nd Hat was accustomed to resignation.
Abandoned by parents, cast aside by the Foundation.
Even abandoned by themselves.
To abandon and be abandoned.
That was the essence of the 2nd Hat’s life.
“Then we just need to find a Foundation member who watches over Charlotte! Someone favorable to Charlotte must be the one who harassed the 2nd Hat.”
“…”
“Why? Don’t you want to take revenge?”
It was strange.
I showed them a way to find the main culprit.
Yet the 2nd Hat didn’t show a hint of joy.
“Charlotte isn’t a bad child.”
“Really?”
“I’ve never talked to her openly, but I watched her daily life at the academy. I wanted to see how my life sacrificed for someone turned out.”
Aha.
A budding stalker has emerged even in life!
[Understanding of the character [Alice] has increased.]
━━━
Alice’s Understanding
Good Person (Understanding 20) – She cannot blame others.
Fleeing Individual (Understanding 40) – Since being abandoned by her parents, she wishes to avoid the pain of being abandoned by severing ties before they deepen.
Stalker (Understanding 60) – Cautious, she starts observing those she has an interest in. Of course, this process does not involve obtaining the target’s consent.
━━━
[Understanding of the character [Alice] has exceeded 20.]
[First Privilege [Birds of a Feather] acquired.]
[Your heart, staying close to kind people, gradually approaches goodness.]
[Your relationship and favorability with good-aligned characters may improve by 10 each week.]
[Understanding of the character [Alice] has exceeded 40.]
[Second Privilege [Deepening Relationship] acquired.]
[The rate of growth in favorability with the character [Alice] increases.]
[Understanding of the character [Alice] has exceeded 60.]
[Third Privilege [Foundation’s Agassi] acquired.]
[The lady, who always took a passive stance, finally begins to open her heart. Alice will now readily offer advice for you.]
[The probability of detecting characters, objects, and events related to the Foundation significantly increases.]
As understanding deepened, the once hat-only lady’s human figure faintly began to take shape.
Outwardly a good child.
Deep inside, a wounded child.
A lady like a small animal, who wants to draw close to someone she fears might deepen her wounds, observing and wary of those attempting to get close.
‘The unlucky lady version of Titosso!’
I fully understood Jonnas’s first Agassi.
If I had been in my newbie days with no abilities or future knowledge, could I have been different from her?
In terms of talent, I might have surpassed her.
However, there are clear limits to the power one can build up from a blank slate without accumulated ending rewards or monster manual rewards.
Even if I managed to rise to a level comparable to Charlotte, who was fostered as the Foundation’s main talent, I would ultimately just end up manipulated according to the Foundation’s wishes.
Papa is competent, but perhaps not the kindest adult after all.
“Still, I do want to meet a senior named Charlotte.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“I’m sorry to the 2nd Hat, but Jonnas is now my butler. I want to at least see the face of the person who made my butler sad!”
“If you call me Alice.”
“Alice-senpai!”
“The class I enrolled in was the 978th. If I had progressed normally, I would’ve been a fourth-year by now.”
“What year is Charlotte in now?”
“Third year. And she’s on a leave of absence.”
“Is she working as an instructor?”
“If that were the case, I could have kept an eye on her. Charlotte is in a place I can’t see.”
In an area that cannot be accessed even from nearby ground within the academy.
“Student Dormitory Zone. If you’re not a student on leave, you can’t step foot there.”
“But she can’t earn Points through normal academy activities there. Being an instructor may earn her some points, but why would she go there so dangerously?”
There are certain taboos even in the Gift Academy, no matter how ridiculous it might be.
A prime example is the prohibition against taking someone else’s life or points without consent.
But what if they weren’t protected as a student by school rules?
“She must be trying to earn points through abnormal means.”
In that extraterritorial realm exposed to unlimited violence, those seeking to gather points for advancement would dive into whatever brutal acts necessary.
