Ch.371371 – Pandora’s Box

<371 – Pandora’s Box>

The Foundation will never let Oknodie go free.

Especially if they know her talent.

Zhang had been with her on the cruise ship and at the chairman’s mansion.

He even faced the chairman directly.

Seeing with his eyes and experiencing with his body.

All the data accumulated through experience was telling him.

“The only reason I could think of for why you couldn’t hide the existence of the letter box despite knowing about it was that. And seeing your reaction, it seems my guess was right.”

“Didn’t Master Ryung teach you this? Don’t invite trouble by interfering in another organization’s affairs.”

Jona’s killing intent intensified.

It wasn’t sincere at all.

Just a reflexive action, like waving a hand at a mosquito buzzing annoyingly nearby.

Even with that slight instinct, Zhang felt the intangible domain he had created being mercilessly crushed.

“…!”

This was the extent of his strength.

This was the caliber of man he was.

Even such a butler couldn’t escape the embrace of the Foundation, the pressure of the chairman.

The Wiheomhae Foundation was a more dangerous organization than everyone knew.

When he was by Oknodie’s side, he had forgotten that fact.

‘How could I not forget?’

Honestly, it didn’t feel real.

She only ever praised Jona.

Especially after visiting him.

To the extent that any female student would have wished at least once to have a butler of her own.

“Oknodie always wears a whistle.”

“……”

“She says she needs it to confirm she’s connected to her butler. She never loses it, doesn’t even put it in her bag but keeps it on her body.”

“……”

“Oknodie has innate qualities as an assassin, but she hasn’t fully blossomed yet. Because she has too many emotions.”

Jona acknowledged that Zhang, who stubbornly defended even an inch of his domain while being suppressed, was indeed no ordinary freshman.

Zhang’s uniqueness was proven not just by his domain but also by the words coming from his mouth.

“If even this letter is part of that heartless chairman’s plan, Oknodie will surely be deeply hurt. She’ll feel a tremendous sense of betrayal from the adult she trusted and relied on more than anyone.”

“That’s…”

“There’s no use telling me. An assassin lets the night’s work flow away in the shadows that fade at dawn.”

Zhang pushed back to him the Pandora’s box that he had been avoiding.

“You decide. Whether to burn this box and get rid of it. Or to make her open her eyes to true emotionlessness at the end of betrayal.”

He couldn’t stop the small footsteps leaving the office, pushing back against Jona’s aura.

As always, he was weaker than anyone in front of those small footsteps.

* *

Sunday, a day without lectures.

I was in the middle of playing a prank to achieve the “Delinquent Student” challenge by gluing pages of the hero’s submitted assignment together when a shadow fell over my head and a piercing gaze stabbed my back.

“Ah, I didn’t do anything!”

I quickly tucked the glue into my sleeve, covered the assignment, and turned around.

Fortunately, the person watching me wasn’t the hero, the saint, or a member of the Hero’s Guard, but a passing instructor.

“Oknodie, freshman.”

“Yes?”

“Professor Jona has summoned you. Follow me.”

Phew.

Oh, so he just came to deliver a message.

Relieved, I followed him, when the instructor suddenly threw in a cheap shot like a boss with an off-beat attack pattern.

“The fine for being caught tampering with another student’s submitted assignment is 100 points.”

“Ugh.”

“Since it’s your first offense, it stops here, but if you’re caught again, be prepared for a much bigger expense.”

“Yes…”

From now on, I should be more careful and go inside the assignment storage box to apply glue.

But then how would I distinguish which one is the hero’s assignment?

Wait.

Do I even need to distinguish?

I can just glue all of them together as punishment for taking the same class as the hero!

That would raise my challenge score a lot too.

Making them realize the need to put protective magic on their assignments a year early is also a way for a veteran senior to teach the juniors, right!

“I’ve brought Oknodie.”

“Thank you for your work.”

Upon arriving at the office, the instructor who brought me left and stood at attention against the corridor wall.

Seeing him waiting nearby like a soldier who only follows Jona’s orders, he must be either auxiliary personnel assigned by the Foundation or a watchful eye provided by the Academy.

“You came?”

“Zhang? What are you doing here?”

“Your professor called me.”

Click.

Even the way she bites a cookie is so characteristically Zhang—cautious.

Never swallowing a large piece at once, but dissolving small pieces in saliva as if testing for poison, then waiting to observe the reaction.

Unlike Zhang, who always reminds me of a wary small animal, I dumped the cookies from the table into my wide-open mouth and chewed them up.

Mmm~ such happiness-inducing sweetness!

“Why did you call me, Jona? Did you miss me so much that you called me over in the middle of the day again?”

“You could say that.”

I was momentarily speechless at Jona’s flirtatious expression.

Uh, umm…

How should I act in this situation?

Ah.

I put on a mischievous smile over my flustered face and moved closer.

“Oh Jona. Do you like me too much? No matter how much you don’t want to be apart, you’re a teacher and I’m a student. I’m bound by the academic schedule, you know~?”

“Please don’t lean your back against my leg while saying that. This is a serious conversation.”

A serious conversation, huh.

Then I’ll listen seriously.

I hopped onto the chair, and Jona gestured with his eyes toward a box placed next to the cookie plate on the table.

“This is a box containing letters from all the young ladies I have served.”

“All the young ladies… other young ladies…?”

“If you open this box, you will discover several incidents that occurred at the Academy and some mistakes that I would have preferred to keep hidden.”

Coward.

Zhang cursed under her breath.

“Whether to open it or burn it is entirely up to you, young lady.”

“This is too sudden! It’s as random as an ex-girlfriend suddenly confessing her hidden past!”

Zhang’s mouth twitched as if wanting to object to my strange expression.

“Why are you suddenly telling me this? You could have kept it a secret.”

“That’s…”

“Is it because of guilt? Like a girlfriend who’s become devoted to her current boyfriend thinking, ‘If it’s this man, he can accept my past too.'”

Perhaps because I switched genders in my analogy, I could hear teeth grinding beneath Zhang’s mask.

Sorry, Zhang.

But what can I do when this feels more familiar since my core is male?

I’ll get you implants later, so forgive me!

“It’s as you say, young lady.”

Instead of making excuses, Jona honestly agreed.

“I am now relying on your compassion, begging for mercy. Despite the irreversible failures of the past, I foolishly hope to be forgiven.”

The butler who had always been dignified showed a glimpse of guilt beneath his fierce face today.

Just like how I used to look at students I couldn’t save or my favorite characters as a newbie, watching similar scenes play out repeatedly.

Jona’s appearance was clearly my past self.

Grab!

When I took his hand, Jona’s body tensed.

A cautious attitude, as if handling a baby that might get hurt if touched wrongly.

I didn’t like that.

Squeeze!

When I gripped his hand strongly, a different kind of tension ran through Jona’s hand.

“Don’t let go first.”

“Young lady?”

“I decide when to hold and release hands!”

“…!”

“As if a veteran player would dislike background settings for their beloved character. I didn’t expect the butler to get his own unique story like a new playable character!”

Why would I dislike a butler with 100 affection?

He’s unconditionally on my side!

Emotion welled up in Jona’s eyes.

“So you’ll burn it?”

“Huh? Why would I burn it? I need to see everything.”

“??”

“No veteran player skips new events! We have to lick up every bit of script—how could I be picky about such a feast?”

Even if I open the box, I won’t be disappointed.

So it’s okay to read it, right?

Trust me and just wait right there!

My hand reached out confidently.

But as I tried to open the letter box, my hand was suddenly pulled upward.

“I would prefer you not to look.”

Jona’s self-assertion, going against my wishes as his young lady.

I was honestly surprised by his firm attitude.

So Jona could be this stubborn too.

Right on cue, an event notification appeared.

━━━

<Pandora’s Box Sudden Event>

Jona has brought a box containing letters from past young ladies, but he doesn’t want you to see it.

Looking at traces of Jona’s past shame might reveal new secrets about the Foundation.

But is it right for a master to forcibly uncover secrets that your loyal butler doesn’t want revealed?

It’s time for you to decide between a child’s innocent craving for secrets and an adult’s maturity in protecting a butler’s privacy.

━━━

An unknown choice.

A fork in the road.

But for a veteran player, there are no unknowns.

Even for new events.

After all, the power gained from Papa’s mansion wasn’t just for collecting recipes.

[Experience points for the Discernment feature have exceeded 200.]

[Specialization trait <Reward Prediction> is activating.]

[If you view the letters, you will gain <Foundation’s Secret Information> and <Jona’s Shame>, but Jona’s loyalty will decrease.]

[If you don’t view the letters, you will suffer from the status ailment <Insomnia> for a certain period due to curiosity about the unseen contents, and butler Jona will face retaliation from the Foundation.]

The discernment I raised by appraising many rare items at Papa’s mansion showed its effectiveness.

One side offers rewards, the other punishments.

A crossroads where even a fool would know which is more valuable.

As my mind tilted, my hand slipped out of Jona’s grasp.

“!”

Before Jona could stop me, as my hand reached toward the table, the hat on my head wriggled and transmitted a voice into my mind through <Telepathy>.

[You don’t need to open it.]

“?”

[There’s a letter I wrote in there too.]

“!”

The Second Mad Hatter said something shocking.