Reincarnation with AI (Unemployment-Free)

Chapter 79 A Self-Inflicted Trap

Another week has passed in the blink of an eye.

After saying that, Rudeus never spoke another word to Alice.

Looking back on the situation, Rudius felt a pang of regret.

Even from a purely rational perspective, one should wait a while before resorting to such methods. Perhaps it would be better to wait until a month later, after truly becoming friends with Alice, before saying such things.

I acted impulsively.

Rudius realized that he had uttered those words in the heat of the moment when he was beaten.

The regret wasn't because of Alice, but because of an even more outrageous thing he'd said in his past life.

"I swear I'll never speak to you again in my life."

Then there is no more then.

Looking back now, things were actually quite simple.

Rudyus's psychological trauma from bullying caused his physical pain to transform into psychological stress, which accumulated in his heart.

Rudyus is someone who keeps his stress bottled up inside, until he can't hold it in any longer, then he detonates a landmine, killing everyone.

It's normal for classmates to get hurt during roughhousing.

You hit me once, I hit you once, and then the blows get heavier and heavier.

Rudius said seriously, "Stop fighting!"

He felt he couldn't let himself be taken advantage of, so he retaliated with a heavy blow.

His friend had a smile on his face, probably thinking Rudius was playing a trick on him.

But you should understand what's going on if you hit someone so hard.

No one likes pain, especially pain that comes out of nowhere.

My friend laughed and called back.

The two fought harder and harder, and the pain intensified with each blow.

Rudeus reached his limit of patience and stopped fighting back, instead roaring, "I swear I'll never speak to you again in my life!"

"

Their relationship ended there.

Rudius lay on the bed with his eyes closed, his mind replaying painful memories. He had been in this position for a long time.

The punch that Alice landed on him was actually far from reaching the limit of Rudeus's explosive power.

Of course, running away after being attacked is still a matter of instinct.

Rudius hates pain.

Perhaps, having learned from his past life's lessons, Rudeus will no longer explode with lightning.

But back then, I was just a student.

Now, counting his age after reincarnation, he is a 37-year-old man.

The current Rudeus is the kind of person who will personally dig out the lightning, analyze it carefully, and see what exactly is causing him pain.

Why did I say those things?

However, compared to swearing to the heavens, what he said to Alice this time was much milder, more like a child throwing a tantrum.

Rudius realized he had acted impulsively, but he had thought through his words and they weren't anything that left no room for retaliation.

Rudeus tries to say those words, but past memories come flooding back and stop him.

But this time, he said something similar again.

the difference is.

This time, Rudius knew exactly what he was doing and didn't think there was anything wrong with saying something he disliked in anger. He thought this instinctively and didn't feel he had done anything wrong afterwards.

But why?

Unable to fall asleep either way, Rudius opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, he sat up, got out of bed, and walked to the table to sit down.

The bed was not blocking the door; it was placed in its original position.

Rudeus used earth magic to make a cup, filled it with ice water, and sipped it slowly.

After spending some time with her, Rudeus has discovered that Alice is quite a lovely child.

When Philip said, "My lovely daughter," Rudius found himself unable to refute it.

Although Alice is willful, she is generally a well-behaved child, only having some problems with expressing herself.

The reason I was beaten was because I didn't think things through.

When ordinary girls are praised, they will feel shy, bashful, or embarrassed.

But Alice's brain doesn't work that way; all she does is hit people.

All of Alice's emotional expressions, once they reach a certain threshold, will turn into hitting people.

Happy, confused, shy, angry.

When Alice is praised, she gets so happy that she suddenly punches Rudeus.

This is like Rudyus accumulating mental stress after feeling pain; it's the underlying code.

That's why I felt disgusted even before I came.

Thinking about it this way, it's only natural that Alice would be expelled from school.

Just like Rudius, nobody likes pain.

Alice's communication problems, combined with her physical strength, resulted in her severely injuring everyone who showed her hostility.

Those who had shown goodwill towards Alice had long since been driven away.

Then there were no more kind people around her, and Alice was caught in a vortex of malice, only able to respond to malice with violence—thus falling into a vicious cycle.

Alice was not a born violent person.

The starting point of this cycle wasn't Alice's fault; it was because she hadn't been taught any other way.

With his father and grandfather's protection and indulgence, his martial arts skills continued to grow, and his talent for swordsmanship began to emerge.

He was eventually expelled after causing a violent incident that could not be considered childish play.

As Rudeus gained a deeper understanding of Alice, he gradually saw the path she had taken.

Alice was praised by Philip for not hitting him because Philip was his father.

After finishing his studies, Rudius only thought about how he should do what Philip did and encourage Alice, but he neglected his own identity.

So—is it identity?

When Rudyus was first reincarnated, he considered the possibility of taking action against Paul, but he never thought of harming Senis.

To be honest, Paul was still a stranger to Rudius when he acknowledged Senis as his mother.

The fundamental difference between Rudeus and Philipp lies in their shared awareness of never intending to harm each other.

Philip was her father, the one who told her stories since she was a child and whom she trusted unconditionally.

Rudius was someone who had only been there for less than a month, teaching her arithmetic, playing with her, and occasionally getting hit by her—what was he? A teacher? A playmate? A peer?

Once the relationship is deep enough, it can be used to get the other party to compromise.

But thinking like that leads me back to my old ways.

This has nothing to do with the trigger for the outburst.

Rudius began to review his thoughts before coming to Roya.

To help Alice, it is necessary to establish a bridge of communication with her.

Rudius believed that communication is good, and that conflict and heated arguments are all acceptable, as long as the effectiveness of communication is maintained, emotions are merely an auxiliary tool.

Therefore, Rudius patiently built a relationship with Alice.

And in his conversation with Alice, he sensed her trust.

He sensed that he could exploit Alice's trust and push her into the abyss once again.

Rudius felt he had figured out Alice.

But is it really necessary to explore the other person's cognitive boundaries and emotional barriers?

Is there any fundamental difference between this and before communication was established?

I've patiently done so much, but haven't I still ended up failing to convince the other party?

If you try to persuade or change the other person, the end result may very well be the loss of a fairly good friend.

"Unable to persuade" is the norm; the goal is to "build a connection."

Respecting boundaries is respecting existence.

Each person's cognitive boundaries are shaped by their experiences, values, and personality.

Touching and understanding this boundary is not about destroying it, but about knowing "you are here, I am here, we are not the same".

True friendship is built on the foundation of "I see the real you, and I still choose to stand by you," not on "we are exactly the same."

Rudeus exhaled a breath of stale air and watched as AI repeated the correct words.

I just feel so tired.

Even now, Rudius still hasn't figured out whether he should retreat back into his shell.

Just take it one step at a time and don't force yourself to make decisions.

Making friends with Alice is actually easier than you might imagine.

Rudius felt that he was essentially the same as Gilead.

Although their upbringing paths differed, they were all naturally kind and harmless towards others.

Looking at AI's reply, Rudeus realized that there was another problem with his expression towards AI; he had never intended to change anything about Alice.

Those who harbor the idea of ​​changing others, with an implicit goal of "I must convince you" or "I must prove you wrong," will be subjected to Alice's fists and feet after only three sentences.

That's not making friends; that's arrogance, that's condescending charity.

After saying all that, AI actually helped Rudius confirm that he had done the right thing.

Exploring the boundaries of cognition and the barriers of emotion is not a question of "whether it's necessary," but rather an almost inevitable process—a profound understanding will inevitably touch upon these areas.

Shaking the water glass in my hand, the ice cubes made a slight clinking sound as they collided with the glass.

With no one around, Rudius added ice to his ice water.

Magic is a very convenient ability, but Rudeus doesn't make ice blocks in front of people.

If others see it, not only will it expose my strength, but they'll also ask me to have a drink too, which is really troublesome.

Anyone who has ever worked a regular job knows that hiding your shortcomings is a survival instinct; it helps you avoid doing work that isn't your responsibility.

Rudius looked at the AI's reply: "Inevitable."

Then I remembered the fact that he constantly "avoided" various problems.

Before coming here, I had been trying to avoid being beaten, avoiding conflict, and avoiding saying hurtful things.

Maintaining a safe distance, being polite, and learning to offer praise in ways that others are not good at.

Even though Alice was easier to approach than expected, the mental stress was still accumulating.

Otherwise, you'll get angry after being hit, but you shouldn't get that angry.

Rudius had been anticipating Alice's actions.

Is this about making friends?

Does making friends cause you mental stress?

Concealing one's abilities, anticipating events, and maintaining distance—these are all survival skills that Rudeus learned from his experiences in both his previous and current lives.

Rudius was "managing someone who could potentially harm him".

Making friends does not cause mental stress.

The source of the stress is the fear of making friends.

Rudius, half his body still tucked inside his shell, heard Alice's soft reply—

He realized that it was a sign of trust.

Trust meant that Alice was actively moving closer to Rudeus, but after Alice extended an olive branch to him, he ended up shrinking back and even being angered.

When the child he thought was hiding in the darkness, who wouldn't actively approach the outside world, the child who needed to be rescued, reached out his hand to him.

Rudius, however, was afraid.

Rudius realized that he was not truly standing in front of Alice.

The snail, with half its body still hidden inside its shell, wanted to touch the light, but immediately retreated back into its shell after the light arrived, right?

"Ha," Rudius scoffed. "Idiot."

Rudius put down his cup and felt the tightness in his chest ease a little.

So, that's why I said those things?

That's right, the real me gets angry when I get hit.

Rudius was very confident about this.

There was also a thought at the time to detonate the mine before it reached its limit.

This would cause much less damage.

Moreover, since the other party has shown trust, one should no longer hide their true self.

Let the dirty adults think it over. Perhaps it would be more effective to do it a month later, after Alice likes and trusts them more.

However, Rudyus is not a machine driven purely by reason.

He can also have feelings.

Especially after opening the door to language, Rudius placed even greater emphasis on the weight of emotions in decision-making.

When I'm angry, I want to say it out loud.

Enduring it wouldn't actually benefit their relationship.

Only he himself was accumulating anger out of thin air.

After finishing the water in his glass, Rudius poured the ice cubes into his mouth, chewed them, and listened to the echoes in his head created by the ice cubes and his teeth.

He casually unleashed light magic, took out teaching materials, and began writing and drawing in Chinese on them.

He didn't know what he was writing; he just started the pen moving.

He wrote Alice's name in the sand with a stick.

The matter has been put on hold for a long time.

Rudius wrote the word "apology" after Alice's name.

Is it possible to get Alice to apologize on her own initiative?

Rudius stopped chewing and fell into a brief daze—it couldn't be.

Cross out the apology and start a new line.

Rudius stuck the "pen" into the sand.

Pretend nothing happened?

That's not good either—it makes me seem like I'm easy to bully.

I ignored Alice all week. In the morning class, I left right after teaching Gilead.

In swordsmanship class, everyone practices separately and doesn't disturb each other.

Although he noticed Alice's gaze, Rudeus didn't even glance at her.

It would be too embarrassing to suddenly strike up a conversation with someone now.

Should I apologize?

But I didn't do anything wrong!

Rudius poked at the sand, realizing he couldn't even write down the second keyword.

Sigh—that's why I'm afraid of making mistakes.

Rudius's troublesome personality meant that once he made a mistake, it was difficult to make amends.

Apologizing is usually the responsibility of the boy.

Rudius never apologizes.

Despite saying such harsh words to a friend, he never bowed his head and apologized to salvage the relationship.

A wave of frustration washed over him again. Rudius had just figured out something when he immediately realized there were other potential problems lurking in his mind.

Feeling exhausted, Rudius smoothed out the sand and placed it back in the distance.

She slowly walked back to the bedside and crawled into the covers.

Adjusting to a comfortable position, Rudius's eyelids began to droop—he finally let out a yawn.

Let's talk about it tomorrow.