chapter_0035

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
35

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
35

It was a cute word coming from
Lucy’s mouth.

Compared to the other things
she had said before, being called “Airhead Lady” wasn’t
too bad.

Though it wasn’t a
compliment, it wasn’t something to get upset over either.

After all, there were far
worse things said behind her back in social circles by people with
worse tempers.

Joy’s confusion stemmed purely
from hearing something completely unexpected at an unexpected time.

‘Airhead Lady, huh.

I didn’t expect anyone besides
my older brother to call me an airhead.

Is it that obvious?’

“Do I look that airheaded to
you?”

“Oh my, I apologise. That
was a slip of the tongue.”

Lucy said this, but she didn’t
look remorseful at all.

The playful smirk on her lips
and the teasing way she covered her mouth were clear provocations.

At first, Joy didn’t think
much of being called “Airhead Lady,” but Lucy’s actions
made her blood begin to boil a bit.

“You say that after I helped
you get into Tierra Mas? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”

“Oh dear, does the Airhead
Lady expect something in return for her kindness? Hehe, you’re
quite narrow-minded for a Duke’s Lady.”

‘She called me “Airhead
Lady” again.

And now she says I’m
narrow-minded?!

I can’t honestly deny it,
which only makes me angrier!

Why should I have to listen to
this after treating her to a meal at Tierra Mas?!‘

Gradually provoked by Lucy’s
words, Joy had completely forgotten her initial intention of staying
on Lucy’s good side.

‘What should I do?

How can I make Lucy’s
arrogance disappear?

Yes, that’s right. The Soul
Academy exam is tomorrow.’

“Lady Lucy, you’re taking
the Soul Academy exam tomorrow, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I’ll prove to you during
that exam that I’m not airheaded.”

“How do you plan to do
that?”

“Let’s bet on our exam
scores. If I get a higher score than you, then you wouldn’t have the
right to call me airheaded anymore, would you?”

Hearing this, Lucy chuckled
and replied.

“So, if my score is higher,
can I keep calling you ‘Airhead Lady’?”

“I accept that wager.”

Joy didn’t think for a
moment that she could lose.

Though Lady Lucy might have
gained some physical prowess due to her Allen Family lineage, that’s
all she has.

The Academy exam isn’t just
based on practical skills.

The written test holds even
more weight.

There’s no way Lucy, who’s
rumoured to have not studied for ages, can surpass Joy’s scores.

Lucy should be more worried
about passing the Academy exam in the first place.

“How about we wait and see!”

With an overwhelming score,
I’ll make sure she never dares to call me ‘Airhead Lady’ again.

Even when I arrived at the
massive iron gate guarding the entrance to Soul Academy, I was still
half out of my mind.

I couldn’t get yesterday’s
events out of my head, leaving me feeling disoriented.

To think that I called Joy
‘Airhead Lady’ to her face!

Of course, it wasn’t
intentional.

I didn’t even call her by
name.

All I said to her was just, “I
really enjoyed the meal.”

But the Mesugaki Skill
distorted my words to blurt out ‘Airhead Lady’ on its own!

I should have declined when
Joy initially suggested having a meal together.

I knew the Mesugaki
translation could lead to disaster.

However, being tempted by the
fantastic scenario of dining with my favourite character at Tierra
Mas, I denied reality, which was the problem.

Honestly, the meal wasn’t bad
until midway.

My strategy of not saying
anything to avoid having my words distorted worked quite well.

I even remember the atmosphere
being good during the meal.

Joy seemed to like the food at
Tierra Mas since she kept smiling softly yet menacingly the whole
time while eating.

That smile looked as if she
was plotting to bury someone, but knowing her personality, she was
probably just in a good mood.

However, everything changed
after I blurted out ‘Airhead Lady.’

She just stared at me with her
lips pressed together.

Due to Joy’s intimidating
appearance, it was hard to guess her exact feelings, but it was clear
she was upset.

“Do I look airheaded to
you?”

She wouldn’t have asked such a
chilling question if she wasn’t.

Panicking, I tried to remedy
the situation by apologising.

“I’m sorry! It was a slip of
the tongue.”

But the apology I blurted out
turned into something entirely different when it came out of my
mouth.

“Oh no. Excuse me. It was a
slip of the tongue.”

That was definitely a
provocation.

It was like saying, “I do
think you’re airheaded, but I’ll take it back since you seem upset.”

Considering that Joy’s face
became even more menacing after hearing that, she must have
interpreted it the same way.

From that moment, my mind went
blank, and it seems I just started saying whatever came to mind.

Joy must have been really
angry.

Ugh. I screwed up.

I blew the chance to get close
to my favourite character with my own hands.

As if my reputation wasn’t
already bad enough, now Joy’s probably thinking she should never
get close to someone as rude as me.

Hearing Grandpa’s voice
snapped me back to reality, but the gloomy feeling remained.

‘That’s true, Grandpa.’

‘…That’s right.’

‘Can I explain it well with
my way of speaking?’

Grandpa who heard my question
fell silent.

He was chattering away just a
moment ago, but now he suddenly keeps quiet.

Are you saying you can’t
guarantee I’ll explain it properly, Grandpa?

That’s really too much.

Even if it’s a lie, you should
tell me it’s going to be okay in times like this.

I can’t understand how such an
old-fashioned grandpa became the most popular knight in hero stories
from three hundred years ago.

He must have spread money
around to the bards before he died.

He probably bribed them to
embellish his deeds.

Otherwise, there’s no way to
explain the gap between the Ruel in the hero stories and Grandpa with
Mace here!

Ranting like this inside my
head made my gloomy feelings lighten a little.

Sigh.

It’s not easy to clear up
misunderstandings, but if I don’t get into the Academy, I won’t even
get that chance.

More importantly, if I fail
the Academy exam, Lucy’s life might come to an end.

Now’s the time to forget
about yesterday and focus on the exam.

Let’s go! To take the test!

Feeling triumphant, I walked
into the Soul Academy exam hall, but my enthusiasm plummeted the
moment I sat down at my desk.

And it wasn’t surprising,
given that what awaited me was a pile of papers covered in countless
words.

I had long ago given up on
written exams, so calling me a dropout was perfectly fitting. There
was only one thing I prepared for the exam.

A pen with five numbers
written on each side.

I didn’t know much, but my
luck stat was pretty high at the moment.

This was thanks to the luck
stat boost from the Church of Armadi’s necklace and Ruel’s Mace
combined.

I didn’t have a Status Window
to check, but I figured it was higher than average.

So, rather than solving
problems with my empty head, relying on the blessings from the great
Dice God in the sky seemed like a better tactic for a higher score.

While others took out their
books to study, I just placed my pen on the desk and waited for the
exam to start.

‘Grandpa.’

‘People around me are
watching me, right?’

While I was staring blankly at
the blackboard, I could feel that people kept glancing at me once
they entered the exam hall and saw me.

To be precise, they seemed to
be wary.

Starting from the seats
farthest from me, people filled them up, making it clear just how
much they disliked me.

‘I wish I knew.’

I’d like to know what I’ve
done in social circles to make all the noble kids avoid me.

Because of this, my
surrounding seats remained empty for quite a long time in the exam
hall.

Eventually, they filled up due
to a shortage of seats.

And it wasn’t long before
the exam started.

The first subject was history.
I barely knew anything about the exam subjects, but among them, there
was one that I was completely clueless about.

-Nichad III, who was the king
of the Holy Kingdom, stood against the external invaders…

Reading the first problem’s
passage, I realised my own stupidity and closed my eyes to pray to
the heavens.

Oh Dice God.

Please bring me luck.

Guide the dice I roll to find
the correct answers.

If you grant my prayer, I
pledge to spread the greatness of the Dice God to the world with
everything I have.

So please, I beg of you!

Oh! The Dice God has answered!

I believed you would respond
through the pen, but you descended personally for this unworthy one?!

‘…Was it you, Grandpa?’

‘I thought the Dice God had
descended!’

Heathen god?! The Dice God is
the great ruler of probability who watches over this game world!

Insulting him would result in
the punishment of rolling critical failures even with a 100% hit
rate!

Well.That was a joke.

‘Grandpa, how do you know
all this?’

He did mention that.

But I was too unwilling to
study and let it go in one ear and out the other.

‘Oh. Then what’s the answer
to the second question?’

Without a moment’s hesitation,
Grandpa whispered the answer into my ear.

His voice was so firm that I
couldn’t doubt his words for a second.

Ah, Sir Ruel! There’s a reason
why you were the most popular in the heroic tales!

How could I have doubted you!

I’m sorry! I will repent!

I thought I heard a slight
remark in my ear belittling me, but it must have been my imagination.

There’s no way Ruel, the
paladin hero who saved the world, would say something like that.

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