chapter_0059

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
59

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
59

“Good work today.”

Karl gave a bitter smile at
Professor Anton’s words.

Karl, who had visited Soul
Academy that morning, had been busy all day receiving various tasks
in the handover of positions.

Unlike when other professors
come and start teaching a month in advance, everything was poured on
him in just one day, which was overwhelming for Karl despite knowing
how Soul Academy operates.

“Let’s call it a day for
now and go home. We’ll get through the rest as we proceed with
tomorrow’s classes.”

Saying this, Anton handed a
stack of documents to Karl.

“Professor, what is
this?”

“Read through all of it
by tomorrow. Got it?”

Though Karl was startled by
the thickness, comparable to at least two hefty books stacked
together, he didn’t say he couldn’t do it.

It was a considerable amount,
but not beyond his capabilities.

After greeting Anton and
stepping out of the professor’s office, Karl stretched as he saw the
evening glow.

After years of gruelling daily
training, sitting still and wrestling with papers made him feel
restless.

If it wasn’t for the task of
guarding the Miss, he might have already quit.

Thinking so, Karl, who was
smiling to himself, moved to visit Lucy.

‘Where could she be now?’

The Lucy Karl knew up until
now was not one to sit idle.

After receiving the blessing
from the gods, she was very much a true member of the Allen Family.

She preferred to stay active
rather than rest.

‘She must be training.’

Believing so he headed toward
the training ground, during the walk Karl’s ear caught a girl’s
voice.

“The Rowdy Lady talked to
me.”

The Rowdy Lady was a nickname
for Miss Lucy.

Karl slowed his pace and
listened to the girls’ conversation.

“I was sitting at this
table, and she suddenly came over and called me NPC #1.”

“NPC #1? That’s too
much.”

“Exactly.”

‘Miss Lucy. Even at the
Academy, she hasn’t corrected her habit of looking down on others.

Well, she did call the Lady of
the Partan Family ‘Airhead Lady,’ so it’s no surprise that she
doesn’t refer to others normally.’

“I thought it was
nonsense and decided to humour her, you know? Then she asked if I had
any trouble she could help with.”

“Out of the blue?”

“Yeah. She said, I’ll
solve any problems that an NPC like you can’t handle.'”

“She’s gained strength,
but hasn’t changed a bit, huh?”

“Seriously. If only she
weren’t from the Allen Family, I would have confronted her.”

Listening to the conversation
that further tarnished his master’s reputation, Karl could only
manage a bitter smile.

‘She may speak harshly, but
she is genuinely a good person. However, with such a reputation, can
she make friends?

I hope someone soon realises
her true nature.’

“But what’s surprising
is, I did actually have a problem.”

Hearing that, Karl stopped in
his tracks.

‘So there really was
something.

Did she receive another
revelation?

That means the Miss has to
solve that child’s problem.’

“Really? What is it?”

“It’s a secret.”

“Hey.”

When Karl spoke, the two girls
turned their heads.

At first, they looked wary,
but upon seeing Karl’s face, their suspicion turned into curiosity.

“Who are you?”

“Hello. I’m the new
Combat Studies professor, but I’m not very familiar with the place.”

Claiming not to know the way
was just an excuse.

Having been a student at Soul
Academy before, there was no way he didn’t know his way around.

It was simply a way to lower
their guard.

“Oh, you’re the new
professor! Where are you headed?”

“I was thinking of going
to the training ground.”

“If it’s there…”

Hearing that he was a
professor, the girl’s guard seemed to drop, and she eagerly gave Karl
directions.

“…Follow that path and
you’ll get there! Should I explain it again?”

“No, you’ve explained it
well. Thank you.”

When Karl smiled and said he
understood, the girl showed a hint of disappointment.

Seeing this, Karl added,
implying he hadn’t overheard her conversation:

“If you have any
concerns, feel free to come to me. I’ll do my best to help.”

With that, Karl left.

As he confirmed the girl was
watching him leave, he became certain she would come to him later.

When he reported this back,
Miss Lucy would surely be pleased.

Filled with joy at the thought
of being praised by Lucy, Karl exited the school building and
immediately ran into a familiar face.

“Aren’t you the Knight of
the Allen Family? What are you doing here?”

It was Joy Partan, the Lady of
the Partan Duke’s Family, who had been humiliated with the nickname
‘Airhead Lady’ by Lucy.

Seeing Karl’s face, her
voice took on a reprimanding tone.

Joy’s demeanour and gestures
were incredibly imposing.

Even the seasoned knight Karl
couldn’t help but show respect.

How could Miss Lucy call
someone like her ‘Airhead Lady’?

Is it because as a true
descendant of the Allen Family, she’s so bold?

Karl, inwardly admiring Miss
Lucy, replied to Joy.

“I’m here as a professor
at Soul Academy.”

“Oh, I see. The Allen Family
is really thorough. Lady Allen doesn’t seem like someone who would
faint over any little mishaps though.”

“She is someone precious.”

Precious, indeed.

Joy sighed at Karl’s words.

Being the Lady of a powerful
Count’s Family like the Allens, it wasn’t strange to call her
precious.

But it would be nice if she
acted with more caution in her words and deeds given her status.

Joy didn’t think of Lucy as
simply a bad person anymore.

After all, it was Lucy who had
saved Joy from a near-death situation.

The ground had suddenly given
way.

The grotesque monsters faced
within.

And their master.

Even after so much time had
passed, Joy still encountered that figure in her nightmares. The
thousands of eyes staring down at her.

The decaying hand reaching
towards her.

The voice that seemed to leak
death.

And then…

“Lady Partan?”

At Karl’s voice, Joy snapped
out of her nightmare with a deep sigh.

‘Ugh. It hadn’t been like
this recently.

Anyway, Lucy’s behaviour in
that dungeon was not the irresponsible and irritable one of before.

She had shown the reliability
of a knight.

Her words were still harsh,
though.’

After that day, Joy revised
her opinion of Lucy.

Her life was saved by this
person; how could she continue to hold her previous views?

Because of this, Joy thought
that Lucy calling Arthur the ‘Pitiful Prince’ today was due to her
usual behaviour, not knowing his circumstances.

A person who could risk their
own life to save another wouldn’t mock someone’s sensitive points.

So, after pondering over it
all day, Joy decided to inform Lucy about Arthur’s situation to some
extent.

She couldn’t reveal the most
sensitive details, but she could at least let her know how much
Arthur hated being called ‘pitiful’.

Thus, Lucy would stop calling
him the ‘Pitiful Prince’.

However, Joy’s plan hit a snag
from the start. Lucy’s whereabouts were unknown.

“Do you know where Lady
Allen is?”

“The Miss? She’s probably
at the training ground.”

“The training ground?”

‘On the very first day of
the Academy, without even exploring the campus, she went to the
training ground to exercise?’

Joy looked sceptical, but Karl
nodded confidently.

‘Right. Since he was Lady
Allen’s knight, he must know well.’

Karl was right. Lucy was at
the training ground.

However, what neither Karl nor
Joy expected was that she was causing a commotion there as well.

“She’s sparring right now,
isn’t she?”

Lucy was engaged in a duel
with a man wielding a spear.

Judging by the colour of the
scarf on his uniform, he appeared to be a third-year student at Soul
Academy.

“And with a third-year, no
less.”

“It seems so.”

There was no need to question
why those two ended up sparring.

Knowing Lucy’s usual antics,
the answer was obvious.

“Lady Allen must’ve picked
a fight.”

“…”

“Does she not understand the
meaning of staying quiet?”

Even while listening to Joy’s
sigh, Karl couldn’t bring himself to defend his Miss.

“How on earth is she
planning to win against a third-year?”

There’s a significant gap
between first and third-year students at the Academy.

Soul Academy operates strictly
on merit.

This principle is evident in
the Academy’s grading system, where advancing to a higher grade
requires meeting specific internal criteria.

No matter how high your status
and power are outside, it doesn’t matter here.

If you don’t meet the set
standards, you can never advance to the next grade. So, being a
senior at the Academy implied one had passed numerous rigorous tests
within the institution.

Even though Lady Allen, with
her superb talents inherited from the Allen Family, was facing a
third-year student, winning seemed out of reach.

The difference in levels
between the grades was vast.

In reality, the duel was
one-sided.

The one maintaining the
offensive was the third-year senior.

Lucy seemed overwhelmed just
trying to fend off the barrage of spear attacks.

“Lady Partan, do you believe
our Lady will lose?”

Karl asked Joy, who was
already convinced of Lucy’s defeat.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“I think our Lady will win.”

“No matter how loyal you
are, aren’t you overestimating her?”

“Overestimating? That’s
unjust. An Allen Family knight never lets personal feelings interfere
in a fight like this.”

“You seriously think Lady
Allen will win?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Joy couldn’t understand
Karl’s conviction, but she waited for his explanation.

After all, it was a renowned
knight of the Allen Family making this claim, so there had to be a
valid reason.

“Because our Lady hasn’t
suffered any injuries.”

Karl explained.

A fight for a spearman is akin
to a ticking time bomb.

If they manage to defeat the
opponent before the distance closes, it’s a win.

If not, it’s a loss.

While skill level can change
this dynamic, in general, that’s how it works.

“From what I see, this
spearman hasn’t surpassed the limitations of his weapon.”

Karl calmly assessed the
situation.

Despite the duel having gone
on for quite a while, Lucy remained unscathed.

With each move the third-year
senior made, the distance between them gradually decreased.

“It looks like the bomb
is about to go off.”

After hearing Karl’s
explanation, even Joy saw the duel’s dynamics differently.

Lucy, who was steadily
securing her victory, and the third-year senior, doing his best to
shake off the impending defeat.

Karl was right.

“Lady Allen is going to
win.”

“Exactly.”

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