chapter_0083

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
83

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
83

“Since I’ve cast a calming
spell, you should be fine for a while.”

Phoebe, wiping away the divine
power lingering in her hand, gently spoke to Joy.

Joy, lying in bed, looked at
Phoebe with a blank expression.

To the world, Joy’s face
appeared indifferent, as if nothing could interest her. But Phoebe,
who had known Joy for a long time, understood what lay behind that
mask.

Thus, she wasn’t
frightened—unlike the others.

“Joy,” Phoebe called out
her name softly. Joy turned her head slightly towards her.

“Look at me.”

Joy’s cold eyes met Phoebe’s
once again as she added another sentence.

“Nobody understands better
than you that you’re not fully stable yet, right?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Then why did you provoke a
situation that would trigger your trauma?”

Phoebe’s probing question left
Joy struggling for words.

What could she say—that she
entered the dungeon driven by material greed?

Surely, the Saint would find
it absurd and sigh deeply.

As Joy fell silent, Phoebe
firmly grasped both of Joy’s hands.

“Joy, you are strong. But
even the strong need time to heal. If you swing the iron before it
has fully set, it will only break.”

“That’s right.”

“According to Armadi…”

Seeing Phoebe about to launch
into another tirade, Joy felt a tightness in her chest.

Phoebe was undoubtedly a
virtuous person.

Throughout the many years
she’d known her, Joy had never seen Phoebe get angry, no matter how
unfair the situation, always attributing it to God’s will with a
smile.

Even when Lucy spoke rudely to
her, Phoebe would only give an awkward smile.

In a way, that was her nature.
When someone who usually doesn’t get angry starts to do so, it’s
frightening. Likewise, when someone who usually gives light warnings
starts to nag, it can go on for a long time.

Having experienced Phoebe’s
nagging a few times before, Joy knew that once Phoebe began quoting
the Bible, the talking could easily go on for about two hours.

For the Saint, who had
delivered sermons at countless events, preaching was something she
could do at any moment.

‘Should I pretend to faint
from mental exhaustion?’

Just as Joy was seriously
contemplating that thought, the infirmary door opened.

A girl with dark pink
twin-tails and slightly upturned eyes entered, along with a
mischievous smile on her face.

With movements so frivolous
that it was hard to believe she was a Count’s daughter.

And, for the wrong reasons,
the most infamous person at Soul Academy.

Lucy Allen.

She told her knight, “Sloppy
mutt. Wait here. You can manage that, right?” and then entered the
infirmary.

“What’s this? Is the
sloppy Saint treating the airhead Lady?”

Joy was unexpectedly delighted
to hear the voice of Lucy Allen, who didn’t care about the
atmosphere of the place.

“Lady Allen, how do you do?”

“Can’t you tell, sloppy
Saint? Is that fat chunk blocking your view of my face?”

“F-fat chunk?”

Everyone in the infirmary
froze at Lucy’s words.

The nurse, who was drinking
water, started coughing as if it went down the wrong pipe.

Joy doubted what she had just
heard, and as for Phoebe, her face turned bright red while she forced
a stiff smile.

The only one who remained
composed in that situation was Lucy.

“Is it strange to say
‘fat chunk’? Then how about—”

“Th-that! Lady Allen,
what brings you here?!”

Joy had never seen Phoebe this
flustered before.

As a high-ranking member of
the Church of Armadi, Phoebe had met countless people and faced all
sorts of situations, yet here was someone who could break her usual
calm.

It could only be Lady Allen,
after all.

“The Airhead Lady called
me.”

“I see! Well then, I will
leave you to it!”

“No need.”

“No, I must! I’ve already
finished talking with Joy!”

Phoebe, who had been flustered
and unable to keep her eyes still, suddenly became composed.

She stared at the cross on
Lucy’s neck as if entranced, then asked in a faint voice.

“Lady Allen, has your
necklace been blessed?”

“Sharp eye, Saint. Yes,
it has. But why?”

“I’m just amazed. To
receive so much divine grace in such a short time, Lady Allen, you
are truly loved by the gods.”

Phoebe’s voice was filled with
pure admiration, and Lucy responded with a sly smile.

“Not really? Doesn’t
everyone receive this level of interest?”

“I wish, but
unfortunately, that’s not the case, Lady Allen.”

“What’s this? Are you
jealous, sloppy Saint? Pfft. You’re completely unfit to be a Saint.”

As usual, her words were
arrogant and self-centred.

If it were an ordinary person,
they would have grumbled, accusing her of showing off, but Phoebe
just smiled.

“This conversation has
gotten long. I’ll take my leave, but just a moment.”

Standing up from her chair,
Phoebe turned to look at Joy, leaned in close, and whispered,

“I’ll continue our
conversation later.”

Joy’s eyes trembled at
Phoebe’s declaration that she wouldn’t stop her sermons.

‘The Saint is trying to drag
me to hell.’

I feel like dying.

Forget about the Affection
Level and the Quest; maybe it’s better to just give up and face game
over.

No, wait. That would be too
late.

To ensure a quieter, more
peaceful death, I should ask Alsatine to get me some poison.

Yes, that would be best.

‘Grandpa, please be quiet.’

No matter what you say here,
my shattered heart isn’t going to recover.

Grandpa seemed to realise my
broken spirit and said nothing further.

Sigh.

Sloppy, incompetent, petty
Armadi?

This mess is because of you!

You had to go and amplify the
[Mesugaki] Skill, and now look!

Huh?!

What on earth is happening!

Not only did I mutter indecent
words to the Saint, but I even made flirtatious remarks!

Damn it.

Fat lump—what fat lump?

If this gets amplified any
further, I’ll end up calling Phoebe a lewd Saint, won’t I?

Right?

As I grumbled to myself, I had
a sinking feeling that it might actually happen.

Even now, after the [Mesugaki]
Skill was enhanced, I started calling Karl a sloppy mutt.

I’ve already dropped the
honorific and just call the Saint sloppy, but if I cross the line,
I’ll certainly call her the lewd Saint.

If that happens, I’ll be
completely buried.

Just think about what would
happen if someone insulted the Saint—who is practically the symbol
of the current Church of Armadi—in a sexual manner.

I can’t even begin to imagine
the consequences.

There wasn’t even a scenario
like this in the game!

“Lady Allen?”

As I was sighing deeply, lost
in my own thoughts, Joy carefully called out to me.

“Are you okay?”

Thanks to the [Mesugaki]
Skill, my expression should appear calm, so why is Joy worried about
me?

Is it because I’ve kept my
mouth tightly shut?

Well, if you’re asking
whether I’m okay or not, I am okay.

Despite making several
thoughtless comments, Phoebe would probably let it slide.

I’m just worried that
something bigger might happen next time.

So, I shrugged my shoulders
and smiled.

‘I’m fine.’

“You’re worried about me?
Airhead Lady? You seem quite composed for someone who almost wet
their pants.”

Oh, [Mesugaki] Skill.

Aren’t you being a bit too
generous today?

If you keep giving such large
servings of insults, I’ll be in serious trouble.

“I don’t recall ever
wetting my pants.”

‘That was a joke.’

“Airhead Lady, can’t you
even tell the difference between a joke and a serious remark? You’re
so clueless.”

“…Of all people, I really
don’t want to hear ‘clueless’ from Lady Allen.”

Right?

Even I would get annoyed if
someone like Lucy called me clueless.

‘So, why did you call me?’

“So, Airhead Lady. What’s
up? Can’t sleep alone? Want me to sing you a lullaby?”

“Just the thought of Lady
Allen singing a lullaby sounds terrible, so I’ll pass. I called you
to apologise.”

She started explaining in her
serious tone, typical of her, about how she had confidently declared
she would enter the dungeon but then got too scared to go in.

As a result, she ruined my
schedule and caused misunderstandings. And above all, she hadn’t
repaid the favour I did for her.

Listening to her, the thought
crossed my mind: Why is she apologising to me?

If we got technical, I was the
one who indirectly caused her trauma, so if anything, I should be the
one apologising to her, not the other way around.

Wasted a day?

I’m not speedrunning this;
there’s no reason to freak out over losing a single day. For a
veteran like me from Soul Academy, this is nothing.

‘Don’t worry about it.’

“Airhead Lady, you’re so
timid, just like a sloppy person would be. Whether you repay me or
not, it’s none of my business. Why would I care about a sloppy person
like you?”

“But still.”

‘I said it’s fine.’

“Airhead Lady, could you
please stop being clingy?”

With that, I stood up from my
seat.

If I stayed here any longer, I
might end up saying something harsh to Joy.

I couldn’t bear to throw
more harsh words at someone who had just managed to overcome her
trauma!

‘Well then, I’ll be going
now!’

“Take care, Airhead Lady. I
hope your airheaded face looks a bit better next time!”

Avery, a close aide to Joy
Partan from the Count Lumley Family, was unconsciously biting her
nails.

‘Lucy Allen. That wretched
girl.’

Recently, Lucy had the
audacity to block the way of the Lady Partan, picking a fight with
her.

She had done it solely to
torment Lady Partan.

Dragging Lady Partan, who had
bad memories of the dungeon, all the way to the entrance just to
remind her of her trauma.

How could she just stand by
and watch that brute meet Lady Partan again?

However, that brute revealed
her true vile nature.

She insulted Avery and shoved
her, causing her to fall to the ground.

Even though several days had
passed since that disgraceful moment which occurred in front of many
people, Avery still ground her teeth every time she recalled it.

Born as a lady of the Great
Count Lumley Family, always revered by many, she could not tolerate
this humiliation.

‘I don’t like it.

Seeing someone act like a
barbarian in social circles and dish out insults, and then strut
around like a big shot just because she did well in the entrance
exams was unbearable.’

If Lucy Allen had come from a
lesser noble family, Avery would have personally taught her some
manners.

But she couldn’t do that
with Lucy Allen. The sole child of the most prominent martial family
on the continent, the Allen Family.

A promising talent who had
secured the top spot in the Academy’s entrance exam, widely
recognized for her abilities.

That monstrous delinquent who
had overpowered the renowned Next Sword Saint, Frey Kent, with sheer
force was not someone Avery could handle alone.

Normally, she might have
requested a word from Lady Partan, but unfortunately, Lady Partan had
a favourable view of that damnable girl.

Claiming she was her saviour
who had saved her life.

The notion that such a rogue
had saved someone’s life was unimaginable.

It must have been a mere
coincidence, but regardless, Lady Partan believed it to be so.

‘If you insult Lady Allen
any further, I think I might get a bit angry.’

Lady Partan’s belief was so
firm that neither Avery nor the other ladies could sway her with
their arguments.

Thus, Avery and the other
ladies opted for an alternative plan.

Someone who must harbour
hatred towards Lucy Allen at this very moment.

A person who must be grinding
his teeth and planning revenge for his past defeat.

Arthur Soladin.

They decided to leverage the
power of the Third Prince of the Soladin Kingdom.

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