chapter_0198

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
198

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
198

“…Will you be alright?”

When I expressed my intention
to participate in the Partan Family Festival, Benedict’s visible
dismay was clear.

I was curious.

He usually agreed to anything
his daughter requested.

I had an inkling as to why.

It was because of all the many
misdeeds Lucy had committed in the social circles in the past.

From Benedict’s perspective,
who had to clean up all those messes, how could he welcome this new
development?

Especially since this involved
visiting the Partan Duke’s Family, which was beyond even his
influence.

As soon as the word festival
came up, old memories probably flashed through his mind, and it was
only natural he would scramble to find a way to stop me.

Unfortunately for Benedict’s
stomach ulcers, I had no intention of giving up on this matter.

While the quest given by the
Sloppy Armadi was one reason, there was an even more important
reason.

My favourite character wanted
to hang out with me!

Give this up?

As an otaku and jaded veteran
of Soul Academy?!

Don’t be ridiculous! I
absolutely won’t give it up!

Benedict couldn’t bring
himself to stop me. How could this doting father refuse when his
daughter said she wanted to play with her friend?

Instead, he earnestly took my
hands in his, which were large enough to cover my entire head, and
pleaded sincerely.

“Lucy, once I finish my
duties in the territory, I will head to the Partan Territory too. So
please, I beg you, don’t cause any trouble before I arrive.”

His plea, asking me to wait
until he could clean up any messes, bore traces of the hardships he
had endured over the years because of me. Unable to add anything more
to that plea, I could only nod in silence.

After that, it was a matter of
preparation.

The Duke’s Family assigned
people to attend to me personally, appointed guards, assigned someone
to look after the perverted Fox, gathered clothes I would wear there,
and more.

Thanks to the smooth progress
of these arrangements, I arrived at the Partan Territory two days
before the festival began.

“It’s been a while, Lady
Allen.”

Despite nearly two months
passing by, Joy hadn’t changed much.

Perhaps the only difference
was that her regular physical training had trimmed some body fat.

She was already beautiful, but
maintaining herself made her even more so.

At this point, she’s probably
more stunning than the illustrations from the game, isn’t she?

“I’ve heard stories about
you from various places. Honestly, you can’t stay quiet no matter
where you go, can you?”

As I was thinking that it was
a good thing I possessed Lucy’s body, Joy spoke with a wry smile.

Stories about me? What could
have spread?

I’ve been holed up in the
territory since coming back from Menestail.

…Could it be that the
incident at the auction has spread?!

That dark history of Karl
stomping around every time Erin mentioned how ‘cute’ I looked at
the auction?!

Avery! I trusted your
timidity, and now you betray me like this!

I won’t forgive you.

I will show you just how
terrifying the term mutually assured destruction can be.

“They said you kicked a
foreign count’s young master!”

I had guessed this and was
already grinding my teeth, but what Joy mentioned was different.

Before I went to the auction.
It was about me knocking out Young Master Georg in Menestail.

“When I heard the story,
I thought it was quite gratifying, but it was still too much.”

Although the humiliated Young
Master Georg tried to control the rumour, you can’t stop people from
talking.

The story of him getting a
proper lesson from me for his presumptuous advances had spread far
enough to even reach foreign nobles.

I’m relieved. At least the
circumstances were accurately conveyed.

Considering Lucy’s reputation,
it’s not surprising if it had been distorted to sound like I beat him
up just because I didn’t like him.

“In social circles, the
story is going around that Lady Allen was the one who picked the
fight first.”

Oh. So it was already
distorted?

Is my reputation sinking
further again?

Sigh.
I risked my life to prevent the unsealing of the Evil God, and yet
this is how I’m treated.

“Don’t worry. I correct
those stories every time I hear them.”

Seeing Joy straighten her
shoulders as if telling me to trust only her, my feelings of
disappointment vanished.

Yes. Why should I care about
what people who don’t know me say? It only matters that those around
me understand.

‘Thank you, Joy.’

“Maybe your airheadedness
is the reason for this? Is Airhead Lady the centre of these rumours?”

What? What?! Why is it getting
twisted like that?!

Naturally, [Mesugaki] skill
did not convey a thank you message.

Still, it’s not too bad.
Airhead Lady being airheaded is cute.

Since I was visiting another
noble’s territory, it would be proper etiquette to greet the person
who rules this place first, but I couldn’t do that.

The Duke and Duchess had an
urgent event come up this morning, causing them to leave the
territory.

This worked out well for me
because I wanted to delay meeting the Duke and Duchess by any means.

Think about the Penalty of the
[Mesugaki] Skill.

It gives bizarre nicknames to
everyone regardless of their status or character.

Who knows how it would
nickname the Duke and Duchess!

One day, I’ll have to find out
what those nicknames are, but does it have to be today?

I’m already stressed out
because of Armadi; I don’t want to add another worry on top of that.

As a stand-in for the Duke and
Duchess, I ended up meeting Joy’s older brother, Jeff Partan,
during dinner with Joy.

“Nice to meet you, Lady
Allen. I’m Jeff Partan. I’ve heard a lot about you from my sister.”

Unlike Joy, who has some
slightly awkward qualities upon closer inspection, Jeff looked like a
noble straight out of a storybook.

His movements and speech were
so impeccable that even I, knowing his true nature, couldn’t help but
be impressed.

However, his true nature was
different.

He was infinitely generous to
those he acknowledged but could be chillingly cold to those outside
his circle.

When focusing on him as the
main target, you’d wonder how this guy could possibly be Joy’s
sibling.

He was a severe siscon to the
point of mentioning his sister’s name until the very end of his
route.

Since I was a close friend of
Joy, he would treat me well, but he wasn’t the type I wanted to get
too close to.

I wondered how the [Mesugaki]
Skill would nickname him.

He was commonly referred to as
a crazy siscon bastard in the community.

It wouldn’t go that far,
right? Right?

Please don’t let it be a
name that makes him hate me. Please.

‘Hello, Young Master
Partan.’

“Hello, Sly Young
Master.”

Jeff’s expression stiffened
slightly, but by my standards, it wasn’t bad.

There have been far worse
nicknames.

“Is that my nickname?”

‘Sorry. It seems so.’

“Yes. I think it’s the
nickname that suits you best, Sly Young Master.”

“…Just as I heard from
Joy.”

Was it because Joy was
standing beside me?

Was it because Joy had given
him a warning beforehand?

Jeff just nodded his head
without saying anything more.

“Lady Allen, why is my
brother called the Sly Young Master?”

The question came from another
direction.

From her perspective, having
only seen Jeff’s good side, it would be hard to understand why the
word sly was part of his nickname.

I was about to subconsciously
answer Joy’s question when I sensed the piercing gaze from the side
and changed my words.

“It’s similar to why
you’re called Airhead Lady♡”

“…Pardon? What do you
mean by that?”

That should be enough
explanation, Joy. I can’t say any more.

Even though Joy tilted her
head in confusion, I pretended not to notice and picked up my
tableware.

I felt that if I said anything
unnecessary, I might make an enemy.

The meal provided by the
Duke’s Family was delicious. Although I couldn’t fully enjoy it
because Jeff kept giving me knowing glances every time I spoke.

After the meal, Joy offered to
show me around the Duke’s Family estate.

Seeing the excitement peeking
through the Villainous Lady’s mask, it looked like she had been
eagerly looking forward to this moment.

Jeff, acting as if he was
oblivious to everything, tried to join us, but Joy stopped him.

“Brother, I’m sorry, but
I want to go around with just the two of us.”

“But Joy—”

“If you keep insisting, I
might start to dislike you. I don’t want to hate my big brother!”

At the declaration, Jeff’s
noble demeanour crumbled.

His figure, dejected and
trudging away, felt somehow familiar.

Oh. I remembered. Benedict
often looked like that.

I felt a strange pang of
sympathy, imagining Benedict struggling to catch up on his overdue
work about now. This led me to approach Jeff.

“Do you have something to
say, Lady Allen?”

‘Don’t worry. I won’t say
anything.’

“Good news for you, Young
Master, who’s worried his sly nature will be exposed. My lips are
sealed… probably.”

His eyes became peculiar as I
couldn’t help but snicker.

“I’m not sure what you’re
talking about. How am I sly?”

‘Let’s just say that you
are.’

“Ugh. Sure, whatever you
say, Sly Young Master.”

Seeing Jeff clench his fist, I
decided to flee immediately after saying this.

If I’m already like this with
him, won’t it be a disaster when I meet the Duke and Duchess?

…Maybe I should have just
come with Benedict.

The following day, after
spending a delightful time touring the Duke’s mansion with Joy.

Even though it was still
early, Joy was filled with enthusiasm.

“I’ll show you the
wonderful things in our territory that I couldn’t show you yesterday
because it was too late!”

As soon as breakfast ended,
she excitedly dragged me outside the mansion, carefully following the
detailed schedule she had written in her notebook, showing how much
she had been looking forward to this day.

From what I observed last
night during a brief look around, the Partan Territory seemed like a
very lively place.

The upcoming festival surely
added to the excitement, but it was apparent that the people’s faces
expressed genuine happiness even before that.

Despite their intimidating
appearances, the Duke and Duchess who governed this territory must be
very capable and kind-hearted to keep it so well managed.

“Over here is…”

Having grown up loved by such
a Duke and Duchess, Joy was a child who knew how to cherish her land.

Her tone naturally conveyed
her affection for this place as she introduced her territory.

The residents, appreciating
Joy’s sentiments, welcomed her warmly, even approaching her first to
greet her.

It made me envious since the
people on the Allen Family’s territory would rather bow their heads
in fear at the sight of me.

Walking through the streets
with Joy, I stopped in front of a stall set up for the Partan
Festival.

There, you had to shoot arrows
without tips to hit a score board.

As I was looking at it, Joy
made the first suggestion.

“Would you like to give
it a try?”

‘Yes.’

“Even though it looks a
bit sloppy, it seems like it would be fun.”

When Joy asked if I could try
it, the owner of the place nodded readily.

The festival hadn’t started
yet, so any results wouldn’t count towards the quest.

Still, let’s give archery a
try for practice.

I also needed to check if the
effects of the bracelet of play were activated properly.

Receiving an arrow from the
owner, I took a deep breath and drew the bowstring.

‘No, I’ve never done that.’

As I released the bowstring,
the arrow flew straight and hit the target that had a 10 written on
it.

Great. The bracelet of play is
working perfectly.

Armadi, you sloppy god!

You must have already thought
of how to increase my reputation, right?!

Wait for it! I’ll be coming to
collect my reward!

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