chapter_0268

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
268

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
268

The night before we set off for the Burrow territory, everyone who
had decided to join the fight against the evil god gathered at the
Artea estate.

The reason was simple.

At dawn, we intended to launch a direct attack on Burrow territory.

No one knew how long it would take to defeat Tariki. If everything
went according to plan, I estimated it would take less than half a
day, but fighting an evil god always meant expecting the unexpected.
If the battle dragged on and night fell, the situation could become
unpredictable.

So, we planned to begin the operation at the break of dawn, with the
goal of completing everything while the sun was still in the sky.

With that plan in mind, it would have been wise to get some sleep to
prepare for tomorrow, but I found myself staring out the window, the
moon hanging high in the night sky.

‘…Yes.’

I was too tense to lie down and try to sleep.

‘Is that so?’

Thinking about it, that was true.

I hadn’t really felt this anxious until now.

The crises I faced had either been challenges I was certain I could
overcome or situations that had struck too suddenly for me to even
worry about.

‘Grandpa.’

‘How did you feel at times like this?’

How did he feel, I wondered.

Judging by his usual demeanor, it didn’t seem like Grandpa would
get nervous.

‘…You, Grandpa?’

Grandpa let out a hearty laugh, saying that he had made plenty of
mistakes from sleep deprivation because of it.

Grandpa being nervous and lost like that? I couldn’t quite picture
it.

‘…Right?’

‘Why is insulting him a given?’

…Of course, I was going to insult him.

Once Tariki gets all worked up and starts throwing curses around,
I’ll probably have a lot of fun shouting back whatever comes to
mind.

But don’t just assume I’m always going to insult someone! That
makes me sound like a real piece of work!

‘What is it now?’

‘Didn’t you say I should rest before a big event?’

He had a point. Watching the scenery outside the window wasn’t
helping me fall asleep, so I quietly lay down on the bed.

The moment I closed my eyes, the training ground—now so familiar it
was almost boring—appeared before me. Grandpa, clad in armor,
looked at me and gave a reassuring smile.

Early dawn, the next day.

The moon and stars still faintly hung behind the thinning clouds.

Having completed her preparations, Phoebe stood with a solemn
expression, praying to the Lord.

The prayer was long and intricate, but its essence was simple.

Oh great Lord, please watch over those who carry out Your will.
Protect them. Help them.

The prayer continued for quite some time, ending only when someone
knocked on the door.

“Saint.”

At Johan’s voice from beyond the door, Phoebe jumped up in
surprise. She hurriedly checked her reflection in the mirror before
opening the door.

“Good morning.”

Though it was too early to even call it morning, Johan’s appearance
was immaculate, as if he were ready for a sermon.

“And to you. Did you sleep well last night, Bishop Johan?”

“I should say yes, but unfortunately, I didn’t get much sleep. My
heart kept racing when I thought about today.”

Phoebe’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of Johan smiling softly,
joking about the excitement that kept him up.

The Johan she knew was strict with himself and equally strict with
others, especially with her.

Whenever Johan saw Phoebe, he always wore a stern expression, his
lips only moving to utter reprimands.

And that was why Phoebe had always found him intimidating.

She knew Johan was a good person. He was someone who earnestly tried
to get closer to the Lord, perhaps more than anyone.

But today, Johan was different.

His gentle smile reminded her of a young boy dreaming of
adventure—like the one she had once seen when she was a child.

“Saint?”

‘…Ah.’

‘Get it together, Phoebe.

It’s alright. You’ve already accepted this in your heart.’

Johan raised an eyebrow slightly as Phoebe hastily collected herself.

“Sorry, I guess I’m still a little sleep-deprived.”

Maybe he didn’t like that I had made a mistake. Phoebe made an
excuse, bracing herself for a reprimand, but Johan just sighed
lightly without a word.

“I came to see you about Lady Allen. It’s almost time, but it
seems she’s still resting.”

“Understood. I will go see her.”

“Thank you.”

After Johan left, Phoebe let out a long sigh.

Then she left her room without hesitation.

She didn’t know exactly where Lucy’s room was, but it didn’t
matter.

Her divine power—that warm, radiant presence like the sun—was
something no one who had stood by her side could ever forget.

So, even before Phoebe knocked, she could hear Lucy’s voice from the
other side of the door.

“Come in, sloppy Saint.”

‘Of course Lady Allen could sense me.’

Phoebe thought to herself as she opened the door, only to freeze in
place.

The window was wide open, curtains fluttering in the crisp early
winter breeze.

Lucy’s long red hair danced with the wind.

Two small hands clasped piously over her chest.

Slowly moving lips. Eyes tightly shut.

And a soft, warm divinity radiating from her, one that made Phoebe
forget the biting chill of the early winter morning.

Lucy was praying.

Ah.

How beautiful.

Phoebe found herself spellbound by the scene, and she unconsciously
brought her hands together in reverence. But then she snapped out of
it.

She realized she had interrupted Lucy’s prayer.

‘How could you be so rude, Phoebe!

Interrupting Lady Allen’s prayer like this!

Should she close the door and leave?

But the Lady had invited her in.

Leaving now might be even more disrespectful.’

As Phoebe panicked, unsure of what to do, Lucy opened her eyes, the
divine power dissipating into the wind along with her breath.

“What are you doing, sloppy Saint?”

“I-I’m so sorry!”

No matter how I looked at it, Phoebe seemed to see me as someone to
be revered rather than a friend. All this fuss just for interrupting
a prayer?

‘Is that so?’

Grandpa said Phoebe’s reaction wasn’t strange, but I still
couldn’t understand it.

In the end, a prayer is just talking to the Lord, isn’t it?

It’s not like it has to be done perfectly, right?

Look.

[Daily Quest Cleared!]

[Divinity slightly increased!]

[Grace slightly increased!]

Even when I do things half-heartedly, the Lord seems satisfied enough
to reward me.

Maybe church people just take this sloppy Lord way too seriously?
Sure, he’s a petty pervert, but he’s not that particular.

Ignoring Grandpa’s exasperated voice, I calmed Phoebe down and then
sent her off before retrieving my armor from the inventory and
putting it on.

When I first donned this armor, I had no idea what I was doing. Now,
my body moved even before I thought about it.

Well, I had been wearing it for a while now.

By the time I arrived in the reception room, everyone else had
already gathered.

“You’re here, my Lady.”

Karl, who had finally taken the sword I had gifted him from its
display, bowed his head.

“I apologize for earlier, Lady Allen.”

Despite me telling her not to, Phoebe apologized again.

“You’re here.”

Johan, holding his scripture, gave a slight bow.

“All preparations are complete.”

Alsatine nodded gravely.

“I must have lost my mind, abandoning the forest out of sheer
desire.”

Sitting on the couch, the airhead fox had her face buried in her
hands, lamenting her foolishness.

She’d been like this since yesterday.

If she succumbs to her desires, she should at least commit. Why was
she whining about failing to do both?

I was really annoyed.

I approached her and pulled her hands away from her face.

The airhead fox and I locked eyes.

“Hey, trash fox—since when did you care about being sane? You’ve
always been a disgusting pervert, right?”

“…”

“If you want to crawl on the ground with a collar, you have to obey
your master, okay?”

If you want to be punished, do your job right, trash.

I whispered those words, and life returned to the airhead fox’s
eyes.

She only found energy after being insulted. Seriously, what a freak.

…Wait. Was she doing all this just to be insulted?

If it were anyone else, maybe not, but with this airhead fox, it made
a lot of sense.

Ugh. Disgusting.

I glared at her, letting my disgust show, then turned to find
everyone else staring at me.

…I hated that everyone except the spatial mage seemed perfectly
okay with this. It made it look like this was just the kind of person
I was.

And Karl—why did he look like he was jealous?!

Ugh! Come on! Can’t everyone please act normal for once?!

Where’s the knight you used to be, the one who actually wanted to
be a knight?! You used to be more decent, Karl!

After letting out a frustrated sigh, I looked at the spatial mage,
who spoke up with an awkward smile.

“Teleportation is ready. Just give the word, and we can leave at
any time.”

The sky outside was shifting from a deep violet to a glowing red. The
sun was about to rise.

Looking around the room again, everyone nodded as if they already
knew what I was going to say.

Everyone was ready?

Alright.

‘Let’s go.’

“Let’s go, teleportation lackey.”

“…Ahem. Yes, as you command.”

As the mage tapped his staff on the floor, blue flames spread out in
a circle.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

It’s fine. Even Grandpa said my plan was perfect. Now, all that’s
left is to execute it and laugh in Tariki’s face when he realizes
he never stood a chance.

“Huh?!”

Suddenly, the mage let out a cry of alarm.

“The magic is being disrupted!”

…Tariki. He must have noticed.

“I can’t cancel it! I’ll do my best to stabilize the
coordinates, but I can’t make any promises!”

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since his panicked shout
before the scenery around us changed.

The Artea family’s neat reception room had vanished, replaced by
the open blue sky.

Ha! Really?! Is this how they welcome their guests, with a skydiving
experience?!

Feeling my body accelerate downward with gravity, I looked below.

At least we made it to Burrow territory.

Everyone from the reception room had also successfully been
teleported to the same place.

Considering that Tariki had interfered, the mage had done his job
well.

Now it was my turn.

“Airhead fox!”

“Understood! I’ll handle it!”

Trusting the airhead fox, who had many mysterious powers, I gripped
my shield tightly as I sensed the ominous energy surging below.

A black blast of magic was soaring up to swallow us whole.

Wow. Skydiving wasn’t enough, so you prepared fireworks too, huh?
What an enthusiastic host.

“My Lady! Let me handle this!”

‘No!’

“No need, stay put! You sloppy mutt!”

If this had been me in the past—if it had been the first time I
faced Nacrad—I wouldn’t have even thought about trying to block
it.

But not anymore.

I’m not the same as I was back then.

It’s only been half a year, you say?

No.

For someone with my experience, half a year might as well be an
eternity.

A grin tugged at my lips as I focused my divinity into my shield,
expanding it into a massive barrier large enough to block the magic
blast.

The dark magic struck the shield, and the force was enough to push me
upwards, against gravity, but that was all.

Not even a crack appeared in the light standing against the darkness.

Hey, Tariki.

If this is all you’ve got…

I’m going to be disappointed.

You pathetic, creepy, trashy bastard.

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