chapter_0018

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
18

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
18

The next morning, I woke up
from my sleep and reached out in vain to ring the bell next to my
bed.

That’s right. I didn’t sleep
at the mansion yesterday.

It’s been so long since I
slept in a bed that I forgot.

After stretching and getting
up, I looked around the clean wooden room and felt a brief moment of
peace.

Yes, this is a proper living
space.

How can a room like Lucy’s at
the mansion, filled with frills, be a place where someone actually
lives?

One day, I’ll get rid of all
those frills, even if they treat me like a madwoman in the mansion.

I got out of bed and gently
opened the door.

If I remember my maid
correctly, she should be waiting right outside the door before I even
get up.

“Good morning, Miss.”

“You’re awake, Miss.”

I wasn’t wrong. The maid was
always up early, waiting for me.

But there was someone else
there too.

Karl.

He was standing by the door in
his armour, with his sword at his side.

‘Karl. What are you doing
here?’

“Sloppy, what are you
doing?”

“I’m performing the duty
of protecting you, Miss.”

“Since when?”

“Ever since you went into
your room. There hasn’t been any intruder until Miss Erin arrived
here this morning.”

He stayed guard without even
sleeping? I didn’t ask him to do that.

I understand that he swore to
be a faithful knight, but this is a bit much, isn’t it?

Who voluntarily stays up all
night like a madman?

I know he’s doing this for
me, but honestly, it’s a bit burdensome.

Hey, this is more like
stalking than loyalty, isn’t it?

Where in this city does he see
any danger?

Even though I glared at him,
Karl didn’t flinch at all.

Because he was convinced that
what he did was necessary.

I really shouldn’t have
mentioned anything about an oath back then.

Thanks to that, this annoying
guy is now stuck to me. Or maybe not.

Would he have stayed put even
if I didn’t mention the oath?

Seeing how he swore
immediately when I brought it up, maybe he had planned on this from
the start.

Lately, watching Karl’s
somewhat excessive display of loyalty made me wonder.

Ugh, whatever.

What does it matter to me if
this guy wants to make life hard for himself? If he wants to suffer,
he can do as much as he likes.

If he spends the whole day
like that, it’s only hard on him, not on me.

‘Maid, you can come in.’

“Sloppy maid, come in.”

“Yes, Miss. Should I help
you wear your armour?”

‘Yes, please.’

“Why do you ask about
something so obvious?”

Finally, the day to enter the
dungeon has arrived.

As soon as we finished our
preparations, we headed to where the knight order was staying.

What could the knight order be
doing around this time?

Probably training right after
waking up in the morning.

I’m sure of it.

That training addict is the
type who gets sick if he lets his subordinates rest for even a
second.

Poor knights.

Why did you have to join the
Allen Family?

With a Foolishly Doting Head
of the Family, a Training-Obsessed Knight Commander, and a Mesugaki
brat.

Isn’t it truly a horrible
workplace? If it were me, I would have handed in my resignation
immediately.

After riding the carriage that
was waiting for us in the village for about an hour, a campsite came
into view in the distance.

Unlike the makeshift campsite
we built on the way to Evans, the one near the dungeon was properly
constructed. The house setup was similar to those of Mongolian nomads
I saw on TV.

It looked decent since they
made it with proper planning and structure.

I guess it wouldn’t have been
bad for me to stay there either.

It was good to have a proper
wash, a decent meal, and sleep in a bed after a long time.

But considering the mental
stress I went through all day, it might have been better to stay at
the camping site.

“Miss welcome, did you
have a restful night?”

‘Thanks to you, it was
fine.’

“For a sloppy commoner’s
house, it wasn’t bad.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Possell greeted me with a
broad smile.

I felt uneasy seeing how
relieved he seemed and subtly looked over at the other knights.

They were pairing up and
sparring, all of them bearing heavy dark circles under their eyes.

So, you worked them hard after
all.

It’s an addiction. An
addiction.

Everything, whether good or
bad, should be done in moderation, you fool.

But doesn’t it feel like there
are fewer people than usual?

As I silently counted the
number of people, Possell noticed my intent and spoke first.

“There aren’t many
knights, right? They went into the dungeon first.”

‘Already?’

“They’ve already gone
in?”

“Yes. We can’t just rest.
We’ve been taking turns going in and out since last night.”

A kind of madness emanated
from Possell as he said they were here for training, not for fun, and
thus couldn’t rest for even a moment.

“If you are a knight of
the Allen Family, you can manage without rest for a few days. It’s
important to simulate extreme conditions during training so you can
handle real situations in the future without any issues.”

So, he’s saying training
should be like the real thing?

Hmm. Well, does that make
sense?

Hey! What if the knights of
the Allen Family revolt because of this?

If you keep pushing people
like this, in the real battle, they’ll attack their commanders before
the enemies!

Of course, neither Benedict
nor you are the type to fall easily, but still, there should be a
limit!

What if all the grudges built
up against you come back to me!

‘Knight Commander…’

“You fool, Possell. At this
rate, the sloppy knights will collapse before we can clear the
dungeon.”

“Miss, when we eventually
have to clear a dungeon, there will be situations far more difficult
than this. Consider this a mild challenge.”

I understand what he’s
saying.

The dungeons that knights
clear are at least grade A catastrophes.

They’re hellish places where
even a moment of carelessness leads straight to death.

I remembered the first time I
entered an A-grade dungeon, shortly after starting Soul Academy.

Even with thorough
preparation, I almost smashed my keyboard in frustration due to
continuous unfair challenges.

Later on, with more
experience, I was able to conquer A-grade dungeons even unarmed. But
that was because I could keep trying as much as I wanted as a player.

It’s because I already
memorised the layout and strategies of the dungeons to come. However,
this world is different.

They have to go in, relying
only on their own bodies without knowing anything.

In such a situation, rest is
likely a luxury.

No matter what I say, Possell
doesn’t seem like he would back down.

Because in his eyes, there is
a heavy resolve that someone who has lived an ordinary life like me
finds hard to understand.

I wonder how many brutal
battles Possell has overcome to become the Knight Commander.

And what led him to this
conclusion.

The normally kind Possell
turns into a demon during training, and there must be a good reason
for that.

The knights sparring behind
him were looking at me with eyes full of expectation, but this time,
I couldn’t help it.

Since Possell had the
justification, how could I break his resolve?

‘I understand.’

“Fine. Do as you wish, you
idiot, Possell.”

As I nodded, I could see the
knights behind him visibly deflate with disappointment.

It must be really tough for
them.

But what can you do?

This is the knight order you
chose! Endure it with grit and determination!

Think of this as a good
experience and do your best.

You know the saying: if you
can’t avoid it, enjoy it, right?

I can’t enjoy it at all, but I
trust you knights can.

Fighting*! (*Fighting means
let’s go/do well.)

“Well, Miss’s words aren’t
entirely wrong. Resting when needed is also important.”

Possell shrugged with a smile
and then turned his head to the back.

“Knights!”

His thunderous voice, summoned
from the depths of his diaphragm, reverberated across the meadow.

Why does it feel like the
ground is shaking even though he’s just raising his voice?

“It is Miss’s mercy! I grant
you two hours of rest from now! Show your gratitude to Miss!”

““Thank you very much,
Miss!””

Honestly, seeing dozens of far
above-average-sized adult men shout out and bow their heads was a bit
overwhelming.

Even though I told them to
relax, they couldn’t seem to take it easy.

It seemed my presence itself
was quite burdensome for them.

I should take the hint and
disappear for a bit.

Should I take the
training-addict with me while I’m at it?

‘Commander…’

“Possell, where is the
entrance to the dungeon?”

“Would you like to see it?
Please follow me. I will guide you right away.”

Possell, seemingly aware of my
intention, led me without a moment’s hesitation.

Following Possell, I soon saw
the entrance to the dungeon in the centre of the camp. The scene
looked exactly like it did in the game.

A stone door standing
conspicuously in the middle of an empty field.

While I had no particular
thoughts seeing it in the game, seeing it in reality sent chills down
my spine.

What could be the reason for
feeling fear from a plain, unadorned stone door?

As I was quietly observing it,
the dungeon door suddenly opened.

“Gasp!”

What is it?! What’s coming
out?!

A monster? Is it a monster?!

The only thing that could come
out of a dungeon door would be a monster!

“Oh. Miss. When did you
arrive?”

From inside the door stepped
four knights, including a Bald Knight.

Sigh.
So they were just coming out after finishing the conquest?

The timing couldn’t have been
worse.

You scared me, you idiots.

The Bald Knight smiled after
greeting me and seeing my expression.

“Miss, were you very
surprised?”

This guy. He seems like a
happy camper because I’ve been treating him a little better lately.

‘The dungeon…’

“Did you finish the
dungeon?”

“Yes we have, Miss.”

‘Then go and rest.’

“Then go rest at the
camp.”

“Pardon?”

The knights looked at me as if
they couldn’t believe their ears when I told them to rest.

“The Lady asked me to let
you knights take a break, so I gave my permission,” Possell
reassured them.

Upon hearing his confirmation,
the knights’ expressions filled with shock.

What kind of meaning does
‘rest’ have for the knights of the Allen Family, anyway?

Just telling them to rest a
bit, and they look as if they’re filled with national pride.

-Oh my. Is this your first
time seeing it? This is what we call ‘rest.’

-What? Rest?! Such a thing
couldn’t possibly exist. LOL.

“Really?! Thank you,
Lady!”

‘Not you, though.’

“Bald Knight. Not you.”

“Why only me?”

‘It’s for teasing me.’

“For not recognizing your
own limits as a sloppy knight.”

The Bald Knight’s face
stiffened at being provoked, but he had no means to defy me.

What are you going to do about
it? I’m the Count’s Lady, and you’re just a knight of the Count’s
Family.

Abusing power is quite fun.
Now I get why Lucy acted that way all the time.

“Lady Lucy.”

While I was smiling at the
trembling Bald Knight, Possell called out to me.

“Why?”

“Since the dungeon is
currently empty, let’s go inside.”

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