chapter_0030

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
30

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
30

“Why is Lady Lucy here?”

‘Am I not allowed at the
church?’

“Am I not supposed to step
inside the church? You foolish priest?”

“No, that’s not the case.”

When I questioned him harshly,
the priest, flustered, waved his hands.

Sweat ran down his forehead,
clearly showing he wasn’t pleased to see me.

What did Lucy do to make such
a high-ranking priest react this way?

The power of a priest from the
Church of Armadi is not insignificant.

Given that the Church of
Armadi is the most influential church on the continent, a priest
wielding such power is no small matter.

According to the game’s
depiction, a priest from the Church of Armadi holds authority
comparable to that of a considerable noble.

If someone of such standing is
this apprehensive, the atrocities Lucy committed must be far from
minor.

I could easily imagine how
Lucy’s reputation had spread within the Church of Armadi without even
asking.

Is exorcising Agra’s Curse
alone enough to solve this issue?

It’s uncertain whether I can
completely offset Lucy’s original reputation.

Realising that the atrocities
Lucy committed were not confined to the mansion, I felt my mind go
blank.

What in the world did Lucy get
up to?

You can’t expect me to clean
up this reputation mess if the bad deeds keep racking up like this.

Sigh.

If she was willing to lash out
at a priest, she must have treated nobles lower in rank similarly.

Maybe she even dared to
belittle those of higher status.

There must be a reason she was
cursed out in social circles and even had nightmares about it.

“Ahem.”

The priest cleared his throat,
trying to ease the tense atmosphere. He attempted to put on a solemn
expression, but having already lost his composure earlier, it didn’t
make him look dignified at all.

“So, what brings you here?”

‘I exorcised…’

“The reason I came here is
because of Agra’s Curse. Even a foolish priest like you should have
heard of it.”

“Yes, I know. Is there
someone suffering from the curse around you? If that’s the case, our
church can help.”

‘I have exorcised the curse.
Please verify it.’

“Foolish priest. There’s no
need to showcase your ignorance and impatience. Just listen to me. I
have exorcised Agra’s Curse. Confirm it.”

“…Excuse me? You said you
exorcised Agra’s curse?”

The priest, unable to believe
my words, asked again in disbelief.

It was only natural for him to
doubt me.

How could anyone believe that
the notorious Lady from a noble family, known for her misdeeds, had
exocrised the curse of an evil god?

If I were in his position, I
would have called it nonsense too.

‘Yes, that’s right.’

“Hah. You really know how to
show off your stupidity. Since you seem to be hard of hearing, I’ll
say it again. I exorcised Agra’s Curse.”

“Really?”

‘Yes, it’s true.’

“Are you doubting the words
of a Count’s Lady? That’s a bold statement for a foolish priest.”

“No! That’s not what I mean!
Please wait a moment. I’ll go fetch the bishop!”

The priest gave a quick nod
and ran off as if fleeing, tripping over his own robe in the process.

He winced in pain but quickly
got up, glancing back at me standing there calmly, and hurriedly
continued on his way.

‘I’d like to know that
too.’

Really.

What kind of mischief did Lucy
commit to make the priest so terrified?

‘Karl…’

“Sloppy Knight. Did I do
anything in the church?”

“Miss. Could it be that
you’ve forgotten what happened?”

Karl, who normally remained
composed, looked noticeably troubled.

That alone hinted at the
gravity of my actions, but I still had to ask.

‘I’m asking you.’

“Well, that’s why I’m
asking. Answer me.”

Karl glanced around to ensure
no nuns or lay people were nearby before leaning in and whispering in
my ear.

“Miss, there was a time you
visited the church during worship and insulted the god.”

Excuse me?

Wait a second. Sloppy Knight.

What did I do? Insulting god?

As I blinked in disbelief,
Karl described the situation in detail, albeit looking flustered.

One day, I visited the church
where worship was in progress, and I shouted that there was no such
thing as a god in this world.

Despite Benedict’s warnings, I
caused several disturbances at the church.

I even stomped on the faces of
priests trying to stop me with my boots and laughed at them.

“That priest just now was
affected by you back then, Miss.”

‘Karl, shut up.’

“Sloppy Knight, quiet.”

“Yes, understood.”

I couldn’t bear to listen to
the endless flood of testimony from Karl, so I forcibly shut his
mouth.

‘…’

I couldn’t say a word.

Lucy, you crazy woman!

Even in the modern world,
doing something like this would get you labelled insane, and you did
it in a mediaeval fantasy world?!

Does this make any sense?!

Insulting a god and the church
in this world, where the church’s authority is as powerful as the
country’s—is that even imaginable?!

The sheer absurdity of what I
was hearing gave me a headache.

How did Lucy even survive
until now?

Is it because Benedict is an
exceedingly great man?

It must be something like
that. If it weren’t for Benedict’s influence, I would have been
executed on the guillotine for blasphemy, or some other crime, no
matter how minor.

Thinking about it now, that
might have been better.

If I’d been executed for
blasphemy, I wouldn’t have been reincarnated in this body.

I understood why the priest
was so flustered.

A person who committed such
acts hadn’t visited in a long time, and now had suddenly returned to
the church, causing quite a stir.

He must have thought I was
here to cause another commotion.

Thinking about it, his
reaction was quite mild.

If he had been deeply devoted,
he’d have likely said outright that someone like me shouldn’t even be
here.

Covering my mouth with both
hands and looking down at the floor, I sighed and tried to make sense
of the current situation.

In a word, “screwed”
was the most fitting term.

Agra’s Curse? Reputation?

Those weren’t the real issues.

The real miracle was that Lucy
was still alive on this continent.

What am I supposed to do to
clean up this mess?

The Church of Armadi is
heavily involved in the storyline of Soul Academy.

If I lose their support, many
complications could arise in the future.

Am I going to make an enemy
out of the Church of Armadi after already incurring Agra’s wrath?

That would be too disastrous.

This isn’t some game where you
can play around with character roles.

Reality is harsh.

I don’t want to live in hard
mode.

You idiot. Think.

You poured thirteen thousand
hours into Soul Academy, use that brain of yours and think.

What good will it do to just
sit here and despair?

There must be a way.

Desperately wracking my brain,
I suddenly thought of a solution.

If I think about it carefully,
my current situation isn’t all that bad, right?

What if I present myself as
someone who once doubted the gods but repented after receiving a
divine revelation?

…This could work.

I can prove that I received a
revelation.

I’ve received a divine
blessing. I exorcised a curse that typically can’t be removed, and
I’m carrying the weapon of a hero thought to be missing.

If it were just one thing, it
could be dismissed as coincidence, but having all three together
can’t be anything but destiny.

Anyone would believe I
received a divine revelation.

Even the knights from the
order are thinking similarly.

From the church’s perspective,
my repentance is a win-win situation. Given Lucy’s notorious
reputation, the impact of her repentance and newfound faith in the
gods would be significant.

A story about a wayward Lady,
infamous across the continent, finding faith and turning over a new
leaf is perfect for the church to use when talking about divine
miracles.

This is perfect. Let’s go
with this plan.

Even if they don’t
immediately believe that I’ve changed, that’s fine.

After all, I will continue to
fight Agra’s underlings in the future.

As they witness my various
accomplishments, they will naturally come to believe in my
repentance.

Once I gain the church’s
support, the world’s view of Lucy will naturally improve as well.

Am I a genius? How could I
come up with this plan in such a short time?

“Lady Lucy. It has been a
while.”

I lifted my head at the
familiar voice coming from a distance.

Walking towards me from the
centre of the church was a familiar face.

With no beard and a face
marked by prominent wrinkles, his hair entirely turned white, and
eyes exuding kindness.

I knew this man.

He was one of the significant
NPCs in Soul Academy.

You meet this old man whether
you’re friend or foe when you follow the church-related storyline.
How could I not recognize him?

The old man who would later
ascend to the rank of a cardinal in the Church of Armadi and become
the leader of the hardliners in the church.

Among players, he is commonly
referred to as the “stubborn priest.”

Contrary to his kind
appearance, he is a prickly human with a demeanour of a hedgehog
inside.

Johan Vieira.

Why is this old man here?

At this time, shouldn’t he be
struggling to gather his forces at the headquarters of the Church of
Armadi?!

“It’s been a while since
the last time you splashed water on my face, Lady. It must be about a
year now.”

Johan greeted me with a
sharp-edged smile as soon as he saw me.

Ah. Um. I apologise, Bishop.

Did I splash water on your
face?

Wow. I must have been
possessed by something that day.

Can you please think of it as
a temporary lapse and forgive me with your merciful heart?

I muttered nonsense internally
while looking into the bishop’s eyes.

His eyes were still kind.

To put it another way, it
seemed like he had no intention of revealing his true feelings at
all.

“Priest Pelkin said that you
exorcised Agra’s Curse. Is that true, Lady?”

‘Yes. That’s correct!’

“Do I really need to say it
twice? Stubborn bishop?”

“Haha. I’m sorry. It’s just
such a difficult story to believe.”

Despite being insulted by
someone much younger, Johan didn’t erase the smile from his face.

He looked like a kind old man
tolerating a child’s tantrum, but I knew better.

I knew that behind that façade
was an old man coldly calculating his gains and losses.

Haha. Damn it. This is a
disaster. If I want to steer the conversation the way I planned, I
have to persuade this old man.

Isn’t that way too difficult?

At this point, I feel like
I’ll need to do something miraculous with my silver tongue!

“Let’s go inside and
discuss the details. We can’t keep the Lady standing here forever.”

‘Thank you for your
consideration.’

“After keeping me standing
this whole time, you pretend to be considerate? Typical
stubbornness.”

I matched Johan’s smile with
one of my own.

Ah. Damn it.

Why is this [Mesugaki] Skill
acting up like this today?!

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