chapter_0032

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
32

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
32

The maid’s hands arranging
my hair felt especially firm today.

Usually, she styled my hair in
a way that made it easy to move, but today it seemed she was creating
a hairstyle to show off.

It felt like she was crafting
an artwork with my hair.

‘Oh, maid…’

“Sloppy maid. Why are you
flaunting your poor skills with my hair?”

“I’m sorry if it displeased
you, Miss! But isn’t this the Academy?”

‘And so?’

“So what?”

“You can’t afford to be
looked down on by anyone where so many nobles gather.”

Is she saying that if it’s
not flashy enough, other nobles will mock me?

Now that I think about it,
there were remarks in the game’s description that looked down on
nobles who couldn’t keep up with the trends.

‘Is that really all there is
to it?’

“You mean you’re doing
this all for such a trivial reason?”

“Trivial reason? Miss, this
is…”

‘Just do it the usual way.’

“Just do it as usual, sloppy
maid.”

My evaluation wouldn’t change
whether I bothered with this or not.

Luxury helps maintain one’s
reputation, but it won’t recover a reputation that’s already fallen.

If I dress plainly, they’ll
call me unfashionable; if I dress lavishly, they’ll say I’m being
extravagant.

It’s better to be
comfortable than to go through all this trouble and still receive
negative comments.

Honestly, instead of fussing
over this every morning, wouldn’t it be more beneficial to spend
that time running?

“But, Miss…”

This girl used to tremble at
anything I said, but now she speaks her mind.

I sighed and removed the
decorations from my hair, placing them on the dressing table.

‘This is an order. I don’t
need any of this.’

“Consider it an order.
Return it to the way it was. Do you think I’ll fall behind others
just because I don’t have such sloppy decorations?”

The maid hesitated for a
moment upon hearing my words before bowing slightly behind me.

Though my words might have
been a bit blunt, my intentions seemed to have gotten through, so it
should be fine.

Over the past two months, I
have given my all to improve my skills.

I ran every day, practised
sparring, and increased my proficiency.

I pride myself on having done
everything within my ability.

Thanks to those efforts, I
achieved my goal.

I maxed out my proficiency to
the highest possible level for someone at Level 10.

Stamina. Blunt weapon
proficiency. Shield proficiency.

Maxing out all three aspects
has made me incomparably stronger than before.

Based on the Soul Academy
entrance exam, my current abilities are well over the required level.

Setting a record in the
dungeon that appears in the entrance exam is as easy as provoking a
goblin.

So, I know there’s nothing to
worry about, but for some reason, I can’t let go of this nervous
tension.

‘Karl…’

“Sloppy Knight. Is it
really okay to be wandering around like this? Shouldn’t we just go
back?”

“Miss, you know how
important it is to manage your condition before a significant event.”

I know that the words of both
are correct.

Moving around now isn’t going
to make a difference.

But when I spend my time
comfortably, the anxiety wells up, and I can’t help it.

This world might be a game,
but it isn’t entirely a game.

Many things I thought were
obvious in the game can change in this world.

How many times have I been
caught off guard because I trusted my in-game knowledge?

I’ve considered all the
variables that could occur in the dungeon featured in the Academy
exam, but each time I reflect on them, I fear I might have missed
something.

I can’t do this after all.

I need to go back to the dorm
and check one more time.

“Miss! There’s an airship
flying over there!”

I lifted my head at the maid’s
excited exclamation.

The airship was cutting
through the clouds, flying high in the sky.

Judging by her childlike
reaction, it must be her first time seeing it in person.

There’s really nothing special
about riding it, though.

Airships are the least
efficient mode of transportation in the game.

They cost about the same as
teleportation magic, but unlike teleportation, which gets you to your
destination instantly, airships take several days flying through the
sky to reach their destination.

In essence, it’s the pinnacle
of luxury, wasting both time and money.

That’s why I never bothered
with airships when I played the game.

Even in the reality of the
Soul Academy, I have no intention of boarding such seemingly
impressive rubbish.

As I lowered my head, gazing
idly at the sky, I finally broke free from my worries and took a
proper look at the urban landscape.

Though it bears the name “Soul
Academy,” this place is much more than just a school.

Here, countless aristocratic
children flock, spending their opulent wealth with reckless abandon.

Merchants, smelling the money
of these carefree nobles, naturally converged around this area.

Commoners who sought work also
made their way to Soul Academy.

As a result, Soul Academy
evolved into a sprawling city centred around the Academy itself.

The scenery of the city I now
saw with my own eyes was, in essence, a symphony created from the
lives of countless people.

The sound of countless
footsteps.

The voices of merchants
shouting loudly to sell their goods.

The chatter of women gossiping
in one corner.

On top of it all, the pure
chirping of birds and laughter from somewhere blended with shouts.

In the midst of all these
sounds, my own breathing added to the mix.

That moment made reality sink
in.

I could feel that I had
arrived at the place I’d only seen beyond the monitor.

With that realisation, the
myriad of worries that had previously consumed me felt insignificant.

Return to the dorm? What dorm?

I’ve finally come to the
heart of Soul Academy. How could I leave without experiencing any of
it?

What kind of veteran of Soul
Academy would I be if I did that?!

Humming a tune.

I started moving, humming the
background music that had become so familiar it was ingrained in my
ears.

There were so many places I
wanted to see with my own eyes.

There were so many places that
I was sure I couldn’t visit them all in one day.

I had to go to the restaurant
that the usually stoic heroine was impressed by.

And the bakery that Airhead
Lady loved.

I needed to visit the bridge
where many of the iconic scenes in the story took place.

And the alley where the
protagonist had a heart-wrenching farewell with a friend.

The more I thought about it,
the longer my list of places to visit grew.

And if I think about it more,
I should also be collecting the hidden pieces I can get right now.

I don’t have enough time.

If I had known that time would
be so short, I would have spent the night wandering around instead of
sleeping.

I resented myself for
collapsing onto the bed, exhausted from the carriage ride last night.

I need to plan from now on.

Where should I go first?

Since we skipped breakfast,
should we start by eating at the restaurant?

“Miss?”

‘Maid. Karl…’

“Hey, you two slackers.
We’re going for a meal now. Expect to be fed food so divine you’ll
be exclaiming after just one taste.”

Even though the restaurant is
expensive, it’s not a problem for me.

That’s because Benedict gave
me plenty of gold coins!

Smiling at the weight of the
gold coins in my pocket, I recalled Benedict seeing me off when I
came to the Academy.

It was honestly bizarre seeing
a troll dabbing at his eyes with a handkerchief, fussing that I
should be careful.

Could it be that Benedict is
already experiencing the symptoms of menopause? They say that’s
when female hormones are secreted.

Even now, it feels like his
response was excessive.

After all, once I finish the
exam, I’ll return to the estate and wait for the acceptance
notification.

Crying as if he wouldn’t see
me for years.

It scares me to think he might
truly wail if I actually get accepted into Soul Academy.

“Oh my, Lady Allen.”

As I imagined Benedict
fainting from crying, a woman called my name.

Standing right in front of me,
she looked down at me with piercing blue eyes and smiled.

Uh…

‘Who is this?’

“What kind of sloppy
person dares speak to me?”

The woman’s smile hardened
at my brazen tone.

Why is the [Mesugaki] skill
acting up today?

Feeling awkward, I looked
around.

Behind her, two more women
stood.

Judging by their high-quality
clothing, they seemed to be noble ladies. But what could they want
from me?

“We met at the social
gathering last time, didn’t we?”

“Meryl. It looks like
Lady Allen’s tiny head can’t remember faces.”

“Ah, I see. That must be
it.”

From their blatantly malicious
tone, I could guess their intention.

They had come to pick a fight.

Why? No need to ask. The
reason was too obvious.

The scenes from Lucy’s
nightmares about the social gatherings must have had some truth to
them.

Still, for Lucy, who is a
count’s daughter, to face such open confrontation was unexpected.

Aren’t they afraid of
Benedict?

Do they think they can handle
him if he gets angry?

Or do they have a backup plan?

They don’t seem that
remarkable to me.

If they were important
characters, I would have remembered their faces.

“Lady Allen, you’re
here for the Academy exam, right?”

“Yes.”

“Why?

Why are you bothering to take
it when you’re going to fail anyway?”

When the woman with blue eyes
at the front said this, the others beside her laughed.

I see. They believe I’ll
fail the exam.

Well, if they had only seen
the old Lucy before I possessed her, it’s no wonder they think that
way.

If I show outstanding
performance in the entrance exam’s combat and dungeon exploration,
their reactions would be quite amusing.

Just like how a person known
for bad deeds stands out when they suddenly do good things, I’ll
stand out immensely as a formerly incompetent person showing sudden
competence.

Great.

I’ll turn that criticism
into applause.

‘Is that all you have to say?’

“Is that all you have to
say? Then, I’ll go. I don’t have time to waste associating with
worthless extras like you.”

I don’t want to waste my
time on unimportant extras. I have so much to do right now.

As soon as I turned away
saying that, the woman snapped at me with a fierce voice.

“Are you running away?!”

Yes, that’s right. I am
running away. I am a coward who doesn’t like to fight.

“You must be really
ashamed as a Lady who doesn’t even know fashion?!”

Yes, I am someone who doesn’t
know fashion. And I don’t care to learn either.

“Ha! You really are the
disgrace of the Allen Family!”

I froze when I heard that.

I never expected to be
insulted right in my face like this.

Grabbing Karl and preventing
him from charging out in rage over the insult to his master, I turned
back to face the woman.

“Wha… What do you
want?!”

“Aren’t you the one who’s
scared? Little Trash Lady♡. If you’re going to be a nobody, then
stay down like one.♡ No matter how much you try to show your claws,
it’s just adorable.♡”

This bitch.

There are things you can say
and things you can’t.

Even though I was willing to
laugh it off, fearing Lucy’s already plummeting reputation would sink
even lower, there are limits.

You bitches.

“Bring it on.

I’ll teach you a lesson.”

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