chapter_0063

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
63

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
63

The unexpected story coming
out of Karl’s mouth made my mind go blank for a moment.

Calm down. How many people did
I speak to yesterday?

For all I know, Karl could
have brought some sloppy quest I don’t need.

Let’s not get ahead of
ourselves.

Expectations just lead to
bigger betrayals.

‘Karl, is that request…’

“Sloppy, is it about
getting an item from an abandoned house in the back alley?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

‘Then…’

“Did you receive a key as
well?”

“It seems it really was a
revelation from Armadi, given that you knew about it.”

Karl nodded to himself and
then pulled out a rusty iron key from his pocket, handing it over to
me.

The moment I received it, a
message window popped up before my eyes.

Ding

[Request from a Female
Student]

[Enter the abandoned house and
retrieve a female student’s item]

[Reward: 30 Silver]

What do you mean, don’t get
ahead of yourself?!

Karl! Good job!

I thought you were just a
stalker, a sloppy knight, but it turns out you are a loyal knight
always thinking of me!

I was so happy that I wanted
to run over and hug Karl, but my [Mesugaki] Skill didn’t allow it.

Instead, the [Mesugaki] Skill
moved my body to stand boldly in front of Karl and raise my hand.

I didn’t know what this
gesture meant, but Karl did.

As soon as he saw me move, he
knelt on one knee.

Then, his head reached exactly
where my hand was.

Wait, hold on a second. Huh?

No matter what I was thinking,
the [Mesugaki] Skill moved my body on its own.

My hand patted Karl’s head,
and the corners of Karl’s mouth slightly lifted.

…Hey. You realise you’re
being treated like a pet, right?

Karl, are you really okay with
being treated like a loyal dog rather than a loyal knight?

Though such thoughts crossed
my mind, I didn’t voice them since it would ruin the smiling moment.

‘Thank you, Karl.’

“For a sloppy guy, you
did put some effort in.”

“No, I merely did what a
knight should do.”

Patting the head of a grown
man felt awkward, but I tried to ignore it and focus on something
else.

Think of something else.
Right, think about the quest.

The request from a female
student, which you can get at the start in Soul Academy, might seem
trivial, just from the reward.

However, the true value of
this quest isn’t the reward from the female student.

It’s the fact that you can
enter the abandoned house in the back alley.

There’s a hidden path inside
that building leading to a dungeon!

Normally, you must reach Level
10 and complete a certain skill proficiency task before entering, but
I’ve already done all that!

Perfect. I’ll go in tonight.

As I pondered the quest, a new
question arose.

Everything was fine, but how
did Karl get this request?

This is a quest you can’t
receive unless you first talk to the female student. Karl, who’s only
interested in training and our family, wouldn’t have approached her.

‘Karl…’

“Sloppy. How did you get
this request?”

“That?”

When I asked, Karl eagerly
responded.

He said that on his way to
meet me a while back, he overheard a female student talking about me.
So, he pretended to ask for directions and offered to help if she had
any trouble.

“Then the next day, she came
to me and shared her concerns.”

As I listened to Karl’s story,
I felt a stark contrast.

When I approached people, they
were extremely wary.

But as soon as Karl talked to
her, she came to him the next day to share her worries?

That’s too much, seriously.

Sure, my speech might be
somewhat aggressive because of the [Mesugaki] Skill.

And yes, my reputation isn’t
great either.

But when it comes to first
impressions, it’s the same for both Karl and me.

What difference is there
between us that makes people instantly trust Karl?

Is it looks? Is appearance
really the problem?

Sure, Karl is definitely
handsome.

He’s the only one who can
make people smile among those who could burst into tears just by
talking to a child in the Allen Knight Order.

But was his appearance really
that powerful to completely break down your guard?

Karl’s face isn’t a
Hypnosis App or something!

It’s so unfair.

Some people (I) get wary
reactions just by speaking to them, while others gain favour just by
talking.

“Miss, it seems people
are coming now.”

Karl said this, then carefully
slipped away from my grasp and stood up.

“Unfortunately, I won’t
be able to acknowledge you openly in front of others. It’s not
beneficial for it to be known that I am a knight of the Allen
Family.”

‘Do as you please.’

“Do whatever you want.
Sloppy.”

“Thank you for
understanding.”

As soon as he stood up and
went back to preparing for class, people started coming into the
classroom.

When they saw my face, they
looked puzzled and moved to seats far away from me.

I should be happy about
receiving a quest I thought I’d never get, but why does my heart
feel so empty?

Fortunately, this feeling
didn’t last long.

A certain disruptor, who paid
no mind to expressions or tone, appeared.

“Are you taking this
too?”

As soon as Frey entered the
classroom and saw my face, she ran over with a bright smile.

It was all too obvious why she
was suddenly showing interest.

She must be looking forward to
sparring with me.

Professor Anton’s Combat
Studies class is all about improving skills through sparring.

It was bothersome, but in a
way, it was also a good thing.

While I absentmindedly
responded to Frey, who was babbling next to me, I noticed a man
walking toward me.

I know I’ve seen that face
somewhere before.

I just can’t remember his
name.

Other than being called a
Small Fry by the [Mesugaki] Skill.

Oh well. Does it matter?

Regardless of what I call him
in my head, the [Mesugaki] Skill will just call him a Small Fry
anyway.

“Hello, Lady Allen.”

‘Hello, Small Fry.’

“Hello, Small Fry. You
seem well?”

“Thanks to you, yes.”

As Small Fry greeted me,
others started staring.

Most of them were curious, and
some were worried.

Is it that unusual for someone
to talk to me?

As I pondered quietly, I
realised how rare it was for anyone to speak to me today and admitted
it was indeed uncommon.

“I came to thank you.
Last time, I was too busy to express my gratitude properly, so I sent
a letter. But I thought it would be more appropriate to say it in
person.”

With that, Small Fry bowed
deeply, almost touching his forehead to the ground.

“Thank you very much. If
it weren’t for you, Lady Allen, I would have been dead.”

I knew what kind of feelings
he had behind his thanks, but from my perspective, it only felt
burdensome. Because that incident happened because of me.

‘Don’t worry about it.’

“Were you just waiting
for the right moment to meekly thank me? Typical of a Small Fry.
Don’t worry about it. I didn’t muster that strength because of you.”

“Haha, well, thanks to you,
I’m still alive all the same.”

“Hey. Are you crazy?!”

As soon as Jacob Riz returned
to his seat, his close friend Harry Sober shouted at him in
disbelief.

“What?”

“What?! Why on earth
would you talk to Lady Allen?”

Harry, yelling at his friend,
glanced over to where Lucy Allen was sitting alone and lowered his
voice.

“That’s because she
saved my life.”

Jacob vividly remembered that
nightmarish place. Had it not been for Lucy Allen in that dungeon,
Jacob might not be standing here today.

“Still, that person has a
bad reputation. You never know what might happen.”

As Harry whispered this with a
frown, Jacob let out a scoff.

True, Lucy Allen didn’t have a
good reputation. Any child from a noble family who had been to high
society had heard of her infamy, so of course, Jacob was aware of it
too.

But Jacob didn’t believe all
the rumours.

There were so many stories
that not everything could be true, and he thought most of it was
probably misunderstandings.

Someone willing to risk their
life for others couldn’t be all that bad, could they?

“I think most of it is a
misunderstanding.”

Hadn’t Lady Allen disproved
the rumour that she was poor at studying by taking first place in the
Academy entrance exam? Jacob was certain there were plenty of
malicious rumours.

“Anyway, stay away. There’s
a lot of gossip that Lucy Allen has been marked by the Third Prince.”

“The Third Prince?”

“Yes.”

Harry’s exaggerated concern,
worried that getting too close might attract the prince’s ire, was
evident.

Lucy Allen. What could she
have done in just a day?

Just as Jacob was about to ask
Harry for more details about the rumours, the Combat Studies
professor made his appearance.

The professor, making sure his
footsteps were heard, entered and looked around before smiling.

“Nice to meet you. I’m
Anton, the Combat Studies professor. I’ll be teaching you how to
fight.”

“As you know, this class is
designed for you to gain experience through sparring with one
another. Specifically…”

Despite his lengthy
explanation, the students’ responses were lukewarm.

Observing this, Professor
Anton cleared his throat and said,

“Hmm. Is it difficult to
understand? It might be better to show you directly. Would anyone
like to come forward for a sparring demonstration?”

As soon as Anton spoke, a
student quickly raised their hand.

Frey Kent.

She was the Lady of the
Count’s Family of Kent, a family known for producing excellent
swordsmen for generations. She was also known as the most likely
candidate to become the next Sword Saint.

“I’ll spar with Lucy
Allen.”

“You sloppy swordswoman.”

“Didn’t we agree?”

“When you fight me, you’ll
see just how sloppy your swordsmanship is. Are you okay with that?”

“Are you scared?”

“What a joke. Do I look so
weak that I’d be defeated by your flimsy sword?”

Nobody interfered in the
standoff between Frey and Lucy.

Everyone knew better than to
show interest in their confrontation.

As Frey and Lucy stepped
forward, Professor Anton smiled approvingly.

“It’s a delight to have
the two most skilled fighters from the entrance exam volunteer.”

Watching them take their
positions with some distance between them, Harry spoke to Jacob.

“Who do you think will
win?”

“Lady Allen.”

“Are you brainwashed or
something? Lady Kent can’t lose in a duel! She’s considered the
greatest talent in the history of the Kent family!”

From a general perspective,
Harry’s thoughts made sense.

Frey Kent had consistently
dominated various competitions in the kingdom.

No matter how well Lady Allen
had done in the entrance exam, there was no way she could defeat Frey
Kent.

However, Jacob thought
differently.

“I understand that, but I
still think Lady Allen will win. Wanna bet?”

“A bet? You’re on. I’ll
put one gold on it.”

“That’s a month’s worth
of meals, isn’t it?”

“Are you scared?”

“Nope.”

Jacob remembered how Lucy
Allen had utterly overwhelmed a witch-like monster inside the
dungeon.

Could someone of her skill
lose to another?

Jacob simply couldn’t imagine
such a scene.

“Let’s bet.”

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