chapter_0084

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
84

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
84

“I heard a very interesting
rumour. Little brother.”

The day right after being put
on probation, Arthur had a visitor in his room.

It was his older brother, who
was about to graduate from Soul Academy and was currently competing
with the First Prince for the throne.

It was Cecil Soladin.

“I heard you challenged the
Lady of the Allen Family to a duel, and when you realised you might
lose, you resorted to cheating.

What an impudent and
disgraceful rumour. I made sure to punish those spreading it
harshly.”

Cecil hadn’t come out of
concern for Arthur.

Nor did he think the rumour
was false.

The only reason he had come to
visit Arthur was to humiliate him.

I know you did this.

Aren’t you ashamed of
tarnishing the palace’s reputation like this?

That was what he was implying.

However, his purpose was not
fulfilled.

Despite the blatant insult,
Arthur’s expression remained unchanged.

“I apologise, brother. I
made a mistake.”

“Oh? Is this rumour true?”

“Yes, it is.”

“It’s astonishing. For
someone who never makes a single mistake, you messed up this time. Is
there a problem?”

“No. I just got impatient.”

Such conversations were
extremely common in the palace.

It wasn’t always like this,
but ever since Arthur started standing out, the situation changed.

Both the First and Second
Princes kept a wary eye on him.

Whenever Arthur made any
mistake, they would seize the opportunity to press down on him.

“Is that so?”

At first, Arthur was flustered
by the changes in his brothers, but not anymore.

Now that he understood what
kind of people they were, he knew how to calmly handle whatever they
said.

“What I heard was
different.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I heard that you were
enraged because Lady Lucy Allen called you the Pitiful Prince?”

Pitiful Prince.

A nickname Lucy had given
Arthur.

A derisive title that managed
to shake Arthur’s usual calm demeanour.

“Pitiful Prince, huh. That
brat, backed by the Allen Family, spreads thorns everywhere she
goes.”

Even though Cecil uttered that
word, Arthur felt unexpectedly calm.

Sure, he was angry and
irritated, but it was nothing compared to when Lucy Allen had called
him that.

So, Arthur could respond to
Cecil as he normally would.

“Arthur, if you wish, I
could have a word with Lucy Allen for calling you Pitiful Prince.”

“No, brother. It’s alright.”

When Arthur shook his head,
Cecil showed a rare look of surprise.

“Lady Allen is also my
lifesaver, you see.”

Nothing more happened after
that.

They exchanged some
meaningless conversation, and then Cecil left.

After that day, Arthur kept
thinking.

Why was it that when Lucy
Allen called him the Pitiful Prince, he couldn’t stand it, but when
Cecil used the nickname, he felt nothing?

Surely, Cecil’s intent was
more malicious and blatant.

Time passed, and today, his
suspension ended.

Arthur had decided to meet
Lucy Allen to resolve this question, but before he could, a group of
ladies stopped him in his tracks.

“Hello, Third Prince.”

‘These must be the ones who
always followed Joy.

The name of the one leading
them now was surely…’

“Right. Avery.”

When Arthur called her by
name, Avery’s eyes widened before settling into a calm smile.

“What is it?”

“It concerns Lady Allen.
We have something to tell you.”

What she said wasn’t anything
of great value.

They couldn’t forgive Lucy
Allen for her insulting words toward Arthur.

They wanted to help punish
her, as winning a competition shouldn’t erase her accumulated
wrongdoing.

Truly useless talk.

These people, one and all,
only pretended to sympathise with him to use him for their own
purposes.

They disliked Lucy Allen and
wanted to trouble her, dragging him into their schemes.

While he wanted to tell them
off, these women were members of prestigious noble families. It was
truly a shame.

If it were Lucy Allen, she
would have insulted them right on the spot without caring about other
circumstances.

“I appreciate your
intentions, but I must decline.”

“What? But, Prince, we can
surely help—”

“I understand. However,
competitions are meant to be faced head-on, aren’t they? I prefer not
to rely on others’ help.”

With such a polite refusal
from the prince, there was nothing more they could say.

Avery and her group
reluctantly agreed to trust his word and stepped back.

Feeling flustered over their
failed plans, just as they were about to leave, Arthur stopped them
and added:

“And one more thing. Lady
Allen isn’t only a benefactor to Joy; she’s also a benefactor to
me.

I would appreciate it if you
refrained from spreading malicious gossip. If the flood of harmful
rumours puts her in a difficult situation and she asks for my help,
I’ll have no choice but to provide it.”

Hearing this, the group of
ladies responded affirmatively and left as if fleeing.

Arthur watched them go,
smirking and rubbing his neck.

So many adversaries.

He worried that she might fall
to others before he could confront her himself.

“First Lady Partan, and now
Prince Arthur.”

“It’s unbelievable. Both
sided with the disgrace of the Allen family.”

“What on earth does that
wild girl have?”

“She must have used some
underhanded methods. Otherwise, it doesn’t make any sense.”

“Right. Up until a year ago,
she was arrogant, incompetent, and utterly useless, yet suddenly, she
came first in the entrance exam? It’s impossible.”

“There must be something.
Absolutely something.”

“If we could only uncover
it, we could wipe that self-satisfied smile off her face.”

The sword struck down, over
and over again. A relentless series of continuous strikes, giving no
time to breathe.

Frey’s swordsmanship was
becoming sharper by the day, likely due to our sparring sessions.

Is she the most talented
swordsman in the history of the Kent Family?

In any case, these talented
people!

A concerning sound came from
the shield as it withstood Frey’s attacks.

Even though I was using it
efficiently, it was still just a standard-issue shield.

There was a limit to how much
it could endure against Frey’s cherished sword.

If I kept defending any
longer, the shield might break before Frey gets exhausted.

Maybe it’s time to decide the
match.

“Sloppy swordsman♡ Is that
all you’ve got?♡ Your sword is so light it’s going to fly away!♡”

The enhanced provocation
effect of my [Mesugaki] skill can instantly stir a person’s emotions.

Frey, who had been following
her sword with a blank expression, furrowed her brows and looked at
me.

Clearly, she fell for the
taunt.

However, she didn’t charge at
me right away.

Past experience had taught her
that recklessly responding to my provocations would backfire.

But what can you do?

That’s exactly what I was
aiming for.

In a continuous sparring
session, even a momentary lapse can be fatal.

Stopping herself forcibly to
regain composure, Frey’s response had no choice but to be slower.
Frey realised it too late and moved her sword, but by then, it was
already over.

Pushed by my shield, Frey
staggered and fell. As she tried to get up, she saw my mace arriving
in front of her and collapsed completely.

Shall we take a break?”

“What? Sloppy swordsman.
Are you already tired? Your stamina is so pathetic. If you beg me to
let you rest, I might consider it.”

“…I’ll rest.”

Seeing her mumble while lying
down, powerless to get up, I also set my shield aside.

Several days had passed since
Joy’s collapse.

During that time, nothing much
happened.

At most, my reputation took
yet another dive.

Rumours spread that I had
bullied Joy, and it seemed my harsh words towards Joy’s followers
became a problem.

Thanks to that, I was already
someone people avoided, but now I was treated like a landmine ready
to explode if touched.

How did I know? Bisi told me
when I asked her to go to the dungeon with me, and she shrieked while
sharing this story.

I hardly felt the impact
myself.

People always avoided me,
anyway.

Since no one approached me, my
reputation couldn’t get much worse, so I didn’t really notice any
change.

I decided to simply enjoy it.

When walking through a crowd,
thinking “Is this the miracle of Moses?!” and passing by
made it amusing.

But what impacted me the most
recently was something else entirely. The last time I met Phoebe in
the infirmary, the [Mesugaki] skill clearly used informal language
with her.

But the next time we met, I
used formal language.

“Hello, Sloppy Saint.”

I don’t understand why.

If the [Mesugaki] skill
reverted, it should also use formal speech with Joy, but it still
talks informally to her.

This only happens with
Phoebe*. (*Karl’s Sloppy Knight to Sloppy is just a shortening for
Lucy.)

If I could understand why this
is happening, it might help me control the [Mesugaki] skill a little
more.

“Lucy Allen.”

While I was leaning on my
shield and catching my breath, I heard a voice.

‘Arthur. It’s been a while.’

“Pitiful Prince, it’s been a
while since I’ve seen your pitiful self?”

“Indeed. It’s been a week.”

I guess today marks the end of
his suspension.

Arthur’s expression was calm.

Before our showdown, he used
to frown as soon as he saw my face.

It seems much of his hostility
has diminished since I saved him last time.

But why does the [Mesugaki]
skill use formal language with Arthur, too?

If it’s going to be rude, it
should be rude to everyone equally.

Why does it discriminate?

Does Phoebe seem easy to you?

…She is kind of easy.

“I’ve come to meet you today
to acknowledge my defeat in a public setting and to forgive you. If
it’s alright, may I ask when we can schedule it?”

‘It’s fine with me.’

“Why do I need to receive
your forgiveness, Pitiful Prince?”

It’s not like it will change
my reputation.

I don’t want to do something
in a public place only to have rumours spread that I’m bullying
Arthur.

Honestly, it’s enough that
Arthur’s perception of me has changed.

“But isn’t this part of our
bet?”

‘Really, it’s okay. You
don’t have to do this!’

“I’d rather not. I don’t
think there’s anything I need your forgiveness for.”

When I firmly declined,
Arthur, perhaps realising forcing an apology was pointless, nodded
his head.

“Understood. Then instead,
I’d like to offer you something in return for saving my life.”

A reward, huh.

There’s not much I can get
from Arthur… It would mostly be information or connections, neither
of which are useful to me now.

I already know all the
information, and I can’t gain any of the connections even if I wanted
to.

Ah, a good idea just came to
me.

“A dungeon.”

“Dungeon?”

Joy can’t enter dungeons, and
Bisi hates going into dungeons with me, which has been a problem.

Is there someone who can join
the party?

I almost asked him outright to
join me in the dungeon but stopped myself because it might spread
some weird rumours if I started that conversation.

Hmm.

If the issue is me asking,
then why not have him make the request?

‘Please, ask to join me in
the dungeon!’

“Pitiful Prince, could you
please ask me if I would allow you to join me in the dungeon?”

“…What? You want me to
ask?”

‘Yes!’

“That’s right. Please ask
politely.”

Arthur’s eyes wavered at my
words, and though he hesitated, he eventually spoke.

“Lucy Allen, would you grant
me the honour of joining you in the dungeon?”

‘I’ll allow it!’

“Yes, I grant you
permission, Pitiful Prince.”

For some reason, Arthur’s lips
quivered as he listened to my words.

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