chapter_0087

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
87

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
87

The story of the game Soul
Academy is divided into two main parts: main quests and side quests.

The main quest’s storyline
isn’t particularly remarkable.

It’s a typical hero’s tale
where the protagonist seals away evil gods that have escaped after
being sealed.

Personally, I think it’s a
simple and straightforward story, neither bad nor exceptional.

What people actually liked
were the various side quests, which included storylines tied to
different characters, hidden stories in specific regions, or those
related to particular items.

However, no matter how
interesting the side quests are, they are still just side quests.

Whether or not you complete
them, the world doesn’t greatly change.

The main quest, on the other
hand, has a clear impact on the world.

We don’t know how disastrous
it could be if the evil gods fully resurrect.

Failing the main quest results
in a game over. Only the inhabitants of the world without the
protagonist know what happens next.

How could I know that?

What I am certain of is that
the resurrection of the evil gods would not bring about any good
impact.

Especially from my standpoint
as an Apostle of Armadi.

Even now, every time I’ve
entered an external dungeon, Agra picked a fight with me. Imagine if
he were fully resurrected.

I can’t imagine what kind of
chaos would ensue. Therefore, from my standpoint, I can’t help but
keep an eye on the main quest.

More importantly…

[Observe what happens in the
Academy Plaza.]

[Reward: ???]

It seems that our dear Armadi
wants me to do that too.

He sent me this message as
soon as I woke up this morning.

I thought it would be just him
bothering me, not caring about the world, but it seems he does pay
some attention after all.

Or maybe he’s planning another
way to mess with me with this?

Despite my concerns, it was
something I had already decided to do anyway.

There was no reason not to do
it, especially with a reward involved.

So, as soon as I finished my
preparations in the morning, I headed out alone to the street.

Normally, I would have brought
Karl along, but it seemed he had a backlog of Academy work due to me.

Even though Karl is, in name,
a professor now, a professor is still a professor.

There are tasks he must
complete, but Karl had postponed all of them to prioritise my
demands.

While this decisiveness is
typical of Karl, it wasn’t necessarily a good decision.

In order to continue staying
here, he must fulfil his duties as a professor.

“Lady Allen, please let
him finish his work.”

Anton, the Combat Studies
professor, had lowered his head and spoken to me like that, and I
couldn’t just ignore him. So, I ordered Karl to finish his duties.

In any case, today’s event
will be the beginning of the main quest.

Whether or not the player is
present, the people in the Academy plaza will handle it. Would
anything change just because someone like me got involved?

Even if danger arises, there
will be plenty of people right by my side to help, so does it really
matter whether Karl is here or not?

With that thought, I arrived
early at the Academy Plaza and covertly scanned the area.

The guards who are always on
standby here were present as usual.

Priests who volunteer every
weekend were there too.

And professors from the
Academy were patrolling the streets to ensure no students were in
trouble.

With this kind of force, we
could easily handle any attack from an Apostle of the Evil God.

Now, let’s see. The main story
event is supposed to happen between 2 and 3 o’clock, right?

There’s still plenty of time
until then, so maybe I should take care of other business first.

Let’s go meet Alsatine.

I need to get a new shield.

“So, you want a shield
crafted by a Dwarf blacksmith?”

‘Yes, that’s correct!’

“Spot on. You’re quite the
information seller.”

Ever since the day I won money
from my previous bet, I’ve been pondering what kind of shield to get.

There’s no reason to splurge
ten gold coins on a top-tier shield when I plan to have one by the
end of my second year anyway, right?

There will be plenty of other
expenses in the future, so it’s better to save money where I can.

That’s why I thought of
getting a shield made by a Dwarf.

No one can beat a Dwarf when
it comes to hammering out an excellent shield.

A shield that a Dwarf has not
only crafted but also enchanted with magic would be useful all year
long.

“Of course, it’s
possible. For an appropriate price.”

‘Here. I gave it to you at a
premium price!’

“Here, information
broker. With this much, even the most unscrupulous merchant wouldn’t
call it insufficient, right?”

I pushed a platinum coin
across the table to Alsatine, and he nodded in agreement.

I wasn’t just saying it to
flatter him; I had indeed paid him well.

Typically, a Dwarf-made shield
costs about seven gold coins, so an extra three gold coins as a
distribution fee seems fair.

No matter who Alsatine is, he
wouldn’t be able to complain about this.

“I’ll get it ready for
you as quickly as possible.”

After receiving a firm promise
that it would be ready within a week, I left the shop, but there was
still plenty of time left.

Hmm. Should I take this
opportunity to look around the Academy streets?

I’ve been living so busily
that I’ve never had the chance to relax.

Where should I start?

Maybe I should try those cheap
but tasty skewers on the bridge where the protagonist and one of the
heroines had a tragic farewell…

Oh?

While walking through the back
streets, a familiar silhouette caught my eye.

Usually, her hair is curled
heavily, but now it was tied back.

She was wearing white clothes,
which she normally doesn’t, and even had a mask to cover her face.

But she couldn’t fool my eyes.

It makes sense since this
outfit is what Joy wears whenever she’s in disguise in the Soul
Academy Game.

What could Joy be doing here?
At this time, shouldn’t she be laughing and chatting at a social
gathering with other noble ladies?

Thinking this was odd, I
tilted my head and saw the sign of the shop Joy was looking at
blankly.

Ah, Joy. Are you here for
bread?

This place is fine, but isn’t
there a better bakery you prefer?

Are you still exploring here
and there since it’s the beginning of the Academy term?

‘Joy!’

“Airhead Lady. What are
you doing there?”

At my voice, Joy instinctively
turned her head and, upon seeing me, quickly looked away in the
opposite direction.

Though her identity was
already exposed by that action alone, Joy must have thought she could
still salvage the situation, and started walking in the opposite
direction, pretending not to have heard me.

‘Joy. You’ve already been
caught.’

“Airhead Lady. You don’t
think you haven’t been exposed, right? For a Duke’s Lady, that’s a
very sloppy and foolish judgement.”

When I shouted behind her,
Joy’s shoulders flinched.

Then she awkwardly turned her
head and replied in a much lower voice than usual.

“Airhead Lady? Who is
that?”

“Pfft.”

Hearing that, I couldn’t help
but burst into laughter.

‘Wow.’

“Really. I know you want
to change your voice, Airhead Lady. If you’re going to change it,
shouldn’t you do it properly? The pitch of your voice is fluctuating
so much. Who would believe that?”

It was so ridiculous that even
Grandpa can’t stop laughing.

As my laughter grew louder,
Joy’s shoulders trembled more. Eventually, she sighed and took off
her mask.

“…How did you know?”

‘It’s so obvious.’

“Airhead Lady. It’s
obvious. The way you walk is so airheadly.”

“How does someone even
walk like that!”

Joy shouted and then brushed
her face with her hand.

“Lady Allen.”

Then, looking down at me with
her characteristic cold eyes, she spoke cautiously.

“I don’t know if you’ll
believe this, but I came here to eat bread.”

‘I know. Joy wouldn’t do
anything strange, would she?’

“I know, Airhead Lady.
You’re too much of a coward to do anything strange.”

When I said I didn’t suspect
her, Joy widened her eyes and mumbled.

Did she not expect me to
believe her so easily?

Well, it’s because I know all
the circumstances, but if it were another loose-lipped Lady, there
would be chaos.

It’s such a peculiar
situation. For the Duke’s Lady of Partan to be wandering in the back
alleys in disguise.

Such great material for
gossip.

“Really?”

‘Yes. Really.’

“Airhead Lady, you can’t
even trust your benefactor? Suspicious little coward.”

“It’s not that, but…
No, it’s nothing. I will trust you.”

Joy started to say something
but shook her head and then nodded.

I wonder if Joy really trusts
me.

Or does she believe that I
don’t have the connections to spread any rumours?

Considering her personality,
it’s probably the former, but the latter is also true.

Even if I badmouth her to
others, who would listen to me anyway?

At best, Karl would.

‘Anyway, Joy. Be careful.’

“Airhead Lady, stop doing
such airheaded things. If you keep it up, you might get a bad
reputation.”

“…I can’t believe I’m
being lectured on this by Lady Allen.”

Joy sighed again after hearing
my words.

Sure, I might not be in a
position to talk, given my carelessness in wandering the back alleys,
but…

Joy, it’s only natural that
people with a lot to lose act differently from those with nothing to
lose, right?

Just as I was about to tell
Joy, who looked downcast, that this bakery is closed every Sunday,
Grandpa spoke up.

What? Is the event starting
already?

It’s not even lunchtime yet.

Why are you evil apostles so
diligent?

Armadi said he’d only give
rewards if I witnessed that.

Even though he’s usually
incompetent, he does give proper rewards, so I really want to claim
it.

Should I quickly say goodbye
to Joy and run straight to the plaza?

‘Where is it?!’

If the attack hasn’t started
yet, maybe I can reach it in time…

Here? This back alley?

Why?

Isn’t it supposed to be
attacking the temple at the plaza with its monsters?

What on earth is it aiming for
here?

My body moved faster than my
thoughts.

I couldn’t leave Joy behind,
so I hoisted her onto one shoulder and headed towards the plaza.

“I sensed Armadi’s
presence, but it’s just a little kid.”

Armadi.

The name most hated by the
Evil Gods.

And now, the one who is my
god.

The moment I heard that name,
a helpless laugh escaped my lips.

This Sloppy, incompetent,
petty, trash of a god never helps at all.

I bit my lip and was about to
pull the Mace from my pocket to enlarge it when a message appeared in
front of me.

I thought it might be Agra
watching, but it wasn’t.

[Endure]

[Hold out until the people on
Academy Street arrive]

Surprisingly, it was from
Sloppy Armadi.

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