chapter_0094

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
94

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
94

“Airhead Lady. Are you too
scared to move? What a coward~”

Watching Joy freeze in the
hallway leading to the dungeon, Lucy flashed an irritating smile.

It was a scene Joy had
witnessed before.

Lucy, clad in armour and
holding a shield in one hand, walked confidently ahead.

Back then, Joy had followed
her but had ended up sitting on the floor in front of the dungeon
door.

The only difference today was
that this meeting between Joy and Lucy wasn’t by chance.

This morning, when Joy
finished preparing and left her room, she found Lucy waiting for her
outside.

“I thought you wouldn’t
come out because you were a scared little lady. I didn’t expect you
to be trembling and hiding in your room, huh?”

Despite her words, it was
clear why Lucy had waited for Joy.

She likely came to find Joy
because she was worried Joy might be too afraid to enter the dungeon.

That’s who Lucy was now.
Although her words were prickly, she was a considerate person.

Someone willing to risk her
life for others.

And after everything was done,
she wouldn’t boast about her accomplishments but would instead
smile irritatingly and say, “I just did what the Airhead Lady
couldn’t.”

When Joy had woken up that
morning, she doubted whether she could enter the dungeon. But seeing
Lucy waiting outside her door dispelled those doubts.

It wasn’t a matter of
whether she could or couldn’t.

To be of help to Lucy, she had
to go.

Standing in front of the
dungeon’s entrance, Joy thought about this.

She took a deep breath.
Gathering her resolve and persuading herself that everything would be
fine, Joy repeated to herself that she had to enter the dungeon to
repay her debt.

“Airhead Lady.”

At that moment, Lucy patted
Joy’s back with her gauntleted hand.

“Ack?!”

Startled and letting out an
uncharacteristic scream, Joy was embarrassed by her own reaction. Her
face turned red as she looked around to see if anyone else was
nearby; she had a bad feeling and turned her gaze towards Lucy.

There was Lucy, covering her
mouth with her hand, laughing.

“Haha. Airhead Lady. Wow,
such an airhead! ‘Ack’—seriously? Haha!”

“It’s because of you,
Lady Allen.”

“Me? Why is it my fault
that the Airhead Lady is such an airhead? It’s your own fault for
being such a sloppy coward.”

“Ugh…”

Joy wanted to argue back, but
she couldn’t. She owed Lucy too much.

As Joy stood there, face red
and trembling, Lucy stopped laughing and moved in front of Joy,
patting her own chest.

“Airhead Lady. Don’t
trust your sloppy self, trust me. Got it?”

Trust me.

In retrospect, when Lucy said
those words, she had never once broken her promise.

Not during the entrance exam.

Not when they encountered an
assailant.

Not even when faced with
near-death situations.

Lucy confidently told Joy to
trust her, and in the end, she always saved her.

Realising this, Joy felt all
the distracting thoughts in her head vanish.

Lucy, catching Joy’s gaze,
smiled and started walking ahead.

She opened the door leading to
the academy’s dungeon entrance.

The entrance to the dungeon
revealed itself.

Seeing the entrance, which
still haunted her nightmares, Joy lowered her head.

Her hands were trembling.

Her teeth were chattering.

The nightmare of that day
weighed heavily on her shoulders, and she couldn’t shake it off.

But when she saw the small but
firm back standing in front of her, Joy found the courage to raise
her head again.

Facing the dungeon entrance,
Joy realised one thing.

It was just a door.

It wasn’t something that
threatened her.

And even if something were to
happen inside, the small yet dependable back in front of her would
protect her.

Breathing out slowly, Joy
carefully took a step forward.

Then she took a second step.

Finally, she reached Lucy, who
had been standing far ahead.

“Are you okay, Airhead
Lady? If you’re so scared you might cry, it’s fine to turn back.”

“I’m fine, Lady Allen.”

‘As long as I’m by your
side, I think I’ll be okay.’

Feeling embarrassed to voice
her thoughts, Joy just smiled instead, and Lucy mirrored her smile.

“Oh, right. Airhead Lady,
you’ve never been inside a dungeon before, have you?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Then we would start from
the first floor. Just a moment.”

While Lucy manipulated
something at the dungeon entrance, Frey Kent, who had arrived
earlier, approached Joy.

“Hey.”

Having bonded with Frey during
their physical training, Joy returned the greeting with a smile.

“Yes, Lady Kent?”

“Are you sure you’ll be
okay?”

“For what?”

“With your stamina, it’ll
be tough.”

Upon hearing herself referred
to as Airhead Lady, Joy’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

‘That’s right. Lady Kent is
also very uninhibited.

I had momentarily forgotten,
since she doesn’t usually appear at formal events outside of
training.

Like Lady Allen, she’s not
someone who will change just because I pay attention to her words, so
I need to understand that.’

“Will it be tough?”

“Yeah. Even I found it
tough. I almost died.”

“Lady Kent?”

‘No way. Lady Kent, who runs
for two hours every morning at a pace that rivals Lady Allen’s, found
it too tough? That can’t be right.

Frey Kent’s expression was too
serious for it to be a joke.

If what she said is true…

…I might develop a trauma
about dungeons again.’

Frey Kent wasn’t lying. It all
started when Lucy Allen suggested we should clear up to the 50th
floor since we’re starting from the first.

The strenuous training began
around lunchtime and continued for four hours.

At first, Joy was filled with
wonder, thinking, “So this is the Academy’s dungeon.”

She would exclaim in
admiration whenever she saw Lucy giving instructions.

But halfway through, Joy could
think of nothing else except how hard it was.

Trying to keep up with Lucy’s
pace and the orders she was giving while running was all she could
manage.

When they reached the 30th
floor, Joy did her utmost to stick close to Lucy.

However, unfortunately, that
was Joy’s limit at the moment.

Completely exhausted, Joy
ended up having to cling to Lucy’s shoulder, being carried around
like baggage afterward.

“Haha, the Airhead Lady has
evolved into the Baggage Lady. Her stamina is sloppy and so are her
skills. What is she good at?”

It was a disgrace for a lady
of the Partan Family to be carried let alone by a girl smaller than
her, but there was nothing she could do.

In a situation where even
walking was difficult, how could she maintain her pride?

On the way back from clearing
up to the 50th floor, Joy forced herself to walk towards the dorm
while trying to steady her trembling legs.

Lucy had said that they would
be repeating training of similar intensity every weekend from now on.

“Can I really endure
that?”

Lady Allen didn’t become
strong without reason. She got stronger because she went through this
kind of training without even batting an eye.

‘If I grit my teeth and
endure, maybe I can become that strong too.’

“Let’s stay strong!”

As Joy made a fist in
determination, she was startled by a voice from ahead.

“Airhead Lady, you look
really exhausted.”

She lifted her head to see
Arthur standing there.

“Could it be that you’ve
been training too? You’re drenched in sweat.”

“Well, I’ve been feeling
quite motivated recently. Aren’t you the same?”

“That’s right.”

Maybe they felt stimulated by
the same person.

The two of them nodded in
agreement and then burst into laughter.

“So, how was the dungeon
with Lady Allen?”

“It was hell. Lady Allen
judges everything by her own standards. It was impossible to keep up
with her.”

“I agree. She doesn’t
understand her own uniqueness. Maybe it’s because she has such
extraordinary talent.”

“She probably thinks that
since she grew this much in a year, others should naturally be able
to do the same.”

“It’s frustrating.”

“Isn’t it?”

Even though they both
expressed discontent with Lucy, their faces told a different story.

For one, she had shifted from
being a subject of resentment to a benefactor.

For the other, she had
transformed from a target of hatred to a rival he needed to surpass.

“Take care. I’m going to
give it my all until I can defeat Lucy Allen.”

“You won’t be able to,
Prince Arthur. As you grow, Lady Allen will grow even faster.”

“Just wait and see.”

“Sure, I’ll be watching
closely.”

With that, the two laughed and
headed to their respective dorms.

A few days after Joy joined
the party, I received a message from Alsatine.

He had found the shield I
requested.

Eagerly awaiting this day, I
headed to the back alley of Academy Street right after class.

A shield.

A new shield.

Up until now, I had been using
basic stock shields.

Just as I was getting attached
to them, they would break, and I would need to get a new one.

But now, I’ve finally obtained
a shield I can grow attached to and use consistently!

With a shield made by a Dwarf,
I should be able to use it until I get a proper endgame shield!

Humming with excitement, I
visited the tavern in the back alley and was mesmerised at the sight
of the shield. The smooth curve of the shield was striking.

The surface was clean with no
rough patches.

The leather handle was firmly
attached at the perfect spot.

It was perfect.

As expected, Dwarven-made
equipment is the best!

The quality is entirely
different from mass-produced shields!

Sigh.
What should I do?

After using this shield, I
don’t think I could ever go back to a standard issue.

It’s absolutely impossible.

I’d rather use a shield
created with divine magic.

I should cherish it.

Once I obtain an endgame
shield, I won’t have to worry about it breaking, so I’ll just
take good care of it until then.

There’s no way this
Dwarven-made shield will break during my first year, but I should
still be careful with it.

After thoroughly inspecting
the new shield, trying it out, swinging it around, and holding it in
both hands, I strapped it to my back with a smile.

Ah, I’m so happy.

Maybe because I’ve only used
shabby shields until now, but this one feels incredibly precious.

‘Pardon?’

‘Grandpa, have a conscience,
will you?’

I may have shown Grandpa what
I could do at the mansion, but he hasn’t seen what the Academy can
offer in terms of torture yet.

Maybe it’s time to show him
the difference between the two?

“Excuse me, Lady Allen.”

As I was contemplating my
revenge on Grandpa, Alsatine’s voice called me, making me lift my
head.

‘Yes?’

“What, Information Seller?”

“There’s another reason I
called for you, my Lady.”

‘Go ahead.’

“What is it?”

“It’s about the necklace
from the Burrow Family. There’s been an obstacle in obtaining it.”

What?

Why?

This never happened in the
game.

The necklace from the Burrow
Family is something Alsatine usually acquires in the game before I as
a player could even mention it.

‘What’s the issue?’

“Information Seller, you
can’t even do this? Sloppy~ Useless~ Not even worthy of your
title~”

“…The Newman Family has
interfered.”

The Newman Family is one of
the Count Families in the Soladin Kingdom.

Why are they interested in the
Burrow Family’s necklace?

“There shouldn’t be many
places that have identified the exact value of that item yet, right?”

“It seems they’ve taken
preemptive action upon learning of Lady Allen’s interest.”

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