chapter_0114

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
114

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
114

The plaza was already crowded
with students.

Exams at Soul Academy are a
crucial turning point determining whether students can advance to the
next grade.

Anyone belonging to this place
couldn’t help but pay keen attention.

Even though the grades hadn’t
been posted yet, there were many diligent people.

As Arthur was thinking this,
someone grabbed his shoulder.

“Little Brother, are you
here to check your grades too?”

The voice calling Arthur was
his brother, Cecil Soladin, renowned among the royal palace servants
for being warrior-like.

“Older Brother.”

“Good day, Second
Prince.”

Arthur just stared at him
blankly, but Joy, who stood beside him, was different.

She greeted Cecil skillfully
and respectfully.

Cecil remarked that there was
no need for such formalities at the Academy, but the pleased
expression on his face showed that he appreciated Joy’s gesture.

After a brief casual
conversation with Joy, Cecil turned his head towards Arthur, grinning
broadly.

“Little Brother, how do
you feel? Do you think you can be at the top this time?”

While it seemed like he was
asking his brother how he did on the exam, it wasn’t quite that.

Cecil wouldn’t inquire about
Arthur’s well-being.

He was really asking, “You
lost miserably to Lucy Allen last time, do you think you can win this
time?”

It was a taunt, questioning
how it felt to lose the top spot while usually maintaining it.

Arthur’s grimace made it
clear.

Before Arthur bet against
Lucy, this kind of provocation would certainly have made him reveal
his emotions in his voice. At that time, the fact that Arthur had
lost the top spot was a major source of frustration for him.

But now, things are different.

Now, Lucy Allen was someone
above him, a rival he intended to surpass someday. With this mindset,
Arthur could even laugh at Cecil’s provocations.

“Well, I did my best, but
I’m not sure about the results.”

“Hmm, really?”

Maybe his reaction wasn’t as
lively as Cecil had expected.

Disappointed, Cecil openly
expressed his dissatisfaction before saying he needed to check his
own grades and left.

‘Honestly.

He looks and carries himself
like an unstoppable warrior, but inside, he’s quite small-minded.

It seems my brother Cecil is
not cut out to be a king.’

As Arthur watched Cecil
disappear into the crowd with his followers, he saw a professor with
a large piece of paper emerging in the background, causing him to
push thoughts of Cecil out of his mind.

‘Finally, it’s here.

What kind of grade did Lucy
Allen achieve this time?

Did she fall under the weight
of her arrogance?

Or did she once again showcase
her extraordinary talent to the world?

I’m truly curious.

Alright. Let’s see.’

The professor arrived at the
middle of the plaza with the paper and pinned it to the bulletin
board. The first sheet pinned up showed the grades for the first-year
students.

At the very top of the list
was the name.

‘Lucy Allen’

It was the name Arthur had
expected.

‘Ha.

Hahahaha.

So, genius it is?

Is it that you can make
everyone bow to your talent alone without even listening to the
professors’ lectures?

I simply can’t wrap my head
around it.

To possess such overwhelming
force, enough to make the greatest swordswoman on the continent, Frey
Kent, submit,

And to dominate Soul Academy
intellectually without any studying.

Is this truly a being that
falls within the same category as humans like me?

I was proud to consider myself
a genius, but is there always someone higher in the heavens?’

“Wow! Amazing!”

As Arthur was marvelling at
Lucy Allen’s name at the top once again, a sudden exclamation came
from beside him.

It was an unusually strong
emotional expression for Joy, who typically made an effort to
maintain the noble composure.

What kind of grades could she
have to react like this?

Judging by her delight, she
must not have made any critical mistakes.

Arthur’s eyes briefly turned
away before looking back at the grade sheet, and he was shocked by
the name below Lucy’s.

It was behaviour unbecoming of
a prince, but he couldn’t help it.

The name there was far from
what he had expected.

‘Joy Partan’

“I’m in second place! This
might be the highest grade I’ve ever received!”

Arthur Soladin’s name was
listed below hers in third place.

‘What… what is this?

Joy beat me?

How?

Did I make a mistake?

Was there an error during the
grading process?’

A whirlwind of thoughts
swirled through his mind, but Arthur couldn’t bring himself to say
any of them out loud. Joy looked far too elated standing next to him.
He couldn’t bring himself to ask why she had beaten him and
appeared petty, so he forced a smile.

“Congratulations, Joy.”

“Thank you, Prince!”

I woke up from a nightmare of
being chased by undead spirits, shooting up to my feet and then
stumbling forward as I gazed at the bare wall.

I’m exhausted.

I should have gone to bed
earlier instead of messing around last night. The cause of my fatigue
stemmed from the studying I started for the first time last night.

After the midterm exams ended,
Grandpa kept nagging at me all day to start studying quickly. I tried
to tell him that since the exams had just ended, I deserved a bit of
relaxation, but his retort of “Did you take the exams? No, I
did,” left me with no good argument.

Unable to endure Grandpa’s
nagging, I went to the Academy library and grabbed a children’s
beginner study book.

I lacked even the most basic
common knowledge before talking about learning or anything.

To study, I had to start with
what little kids were learning.

At first, I reluctantly opened
the book due to Grandpa’s insistence. But as I studied, I found it
more interesting than I had expected.

It usually gets boring when
your head starts to hurt from reading each word.

In terms of maths, it’s like
the stage when you’re learning addition and subtraction; there
can’t be any real roadblocks there.

And Grandpa kept praising me,
calling me a genius and saying I did well whenever I solved those
basic things, which made me unknowingly get immersed in it.

As a result, I went to bed
yesterday at dawn.

Even though I came to my
senses and slept, I probably didn’t get much sleep.

Let’s see.

It’s 7:10 now…

I’m late!

I urgently got up and started
getting ready to head out.

First, I fixed my hair, which
was a mess due to my sleeping habits…

‘Why didn’t you wake me
up?!’

‘That’s true, but still!’

Even if it’s not something I
have to do, keeping the routine is important!

Originally, I start training
at dawn.

By training with the knights
of the Allen Family and keeping to the routine, it naturally became
that way.

When I first arrived at the
Academy, I was training alone, but it wasn’t long before Frey joined
me, and recently, Joy joined due to the incident last time.

The three of us never
discussed it, but we started training together at dawn consistently.

The two of them must already
be out on the training grounds.

They’re probably training on
their own, right?

They wouldn’t be waiting for
me, would they?!

As I was rushing out of the
dormitory toward the training grounds, I noticed a group of people
gathering in the Academy plaza. I tilted my head in curiosity.

What’s going on?

People wouldn’t gather there
for no reason, so what could it be?

Ah! It’s the day the grades
are released. Right. I was so distracted I momentarily forgot.

…Since I’m already late, it
won’t matter if I’m a bit later, right?

Anyway, the two will be
training on their own.

Slowing my steps, I went on
tiptoe to check the bulletin board.

Unfortunately, I’m one or two
heads shorter than the average student.

Going on tiptoe wouldn’t allow
me to see over their shoulders.

Sigh.
There’s nothing I can do.

I didn’t want to use this
method, but since I have no other option…

Giving up on checking the
grades over someone’s shoulder, I silently poked the student in
front of me in the side.

The male student blocking my
way turned around with a frown on his face.

“Who the f…”

But the harsh expression on
his face vanished the moment he saw me.

‘Hello there. Could you
please make some space?’

“Get lost, pipsqueak.
You’re in the way, just standing there makes me feel uncomfortable.”

“Yep! Got it!”

With a shout that was almost a
scream, the male student moved aside, attracting the attention of
those around him.

Realising my presence, people
started to step back, creating a path for me in the midst of the
crowd.

This is the miracle that the
Apostle of Armadi can perform.

Parting the sea of people.

Armadi doesn’t have such a
power, you say?

Who cares?

After all, I am the only
Apostle of Armadi, so any power I possess is his power too.

Ignoring the murmurs around
me, which I had grown accustomed to, I proceeded forward and finally
checked the grades posted on the board.

-‘Lucy Allen’ ‘Joy Partan’
‘Arthur Soladin’ ‘Jack Burrow’

Seeing the four names at the
top, I blinked and checked again, thinking I had misread it.

But nothing had changed.

Huh?

Why is Joy in second place?

Am I still half-asleep?

‘Grandpa, is this a dream?’

‘Right?’

But why is our Airhead Lady in
second place?

There’s no way our Airhead
Lady has this kind of ability!

Who are you, really?

Tell me the truth!

Could it be someone else has
possessed her?

There’s no way our Airhead
Lady could get second place without making any mistakes!

[Quest Clear!]

[Rewards will be given.]

[Inventory Feature unlocked!]

As I was bewildered by the
incomprehensible situation, a notification sound went off.

Indeed, Armadi always ensures
to give rewards diligently.

I can check later how Joy
managed to get second place. For now, let’s look at the rewards.

When I opened the inventory
window, the familiar screen from Soul Academy calmed my mind.

Yes. This is it.

This is what makes it feel
like a game—like heaven.

As a test, I put the ring I
was wearing into the inventory window and watched with amazement as
it disappeared into the inventory.

Lord Armadi, I am truly
grateful for your actions. Please keep adding these convenient
features in the future.

Please.

Stop adding junk features like
the Log window.

Ding.

[A new Quest is available!]

Because I cleared a quest, I
got another one?

What is it this time?

What are you going to give me?

Is it something as useful as
the Inventory Feature?

Or is it something that will
help raise someone’s Affection Level?

Even if Armadi gives me a
quest with the intention of making my life difficult again with his
sloppy, incompetent, and perverted ways, I can handle it.

I just hope the rewards are
decent.

“Lady Lucy of the Allen
Family.”

As I was about to check the
next message to confirm the Quest, I heard someone calling me.

Who could it be?

Usually, students at the
Academy hate even approaching me.

Is it someone trying to pick a
fight?

If so, I’ll make sure they
understand what kind of person a Mesugaki really is.

I loaded several sharp words
in my mind and turned my head, only to freeze when I saw the person
standing behind me.

‘…Crap!’

“Nice to meet you. I am
Cecil Soladin, the Second Prince of the Soladin Kingdom.”

Cecil Soladin.

The Second Prince of the
Soladin Kingdom and an NPC who competes with Arthur for the throne.

Before he grows through his
personal story, he is a simple-minded and petty individual, totally
unfitting to be a king.

Wow. That was a close call.

It’s a good thing I urgently
covered my mouth. If I had said his name out loud, I would have been
in big trouble.

And with good reason, since
among the players, his nickname is Idiot Prince.

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