chapter_0118

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
118

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
118

Following the aura of Armadi,
Nacrad felt a twisted joy.

In a world where trials exist,
reward comes when one overcomes them.

By working under Tariki’s
guidance, things he desired naturally came into his hands.

‘Apostle of Armadi, you damn
brat who ruined my plans and prevented Tariki’s will from spreading.

Are you here?’

Nacrad discovered the figure
of a child with a mocking expression and arms crossed, emerging from
the darkness.

‘What are you waiting for
there?

Could it be that you’re
curious about the rumours other kids have been spreading?

If that’s the case, I shall
grant what you wish for.

I’ll answer your desire, but
in return, you must let me hear your cries.

Crawl on the ground and scream
mixed with your tears.

Give me a beautiful voice, so
lovely that not even the darkest, heaviest night could conceal it.’

As Nacrad was pondering how to
torment the Apostle of Armadi, he saw her turn her face towards him.

Even on a cloudy moonlit
night, her assertive eyes caught Nacrad’s face and then formed a
crescent shape.

‘What is this?

Why are you smiling?

If you looked at me, you
should have noticed the danger you’re in, right?

Why then?

Have you lost your mind?
Facing the crisis of death, had she given up? No. Her demeanour was
too confident to just be a bluff. That meant…’

As something crept up his
spine, the Apostle of Armadi moved her lips. Knowing lip reading,
Nacrad instantly understood what she said: “Destroy him.”

At that moment, a presence
that had been hidden began to move. Nacrad, avoiding the sudden
attack by rolling in the dirt pitifully, prepared his magic and
glanced at the one who had appeared from behind.

‘Damn it. A knight. And a
highly skilled one at that.’

Just by watching the way he
moved his sword, Nacrad knew this wasn’t an opponent he could handle.

This wasn’t prey that came to
him willingly. The Apostle of Armadi used herself as bait to lure him
out.

‘I was the foolish fish that
bit, driven by revenge.’

Nacrad, breathing heavily from
frustration, realised there was no viable escape. There was no way to
harm the Apostle of Armadi while facing this knight.

‘For now, I have to retreat.
After all, that guy is a knight. If I attempt to flee hidden in the
darkness, there would be no easy way for them to catch up.

I’ll consider this a lesson
and engrave it deeply in my heart.’

As Nacrad thought of an escape
plan, he instinctively created a barrier of darkness.

However, an arrow flew from
the distant darkness, wrapped in magical energy, and rendered the
barrier ineffective.

An arrow lodged in Nacrad’s
ankle, causing his lips to tighten.

“Lady, is this arrow
expensive?”

“Informant, are you
really in a position to ask that?”

“I just want you to know
I’ve invested a fair amount.”

‘Tsk. There’s more than
one of them.

I wondered how that assertive
knight had managed to stay hidden—looks like he had a thief with
him.’

Nacrad frowned as he
synchronised his ankle with the darkness.

The arrow lodged in his ankle
slipped through the darkness and fell to the ground.

“Oh, impressive
technique.”

Nacrad planted his foot on the
ground again, staring at the thief drawing his bowstring, his lips
compressed into a thin line.

If it were just that one, it
wouldn’t be difficult to handle, but the problem was the knight
accompanying him.

‘This is troublesome.’

As he thought that, Nacrad
scattered his magical energy around him.

The Apostle of the God who
governs darkness commanded the darkness.

In response, one by one, the
minions began to emerge from the shadows below.

‘At least it’s fortunate
that it’s night right now. I have many cards to play. They surely
aren’t familiar with the powers of my god, so if I use that to my
advantage… ‘

“Information Seller, shoot
an arrow through the darkness. That should do the trick. Sloppy mutt,
don’t worry about the darkness and just keep bothering that
Show-off. Can you do that?”

“Of course, Miss!”

“Understood. I’ll do my
best.”

The Apostle of Armadi gave
orders to the two and then looked at Nacrad.

Seeing the bewildered
expression on Nacrad’s face, the Apostle burst out laughing and
spoke in a mocking tone.

“What are you looking at,
Show-off? Just seeing your face makes me feel queasy. Could you avert
your eyes? It’s disgusting.”

‘…Damn it, that woman!’

Even though it was clear that
my taunt had angered him, Nacrad was still struggling to fend off
Karl and Alsatine’s attacks, which brought me a sense of relief.

Ah, this is what life is all
about.

Is this why Lucy used to
provoke people so much?

Watching someone I despise get
flustered is actually quite enjoyable. I guess I kind of understand
why Lucy did it now, though not completely.

“Sloppy idiot♡ What are
you going to do by staring♡ You can’t do anything, you sloppy
loser♡ Are you looking at me because I’m too cute?♡ Pervert♡
Lolicon♡ Disgusting♡”

“Shut up! Damn woman!”

“Puhuhut♡ Are you mad?♡
You’re mad, aren’t you?♡ So~ scary♡”

I couldn’t help but laugh as I
watched Nacrad, who had been glaring at me, struggle against Karl’s
sword.

‘What is it?’

‘So what? As long as I am
the Apostle of Armadi, he will always want to kill me anyway.’

It’s not like it’s going to
change anything if he hates me more, right?

Besides, he’s not like Cecil
or Arthur, for whom being hated would be troublesome.

To be frank, what can he even
do?

He’s just a sloppy guy,
pulling off shenanigans away from the Academy out of fear of being
subjugated.

Maybe when the Evil God
regains some of his power, but for now, there’s nothing to be scared
of.

‘And I’m not provoking him
thoughtlessly.’

‘Look, Grandpa. He’s
constantly allowing attacks because he’s mad at me.’

It’s already a
disadvantageous situation where he has to stay alert, but he keeps
getting distracted by my provocation.

I think the majority of the
wounds Nacrad has received so far are due to my intervention.

‘Yes!’

The provocation ability of the
[Mesugaki] skill is probably the best in the world!

I can’t waste such a
high-performance provocation skill, can I?

I’ve learned that you have to
use everything at your disposal in a battle if needed, and that’s
precisely what I’m doing.

‘Even so?’

‘…Just a bit.’