chapter_0156

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
156

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
156

Karl defined Frey’s emotions
as feelings of hurt.

He explained that Frey felt
hurt because Lucy had left her behind and advanced far ahead.

After parting ways with Karl,
Frey went to the library and opened a dictionary.

Inside, the dictionary defined
hurt feelings as feeling regretful and unsatisfied.

Since Frey was unfamiliar with
both terms, she researched them, but the dictionary loved using
circular definitions.

Regretful referred back to
unsatisfied, and unsatisfied referred back to hurt feelings.

As a result, Frey failed to
understand the definition of her emotions.

“Useless.”

She closed the dictionary and,
resting her forehead against the bookshelf, recalled what Karl had
told her a few days ago.

“Lady Kent, you feel hurt
because Miss Lucy has suddenly pulled far ahead on her own. You might
have thought of her as your rival.”

Professor Karl’s words were
likely correct.

‘This red emotion within me
emerged when I realised Lucy was much stronger than I had imagined.

To erase this lingering red
emotion in my heart, I must reach the place where Lucy stands, as
Professor Karl suggested.’

“I can’t call you Sloppy
Swordsman anymore.”

As soon as she imagined Lucy
saying that with a smile, Frey felt it.

The colour etched in her heart
began to fade.

Not only that, but another
unidentified colour started to seep in.

Startled, she lifted her head
and reopened the dictionary to look up the definition of hurt
feelings again.

‘So, the colour that had
settled in my heart until now was the feeling of hurt.

Then, what was this new colour
taking its place as it faded away?’

Frey tilted her head,
recalling the words of the person who had provided her with the
answer.

“I will help you. After
all, I am a professor. I cannot overlook a student’s distress.”

‘Would receiving help from
Professor Karl also reveal the identity of this other emotion?’

Upon reaching that thought,
Frey stood up. She was the type to act first and think later.

The day after I called Frey
trash.

I worried that she might not
want to see my face, but Frey appeared as usual for her morning
training.

Grandpa shouted triumphantly
upon seeing her, as if to say, “I told you so.”

Excuse me, Grandpa. I already
knew that.

But if a girl is feeling
uneasy about something, shouldn’t you comfort her? Saying things
like, “Why worry, your mouth is dirty anyway,” isn’t
helpful.

This guy definitely wasn’t
popular when he was alive.

What’s the point of being a
hero who saved the world or a noble Paladin if you can’t empathise
with others? Despite people admiring Grandpa because of his
appearance and achievements, they’d be horrified once they saw his
true character.

‘Hello, Frey.’

“Hi, Sloppy Swordsman.”

“Lucy.”

As I greeted Frey with a sigh
of relief, she called my name.

Huh? Frey’s expression looks
different today.

How should I put this?

Frey’s eyes usually appear
dull.

But today, there’s a
difference. Her gaze is as sharp as when she swings her sword.

“I’m going to beat you.”

‘What? All of a sudden?’

“Hah. Someone like you?”

“Yes. I’ll make sure you
never look down on me again.”

Although my [Mesugaki] skill
distorted my intention again midway, Frey didn’t seem to mind.

Instead, she continued
speaking without a hint of hesitation.

“During the Final Exam,
I’ll prove to you that I’m not a Sloppy Trash.”

And with that, Frey finished
what she had to say and left, announcing she would be undergoing
separate training until then.

‘…Uh, so that’s not a sign
that she dislikes me, right?’

’No, but I just wanted to
confirm.’

Even though Frey declared she
was going to beat me and left, my daily life didn’t really change.

It was just that the spot
where Frey used to be was now empty.

For example, in sparring
classes.

Usually, Frey was my opponent.
To be exact, no one else volunteered, so it naturally became that
way.

I was a troublesome presence
to others.

I’m notoriously ill-tempered
and have skills unmatched by anyone in the same grade.

So, who in their right mind
would volunteer to spar with me?

Especially after something
like this:

“You sloppy trash, did
you really sign up to spar with me? Do you like getting beat up? Are
you a masochist? Should I stomp on you? Just kidding. I don’t want to
step on trash like you; my feet might get contaminated.”

Unless they were as eccentric
as Frey, who would dare to face me?

So, while I was thinking of
sparring with Karl or Anton during the session, an unexpected
volunteer showed up.

The one who slapped me during
the entrance exam… um, let’s see…

What was her name again?

I see her face often, but I
can’t remember her name. Every time we meet, all I say is “Trash
Lady,” “Idiot,” or “Trash.”

“I’m going to crush you
today, you piece of trash.”

Trash Lady glared at me with
fury as she said this, but that didn’t change the outcome of our
sparring.

The gap between us was just
too wide.

It’s not that Trash Lady is
particularly weak. Among the first-year students, she is definitely
in the upper ranks.

She can’t compete with Frey,
but she might have a chance against Arthur or Jack.

The problem was that her
opponent was me.

Right now, I’m a monster who
can easily defeat even knights from well-known families.

So, during the sparring
session, Trash Lady couldn’t land a single effective hit.

Honestly, sparring with her
was incredibly boring.

Her attacks just bounced off
my shield.

I couldn’t swing my mace
either, worried that I might break something if I did.

Ugh, this isn’t good practice.
It feels like a waste of time.

Next time, even if she
challenges me, I’ll just ignore her and spar with Karl instead.

Failing to control her temper,
Trash Lady swung her sword wildly and fell over again. She stumbled
trying to get up, only to fall flat on her face.

Using all her strength to
swing her sword without moderation had finally taken its toll on her.

Should I call it off now?
Continuing any further would just result in her getting hurt.

‘Lady, perhaps it’s time to
stop? You seem very exhausted.’

“Don’t get up, Trash
Lady. If you try, you’ll just end up crawling on the ground again.
Just accept that you’re trash and keep crawling. That suits you
better.”

Was it because I didn’t like
her that much? My [Mesugaki] skill translation came off pretty harsh.

At this rate, I might end up
stepping on her head and mocking her.

But this isn’t the first time
[Mesugaki] skill has been like this. She’s probably somewhat used to
my tone by now, so it’s probably fine…

“…Hic.”

When I saw the tears falling
from Trash Lady’s eyes as she held herself up on the ground, my mind
went blank.

Ah. Oh dear?

Um?

No way.

Hey. Why are you crying all of
a sudden? That’s not like you.

Even when I spoke harshly, you
were the type to grit your teeth and fight back.

I did act pretty badly… but
it wasn’t just me! You talked behind my back and insulted me too!

If you start crying first,
pretending to be some innocent victim, what am I supposed to do? It
makes me look like the only bad person here!

When I looked away from Trash
Lady, who was trying hard to hold back her tears, I noticed the
attention of people around us.

Their stares were cold.

Even someone as dense as me
could understand the meaning behind those looks: ‘Here goes Lady
Allen again.’

Sigh.
I can practically see my reputation plummeting.

Why does Lucy always have to
deal with such disasters?

Just when things seem to be
getting better, something always happens to drag them down. Even a
roller coaster would have fewer drops than this.

Should I just change my name
and live a new life to reset my reputation?

While I was trying to escape
reality, unsure of how to solve the situation in front of me, Karl
approached from a distance.

“Lady Allen. Lady Baines.
Shall we step outside for a moment?”

Yes. It’s better than being in
the middle of everyone’s stares here.

By the way, her last name is
Baines, huh. I’ll remember it this time. I can’t keep calling her
Trash Lady in my head.

Outside, as Karl tried to
comfort Lady Baines, she started to sob uncontrollably.

Until just now, she had held
back out of pride, but once the dam broke, she couldn’t stop.

Watching the crying young girl
felt peculiar.

Even though we’ve had a rocky
relationship, she’s still a teenage girl. Seeing someone much younger
than me cry evokes some sympathy.

I already avenged myself for
that slap long ago, so there’s no real reason to hate her anymore.

Maybe I should suggest we
reconcile.

It’s usually the elder’s role
to extend the olive branch first in situations like this. Let’s
take the initiative to show some magnanimity.

I don’t know if I can overcome
the barrier of the [Mesugaki] Skill to apologise, but it’s worth a
try, right?

If I succeed, my reputation
will improve, and if I fail, it won’t be any different from now, so
there’s nothing to lose.

After a long while, when Lady
Baines finally calmed down, I approached her.

Lady Baines glared at me with
her swollen eyes.

Such straightforward
hostility. If I had seen that look when I first came into Lucy’s
body, I would have been terrified.

But not now.

I’ve dealt with so many
hateful glares leading up to now. I’ve gotten used to it.

‘Are you alright?’

“Alright? Trash Lady? Pfft.
You look incredibly pathetic, crying your eyes out like that.”

“Shut up and get lost, Lucy
Allen.”

‘I’m sorry. It’s my fault.’

“Puhah. Trying to act tough
after getting thrashed! What can you even do about it, Trash Lady?
What can you do besides crying? Sloppy~ Trash~ Crybaby~ Ugly~”

“I told you to shut up!”

Yep, it’s as tough as
expected.

Even though I anticipated it,
experiencing it first hand feels overwhelming.

Perhaps it’s impossible to
reconcile with those who hate me.

Looking back, reconciling with
Arthur was almost a miracle.

If the Petty Evil God hadn’t
separated Arthur and me as part of his torment, Arthur might still
hate me now.

Wait, when you think about it,
didn’t the Petty Evil God end up helping my personal relationships
more than the Sloppy Armadi?

…Sloppy Armadi! Do better!

If you keep this up, I might
start believing in the Petty Evil God instead of you!

Ding.

[A new quest has been issued.]

[The reason you’re unpopular!]

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