chapter_0161

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
161

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
161

Remembering Lucy’s advice
deeply in her heart, she walked back to her dormitory.

Phoebe’s eyes were still
swollen, but her lips held a feeble smile she couldn’t hide.

Since childhood, she had been
trained to maintain dignity as a saint, so she usually kept a calm
expression, but today was different.

Because a certain phrase kept
replaying in her mind.

“I don’t care what you’ve
done. No matter what, you are the Sloppy Saint.”

When Phoebe first heard
herself being called Sloppy Saint, she felt uncomfortable.

It wasn’t common for someone
to blatantly insult her to her face, especially being a Saint of the
Church of Armadi.

She found it troubling because
she didn’t know how to respond. Furthermore, it felt like criticism
of her inadequacy, which stung. She even felt a little angry.

But now it was different.

To the present Phoebe, the
term Sloppy Saint was a word filled with gratitude.

It wasn’t a term to demean
her. Rather, it was a term that acknowledged her.

Because Lucy knew that Phoebe
was a flawed being from the very beginning, knew she doubted God’s
mercy without knowing her place, knew that in the end, she had
foolishly succumbed to the temptations of the Evil God and extended
her hand to it.

Yet Lucy affirmed that Phoebe
was still someone fit to be a Saint.

Recollecting that moment,
Phoebe felt tears welling up again, so she bit her lips tightly.

‘Oh no. What should I do? My
eyes feel so hot, I can’t bear it. If I let this out, I might end up
sitting on the side of the road, crying my heart out just like I did
in Lady Allen’s room!’

Thinking this, Phoebe recalled
the time she sobbed uncontrollably, covering her face with both
hands.

‘Stupid Phoebe. What on
earth were you doing there?!

Even though the Apostle of
Armadi acknowledged and forgave your sins, you should have apologised
and thanked her, instead of breaking into tears!’

Phoebe remembered how she
cried, making those pathetic sounds, sniffling and repeating; I’m
sorry, thank you.

Reflecting on this, she felt
so much shame that it overshadowed her previous feelings of
gratitude, and the tears stopped abruptly.

She fanned her flushed face
with her hands, letting out a sigh.

‘Well, at least I stopped
crying, so that’s a relief, right?

Wrong. This embarrassing
memory is definitely going to haunt me for a long time.

I need to think of something
else. Something to help me forget this memory.

Yes, I should recall what Lady
Allen told me.

If I keep thinking about that,
this shameful memory might fade a bit.’

Before leaving her room, Lucy
had told Phoebe that she needed to wait.

“You probably have a lot of
things you hate about that sloppy church. You must be curious about
many things, being the wandering Sloppy Saint and all. But not yet.
It’s dangerous to act rashly.”

Although Lucy didn’t explain
the details of what she meant by dangerous, Phoebe could guess the
implication.

‘If I move recklessly, I
could be erased by the Church of Armadi.’

It seemed that the Church of
Armadi harboured much more darkness than Phoebe had previously known.

Phoebe believed in and
followed the path of goodness, but that didn’t mean she thought
everyone in the church was good. After all, light and darkness
coexist everywhere.

However, the darkness within
the Church of Armadi was much larger and more systematic than Phoebe
had anticipated. It might even be capable of swallowing the light
whole.

‘When I think about it, it’s
quite obvious. They fabricated the words of a non-existent god to
make someone like me a saint.

Surely, that darkness is so
profound that it’s difficult to see even a step ahead.

…If Lady Allen hadn’t told
me to wait, how would I have acted?’

It wasn’t difficult for
Phoebe to imagine.

If she had faced that reality
without Lucy, the Apostle of Armadi, she wouldn’t have hesitated
for a moment to drive out the darkness.

She would have fought to
create the church she believed in. And even if she lost her life in
the process, she would have done it, believing it to be her duty as
someone chosen by Armadi as a saint.

But now, Phoebe had no such
intentions. Lucy, the Apostle of Armadi, had told her to wait.

Hearing the words of someone
who listens to the voice of the god and receives his love, Phoebe
believed that Lucy’s words aligned with Armadi’s will.

Great, wise, and benevolent
Armadi must have planned something seeing the distant future, so
Phoebe had no doubts and simply chose to follow.

As Phoebe thought about Lucy
again, she felt her mood settle somewhat. She took her hands off her
face and clenched her fists tightly.

‘Alright. Now I should go
back to the dormitory and get cleaned up…’

“Saint?”

Phoebe instinctively turned
her head at the voice calling her and saw the face of a young girl
who had always looked up to her.

“Ah… Ahem.
Hello.”

Phoebe, who was about to greet
her as usual, was startled by her hoarse voice. She cleared her
throat and responded with a smile.

‘How hard did I cry in front
of Lady Allen for my voice to still be hoarse?

If I had known, I would have
used a healing spell on my throat before leaving. I really was too
overwhelmed to think straight.’

“…Are you alright?”

“Huh?”

Phoebe tilted her head at the
question and then recalled how she must look right now. She
understood the girl’s worried gaze.

‘I must look terrible.
Anyone would be worried seeing me like this.’

“Of course. I’m fine.”

Phoebe nodded with the most
reassuring expression she could muster.

She genuinely was in a better
mood than she had been for a long time, so this was the truth.

However, the girl’s worried
face did not ease.

‘Does she think I’m just
pretending to be strong? I’m really okay, though.’

Phoebe tried her best to
persuade the girl not to misunderstand, but every word she uttered
with her hoarse voice only led to more misunderstanding.

“It’s so unfair.”

Although I often complained
about unfairness, this time wasn’t just an excuse.

I was truly innocent.

Why on earth would rumours
about me tormenting Phoebe spread throughout the entire Academy?!

I really can’t understand
this!

This… this is so weird! What
wrong did I do to Phoebe to deserve this?!

I reassured her when she
almost lost hope upon learning she was a false saint.

On top of that, I even advised
her to wait and not act rashly if she wanted to avoid causing
trouble.

Everything I did was for
Phoebe’s sake, so why are there stories about me bullying her?!

I found out about this rumour
from Bisi.

After finishing my training
this morning, she approached me and asked; Lady Allen, did you do
something to the Saint?

When I told her that I hadn’t
done anything, she started recounting what she had heard.

Apparently, the current rumour
among the students is that I took Phoebe to my room and tormented
her.

At first, I was so dumbfounded
that I was speechless, but upon reflection, there was something
plausible.

When Phoebe left my room
yesterday, she looked terrible.

When she entered my room, she
was fine, but when she left, her eyes were swollen red, her hair was
in disarray, and her voice was hoarse.

Anyone would be suspicious
under these circumstances. My speculation turned into reality as I
interrogated Avery.

According to her, my
reputation had regressed from being recognized as a talented person
who had softened over time to a notorious and talented, yet
uncontrollably rude trash lady.

Seeing Avery stammering in
fear only intensified my irritation, and I could no longer hold back
my words.

“Did you just stand there
listening to all that gossip? Seriously? What should I do with this?
It seems Trash Lady might be so incompetent that my lips are about to
get loose!”

“No! I did my best to
defend you, Lady Allen! I swear! But the rumour didn’t start among
the nobles, so there were limits to what I could do! Please believe
me!”

Whether Avery had desperately
defended me or quietly laughed along while others insulted me, the
rumour rapidly spread throughout the Academy.

At the beginning of the
morning classes, only a few aware students whispered about it. As the
lessons proceeded, more and more people started hearing the rumour.

By the time lunch rolled
around, almost everyone knew the rumour.

So, what does this mean? It
means I had become the ultimate trash who bullied the overwhelmingly
supported Saint of the Church of Armadi.

All their eyes feel prickly.

Although I had gotten used to
hostile stares since entering Lucy’s body, this time the situation
was more severe.

Thanks to Joy saying
something, her group of Ladies didn’t blame me, but everyone else
openly showed their hostility toward me.

Bullying an idol like Phoebe
was a significant accusation.

Yet, I hadn’t done anything
wrong to Phoebe at all!

‘Will Phoebe’s explanation
really work?’

I could already imagine the
scenario in my head. Even if Phoebe explains that I did nothing
wrong, people will surely think; Ah, the Saint is so merciful that
she forgives even those who have wronged her!

And they’ll continue to
slander me.

There will definitely be those
who think they must punish this trashy woman on behalf of the Saint!

Ugh. I hadn’t anticipated
this.

If I had known, I would have
composed her myself and then sent Phoebe back.

But it’s too late to regret
now; what’s done is done.

Sigh.
What can I do? I’ll just have to get used to it. It’s not like this
is the first or second time that people have frowned upon seeing me.

Even while I’m cutting into
my steak, the constant stares directed at me are making me feel
nauseous.

It’s strange. The steak is
tender, and the sauce is delicious, so I should be enjoying this. So
why do I feel my mood plummet with every bite?

“Lady Allen.”

I turned my head at the voice
calling me, and there was Phoebe, her face filled with regret.

“May I join you for this
meal?”

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