chapter_0209

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
209

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
209

I had no intention of
rebutting Tavol’s claims.

The Duke could only accept my
resignation if the suspicions Tavol raised were credible to some
extent.

Thus, as I brushed off the
criticisms directed at me, I was merely curious to see what kind of
nonsense Tavol would spew, but the situation changed halfway through.

It all started with Phoebe.

By asserting her presence, she
managed to quell the arrows of criticism aimed at me.

When the Saint of the Church
of Armadi steps in and asks for you to calm down and listen, who
could argue against that?

With the stage set by Phoebe,
others raised their voices in my defence before I could.

Arthur pointed out the flaws
in Tavol’s evidence, Frey vouched for my strength and talent, and
Joy eliminated any doubts regarding magic.

If you asked what led to
Tavol’s downfall, it was his lack of preparation.

The points he raised were
actually valid.

There were limits to my
abilities, and it was true that I surpassed them by borrowing the
power of the Bracelet of Play artefact.

However, he had no evidence.
There was no proof that I had used an artefact.

If Lucy were still in a
situation where no one supported her as in the past, the lack of
evidence wouldn’t have mattered.

Such trivial things could be
swept away by waves of criticism.

But that wasn’t possible
now.

The Saint of the Church of
Armadi. A strong candidate for the next Sword Saint. The Third Prince
of the Soladin Kingdom. A lady from the Partan Duke’s Family.

With such prominent names
defending Lucy Allen, how could anyone bury her under mere
suspicions?

How foolish! If he intended to
accuse rashly, he should have prepared properly!

Thanks to him, the gazes of
people looking at me have become lukewarm!

Those who hate me still glare
at me intensely, but others are different!

Except for those whose enmity
has reached its peak, everyone is watching the situation unfold!

At this rate, I can almost
picture myself standing at the podium!

I feel sorry for the four
people who helped me, but honestly, until halfway through, I was
rooting for Tavol.

Of course, I am grateful.

I was moved when Phoebe
stepped forward. When Arthur, Frey, and Joy defended me, I felt a
pang in my heart.

I never thought I’d have
someone to help me, something I believed would be impossible! If it
weren’t for my [Mesugaki] skill, I might have burst into tears!

But gratitude is gratitude,
and reality is reality.

Tavol had to win the argument
for my award to be cancelled!

I don’t want to stand in front
of the First Prince and other dignitaries and say lines like; You’re
all trash who lost to a girl who hasn’t even had her coming-of-age
ceremony♡!

Despite my heartfelt support,
Tavol lost the argument and glossed over the artefact usage issue.

Then, he brought up the
dungeon topic, claiming that this suspicion couldn’t be denied.

Listening to his unnecessarily
loud and clear voice, I sighed inwardly.

Haah. This is why brainless
muscle heads are useless.

Wouldn’t it have been better
if he had just stubbornly stuck to the artefact issue? After all, the
suspicion itself had some truth to it, so he might have had a chance
to win.

Maybe I would have even given
him a clue if he was smart enough to lead me there.

Did he think he could just
pretend there was some wrongdoing involved in the dungeon conquest?

Well, technically he could
have, by just speaking a bit awkwardly.

But let’s think about this.
If he admits to any suspicions about that, what happens to the Street
Stall Vendor? Suddenly, he would be labelled as this huge criminal
who manipulated the First Prince.

And more importantly, my pride
as a veteran gamer would never allow it!

How dare he talk about
dungeons to me?! To someone who has memorised the strategies for
every dungeon in the Soul Academy world?!

I can’t let this pass! How
can I overlook this when it disregards the countless efforts and
research I’ve put in over tens of thousands of hours!

I’d rather be called a crazy
woman by all the influential figures in this Party Hall than live as
someone who knows nothing about dungeons.

“You already knew? Are you
admitting to these suspicions?”

“Pfft~♡ That’s the wrong
answer. Wrong answer. How can such a sloppy answer come from a trash
Knight with balloon muscles♡ At least think before you speak,
right? I mean, even your head isn’t filled with air like those
muscles♡”

Since I no longer supported
Tavol, I provoked him sincerely, which made his face turn bright
red.—

He’s already shaking with
rage after just a few words. This guy’s reactions are too good. It
makes me want to tease him even more.

“…Then what do you mean
by saying you knew about it?”

“I mean I already knew
about that sloppy dungeon before it even became an issue. Unlike you,
the brainless Knight, I’m smart♡”

I continued, watching Tavol
intently as he awaited me to make a slip of the tongue.

The dungeon’s name. Every
terrain detail within it. The types and locations of monsters that
appear. Locations and types of traps, and how to disable them. The
strategy methods for the bosses.

I had memorised all of it
perfectly.

“That’s absurd!”

Before I could finish
speaking, Tavol raised his voice, accusing me of mocking him with
nonsense.

“Ohhh♡ Did I get
caught?♡”

“Of course! There’s no
way that’s possible!”

“I wasn’t talking about
me getting caught, but your empty head getting caught in one of my
traps♡ Your comprehension is lacking too♡ How. Pitiful.”

Perhaps he’s holding back a
rude retort. I can see the veins bulging on Tavol’s neck.

Should I stop teasing him for
now? He looks like he might explode if I push further.

Turning my back to Tavol, who
was trembling with rage, I raised my voice so everyone in the party
hall could hear.

“The first structure of
the Creepy Bug Dungeon is…”

Then, I began listing the
information about the problematic dungeon.

Its structure. How to
understand that structure. Various details that change depending on
the structure.

I originally intended to
explain all seven patterns, but by the time I was explaining the
fourth pattern, Tavol interrupted, so I couldn’t achieve my goal.

“Lady Allen seems to know
a lot about the dungeon from the street stall.”

“Only now? Your
understanding is quite poor. How tough it must be to work under
someone like you. Pitiful.”

“…However, this only
proves your wrongdoing. You couldn’t have studied the dungeon without
prior knowledge.”

Ha. I wondered what he was
going to say. His words were so pathetic that they weren’t even worth
a response, so a chuckle escaped me.

No, he should have made such a
fuss when the artefact was mentioned. Then, there might have been
hope.

“Why are you laughing?”

“How could I not laugh? A
stupid clown is performing in front of me.”

“Changing the subject
because you can’t answer?”

“Hey, hey. Balloon-head
knight, name any dungeon you know. Though I doubt you know any.”

“Mountain of the Dragon
Worship.”

Wow. Of all the dungeons, he
mentioned that one.

It’s a place that’s
notoriously rare to encounter. Seems like he’s determined to make me
unable to answer.

But what can I say?

“The best you could come up
with is that? How petty.”

“Don’t you know it?”

“Oh? I do.”

I know that place.

Its danger level is high
A-grade. The monsters that mainly appear are dragon-people. The
dungeon has a total of 13 patterns.

Just like I described the
street stall dungeon in detail earlier, I began explaining it
thoroughly. As I did, Tavol’s expression hardened.

Hey, did you seriously ask
about it without knowing yourself? Did you think since you don’t know
it, I wouldn’t either and wouldn’t be able to answer?

No, right? You’re not that
much of a jerk, are you? Right?

As I was taken aback by the
thoughts that flashed through my mind, a voice came from elsewhere.

“That is correct! It’s
normal not to know since it’s such a rare dungeon, but to remember it
in such detail!”

Is that… the leader of the
Claw Mercenary Group?

His face looks brighter than I
remember from the game. He seemed to have a darker personality
originally.

Just as the crowd was bursting
with unexpected responses and unsure of how to react, someone
observing from afar spoke to the mercenary leader.

“Leader of the Claw
Mercenary Group.”

Why is the First Prince
getting involved?!

What is this? Is he planning
to mess things up? Is that it?!

As I anxiously watched the
First Prince, he didn’t mind my gaze at all.

He just looked into the
mercenary leader’s eyes.

“Is it accurate?”

Though the mercenary leader’s
smile faltered at the First Prince’s question, it was only momentary.
He soon stammered out a response.

“Yes, of course. It was
the most challenging place I’ve ever conquered, so I remember it
well.”

“I see. Very well,
Mercenary Leader. Ask Lucy Allen about another dungeon.”

Having been forced into this
situation by his own exclamation, the mercenary leader dutifully
followed the First Prince’s command.

“First of all…”

Haha. Wow. Rene Soladin.

Did you think that by asking
questions like this, you would find a flaw in me?

That’s your mistake. No matter
what dungeon you ask about, I can answer!

Thank you, First Prince! For
giving me the opportunity to prove my capabilities!

I was itching to speak up, but
now I have the perfect chance! Let’s showcase some profound knowledge
of these dungeons!

After repeatedly answering
questions from the mercenary leader,

The First Prince spoke up
again.

“Knight Commander Tavol.”

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

“It seems evident to me
that Lucy Allen is well-versed in numerous dungeons. Including the
one provided by that street stall.”

Tavol couldn’t respond to that
voice. But the First Prince continued, unfazed by him.

“I conceded defeat at the
street stall because I acknowledged Lucy Allen’s ingenuity.”

…Huh?

Why is he defending me?

Is he changing his approach
because he can’t find a way to criticise me?

“It was a reckless act,
disregarding stability. Although it was possible because it was a
mock scenario, you can’t complain.”

“P…Prince. Please, a
moment.”

“I wondered what you
would say to bring it up. Let’s stop it there. If this continues any
further, it might ruin the mood of the party.”

The First Prince, who would
have suffered the most damage if any dishonesty had been involved,
asked Tavol to restrain himself.

This fact meant only one
thing.

My innocence.

There was no dishonesty in me
becoming the Slaughterer of the Festival.

This is politics.

Observing the situation and
then choosing the side that benefits you the most.

He attempted to humiliate a
mere Academy First Grade student, and now he’s being praised for his
magnanimity!

Is this situation even
believable?!

I felt wronged, but I couldn’t
raise my voice in this situation. It was obvious what would happen if
I said anything foolish when people were already glaring at me for
not expressing enough gratitude.

“Duke Partan. Is this
enough now?”

“Thank you, First Prince.
Thanks to you, Lady Allen’s innocence has been proven.”

The Duke’s voice followed as
if perfectly in sync with the First Prince’s.

“Since the Knight
Commander seems to have nothing more to say, let’s resume the party.
Lady Allen?”

Huh? Why is he calling me?

The situation is over now…

Ah.

Ah, ah, ah!

The fact that my innocence has
been fully proven means my award is now certain!

The Hikikomori Prince suddenly
intervened and almost threw me off guard!

What should I do?! How do I
get out of this?!

Should I pretend to be a frail
lady?

Should I say I’m too exhausted
because of what just happened and can’t do anything?!

Should I pretend to be dizzy
and collapse?!

It’s alright! It’s
convincing!

I tried to act, but the
[Mesugaki] Skill doesn’t allow anything but boldness.

Damn it, this skill! Please
cooperate! Your master is on the brink of a major crisis!

“You did well. You must
be tired, so please rest for a moment.”

Huh?

…Am I saved?

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