Chapter Index

    Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
    210

    Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
    210

    Duke Partan found Benedict’s
    bold presence before him, who was displeased.

    Since Benedict loved his
    daughter dearly, it was only natural that he wouldn’t be pleased to
    see her being troubled.

    “Well then, let’s hear
    your excuses.”

    ‘Excuses, huh. Even though I
    am the Duke of the Partan Family, his words were quite harsh.’

    While the Duke thought this,
    he did not utter it aloud. The man before him wasn’t someone who
    could be overpowered simply with authority.

    Even if it were possible to
    overpower him with authority, the Duke would have merely grumbled
    inwardly.

    “First of all, understand
    this. It was never my intention for things to escalate to this
    extent.”

    “You say that after
    bringing Tavol into this situation?”

    “She has saved my
    daughter’s life twice. Do you think I’m so shameless as to push her
    into a pit?”

    Since the time Lucy Allen
    saved his daughter’s life during the Academy Entrance Exam, Duke
    Partan had thought highly of her.

    Though her tone was rough, her
    actions were far from those of a villain.

    Moreover, she possessed the
    talent to secure the top position in a fiercely competitive place
    like Soul Academy.

    Above all, she was someone his
    daughter liked.

    “Then why did you plan
    such a thing?”

    “Joy has taken quite a
    liking to your daughter.”

    If it were merely a matter of
    building rapport, he wouldn’t have meddled. Lucy was someone worth
    knowing well.

    However, Joy’s affection for
    Lucy Allen, the Count’s daughter, was excessive. She regarded her
    as a benefactor or even a lifelong friend.

    If Lucy were to come to harm,
    Joy would abandon her duties as a noble to help her.

    “How could I tell someone
    who has done us such a favour to stay away?”

    That’s why Duke Partan
    deliberately created a crisis at this party to assess Lucy by
    watching how she handled it.

    “Unforeseen matters have
    occurred far too many times.”

    The sudden appearance of the
    First Prince, who rarely left the Capital.

    The tense exchange between
    Lucy and the First Prince.

    Lucy’s unexpected victory
    over the First Prince during the festival, which had suddenly become
    a battleground.

    And because of that, the
    hostility towards Lucy had intensified.

    Up to this point, it was
    manageable. It was within a controllable margin of error.

    Despite numerous variables,
    Duke Partan succeeded in orchestrating the scenario.

    Expecting that Joy would
    surely intervene in the crisis, he discreetly removed her and
    confined her using magic.

    He requested both the First
    Prince and the Third Prince to refrain from getting involved.

    He dealt with Benedict
    himself.

    All to create a stage where
    Lucy Allen would have to resolve the crisis solely by herself.

    “Do you understand? From
    the beginning, I only intended to offer a moderate crisis.”

    In the past, during the times
    when Benedict was leading the front lines, Tavol lost in every
    confrontation against him. Because of that, Tavol held a deep
    inferiority complex and animosity toward Benedict.

    The only consolation for Tavol
    was that his son was considered superior to Benedict’s daughter.

    Naturally, Tavol wasn’t
    pleased with Lucy’s recent rise in evaluation.

    Thus, Duke Partan predicted
    that if Tavol encountered Lucy, he would inevitably try to belittle
    her in some way. He intended to utilise this to put Lucy in a
    predicament and observe how she would handle it.

    He wanted to see how the
    child, who once knew nothing but how to belittle others, had grown.

    Although his prediction was
    accurate, the outcome turned out differently than expected. Tavol’s
    animosity towards the Allen Family was beyond imagination.

    “How could I have
    predicted that a guy who’s supposed to be used to politics, having
    served as the Kingdom’s Knight Commander, would do something so
    insane!”

    Challenging Lucy’s award was
    surely the most certain way to drag down her reputation.

    However, it wasn’t the right
    move.

    It meant criticising Duke
    Partan’s decision, picking a quarrel with the Allen Family, and
    reopening the wound of the First Prince’s defeat to Lucy Allen.

    Only a madman would make such
    a choice, and Tavol was mad.

    “That was the turning
    point. After that, all kinds of unexpected factors started to
    emerge.”

    The Saint’s involvement. The
    Third Prince’s response. Joy undoing the Duke’s magic. By the time
    he realised, the stage was already out of the Duke’s grasp.

    “The one saving grace is
    that the original objective was achieved.”

    The divine light emanating
    from Lucy Allen was genuine.

    Unwavering dignity amidst
    countless criticisms directed at her.

    The courage to smile, as if
    she found it amusing, even when facing a massive crisis.

    The overwhelming talent proven
    through the testimonies of many, including the Third Prince.

    “What was especially
    impressive was the final conversation between the mercenary leader
    and Lady Allen.”

    A conversation initiated by
    Lucy to prove her extensive knowledge of dungeons.

    Despite Duke Partan being
    knowledgeable about numerous dungeons himself, none of the dungeons
    mentioned in that conversation were familiar to him.

    There were even names he had
    never heard of.

    Yet, Lucy knew all those
    dungeons. Could she have just known it? She had memorised the
    structure of every dungeon, the monsters appearing within, the
    existing traps, and the strategy methods.

    Even the mercenary leader, who
    stood at the frontline of dungeon strategy, had to rack his brain to
    barely recall such things!

    “There were times when the
    mercenary leader sought her advice, wasn’t there?”

    “Yes, that’s right.”

    The sight of the mercenary
    leader, shocked at the possibility of such a strategy, was etched
    into the minds of those in the party hall.

    “In the midst of the crisis,
    she proved her abilities and her value.”

    Before, the star had hidden
    its light behind the veil of the night sky.

    But not anymore.

    When the veil was lifted, the
    star shone so brightly that it dimmed all the surrounding stars.

    Many who watched that radiance
    wished to make that star their own.

    “Your love for your daughter
    has borne fruit, Benedict. Congratulations.”

    “Thank you for complimenting
    my daughter, Duke Partan. However, gratitude aside, this event
    remains as it is.”

    “Hmm? Didn’t I explain the
    circumstances clearly?”

    “Nonetheless, it is true
    that you deliberately placed my daughter in a crisis.”

    Seeing Benedict’s smile,
    which seemed capable of stopping someone’s heart, Duke Partan
    hastily began explaining the various gifts he had prepared for Lucy
    to quell his anger.

    However, the proposal to marry
    off Jeff was firmly rejected.

    Somehow, I managed to avoid
    giving a speech and intended to stick to my initial plan of staying
    in a corner.

    I planned to spend this time
    quietly in an unnoticed spot according to my original intentions.

    Unfortunately, my plan was
    completely shattered from the start.

    Many people deliberately
    sought me out in the corner and showed interest in me.

    “I owe a great debt to
    Sir Benedict from the past. I intended to repay him, but instead, I
    only received various pieces of information.”

    The leader of the Claw
    Mercenary Group was the first to start this.

    He said that Benedict had
    helped during a great crisis that hit the mercenary group in the
    past, and left with a message to let him know if he ever needed the
    mercenaries.

    I don’t know what Benedict
    did, but the favour must have been substantial. The fact that he was
    trying not to raise his voice even when being called a small fry
    speaks volumes.

    Was it the fact that the
    leader of the Claw Mercenary Group concluded the conversation without
    any issues that served as the anchor?

    Many people spoke to me
    thereafter.

    At first, it was alright.
    Those who showed interest in me, who might have earned the First
    Prince’s ire, were either eccentrics or politically indifferent
    individuals.

    The latter couldn’t stand my
    bratty demeanour and fled as if escaping, while the former spewed
    whatever they wanted regardless of what I said.

    A prime example of the latter
    was an apostle ‘Frete’ serving the God of Beauty and Art.

    “Oh! Lady Allen, who
    embodies the beauty of the Goddess! May I be so bold as to converse
    with you?!”

    The guy who spouted this
    nonsense as soon as we met face-to-face was of the same ilk as the
    airheaded fox.

    “Hey, would you shut up?♡
    Being in the same space as you is so disgusting it makes me want to
    throw up♡”

    “Oh. Even your voice is
    so beautiful!”

    No. This guy was worse than
    the perverted Fox.

    Despite my blatant insults, he
    still praised my voice, which honestly made me cringe.

    I already knew he was far from
    normal, as he had a significant role even in the game. But there’s a
    big difference between seeing someone through a monitor and
    encountering them in person.

    The only saving grace was that
    his intentions were not to hit on me.

    Unlike the perverted fox, the
    Apostle of Beauty and Art didn’t wish for me to do perverted things
    to him.

    Instead, he simply wandered
    around, asking if he could praise my beauty everywhere.

    I didn’t want to have a long
    conversation with a deranged pervert, so I roughly gave him
    permission and sent him away.

    After dismissing the
    relatively harmless group, except for one, the next person to
    approach me had political intentions.

    He introduced himself as
    someone from Duke Serran’s Family. He spoke about how impressive my
    presence was at this festival, how I showed great composure in front
    of Tavol earlier, and how he heard I was rewriting the history of the
    Academy. But his intention was clear:

    To recruit me into his
    faction.

    Unlike the previous group,
    this man was quite persistent.

    He endured my [Mesugaki]
    skill’s disparaging comments while whispering sweet words to me.

    Why are you trying so hard?!

    I couldn’t understand. Even
    with his face flushed with anger, he was still trying to persuade me.

    However, from Grandpa’s
    perspective, it seemed like a very natural thing.

    Grandpa spoke, telling me to
    look at the gazes directed at this man.

    Contempt. Scorn. Ridicule.
    They were similar to the kinds of looks I used to receive.

    ‘What should I do?’

    ‘Is there no way to get rid
    of him?!’

    You should have told me that
    earlier! I ended up wasting my time for nothing!

    Just as I was preparing a
    scathing remark for the pedophile pervert showing interest in a
    little girl, I heard a voice behind me.

    “Duke of Serran’s, what
    business do you have with my friend?”

    Joy was clearly showing her
    displeasure behind the fan that covered her face.

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