chapter_0210
by fnovelpiaMesugaki 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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