chapter_0231

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
231

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
231

The reason the Idiot Prince
got such a harsh nickname is largely due to his track record of being
the embodiment of an incompetent boss.

He’s both irritable and
stupid, blaming his subordinates while taking all the credit. This
naturally made everyone wonder; How the hell did he get into that
position?

Essentially, he was the
archetype of the Evil Boss.

The writers of Soul Academy
seemed to encapsulate everyone’s workplace nightmares into the Second
Prince’s character, giving many people PTSD.

Because of this resentment and
hatred within the community, the nickname Idiot Prince stuck.

The Second Prince isn’t
without his own story.

Having lived his whole life in
the shadow of the First Prince, he harboured deep inferiority and a
victim mentality.

Not a single person around
him—whether family, friends, or subordinates—recognized him or
saw him as anything other than a tool for their own use, which only
amplified his negative emotions.

As a result, he became
self-centred and stubborn, always avoiding responsibility.

If you dig deeper, the Second
Prince, like many main characters in Soul Academy, has a long,
detailed backstory. But that’s not important.

Anyway, as long as I have no
way of addressing the Second Prince as he is, I can never be his
saviour.

Honestly, who in their right
mind would pour their heart out to someone who calls them an idiot?

“Lucy?”

Frey tilted her head at my
silence, but I couldn’t explain the situation.

So, I just answered; “What’s
the problem with calling an idiot an idiot?”

And then I got scolded by Joy
and Arthur.

Well, in any case, the two of
them realised I wasn’t just a typical madwoman but one who thinks
and acts, so they didn’t try to stop me and even offered to help if
necessary.

I didn’t turn them down. No
matter how brilliant Grandpa’s plan is, you never know where it
could go wrong.

Since that day, I was biding
my time to call the Second Prince the Idiot Prince.

While I had indeed decided to
call him the Idiot Prince, that didn’t mean I could just storm into
his classroom and call him an idiot to his face.

Doing that wouldn’t just be
picking a fight—it would be a declaration of war. And I wasn’t
planning to go that far.

The most important aspect of
Grandpa’s plan is walking the fine line.

For now, I’m not on your side,
but if you play your cards right, I might change my mind. To maintain
this delicate balance, I couldn’t be the one to start the
confrontation.

Since Grandpa said this, I
focused on my tasks while waiting for the moment to arrive.

I re-registered for classes
with the administration professor, who was always ready to listen to
whatever I had to say.

I visited Luca to get the
materials he promised to prepare and to hear about how he handled the
Foolish Trio.

I handed a book to Bisi and
entrusted Velma with her.

I also asked Alsatine to
procure various items necessary for the Second Semester Dungeon
Strategy.

I kept up my usual training,
pushed Joy and Arthur hard, and sparred with Frey.

Then, one day, as Grandpa
predicted, the moment to start the plan arrived. That day, the
announcement came that the Second Semester Dungeon of the Academy
would begin.

To prevent various accidents
that had occurred previously, numerous magic spells were introduced,
ensuring the perfect safety of the students.

Hence, the dungeon would
revert to the previous regulations. When I saw that it mentioned solo
dungeon clearing would be possible, I clenched my fist tightly.

Although I now had people to
form a party with and didn’t need to worry about the number of
participants, there is still a significant difference between
strategizing while considering others’ movements and doing it solo.

For a typical strategy, more
people would generally be advantageous, but my case was different.

For me, it’s better to be
alone to employ my veteran techniques. That way, I can eliminate the
variable which is other people entirely.

Hmm. I had already informed
Alsatine, so by the time the dungeon opens, all the necessary items
should be ready.

If I push myself a bit, it
might even be possible to clear the Academy Dungeon on the first day.

Just as I was thinking this, I
turned my head towards the noise I heard from a distance.

No way. Could there actually
be someone who can navigate a crowd so flawlessly?! I thought that
was a secret technique unique to me, Lucy Allen!

Impressed, I directed my gaze
to the distance and saw the Second Prince and his entourage. I let
out a faint laugh.

Although their gazes were all
fixed on me, each one carried a different meaning.

Some desired me, some found me
displeasing, some were conflicted, and some expressed hatred.

Even though the Second Prince
likely declared his interest in me, it was clear that their opinions
were not unified. Those people really are a perfect match for the
word rabble.

“Lucy Allen.”

Walking straight towards me
without looking anywhere else, the Second Prince smiled down at me.

“I originally planned to
wait until you made up your mind, but I’ve reached the limits of my
patience.”

From that smile and the
confidence in his eyes, it was clear.

The Second Prince hadn’t
even considered the possibility of being rejected.

And by looking at those
glaring at me from behind, it was obvious.

Their sweet words had fed this
confidence in him.

“I want an answer to a
question I asked a long time ago.”

As the Second Prince extended
his hand, I took a deep breath.

‘I’m sorry, Second
Prince.’

“I’m sorry, Idiot Prince.”

As the words Idiot Prince left
my mouth, the atmosphere around us turned to dead silence.

The crowd, the Second Prince’s
followers behind him, even the Second Prince himself.

They simply stared at me
blankly, as if finding it hard to accept the reality of the
situation.

However, as someone who had
anticipated this moment long ago, I remained calm in the heavy
silence.

Creating such situations was
nothing new to me.

The first to recover from the
shock were the Second Prince’s followers.

“Are you insulting the
Second Prince right now?!”

“You’ve lost your mind!”

“Getting some recent wins
and now you think you’re invincible?”

“A disgrace to the Allen
Family!”

As the barrage of criticism
ensued, the clamour of the crowd grew louder.

In the midst of it, the Second
Prince’s eyes widened, veins started to pop on his neck, and he
raised his arm.

Immediately, the murmuring of
the people ceased. Even though he was inferior to the First Prince, a
prince is still a prince. He knows how to carry himself with dignity.

“…Idiot Prince, you
say? Who? Me?”

‘Yes!’

“Is there any other prince
here besides the Idiot Prince? I don’t think so~”

The sound of the Second Prince
grinding his teeth echoed in my ears, but he didn’t raise his voice
immediately.

Instead, he took a deep breath
to calm himself and then lowered his voice.

“Fine. Considering your
abilities, I can overlook such an outburst.”

What?! Really?! He can
overlook being called the Idiot Prince?!

Is my value to the Second
Prince higher than I thought?!

If that’s the case, I can
smoothly get through this without proceeding with my plan…

“If you come under me, that
is.”

Oh. Here I thought he was
going to let it slide, but he’s not.

Well, he wouldn’t be the
foolish prince if he could let such an insult slide right in front of
him.

‘I’m sorry, but I…’

“Whatever you were
expecting, I have no intention of serving someone inferior to me.”

As I delivered the lines I had
prepared in advance, the Second Prince frowned.

His face turned beet red,
struggling to contain his fury.

“Are you saying I’m
inferior to you?”

‘Do you think you’re
better than me?’

“Do you think you’re
better than me? Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I
shall respect the opinion of the Idiot Prince.”

“Stop with the nonsense and
answer properly. Are you saying I’m inferior to you?”

The Second Prince’s
bloodshot eyes, strained with effort, were certainly intimidating,
but I wasn’t scared.

I’ve faced much worse to be
frightened by something like this.

‘Do you really think you’re
better than me?’

“I’m not joking. Do you
actually believe you’re superior to me?”

“I, Cecil, am not so
incompetent that I would be bested by a kid who hasn’t even trained
for a year.”

‘Really?’

“Oh. Really? It doesn’t
seem that way.”

As I chuckled sarcastically,
the atmosphere around us grew even more hostile.

The piercing stares felt like
they could bore through my skin, but I couldn’t stop now.

Having already gone this far,
the only option left for me was to see this through to the end.

‘Even the First Prince lost
to me, so how could the Second Prince be better?’

“Isn’t it strange? As far
as I know, the Idiot Prince always loses to the Hikikomori Prince.
But I won. I achieved something the Idiot Prince couldn’t
accomplish even if he tried his whole life. Doesn’t that make me
superior to the Idiot Prince?”

With an outstretched hand, the
Second Prince grabbed my wrist.

Good reflexes.

Judging by the pressure on my
wrist, he is indeed quite strong.

He’s true to his character,
excelling in physical stats.

Even so, this level is
manageable.

It’s a fair match head-on.

I resisted the Second Prince’s
attempt to pull me toward him by mustering strength in my arm.

Then, a look of bewilderment
spread across the Second Prince’s face.

‘Trying to solve things with
brute force…’

“Puhaha! Resorting to force
when words fail you—how brutish. A lack of character is a critical
flaw, you know? Oh, do you even understand the word character?”

“Do not test my patience.
Your father’s influence won’t protect you forever.”

A clear threat that if I
continued to provoke him, even Benedict couldn’t save me.

I considered pretending to be
scared by the empty threat, but then decided it was better not to
provoke him further, lest he genuinely throw a punch.

‘Are you angry because you
feel ignored?’

“Are you mad? Does it annoy
you that a girl barely at chest height is ignoring you?”

“…What exactly are you
trying to say?”

‘Then…’

“Then prove it, Idiot
Prince. Prove that you are superior. Prove that you can beat me in
the very area where even the Hikikomori Prince failed.”

Ding.

As soon as I finished
speaking, a notification sound rang in my ear.

The Sloppy Armadi had given
out a Quest.

Reflexively, I turned my head
at the sound.

[Reform the Second Prince!]

Pfft!

I ended up falling into an
unexpected trap.

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