chapter_0232

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
232

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
232

-So, have you ever beaten the
Hikikomori Prince, Idiot Prince?

He had not.

Not even once. In any area.

From birth, Cecil Soladin was
expected to compete with the First Prince, but he never managed to
surpass him in anything.

It would have been fortunate
if that was the only issue. But it wasn’t.

Cecil was always stuck at the
feet of the First Prince.

Even if he gave his best. No
matter how hard he tried. No matter what means he used.

The overwhelming talent of the
First Prince, who didn’t know the meaning of defeat, continually
made Cecil feel lesser.

Through numerous defeats,
Cecil both hated and understood the First Prince who didn’t even
consider him a competitor.

He figured he wouldn’t have
felt threatened if the roles were reversed either.

[Of course, you must’ve
beaten him, right? After all, he’s someone who even lost against a
small and cute girl like me.]

That’s why when Cecil heard
the news that the First Prince had been defeated by the Lady of the
Allen Family, he had asked if it was a joke.

He simply couldn’t imagine
the First Prince losing.

But the news was entirely
true.

The First Prince had initiated
the challenge, lost in the duel, and had even been insulted by the
Lady of the Allen Family.

The First Prince, who never
lost and didn’t know defeat, who was perceived as invincible, and
who thought he would personally bring down anyone who posed a threat,
had a significant crack in his seemingly impregnable wall.

Cecil laughed when he heard
the news. He burst into laughter, loud enough for his followers to
hear, saying the First Prince was just human after all.

[Look. Even the First Prince
is nothing but a human. If even a lesser child of the Allen Family
can do it, surely you can manage this much, no matter how incompetent
you may be.]

Even when he heard these words
from his parents, it was the same.

He forced a laugh as usual,
nodding his head, and confidently declared he would achieve good
results when told to recruit Lucy Allen, who seemed to dislike the
First Prince.

Then, late at night, when he
was alone, Cecil thought.

‘Had he failed to beat the
First Prince all this time because he was truly incompetent?’

[Have you seriously never
beaten him even once? And yet you think you’re more capable than me?
For real?]

Even now, quite a long time
later, Cecil couldn’t stop doubting his abilities.

He wondered if it wasn’t
that the First Prince was too capable, but that he himself was too
incompetent to defeat him.

[Then, if I challenge you to a
duel, you won’t back down, right?]

Every time Lucy Allen’s name
came up in gossip, Cecil’s doubts only grew.

Some said it was merely a
festival amusement. That if the First Prince had been serious, such a
kid wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Others said they had seen the
scenery of that festival and claimed it was possible only because it
was a festival trick. In a real fight, there would have been no
competition.

Those who liked to babble said
this:

The First Prince had done it
out of consideration for Sir Benedict Allen’s honour. He returned the
favour by elevating the reputation of his lacking daughter.

Though their stories differed,
there was one common theme:

If it had been a fair contest,
the First Prince would never have lost.

The reason Lucy Allen could
beat the First Prince was solely due to abnormal circumstances.

Whenever he listened to such
talk, Cecil wanted to ask them:

If what you say is true, what
does that make me, who couldn’t defeat the First Prince under any
circumstance, no matter how petty?

What does that make me, who is
worse than that little girl?

[Well, as the Idiot Prince,
you probably wouldn’t stand a chance against me. Right?]

“Second Prince?”

Hearing someone calling him
out, Cecil opened his eyes and exhaled a long, heavy sigh as he
looked around.

Everyone was carefully
watching Cecil.

It wasn’t hard to understand
why.

They all said that if Cecil
offered his hand, Lucy Allen would take it.

She had clashed with the First
Prince, so they assumed she would naturally come to his side.

They thought she hated the
First Prince so much that she couldn’t just stand by and watch him
become king.

They believed she would be
captivated by the Second Prince’s character.

A lion must bow to another
lion.

Born into a warrior family, it
was natural for her to follow the way of the warrior.

So what was the result?

Not only did she simply reject
him, but she also gave him a humiliating insult.

Idiot Prince.

It was a term familiar to
Cecil.

It was what his parents
usually called him whenever they chastised him for losing to the
First Prince.

But he had never imagined
hearing it from someone else’s mouth.

Cecil was fidgeting with his
fingers nervously, keeping his head down as he spoke.

“Archie.”

“…Yes?”

“I want to hear about this
situation.”

Archie was one of those who
had raised their voice, insisting that Lucy Allen would join the
Second Prince Faction.

However, when questioned, he
mumbled and couldn’t provide a proper explanation.

Cecil sighed loudly, clearly
for everyone to hear, and then called another person.

“Tommy.”

“Well, Second Prince. It’s,
uh…”

“Explain it.”

“Well, it’s… it’s just…”

As the naming continued, the
thoughts of those in the Second Prince Faction were mostly similar.

They believed they were just
saying what the Second Prince wanted to hear.

He would scold them loudly if
they gave counsel, forcing them to say only what he wanted, yet he
made the decisions himself.

Why was he blaming them?

“Holden.”

“Yes, Second Prince.”

“Go ahead.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect
this situation.”

Who could have predicted that
some crazy girl would call a prince an idiot and then go so far as to
say she wouldn’t join someone less competent than her, suggesting a
duel if he had a problem with it?

“We lacked information about
the Lady.”

“Yes, we did lack
information.”

“Everyone felt the same.
Please be lenient and forgive us.”

The Second Prince bit his lip
before letting out a long sigh.

“Fine, I forgive you. But in
return, you will have to train with me.”

“That is an honour.”

““That is an honour!””

This training was more like
punishment or torture rather than actual training.

Even among the most physically
outstanding second-year students at the academy, it wasn’t uncommon
for someone to faint from this so-called training.

How could that be called
training?

Everyone in the Second Prince
Faction flinched at the mention of this training, but none refused.
They knew that if they protested, they’d end up sparring with the
Second Prince and be tormented all day.

“Alright. Let’s move on to
the next topic. About Lucy Allen’s challenge.”

Lucy Allen had made it clear.

If they wanted to recruit her,
they’d have to prove they were more competent than she was. She dared
them to beat her in a contest.

[Let’s see who can conquer the
Academy Dungeon first. Of course, you are confident, right? Aren’t
you?]

Cecil nodded at the challenge.

He hadn’t agreed because he
thought he had a chance. In fact, Cecil’s thoughts hadn’t even
reached that far. He agreed because he was infuriated by the insult
Lucy Allen had thrown at him.

Despite his higher status,
Cecil found himself in a situation where he had to cling to Lucy.

Moreover, he couldn’t let go
of the last words Lucy had spat out.

[Feel free to run away. Even
the hikikomori prince couldn’t beat me, so how could the idiot prince
possibly win?]

‘If the First Prince
couldn’t do it, there’s no way you can.

Because I’m a loser.’

[If the idiot prince wins,
I’ll become his subordinate. But that’s not going to happen, so I’m
giving you a special favour to dream bigger. Hmm, no matter how I
think about it, I’m really kind.]

‘No.

I am not a loser.

I am not incompetent.

I can defeat the First Prince.

I can succeed to the throne.

I am…’

Cecil snapped out of it when
he tasted something metallic in his mouth.

As he reached up to touch his
lips, he realised the taste was from blood. His lips had split open
from clenching them too hard.

He wiped the red colour off
his forefinger with his thumb and then glared fiercely as he spoke.

“Give me a perfect plan to
defeat her. Immediately.”

‘I will definitely achieve
victory against Lucy Allen.

By defeating her, I will prove
that I am not incompetent.

I will accomplish what my
older brother couldn’t.

And by doing so, I will be
acknowledged.

Absolutely.’

“Even if it means using
dirty tricks. As long as I can win.”

By any means necessary.

The last weekend before the
Academy’s dungeon entrance opened.

Visiting Alsatine’s shop, I
received various items he had prepared.

The items he handed over were
all of superior quality, even better than what I had anticipated.

Could Alsatine’s skills have
improved because Karia was by his side?

Leaving Alsatine’s shop after
telling him that his information-selling business wasn’t bad, I
couldn’t help but smile.

Wow, with this, it seems like
conquering the dungeon will be easier than I thought.

As soon as the Dungeon
Entrance opens, it should be possible to conquer it, right? Should I
give it a try?

After all, what Grandpa
demanded from me was a result that was overwhelmingly unmatched by
anyone.

That way, instead of the
Second Prince getting all the blame, my abilities would be highly
praised, wouldn’t they?

If I can conquer the dungeon
as soon as it opens, it would perfectly meet the requirements.

Above all, the faster I
conquer the dungeon, the faster I can receive the reward from Armadi.

And this time, the reward is
quite attractive from my perspective. That is…

“Employer.”

Lost in thoughts about the
quest given by Armadi, I lifted my head at Karia’s voice.

She emerged from the alley and
told me to follow her, leading me to a group of men sprawled out in
the alley.

“It seems the Second Prince
is incredibly desperate to defeat you.”

She continued,

“He’s so fixated on
defeating you that he’s forgotten he needs to recruit you.”

So these were the people who
were supposed to ambush me.

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