Chapter: 242
In an instant, my mind went completely blank, and I couldn’t understand what Joy was talking about.
Wait. So.
“Huh?”
[…Ah, I see.]
‘What’s that about?’
[You find it weird that I intend to visit the sick person with the Duke’s power behind me, huh?]
…So that’s roughly how it is?
Lucy suddenly wants to pay a visit to the Burrow family and asked the Duke for help.
There’s gotta be a reason she made such a request.
The only connection between Lucy and the Burrow family is that inferior prince.
So, she’s clearly interested in that inferior prince.
That’s the implication behind her last remark that skipped all the steps in between.
After a long struggle, I finally grasped the context, but the absurdity of it all didn’t disappear.
I had a ton to say, but first, I needed to make Joy pay for putting me in this awkward spot.
“Your brain is looking all pink!♡ Are you jealous?♡ The fool’s actually interested in the inferior prince!♡”
“…No? Not at all! I—”
“Don’t worry!♡ I’m not interested in that trash either!♡ Oh, wait! Is it wrong to call someone you like trash?♡”
“I’m telling you it’s not like that!”
Seeing her face turning as red as her brain, Joy let out a startled scream.
Judging by her reaction, it seems she really isn’t interested.
But why are you bringing up someone you’re not interested in with me? Silly girl.
Given her age and typical high school girl personality, it’s not surprising she’s into romance tales. But could you refrain from dragging me into it?
Does it really get under your skin? Are you serious?
As I struggled to suppress my annoyance, Joy subtly glanced at me.
“…Are you really not interested?”
‘Not the other way around…’
“Let’s flip the question, foolish girl. Why on earth would you think I’d be interested in that guy?”
“Uh, well, um…”
Huh? Why’s she stammering now?
That was definitely a suspicious reaction.
She didn’t say anything but scolded me with her eyes until she finally couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up.
“…There were rumors about it.”
Joy was referring to the time I tried to raise the inferior prince’s favor.
I attempted to give him a necklace, but he blatantly rejected me.
After that, I gave up on boosting his favor. To me, what happened that day was just a desperate struggle to survive, but the students of the Soul Academy saw me as completely devoted.
Lucy Alrn had shown interest in Jack Burrow but got rejected. That’s what they’d say.
“The rumors spread amongst the young ladies back then. They faded quickly since there wasn’t much interaction afterward.”
Hearing Joy’s story, my head buzzed.
If such rumors existed, the situation would indeed be different. From the inferior prince’s perspective, he probably thought what he believed was just a rumor was actually true.
It’s clear why I hadn’t heard those rumors—if I had, it would’ve been like poking a sleeping bear.
…Could it be that Jack thinks this misunderstanding is legit?
Could it be that he rejected me back then for this reason?
Was I unknowingly confessing and then rejected?!
I had no intention of that… Well, okay, I was trying to increase his favor, but still…
Aaaaargh!
I shouldn’t have asked! Now I’m in a terrible mood!
Should I go to Luca and have him erase my memories?
“Your reaction suggests it’s just nonsense, huh?”
‘Of course!’
“Does that clumsy fool really think a cute, beautiful person like me would hang out with someone like him? Shall I get you glasses?”
“…Lady Alrn, I’ve noticed the title ‘Lady’ has vanished at some point.”
As I half-listened to Joy’s words, I mused.
In the end, that rumor likely spread because I only gave Jack a gift.
If that’s the case, I just need to gradually spread out the gifts I have prepared for everyone else.
I already bought gifts for everyone’s birthdays at the auction house, after all.
“Lady Alrn, you really don’t care, right? Nothing’s going on, right?”
Despite repeating the question several times, Joy kept asking as if double-checking.
Why can’t you believe me! Is it such a big deal that I tried to give him a necklace?!
Alright! I get it! I can just give you gifts, okay?!
I was annoyed, so I pulled out something from my inventory and presented it to Joy.
“…What’s this?”
It was a necklace adorned with red jewels.
It stores a bit of mana to replenish at critical moments.
While it does have value as a jewel, its practical use is even more significant.
‘Your birthday is coming up soon, you know? So…’
“It’s your birthday soon too, you know? So I was preparing it, but I’ll give it early since you’re pestering me. Are you satisfied now, greedy fool?”
“…What?! No! I wasn’t asking for…”
‘Really?…’
“Yeah? So can I take it back?”
Joy snatched the necklace away as I pretended to tease her after I got flustered thanks to her.
“It’s… a birthday present! I can’t give it back!”
Seeing her hold it tightly with both hands as if it was precious made me crack a smile.
Well, as long as she liked the gift, that’s all that matters.
*
After asking Duke Partran for help, I had been preparing for my visit to the Burrow family in the coming week.
Most of it was measures to detect anomalies, with a few others for survival against potential worst-case scenarios.
For example.
Plans for dealing with any dark sorcerers residing in the Burrow family’s territory, or dangers that might arise from the nearby dungeon.
Prepping for any malicious individuals targeting the Burrow family.
Thanks to that, I’ve almost spent the money I received as the first conquest reward at the academy.
Money won’t be hard to acquire later, but watching hundreds of gold coins vanish is still painful.
Despite that, I was successful in preparing thoroughly enough to fill my inventory.
During the downtime besides all this preparation, I dedicated my time to personal training.
In simple terms, I acted like any other day.
Refining my skills with consistent practice.
I trained with Grandpa and honed my ability to wield the Sacred Arts while also working on completing the techniques I used against the second prince.
Whenever I got a chance, I’d visit Luca to overcome appropriate trials and level up my stats.
I shared various grinding methods I know with Joy, Arthur, and Frey to help them grow stronger.
And I had to train Phoebe, who wanted to join in the training.
Oh, right. I managed to secure the first place in the midterms of the second semester.
Of course, it wasn’t solely because of my own skills. While practical skills were passable, I still had many rough spots in the written part.
I didn’t even benefit from Grandpa’s help. He said I should solve things myself if it wasn’t urgent, so asking for advice was out of the question.
So how did I secure the first place? I finally succeeded in properly utilizing the log function!
Hehe. By recording my study material right before the exam, I successfully prevented the notes from disappearing, achieving overwhelming results.
For reference, Arthur came in second, while Joy was third. I genuinely don’t know when Arthur found the time to study since he’s been keeping so busy.
He really is a genius after all.
Recently, I even set up a task for Joy, Arthur, Frey, and Phoebe to conquer the academy dungeon together.
This was to make sure they wouldn’t just rely on me, the cheat key.
The condition was simple. Complete the academy dungeon before the second semester ends.
Even the new players of the Soul Academy could accomplish that in the first playthrough.
The composition of members was so good that it felt more like a first-semester class rather than second-semester first-years, and Arthur leading them is bound to make the conquest go smoothly… but unexpected variables arose.
That’s when Frey started refusing to cooperate. As Frey’s antics slipped out of my hands, it shifted entirely.
“But the prince’s conquest is boring.”
“…That boring thing is usually called a standard procedure. Kent Young Lady.”
“Still, it’s boring.”
Arthur’s visible frustration was apparent as he suppressed his irritation while maintaining a serious conversation with Frey, but I didn’t help out.
As the group leader, it’s normal to face a troll from time to time.
Arthur. It’s all character development for you.
[So what’s your true intention?]
‘I can’t be the only one at a disadvantage!’
Feel my struggles of dragging Frey along all this time, Arthur!
And let out your screams as you witness Frey indulge in troll-worthy antics like the Soul Academy users!
[Wow. What a personality.]
As I spent my days like this, a message arrived from Duke Partran.
He said it was finally time for the hospital visit.
*
On the morning of the day Duke Partran mentioned, I wrapped up my preparations and stepped outside to check the members I had assembled to assess the abnormalities in the Burrow family.
“Long time no see outside.”
First up, was the clumsy fox.
He had such a profound penchant for mischief that I didn’t want him tagging along, but this time I had no choice.
Among my available members, there was no one else more proficient in mental methods or various spells than him.
“I hope I can help Duke Burrow.”
Next up was Phoebe.
Her ability in Sacred Magic is still unparalleled compared to mine, and she should be of great help if the Burrow family’s issues are related to an evil god.
To be honest, I didn’t think I’d be able to bring her along. I wasn’t sure if the church would approve.
I don’t know if it was because they wanted to do a good deed for the Burrow family or if Johann’s request worked wonders, but either way, I ended up getting the approval.
So now I had a solid ally.
“Lady Alrn? Can I turn back?”
– Yeah. Alrn Lady. Is it really okay being beside the Holy Maiden like this? I feel like I might get purified!
‘No matter what you want…’
“You’re the one who told me to do whatever! The supporting lady! Are you really backing out now?”
Thirdly, there’s Adri.
She ranks among the top of necromancers currently existing on this continent.
I brought her on board, expecting she’ll be able to detect anything related to dark magic should any occurrences arise at the Burrow Duke’s mansion.
So I can’t let her get sent back. It’d be a problem if the dark magic detector ran off on the day of the incident.
Then there’s Visi? Visi was just to bring Adri along. Without Visi, Adri couldn’t operate.
“If that’s really the case, I won’t stop you. But…”
Cutting off my warning, I pulled Mother’s leash, and both Visi and Adri nodded vigorously.
Ugh. Seriously. I’ve told Phoebe many times not to worry since I prepped her ahead of time, but do they not understand?
See? I’m graciously smiling right now to convey I’m counting on you. Just be polite and greet her, got it?
“Visi, huh? Once you’re here, there’s no turning back. Just deal with it. I can’t let you get on my bad side.”
‘Arthur?…’
“Dear prince! What have I done to you? Ah! So now I need to do your bidding, huh? It seems I’ve grown foolish with how much I’ve been trained under you. No choice, I suppose. Starting next week, it’ll be the training menu.”
“Just kidding! Just kidding! Don’t go trying to kill me over a little banter!”
And finally.
Arthur.
He’s someone with ties to Jack personally. He’ll definitely serve as a justification for meeting him.
With this, all preparations are complete.
Now I just need to confirm the anomalies once I head to the Burrow family.
‘Let’s go.’
“Let’s move, you lousy folks.”
Honestly, I just wish this was all me being overly dramatic; that the pathetic god was merely playing tricks.
But… that seems unlikely.
It never has been until now.
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