Chapter: 134
Seeing the sloppy fox throw away all dignity was excruciating.
They say a little extraordinary conduct is charming, but when it crosses the line, it becomes repulsive. Anyone witnessing the sloppy fox rubbing its face against my leg would think the same. At least my party members did.
Joy stood frozen in disbelief, and even Phoebe closed her eyes and began to pray the moment she saw the fox’s antics.
In the midst of everyone’s shock, only Frey remained calm. As crazy as she was, she sat in front of the sloppy fox and brought her hand towards its chin.
“Ujjuju.”
“Hey! Get away! I want to be treated like a beautiful person sculpted directly by the gods, not like a half-pretty creature like you!”
The sloppy fox was a pervert, but it had its own conviction.
It firmly swatted Frey’s hand away and crawled over to me, making a keening sound, as if asking to be stepped on.
I didn’t want to touch it even with a finger, but if this could grant Phoebe a blessing, I guess it’s a cheap deal.
I just have to give up my own dignity. It’s fine. It’s much better than wearing a bunny girl outfit, right? I swallowed my thoughts, bit my lip, and placed my foot on the sloppy fox’s head.
“Hey, girl. Sorry, but can you take off your armor and let me step on you barefoot?”
“Shut up♡ Shoddy pervert fox♡ You’re just a mutt, who do you think you are?♡ If you’re a mutt, wag your tail and be satisfied with what your owner gives you♡”
Pressing down with my cold metal armor made the sloppy fox start barking happily, wagging its tail as if it liked it.
…Definitely need to clean this armor later. Especially the foot part, I’m going to scrub it extra hard.
*
“I’m sorry, Lady Allen. Because of me.”
‘Please don’t say anything.’
“Shoddy Saintess? Be quiet. I don’t want to hear the incapable babbling.”
“I’m sorry…”
Don’t remind me of what just happened! I’m trying to forget it as best I can; why do you keep bringing it up?!
If I’m enduring disgrace to give you a skill, just say thank you instead of blabbering!
The sloppy fox, after being stomped on for a while, got up with a lively expression and declared it would grant blessings to everyone, including Phoebe.
With drool pouring from its mouth and its eyes looking dazed, it seemed like someone who had just done drugs, lacking any dignity. But nonetheless, it delivered the reward appropriately.
The message window popped up saying I had acquired a skill, so that’s confirmation.
Afterwards, the sloppy fox urged us to stay a bit longer, but we all united and firmly rejected it.
We all understood we wouldn’t see anything good by being around that perverted fox.
So we escaped from the sloppy fox’s mansion and returned to the forest where the practical training was taking place.
Having spent quite a long time dealing with the sloppy fox, the moon was now sharing its light with the surrounding stars high above.
The practical training had started since lunchtime, so the first-year students at the academy should be tired and taking a break by now.
They must be excited. Excluding the fact that monsters exist in the forest, they came camping with their close friends after all.
They’re probably praising each other like, “I did great today!” and “You were awesome!”
I’m sure they prepared for the monsters’ ambush as learned in school, but the overexcited youngsters in real combat wouldn’t have organized defenses properly, right? They must be full of flaws.
Now’s the perfect time to teach the cozy first-year students at the academy a dose of reality.
It’s a pity for the others, but I’m on the verge of exploding with stress because of the sloppy fox. I need somewhere to vent this.
“Everyone…”
“Shoddies. It’s time to do what I first mentioned. Surely none of the shoddy fools have forgotten that, right?”
Let’s start hunting people.
I’m going to unleash the pent-up frustration from my mind on some innocent people.
*
Arthur poked the campfire with a twig, glancing around. The ones accompanying him wore smiles on their faces.
“Matthew, as expected, you’re a recognized figure in Jushin Church. The timing for casting Divine Magic is just perfect.”
“Haha. That’s all thanks to Visi, who stood bravely in front.”
“How is that my merit? He…”
Arthur’s party had achieved remarkable success throughout the day. It wasn’t just because each individual had outstanding abilities, but also because Arthur’s commands were excellent.
Upon hearing that the practical training would start in the Scytill Forest, Arthur began to research all about it.
To achieve better results than Lucy. This time, he aimed to keep Lucy beneath him.
He studied the geography of Scytill Forest. Finding out what monsters reside there, how to hunt them, how to attract more of them, and many other things, purchasing numerous items to apply his knowledge in practice.
Thanks to that, Arthur’s party had successfully hunted nearly fifty monsters from the very first day. It was something they could never have accomplished without Arthur’s thorough preparation.
Of course, it was a painful and tough process, but maybe because they earned the rewards equal to their hardships, the party’s atmosphere was lively.
Arthur considered the next day while looking at his cheerful party members.
He thought this practical training favored the frontrunners.
Since the monsters in the forest were limited, if they could succeed in hunting many early on, the latecomers wouldn’t catch up.
Even if Lucy Allen had outstanding abilities, if there were no monsters left for her to hunt, achieving a high score would be impossible.
Therefore, this practical training was the perfect environment for him to beat Lucy. Here, strategy had a more significant influence than individual ability.
He decided to continue on a forced march with minimal rest until the next day. By doing so, he would monopolize all the monsters of this forest.
Though there would be complaints, as long as he assured them of overwhelming results and the promise of a break afterward, it should be fine.
Yes. This time, he can beat Lucy Allen. He would engrave defeat on that arrogant face.
Just as Arthur tightened his grip at that thought, he heard a twig snap from beyond the bushes.
What’s that? A monster?
“Everyone, get up!”
The ones who had been following Arthur’s orders throughout the day took action without hesitation, adapting to his commands.
“What’s this? Isn’t it the party of the pitiful prince? I thought I smelled a gloomy loser’s scent.”
But the moment Arthur heard that annoying voice from the darkness, he let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
Is it Lucy Allen? In some sense, it’s worse than a monster appearing.
“Hello, pitiful prince.”
“Yeah. Nice to meet you, Lucy Allen.”
Upon seeing the armored girl emerge from the bushes, Arthur let his sword droop.
Lucy Allen, Joy, Frey Kent—plus the Saintess, huh.
What a surprise. Isn’t this practically the best possible combination of current first-year students?
There’s no way they could win with the current party, let alone even if they included Jack, who wasn’t here.
How dreadful. To fight them properly, one would need to bring in active knights.
“Why are you wandering around at this late hour? The night forest is dangerous.”
“Could you not compare my party with a shoddy one like yours? It’s making me uncomfortable.”
So they continuously hunt even at night based on their overwhelming strength. Well, I guess being Lucy Allen, they can pull that off.
She’s the type who leads her party and trains for forced marches regularly.
Frey Kent and Joy have probably grown their stamina significantly just by being with Lucy Allen, so pulling an all-nighter shouldn’t be a problem for them at all.
The Saintess also seems to have decent stamina, considering she doesn’t look fatigued.
Arthur would love to maintain that kind of forced march too, but it was impossible.
Unlike Lucy Allen’s party, who had acclimated to such a regimen, Arthur’s party had its limits.
Even though I prepared well, I can’t realistically affirm victory. There will be discrepancies in hunting time.
Tsk. I didn’t prepare enough. I should have gotten my party ready well in advance before such events.
“Thanks for your efforts. We need to take a break, you see.”
Though Arthur felt the weight of his shortcomings and tried to urge them to pass, Lucy Allen didn’t move her feet.
What’s this? Does she have more to say?
“Foolish Young Lady.”
“Yes?”
The moment Lucy Allen called out to Joy, Joy revealed a spell she had been pre-casting.
The ice magic she unleashed landed perfectly on the campfire, extinguishing the only light source in the dark forest.
What the heck is going on?!
“Guh?!”
Startled by the sudden darkness, Arthur received a heavy blow to his abdomen and crumpled to the ground.
With the unexpected attack, all he could do was scrape the dirt beneath him.
While Arthur flailed desperately to rise, various sounds emerged from the darkness.
People arguing.
Screams from men.
One by one, the sounds of bodies dropping to the ground.
In the quiet forest, it was only the groans of the men that could be heard before the light returned.
Finally managing to lift his head, Arthur spotted his party members rolling on the ground.
“Lucy Allen! What the heck are you doing?! Attacking fellow students?!”
“What’s wrong with that? I was just showing the shoddies their place.”
“What do you mean what’s wrong?! Is that even a question?!”
“Look. The academy professors aren’t intervening at all.”
Hearing Lucy’s words, Arthur realized something was very odd.
The academy professors were hidden from view, but surely they were scattered in the forest, ensuring the students’ safety.
So why aren’t they intervening in this commotion? Did they not know it was going to happen?
There’s no way that’s true. Just look at who is here.
A prince, a saintess.
A ducal young lady and a count’s young lady.
Not a single one of them is insignificant.
And they’re slacking off on monitoring?
Given the issues that had arisen several times this year, that’s impossible. So this means…
“The academy is turning a blind eye to this?”
“Pitiful prince, are you stupid? It’s not turning a blind eye. This is what practical training is all about.”
Saying that, Lucy Allen kicked away Arthur’s sword, sending it flying into the distance.
This is what it’s supposed to be?
Encouraging fights among students? So the academy is?
Now that I think about it, there were several clues.
The lack of a rule against attacking other students.
The limited monsters in the forest and the quotas.
The rewards given for collecting a significant amount of loot.
So that’s how it is! So this is what it was supposed to be!
“Looks like the pitiful prince isn’t just a dumb fool, but a silly one as well.”
“Are you planning to steal the loot we gathered?”
“Steal? This is an education fee. A reward for opening the pitiful prince’s eyes to reality. Please don’t make me out to be the bad guy. The foolish prince is the real villain here.”
Arthur let out a self-deprecating chuckle upon seeing Lucy Allen’s smug grin.
Seriously, it made his blood boil.
“Now hand over the loot willingly. We might leave you with at least the minimum quota.”
Angry and frustrated, but Arthur had no choice. If Lucy Allen wanted it, annihilating this party would be a piece of cake for her.
With trembling hands, Arthur had to hand over the loot he’d worked so hard for all day to Lucy.
“I will surely get my revenge, Lucy Allen.”
“Fufufu. The pitiful prince seeking revenge? Go ahead and try. You’ll only be flailing under my feet.”
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.