Chapter: 155
The sword defined Frey’s emotion as disappointment.
It said that she felt disappointment because Lucy had left her behind and gone ahead.
So Frey went to the library after parting with the sword and opened a dictionary.
In the dictionary, disappointment was defined as such:
Something regrettable and unfortunate.
Frey, who was clueless about both regret and disappointment, tried to investigate the two words, but the dictionary loved to recycle definitions.
Regret passed the burden to disappointment, and disappointment passed the burden back to regret.
Thanks to that, Frey failed to understand the definition of the emotion called disappointment.
“Useless.”
Closing the dictionary, Frey pressed her forehead against the pages and recalled what the sword had said a while ago.
“Young Lady Kent feels disappointed that the Young Lady has left by herself.”
Maybe the sword’s words were correct.
The red hue that had formed in my heart emerged after I realized that Lucy was much stronger than I had thought.
In order to erase the red hue still occupying my heart, I must reach the place where Lucy stands, just as the sword said.
“I can’t call myself a Shoddy Swordsman anymore.”
Imagining Lucy saying that with a chuckle, Frey felt the color carved into her heart fade away.
Not only that, but another unknown color began to seep in.
Startled, she lifted her head and reopened the dictionary to look up the emotion of disappointment.
The color that had occupied my heart until now was disappointment.
Then what was the other color that began to settle as the disappointment faded?
Frey tilted her head and recalled what the one who had given her answers had said:
“I will help you. Even if it doesn’t seem like it, I’m a professor. I can’t overlook a student’s troubles.”
Would I learn the identity of the other color if I asked Professor Sword for help?
Having reached that point in her thoughts, Frey stood up. She preferred to act before getting lost in thought.
—
The day after she called Frey a Shoddy Young Lady.
Worried that she might not even want to look at me, Frey showed up for morning training as usual.
[See? You’re not that hurt, are you?]
The grandpa exclaimed confidently upon seeing her. Like it was proof.
Excuse me, Grandpa. I already knew that fact too.
But if a girl is anxious about it, shouldn’t you console her instead? What do you mean, worry about your filthy mouth?
This guy must have never been popular when he was alive.
What does it matter if he’s a hero who saved the world and a noble Holy Knight? He doesn’t know how to empathize with others.
Even if he only cared about appearances and achievements, he’d have freaked out seeing Grandpa’s personality.
“Hello, Frey.”
“Hi, Shoddy Swordsman.”
“Lucy.”
Letting out a sigh of relief inwardly, Frey greeted me, calling my name.
Huh? Frey’s expression feels different than usual?
What should I say?
Frey’s eyes were usually a bit dull.
But now it was different. Her gaze was as sharp as when she wielded a sword.
“I’m going to beat you.”
‘Huh? All of a sudden?’
“Ha. Someone like you?”
“Yeah. I won’t let you look down on me again.”
In the midst of it, the Mesugaki Skill distorted my thoughts again, but Frey didn’t care.
Instead, she continued speaking without any hesitation.
“I’ll prove that I’m not a Shoddy Trash during the Final Exam Duel.”
So, saying that she would practice separately until then, Frey finished her words and walked away.
[Looks like you've sparked some ambition in that girl.]
‘…Uh. So that doesn’t mean you dislike me, right?’
[Did that sound like I hate you?]
No, but I just wanted to confirm it once.
Even though Frey declared she would beat me and left, my life didn’t change.
It was just that the original place Frey occupied felt empty.
For example, during the duel class.
Originally, Frey was my designated opponent. Since there were no other participants besides her, it naturally ended up that way.
I was a discomfort to others, after all.
Notorious for a bad personality, I was someone with skills no one in the same year could match.
But who would crazily challenge me to a duel?
Definitely someone who would get stomped afterward.
‘You, a Shoddy Trash, dare challenge me to a duel? Do you enjoy getting beaten? Are you a masochist? Want me to stomp you? Just kidding. I don’t want to dirty my feet on a loser like you.’
That kind of talk would be hurled at me, but who would take up the challenge if not someone as wacko as Frey?
So during duel class, I was planning to spar with the sword or Anton, but an unexpected challenger appeared.
The girl who smacked my cheek during the entrance exam… uh, what was her name again?
I see her face frequently, but I don’t know her name. She always babbles something about being a Shoddy Young Lady and loser.
“Today, I’m going to smash you, you garbage girl.”
The Shoddy Young Lady glared at me with anger-fueled eyes as she said this, but no matter what, it wouldn’t change the outcome of our duel.
The gap between us was just too big.
The Shoddy Young Lady wasn’t that weak. When compared to other first-year students, she was definitely among the top tier.
She might not match Frey, but against someone like Arthur or Jack, she could probably find a chance to win.
The issue was simply that her opponent was me.
As I am now, I could defeat even any knight from a decent family.
So during the combat that continued throughout the class, the Shoddy Young Lady didn’t land a hit once.
Honestly, dueling her was incredibly boring.
Her attacks were only deflected and bounced off my shield.
But if I swung the mace, I’d worry I’d break something on her, which would be troublesome.
Hmm. No practice to be had. It felt like a waste of time.
Next time, I’ll propose to just ignore her and spar with the sword instead.
The Shoddy Young Lady, unable to control her anger, swung her sword recklessly again, tripped, and collapsed forward.
Without distributing her strength, she had pushed herself to her limit while swinging the sword.
Shall we call it a day? Continuing won’t do her any good at this point.
‘Young Lady, shall we stop? You look exhausted.’
“Don’t get up, Shoddy Young Lady. What can you do if you get up again? Just acknowledge you’re a loser and crawl on the floor. That suits you.”
I didn’t particularly like her. Maybe that’s why the Mesugaki Skill hit hard.
If I went a little further, I might be tempted to mock her while stepping on her head.
But it’s not like this was my first day with Mesugaki Skill. She should have somewhat adapted to my speech by now.
“…Huh.”
Seeing the tears drop from the Shoddy Young Lady’s eyes while she was on the ground shocked me.
Oh. Huh?
What?
Hey, why are you suddenly crying? You’re not that kind of person.
Even when I was harsh, she would grit her teeth and try to fight back.
What did I do that was so bad? But I’m not the only one doing bad things; you were bad-mouthing me too!
How can you play the innocent victim and cry first? Then I’ll be the only bad one!
Trying to hold back her tears, I looked around and noticed people’s gazes were all on us.
Their glances were icy.
Even one as dull as me could understand that the looks said “Young Lady Allen has done it again.”
Sigh. I can clearly see my reputation is dropping.
Why does Lucy Allen always have bad luck?
Just when I thought I was going up a bit, something immediately happens that brings me back down. It’s repeating.
Maybe adding “Coin” to my name isn’t helping either? Would it go up steadily if I added something else?
Would being (Corporation) Lucy make it more stable?
No. I feel like this would get delisted pretty soon as well.
It’s clear that the name Lucy itself is the problem.
As I wondered how to solve the situation before me, Sword approached from a distance.
“Lady Allen. Lady Baines. Shall we step outside for a moment?”
Yeah, that would be better than receiving everyone’s gaze in the middle of this mess.
By the way, her last name was Baines? I should remember it this time. I can’t keep calling her Shoddy Young Lady in my head next time.
Once outside, when Sword comforted Lady Baines, she began to sob harder.
She had been holding back tears out of pride until just now. But once the dam broke, it couldn’t be stopped.
Watching the little girl’s tear-streaked face made me feel oddly complex.
Even though she’s my frenemy, she’s a teenager, after all. Seeing a girl younger than me cry makes me feel a tinge of sympathy.
I had already completed my revenge for the slap, so there’s no longer a reason for me to hate her either.
Perhaps I should attempt to reconcile.
Originally, it’s the elder that should extend a hand first. I should show some leniency.
I’m not sure if the Mesugaki Skill could cross that wall and let me say I’m sorry, but it’s better than not trying, isn’t it?
If it succeeds, my reputation might improve, and if it fails, then it’s just the same as usual. There’s nothing to lose.
After a long wait, when Lady Baines finally calmed down, I approached her.
Lady Baines glared at me with puffy eyes.
She was a direct enemy. Seeing such a look back when I first possessed this body would have made me quiver.
But not anymore.
After all, I’ve faced enough hateful gazes from so many people by now. I’m used to it.
‘Are you okay?’
“Okay? Shoddy Young Lady? Ha. You’re looking absolutely horrendous with tears streaming down your face.”
“Shut up and go away, Lucy Allen.”
‘I’m sorry. I did something wrong.’
“Pfft. No matter how fierce you try to stare at me with those eyes, I’m not scared at all. Upset? Upset what? What are you gonna do, Shoddy Young Lady? Besides crying, what else can you do? Shoddy~ Young Lady~ Crybaby~ Ugly girl~”
“I told you to shut up!”
Yeah, she’s definitely fierce.
I figured it would play out this way, but experiencing it firsthand feels daunting.
This way, won’t it be impossible to reconcile with someone who despises me?
Looking back, reconciling with Arthur feels like a miracle now.
If the petty Evil God hadn’t decided to mess with us, Arthur would probably still hate me right now.
Huh? Now that I think about it, hasn’t the miserly Evil God actually helped me in my relationships more than the Shoddy Lord?
…Shoddy Lord! Step up your game!
If you keep this up, I might just start believing in the miserly Evil God instead of you!
– Ding ding.
[A new quest has been issued.]
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