Chapter: 164
Karl didn’t think that Frey would grow enough to make Lucy panic within the time left until the final exam.
‘Young Lady Kent definitely has a talent that will go down in history. She’ll probably be someone who can easily take down someone like that soon. However, Lady Allen is the same.’
Frey is a genius.
The swordsmanship her father taught her was just the basics, but she compensated for everything else with her own talent to become the continent’s top promising candidate.
But that’s the same for her opponents too.
Lucy Allen is also a genius.
With merely a little over a year of training, she’s equipped with overwhelming talent that could surpass Frey.
That doesn’t mean she’s lazy either. She’s the most dedicated person Frey knows when it comes to training.
Overwhelming talent and remarkable mental strength.
If one possesses even just one of those, they’re called a genius, but greedy Lucy has both.
So even if Frey tries her best for a month, it won’t be easy to close the gap between them. Maintaining her position would be an achievement.
‘However, winning battles isn’t determined solely by talent and skill.’
Karl suggested.
If the direct method doesn’t work, just use another way.
‘Lady Allen’s personality has become much gentler compared to before, but that doesn’t mean she’s lost her old personality completely.’
‘What are you trying to say?’
‘Lady Allen is a very innocent person.’
‘Innocent?’
‘Yes. She’s naive enough to go along with my and Young Lady Kent’s plans even knowing what we’re up to.’
Frey tilted her head at the word that seemed distant from Lucy, but instead of elaborating, Karl shared his plan.
Lucy is accustomed to provoking others, but not used to being provoked herself.
So, by standing in front of Lucy and insulting her, she would respond accordingly.
Frey, who had provoked Lucy just as Karl instructed without much thought, realized that Karl was right.
No one could overlook the displeased expression on Lucy’s face when provoked.
*
Sloppy?
Coward?
Puhaha!
I never thought I’d hear words like this coming from Frey’s dry voice!
Hearing someone else say sloppy and this sort of stuff is just hilarious!
Frey likely wouldn’t think this way, so this is probably Karl’s plan. He’d want to shake my emotions and get me to drop my shield and charge.
He knows that hiding behind a shield and playing defensively won’t yield a win, so he’s trying to create variables.
But you know, isn’t this too obvious?
If you’re going to use this tactic, you should hide your intent and gently stir my emotions.
With that expressionless face of yours, how am I supposed to ignore it?
I glanced at Karl, who was playing the role of an assistant teacher, chuckling while facepalming.
Ah, you didn’t expect Frey to provoke like this either, did you?
Hahaha. Should’ve done a rehearsal, you idiot!
[What will you do?]
‘Hmm.’
Honestly speaking, if I ignored that provocation and pushed my shield forward, I could easily overwhelm Frey.
Sure, Frey has made a lot of progress in this past month, but she’s still not strong enough to break through my shield.
Before long, she would fall for my provocation and make a mistake, and that’s when the match will be decided.
But still, I feel a bit embarrassed.
Even though I could smash Frey without a shield, being called a coward for hiding behind one stings a little.
What does that make me, a shoddy swordsman with only talent?
‘Should I play a bit?’
Thinking about the gap between Frey and me makes me feel a bit more relaxed, but I still don’t think I’d lose just because I let my guard down.
I need to show her the topic at hand…
[Young Lady, it seems you’re being swallowed by the blessing?]
‘…Huh?!’
After hearing Grandpa’s words, I regained my senses.
Why was I thinking just now about playing into my opponent’s intentions?!
Frey may be weaker than me right now, but she’s not someone I can afford to be careless against!
That girl has enough potential to completely turn the tables!
Whoa. Was there such an effect of the Mesugaki Skill on the mind?!
I had no idea that being provoked would lead me to think like this!
Sigh. This skill just keeps piling on the disadvantages! Just give me advantages!
And hey! Sloppy Fox’s blessing! Aren’t you supposed to be doing your job?!
If a skill that raises resistance to mental debuffs can’t block this, what are you even doing?!
Think of all the hardships you’ve gone through just for yourself!
You endured humiliation and wore bunny outfits, but why aren’t you working?
Could it be that the drawbacks of the Mesugaki Skill have overwhelmed the blessings you received?
No way!
Even if this is a shoddy blessing from a sloppy fox, it should still perform adequately.
Was it at least capable of blocking regular mental debuffs in the game?
Is the drawback of the Mesugaki Skill this strong?!
The Mesugaki Skill is utter trash!
Whoever made this skill must’ve messed up.
Think about balance! If you’re putting this strange skill in a game that you sell…
Oh, right. It was a mode. Yeah. In a mode, imbalance is usually the norm.
But normally, they only mess up the good side, why is the bad side also messed up here?
[Enough with the worries. There’s an opponent in front of you.]
‘Um. Right.’
Thinking any further would be rude to Frey.
At this point, worrying won’t solve anything, so I might as well just clear my mind.
Later, I can collect a few more mental-type skills to resolve this.
…It will get resolved, right? Right?
“Sloppy coward. Are you too scared to come?”
As I grasped the new demerit of the Mesugaki Skill, I felt the heat rising in my head.
Wow. This will definitely become a problem later.
It’s good I realized it now; if I didn’t, it’d be a disaster in true combat. Ugh. Just imagining it is horrifying.
I should be grateful to Frey.
“Isn’t it true that you’re also scared to approach me, huh?♡ How does it feel to call someone a coward when you’re the scaredy-cat?♡”
“Yup. I’m a scaredy-cat. You’re a coward too.”
So let’s offer a little reward to Frey for the help she gave.
I’m heading towards a disadvantageous battlefield myself, but this much reward should be acceptable, right?
Just to clear up any misunderstandings, it’s not because I’m angry or anything.
I’m completely calm right now.
I just want to gently give Frey a bump on the head.
After taking ten deep breaths, I tightened my grip on the mace.
[Are you going to go?]
‘Yes.’
[Alright. Do as you please. It’s also time for us to increase the number of battle techniques.]
Okay. Then let’s go.
Holding my breath, I took a step forward.
In an instant, the distance between Frey and me closed.
Instead of stepping back, Frey swung her sword, watching me charge in.
Since she made her move while I was moving, the trajectory of her swinging sword was completely free of any restraint.
I shoved my shield into the beautifully defined arc of the blade, attacking my own stability.
That was a gamble.
I intended to intercept the perfectly swung sword with my shield, which was shoved in at an awkward angle.
But the overwhelming power behind my shield technique made that reckless gamble a correct answer.
The shield and sword collided.
The one who retreated was the sword.
Ting!
Beyond the clear sound, I caught a glimpse of Frey, biting her lips in frustration.
Haha! Who told you to provoke me? You idiot?
With the sword bouncing off, a small opening appeared.
I swung my mace, aiming for Frey’s head.
Frey, however, wasn’t an easy opponent.
She seemed startled by my sudden charge, yet even at that moment, she made the best choice.
She twisted her body to dodge the mace and redirected her own rebound sword toward my wrist, which was extended from swinging the mace.
Sharp indeed.
If I manage it poorly, I might lose my wrist.
My answer to Frey’s perfect technique was rather crude.
I bumped into her shoulder, knocking her away.
Overwhelmed by my rush, Frey couldn’t react to my charge and was sent tumbling to the ground.
“Sloppy swordsman♡ How embarrassing, babbling away when you’re weak♡”
“Not at all.”
Frey didn’t show a hint of pain as she stood up.
She resumed her stance once more.
“So is that it for you? You’re so shoddy?”
“What? What?♡ Are you dying to get hit by me?♡ Sloppy♡ weakling♡ and now you’re a pervert too, gross!♡”
“…Tch.”
Puhaha. Why did you pick a verbal fight with someone with the Mesugaki Skill?
So long as I have the Mesugaki Skill, I’m undefeated in a battle of words.
“Come at me, sloppy.”
“Wait up♡ I’ll make you beg for your life♡”
Alright. Let’s go give Frey a bump on the head.
*
Provoking the opponent and drawing out an attack—that part went according to plan.
Thanks to that, I successfully created a battlefield in my favor.
However, that doesn’t mean the gap between Lucy and me has disappeared.
In a hurry, Frey turned her head to dodge the mace that was targeting her head and was hit in the stomach by the shield that followed.
“Still not giving up?♡ You must have a serious masochistic tendency!”
Lucy is strong.
Even though she abandoned her fighting style to come into my arena.
Overwhelming physical ability.
Her skill in handling the shield regardless of whether it’s offense or defense.
A combat logic that’s unbelievably advanced for someone my age.
She’s lacking in nothing.
Thus, the urge to swing my sword only grows stronger.
Every time I try to swing a sword to break through Lucy’s shield, I’m filled with a raging red emotion.
That shield irks and irritates me to no end.
So, while mindlessly trying to hit it, I ended up falling for Lucy’s trap.
But now it’s different.
Sure, my heart is still full of those red emotions, but simultaneously other colors exist.
As I engage in close combat with Lucy, the corners of my mouth naturally rise.
What is this…?
I don’t know for sure.
But it doesn’t feel bad.
Frey stepped back to avoid the shield that was trying to push her away, flashing a smile.
In her world, there were only two—Lucy and herself.
Is that why?
As Frey erased everything outside of Lucy and herself, her focus sharpened, increasing the speed of her attacks.
In accordance, a faint blue glow began to trace the path behind her sword.
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