Chapter: 327
The morning after the hellish shower of compliments.
I was buried in my blanket despite the sunrise.
If it were my usual self, I would have been out at the training grounds by now, just like I did every day since entering the academy.
But today, I wasn’t doing that. I didn’t even get ready to go outside.
Even if you asked why, there was no reason. I just felt lazy and decided to be lazy.
I’ve been working my butt off since stepping into this world, right? Sometimes, I need a day to just laze around, don’t you think?
Honestly, there’s no reason to kick and scream right now.
Nakrad, who should be the villain in the second semester’s main story, is stuck underground in the Arts Church being interrogated, so why bother being desperate?
Back when I went to meet the Perverted Apostle to get that accessory,
I asked that guy what Nakrad was up to.
I had turned him into a pathetic and funny sight, but I hadn’t cut his life thread.
Naturally, I was curious about what that guy stuck underground in the Arts Church was doing.
The Perverted Apostle seemed to have expected my question and without hesitation began talking about Nakrad.
First of all, he had been completely neutralized to prevent him from playing tricks.
And they were digging for various pieces of information from him.
“Since we haven’t cross-verified anything yet, it’s hard to say anything. But once everything is done, I’ll convey the message through Karia.”
There were so many holes in what the Perverted Apostle said that even I could spot them, but I didn’t bother to pry.
To be exact, I had no chance to pry.
The moment I was about to say something to the Apostle, the Sloppy Fox burst in, asking loudly where my picture was.
The sight of the Sloppy Fox hugging my Bunny Girl picture, unable to figure out what to do, made disgust automatically fill my eyes.
When I saw him wearing that accessory and toppled over, I even thought to myself, “I hope he dies just like that.”
I still haven’t changed my mind about that.
If that Sloppy Fox had died back then, I wouldn’t have had to see him sleeping while hugging the towel I used yesterday, grinning like an idiot.
…Thank goodness that the Sloppy Fox wasn’t next to me during the shower of compliments yesterday.
If he had been there, I can’t imagine what kind of nonsense he would’ve been shouting.
Ah, thinking about that heats up my face again.
I didn’t know I would be so resistant to compliments.
It’s not that I think I’m amazing; I just know everyone around me is watching.
And I know there’s hardly anyone who sincerely means it among them.
Listening to the stories popping up here and there made my head get so jumbled it went blank, and I couldn’t think of anything.
If Karl hadn’t come by, claiming he had something to say about the Combat Studies Exam and took me away, I would have made an emergency exit through the window.
Well, anyway, thanks to Karl acting like a proper knight after a long time, I got out of that hell, and I tried to express my gratitude in some way.
“The Young Lady has her fresh sides, too. The master will be very happy to hear that.”
But the moment Karl said that, all my gratitude vanished.
That jerk Karl completely believed the misunderstandings created by Arthur and his group.
I seriously don’t understand—am I really that kind of person?!
My usual self is nowhere near thoughtful!
Where could a little kid who runs around mumbling about me being sloppy and silly possibly get such an idea?!
I remembered the shower of compliments just moments ago and panicked; I tried my best to explain that this was a misunderstanding, but that damn Karl was just letting it go in one ear and out the other.
“Hahaha, understood! We’ll take your word for it, Miss… Cough!”
Hitting Karl in the gut with sincerity was self-defense.
How dare a pet dog tease its master?
I barely hit him that hard, and seeing Karl whine made me leave him behind and head to where the Dungeon Studies Professor was.
He had said he would share something with me after the strategy demonstration.
As I walked leisurely down the hallway, thinking I would wait in the professor’s office, I ended up overhearing some stories even though I wasn’t really trying to listen.
They were different from the usual complaints around me.
Normally, I hear people saying how annoying or unfortunate I am, and how they can’t stand me.
There are still plenty of people in the academy who dislike me.
They can’t openly confront me because they care about how I see them, but bad stories always come up behind my back.
But the conversations I heard this time were mostly things I never imagined.
“Has the Young Lady really changed?”
“That’s right! The Young Lady is a good person… Eep! I’m sorry for raising my voice!”
“Do the people around her have their concerns?”
“The Saintess wouldn’t say that for no reason. She must have repented after receiving the Lord’s blessing.”
“I always said it. That person is a good person! How could someone willing to risk their life for someone like me be a bad person?”
“Did we misunderstand her?”
Some people had come to believe certain parts of what Arthur and his crew said!
There weren’t many of them, but it was still surprising that there were people who believed I had changed.
Because I’m Lucy!
Just think about the terrible things the past Lucy did!
Is it reasonable to believe that crazy girl has changed?
Well, when I think about how most of those saying this are commoners or lower nobles, they probably don’t know what kind of person Lucy used to be.
If they heard what past Lucy did, there’s no way they’d say she could change!
“They look at that girl too nicely.”
“They were probably just thinking they’d tease us about being sloppy.”
“There’s no way Lucy Allen has that kind of thoughtfulness.”
“There’s no way that crazy girl has changed.”
Actually, most people attending the academy—so those in the social circle who know how Lucy Allen has been active—didn’t really pay attention to what Arthur and his friends said.
And it didn’t stop there. They had figured out the original intent and recognized that Arthur and his crew just misunderstood.
In my opinion, this is the normal reaction.
Think about the sins the past Lucy has committed.
Anyone who has seen that would naturally say Lucy Allen doesn’t possess the intelligence to consider others, right?
So while the overall public opinion in the academy didn’t change much,
just hearing a few voices was still quite pleasing.
I even felt gratitude, even if just for a moment, toward those three who had brought me shame.
Why only for a moment, you ask?
Because after a bit of time, I realized an important fact.
The change in public opinion in the academy means it’s based on people who aren’t very close to me.
Those who only know the past Lucy or don’t know either version of Lucy.
Among those people, some have sprouted a slightly hopeful thought, so how about the ones who are intimately connected to me now?
“I understand your intent behind skipping the procedures in your strategies, but we can’t give them special treatment. That would create issues with fairness.”
Karl’s reaction wasn’t exaggerated!
Anyone who knows I’ve become less harmful compared to the past would accept the misunderstandings of Arthur’s group as the truth!
While I was under the Dungeon Studies Professor’s satisfied gaze, I desperately tried to claim this was all a misunderstanding, but the professor didn’t believe me even a little. She just thought I was embarrassed and pretending otherwise.
Noticing the corners of her mouth rise gradually, I gave up on persuasion and directly shifted the topic.
Since she wouldn’t listen no matter what I said, I lost the confidence to persuade her.
I don’t know how she interpreted my actions, but the Dungeon Studies Professor brought up the main topic according to my intent.
It wasn’t anything outstanding.
She said she planned to keep the final dungeon open until the vacation started and was going to submit the dungeon I created to a journal.
Since I held great affection for the first dungeon I made, I accepted her suggestion, hoping more people would recognize its true value.
After that, well, nothing remarkable happened.
I skipped my usual evening training and went straight into the dormitory, so how could anything happen?
Knock knock.
Hearing a knocking sound, I stopped my thought process and held my breath.
“Is the Young Lady not in here?”
“Lucy Allen, reply if you’re inside.”
Dammit!
I wanted to avoid those guys, but they came looking for me!
Biting my lip, I tried to mimic Karia’s stealth moves from when she hid her presence.
I absolutely couldn’t let them find out I was here.
If they did, I’d be dragged along by them and face penalties!
“Strange. I’m sure she didn’t come out.”
“Right? Where could she have gone?”
Yes! That’s it!
They think I’m not here and are going to look for me elsewhere!
Quickly!
“No, everyone. The Young Lady is right here.”
Hearing Phoebe’s voice sent chills down my spine, and I hugged myself tightly.
“I can feel the warm divinity inside. There’s no way I could mistake the Young Lady’s divinity!”
That’s right. If I could track Phoebe’s location with divinity, then Phoebe could track mine too!
Ugh! How could I not think of such a basic thing!
I’m so frustrated at my stupidity!
“Hurry up and come out, Lucy Allen. If you keep doing this, we won’t have any choice but to change our requests. For example. Yes. If you keep avoiding, you’ll have to wear maid clothes for a day…”
“What crazy nonsense is that?!”
“Hahaha. Wow. Poor Prince. I see you’ve given up on hiding your perversion now?! Disgusting!”
“Who’s perverted!… Cough! Anyway, just come out! It’s all out in the open now!”
Huff! I can’t believe I made a mistake because I was surprised by something a Sloppy Fox would think of!
I bit my lip in frustration, but there was nothing I could do.
Because I was a total underling forced to comply with their demands due to penalties.
With my feet refusing to move, I forced myself to stand by the door, took a deep breath, and opened it.
“Oh my. Did you just wake up?”
“I think this is the first time I’ve seen the Young Lady look so disheveled.”
And as expected, I received warm gazes from Joy, Phoebe, and Arthur.
Wait, why is Arthur staring at the void?
I thought he’d say something.
In the midst of my confusion, Frey popped out from behind Joy, blocking my view.
“Lucy! Lucy.”
‘…What is it?’
“Why? Are you a foolish swordsman?”
“Is Lucy actually a shy girl?”
The pure question took my breath away the moment I heard it.
The way she tilted her head, really clueless—that’s just malicious.
What’s even more frustrating is that Joy and Phoebe are clearly smiling softly.
That smile means they think I’m a small girl embarrassed because they figured out I’m considerate of them.
Ughhhh!
I knew this would happen!
This is exactly why I didn’t want to meet them!
Stop it!
Don’t look at me like that!
I said don’t look at me like that aaahhhh!
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