Chapter: 155
Frey defined her feelings as “disappointment.”
It was because Lucy had left her behind and was charging ahead.
After parting ways with Karl, Frey headed to the library and opened a dictionary.
Inside the dictionary, disappointment was defined as such:
“A feeling of regret and sadness.”
Since Frey didn’t really understand either disappointment or regret, she decided to investigate further, but the dictionary was just playing a game of pass-the-buck.
Regret passed the burden to disappointment, and disappointment returned the favor!
Thanks to that, Frey completely failed to understand the definition of disappointment.
“Useless.”
After closing the dictionary, Frey banged her forehead against the pages and recalled what Karl had said not long ago.
“Lady Kent feels disappointment at the fact that the young lady left her behind all alone. Maybe she thought she was her only rival?”
That was probably what Professor Karl meant.
The red feeling in my heart developed when I realized that Lucy was much stronger than I had thought.
To eliminate that persistent red hue inside me, I supposed I had to reach the same level as where Lucy stood.
“I can’t call her a pathetic knight anymore.”
Imagining Lucy saying that with a smile made Frey feel the weight of that red feeling starting to fade.
But that wasn’t it; something unknown was seeping into her heart as well.
Surprised, she lifted her head and opened the dictionary again to absorb the meaning of disappointment.
So far, that color that had occupied her heart was disappointment.
But what was the different color that started to settle in as that faded away?
Frey tilted her head as she recalled what someone who provided her an answer had said.
“I’ll help you. I may look like this, but I’m a professor. I can’t ignore a student’s troubles.”
If I get help from Professor Karl, would I discover the identity of this new color?
Having reached that point in her thoughts, Frey stood up. She preferred action over brooding.
*
The day after being called a “scumbag,” Frey worried that Lucy might despise her sight but still showed up for morning training as usual.
[See? She isn’t that hurt.]
Grandpa shouted triumphantly as if to say “told ya.”
Excuse me, Grandpa. I knew that already.
But should I not comfort a girl who feels uneasy about it? Is telling her to stop worrying really helpful, considering how dirty your mouth is?
This guy probably didn’t have many friends when he was alive.
So what if he was a hero who saved the world and a noble knight? He clearly couldn’t empathize with others.
Judging by his personality, anyone who looked at his actions might’ve been horrified.
“Hello, Frey.”
“Hey, pathetic knight.”
“Lucy.”
Feeling a sense of relief, Frey greeted her only to have Lucy call her name back.
Huh? Something felt different about Frey today.
What should I say?
Frey’s gaze, normally dazed, was sharp today—clear as when she wielded her sword.
“I’ll beat you.”
‘Huh? Out of nowhere?’
“Ha. Someone like you?”
“Yep. I won’t let you look down on me again.”
Although Mesugaki skill distorted my words midway again, Frey didn’t care.
Instead, she continued without hesitation.
“I’ll prove I’m not some pathetic scumbag during the final exam duel.”
With that, she finished her words and walked away.
[Looks like you’ve lit a fire in her.]
‘…Um. So, that doesn’t mean she hates me, right?’
[Does that sound like she hates you? ]
No, but I just wanted to double-check.
Even though Frey declared she’d beat me and walked away, my daily life wouldn’t change.
The only thing that shifted was the void that Frey’s presence had occupied.
For instance, during sparring classes.
My usual sparring partner was Frey. Since there weren’t any other challengers, it became a natural arrangement.
I was a bit of an uncomfortable presence to others.
Infamous for my awful personality, there wasn’t a student in the same grade who could match my prowess.
Who, in their right mind, would challenge me?
They’d be crushed afterward.
‘You scummy scumbag, daring to challenge me? Do you enjoy getting beaten up? Or are you a masochist? Should I stomp you down? Just kidding. I wouldn’t touch you; you’d just dirty my foot.’
They’d hear that sort of thing, but who would dare spar with someone of Frey’s level?
So, during sparring time, I thought about clashing weapons with Karl or Anton, but then an unexpected challenger appeared.
The one who slapped me during the entrance exam… um, what was their name again?
I frequently saw their face but didn’t know their name. They always chattered on about me being a scumbag, so it was hard to remember.
“Today, I’m gonna smash you, you trash!”
The scumbag noble glared at me with furious eyes, but that didn’t change the outcome of our duel.
The gap between us was just too vast.
The scumbag noble wasn’t that weak. According to first-year standards, she was surely in the top tier.
While she couldn’t match Frey, I thought there might be a chance of victory against someone like Arthur or Jackal.
The problem was that she was facing me.
Right now, I could triumph against any knight from any household.
So, during the ongoing combat in training class, the scumbag noble couldn’t land a single effective hit.
Honestly, sparring with her felt incredibly dull.
Her attacks were ricocheted off my shield, bouncing away.
But if I swung my mace, I worried I’d break something.
Ugh… this feels like wasted time.
Next time, I’ll ignore her and just spar with Karl.
As the scumbag noble lost control over her rage and swung her sword blindly, she tripped and fell face-first.
She couldn’t balance while giving it her all.
Should I stop here? Keeping going would only hurt her.
“Lady Noble, shouldn’t we stop? You look really exhausted.”
“Don’t get up, scumbag noble. Even if you do, all you’ll do is crawl around on the ground. Accept your patheticness and just crawl; that’s what suits you.”
Maybe it’s because I don’t particularly care for her, but the Mesugaki skill translated that quite aggressively.
I nearly felt like I’d stomp on the scumbag noble’s head for a laugh if I kept going.
But, come on, this isn’t the first time the Mesugaki skill has acted up. She should’ve been used to my way of speaking by now.
“…Ugh.”
Seeing tears drip from the scumbag noble’s eyes onto the floor froze me in place.
Huh? What’s this?
Wait a sec. Why the sudden crying? She’s not that kind of person!
She was always gritting her teeth, ready to counterattack, even when I spoke harshly.
I may have done something bad, sure. But she’s not innocent either; she’s been talking back to me like it’s a joy!
How could she act like a naive victim and start crying? If she does that, I’ll be the one who looks like the bad person!
As I tore my gaze from the weeping scumbag noble and scanned the area, I noticed everyone’s eyes were on us.
Their eyes were cold.
Even I could understand the meaning of those gazes—Lucy Alrn got involved in another mess.
Well, there go my reputation points again.
Why does Lucy always get caught in such bad situations?
Every time things start to look up, something happens, and down I go again. I swear, this rollercoaster’s got less drop than my life.
Is it the name ‘Lucy’ that comes with bad luck? Would adding something else make it better?
What if I try something like ‘Lu-cy Company’? Would it go up smoothly this time?
Nah. I get the feeling even that would be delisted soon.
Clearly, it’s the name ‘Lucy’ itself causing all this trouble.
Stuck in reality and not knowing how to resolve the situation, I was distracted when Karl approached from afar.
“Lady Alrn, Lady Baines. Shall we step outside for a moment?”
Sure. That’s better than being the center of attention here.
By the way, her last name is Baines. I should remember that for next time. I can’t keep calling her scumbag noble in my head!
Once outside, as Karl comforted Baines, she burst into tears.
She’d been holding back out of pride until this point, but once the threshold was crossed, there was no turning back.
Looking at the sobbing girl, I felt mixed emotions.
Despite our bad history, she’s still just a teenage girl. Seeing someone younger than me cry does stir up sympathy.
I’ve long since taken my revenge for the slap, so there’s no reason to hate her anymore.
Should I try to reconcile with her?
Isn’t the older one supposed to reach a hand first in this kind of situation? Show some leniency?
I wonder if the Mesugaki skill might let me cross that wall and apologize, but trying would still be better than doing nothing, right?
If it succeeds, maybe my reputation will improve, and if it fails, it’ll be the same as usual, so there’s no loss.
After some time had passed, when Baines had calmed down just enough, I approached her.
She stared at me with her bloodshot, puffy eyes.
Direct hostility right there. If I had seen those eyes back when I first came to, I would have been terrified.
But that’s not me anymore.
I’ve come so far past the disdainful gazes of others. I’ve grown used to it now.
“Are you okay?”
“Okay? What about you, scumbag noble? Pfft. You look like a complete mess with those tears streaming down.”
“Shut it and go away, Lucy Alrn.”
“I’m sorry. I messed up.”
“Pfft. Go ahead, scold me for all I care. Do you think I’m scared? Heh, so what if you’ve dealt me a blow? What are you even gonna do about it, scumbag lady? All you can do is cry like a baby.”
“You said to shut up!”
Yeah, this is getting tough.
I knew this would happen, but facing it is so daunting.
Can I really reconcile with someone who hates me?
Looking back, reconciling with Arthur was practically a miracle.
If that annoying Evil God hadn’t sent Arthur and me apart, wouldn’t we still be at each other’s throats?
Wait a minute… when you think about it, that petty Evil God has surprisingly been quite helpful in managing my social relationships.
…Hey, pathetic god! Get your act together!
If you keep this up, I might end up believing in that petty Evil God instead of you!
– Ding.
[A new quest has been issued.]
[The reason you are unpopular!]
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