Chapter 2
As soon as I knocked on the door, a solemn voice flowed from inside.
“Come in.”
I pushed open the door that seemed towering—twice Lucy’s height—and my breath became ragged.
This pathetic Mesugaki. How little must he have exercised for his body to be in this state?
After taking a few deep breaths to calm down, I went inside to find Lucy’s father, Benedict Allen, lifting his head from some paperwork.
His slightly raised eyebrows and expressionless eyes. The stylish beard hiding his mouth and his sharply defined jawline.
Beneath that, I couldn’t quite tell if it was his neck or shoulders—it was just massive muscles.
Overall, Benedict gave off more of an orc or troll vibe than a human, and upon making eye contact with me, he soon broke out into a goofy grin that was utterly mismatched with his fierce appearance.
“Lucy. What’s going on?”
While he was known as the Iron-Blooded Knight, evoking fear in others, in front of Lucy, he was nothing more than a silly dad.
There was a reason Lucy could become the tyrant of the mansion.
Who could possibly scold her when this terrifying guy indulged her whims?
‘I just wanted to see you.’
“Foolish Father. Why would I need a reason just to come see you?”
“I see! Our Lucy doesn’t need a reason to come visit me!”
Look at that. Even after being called foolish by his daughter, he doesn’t know how to react, bubbling over with joy.
This guy would be elated no matter how many times Lucy called him dumb or silly.
Benedict, sporting a dopey smile, set his quill down and spread his arms wide.
When I had first possessed Lucy’s body, I had no idea what his gesture meant, but now it was different. After being tormented by that stupid troll for three days, I knew exactly what Benedict wanted.
I didn’t want to do it, and it’d probably be better to bite my tongue, but at this moment, I was in a position where I needed to ask Benedict for something.
The more I could boost that troll’s mood, the better chance I had of getting him to grant my future requests.
It was unavoidable.
I had to do it for my life.
Having steeled myself internally, I tightly shut my eyes and leaped into the troll’s embrace.
I didn’t worry about anything going wrong.
Even if I charged into him with my full force, I wouldn’t leave a single scratch on that troll’s body.
Benedict effortlessly caught me and let out a bellowing laugh.
“Lucy, it’s still dangerous to jump in with your eyes closed.”
‘I trusted you.’
“Foolish Father. Are you seriously saying you can’t even catch me properly?”
“Of course not! Who do you think I am?”
With a squinty-eyed smile, Benedict enveloped my hair with a hand larger than Lucy’s face.
He seemed like someone without an ounce of delicacy, yet his touch was surprisingly gentle.
Even as a total stranger, I could easily tell that Benedict cherished Lucy deeply.
‘Um…’
“Foolish father.”
“What is it, Lucy?”
“I have a favour to ask…”
“Go ahead.”
“In a few months… The academy exams are coming up soon, right?”
I am a cute daughter.
I am this troll’s adorable daughter.
Can a troll even have a cute daughter?
I don’t know.
Forget about that. Just focus on what Benedict might like.
“I’m kind of worried about that…”
Oops!
Lucy was pretty. Even if my actions were cringeworthy, I still looked cute.
For instance, when I sat on Benedict’s lap and kicked my feet like I was playing in water, I looked like a girl burdened with adorable worries!
“So? What would you like me to do for you? I’ll grant any wish I can!”
The silly father, Benedict, tumbled head over heels for me with such ease.
He lifted his chin, as if he thought I was dealing with a serious dilemma, and confidently declared.
I shouldn’t be the one to comment on it, but is this okay for you?
It’s not that easy to say you’ll do anything!
But I had no intentions of stopping him!
“Really?”
“Absolutely! When have I ever lied?”
I had no choice now.
Refusing his generosity would be rude.
He wanted to play the cool dad, so I had to let him enjoy it.
“Then… Can I take what I need from the storage room?”
“Is there anything specific you want?”
“YES!”
“Yes, then take whatever you like.”
Benedict’s cheerful affirmation made me smile back at him.
Didn’t you just tell me I could take whatever I wanted?
So now, no matter how much I take, it isn’t my fault, right? That’s all on you for allowing it.
*
After receiving Benedict’s blessing, I used my cuteness to keep him in good spirits, but as soon as I stepped out of the office, I felt a wave of nausea.
The mental toll was overwhelming.
Who would’ve thought I’d be sweet-talking a grown man?
I had vowed to toss my dignity aside for survival, but this was just too much for my mental state to handle.
At that moment, I found myself thankful for the [Mesugaki] skill.
If that skill hadn’t semi-forced my actions, I would’ve collapsed long ago.
Still, I gained a lot.
I could grab whatever I desired from the Allen’s storage.
Time to showcase my veteran farming skills from Soul Academy.
Oh great dog-deity that trapped me in this foolish Mesugaki’s body—please let me have an honest farming session today.
I’m saying that, but I don’t plan on cleaning out the entire place.
No matter how much Benedict pampers Lucy, there are limits, you know?
So, I only plan to take a few essentials.
Sure, the stuff I need may cost a pretty penny, but since Benedict is quite generous, it should be fine.
Probably…
I got permission to enter the storage, but I couldn’t rush there immediately.
The key wasn’t with Benedict; it was with the mansion butler, so I had to find him first.
While strolling down the hallway looking for the butler, I spotted a maid cleaning a window and decided to speak to her.
“Hey there.”
“You, over there.”
As soon as the maid heard my voice, she froze up and twisted her neck like a robot.
What even was that expression? Like she’d seen a monster or something?
Do you really hate Lucy that much?
I can understand why. If I were her, I would probably hate her too.
But hey, you can’t show that on the surface!
If it had been the previous Lucy, she’d have jumped on her for that and given her a good talking-to.
“Do you know where the butler is?”
“Yes! He’s supervising the cleaning in the first-floor lobby!”
“I see. Thank you.”
“Yep! Good to know, right?”
How does being a Mesugaki even work in terms of translation?
Where’d that “thank you” vanish to?
Is thanking the maid something I should avoid as a Mesugaki?
I sighed inwardly and made my way to the first floor, where I finally found the butler directing the cleaning activities in the lobby.
Unlike the maid, he treated me with politeness.
“What can I assist you with, Miss?”
“About the storage…”
“I’d like to enter the storage room.”
“I’m sorry, Miss. That requires permission from the Count.”
“I already have permission.”
“Do you really think I’d make a fuss without permission, clumsy butler?”
“My apologies! I didn’t know you had permission.”
Even though a girl standing a bit higher than his waist was speaking to him in a rude tone, the butler’s expression didn’t waver.
Is this… the dignity of an adult?
He instructed the maid about something and then led me to the storage room.
As expected, the Allen family’s storage was on quite the large scale.
I figured this would be the case. Even in the games, raiding a count-level family meant getting a lot of good stuff.
Most of the items here were probably something of real value like gold or gems.
While they seemed pricey, having cash meant nothing to me right now.
What good is money if there’s nothing to spend it on?
Moreover, I could always get items like that later.
What I truly needed right now was something that had immediate usefulness.
I wandered around for a bit, but finding what I wanted among the countless items in the storage was not easy.
If this were a game, I’d instantly know what each item was just by looking at it, but trying to identify this stuff with my own eyes made it all a blur.
Guess I’ll need to acquire some sort of identification skill later on.
For now, maybe I should just ask the butler to help me find it.
“Butler…”
“Clumsy butler! Where’s the elixir?”
The elixir.
An item that the veterans of Soul Academy look for with burning passion.
The effect of the elixir is straightforward.
By casually consuming it, it permanently boosts a specific ability without any conditions.
To quickly elevate this disastrous Mesugaki’s physical abilities, I absolutely needed that elixir.
I had done a hasty experiment yesterday, and let me tell you, in Lucy’s current body, I’d be lucky to just hold a weapon, let alone run around outside.
Running for even just twenty seconds felt like I was about to have my lungs burst. What’s the meaning of even training in this condition?
I at least needed to be able to move properly before I could even think of training!
So, I need that elixir.
That elixir. Surely, a couple must be hidden away in the Count’s storage.
“Why are you searching for the elixir?”
The butler replied to my query with a question.
“…”
“I’m going to drink it. Is that a problem?”
“…Miss. The elixir will undoubtedly make you stronger, however, there is a price to pay for that.
By drinking it, you will endure the agony of your body contorting. Are you certain about this?”
Agony of body contortions? That description sure didn’t exist in the game.
Ah, I see. This butler is trying to scare me off because the elixir is such a rare item.
How manipulative.
But do I look like someone who would fall for that trick?
I am a respected veteran of the Soul Academy! Do you think there’s anything I don’t know about this game?
“It’s completely fine.”
“Clumsy butler. Just hand it over already.”
“Very well… understood.”
The butler hesitated for a moment, then nodded and brought me the elixir.
“This potion increases strength, and this one boosts stamina.”
Right now, I absolutely required those two potions for stamina enhancement. On top of that, there’s an additional potion for strength increase.
Upon seeing those, I let out a yelp of enthusiasm.
I would have been happy just with one stamina potion—yet here were two of them!
The strength potion is also precisely what I needed!
If I had to choose the happiest moment since becoming Lucy over these past three days, I’d boldly say it’s happening right now.
“Which of these would you like to take?”
“All of them.”
“Yes?”
“I’m taking them all.”
“Pardon?”
“I said I’m taking everything. Didn’t you hear me?”
Perfectly timed on the numbers!
At the Soul Academy, you can only consume a maximum of three elixirs in a year.
And here comes the butler with exactly three!
This was clearly a twist of fate. Thus, I must take all of them.
I felt no guilt.
I needed these for survival—so what guilt was there to feel?
Original hosts like me completely devour whatever they can get!
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