Chapter: 410
As Karl watched Lucy’s divinity repel the Evil God’s aura, he couldn’t help but admire her greatness in his heart.
“How great is our Lord God to cherish the Young Lady so much that He grants such miracles even in prayers like that?”
Lost in the awe of the moment, Karl was snapped back to reality by the sound of the golems moving, and he positioned himself in front of her.
“I’ll take care of those lackeys myself.”
In a sense, it was fortuitous timing.
He had recently shown nothing but shameful sides to the Young Lady, but now he finally had a chance to do his duty as a protector!
Having been punished not long ago for failing to guard Lucy, Karl was determined to restore his honor by showing his competence.
If he displayed a magnificent persona this time, the Young Lady would surely look at him anew.
Perhaps she might even praise him, petting his head and saying, “It’s okay to be a bit pathetic,” just like she did with her maid!
Imagining that scene made Karl steel his expression as he infused his sword with his aura, striking at the golems controlled by the Evil God’s magic.
His sword, wrapped in a thick aura, disregarded the conventional notion of space and effortlessly sliced through the golems in one clean sweep.
“Come at me, filthy scum.”
As Karl, praised as a promising knight even among the grotesque crew of the Alrn Knight Order, dominated the area with his aura, the followers of the Void took a cautious step back.
At that moment, however, Lucy, standing behind him, gave his calf a swift kick.
“Pathetic dog. What did I tell you to do?”
“…No.”
“Then why are you stepping up on your own? Is that your ‘I won’t listen to those weaker than me’ attitude?”
“N-no, of course not! How could I ever—”
“Hmm, I see. You’ve been looking at me like that, haven’t you? Just like a dog trying to swallow its master! Can you step back a bit? It’s a little scary.”
“No, Young Lady! I—!”
“Or just curl up in your doghouse.”
Even with the Evil God’s followers right in front of him, he couldn’t say he would do nothing or that he wanted to fulfill his role as a guard; those thoughts swirled in his mind, but he ultimately fell silent and stepped back.
With his shoulders slumped in defeat, he trudged along, stripped of the knightly dignity that once filled the room.
Lucy’s friends, as well as the followers of the Void, gaped at him in disbelief until, after smashing one golem’s head, Lucy called out to her friends.
“I hope you all aren’t struggling against this trash! If anyone is, I’ll be sure to keep you up for a month straight to teach you a lesson!”
Those who had suffered through excruciating training under Lucy knew her warnings weren’t idle threats.
After the initial shock of realizing the presence of Evil God’s followers, they turned their astonishment at Lucy’s miracle into a shared fear of the hellish training she might impose.
“Hey, Lucy.”
“What is it, dumb knight?”
“So, I’m gonna take a break then.”
“…What?”
“I’ll be able to train with Lucy day and night for a month if I just sit here, right?”
Surprised by that unexpected reaction, Lucy glared at the naïve Frey and let out a deep sigh.
“You idiot knight, that’s not how it works! If you do nothing, I won’t do anything for you.”
“How unfair. This feels like discrimination.”
“Do you even know what the word ‘discrimination’ means?”
“Of course.”
“What does it mean? Speak up.”
“…Well…”
“You don’t know, do you? The idiot knight is too simple-minded to explain even that much!”
“Ughh.”
“Ha-ha! Pathetic! Even your dumb brother can explain that much…”
“I’m going!”
Upon witnessing Frey dash toward the enemy, Lucy giggled at the followers of the Void, who couldn’t keep up with the sudden shift in energy.
“What are you doing?♡ Are you too scared to move?♡ Ha-ha! Even beasts would have charged in by now!♡ You all are even below beasts in every aspect!♡”
“Calm down! That taunt is—”
The one pretending to be a professor tried to keep their composure, but his followers were already past that.
“Die, dog lady!”
“Kill her!”
“I’ll make her cry!”
Enraged by Lucy’s taunts, they ignored their leader’s commands and rushed toward her blindly.
A few grown men, drenched in the Evil God’s aura, charging at Lucy should have looked terrifying, yet she couldn’t stop grinning.
“Wow!♡ Look at you; you run like a randy beast!♡ Congrats!♡ From being nothing but a weakling to becoming a beast!♡ That’s quite the evolution!♡”
Despite her casual tone, Lucy’s movements were astoundingly swift.
With a flick of her mace, she shattered the jaw of the first attacker and, immediately after, kicked the next one in the gut, knocking him over.
She effortlessly deflected a curse flying her way with her shield, showing not a hint of panic.
Instead, her movements were laced with beauty.
Even actions that could seem brutal captivated the onlookers; Lucy seemed more suited for a stage than a battlefield.
Watching from the sidelines, Karl narrowed his eyes, taking in the spectacle of Lucy fighting.
Is that what she had been practicing recently?
She didn’t appear to have perfected it yet, showing plenty of rough edges. Honestly, it made him question whether there was any point in abandoning her previous fighting style.
But if the Young Lady had chosen me, she must have some intention behind it.
The job of someone in service to their master is to support and assist them in pursuing their ambitions.
For now, I’ll focus on watching over her and seek out ways to offer appropriate advice.
Karl thought this while keeping an eye on Lucy’s friends.
He knew if any of them got hurt, Lucy would be sad, making him ready to rush in at any moment.
However, as the fighting progressed, Karl began to sense that he might not get a chance to step in.
Simply put, Lucy’s friends were overwhelmingly stronger than the followers of the Void.
It was no surprise to see Lady Kent, considered an ace among knights, cleave through the mass of golems like she was cutting leaves.
At her age, manipulating an aura like that was undoubtedly impressive, but considering her innate talent, she was still in the midst of her growth, and it would be a mistake to be surprised now or to save any admiration for later.
The surprise belonged more to the Third Prince.
He knew the Prince could manipulate an aura.
However, back when training under the Alrn Knight Order, the Prince’s aura was clumsy at best.
What was problematic was that he couldn’t concentrate properly on either swordsmanship or magic, trying to juggle both.
His attempts at balancing an imperfect grasp on both were viewed by many knights as mere youthful folly.
Various knights offered the Third Prince advice, yet he stubbornly pursued his own path.
Even now, the Third Prince remained far from perfection.
By pursuing both magic and swordplay, he suffered losses in both areas.
Still, compared to the time when he trained in the Alrn Knight Order, he had clearly shown remarkable growth.
Perhaps he could successfully push through to the end of his ambitions.
As for the Young Lady from the Partran family, her skills had significantly improved.
When she first joined the Alrn Knight Order, she struggled to deal with opponents rushing toward her, but now she could handle incoming attacks while supporting her comrades and preparing counter-magic for any unforeseen situations.
Indeed, the professors from the Magic Department showered her with praise. Does she understand that they’re all trying their best to recruit her to their respective schools?
And then—
“Professor Karl.”
“What is it, Saintess?”
“Look over there! A retreat route is opening up. If we leave it be, the followers of the Evil God might escape.”
Had she been surveying the battlefield while fighting? Truly, she is a Saintess.
“I understand. We need to move.”
Nodding his head, Karl gracefully maneuvered through the room, stepping on golem heads before cleaving through the Evil God’s magic sprouting from one side.
And with a look of astonishment on the faces of the followers watching him, he raised his killing intent.
“Die fighting, trash.”
Chasing away the followers, Karl crossed his arms, watching as Lucy and her friends battled.
At this rate, there might come a day when the Young Lady protects him more than the other way around!
*
Was it due to all the grueling odds they faced before the break? It was hard to tell, but my friends, even after facing hordes of golems and followers of the Evil God, showed not a trace of fatigue.
Watching them made me feel pride for all those countless grinding sessions.
At this rate, maybe they could push their limits just like we did back in the game!
[Quest Clear…]
[Rewards being distributed…]
Finally clearing this dang quest! What a relief!
But why is the pathetic God looking so bummed?
Were my prayers that appealing to you?
Ugh! Don’t be so transparent about being a pervert!
Just have a little patience. Why are you acting more childish than the apostles?
[Reputation increased!]
But don’t flip your attitude just like that!
You’re losing all your intimidating presence, you pathetic God.
Still, you’re my Lord, so at least act like one, please!
“What do we do now, Lucy Alrn?”
While I was scolding the pathetic God, Arthur, having finished restraining the followers, posed a question.
“I think we should leave it to this pathetic Academy to sort out. They created this mess due to their incompetence, so they should clean up after themselves, am I right?”
“True. It’s not really our responsibility to sort out their mess. The problem arose because of their ridiculous traditions.”
…That’s right. These golems were supposed to be used during the entrance ceremony.
In my excitement at resolving the annoying issue, I almost forgot something important.
Uh, wait.
Could we fix these up and use them again?
They’re pretty wrecked, but maybe if we piece them together properly…
Will it even work?
Nah, probably not.
As I tried to piece together the golem I had smashed with my mace, I realized there was no way out.
[Lucy. Just to check, are you expecting a reprimand? ]
‘…Maybe?’
[Of course not! It was the Academy’s negligence that led to this mess! You have no part in it!]
‘R-really?’
[Yes! In this case, it’s actually right to blame the Academy for their mistakes! How dense can they be, not even noticing the followers of the Evil God infiltrating their ranks, even in chaos? ]
Thinking about it, he was right. It’s as if I solved a problem caused by the Academy’s error.
If I were to demand compensation, they couldn’t possibly scold me!
After hearing my grandfather’s advice and realizing I had a solid basis, a fun idea popped into my head, and I grinned.
This situation with clear status and justification is perfect for flexing my authority.
‘What if I extort something from the Academy?’
[Good thought! If you pin them down now, they won’t make the same mistake in the future!]
My grandfather seemed rather irritated about the incident, and instead of stopping me, he offered guidance on how to confront them.
‘…Isn’t that a bit much?’
[Not at all! After all, they messed up last year and are repeating the same mistakes! They need a proper reprimanding!]
His advice was a bit harsher than I expected.
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