Chapter: 111
‘How did that happen?’
“Foolish Young Lady. How do you know? Are you a stalker? Gross. Just disgusting.”
“Rumor has it already. Lady Allen.”
Rumor?
There’s no way anyone should know I went out last night without being caught.
I tilted my head, and Joy pressed her palm to her forehead in frustration.
“Last night, the Dormitory Head said you went missing, Lady.”
Oh, right.
Since I went out around dinner yesterday, the Dormitory Head must’ve noticed I was gone.
So that’s how the rumor spread.
It’s not a big deal.
The Dormitory Head will nag, but that’s it.
She can’t do anything to me, the count’s daughter.
Even if she tried to punish me, she’d just be reminded of all the incidents that happened at the Academy, and it would quiet down automatically.
Have I had only a couple of incidents so far?
I have the right to this!
Do you know how hard it’s been to calm Benedict, who wanted to come to the Academy?
When Nakrad nearly killed me, I told him that I wouldn’t have any issues just returning without graduating from the Academy!
I succeeded in stopping him just barely because I have things to do at the Academy, but these days he contacts me daily through the magic crystal.
Dealing with that creepy uncle who insists on talking a little longer is mentally exhausting. Seriously.
“That’s not all. People have said they saw you running towards the Academy from the alley this morning. There are tons of classmates who saw you coming to take the test in armor with fragmented wounds all over. It’s common knowledge, Lady Allen, that you weren’t in the dorm last night.”
Caught in the monotone recitation of facts, I couldn’t bring myself to respond.
It means everyone at the Academy knows I wasn’t in the dorm yesterday.
sigh What strange rumors will spread now?
The people at this Academy have a tendency to bite if you throw them bait.
When I watch them play with provocation and fabrication, I wonder how I should respond.
At least these days Joina and Arthur interrupt it, so it’s less.
“So please, tell me. What did you do yesterday?”
How should I explain this?
I went to prevent a disaster at the Academy’s test?
That sounds way too insane to say out loud.
I helped a friend?
I have no friends besides Joy!
Pass on that too.
I made a deal with people from the underworld.
That would probably accelerate the spread of ugly rumors, so that’s out.
As I rolled my eyes trying to come up with a plausible story, Joy sighed.
“Is it hard to tell?”
Should I say it’s difficult?
I could say I did something unbelievable.
How do I explain that I’ve cleared a dungeon created by the Apostle of Evil God to sabotage the Academy’s exam in a way that makes sense?
If they didn’t see the whole process, they’d obviously think it’s nonsense.
“Then let me ask this. It wasn’t anything bad, right?”
Of course not!
“I’m not a scary person like that Foolish Young Lady. So, of course not.”
“Well, that’s good enough.”
I wondered what would happen if she pressed for more, but Joy withdrew more easily than I thought.
“I believe you won’t do anything pointless. But next time, can you at least tell me beforehand? I was really worried, you know?”
Seeing Joy shrug and smile made me seriously feel like tearing up.
Joy! That’s unfair!
My favorite character was worried about me!
sniff So touching!
What should I do? Can’t I just record that line?
Is it impossible to preserve it at the top of the log forever?
While I was panicking inside, my outside reaction was still dignified.
The Mesugaki Skill seemed to deem that such fussiness was beneath a Mesugaki.
I had the thought of wanting to bounce around hugging Joy, but the Mesugaki Skill did something entirely different.
The Mesugaki Skill made just my hands and mouth move.
I made a show of trying to hide my smile with my hands and acted overly cute with my lips.
Thank you so much, Joy!
“Hmm? You were worried? Were you afraid that there’s no one to protect the cowardly, sloppy Foolish Young Lady?”
“I’m not that scared, you know?”
Seeing her look at me with relief, Joy shrugged again and turned back towards the other Young Ladies.
Since Joy had already cleared the Academy Dungeon with me, I wondered why she was here, then realized she was giving advice to the other Young Ladies.
She’s really a kind person, despite her looks.
Now that Joy’s gone, shall I start what I was planning to do?
Grandpa.
[I was already searching. Just wait a bit.]
According to the game story, that student who used a magical tool is not caught at that time.
It’s not just because of the commotion that followed, but because that magical tool possesses the Authority of Evil God, making it hard to detect.
But I have a way to find that person.
With Grandpa, the mace and high-performance detector.
He detects everything from nearby to faint traces of monsters in the dungeon.
He has the sharpest sense of smell when it comes to matters related to the magic.
Finding out if a magical tool has been used shouldn’t be that hard for him.
My assumption was correct.
[From where you are standing, in the northeast direction. The girl you knocked down before. Do you see her?]
Before long, Grandpa found traces of the magical tool.
When I turned my gaze to where Grandpa pointed, there was a Young Lady standing behind a tree, looking stunned at a black stone.
I remember that girl.
Last time, she had blocked me when I was going to see Joy in the infirmary.
What was her name… what was it again?
I remember her leading several Young Ladies around Joy.
What did the Mesugaki Skill call her?
I can’t remember that either.
Hmm. What was it? A job?
The important thing now is that I have her weakness, the Young Lady who really dislikes me and has been spreading a lot of bad things about me.
Seeing her frowning face made all my accumulated fatigue vanish.
My lips are already starting to curl uncontrollably.
I wonder how I should exploit her.
It’s okay to mess around with no guilt, right?
Mesugaki Skill.
For this moment, I will free you from the shackles around your neck.
Go ahead, do whatever you want.
Shall I just try to say the word I can say the most?
“Sloppy♡”
I’m perfectly ready.
Alright. Let’s go.
With a perfect motive and reason, I’m off to torment that Young Lady.
*
Dammit. Why isn’t it working?
I said, if I poured magic into this stone, a huge commotion would happen.
And in that commotion, Lucy Allen would get hurt!
Why is nothing happening!
I’m pouring in magic!
Work! Work, I say!
Hurry up and punish that smug Lucy Allen!
If it’s the Evil God, it should be able to do that much!
“Hey.”
As I inwardly cursed at the black stone, Avery jumped in surprise at the voice that came from behind and hid the stone.
“Shoddy Young Lady♡ What are you doing gloomy over here?♡ Decided to act according to your looks?♡”
As soon as she heard that shrill, mocking laugh, Avery knew who was standing in front of her, even without looking up.
“Lady Allen.”
The person she hated the most right now.
The b*tch who took away the person she loved and admired the most.
Lifting her head, Avery bit her lip as she looked into those mocking eyes peering down at her.
“What do you want?”
“Just wondering what you’re doing all alone?♡ Oh! Did you decide to be a loner at the Academy?♡ Fits you well~!♡”
Every time Lucy Allen spoke, something deep in Avery’s heart stirred, but she forced herself to suppress it.
The Ducal Young Lady was here. If she shouted at Lucy Allen, she would surely dislike her.
I can’t let that happen.
I don’t want to be hated by her.
“Ha. You’re the one who’s lonely. A Young Lady with no friends.”
“That’s not true. I have friends!”
“Another lie.”
“I’m loved by Joy♡ Right?♡ Unlike you, gloomy girl♡”
“That’s all you—!”
Unable to hold back her rising anger, Avery raised her voice, and in that instant, Lucy Allen reached out and covered her mouth.
Avery desperately tried to remove that hand, but it was impossible.
There’s no way she, a wannabe wizard, could win against Lucy Allen, who was training to become a knight.
Seeing the wide eyes of bewilderment on Avery’s face, Lucy smiled more wickedly than ever.
“Calm down, Shoddy Young Lady♡ You want to advertise that you’re a trashy coward trusting a shoddy Evil God? Attention-seeking? Gross~♡”
How is that possible.
As Avery’s eyes widened in panic, a sound of giggling escaped Lucy’s lips.
No way. No way!
That must’ve been just a casual remark. How could someone like Lucy Allen sense this magical tool that even the Academy professors couldn’t detect.
“Do you think I wouldn’t know?♡ That stone. That was given to you by that Braggart. Ah~ Are you in denial?♡ Just like a shoddy Young Lady crawling under the Evil God♡ You’re so dumb♡”
Braggart.
Even though it wasn’t a specific reference, Avery could guess who she meant.
The one who handed Avery the black stone.
The guy who called himself the darkness.
The one who gave Avery that stone along with other information.
Lucy Allen wasn’t just trying to intimidate Avery without reason.
She arrived with a confirmation of knowledge.
“Are you figuring it out?♡ Shoddy Young Lady?♡”
You’re caught on the fishing line now.
Even though Lucy Allen had released her mouth, Avery couldn’t say a word.
She couldn’t speak.
Even though she was still a student, Avery was a noble who had spent a long time in the social circle.
At least she had some sense of political awareness.
And at this moment.
Avery, caught with an unspeakable weakness by someone she shouldn’t be caught by, had to submit.
Otherwise, the person standing before her, known to have connections with the Church of Lord Jushin, would smile her usual annoying smile and throw Avery onto the pyre.
“Shall we go to a place we can talk quietly? One where it’s okay even if the pig squeals?♡”
“…Yes.”
There was nothing left for Avery but to nod.
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