Chapter 162

Chapter: 162

Clap Clap Clap If a proper etiquette teacher saw this, they’d surely applaud the aristocratic elegance of Joy, who was dining gracefully, and Phoebe next to her, subtly smiling and moving her hands flawlessly. I couldn’t help but let a grin slip onto my face.

Thank goodness for the Mesugaki Skill.

Without it, I’d probably be wearing a creepy old uncle-like smile right now.

I’ve always wanted to eat with others.

Eating alone, without any conversation partner, is super lonely!

That’s fine at home!

But eating alone while everyone else is laughing and enjoying themselves is a massive feeling of relative deprivation!

At least it was for me!

Thankfully, I could chat with Grandpa in my head; otherwise, I would have felt like a lonely rabbit ready to die!

But right now, I was living out my dream of eating with others at the Academy.

And not just anyone.

If you asked who’s the greatest at the Soul Academy, Joy would naturally pop up as the answer.

And Phoebe, who is so great that you have to bring her for every challenge, naturally grew on me.

I was eating with these two.

How could I not be happy about it!

Ahh, just watching them talk while eating feels filling.

Is this what a mother’s heart feels like?

It’s honestly heavenly.

Ho. That’s great.

“Right? I’m so happy they’re having a meal with me.”

…Hmm. I meant it in a political sense, but if you’re happy, then I guess it’s fine.

“Political sense?”

Remembering Grandpa’s words, it dawned on me.

Just a moment ago, I was in a dream-like state, unable to wake up from the fantasy of dining with these two. But now that I’m focused, the answer is straightforward.

Joy is a close friend of Phoebe. This is a universally acknowledged fact. They’ve been friends since they were very young.

So if I bullied Phoebe, the person who would react most sensitively would be Joy.

Of course, Joy is close to me too, and since she owes me a favor, she wouldn’t go too hard on me.

But if I really bullied Phoebe, she wouldn’t be here dining with us.

Joy might be silly, but she’s serious when it matters.

So, Joy willingly sitting here and dining with us guarantees that there’s no problem between these two.

As I organized my thoughts and shared them with Grandpa, he chuckled.

Hoho. Your knowledge has increased a bit.

“Thanks to you, Grandpa.”

Listening to the tales he tells me during any situation, I naturally learned.

Complimenting Grandpa this way made him smile, looking pleased.

“Joy must have intended this, right?”

Wouldn’t you think so? That little one is silly, but she’s a ducal lady.

“Impressive.”

Seeing a side of Joy that’s not just silly and sloppy, I naturally felt admiration.

Right? Unlike me, who doesn’t know the essence of nobility, Joy grew up in a ducal family.

In the social circle, she stands among the core ladies, and she couldn’t have acted without thought.

“I’m grateful too.”

Thanks to Joy personally coming to my aid, the bad rumors about me would surely dissipate.

While I fell into disgrace and had no influence within the Academy, Joy still remained at the center of many noble ladies.

If Joy outright denies the rumors, she won’t realize she’s stepping on dangerous toes.

The other scary ladies would tear her apart. Just like what I experienced in front of the health room last time.

I could force my way through, but others couldn’t.

No way would they risk running into some horrifying disaster.

Based on games I’ve seen, the bullying from noble ladies is quite sinister.

“I should get her a gift later.”

I can’t vocalize my gratitude due to the Mesugaki Skill, but I can give her something, right?

So I’ll show my gratitude through gifts instead of words.

Saying this makes me feel like a blunt man. Kind of like “Hey, I just picked this up!” vibe.

I have to hit up the Auction House during vacation anyway.

Let’s buy a gift for Joy then.

Now that I think about it, I seem to have a list of gifts I need to get. Shouldn’t I have quite a few people to gift?

One for Karl,
And I decided to get one for Arthur as well,
Since I’ve caused so much worry, I should do something nice for Benedict too,
And I need to sprinkle gifts for the Knights from the Allen Family.

Thinking this over, I couldn’t help but frown.

Plus, if I consider what I need for myself, I’m gonna need some cash. No, a lot of cash!

“Lady Allen. What are you thinking so deeply about?”

While I was frowning, lost in thought, Joy chimed in.

Feeling her concern peeking out between her blunt gaze, all my worries began to melt away.

I could worry about that later.

What matters is enjoying this moment!

Tomorrow, I’ll surely find myself eating alone again. I can’t waste this fun time with pointless worries!

“Nothing at all.”

“Don’t mind me. I just thought the foolish young lady eats foolishly even at mealtime.”

“…What part of me is foolish? I was merely dining according to the etiquette!”

“Is that so? What could possibly be foolish about it?”

“Don’t you see? Hahaha! Because you’re so dull, you’re called the foolish young lady. Silly girl.”

“What exactly is the problem?!”

Joy raised her voice as if she couldn’t accept that she was being called foolish, but it only intensified my mischievous intentions.

She looked so cute that I wanted to tease her.

“Aren’t you putting in any effort to realize it?♡ Spoiled young lady♡ How long are you going to stay in mama’s lap?♡ So pathetic♡”

“I am not that!…”

Puhahat.

Even Phoebe, who had been desperately holding back her laughter, couldn’t help but burst out when she saw Joy’s silly reaction.

In a moment, Joy rolled her eyes at Phoebe, but Phoebe seemed too caught up in her laughter to care.

Did Phoebe’s giggling get on Joy’s nerves? Joy’s brows furrowed.

“What’s wrong with my perfect etiquette!?”

“If you’re incompetent, you should at least put in some effort!♡ Try to figure out what the problem is, you foolish young lady!♡”

“Ugh…”

Watching Joy bite her lips tight and eventually hide her face behind a fan made me chuckle.

This must definitely be thanks to the Mesugaki Skill.

There’s no way I’d enjoy tormenting someone without a reason.

*

Due to the rumors about me bullying Phoebe, I found myself dining with Joy and Phoebe and headed toward the faculty room, feeling quite smug.

Ah, thinking of Joy getting angry still brings me immense joy.

I don’t know who spread the rumors, but thanks to them, I owe my gratitude.

Of course, that’s just that, and I won’t forgive them.

There’s no way I’d forgive malicious rumors spread out of spite, right?

The moment I get my hands on them, I’ll show them what the true Mesugaki skill involves, so they better brace themselves.

As I walked, wondering how to mess with them, I soon arrived at the faculty room where the combat studies professors resided.

The reason I came here was because of what I heard while talking to Phoebe last time.

Rumors related to Nakrad. A man dressed in black who shares information.

He probably struck deals with several students from the Academy, using the promise of sharing information to plant darkness among them.

Much like what he did to Phoebe.

Undoubtedly, that darkness would be misused later, so I needed to eradicate it in advance.

It’s best if Phoebe dealt with this herself, but it wouldn’t be wise to tell her in her current anxious state that there was an Evil God’s power residing within her.

So, I’ve got to take action.

“What’s going on, my lady?”

As soon as I stepped in and placed my foot inside, I heard Karl’s voice from the side.

“Hey, Sloppy.”

“Yes, my lady. What’s wrong?”

“I….”

“How did you know I’d be here?”

“It’s nothing special. I sensed your presence while you were walking in the hallway.”

So he sensed me while working and prepped for my arrival?

What a pointless skill he has.

I can’t help but feel amazed at the extraordinary conduct, though considering it’s Karl, it’s a bit…

“I feel sick.”

No wonder, a knight like him would track my movements with his skill while using the lame excuse of needing to stick close to me.

Karl, who received my heartfelt hatred, untainted by the Mesugaki Skill, looked despaired, as if the world was crumbling, staggering back.

He seemed like a sad puppy basking in shock, but I wasn’t fooled.

I should definitely ask later what nonsense he was up to. He definitely spent it on something pointless.

Having successfully repelled Karl, I approached Anton, who was in the middle of the faculty room.

Since our last field trip, Anton has been looking favorably upon me, greeting me with a smile.

“What brings you here, Lady Allen?”

“I have something to tell you.”

“Of course, you came here for a reason. Stupid professor.”

I explained to Anton the rumors floating around the Academy and the info about Nakrad.

At first glance, it sounded like a ridiculous delusion, but Anton listened intently.

Of course, he would – I was the messenger!

I was the one who repelled the Apostle of the Evil God who invaded the Academy streets all by myself and later stopped that Apostle’s shenanigans against Phoebe.

Having a track record of facing off with the Apostle of the Evil God made what I was saying trustworthy.

“Indeed. There might be Evil God’s power hidden within the Academy students.”

“Exactly. So…”

“Seems like this clueless professor gets it fast. Perfect. The foolish pawns will engage in foolish activities, unaware of anything, so we must conduct a thorough investigation.”

Since Nakrad serves the Evil God of Darkness, the power he implanted follows the traits of that Evil God. It’s insidious and hard to detect.

Thus, we need to find those who harbor the darkness and cleanse them with the cooperation of the Church.

Once I explained this, Anton nodded.

“Understood, my lady. I shall discuss this with the Church.”

“Please ensure you do?”

“If this clueless professor just hears it and forgets, be ready for me to pluck out all your hairs!”

“Haha. Don’t worry. With your dog right next to you, how could I dare?”

Great! So, the internal matters of the Academy seem to be roughly tackled.

Imagining Nakrad’s expression when his carefully laid plans get wrecked put a smile on my face.

Now he won’t be able to pull any pranks during the final exam, so I can chill out.

I need to ask Joy to study together!

---

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