Chapter: 200
It wasn’t hard to guess why that number had increased.
What could that damn perverted pedo Lord Jushin possibly want?
Not only did he want to see me squirm in shame by making my black history public, but he also wanted to ogle at my dress!
You think he has some deep intentions?
Does he, really?!
Hah!
Do you think that jerk has any deep intentions?!
Ugh, so annoying.
It’s not like I just skated through the quest.
I went dressed in Gothic Lolita to the auction house just to buy that Bracelet of Recreation.
And I didn’t even fully clear the quest! I only met four out of the required conditions.
I was still recovering and relying on my luck to fill the rest!
But now he’s raising the numbers because it looks like I’m clearing the quest without much trouble?!
You sloppy God! Do you even have a conscience?!
If you’re a God, at least try to hide your sinister motives for once and act a bit more dignified!
Why are you trying to strip away the little faith I had left?!
Did you want to get insulted like that?!
Could that even be part of your plan? You think you can achieve three purposes at once?! This game is such a mess!
Hah.
Let’s calm down. Cursing out the sloppy God isn’t going to change anything.
That guy probably enjoys being insulted. Instead of fulfilling his twisted desires, it’d be better to think about what’s ahead.
I exhaled a long sigh and turned my gaze back to the quest.
The changes in the quest text weren’t just the numbers. There were changes beneath it as well.
[Reward: Significant Reputation Increase, ???]
[Penalty: Participate in the party dressed as Lucy, ???]
At first glance, I noticed that the word “many” was added to the reputation increase.
I don’t know how that’ll happen, but it’s definitely a bigger reward than before.
And those question marks in both reward and penalty sections.
Based on past experiences, that’s something additional given.
So it means that while the quest has become harder to clear, both the rewards and penalties have upgraded.
Penalties.
Penalties, huh.
What could those question marks be?
I assume it won’t be something extreme like a game over.
It’s clear that serious outcomes are shown clearly.
As I continued to ponder, a past quest suddenly came to mind.
Something humiliating I witnessed when I went to meet the sloppy fox.
If that comes up as a penalty, it means the quest could enforce actions as a punishment.
At the moment I thought that, ten thousand ideas flashed through my mind.
The party at this Partlan Festival is quite big.
It’s a party held by the Duke’s family to celebrate the festival. You could say all the prominent nobles will gather. Even without the First Prince showing up, it would still be a massive scale.
What if I caused some kind of problem in that setting? The rumor would spread across the entire continent in an instant.
Bad rumors would circulate, my reputation would plummet, and my black history would be set in stone.
…
No. Let’s not imagine that.
Let’s only think of the positives.
Ultimately, if I clear the quest, the rewards will just increase, right?
That sloppy God may be a pervert with distorted walls, but he does give proper rewards.
Those question marks will surely include something useful for me now.
So in the end, what I must do hasn’t changed.
Clear the quest.
Grab the top spot at this festival.
Crush the sloppy God’s schemes.
I don’t know why the Evil God is pulling tricks instead of the God, but whatever.
Let’s think about it.
I’ve already won against five street vendors, so I need just nine more victories.
Doing the math, I find that there are 12 street vendors I haven’t challenged yet, so I only have three chances to fail.
I can skip those relying purely on luck and use the Bracelet of Recreation, and for issues of memory or knowledge, I can rely on Grandpa. But for the physically demanding parts, I must handle them myself.
With my current trash-like physical condition.
The only saving grace is that I handled the assignment I felt unsure about first.
Now, what remains are the parts I think I can tackle.
If my physical condition were normal, I could have overcome them somehow.
Alright. Let’s not think about what’s behind us.
What matters is the pressing problems at hand.
If I can’t clarify the question marks the sloppy God has put out, I can’t afford to fail.
I’ll think about the backstory later.
Determined, I sprang up from my seat.
“Lucy Allen?”
“Lady Allen?”
I’ll head out first.
“This food is a bit sloppy for me, so I’ll take my leave first.”
“Huh?”
“Young Lady?!”
Leaving the astonishment of the two behind, I stepped outside to find one person.
Since I was invited to the Partlan Festival and have no schedule during this vacation, she must be somewhere here.
Finding her wasn’t difficult at all.
She, in a different sense, attracts everyone’s attention.
As I followed where the crowd gathered, I naturally spotted her.
Pushing through the throng, I quickly found Phoebe smiling at the center with the Church folks.
As I stepped forward, a path opened up, and Phoebe noticed me.
Even though we just locked eyes for a moment, Phoebe’s expression changed dramatically.
Her slight gaze had lifted into a bright smile.
That smile was so beautiful that anyone who saw it would hope it was directed at them, and realizing it was not, made me unintentionally feel jealousy and disappointment.
“Please wait a moment.”
As I was walking behind Phoebe’s smile, a knight stepped out to block me.
Despite his stoic face showing confusion, the reason in front of me was his loyalty to the Saintess.
“Sir Knight, it’s alright.”
“But, Saintess…”
“Lady Allen is my friend from the Academy.”
His loyalty was rendered powerless in front of the smile of the one he had to protect.
Phoebe gently pushed against his shoulder, causing the knightly wall to crumble.
“It’s been a while, Lady Allen.”
Me too, Phoebe.
“Good to see you, Sloppy Saintess.”
The term “Sloppy Saintess” caused shock on the faces of the clerics around Phoebe, as well as the spectators who came to see her.
Fortunately, Phoebe didn’t react at all to what he said; otherwise, the insults would have poured in from behind.
She seemed to have a lot to say, her mouth moving as if she had plenty to express.
“You’ve come early to enjoy the festival, huh? If I had known this would happen, I would’ve come sooner.”
Maybe it was because it had been a while since we met.
Phoebe looked like she had a lot to say.
Normally, I would have enjoyed chatting with her, but not now.
Right now, I had more urgent matters at hand.
Using the ring Alsatine had given me to block out the sounds around, I spoke.
“Phoebe, I need a favor.”
“Sloppy Saintess, there’s something even you can do now.”
Although it was a somewhat reckless statement, Phoebe didn’t show any questions.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Please give me a buff.”
“Give me a buff.”
What do you do if your physical abilities are lacking?
You fill in the gaps.
To a degree where it can compete with a normal state, or even surpass it.
“What kind are you looking for?”
“Well…”
“I need…”
Despite having the capability to use Divine Magic myself, the reason I sought out Phoebe was largely because her Divine Magic is incredibly effective, and she can use various types of buffs.
My body, still in recovery mode, was a total mess.
I wasn’t even in a condition to handle the doping with various potions.
So my plan was to set the foundation with Phoebe’s buffs and then dope myself to raise my specs to the highest possible.
Once the specs are up, taking down street vendors would be easier than a game.
In a game, I had to purely compete, but now I can use the various skills I have.
“Lady Allen, too many buffs can be harmful. After all, your body is the one that has to bear it.”
Phoebe, hearing my request, tried to dissuade me with a worried expression.
Her words were right.
Excessive buffs lead to penalties afterwards.
Just look at my body, which was a trash heap after pulling off a miracle.
Right now, I’d surely feel good with high specs, but once those buffs wear off, the repercussions would undoubtedly be just as magnified.
I’m not ignorant of that. Those penalties clearly existed in the game.
Even knowing that, I’m trying to dope myself.
I don’t know how long I’ll be bedridden, but it’s to resolve the immediate issues.
To crush the sloppy God’s schemes.
And for my dignity!
I have to do this!
“Stop saying useless things and give me the buff, Sloppy Saintess! This is something I have to do!”
After hearing my words, Phoebe pondered for a moment before joining her hands in prayer.
The buffs that started from her blessing enveloped me and lightened my heavy body.
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
I’ll try my best.
“Who’s worrying about whom? I’m not sloppy enough to be worried about a sloppy person!”
“And if you end up sick later, just call for me. That’s my specialty.”
That’s kind of attractive.
If I become a sickly mesugaki, I’ll think about it. Phoebe.
After exchanging farewells with her, I immediately opened my inventory.
In addition to what I had stashed away, I had a lot of potions that Karia had taken from the Georg family, but there were only a few types I actually needed to use.
Increase physical abilities, boost vitality, awakening effects, and some to minimize penalties.
[You’re quite familiar with mixtures. You’ve done it a lot.]
I’ve done it a ton. I’ve struggled for research to maximize efficiency.
In reality, the results other people came up with were more efficient, so I had to toss out what I did.
[But still, you’ll have to be bedridden for a few days.]
Grandpa, seeing the potions I was going to drink, let out a groan.
Hmm, is that really the case? I tried to minimize penalties, but there’s always a limit.
[Is there really a reason to go that far for this festival?]
Because I was ordered to.
<…What does the God want?>
Having finished doping, I moved to the designated street vendor for the start of the match.
The theme of this place is strength.
I have to smash down the plate that has undergone both physical and magical procedures with a wooden hammer nearly as tall as me.
Receiving the wooden hammer from the vendor, I took a deep breath and raised it up high.
As a result, I heard the murmurs from around me.
“Oh, she lifted it up!”
“How is that little body producing such strength?”
“Is she from the Allen family?”
“It’s impossible. Mr. Magger failed to break that, so how could that girl do it?”
“Her posture is decent, but with those thin arms, it’ll be hard.”
I paid them no mind.
Because there was a voice inside me that I could trust even more than those words.
[Let’s give it a shot.]
I practiced how to wield the Divine Magic thousands of times during this vacation.
What I’m about to do is just add one more to that endless number.
There can be no mistakes.
As the hammers infused with divinity came down, they split the plate in half and shattered the murmurs.
Alright.
With my current physical condition, I can do this.
I can succeed in the quest.
Just you wait, sloppy God.
I’ll find out just how great the rewards you’ve prepared are!
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