Chapter: 212
Listening to the chaos of criticism pouring in from everywhere, I couldn’t help but let out a hahaha.
“What do you think?” someone asked, referring to the fact that my opponent was a sloppy knight.
Even the first prince looked surprised…
Wait, why does he look like that? Did he sense something and concoct an evil plot?
Didn’t he just throw a tantrum about being called a creepy loner? Did he think I’d cause a scene if he asked me my opinion?!
But he’s shocked right from the start?!
It’s infuriating. If he had done it deliberately, I could just blame that snotty prince and move on, but now that I know it was just a careless jab, I’m all riled up!
<...Young Lady.>
“Why?” I asked. “Grandpa.”
[Didn’t you just call him the
What kind of nonsense is this? The translation of the mesugaki skill is so thorough, there’s no way I called him the first prince.
Even if he’s old and senile, what if he misheard me, old man?
Look! In the log, it says creepy loner prince.
…Oh.
Oh?!
Did I actually call him that?!
What the heck?! Why did the words “first prince” come out of my mouth?!
I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
I’ve been tormented by the mesugaki skill for almost a year now.
It could change how others are referred to, but it has never allowed me to just call someone by a normal name!
What variable has come into play? Why did the mesugaki skill allow a regular title?
While I pondered this, the criticisms continued to rain down around me, but I brushed them aside.
This is more important. If I can figure out why I referred to the first prince normally, I might find a way to break free from the mesugaki skill’s curse!
I want to call my friends by their names too! Huh?!
“Puhahaha!”
Even though I was ignoring everything, I couldn’t ignore the laughter I heard right in front of me.
The first prince was laughing! The same guy who had just been agog a moment ago.
“Is this the arrogance of the talented? Fine. A winner has the right to say such things. I just don’t know how long you can stay a winner.”
The reason people were criticizing me was because of how rude I had been to the first prince.
Now that he acknowledges this rudeness as a qualification for arrogance, any further criticism would only stir up his anger.
Those who quickly caught on to this fact chose to praise the first prince’s magnificence rather than criticize me.
[Debt. Lucy Allen.]
At that moment, a voice echoed in my head.
Not Grandpa’s voice, but someone else’s.
Startled, I looked up to see the first prince staring at me with an emotionless gaze.
[You shall repay it later.]
…Huh? Repay? Me?
Why not just join in the blame?!
I don’t want to owe you anything!
I don’t want to be put in a position where I have to repay something to you!
Can’t you just shout “this b*tch!” instead?!
I screamed inside, but those words never reached the first prince.
*
A considerable amount of time had passed since the day of the Partlan family’s party.
If I’m still alive and well now, it’s clear that the party ended with the first prince cleaning up the mess I made.
The word debt struck like a sword, but since he didn’t come to threaten me afterward, it didn’t seem like he planned on rolling in my direction anytime soon.
Honestly, it’d be better for him to just lash out at me. Then I could deal with it and shake everything off.
Putting it off only made my heart uncomfortable!
I want to be prepared ahead of time like that shoddy god!
Wow, I’ve lived long enough to see the day the shoddy god gets reevaluated.
Can I just not pay off this debt?
Would that work?
What kind of scheme would the first prince concoct against me!
If it’s a story about me becoming strong enough to ignore the first prince later on, that’s one thing, but before that, if he gets serious about messing with me, I’m totally done for!
And even Benedict can’t help me with that!
No matter how much of a monster he is, he can’t win against a country!
…Hmm. Maybe? It’s Benedict, so I can’t be too sure.
Anyway, since I can’t talk about the first prince right now, let’s move on to something else.
Maybe I should discuss the mesugaki skill first.
First of all, to cut to the chase, the normalization of titles only happened that one time.
I’ve tried countless times since the party, but the titles never changed.
No matter how many times I try calling the first prince by his name, I end up calling him the creepy loner prince again.
The same goes for other titles. There’s no name I can properly pronounce.
I researched this together with Grandpa, but the conclusion is we just don’t know.
If I were to explain this phenomenon somehow, I’d have to say the shoddy god intervened to keep the promise of raising his reputation.
But you know what? I really can’t see the shoddy god doing something like that.
If that incompetent god was the type to worry about such things, he would’ve definitely reduced the penalty of the mesugaki skill by now, right?
Think about it. That trash loves it when I criticize him and adores when I’m in trouble.
There’s no way he’d help me just because I’m struggling…
No. No, sir. Shoddy god, I was just fired up and talking nonsense.
If I keep backbiting, I’m sure a horrifying quest will come up next, so let’s talk about something else.
Alright then, regarding the reward the duke gave me, that should suffice.
When I met the duke again after the party, he told me to say anything I desired, as long as it was possible for him to achieve.
He claimed that if he had the ability, he could make even the most absurd request come true.
He wasn’t entirely wrong.
If he used his standing as the Duke of Partlan, he could likely fulfill any ordinary wish of a noble young lady.
But what he likely didn’t account for is the fact that I’m not your typical noble young lady.
Truthfully, what I wish for now are things the duke cannot provide.
Ultimate armor or shields, skills. These items can’t just be bought with money; you need to get out there and earn them yourself.
If I was riding a magic character’s level-up tree, I would have plenty to ask from the Duke of Partlan, but unfortunately, I’m a Divine tank.
I could ask for other things too, but since the Duke asked me to say what I wanted, it feels a bit disappointing to ask for something so mundane.
While various items floated in and out of my mind, I suddenly remembered one request.
Something that couldn’t be done in a game.
Something that’s possible in reality.
Direct intervention from NPCs.
“Duke…”
“Is it alright if I ask the sloppy duke for a favor?”
I would push my current reward to a later date. Instead, during that time, whatever I asked, I wanted him to agree to it.
It was a bit audacious and maybe even rude, but the duke nodded without a hint of annoyance.
After that, we talked about mundane things.
Like events at the academy, whether Joy was doing well in school, or typical advice an elder would give.
“Oh right, you mentioned you gave Joy some advice. Could I hear about it?”
Since it wasn’t something to keep secret, I readily shared.
About how to build a foundation when leveling up a magic character.
The Duke of Partlan listened to what I had taught Joy, and suddenly furrowed his brows while mumbling to himself.
He looked like a mafia boss scheming to annihilate another gang, prompting me to straighten my back, but he wasn’t plotting any nefarious schemes.
He was simply deconstructing the ideas I brought up.
“Remarkable.”
In the end, his reaction was one of admiration.
“Repetition. Mastery. And subordinates, huh? Training magic just like building muscles? If an old man from the magic tower heard this, he’d be screaming. But it’s worth researching, Lady Allen. Who taught you this?”
“No one taught me.”
“Surely, you’re not the only one capable of such thoughts?”
This wasn’t a joke; it’s true! I came up with this build! There had never been a better build until this game became trash!
“Is this really just your own idea?! Indeed. It seems you’ve thought up things that only a non-mage can.”
The duke praised me, saying the word genius doesn’t even cover it while letting out a hahaha.
“I called you here to express my gratitude, but I’ve ended up receiving something instead. Do you genuinely have no requests? Even something trivial would suffice. I’d like to avoid increasing my debt.”
“If that’s the case, there’s one thing…”
“Then I have one thing I’d like to ask.”
I questioned why he had left the territory before the Partlan Festival.
I was curious about what kind of urgent situation could necessitate the duke’s dispatch.
Without even thinking about it, the duke answered willingly.
“I was asked for help by the Duke of Burrow. If he was urgent to reach out, it must have been serious, so I went myself, but by the time I arrived, everything had already been resolved.”
He grumbled about having wasted his time before the festival for no reason.
Is there even a possibility of any issues arising in the Burrow family at this time? I doubt anything significant could occur there.
While I was puzzled, since the duke confirmed there were no issues, I decided it was best to let it go.
There wasn’t any other noteworthy event either.
Just some requests from Arthur to be more sensible. Or how I had a duel with Frey after she clung to me, that sort of thing?
Having returned to the Allen family from the Duke of Partlan’s territory, I informed Possell that I had recuperated and joined my fellow knights for training.
“You’re very strong now, so I won’t go easy on you like before.”
“I wouldn’t want anything less!”
“Pfft. Who’s going easy on who? You think I can’t handle you because you’re not some sloppy knight?”
“Great attitude, Young Lady!”
To be honest, my sentiment about this was, wouldn’t it just be easier to die?
When I trained alone back at the academy, even when it felt like I’d die, that was all it was.
But training at the Allen family was in an entirely different realm. When pushed to the brink, I couldn’t think about anything, my mind went completely blank.
But the growth seems slower compared to rolling around.
At first, I thought my stats were increasing, which was why it felt slow, right?
But then it hit me: the shoddy god’s reward from Menestel. I couldn’t grow, even as my stats increased automatically.
To put it simply, while rolling around with the knights of Allen, I was gaining nothing at all.
When I realized this, it was like a punch to the gut.
I protested reality, cursed the shoddy god, and then scolded my dumb self.
While not everything can be reflected in proficiency or stats, what I was going through was unbelievably empty.
After wasting time like this, I realized the start of the academy’s second semester was just around the corner.
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