Chapter: 378
The chef at the lodging served us an exquisite meal despite our rude late-night request.
Of course, he wasn’t overflowing with enthusiasm from the beginning. It’s natural for anyone to furrow their brows if suddenly asked to cook while they’re asleep.
However, a sufficient amount of money had the power to turn displeasure into happiness.
“Just wait a moment!” the chef shouted before hurriedly going into the kitchen, where he made a loud commotion and then brought out some decent food.
Truly, the words of the ancient sages are never wrong. When the other person’s mood looks bad, one should consider if money is insufficient.
[If you're going to argue like that, shouldn’t you take my words to heart too?]
‘Why?’
[I’m someone who could be called an ancient sage.]
I shrugged off the old man’s words about how my friend allegedly held services based on my sayings.
There were far more wonderful things in the world than addressing each of the old man’s nagging.
As I grabbed my spoon, leaving the old man behind clicking his tongue about how the younger generation can’t manage, I stuffed the pasta into my mouth.
It was a simple dish seasoned only with oil and salt, but for someone who had gone through several events that night, it was more than enough of a delicacy.
While I was busily filling my empty stomach, Joy suddenly slammed her hands on the table with a thud.
“This won’t do!”
What’s gotten into her? Can the young lady from the Ducal Family really cause such a commotion at the dining table?
Naturally, my instincts kicked in to rebuke her, but with pasta stuffed in my mouth, I refrained from speaking and shot her a disapproving look instead.
“What do you mean it won’t do? The current young lady is just too cute!”
Hey, idiot. If you’re going to talk, at least say it in a way that people can understand! I literally can’t make heads or tails of what you’re saying.
“Listen well! Lady Allen! Until yesterday, the lady always had a vicious and arrogant expression! So others found it hard to approach her!”
Well, that’s because the Mesugaki Skill had been forcing her actions. She could do nothing but what the skill wanted her to.
“But not anymore! Your expression is extremely vibrant now!”
And indeed, it is true. The Mesugaki Skill still forced me to act out, but it didn’t restrain my reactions anymore. I could laugh, cry, get angry, feel annoyed, and be sad as I pleased.
“Idiot. What’s the problem with that? Are you jealous that I’m cuter? How ugly jealousy is in women, huh?”
“I’m not jealous! Do I look like such a depraved person?!”
No, you aren’t. Joy, you are someone who can purely compliment another’s happiness. No one knows that better than I do.
When I smiled silently, Joy groaned and buried her face in her hands, letting out a sound. It was far from a noble demeanor expected of a young lady.
“Putting aside other trivial matters, the current young lady is just too destructive!”
“…Idiot. It seems the muscles in Allen’s brain have been through a lot, huh? How pitiful. But you weren’t this dumb back in the day.”
Why are you so bad at emotion control today? Did you get cursed without me knowing? When I suspected this, I tried using Divine Magic, but Joy dismissed my magic with her own power.
Impressive. Back when we first dueled in the Allen Knights, she couldn’t cast spells this quickly. Has she grown this much in my brief absence?
No. No way. Stepping outside the common sense of the game and embracing the user’s common sense, she had grown at an unbelievable rate.
Training in the Allen Knights merely taught her how to use her power.
As I chuckled with warm pride at Joy’s growth, her cheeks flushed red, and her hair flew around as she yelled.
“First, just listen quietly to what I’m saying! It’s important!”
“Who told you to be quiet? I’m not the one who’s sealed your mouth, so why are you getting all mad? Geez, idiots really lack dignity. Pathetic.”
“Ugh!”
She seemed to struggle to control her anger, tapping her feet on the floor with a thump. She pouted her lips and raised her face.
Suddenly, her previous anger dissolved and peace settled in. Now that’s somewhat noble-like.
“Showing is better than telling a hundred times, right? Young lady, look over there.”
Where Joy pointed was Karl, who was lying on the ground, blissfully happy like a Perverted Apostle.
“Why is that shoddy dog there?”
It wasn’t new for Karl to act like that, so whatever. It’s a bit disturbing that I’m getting more and more sympathetic to the perverted apostle’s nonsense, but he’s a good guy at heart, so I can allow it to a degree.
“…I see. You wouldn’t be able to guess him.”
Joy seemed to understand Karl somewhat, glaring at him with cold eyes before shaking her head.
“Thank you for waiting! Here’s the next dish!”
At that moment, the chef returned to our side carrying his own dish. He looked happy as if he’d found a gold coin, and his face showed no signs of fatigue.
“This is perfect timing, chef. Please hold on for a moment.”
“Uh?”
“Lady? Could you give him a smile?”
It was an unclear request, but since it came from Joy, I gladly complied.
Isn’t it an easy task? I meet the chef’s eyes and smile. There’s no reason not to give a smile to the one who presented us a great meal.
“…I-I have other tasks to attend to!”
Upon meeting my smile, the chef’s face turned beet red before he hurriedly fled back into the kitchen. Was he in a hurry with a dish inside?
“Can’t you see this and still not understand?”
“What?”
“…I see that now. You have no understanding of yourself at all, young lady.”
I watched Joy, who was cradling her face as if she were desperate to persuade me, and as I chewed my food, the old man’s voice echoed in my head.
[Follow what your friend is saying.]
‘Why?’
[Even if I told you the reason, you wouldn’t understand, so I don’t feel like explaining. But when has listening to me ever caused you a loss?]
That’s… true.
[It’s the words of the sages. Follow them.]
The old man’s tone felt smug, but I still accepted his advice and asked Joy what she wanted to tell me. Then Joy said, with a demeanor more serious than ever.
“I’ll teach you how to wear a mask. It’s essential for the young lady.”
As soon as I heard her mention a mask, the memory of Lucy flashed in my mind. The Lucy I’d seen as a child didn’t have the act forced upon her. Her expression always held the innocence of a child.
However, that innocence and goodwill were twisted into malice by the compulsion of the Mesugaki Skill, and those who suffered from that malice reciprocated the maliciousness back to Lucy.
In the end, the young Lucy chose to wear a mask. Knowing her purity and goodwill would be denied, she opted to strike first.
Aside from Benedict and Mira, she always acted according to her tone. If she was going to end up hated anyway, it was like she didn’t want to hold onto hope from the start.
“Lady?”
As Joy called my name, I returned to reality and chuckled, watching the crumbling mask of hers.
“You can’t teach someone while not even managing your own expression. Such a sloppy mess.”
“Teaching and doing are separate things! Young lady too!…”
A mask, huh? Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. I don’t care much for the Mesugaki Skill, but it is pretty useful in its own right.
“Still, watching how stupid you are will be fun, so I’ll just see what you’re trying to teach.”
“…Uh, does that mean you’re going to learn?”
“But you see, I’m just too nice to take only from you, okay? I’ll teach you something incredibly fun too.”
“What? Something fun?”
“How to smash those sloppy dungeons. Even that pitiful prince can sort of keep up, so I bet you can too! It’s going to be super hard though, but that’s not my problem.”
After hearing my words, Joy shrank her shoulders and glanced at me.
“Umm, do I have a right to refuse?”
“Want to cry and beg me not to? Seeing your ugly self might just change my mind a little.”
“Well, if it’s not possible, just say so…”
*
The way Joy taught me to wear the mask was somewhat clumsy. To sense and forcefully manipulate each muscle creating an expression?
‘Our Ducal family uses magic to manipulate it, but as a non-magic young lady, you should be able to do it with your own senses.’
Though Joy said it casually, it was by no means an easy task. To adjust all the many muscles that create an expression? Is that even reasonable!?
I found it impossible and turned to Joy for advice, but she just tilted her head and said, “It worked for me.”
As Joy seemed puzzled as to why I couldn’t do it, Karia, who had been grinning at us, interrupted.
“Don’t raise the corners of your mouth. Don’t put on a cheerful expression or hum. Just be like usual. Keep a neutral face.”
While I struggled to follow Karia’s instructions, I wondered why I had to do this, but I couldn’t win against Joy’s whim.
Perhaps the effort I put in overnight bore fruit, as Arthur had no inkling of my changes when I met him in the morning.
Well, more accurately, he had no time to suspect anything.
The moment he saw me wearing a rabbit headband, I burst into laughter, just as I would normally.
Arthur must have been too busy enduring his embarrassment to notice my changes.
“Lucy. Lucy.”
“What is it, foolish knight?”
“You seem different.”
But Frey was different. I thought I’d put the mask on well enough, yet Frey immediately noticed my change.
“Right?”
I responded with a smile, easing my expressions. Upon seeing my smile, Frey’s eyes lit up, and she returned a similarly bright smile before quickly frowning.
Wondering why she did that, I understood her intention the moment Frey forced a smile with her hands. She wanted to see my various expressions.
“I won’t go any further than this for someone weaker than me.”
“…Tch. Just wait and see.”
Breaking away from the grumbling Frey, I spotted Arthur beaming with a rabbit headband and a tired-looking Joy.
“Welcome, Joy. You’ve stepped into this hell, too.”
“The term ‘stepped in’ is inaccurate. Please use the expression ‘dropped off a cliff.’”
“Haha, anyway, how’s it feel? Doesn’t it feel like your head might explode?”
“I’d rather take three more classes in magic theory…”
“…What kind of crazy nonsense is that?”
Seeing Arthur’s shocked expression made me burst into laughter, but then I caught Joy’s sharp gaze and quickly adjusted my expression.
Hmm. I guess it’ll take a while to get used to this.
“What’s with you, Lucy Allen? Suddenly turning serious.”
“Could you take your eyes off me? The pitiful prince’s gaze is making me uncomfortable.”
“What’s wrong with my gaze?”
“And if you have time to worry about that, wouldn’t it be better to read more books? Even if two pathetic idiots are together, they’ll never win a bet.”
“Are you going to have a bet today too?”
“Why do you ask? Isn’t it obvious? Does the pitiful prince’s intelligence rival that of a goldfish? Or a chicken?”
“…What about the punishment?”
When I heard Arthur’s cautious question, I merely smiled without answering.
Not the sweet smile I had shown to Frey, but that annoying smirk unique to the Mesugaki.
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