Chapter: 410
While watching Lucy’s Divine Power repel the Evil God’s Energy, Karl held admiration for his lady in his heart.
“How much does the great Lord Jushin love and cherish the lady to grant such a miracle even in that prayer?”
After staring blankly at the scene for a short time, Karl snapped back to reality at the thud of the golems moving and stood before her.
“I’ll take care of those lackeys.”
In a way, it could be seen as a good thing.
Lately, he had only shown the lady his incompetent side, but now he could finally do something befitting a guard!
Just a while ago, Karl had been punished for failing to protect Lucy, and now he aimed to restore his honor by displaying a proper protective role.
“If I show a magnificent performance this time, the lady will surely see me in a new light.”
Perhaps she might even praise him.
Just like when she smiled brightly and patted his head, saying he wasn’t so sloppy after all!
Imagining that scene, Karl steadied his expression and infused his color into the sword before striking at the golems dominated by the Evil God’s magic.
The sword, coated in a rich aura, ignored the conventional concept of space and cleaved through ten golems in one fell swoop.
“Come at me, you filthy bastards.”
As Karl, a knight acclaimed as a promising candidate among the monster horde called the Allen Knights, dominated the space with his sincerity, the Followers of the Void flinched and began to retreat.
At that moment, Lucy, standing behind Karl, kicked his calf.
“Shoddy Dog. What did I tell you to do?”
“…No.”
“Then why are you stepping up on your own? Is it that you refuse to listen to commands from someone weaker than you?”
“Th-that’s not it! I would never…”
“Hmph, I see. So, the Shoddy Dog was looking at me with those eyes. To think our puppy was looking to swallow its master. That’s a tad scary, so could you step back a few paces?”
“No! Lady! I—”
“Or just stay quietly in the doghouse.”
With the Followers of the Evil God in front, he felt he couldn’t just do nothing or fulfill his role as a guard, but in the end, he couldn’t respond and stepped back.
With his shoulders drooping and trudging along, all that was left of the knightly authority that once dominated the room was mere desolation.
Lucy’s friends, and even the Followers of the Void, were staring at him blankly when Lucy smashed the head of a golem and called out to her friends.
“I hope there isn’t a sloppy one struggling against trash like this. If there is, I’ll make sure they can’t sleep for a month, so be warned.”
Those who had been mercilessly battered by Lucy throughout the vacation knew that she had the power to enforce that warning.
Overwhelmed by astonishment at the fact that there were Followers of the Evil God hiding and awe at the miracle Lucy displayed, fear of the hellish training filled their hearts, and everyone but one hurriedly prepared for battle.
“Hey. Hey, Lucy.”
“What is it, you foolish swordsman?”
“Then I’ll just rest.”
“…What?”
“If that’s the case, I can train with Lucy day and night for a month!”
Lucy, who seemed surprised by this unexpected reaction, glared at the innocent-looking Frey before letting out a deep sigh.
“You foolish swordsman, you’re wrong. If you don’t do anything, you won’t get anything in return.”
“That’s just unfair. This is discrimination.”
“Do you actually know what the word discrimination means?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then what does it mean? Tell me.”
“…Well…”
“You don’t know, do you? The fool swordsman is so foolish he can’t even explain the meaning of that word?”
“Ugh…”
“Ha-ha! Pathetic. Even your dimwit younger sibling could…”
“I’m going!”
Seeing Frey charging towards the enemy, Lucy let out a chuckle at the Followers of the Void who couldn’t keep up with the atmosphere.
“What are you doing?♡ Are you so scared of me that you can’t move?♡ Hihih♡ Even the beasts would have charged in by now♡ You guys are below even beasts in thought and looks♡”
“…Stay calm. That provocation is…”
The one pretending to be a professor tried hard to keep his composure, but those around him were not so restrained.
“Damn you!”
“Kill her!”
“I’ll make you cry!”
Overcome by Lucy’s provocation and consumed by anger, they ignored their commander’s orders and rushed at Lucy without hesitation.
A few adult men charging with the Evil God’s energy was frightening in itself, but the targeted Lucy couldn’t stop smiling.
“Wow♡ The way you charge is like a riled-up beast♡ Congratulations♡ Going from less than a beast to one♡ That’s tremendous progress♡”
Despite her relaxed tone, Lucy’s movements were nimble.
She swung her mace upward, smashing the jaw of the first attacker.
Then, she kicked the abdomen of the one who followed, sent him tumbling to the ground.
And as she deflected a curse flying at her with her shield, there was no sense of crisis to be found.
Instead, what accompanied Lucy’s actions was beauty.
Despite appearing somewhat brutal, Lucy’s movements captivated the eye as if they were better suited for a stage than a battlefield.
Standing back and watching like an audience member, Karl squinted at the sight of Lucy fighting.
Is that what the lady has been practicing recently?
It seems she hasn’t fully embodied it yet.
Compared to before, there are many awkward parts. Honestly, I’m starting to doubt whether there’s any reason to abandon the existing methods.
However, if the lady chose me, then she must have some intent.
What someone serving their master must do is to support and assist what their master wishes to accomplish.
For now, I’ll focus on keeping her in sight and seek ways to advise her.
Karl thought that but didn’t neglect to check on Lucy’s friends.
He knew that if any of them got hurt, Lucy would be saddened, so he was ready to run out at any moment.
Yet, as the battle progressed, he began to feel that he might not have a chance to step in.
Simply put, Lucy’s friends were overwhelmingly powerful compared to the Followers of the Void.
It was no surprise that Young Lady Kent, deemed the Sword Saint, would effortlessly shred the golem horde like slicing through leaves.
It’s remarkable that at such a young age, she handles colored aura so freely, but considering Young Lady Kent’s talent, this too is still during her growth phase, and if she is surprised now, she might not be able to voice her admiration later.
Rather, the remarkable one is the Third Prince.
I knew he had come to wield aura.
However, when training in the Allen Knights, the aura he wielded seemed much more clumsy.
What was especially problematic was that he couldn’t focus on either swordsmanship or magic, as he was trying to manage both simultaneously.
When unable to perfect either, he struggled with both and that sight was viewed as youthful brashness by many knights.
Several knights advised him, yet the Third Prince resolutely pursued his own path.
Even now, the Third Prince is far from perfection.
By pursuing both magic and swordsmanship, he is falling short in both.
However, it’s true that he has grown immensely compared to when he trained in the Allen Knights.
Perhaps he will succeed by pushing his ambition through to the end.
The movements of the Young Lady of Partlan’s family have also improved significantly.
When she first joined the Allen Knights, she struggled to deal with those charging at her, but now she handles incoming threats while supporting her comrades and even preparing spells for unforeseen situations.
Indeed, it’s the talent praised highly by the professors of the magic department. I wonder if she knows that they are trying their best to pull her into their own faction.
And—
“Professor Karl.”
“What is it, Saintess?”
“Can you see over there? A retreat path is forming. If left unchecked, the Followers of the Evil God might escape.”
Was the Saintess surveying the entire battlefield even during the fight? She truly is remarkable.
“I understand. We must move.”
Nodding, Karl dashed while stepping on the heads of golems, swiftly moving to slash through the Evil God’s magic being conjured in one corner of the room.
And seeing the followers looking at him with shock, he felt a surge of killing intent.
“Fight to the death if you want to die, trash!”
Having chased away the followers, Karl crossed his arms while watching Lucy and her friends fight.
At this rate, the day when the lady protects me may come faster than the day I protect her.
*
Perhaps it was because they had been grinding so much before the vacation, but my friends showed no signs of fatigue even after battling numerous golems and followers of the Evil God.
Watching this unfold made my heart swell with pride for all the grinding we had done.
With this level of endurance, maybe during our travels later, we could go through forced marches like we did in the game.
[Quest Clear…]
[Rewards being distributed…]
Finally clearing this damn quest! I swear, it feels so refreshing!
But why is the Shoddy God looking so regretful?
Was my prayer that hard to hear?
Ah, seriously. Can’t he pretend to be a pervert a little better?
How about showing a bit of patience? Why does the so-called God act more childish than the apostles?
[Reputation increasing!]
But that doesn’t mean you should change your attitude so drastically right now.
It’s just not dignified like that, Shoddy God.
Still, you’re the God I serve, so please act a bit more divine. For heaven’s sake.
“What are we going to do now, Lucy Allen?”
As I was chastising the Shoddy God, Arthur, who had just finished securing the followers, asked the question.
“We should let them handle it in this sloppy academy. They caused this mess with their incompetence, so surely they should clean it up, right?”
“Well, true. It’s not something we need to worry about. It’s their mess created by trying to stick to tradition and making fools of themselves.”
… Right. These golems were meant for the entrance ceremony.
I was so excited that the annoying problem was solved that I forgot something important.
Uh. Uh-oh.
Can these be repaired and used again?
They are pretty battered, but if I assemble them well, shouldn’t I be able to reuse them?
Or not?
Maybe not, right?
As I pondered how to reassemble the golem I had smashed with my mace, I realized how hopeless this scenario was at the sight of the crumbling golems.
[Lucy, just to ask, do you think you will be scolded? ]
‘…I hope not?’
[Of course not! The academy was the one that caused problems through negligence! You have nothing to be blamed for! ]
‘Is that right?’
[Exactly! In this case, it's more appropriate to scold the academy! Those fools. No matter how chaotic the situation is, they didn’t even notice the Followers of the Evil God among them! ]
Thinking about it, that’s true. This situation is basically me solving the academy’s mess.
If I voice my complaints, the academy can’t blame me!
Having realized I had a valid point thanks to my grandpa’s advice, an entertaining idea popped into my head as I grinned.
Given my clear position and reasoning, this is the perfect time to flex my muscles.
‘Shall I ask the academy for some compensation?’
[Good idea. When you point out a mistake, you must point it out firmly so that they don’t repeat it next time. ]
My grandpa seemed more irritated about this situation than I was, further advising me on how to complain.
‘…Isn’t that a bit too extreme?’
[Extreme? After last year's similar mistake, they are repeating the same foolishness! They need this level of reprimand! ]
The advice was a bit harsh, even giving me a small shock.
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