Chapter: 58
“Had a hard day today.”
At the words of Combat Studies Professor Anton, Karl forced a smile.
This morning, when Karl stopped by Soul Academy, he was so busy receiving various handovers throughout the day that he was dizzy.
When another professor transfers, they’d usually come a month early to inform, but everything was dumped on him in just one day, so no matter how much Karl knew how things rolled at Soul Academy, it was bound to be confusing.
“Let’s call it a day for now. We’ll learn the rest during tomorrow’s classes.”
As Anton spoke, he handed Karl a huge stack of documents.
“Professor, what’s this?”
“Make sure to read it all by tomorrow, got it?”
The thickness was almost two ordinary books stacked together, shocking Karl, but he didn’t say he couldn’t do it.
It was quite a lot, but not something he couldn’t handle.
After greeting Anton, Karl stepped out of the professor’s office and stretched, enjoying the sight of the sunset.
After years of rigorous training every single day, sitting and wrestling with papers made him feel twitchy.
If it weren’t for the duty of guarding the Young Lady, he probably would’ve quit long ago.
Thinking along those lines, Karl chuckled to himself and moved his feet to see Lucy.
I wonder where the Young Lady is right now.
Up until now, Lucy was never someone who stayed still.
She might’ve been different before, but ever since receiving the blessing from the god, she became incredibly much like a member of the Allen family.
It meant she preferred moving around to resting.
She must be training right now.
Just as Karl concluded that while heading toward the training grounds, he overheard a little girl spouting off behind him.
“Yeah. The Sloppy Young Lady started talking to me out of nowhere.”
If she’s the Sloppy Young Lady, that’s the Young Lady’s nickname.
Karl slowed his pace, listening to the girl’s words.
“I was sitting at this table when she suddenly came over and called me a side character Young Lady.”
“Side character Young Lady? That’s too much.”
“Exactly.”
Lucy, it seems that even at the Academy, you haven’t fixed your habit of looking down on others.
After all, she called Ducal Young Lady Partlan a Foolish Young Lady, so there’s no way she’d refer to anyone else normally.
“I was just trying to keep a straight face to see what nonsense she’d pull, and then she asks me if I have any troubles.”
“Out of nowhere?”
“Yeah. She said, ‘I’ll solve a problem you can’t handle.’”
“All she got was power, nothing changed from before, huh?”
“Seriously. If she weren’t from the Allen family, I would’ve rammed into her.”
Hearing about his Young Lady’s reputation slowly sinking, Karl couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
Ever since receiving Armadi’s blessing, she’s become a great person despite the rude talk, but with a reputation like this, can she even make friends?
It’d be nice if someone could quickly notice the Young Lady’s good nature.
“But what’s fascinating is that I actually had troubles.”
Hearing that, Karl stopped in his tracks.
It implies that something truly was bothering her.
Maybe Armadi mentioned something to her.
That means she has to help solve that kid’s worries.
“Eh. Really? What is it?”
“It’s a secret.”
“Hey.”
As Karl called out, the two little girls turned their attention to him.
They shot suspicious glares at first, but their expressions shifted to curiosity once they saw Karl’s face.
“And you are?”
“Hello! I’m the new Combat Studies professor, but I’m not good with directions.”
Claiming not to know the way was just an excuse.
Having previously attended Soul Academy, there’s no way he wouldn’t know his way around.
It was merely a way to ease their caution.
“Oh, a new professor! Where are you headed?”
“I’m thinking of going to the training grounds.”
“If that’s the case…”
It seemed the mention of a professor eased their wariness, as the girl cheerfully directed Karl on how to get there.
“…Just go like this! Want me to explain again?”
“No, thank you for explaining so well.”
As Karl said that with a smile, the girl seemed a bit disappointed.
Seeing that, he intentionally pretended not to hear and said, “If you have any problems, feel free to consult me. I’ll do my best to help.”
Having said that, Karl moved on.
Once he confirmed that the girl’s gaze followed his back, he was sure she’d come to find him.
When he mentions this later, the Young Lady will surely be pleased.
Thinking about getting praised by Lucy made Karl happy as soon as he left the school building, he encountered a familiar face.
“You’re a knight from the Allen family, right? What are you doing here?”
Joy Partlan.
The Ducal Lord Partlan’s Young Lady was given the shameful nickname of Foolish Young Lady by Lucy.
She raised her voice to admonish Karl upon seeing his face.
Joy’s actions and demeanor were extremely intimidating.
Even Karl, a seasoned knight, subconsciously felt the need to be respectful.
How could the Young Lady refer to someone like that as Foolish Young Lady?
Perhaps it’s because she’s inherited the solid bloodline of the Allen family.
In his mind, Karl silently screamed, “Wow, the Young Lady is amazing!” as he replied to Joy.
“I’m here as a professor at Soul Academy.”
“Oh, is that so? Looks like the Allen family is really devoted. But doesn’t the Young Lady look fine enough not to collapse at every little issue?”
“Because she’s a noble person.”
A noble person, huh.
Joy sighed after hearing Karl’s words.
Since she was a Young Lady from the powerful Allen family, it was fair for her to be called noble.
But the more noble someone is, the more careful they should be with their words and actions.
Joy didn’t think Lucy was outright a bad person.
After all, it was Lucy who saved her from the life-threatening crisis.
The floor crumbling unexpectedly.
The grotesque monsters they encountered.
And their master.
Even after a long time had passed, Joy still met that person in her nightmares.
The thousands of eyes that gazed down at her.
The decaying hand reaching toward her.
The voice that spoke of death seeping from that realm.
And. And. And.
“Ducal Young Lady?”
At Karl’s voice, Joy broke out of her nightmare with a deep sigh.
Ugh. I wasn’t like this recently.
In any case, the way Lucy acted in that dungeon was far removed from the irresponsible and irritable Lucy of before.
She was surprisingly reliable like a knight.
Though her words were still harsh.
Since that day, Joy had changed her evaluation of Lucy.
Once saved by a single person, how could she keep thinking the same way as before?
That’s why after contemplating all day, Joy decided to let Lucy know something about Arthur’s situation.
She couldn’t say anything too sensitive, but she thought she’d at least tell her how much he hated being called the Poor Prince.
Thus, Lucy wouldn’t be able to call him the Poor Prince anymore.
However, Joy’s plan started to crumble from the get-go.
She couldn’t find out where Lucy had gone.
“Good timing! Do you know where the Allen Young Lady is?”
“She’s probably at the training grounds.”
“At the training grounds?”
Is she really moving her body without even bothering to look around on the very first day at the academy?
Although Joy expressed doubt, Karl nodded with confidence.
Well, you’re the Young Lady’s knight, so you would know.
Karl was right. Lucy was at the training grounds.
What neither Karl nor Joy expected was that she was stirring up trouble there as well.
“Is she currently in a duel?”
Lucy was engaged in a duel with a man brandishing a spear.
Judging by the scarf color on his academy uniform, he appeared to be a third-year student at Soul Academy.
“With a third-year student too.”
“That seems to be the case.”
How on earth did these two end up dueling? Such questions were unnecessary.
Considering Lucy’s usual extraordinary conduct, the answer was clear.
“The Allen Young Lady must’ve provoked him.”
“…”
“Does she not know the meaning of staying still?”
While hearing Joy’s sigh, Karl couldn’t muster the courage to defend his Young Lady.
“How on earth is she planning to win against a third-year?”
There’s a huge gap between a first-year and a third-year student attending the academy.
Soul Academy operates strictly based on merit.
This principle is clearly evident in the academy’s grading system; to advance to a higher year at the academy, one must surpass the criteria set by the academy itself.
It doesn’t matter what high status or power one has outside.
If you can’t surpass the set standards, you can never advance.
Thus, being a third-year in the academy means you’re a skilled individual who passed many tests within it.
No matter how talented Lucy, with the blood of the Allen family, might be, there’s no way she could defeat a third-year.
The gap between the grades was that monumental.
In fact, the duel’s nature was also one-sided.
The one maintaining the offensive was solely the upperclassman.
Lucy appeared completely overwhelmed, trying to defend against the deluge of strikes.
“Does Ducal Young Lady Partlan think our Young Lady will lose?”
Karl asked Joy, who was assuming Lucy would lose.
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“I believe my Young Lady will win.”
“Even if she’s the person you serve, that seems overly optimistic.”
“Overly optimistic? How rude. An Allen family knight never lets personal feelings intervene in these fights.”
“I can’t believe you think the Allen Young Lady will win.”
“Indeed.”
“Why?”
Joy couldn’t understand Karl’s confidence, but she waited for his response.
A knight from the renowned Allen family would declare victory for his family; there must be a valid reason for such.
“Because the Young Lady hasn’t taken a single wound.”
Karl explained.
For a spearman, fighting is like a ticking time bomb.
You win if you crush your opponent before they close the distance.
If not, you lose.
Though the level of the one wielding the spear makes a difference, generally, that’s how it goes.
“In my opinion, that spearman isn’t at a level that surpasses the weapon’s limitations,” Karl calmly stated the current situation.
Though it had been a while since the duel began, Lucy was still unscathed.
Every time the third-year upperclassman moved the spear, the distance between them gradually closed.
“Looks like the bomb is about to explode.”
After hearing that, Joy viewed the duel entirely differently.
Lucy steadily advancing while the third-year upperclassman struggled to shake off the deepening signs of defeat.
Karl’s words were indeed correct.
“The Allen Young Lady will win.”
“Isn’t that right?”
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