Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy

Chapter: 81

‘Is Joy going to be okay?’

[She will be.]

It was sudden.

On my way to the Academy Dungeon, I ran into Joy, and we ended up in front of the dungeon door together.

In that moment, Joy collapsed.

Gasp gasp.

Her eyes were trembling.

She murmured that she didn’t want to die.

Even though her eyes were open, she couldn’t see in front of her.

She couldn’t even hear the buzzing sounds around her.

Trapped in her own world, she seemed isolated from reality.

When she barely regained her senses, she tried to get up, saying it was probably because she hadn’t slept properly, but the strength in her arms and legs just gave out again.

I reached out to help her, but that wasn’t the best choice.

I saw Joy flinch and shiver the moment my hand extended.

[Young Lady. It’s not your fault.]

The Grandpa sighed and said it wasn’t my fault, but I couldn’t nod in agreement.

In the end, wasn’t it me who got excited about going to the dungeon together without knowing Joy’s situation?

[It’s common. Experiencing an accident in a dungeon can make you fear it. It’s a process that those who conquer dungeons must go through, just that it has come sooner for her.]

I didn’t know such things existed.

This never happened in the game.

No matter what kind of crisis struck.

Even if the party collapsed.

Even if a black window popped up with the words “Game Over.”

Characters in the game were just that—characters.

They didn’t plead for relief from their mental pain.

They just moved according to my wishes.

‘What should I do?’

So, I didn’t know how to act in this situation.

Having never experienced anything like it, I didn’t know how to help Joy.

I didn’t know if I could save her from nightmares.

[Don’t try to do something for the sake of doing something.]

‘Huh?’

I asked Grandpa, who seemed accustomed to such situations, but he gave me an unexpected answer.

[Don’t show sympathy. Don’t offer comfort. Just treat her like usual.]

‘But…’

[Young Lady. Do you think the human mind is simple enough to overcome things just because you say a word?]

Grandpa said.

In the end, to free oneself from the trauma that torments them, one must overcome it themselves.

No matter how good the outside words or considerations are, they are meaningless.

Rather, they only make the person realize they are trapped in trauma.

So just treat her like usual.

[Don't do anything until the other person asks for help first. That’s the best advice I can give you.]

‘…Okay.’

Normally, Grandpa would act serious yet blurt out nonsense.

But today, his voice was unusually heavy.

So I realized he was giving serious advice.

‘Have you seen many people suffering like that, Grandpa?’

[Living on the battlefield, it becomes boring to encounter such things.]

‘Did they all get better?’

[I can’t say for sure. But the Foolish Young Lady will be okay. She has a strong mind and is loved by those around her.]

When Grandpa mentioned the Foolish Young Lady, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Sigh. Seriously.

Just when I was feeling sentimental, he ruined it all.

Knowing he made a joke out of concern for me, I didn’t complain to Grandpa.

Instead, I took a deep breath.

Yeah. She’ll be okay.

“Young Lady.”

While killing time like that, Karl, who took Joy to the infirmary, returned.

‘Karl. How’s Joy?’

“Shoddy Dog. How’s the Foolish Young Lady?”

“She’s okay. Thanks to the stabilization magic, her anxiety has disappeared. The healing staff in the infirmary said she’ll be fine after resting a bit.”

The one working in the Soul Academy infirmary is incredibly skilled.

If someone like that said she’d be okay, I could breathe easy.

I’m relieved. Really relieved.

“And Young Lady. Ducal Young Lady Partlan wants to see you again.”

‘Me?’

“Me?”

“Yeah.”

Is it okay to meet her again now?

Joy flinched when she saw me reaching out.

What if she gets scared again for seeing me now?

Thinking like that kept me from getting up easily when Grandpa sighed and spoke.

[What did I say?]

You told me not to be considerate.

Yes, I just heard that but had forgotten.

I nodded to Grandpa as I got up from my seat.

As I headed to the infirmary, I felt a lot of eyes on me today.

It seemed the news about Joy collapsing had spread among the students.

Some even whispered with their mouths covered as if they were trying to eavesdrop, and the content was that I had bullied Joy.

Even if I’m a bit out of my mind, who would bully a Young Lady from the mighty Partlan family?

But then again, I did just call the Third Prince a Pitiful Prince.

As crazy as it sounds, it makes sense when tied with the words Lucy Allen.

Ah. I guess I should give up on restoring my reputation.

No matter how much I struggle, what lies beneath is already the worst, so what can I do?

Well, I don’t really need to be loved by everyone, right?

As long as those I like like me, that’s enough.

This is what it means to have the courage to be hated, right?

While I acted as nonchalant as possible and walked ahead, a group of female students blocked my way.

Their faces were familiar.

Not because they were important NPCs from the game, but they were just the usual followers of Joy.

A bunch of haughty Young Ladies glaring at me is kind of scary.

It’s a completely different kind of pressure than facing strong monsters.

Is this the bullying often seen in villainess stories?

Whoa. This is tough.

If it were a clueless female protagonist, she’d be choking over it, right?

“Lady Allen.”

One that looked like the representative of the group called out to me.

She merely called my name, but I could tell what she thought of me.

Anyone could understand that by hearing the voice filled with irritation.

“Where are you going?”

‘I’m going to the infirmary.’

“Do you want to know? I don’t want to tell you. I don’t feel like answering a question from a Shoddy Young Lady like you.”

Thanks to my Mesugaki Skill, I couldn’t help but giggle as I replied, causing murmurs amongst the Young Ladies surrounding me.

The content was obvious.

They said I was insolent or rude, roughly along those lines.

But that murmur stopped the moment the representative girl furrowed her brows.

She has a solid presence. More villainous than Joy?

“Don’t be rude.”

‘Uh… Sorry?’

“What? Are you mad? Incompetent Young Lady unable to control her emotions, scolding me while being rude yourself.”

For some reason, my Mesugaki Skill wouldn’t stop laughing.

The more that happened, the redder the representative Young Lady’s face became.

“You, as a human, haven’t changed since being in the social circle.”

Her voice seemed to chew up hatred and spit it out in words.

Hearing that, I understood that the bad blood between this Young Lady and Lucy wasn’t trivial.

She must be one of those Lucy got on the wrong side of.

“Lady Allen. You plan to head to the infirmary now, don’t you?”

‘Yes. So what?’

“Did you know? Then why did you ask? Dementia? Amnesia? Do you have a hole in your brain at such a young age?”

“Get lost. What business does someone who bullied Ducal Young Lady Partlan have to see her?”

What? Is she dead set on believing that rumor?

So she’s trying to prevent me from seeing Joy?

Considering she’s making a fuss and getting into it with me, it seems like Joy is valuable to her.

Well, good for them. Joy must be struggling a lot right now, so she needs friends like this.

Of course, that’s separate from this matter.

‘I’m going because Joy called for me.’

“Shoddy Young Lady. Sorry, but I’m going because the Foolish Young Lady called me. So the one who should get lost is you. Got it? Shoddy?”

Since I was going because Joy wanted to see me, I’d like her to step aside.

If they want to complain, I’ll happily listen to their grumbles later.

“You aren’t good at lying, are you?”

But this Young Lady didn’t believe my words at all.

Well, if she believes the rumor, she wouldn’t trust that Joy called for me.

Still, it’s true that Joy asked for me.

How should I persuade them?

“Excuse me. I’m sorry, but Ducal Young Lady Partlan wants to see Lady Allen.”

Maybe I couldn’t persuade this group of Young Ladies?

Cal stepped in, but the sharpness in the Young Lady’s eyes didn’t waver even a bit.

“Professor, could you not interfere with students’ conversations?”

At that moment, I realized I had been mistaken about something.

If this person really cherished Joy, would she disregard Cal’s words?

Wearing the title of Professor.

The same Cal who just escorted Joy to the infirmary wouldn’t be ignored, would he?

At the very least, she’d pretend to listen.

But this Young Lady didn’t even care to hear what Cal said.

Right.

For her, whether that rumor is true or not doesn’t matter much.

In fact, whether what Joy said is true or not doesn’t seem important either.

She merely seems bothered by the fact that I’m going to see Joy.

Hmm. You’re not exactly a friend to Joy, are you?

You’re not someone who genuinely cares about her.

Right?

In that case, I have no reason to consider you.

Shoving aside a bewildered Cal, I stepped forward.

Then, the unknown Young Lady’s gaze locked onto me.

“What’s with you, Lady Allen? Do you have something to say?”

I didn’t respond to her.

There was no reason to.

What would I say to someone who just wants to vent while pretending to care about Joy?

Instead, I pushed her aside.

“Kyaah?!”

Even though I didn’t push her with much force, she sprawled on the ground.

What’s going on?

I just nudged her lightly!

That’s some heavy-duty Hollywood action there.

Honestly, at this point, even a soccer referee would give her a yellow card instead of me.

I felt wronged, but it seemed that didn’t matter to the other Young Ladies.

One who was standing right next to the girl who just fell shouted angrily.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

“Pfft♡ Sorry♡ I didn’t know♡ that Shoddy Young Lady is a weakling♡ and trash♡ what a hopeless fool!♡”

As I said this while laughing, the Young Ladies surrounding me furrowed their brows.

What? You want to fight?

Come at me, you trash!

Even if you all charged at me, you wouldn’t take down even a single Frey, but if you want to bring it on, I’ll welcome it.

I glared at them without losing composure, and the Young Ladies hesitated and pulled back.

“Well then, I’ll be going♡ Shoddies?♡ I hope you catch on next time♡ Ah♡ if you had the brain for that, you wouldn’t have caused this trouble, right?♡”

Deliberately exaggerating my laughter, I slipped past them and saw their faces turning beet red.

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