Hearing the criticism pouring in from all around made me chuckle bitterly.
They asked what my thoughts were, but they were calling my opponent mediocre.
The First Prince also had a look of surprise...
No, why is his expression like that? Did he suspect something and concoct a scheme?
Did he just think that I, a gloomy loner, would cause trouble if he asked me for my thoughts? And now he’s surprised by my outburst?!
It's unfair. If he had intended it from the beginning, I could have just cursed him, but now that I realize he just threw it out there, it complicates my frustration!
<...Girl.>
‘What is it, Grandpa?’
<Didn’t you just call him the First Prince? >
What kind of nonsense is that? The translation of my mesugaki skill is incredibly precise. There’s no way I would have called him the First Prince.
What if he misheard me, even though he’s old and senile?
Look, the log says gloomy loner prince.
...Huh.
Wait?!
I did say it?! I just called him the First Prince!
What is this?! Why did that title slip out of my mouth?!
I couldn’t comprehend it.
For nearly a year, I had suffered under this mesugaki skill.
While it could change others’ titles, it had never allowed me to call someone normally.
What variable has arisen? Why did the mesugaki skill allow me to use a common title?
As I pondered this amidst the ongoing criticism, I let it wash over me.
This was more important. If I could figure out why I called him the First Prince normally, I might find a way to escape the curse of the mesugaki skill!
Maybe I could even start calling my friends by their names! Huh?!
“Puhahaha!”
Despite ignoring everything else, I couldn’t overlook the laughter that rang out in front of me.
The First Prince was laughing. Just a moment ago, he had been astonished.
“Is this the arrogance of a talented person? Fine. The victor has the right to say such things. Though I don’t know how long you can remain the victor.”
The reason people had been criticizing me just now was due to my disrespect toward the First Prince.
Since he acknowledged this rudeness as justified arrogance, any further criticism would only irritate the First Prince.
Those who quickly grasped this fact chose to praise the First Prince's generosity instead of criticizing me.
<It’s a debt. Lucy Alrn.>
At that moment, a voice echoed in my mind.
Not my grandpa's voice, but someone else's.
Startled, I looked up to find the First Prince regarding me with a gaze devoid of emotion.
<You will owe me later.>
...Huh? Owe me? Me?
Why not just join in the criticism instead?!
I don’t want to be indebted to you!
I don’t want to be on the receiving end of your requests!
Can’t you just shout, “You bitch!” instead?!
I screamed inwardly, but those words never reached the First Prince.
It had been quite a while since the day of the Partlan family’s party.
From the fact that I was still alive, it was clear that the end of that party concluded neatly with the First Prince managing the situation I had created.
The word “debt” approached menacingly, but since he hadn’t come looking for me afterward, it seemed he wasn’t planning to deal with me immediately.
It would have been better if he had just taken care of things right away. Then I could handle what I was tasked with and leave it all behind.
Leaving it as something to deal with later left a constant discomfort in a corner of my mind!
I mean, allow me to prepare like a pathetic loser.
Wow, who would have thought a pathetic loser would be reevaluated?
What, am I supposed to just not repay my debt?
Do you think that would work?
What if the First Prince decided to do something to me?!
If I can’t even ignore the First Prince until I become strong enough to do so, then if he sets his mind to it, I’d be at his mercy!
Benedict wouldn’t be able to help either!
No matter how much of a monster he is, he can’t win against a kingdom!
...Uh. Hmm. I can’t say for sure he wouldn’t.
Since it’s Benedict, I can’t make that guarantee.
Anyway, the situation with the First Prince isn’t something I can address right now, so I’ll move on to another topic.
Should I talk about the mesugaki skill first?
To sum it up, the normalization of titles only happened that once.
After the party ended, I conducted countless experiments, but nothing changed.
No matter how many times I tried to call the First Prince by his name, I kept ending up with the gloomy loner prince title.
The same went for other titles. There was no name I could call correctly.
After various tests alongside my grandpa, our conclusion was that we had no clue.
If I were to explain this phenomenon, it would seem the pathetic loser intervened to uphold the promise of boosting his reputation.
But, you know, I really don’t think that pathetic loser would do something like that.
If he were the kind of useless god who would care about such things, he wouldn’t have reduced the penalty of the mesugaki skill ages ago, would he?
Think about it. That jerk loves it when I insult him, and he loves it when I’m in trouble.
There’s no way he’d help me out just because I’m struggling...
No, never mind. I was just momentarily agitated and spouted nonsense.
If I keep talking behind his back, something horrendous will probably come out in the next quest.
Let’s talk about the reward the duke gave me instead.
After the party concluded, the duke, upon seeing me again, told me to say anything I wished if I wanted something in return.
He stated that as long as he had the power, he could make even the most absurd request come true.
His statement wasn’t far from the truth.
With the might of the Partlan family backing him, even a noble young lady's fanciful wishes could easily be fulfilled.
However, if there was one thing the duke didn’t expect, it was that I wasn’t an ordinary young lady.
To be honest, what I wanted now were things that the duke could not provide.
Armor or shields of a legendary grade, skills—such items couldn’t be obtained through money; they had to be earned through action.
If I were leveling a magic-type character, I would have countless things to ask the duke for, but unfortunately, I was a holy-type tank.
I could ask the duke for other things, but since he explicitly asked me to tell him what I wanted, I didn’t want to ask for something ordinary.
Various items flashed through my mind repeatedly, and during that moment, one request occurred to me.
Something that was impossible in the game.
Something that could be possible in reality.
Direct intervention from an NPC.
“Duke...”
“Is it okay if I gain the right to request something from Duke Sloppy?”
I would postpone my current reward. Instead, I would ask him to fulfill any request I made at that time.
It was somewhat unreasonable and possibly rude, but the duke nodded without showing any sign of displeasure.
After that, we engaged in regular conversation.
We talked about what had happened at the academy. Whether Joy was managing her school life well. Ordinary advice one would expect from an older man.
“Oh, by the way, you mentioned that you gave Joy some advice. May I also hear about that?”
Since it wasn’t anything secret, I told him right away.
About how to build a foundation when leveling up a magic-type character.
When the duke heard what I taught Joy, he suddenly furrowed his brow and began muttering to himself as if contemplating something.
He looked like a mafia boss scheming to wipe out a rival organization, which involuntarily made me straighten up, but he wasn’t planning anything evil.
He was merely deconstructing the idea I had proposed.
“Amazing.”
What followed was admiration.
“Repetition. Mastery. And minions? Training magic like one would train muscles? If an old man from the magic tower heard this, he would scream, but it’s worth researching. Alrn Young Lady, who taught you this?”
‘No one taught me.’
“Is it truly your own idea? How interesting. Is this something a non-magic user could think of?”
The duke regarded me as if the term genius was inadequate to describe my insight and then chuckled.
“I intended to repay you for inviting me, but instead, I’ve received something in return. Do you truly not want anything for now? Even something trivial would suffice. I just don’t want to increase my debt.”
‘In that case, I have one thing...’
“Then I’d like to ask one thing.”
I asked about what had happened to the duke that made him leave the territory before the festival.
I was curious about the significant issue that required his urgent presence.
The duke, without any hesitation, answered my question.
“I was asked for help by Duke Burrow. When he spoke in such a rush, I thought it must be serious, so I went directly. But by the time I arrived, everything had already been resolved.”
He grumbled that he had wasted time before the festival for nothing.
Was there even a chance of a problem occurring with the Burrow family at this time? It didn’t seem likely.
Though I had my doubts, since the duke confirmed there was no issue, I decided to let it go.
Aside from that, nothing else happened.
I was asked by Arthur to please take it easy. Frey was pestering me, and I ended up sparring with her.
Then, after leaving the Partlan territory and returning to the Alrn family, I informed Porcell that my condition had recovered and trained with the other knights.
“Now that the young lady is incredibly strong, I won’t be able to offer the same consideration as before.”
‘That’s what I was hoping for!’
“Puh. Do you think I’ll treat you with more consideration than those pathetic knights?”
“Good attitude! Young lady!”
When I expressed my thoughts on this, I couldn’t help but think it would be easier just to die.
During my time training alone at the academy, no matter how intense it was, it always ended with, “I might die.”
However, training with the knights of the Alrn family was on a different level. When one is pushed to the brink of death, one’s mind goes blank, leaving no room for thought.
But in comparison to rolling around, my growth was slow.
At first, I thought my stats were rising, causing the slow growth, right?
But as I thought about it, one fact came to mind.
The debt that the pathetic god had promised to repay me in Menestel. While my stats rise automatically, I don’t grow even when I train.
To put it simply, while rolling around with the knights of the Alrn family, I gained nothing.
When I realized this, it felt so empty.
I denied reality, cursed the pathetic god, and then blamed my foolish self.
Though there are things that don’t show up as proficiency or stats, it’s not as if my struggles were entirely in vain; it still felt empty.
As I spent time in this way, before I knew it, the day of the start of the second semester at the academy had come very close.
This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.