Noel Wentz, a priest of the Arts Guild, had been hearing the name "Lucy Allen" endlessly for the past few months.
From Apostle Prete, who worships the Goddess of Beauty and Art, to the priests and bishops who claimed to have seen Lucy Allen through the crystal ball, everyone who had even met her once was in a frenzy, desperately wanting to see her again. It was inevitable.
"You weren’t there that day? Seriously!?" "Wow. You really are wasting your life." "I still can’t forget that day. The Apostle didn’t just praise her, he even composed a song for her!"
The day Lucy Allen of the Allen family contacted the Apostle, Noel was away on another mission and couldn’t understand her colleagues' excitement.
How beautiful could she possibly be to cause such a ruckus? There’s no way anyone could be more artistically gifted than the Apostle.
Having only heard rumors about Lucy Allen but never seeing her herself, Noel looked at her colleagues who wanted to go to the Allen estate with a weary eye.
She thought, "Even kids in love aren’t this bad."
After enduring the troubles caused by her colleagues' infatuation, Noel soon developed a single wish:
Just how beautiful is this person that they’ve been making such a fuss about for months?!
I wish I could see her with my own eyes!
I want to find out if these lunatics are exaggerating, or if she really is that beautiful!
Her wish was granted sooner than expected. Lucy Allen herself came to the headquarters of the Arts Guild.
The moment Noel heard the news, she rushed outside and, as soon as she saw Lucy Allen step out from the building equipped with a teleportation circle, she finally understood why her colleagues had been in such a frenzy.
Anyone who saw such an angel would have made a scene.
In fact, it would be strange not to make a fuss.
How could anyone belonging to the Arts Guild, people who are like living works of art, not be deeply moved when they saw Lucy Allen?
Some were kneeling in prayer. Others were wide-eyed, unwilling to miss a single moment. Some were crying. Some mumbled incessantly, as if they had captured divine inspiration.
While Lucy stood behind her guards, observing the guild members, she chuckled and pushed her way forward, brushing past them.
"Hey~! You guys aren’t working? Why are you all gathered here? Are you all losers who gave up on life?"
Her heavenly voice, laced with contempt and mockery, caused the guild members to fall silent.
Were they shocked by her words? Lucy snickered and continued.
"No? Then why the hell are you all here? Did a bunch of perverted old men decide to drop everything just because they like little girls? That’s disgusting."
Pushing aside her guards, Lucy stepped up to a priest who had been kneeling in prayer right in front of her and bent down to meet his gaze.
"Why the hell are you crying like a disgusting pervert?"
"W-well... it’s just... you’re so... beautiful..."
As the priest finally managed to speak after catching his breath, Lucy’s expression turned icy.
Her brows furrowed, and her eyes turned cold with disgust.
"Mm. So, you’re saying you’re a perverted bastard, getting all hot and bothered over a girl who’s barely reached your waist?"
"No! It’s not like that!"
"Really? Seriously? You’re telling me you didn’t have any nasty thoughts? Can you say that to the crow you’re serving, with a clear conscience? Huh?"
"..."
"Pffhahaha! You can’t say anything! You disgusting little sexual predator. Go die. Just bite your tongue and kill yourself for the sake of the world."
After letting out all her frustration, Lucy lifted her head, feeling satisfied, but then noticed the burning gaze directed at her. Without thinking, she stepped back a little.
Having lived surrounded by animosity all her life, Lucy knew that the gaze directed at her was not full of hatred.
It was different from the usual looks she received from others. This was not the same as the looks from other nobles at the academy.
It was more like the gaze from infatuated fools or perverted apostles who were obsessed with her...
"Lady Allen!"
As Lucy was taken aback by the unexpected situation, a voice suddenly called out from the crowd.
"Don’t just reward him! Please, give me a reward too!"
"Shut up! It’s my turn next! If I get scolded by her, I think I’ll find inspiration!"
"Everyone shut up! This is something only I, the bishop, deserve to do first!"
The madness spreading among the crowd caused Lucy to step back, startled, and hide behind her sword.
Seeing the hatred and murderous intent directed at the sword, it didn’t flinch. On the contrary, the sword proudly straightened its shoulder.
"Get lost! You scum! Don’t you dare think the lady is afraid of you!"
"Shut up and move aside!"
"Lady Allen! Please, just once, strike me with your words!"
"Just look down on me with your disdainful gaze! That’s all I need!"
The madness that had filled the guild calmed down only after the Apostle and the leader of the Arts Guild had made their appearances.
“People are terrifying...”
Escaping from the scene of madness created by the perverted members of the Arts Guild, I sat down on a sofa, curled up my legs, and tried to calm my mind.
<Why did you throw food to those lunatics, though?>
“I didn’t expect so many insane people to show up!”
I’m not going to say it’s not my fault! It was my mischievous nature that caused the initial trouble!
But seriously! How was I supposed to predict that everyone from the Arts Guild would be like perverted apostles?!
What I had hoped for was completely different!
I was expecting to see something like those people from the academy, blushing with anger but too embarrassed to act. Instead, I ended up provoking these weirdos and getting surrounded by people who begged to be trampled on!
Was I wrong to think the people in the Arts Guild might be somewhat normal?
<Be more careful next time. You had your guards with you this time, but who knows what could happen later?>
“You really think I’d do this if I didn’t have people to protect me?”
I’m obviously doing this because I have a way to escape! Even though I may be stupid, I’m not completely reckless.
<You’re not going to tell me that’s not what you’re doing, are you?>
For a moment, I hesitated to respond to Grandpa’s remark.
‘...Well, there could be situations where it can’t be helped, right?’
<So you’re saying there might be times when you need to crush someone’s dignity?>
“What? Why? It’s possible!”
Reality is more dramatic than any fiction! Sometimes, we can’t predict the absurdity of events just with our tiny imaginations!
For instance, look at how the Arts Guild turned out to be full of perverts! How absurd is that?
If there are people who want to be punished, then there must also be situations where punishment is necessary!
<Well, if you say so, then I guess that’s the case.>
“Grandpa! If you keep going like this, I’ll really get mad!”
<I’m not wrong to be understanding, am I? I’m so misunderstood.>
“You’re not taking me seriously at all!”
While I was shouting at Grandpa, a knock came at the drawing room door.
I glanced at Erin, silently asking what to do. She nodded and told me to let the person in.
When the perverted apostle entered the room, the moment the door closed, he immediately bowed to the ground.
"I’m truly sorry, Lady Allen! The members of our guild have caused a great offense!"
I was about to vent my frustrations when I saw the perverted apostle’s apology and was taken aback, my mouth hanging open.
"It wasn’t out of malice! Our people were simply mesmerized by your beauty!"
"Do you think that’s an excuse for the offense?"
I blinked in surprise, and as I tried to make sense of it, my guard, Cal, suddenly raised his voice sharply.
What’s up with him today? Usually, he just quietly stands behind me unless I tell him otherwise.
"Of course, I’m not trying to say we’re blameless! We’ll face the consequences of our actions! But..."
"Do you have any idea how scared Lady Allen was? This is unacceptable!"
Upon hearing Cal’s angry voice, I finally understood what was going on. Unlike before, my expressions could now change freely.
He must have gotten heated seeing how scared I was.
"Shut up, mutt. Did I ever say you could bark whenever you want?"
Though I appreciated that he cared for me, this wasn’t the way I wanted things to go. He was stepping out of line by doing this without me asking.
"...Uh, well..."
"Shut up."
"..."
"Do you really not understand that your actions are causing trouble?"
"...I’m sorry."
After scolding the mutt, I turned back to the perverted apostle. He looked at Cal blankly, then quickly met my gaze, sitting up.
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"Perverted apostle. Don’t waste my precious time with your nonsense. Stand up. Just breathing in this space is disgusting, so let’s finish this quickly."
"Understood!"
The perverted apostle quickly got up, but instead of sitting opposite me, he knelt beside me.
I wanted to ask what he was doing, but decided not to say anything, as it would likely just make things more exhausting.
"You’ve come here because what you were planning was so pathetic and foolish."
"...Are you referring to the cleansing plan?"
Hearing the perverted apostle's question, I didn't answer but instead gave a look to Alsetin. He quickly understood my intention, intervened between me and the perverted apostle, and began explaining the situation logically.
At first, the apostle was full of doubt, but as Alsetin’s explanation continued, a seriousness settled onto his face.
"So you’re saying there’s a high chance it’s a trap."
"Yes, as you can see, the information is unnaturally accurate. It’s likely they’ve been preparing this beforehand."
As the perverted apostle continued to question Alsetin, it didn’t take long before he acknowledged that the plan should not proceed. He realized that, in the worst case, they would have too much to lose.
"Thank you so much, Lady Allen. Thanks to you, we’ve been able to avoid unnecessary sacrifices."
"There’s no need to thank me. I just couldn’t bear to watch you all, so hopeless and ridiculous," I replied.
"Still, the fact remains that we are grateful. Once the mission is over, please allow us to repay you."
When the perverted apostle mentioned that we might need to explain things to the guild members, I, still sitting in the drawing room, hummed to myself as I imagined the future.
With this, we had stopped the trap set by the followers of the Evil God and also gained a valid reason to ask the perverted apostle to teach Erin.
Once everything here is finished, I’ll head back to the Allen estate.
Then I can rest until the academy reopens.
Today had been far too exhausting mentally.
However, contrary to my expectations, I couldn’t leave the Arts Guild just yet.
"Lady Allen, it seems we might need your help."
The people in the Arts Guild turned out to be even more perverted and idiotic than I had imagined.
Even after being told about the trap, they were still eager to crawl into it.