NOVEL NEXT Chapter 70
Chapter: 70
“Over there. Lady Allen.”
As usual, while I was taking a break after sparring with Frey, the attendant young lady approached and spoke cautiously.
‘What is it?’
“Why, it’s the attendant young lady.”
“Are we really allowed to go in without practicing our teamwork at least once?”
Hearing someone who seemed the most hesitant about this idea mention teamwork caught me off guard.
Why is this person so proactive?
Did the attendant young lady sense my puzzled gaze? She let out a sigh.
“You may not know this, dignified Lady Allen or Lady Kent, but our duel has become quite the topic throughout the Academy.”
According to the attendant young lady, the duel between Arthur and me has generated more buzz than imagined.
It seems that the duel between the third prince, celebrated as a genius since the past, and the Allen family’s bloodline that topped the entrance exam is quite the spectacle.
“It’s gotten so popular that there’s gambling going on about it.”
Gambling, huh.
There’s only one character dumb enough to do such things.
Seth, the merchant’s child leading a large trading company.
His gambling games are pretty trustworthy.
He’s the type who shouts that trust is the most important.
‘The odds are…’
“How are the odds?”
“That’s not what’s important right now.”
‘But it is important.’
“Attendant young lady, deciding what’s important isn’t up to a sloppy person like you, it’s up to me. Answer me.”
“…1.1 to 10.”
There was no need to ask who the 1.1 was for.
Of course, it was for Arthur.
From what I overheard among the crowd, his party seems to be composed of the best first-years.
Jack, the vanguard.
Arthur, who can handle both front and back.
And Matthew, who, overshadowed by Phoebe, still possesses the most outstanding clergy talent.
The fact that those three are training together for Saturday is such a widely known piece of information that even a loner like me can hear about it.
And how about me?
I’m still questioning whether I managed to form a proper party.
Practice for dungeon strategy?
I’ve never done such a thing even once.
So, where do you think the trust is headed?
But aren’t the odds a bit too high?
I’m not someone who hasn’t shown anything.
I proved my talent by scoring first in the Academy entrance exam.
And I also demonstrated my power by sparring with Frey.
My party members, Frey and I, shouldn’t be that far behind, so why is it 10?
Sure, they’re saying they’ll give me easy money, so I’ll take it.
Later, I should have Karl place a bet with Seth for me.
It’s definitely ten gold coins per person at the limit.
That alone would make it 100 gold coins already.
Hah. It’s so sweet it feels like my teeth might rot.
“Anyway, this duel has become the center of attention throughout the Academy. If I lose with a pathetic performance here, I can only imagine what people will say.”
Worrying about pointless things, huh?
‘Why would you think of losing?’
“Sloppy cowardly young lady, why are you thinking about losing? Is it because defeatism is ingrained in your bones?”
“How do you plan on winning? No matter how strong Lady Kent and Lady Allen are, the dungeon isn’t decided by just power!”
The attendant young lady’s comment was partially correct.
Dungeon strategies are not determined solely by power.
It’s true that having power makes things easier, but what’s more important is knowledge about the dungeon.
However, the attendant young lady seems to be oblivious to one thing.
I don’t only have power.
‘Attendant young lady…’
“Attendant! If I were just a dumb brute, how would I have scored first in the Academy entrance exam?”
“That’s just compensation for that previous incident… Teamwork.”
Aha. So, that’s what ordinary people think?
That a lousy person like me couldn’t possibly score first in a normal way?
Well, it’s more persuasive than saying that a piece of trash who lived like a fool for life changed in just a year.
No wonder the odds were high.
The trust in me was at rock bottom, so despite pulling Frey in, this was the outcome.
Looking at the attendant young lady, who was glancing at me after making a slip of the tongue, made me let out a sigh.
I originally thought of just saying a few words right before entering the dungeon, but maybe I should explain a bit more.
‘Excuse me.’
“Attendant. Do you have time today?”
“Uh? Yes!”
‘Just for a moment…’
“Wait for a moment.”
After telling the attendant young lady that, I approached Frey.
When I said I had something to discuss regarding tomorrow’s dungeon strategy, Frey asked why we needed to devise a strategy at all.
“After all, if we just hack away at everything, it’ll be fine.”
It was such a ridiculous statement that it made me question whether the other person had any brains.
If an ordinary person had said something like this, I would have assumed it was said out of confidence in their skills.
But with Frey, it was different.
She sincerely believed that and intended to put it into practice.
If left unchecked, she’d charge at the enemies on her own like she did in the game, ruining the dungeon strategy.
But it’s okay.
I have a way to keep Frey on a leash.
‘Frey…’
“Sloppy swordsman. I am the leader of the dungeon strategy. Not a fool like you.”
“Sure, I know that.”
‘You have to follow what I say.’
“You need to follow my judgment, not your beastly head.”
“Why?”
Frey tilted her head at my words.
I knew she would respond like this.
How many headaches did I have when I had to raise Frey’s favorability back in the game because of her “why” questions?
I shouldn’t respond logically there.
Frey has already decided the answer in her heart.
To persuade her, I need to choose one of two options.
Either prepare an answer that fits her world or throw a similar tantrum.
This time, I chose the latter.
‘Otherwise, I won’t spar with you.’
“If you don’t, then I won’t spar with a sloppy person like you.”
Frey seems quite fixated on sparring with me.
Normally, she wouldn’t show interest in anyone until a certain amount of favorability had built up, yet here she is looking for me.
Given that she doesn’t reach out to me unless it’s sparring, it seems her favorability hasn’t really built up.
I’m not sure why, but since I have a way to use this, I should exploit it.
Frey’s eyes widened at my firm refusal to spar.
“Why? You said you’d keep sparring.”
‘That’s…’
“That was when I had just defeated the pitiful prince.”
Frey seemed to be contemplating, her eyes rolling, and then nodded.
“Got it.”
Since she acknowledged it, she should try to hold back from now on.
With her nature, there will be some level of slip-up, but it should be within a predictable range.
At that level, Frey is still a controllable variable for me.
After obtaining Frey’s agreement, I led her and the attendant young lady toward my dormitory.
And inside, I showed them various items I had prepared and shared my plan.
“…I should have my friend bet on the upset.”
After listening to all that, the attendant young lady spoke up.
*
On the day the match was set to start.
Arthur had already arrived at the training grounds early in the morning to warm up.
The moment he stepped into the dungeon, a forced march would begin, and he couldn’t rest for even a minute.
He needed to warm himself up beforehand.
“Are you already out here, Third Prince?”
Arthur turned his head to the voice calling him while he was getting into the swing of things.
Standing there was Jack Burrows, leaning on his spear.
“Isn’t this a bit too much warm-up for a warm-up?”
“My body, I know it best.”
“Of course, I expected that, but I was wondering if you were influenced by those two over there.”
Jack pointed his chin towards where Lucy Allen and Frey Kent were sparring.
The two, who seemed ready to kill each other every morning and evening, were doing the same thing on the day of the duel.
“I’m afraid one of them might get seriously hurt and Arthur might win by default.”
“Does a beast’s fight influence a human?”
“Haha. That’s true.”
Do you really think I’ll get tense just watching such a fool?
No way.
Arthur firmly shook his head to dismiss Jack’s concerns.
There’s no reason for him to be influenced.
Because today’s victory was already as good as decided.
Just looking at what was apparent from the outside made that clear.
Lucy Allen, that’s acceptable.
But Frey Kent is nothing but a savage beast that doesn’t listen to anyone.
And one of the other party members was just an ordinary student who had no choice but to join because he was threatened by Lucy Allen.
On the other hand, Arthur’s side included promising candidates who ranked 2nd and 3rd in the entrance exam, and Matthew, who was half certain to become a cardinal in the future.
The power disparity was quite plain.
That alone was enough to assure victory.
However, Arthur didn’t rest on his laurels.
He sought information from students already climbing the dungeon stairs about the Academy Dungeon.
How it was structured.
What the inside map looked like.
What needed to be prepared.
What strategies to use.
All of it.
Though the students were currently stuck at the 30th floor, so he couldn’t get more than that, it was still no problem.
Lucy Allen was arrogant.
She didn’t make any preparations for the dungeon strategy at all.
Not even the minimum effort to find out how the dungeon was structured.
Preparing the supplies for the dungeon strategy.
She didn’t even think to gather her party members for some teamwork exercises.
As if she could easily defeat someone like Arthur without preparing for anything.
Does she think her overwhelming talent allows her to surpass everyone else in just a year, so she doesn’t need to make such preparations?
So arrogant and reckless. Lucy Allen.
You think you can beat me with that attitude?
I won’t deny you’re a genius.
You might even break my expectations and surpass the 30th floor.
But it doesn’t matter.
Because today I didn’t prepare for defeat.
If you break my expectations, then that’s when…
*
Perhaps because I said I wouldn’t spar with her if the results were bad yesterday.
Today, Frey was particularly fierce.
Feeling drained even before entering the dungeon.
After a light spar and finishing preparations to enter the dungeon, I stepped outside and found someone waiting for me.
“Young lady.”
“Lady Allen.”
In front of the dormitory, Karl and Joy were waiting together.
Even if Karl is entering the dungeon with me today, why is Joy here?
As soon as Joy saw my face, she sighed.
“Do you have any thoughts at all? Or not?”
Huh? Why is she suddenly starting to nag?
Aren’t we catching up after a long time?
“You proposed an all-out duel confidently against the third prince and have made no preparations? Is that okay?”
Realizing that Joy was here because she was worried about me made me feel touched.
She’s such a nice person.
“Here. This is the information about the Academy Dungeon revealed so far, and this…”
‘Joy…’
“Foolish young lady. Do you think I need something like this?”
I already have everything I need prepared.
“Lady Allen, you haven’t prepared anything at all. If it’s your pride, just throw it away.”
‘But I did.’
“Do you think I’m as foolish as you? I’m already fully prepared to win.”
I have no idea what preparations Arthur has made, but it doesn’t matter.
I’m not so incompetent that I can lose to an NPC.
‘I’ll win and come back.’
“Just watch, I’ll win and come back. Foolish young lady.”