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Badrinel’s hostility spread, and the expressions of those following him also turned grim, but the people guarding me just looked disgusted, not surprised.

<Is this the first time you're doing this? You should be used to it by now.>

‘…It’s not like I want to do it.’

<Who said anything? I’m just stating facts.>

While I was bickering with Grandpa, Benedict bowed to Badrinel.

“I apologize. My daughter is a bit… peculiar.”

“…This is indeed as the rumors say.”

Even though he had sent direct hostility towards me, Badrinel seemed unable to do so in front of the mighty knight Benedict, so he coughed and adjusted his expression.

“Getting back to the main topic, what brings you to this city? Are you perhaps planning to participate in the arena yourself, Sir Benedict?”

“Haha. I’d love to, but I’m too old to ignite my passion.”

“What a shame.”

“Instead, my daughter will participate in the arena.”

“The Young Lady?”

Badrinel glanced at me and let out a sly voice, shrugging slightly.

“It’s unfortunate. I really wanted to see the strength of Young Lady Alrun, which I’ve only heard about in rumors, but the participants for this arena are already full.”

“Oh. Is there absolutely no way?”

“As Lord Alrun requested, I’d like to do my best, but as you know, the arena holds significant meaning in the Empire.”

Even after hearing that participation would be difficult, I remained unfazed. I had anticipated this would happen. It was unreasonable for there to be available spots when all sorts of powerful people were vying for participation with fierce determination. Even in games, it was nearly impossible to enter the arena through normal means.

“Instead, perhaps. I can arrange a seat in the spectator stands.”

Badrinel, who hadn’t turned his head towards me while speaking, looked at my face when he mentioned the spectator stands. The meaning of this was clear. Does it mean someone like me should be stuck in the spectator stands? Haha. The hostility is so blatant it’s almost amusing.

Even someone as clueless as me could easily sense his thoughtless attitude. There’s no way Benedict wouldn’t notice. Nevertheless, Benedict put on a forced smile and shook his head.

“Thank you for the consideration, but I must decline. We will visit again if there is another opportunity.”

“I apologize for not being able to provide a proper reception for our esteemed guest.”

Watching Benedict suppress his anger with effort made me boil inside. A foolish heart that is preoccupied only with someone interfering with one’s family rather than one’s own mistakes. This feeling is similar to what I felt when I heard the insult towards Lucy’s mother last time. Did something change when I was consumed by my emotions then?

While questioning my own emotions, I set one goal. Badrinel’s son is participating in this arena, right? That’s good. I may not be strong enough to crush your head yet, but I think I can do anything to smash your son. I’ll make sure you, as a spectator, watch your son wet himself.

– Ting.

[King of the Arena]

[Defeat all arena participants and prove your strength.]

What is this? Why is the Useless Main God giving me a proper quest? Did he finally gain some insight? Did my bellows filled with resentment finally reach him? Hmmph. But the condition is a bit tough. Crushing Badrinel’s son is no big deal, but winning the arena is a completely different story.

Even though I keep saying I’m strong, I’m still just a brat who hasn’t even graduated from the Academy. It’s ambiguous whether I can defeat the various experts participating in the arena. I’ll do my best, but succeeding…

[Reward: Status window usage ticket x1]

Huh? Am I seeing things? Something strange seems to have caught my eye. After rubbing my eyes and opening them again, I saw the unchanging text and widened my eyes. The Status Window! Can I finally see my stats? Can I see all the skills I’ve learned and their proficiency levels!?

Crazy. This isn’t a ‘succeed if you can, fail if you can’t’ situation. I have to succeed by any means necessary.

While racking my brain for all sorts of plans, I suddenly wondered what the penalty for failure would be. I mean, giving such a good reward must mean the risk of failure is also high. What is it this time? What kind of monstrous thing will appear and bring me humiliation?

[Failure Penalty: Pray in full makeup.]

Pffft. Ah. Seriously. I like that you are so honest with your desires. Full makeup, that’s what it is, right? The one I did during the speech? If it’s that, then it’s not a big deal.

For today’s sake. Even if I succeed in the quest, I will accept the penalty. It’s a small price to pay to see the Status Window. Prepare yourselves, useless Main God and Fangirl Fox, to have nosebleeds.

“Oh my. This is troublesome.”

Hearing Benedict’s voice, I snapped back to reality and glanced sideways at his awkward smile.

“I didn’t realize the arena participants would be full already. What should we do?”

‘To me…’

“Don’t worry. You silly father. Unlike you, who is only good at fighting, I, who am competent, have a way.”

“Is that really true?”

‘Yes…’

“I’m a little sad that you doubt me, silly father. It seems like I’m about to cry…”

“No. It’s not that I doubted our Lucy. It’s just. Well. Anyway! What is this method?”

Benedict, realizing he was digging himself deeper with every word, quickly changed the subject. I could have teased him more, but I’ll stop here. There are many things to do.

‘I will receive a transfer.’

“I’m going to snatch the participation slot from some useless guy.”

The Imperial Arena allows the transfer of participation slots. The reason is simple: transfers must be possible for nobles to participate in the arena. Since nobles set the rules, it’s natural for those rules to be made in favor of nobles.

“…I don’t know much about it, but isn’t that a difficult task?”

As Benedict said, receiving a transfer isn’t easy. As I explained before, participating in the arena in the Empire is considered a great honor in itself. Arena participants rarely give up their slots. However, that doesn’t mean there’s no way. Wouldn’t it be difficult for nobles if commoners held all the tickets?

Nobles of the Empire naturally foresaw this situation and added another rule. So that they could easily snatch other people’s tickets. I plan to use that rule, just like in the game.

‘Watch me.’

“Just watch, my incompetent, useless father. I’ll take care of it.”

Without the slightest hesitation, I walked down the street and visited a pub located in a corner alley of Badrinel’s territory. The moment I opened the door, a musty smell wafted out. This shop, by all appearances, did not look like a place a noble young lady would visit.

“Lucy, is this really the place?”

Responding to Benedict’s hesitant question by stepping inside, I, drawing all the gazes of the thugs, walked in and approached a large man occupying two seats by himself.

“Hello.”

“Hello, you smelly piece of trash.”

“Who are you to pick a fight?”

‘I have the arena participation slot. You have it, right?’

“You have the arena participation slot, right? Right?”

“…”

The man didn’t answer my question and frowned, looking at the people behind me. Judging by his expression change, it’s certain. He has the participation slot. That’s a relief. I was worried it might be different from the game.

“I’ll give you a special chance to transfer the arena participation slot to me ♡ Isn’t it better for the participation slot to go to me, who is cuter, prettier, and stronger than you, who will end up crying after being beaten in the first match? ♡”

With every word I uttered, the man’s expression soured, but he didn’t get up from his seat.

“…You’re talking nonsense, you crazy bitch.”

Wow. To tolerate those insolent remarks to that extent. This hulking guy is surprisingly cultured despite his appearance? But I had no intention of stopping here. I need to fight this guy to get the arena participation slot.

“Are you scared? ♡ Are you scared of such a small girl? ♡ Hahaha ♡ You look like a total pervert, but maybe you’re really soft inside ♡ You’re so annoyingly cute it makes me sick ♡”

As I feigned gagging, the man, failing to suppress his anger, picked up a bottle and threw it at me. Of course, the bottle didn’t reach me. Before it could, a barrier made of divine power appeared in front of me.

“Are you offended? ♡ Are you angry because your embarrassing part was exposed? ♡ Sorry~ ♡ I guess I was insensitive ♡ But what can I do ♡ It’s so disgusting I feel like I’m going to vomit if I don’t say it out loud ♡”

“…You little brat!”

The man jumped up from his seat and swung his fist towards my face. Perhaps because he was an inhabitant of fantasy, the punch he swung was quite fast and menacing. To put it another way, there was nothing else commendable about it. Awkward movements, clumsy clenched fists, and trash-like attacks that hadn’t even considered what would happen if the punch missed.

I dodged the punch, which was leaning forward, with a simple head movement, then landed a punch on the man’s jaw as he leaned forward, and kicked his abdomen as his brain rattled, sending him crashing into a table. He’s definitely unconscious, judging by how his eyes rolled back.

Boring. I was hoping he’d at least struggle enough to let me vent my frustration. As I grumbled and stepped towards the man, Benedict grabbed my shoulder.

“Uh, Lucy?”

‘What is it?’

“What are you doing, silly father.”

“…May I ask what you are doing right now?”

‘I’m receiving a transfer of the participation slot.’

“I’m bringing over a participation slot that’s too good for this useless guy?”

“Haaah. Lucy.”

Hearing my words, Benedict let out a long sigh and then grasped my wrists with both hands. Then, with a stern look unlike his usual demeanor, he admonished me in a stern voice.

“Even if you want to participate in the arena, you mustn’t threaten others to take it. That is not honorable.”

Only then did I understand what misunderstanding Benedict had. He thinks I’m just trying to forcefully snatch the participation slot without thinking?! That’s not it! This is a rule written on the arena participation slot! If the parties agree, or if the owner of the participation slot attacks someone first, thus initiating a fight, the winner holds the right to the participation slot! I’m just following that rule! This is something that happens routinely on the streets when the arena is open!

“Lucy. You are different from before. You have strength now.”

Benedict didn’t believe my explanation at all. I’m so wronged! For once, I really didn’t do anything wrong! Honestly, it was a bit petty, but it wasn’t entirely wrong! What’s more irritating is that I can empathize with Benedict’s feelings for not believing me. If only the past sins I’ve accumulated weren’t so numerous!

But that’s the old Lucy! The current me doesn’t really cause trouble… Uh. Well.

Still, I cause less trouble than before! I don’t just torment innocent people! If it were really a bad thing, would I have brought you here? I would have moved alone!

“Excuse me for a moment. Lord Alrun.”

It was a man from the pub who interrupted Benedict’s scolding. With visible nervousness, he managed to speak while sweating profusely under the gazes of Benedict and me.

“What Young Lady Alrun said is correct. Your daughter did nothing wrong.”

“…What?”

“Anyone in Badrinel’s territory would say the same. The one who couldn’t stand the provocation and threw the first punch is at fault.”

Benedict blinked and slowly looked around the people in the pub. Then, the people in the pub nodded in agreement with the man’s opinion.

“What this guy says is true. Lord Alrun. If you didn’t have confidence, you should have endured it to the end.”

“It was an excessive item for that guy in the first place.”

“Young Lady is right. What’s the point of that guy going to the arena? He’ll just be miserably defeated and cry his eyes out.”

“If your daughter has any fault, it’s that she knew the Empire’s customs too well.”

“You too, surely. Hey. Get up. How long are you going to stay down?”

“…Huh? What? What happened?”

“Don’t you remember? You swung your fist first and lost.”

“Crazy. Really!? Haa, shit. I thought I could finally participate in the arena this time!”

After the man who woke up from his stupor blamed his own stupidity rather than being resentful, and thus my innocence was proven. Benedict removed his large hand from my wrist and forced a smile.

“Uh, Lucy? You know, I’m not very knowledgeable about these matters.”

“Hmmph ♡”

“And, well. It’s also because you didn’t explain properly. As you often say, Papa is a silly papa, so if you don’t tell me, I don’t know.”

“Hmmmm? ♡”

“So, please, just this once, forgive me?”

Meeting Benedict’s pleading gaze, I gave him a brighter smile than ever before.

“Papa, I hate you ♡”

 

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