I’m Really Not The Demon God’s Lackey

dded, “I still have to report some matters to Elder Solomon.
I’ll head over later on and personally take command.
Contact me immediately if any situation arises.”

“Yes, Teacher.”

Claude suddenly hesitated.
“Melissa seems to be feuding with some people from the Combat Division lately.
Would you care to intervene?”

“Oh?” Joseph was caught by surprise.

Although Joseph knew how badly he had neglected Melissa in the past and was trying his hardest to repair the damage, Melissa still had already grown up into someone he could no longer decipher.

Melissa wasn’t willing to share with him anything regarding the Combat Division and this father-daughter duo didn’t communicate much either.

“What’s the situation… Nevermind, who are they?” asked Joseph.

“She had a quarrel with some teammates during a recent mission.
She’s been receiving too much limelight recently and has been acting… eccentric.
She’d often use arm wrestling as an excuse to challenge others, and her overall evaluation in the Combat Division isn’t too good,” Claude said.

He tried his best to phrase it as euphemistically as possible.

In truth, eccentric was an understatement.
Ever since she had laid in bed for a week after returning from the bookstore, Melissa’s temperament had seen a drastic change.

Once aptly described as a quirky brat, she had now become a fighting addict.
Yet at the same time, her talents seemed to have been suddenly unlocked and she excelled in many different combat techniques.

To describe it literally… She was like the younger version of the prickly Joseph.

Boundless brilliance, yet capable of easily blinding others.

“Teammates? That’s just some trifles among children.
So what if her evaluations are negative, it’s all good as long as she’s happy,” grunted Joseph.

He had thought that someone from the Combat Division who formally held a grudge against himself was tripping up Mellissa.

To encourage team chemistry, members of a similar age range and skill level were usually grouped together to conduct the same mission.
As all of them were young and energetic, conflicts were bound to arise.

Haa… This can be an opportunity for her to train. 

This was what Joseph thought.

——

Melissa didn’t think of this as an opportunity to train.

She’d only felt the people before her were too boisterous.

“Your father is no longer a Great Radiant Knight.
Everyone knows of Joseph’s fall of grace after he lost his arm; of how he’s fooled around at the Intelligence Division for two years.
He’s definitely proficient at being a leech, especially to the loyal fans of his.
Do you know how much money they splurged on him every year… I really don’t know how much weight those titles of his held in the past, but since he’s sooo proficient at intelligence, he’s a natural cheater, right?”

The youth before Melissa told his comrades around him and the whole group burst into a chorus of laughter.

Although they were not the same colleagues Joseph had worked with in the past, they were children of the colleagues Joseph had worked with.
Since young, all they had heard regarding Joseph was negative.

The one leading, a young man by the name of Todd, was even the grandson of a Great Radiant Knight.

Melissa was calm.
She had heard slanders regarding Joseph that were a hundred times worse than this, and it simply wasn’t worth getting angry over.

“Are you done speaking? Because if you are…”

Melissa unsheathed her knight’s sword.
“Are you ready for the duel you previously promised?”

All the youths subconsciously took a step back.
Todd suddenly exclaimed, “Like father like daughter, running around recklessly like a freight train and spreading lies!”

With a rather complacent look on his face, he added, “I’ve heard from Selena the reason behind your sudden improvement was because you bought some mysterious books from a random bookstore.
She said you even tried to get her to read them with you.

“What utter nonsense!” Todd asserted in a self-righteous tone.

“Surely these so-called books are some sort of forbidden magic scrolls.
You must be cheating!”

This was the first time the other onlookers heard of this, and they exchanged glances and started whispering in discussion.

Feeling extremely pleased with himself, Todd turned to them.
“Melissa is a chronic liar; that bookstore is just ordinary and isn’t special in any way.
I’ve already sent Francis and those other Official Knights on their way to the bookstore.

“Rest assured, I won’t do anything illegal.
I’ve only reported the bookstore was hiding scrolls of forbidden spells.
But if any property damage occurs during the investigation, that’s none of my concern.

This novel is _hosted_ by hosted novel.

“In no time, you will see that bookstore being closed down!”

Todd had felt his plan was flawless.
When he looked toward Melissa, he knew that this arrogant young lady had taken a huge blow this time.

Indeed, his lips curled up to a grin when he saw Melissa turning pale as she watched them with a look of utter terror.