Chapter 198

The dead-drunk incident.

Several days had passed since the day of a hangover and kicking the covers in mortification.

By the time the lingering smell of alcohol had faded, along with the sensation of our lips pressed together...

-Hey, hurry up! The student council booth is holding sparring events too!

-Should we get something to eat? Festival food is always good.

-This festival is more abundant than usual...

-Ugh, I need to save on living expenses! There are too many things I want to do!

The academy's autumn festival had begun.

Booths lined the academy streets beneath the cool autumn breeze.

Each one offered simple food, events, games, and more.

‘It's already that time of year.’

I murmured to myself.

The streets were lively.

‘The Grandia Autumn Festival.’

It was an annual event hosted by the academy right after the second semester began.

It was basically like a school festival.

The booths were filled with all sorts of activities.

In the original work, it had been an event where players could enjoy various minigames.

Some booths were run by students, while others had been prepared by the academy.

‘Either way, it looks fun.’

Walking through the bustling streets made my heart flutter for no reason.

After all, it was my first time at an event so full of youthful energy.

In my previous life, there had been no place for me at school festivals.

Back then, I was always angry at the world and refused to mingle with anyone.

It was a time when I vehemently rejected both approaching others and being approached by them.

-Your teacher knows. Of course I do.

-I know how cruel the world was to our Muro, and how badly it hurt our Muro...

Only after that time had passed did I look back on those days with regret.

How foolish it was to spend my life in anger.

-But listen, Muro.

-You can't throw everything away.

I came to understand my teacher's words when I was about seventeen.

Though that was after I had dropped out and was busy preparing for my high school equivalency exam.

‘Maybe I should've enjoyed myself more.’

That was why my childhood always remained a lingering regret.

This festival meant a lot to me because of that.

It showed me how different my life had become from my previous one.

‘It would be nice if I could show you too.’

A pointless thought.

I shook off those foolish feelings in the autumn breeze.

[Viktor? Why have you stopped?]

“Ah, it's nothing. I had something on my mind for a moment.”

Wriggle, wriggle.

The princess poked her head out of my uniform's front pocket.

I stroked the silver bat with a finger.

“V-Viktor! Over here...!”

“What are you standing there spacing out for? Did you spot another woman to charm?”

I was touring the festival with the others.

The academy streets were far busier than usual.

We walked as if carried along by the autumn wind.

“Ahem, the weather is nice too.”

The nearby stalls sold all kinds of street food.

We stopped now and then to buy a few things.

“This drink has quite a peculiar flavor!”

“They called it spicy apple flavor, right?”

“That is correct! Sir Viktor, please try some too!”

“The name doesn't sound particularly tempting, but if Miss Ranne recommends it...”

Ranne held out the drink with sparkling eyes.

I put my lips around the straw she had used.

A faint apple scent spread through my nose along with a spicy aroma.

Caitlin, who had been hovering nearby, didn't miss the opening.

“Oh? An indirect kiss?”

“Pardon?”

Ranne froze, apparently not having thought of that.

Caitlin kept poking at the girl's weak point.

“Blondie, you've gotten awfully bold lately, haven't you?”

“Huh? No, I-I didn't mean it that way...”

“Well... after kissing him that deeply, what does an indirect kiss matter now? Right?”

“N-no! I've never had such impure thoughts! I only wanted Sir Viktor to taste the drink, um...!”

Ranne desperately explained herself.

Her face was burning red.

Caitlin ignored that and kept pressing her.

“Hm... you've never had impure thoughts? Then what was that recording from that night? There was one naughty little cat in it.”

“W-w-wait! Why is this conversation going that way again...?!”

“You went straight for the lips of someone passed out drunk. Thinking about it again, wasn't that rape?”

“R-rape...?”

“Yeah. Rape. You sly cat.”

“A-ah... Alice, please stop her...”

Ranne finally sank beneath the pressure.

She hid behind Alice.

“C-Caitlin... you can't tease her too much...”

“What do you mean, tease? I only listed the facts.”

“Th-that's true, but...”

The ordinary conversation instantly turned into a roasting session.

It had been a pattern repeated several times over the past few days.

Naturally, the targets were the two stars of that night.

“You know how the quiet cats are always the troublemakers? This one didn't just jump onto the counter, she flew straight into the sky.”

“I-I was surprised too. I never thought Ranne would be so... so bold.”

“Alice! Even you, Alice, whom I trusted...!”

The shield called Alice was useless as attack after attack flew in.

Javert, who had been standing there pretending not to notice, became a target as well.

Rin, who had remained expressionless the whole time, suddenly spoke.

“That is true. I may be a little curious. Is it okay for a professor to pounce on a student? Isn't that against academy rules or something?”

“......”

Rin tilted her head and stared at Javert.

Unlike Caitlin's earlier teasing, Rin's question was filled with nothing but genuine curiosity.

As though the thought had only just occurred to her, the blue-haired girl blankly looked up at the woman.

“Is it written down anywhere?”

“......”

“Professor?”

“......”

Rin had no particular intention behind it, but Javert's HP had already hit zero.

Her cheeks were flushed bright red.

She kept her head lowered, desperately trying to hide.

[......]

Carmilla also kept silent.

Was it because pouncing on someone could apply to her as well?

The silver bat looked around uneasily, then slipped right back into my uniform pocket.

“Ranne... so, um, what did it feel like...?”

“Yeah, let's hear your thoughts on it.”

“Mm. I'm curious. Professor, tell us too.”

A cheerful feast of roasting.

That was how we crossed the noisy rows of booths.

‘Actually, plenty of things got exposed by accident that night too...’

My drunken ramblings had been recorded in the crystal ball.

I had let all sorts of things slip in my sleep.

‘I never thought I'd get drunk that fast.’

The phantom pain on the back of my neck, the teacher I had called for in my sleep, even the way Ranne had called me Sir Muro.

To the others, it must have been full of things they had never heard before.

‘But strangely, nobody's asking about it...’

Were they watching how I'd react?

Everyone stayed quiet about that part as though they had forgotten it.

Maybe because of that silence, something else bothered me even more.

Ranne, for one, was visibly dejected.

Was it because she had failed to keep our promise that it would remain our secret?

Even though I had told her countless times that it was fine, she sometimes drooped like a blade of grass soaked by rain.

‘Ranne is too earnest for her own good.’

Pat, pat.

I briefly patted Ranne, who stood beside me.

Pushing aside my restless thoughts, I decided to enjoy the festival for now.

‘Let's focus on this moment first.’

The festival's excited atmosphere.

As we walked through it, a broad plaza opened before us.

Familiar faces appeared here and there among the many lined-up booths.

“Fancy meeting you here. Are you enjoying the festival?”

“Headmaster.”

The headmaster stood with other faculty members.

We exchanged light greetings.

“Boss!”

“Big Bro!”

Then there were the Class E students gathered around a nearby booth.

It looked like everyone was enjoying the festival.

“Big Bro! Please stop by our booth later! A battle between hot-blooded men awaits!”

“Oh? What kind of booth is it? What game are you running?”

“Human Tombstone Smashing, Human Beyblade, Human Sonic, Steel Rickshaw Pulling, and more!”

“......”

What the fuck were they doing?

That was hard to say when I was the one who had made them do all of those things.

“We drew a lot of inspiration from the training Big Bro had us do at the beginning of the semester!”

“I-I see... Um, well... it sounds fun. I'll stop by.”

“Yes! If you have time, Chief Investigator, please visit as well!”

“......Yes, I'll go with Student Viktor.”

The conversation continued for a while.

Then perhaps someone noticed the strange awkwardness between Javert and me.

“Um, Lua.”

“Yes!”

One of the Class E students looked around carefully before speaking to Lua.

Lua was hopping around while tightly holding both Javert's hand and mine.

The girl beamed when she heard her name.

The student glanced at the others, then asked Lua in a whisper.

“Did Mom and Dad have a fight or something? The atmosphere seems a little strange...”

“No! Mom and Dad get along well! They don't fight!”

Maybe the question annoyed her.

Lua answered as if protesting.

“Lua saw it! Mom and Dad like each other super, super much!”

“Th-then that's a relief...”

Perhaps it was because of her chattering voice.

The nearby Class E students and even the headmaster, who was still close by, turned to look.

“Mom and Dad kissed too! And then, like... their tongues and lips were all squirming together...”

““......””

“Mom wouldn't let Dad go! She held onto him like that for a really long time!”

““......””

Another bombshell, right on cue.

Every Class E student who had been listening turned red.

The headmaster stared blankly at Lua, then looked back and forth between Javert and me.

“Right, Mom? Dad?”

Lua smiled innocently without a care.

Javert stood beside me with her head lowered.

I unconsciously touched the mask I was wearing.

Good grief, Lua.

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