Chapter 199

Lua had set off her I Am Atomic.

Its aftermath was enough to freeze everyone around us.

The cheerful atmosphere stiffened awkwardly, with only the sound of the autumn wind filling the silence.

“......”

The Class E students all lowered their heads, pretending they hadn't heard.

Boss and the Chief Investigator's private lives.

They looked like they had no idea how they were supposed to react.

The kids could only blush and sit in awkward silence.

“Ahem!”

“Um, Boss...”

Maybe they were all hopelessly inexperienced, but even Lua mentioning a kiss had completely thrown them off.

Perhaps they wanted to ease the tense mood.

The kids barely managed to open their mouths.

But a voice shot them down one by one.

“The little one put it nicely.”

“......”

“In reality, it was more like, huh? One of you pounced on the other, tied him up so he couldn't move, and kissed the life out of him, wasn't it? And the one getting attacked didn't even think about resisting. It was so intense it left bruises on his wrists... and now you're getting shy?”

“......”

Caitlin had been watching from beside us.

She wasn't just adding firewood anymore. She was pouring oil on the flames.

Heat began to rise above the innocent students' heads.

“...Miss Caitlin.”

“What, do you have a problem? I only said what happened.”

The bronze-skinned girl gave me a sly smile.

She looked thrilled to finally find something to attack me with.

“Why are you acting like this is something new? It's not like your guy seducing women and doing that sort of thing is anything new.”

“M-Miss Caitlin? Couldn't that be taken the wrong way...?”

“Then what? Are you saying I'm wrong?”

“......”

I hated myself for being unable to answer.

Caitlin wasn't the only one joining the chaos.

“Yeah, that's right. I saw it too.”

Rin quietly agreed with Caitlin.

Her characteristic blue eyes blinked blankly.

Her expression was as vague and vacant as usual.

It didn't seem like she was attacking me on purpose. She was simply agreeing with what she heard.

“That definitely happened. Professor Javert... did that to Viktor. Yeah.”

The girl's voice was oddly matter-of-fact for the situation.

She was merely acknowledging what she knew, as though she hadn't even dreamed that her words were a jab at me.

Her innocent voice carried on.

Javert and I could only wilt under the atmosphere.

“W-We should be going now! We have to clean up our booth...”

“R-Right! Goodness, I lost track of time!”

“We'll be going now! Please stop by our booth later too...!”

“Um, well... we're happy that the two of you seem to have such a good relationship! We'll absolutely keep this secret to ourselves!”

In the end, the Class E students couldn't bear the heated atmosphere any longer.

The kids cautiously slipped away one after another.

Their retreating figures almost made them look like they were fleeing.

We had ended up driving them away.

Still, we weren't given even a moment to dwell on that bitterness.

“Javert. Student Viktor.”

“Ah.”

The headmaster had been quietly waiting for us.

His eyes moved between Javert and me.

Naturally, we had no choice but to stand before him.

“......”

For some reason, I felt like a criminal.

Javert and I were scolded side by side.

“I had heard bits and pieces of rumors that you two were involved. I didn't think it was strange. After all, quite a lot has happened between you.”

“......”

“Besides, Javert is an adult, and Student Viktor is as well, so I didn't believe it was my place to interfere. I certainly never thought I would have to comment on your displays of affection, though...”

“......”

Valter looked just as flustered.

He soon added with a sigh.

“...Still, please restrain yourselves in front of a child.”

His voice sounded embarrassed.

Javert's face had already turned so red it looked ready to burst.

She looked like someone whose parents had caught her kissing her lover.

‘She didn't just look like one. That was exactly what happened.’

She looked as though she might sink into the ground at any moment.

So it fell to me to answer the old man's rebuke.

At least I had my mask on.

It kept anyone from noticing the heat in my face.

“I have no excuse...”

To offer a pathetic excuse, I never expected Lua to be watching.

She had been lying in one corner of the sofa the whole time, so I thought she had fallen asleep early.

The alcohol had also made it hard to think clearly.

“As parents, you must conduct yourselves properly in body and mind...”

Valter's nagging continued.

Javert and I could only listen quietly.

“Hehehe.”

The one who stopped the old man was none other than Lua.

The girl, who had been standing next to Valter all this time, tugged insistently at his sleeve with sparkling eyes.

“Hm? What's wrong, little one?”

“Grandpa!”

“G-Grandpa...?”

“If you're Mommy's dad, doesn't that make you Lua's grandpa?”

Lua launched an innocent, adorable attack.

Valter's stern expression instantly turned flustered.

“W-Well, yes... that isn't wrong, but...”

“Wow, Grandpa! Give me a shoulder ride!”

“A-A shoulder ride...?”

“Give me one! A shoulder ride!”

“Very well. J-Just a moment...”

“Eek!”

Swoop.

The old man ended up lifting Lua without thinking.

He fumbled for a moment before placing her small body on his shoulders.

“Wow! I'm so high up!”

“It's d-dangerous, so stay still...”

“Grandpa's the best!”

“T-The best...?”

Right, Lua liked halbu best.

Dad was poor too, so I bought things in installments more often than in lump sums.

“Grandpa!”

Lua was kneading Valter's cheeks.

Maybe he couldn't resist the sudden appearance of an adorable granddaughter.

The old man swallowed his nagging without realizing it.

“Your beard is really soft!”

“Ahem, ahem...!”

Even the strongest person in this world couldn't withstand Lua's one-two punch of cuteness.

As expected, my daughter was the strongest in the galaxy.

* * *

The headmaster gave Lua shoulder rides for quite some time.

He even forgot his original business and spent a while touring the festival streets with us before leaving.

‘So grandpas really are grandpas.’

The old man had been completely disarmed by his granddaughter's cuteness.

Lua seemed to like her kind grandpa too.

After all that commotion, we sat in the park.

The sky had already grown dark, nearing night.

‘We looked around plenty, but we haven't actually cleared a single booth...’

A blue screen floated before my eyes.

It was an event-style status window.

Ding!

[Bonus Quest]

-Title: Welcome to the Autumn Festival!

-Details: Clear 100 or more booths featured in the autumn festival. An additional reward is available for a perfect clear.

-Penalty upon Failure: None

-Reward: ???

[Time Limit: 6 days 2 hours 24 minutes]

[Progress: 4/100]

It was a quest that had appeared for the autumn festival.

Today's progress was 4.

Of course, that wasn't much of an obstacle.

The Grandia Autumn Festival was an event that lasted a week.

There was plenty of time, so I could work through it little by little starting tomorrow.

‘Clearing festival booths shouldn't be that hard...’

I just had to think of it as playing a lot of minigames.

Besides, if the reward was listed as ‘???’, it would most likely be a Selection Ticket.

‘I have to get it.’

I had been uneasy because I only had one ticket left.

You could say a good opportunity had come my way.

‘Well, I'll start tackling the festival tomorrow...’

I pushed aside my stray thoughts and looked up at the night sky.

The others were sitting nearby as well.

I spoke to Caitlin beside me, who had looked especially pleased since earlier.

“Miss Caitlin.”

“What.”

“You seem especially happy today.”

“Do I?”

“Did getting a hit in on me make you that happy?”

“Hey, do I look like such a bitch that I'd get happy over something like that?”

“Then you're not?”

“Actually, I am. Serves you fucking right, you bastard.”

“You really are sharp. I suppose that's part of your charm, Miss Caitlin...”

Our lively chatter went back and forth.

We talked for a while.

“V-Viktor, I'll treasure the doll you won for me...”

“If Miss Alice wants one, I can win one for you anytime.”

“B-But still...”

“Still, I'd be happy if you treasure it.”

Our voices drifted into the night.

Then, at some point, an awkward silence fell.

One by one, the others fell silent.

A strange stillness formed between us.

As though they were waiting for something, the kids watched each other carefully.

“......”

I only sat there quietly amid the silence.

Whoosh.

An autumn wind ruffled my hair.

I fidgeted with the mask on my face.

Before long, Javert, who had been standing opposite me, carefully spoke.

“...Um, Student Viktor.”

“Investigator.”

She seemed to be speaking for the others.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Javert and me.

I answered calmly.

“There's something I would like to ask.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“Muro.”

“......”

“Whose name is Muro?”

The name that had been recorded in the crystal ball on that night when I was dead drunk.

“What is this name, Muro, and... what did you mean when you said your throat hurt?”

Her green eyes trembled slightly.

The others' silence pointed toward me.

It put only my voice in the spotlight.

“I want to know. About you, Student Viktor.”

“......”

Yeah.

I had known this was coming.

Footnotes:

“Halbuji” means “grandfather,” while “halbu” means “installment,” hence Viktor's pun.