Mistaken for a Masked Munchkin

Going to Meet Father-in-Law 2.

The headmaster's office had an old-fashioned air.

The headmaster and I sat facing each other across the table.

The old man set down a cup of tea for each of us, then got straight to the point.

"The preparations are complete. The Purgatory Expedition. We can begin deployment to Floor 71 as early as tomorrow."

"Oh... already? I thought it would take another fortnight."

"I tried to move things along as quickly as possible."

"How unexpected. I didn't think you would cooperate this actively."

"How could I ignore it after hearing something like that?"

By something like that, he was probably recalling what I had said during our last private meeting.

-I can glimpse the future.

-I did not hunt down the master of Floor 70 because I was bored.

-I only acted because it was unavoidable, and because doing so was necessary to avert the tragedy that was meant to happen.

Well, I supposed those were the sort of words that lodged deep in a person's mind.

The claim that I was a prophet.

And the claim that if Purgatory was not cleared, a great disaster would someday come.

"I heard what happened. They say there was trouble during this School Trip as well."

"That's right. Though calling it trouble might be underselling the scale a little."

"The deep sea... To think a Cultist Branch was hiding in a place like that."

"It was not just the deep sea. It was a point where another space overlapped with it. In a way, it was only natural that the academy failed to detect it."

"...And you, Student Viktor, got caught up in that space that was hidden so thoroughly. During School Trip activities. With your team members. By coincidence."

"That is how it turned out."

A shameless reply.

Valter's expression grew even more complicated as he stared at me.

After this School Trip incident, my claim about being a prophet had probably gained even more credibility.

'The reorganization of the Purgatory Expedition. This must be why that was handled so quickly.'

Tap, tap.

I absentmindedly tapped the mask I was wearing.

Then, after a short laugh, I gave the old man a topic that would weigh even heavier on him.

"It was OZ."

"Excuse me?"

"The one in charge of that deep-sea branch. He introduced himself as the Mage of Life. He seemed to be the one who created Miss Alice."

"No... wait. You encountered that madman and still came back alive? Four students alone? And how do you know about Alice..."

"We were lucky. As for Miss Alice, I heard it directly from the people involved."

"...The report clearly said it was a small branch."

"Hehe. I am telling only you this, Headmaster."

"......"

The Mage of Life, OZ.

There was no way the headmaster did not know him.

They had been active in the same era, each on the front lines of the church and the Cultists.

Beyond simply knowing each other, they were probably enemies who had clashed and fought to the death countless times.

'So he definitely knows Alice's true identity is a Cultist weapon.'

Well, it would have been stranger if he did not know.

After all, the headmaster was the one who rescued Alice from the collapsed laboratory.

He took on the role of her guardian, and once she was older, even arranged for her transfer into the academy.

"Are you starting to feel certain?"

"......"

The Viktor prophet theory.

I solved incidents as soon as they broke out, and I had information an ordinary person could never dig up.

Prophet or not, it seemed clear enough that I had been verified as someone far from ordinary.

Valter looked deep in thought for a while, but soon answered.

"...For now, I have no choice but to believe you."

"A wise judgment."

"Then is there anything else you want from our side?"

"Nothing special yet... I only hope the Purgatory clearing resumes as soon as possible."

"We will begin the day after tomorrow."

"As for the clearing, I would appreciate it if you proceeded as I requested before."

The method I had asked for was as follows.

The normal floors, Floor 71 to Floor 79 and so on, would be left to the academy's official expedition team.

And special floors where a [Master] existed, such as Floor 80, Floor 90, and Floor 100, would be left to me.

Those special floors were so brutally difficult that it seemed better for me to break through them safely using their gimmicks.

'And monopolize the items while I'm at it.'

Run some auto-hunting.

Guarantee the expedition team's safety.

Monopolize the high-grade items.

It was a perfect plan that killed three birds with one stone.

Behind my mask, I smiled brightly.

After that, the conversation wrapped up, and just as I was about to rise from my seat.

"Ah."

One last thing.

I remembered something I needed to ask again.

"And... please make sure to pass this on clearly. Regarding the Purgatory Floor 70 Unauthorized Clear Incident. The order is to kill the culprit on sight if they are found."

"...No matter how many times I think about that request, I cannot understand what it means."

"There is no need to interpret it. It means exactly what it says."

"Javert will try to kill you without hesitation."

"That is exactly what I want."

"Is even that a preparation for the future?"

"Hmm... Let us say so for now."

"......"

It seemed I would need to check on Javert soon too.

Once the Purgatory clearing resumed, we would end up involved with each other in several ways.

As I left the headmaster's office, I said,

"In any case, I leave it to you."

"Yes, do not worry."

One hot summer.

A hellish season.

It was almost time for the main story to move forward.

***

After returning from the School Trip, the students were given an additional fortnight of vacation.

Between the deep-sea Cultist Branch incident and the reorganization of the Purgatory Expedition, many faculty members had to be away.

Most students spent the time studying on their own in the library.

Of course, none of that mattered to me. I decided to hole up in the dormitory.

The insane amount of activity during the School Trip had worn my shut-in ego down to nothing.

"Hmhm."

From the first day of vacation, I did nothing but sprawl on the sofa.

That did not mean I was playing alone.

The School Trip team members had come to my dorm room again this time.

It had already been fairly lively with just Her Highness and Lua there, but once more than five people gathered, there was no time to be bored.

"Miss Caitlin."

"...I told you not to."

How noisy was it?

Well, it was nothing special.

Just the sound of kids cringing hard enough to kick their blankets off, more or less.

[You fucking bastard... son of a bitch... every day, puppy, puppy, th-this bullshit... fucking...]

[Every day, only bullying me... what even are yooou...]

The Crystal Orb in my hand.

From inside it, a familiar bout of Drunken Antics was leaking out.

I had not missed that moment, and had recorded every last bit for the sake of public execution.

"I said stop playing that...!"

"One moment, please. This is the highlight."

"Hey!!"

[Seriously, do you even, like me or something...]

[I hate it, hate it, hate it so much... die... all you smug bastards, die.]

"......"

Tremble, tremble.

Caitlin shook with her fists clenched tight.

Still, she did have a sense of shame, judging by the pale red flush rising over her face.

"Don't do it..."

As if.

Did she really think she could give me an opening like this and not get teased for it?

I picked out only the key part and played it on loop through the Crystal Orb.

[Why are you like this to me? Do you like me?]

[Why are you like this to me? Do you like me?]

[Why are you like this to me? Do you like me?]

[Why are you like this to me? Do you like me?]

"Heeeey!!!"

In the end, Caitlin's eyes went wild, and she grabbed me by the collar and shook me.

The other children were no different.

My Crystal Orb did not discriminate.

[Even though you're my retainer. My own, retainer...]

[Even though you're my retainer. My own, retainer...]

[Even though you're my retainer. My own, retainer...]

"Viktor! I told you to stop...!"

[Because if I let Sir Viktor go, he'll run away just like that...]

[Because if I let Sir Viktor go, he'll run away just like that...]

[Because if I let Sir Viktor go, he'll run away just like that...]

"Sir Viktor! Th-that one is not allowed...!"

Her Highness clung to my back, and Alice's eyes spun with shame.

Better than expected. Everyone was giving me a wonderfully dramatic reaction.

It was worth recording them before the chance passed.

Of course, all the serious parts of the recordings had been edited out.

'Stuff like this is meant to be brushed over lightly.'

Passing over it with teasing like this was best.

Since heavy topics had come up as well, if I reacted too carefully, I could end up making the atmosphere awkward instead.

Reacting like this was better for the children and for me.

I was absolutely not doing this because I wanted to tease them.

Anyway, that was how it was.

"Seriously! You got one thing on us and now you keep going! What are you, a little girl...!"

"Oh...? Is that not you, Miss Caitlin, rather than me?"

"Want me to make us the same sex?"

"Hmm. Living as a woman once might not be too bad."

"Are you mentally ill?"

"Now, now."

Calling me mentally ill just because I said I wanted to try a TS experience.

What was that, some kind of minor tag discrimination?

A good child loves every tag equally.

"Miss Gay Dentures is done for when it comes to getting a present from Santa Claus."

"And there he goes, talking bullshit again."

For reference, I was a philanthropist.

I loved every tag without discrimination.

NTR, BL, TS, all of them.

I could even explain their exact meanings one by one.

First, NTR.

NTR stood for Natural True Romance, meaning natural and true love. In other words, pure love.

BL stood for Bitches' Love.

It meant love between women. In other words, yuri.

TS stood for True Socialism.

That's right. It meant a true socialist paradise.

It meant taking up the sickle and hammer and painting the whole world red.

'As expected, TS is the greatest of the three.'

A pointless inner monologue.

I spent a noisy afternoon with the kids.

Then, around evening, Ranne suddenly spoke up.

"Um... well, everyone."

The girl had seemed a little strange today.

Her usual cheerfulness had sunk, and she had looked lost in thought all day.

Even earlier, when the recorded public executions were going on, she had only sat blankly on the sofa.

"L-Lady Quijano...?"

"Miss Ranne? Is something the matter?"

Her violet eyes blinked calmly.

The girl hesitated for a moment, then parted her lips as if she had made up her mind.

"Would you perhaps... come with me to my family home tomorrow? There is still quite a bit of vacation left, after all!"

Ranne's family home.

The North. House Kihano.

The children were flustered by the sudden invitation and asked back.

"S-suddenly? To your family home, Young Lady...?"

"Yes! My father said he absolutely wishes to meet all of you!"

"What? Even me?"

"Of course, that includes Miss Caitlin!"

Ranne spoke clearly.

A sudden development.

Unlike the other children, though, I was smiling.

Because the event I had been waiting for, wondering when it would happen, had triggered right now.

'Visiting House Kihano.'

An event that passed by lightly in the original.

Yet there was a damn broken item that could only be obtained here.

Thankful for the fruit that had finally ripened after my wait, I answered Ranne's request without hesitation.

"Of course. If Miss Ranne is inviting us, I must go."

I accepted her request.

At the same time, a blue screen floated before my eyes.

Ding-!

[Sub Quest]

-Title: The Road Home

-Objective: Accept House Kihano's invitation. Be recognized by Count Kihano. Discover the hidden dungeon 'Lumiera's Temple' in Kihano County.

-Failure Penalty: None

-Reward upon Success: Count Kihano's favor, ???

[Time Limit: Until vacation ends]

Now, then.

Time to go meet my father-in-law, not really.

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