Mistaken for a Masked Munchkin

Mom and Dad

"Could you become my husband?"

A sudden proposal.

Well, obviously, she did not mean it that way.

She had only thrown out the conclusion first. Her actual business continued in the sentences that followed.

"......The academy banquet, you mean?"

"That is correct."

The red-haired woman answered with cool indifference.

Lua was in her arms, giggling as Javert held her.

They had repeated this arrangement several times by now, so she seemed to have developed a knack for it.

"It may have the word banquet attached, but it is not such a grand event."

Javert added that caveat.

The scratch of her pen tip continued without pause.

"It will simply be attended by Grandia Academy affiliates, along with the Imperial Family that sponsors us and a few high-ranking nobles."

"That sounds more than grand enough to me..."

"It is trivial."

The woman ignored my retort.

She simply listed the necessary information, one point after another.

What came from her mouth was one of the pieces of news I had been desperately waiting for.

"Do you happen to know? Grandia's faculty has begun resuming the conquest of Purgatory. They have lifted the lockdown that lasted nearly twenty years and begun conquering new floors."

"Now that you mention it, I think I vaguely heard something about that."

Of course I knew.

I was the one who had told the headmaster to resume the conquest.

Naturally, I pretended not to know and asked Javert a few questions.

"If the faculty members were selected to form the expedition, then you must have participated as well, Chief Investigator."

"That is correct. I was entrusted with the position of Purgatory Expedition Deputy Commander, and for the past fifteen days, I led the expedition into Purgatory."

Purgatory Expedition Deputy Commander.

In the field, that role was practically the highest authority.

The headmaster was technically the commander, but that job did not involve personally going into the field.

'Deputy Commander... so Javert took the role after all.'

A strange feeling came over me.

In the original game, the Purgatory Expedition had been organized just like this too.

'Of course, back then, the person who became Deputy Commander had a completely different name...'

In the story, the expedition was originally formed much later than the present point.

At the very least, it was around the time the player entered third year, wasn't it?

But by then, Javert had already been placed in the columbarium.

'Suicide.'

The woman had killed herself.

That was why Javert's name could not be found in the original expedition.

"......"

For a moment, the difference felt real.

Whether she knew that or not, Javert simply continued her blunt explanation.

"This banquet is hosted by the academy. It is also planned as an occasion to announce our achievements from this Purgatory conquest."

"......Pardon? You are announcing achievements? When it has not even been a month since the conquest resumed?"

"That is correct. We concluded that enough achievements have accumulated by this point to make an announcement."

"No, how many floors did you clear in such a short time...?"

"As of yesterday, conquest has been completed up to the 79th floor."

"Pardon?"

For a moment, my brain froze.

Once at the words 79th floor.

And once more at the way Javert said it like it was obvious.

'Good heavens.'

I had not really felt it lately, but Grandia's faculty really were absurdly capable.

Even if they were only normal floors without a [Master], nine whole floors must have given them plenty of trouble.

On top of that, the 70s were not exactly easy in the first place.

Since they had handled all of that in barely three weeks, it was no wonder my jaw nearly dropped.

'Doesn't that mean they smashed through at least one floor every two days?'

Monsters outside common sense.

With that thought hitting me all over again, I nodded.

"That is a rather encouraging achievement. I am honestly surprised."

"Of course, this banquet is not being held solely to announce our achievements. The Purgatory conquest was progressing smoothly, and since a banquet happened to be coming up, the decision was made to announce them there."

"I understand."

"I am a central member of the expedition and one of Grandia's main faculty members, so it would be difficult for me to be absent."

"So you needed a partner. Someone to play the role of your lover or husband, I mean."

"That is correct. If I attend alone, various troublesome matters tend to attach themselves to me."

Javert spoke while casually stroking Lua.

Her gaze was so flat that no emotion could be read from its surface.

Only lifeless sentences rang out, precise and clear.

"Originally, I would have entered with the headmaster, but this time, the headmaster's attendance will be delayed due to other matters."

In short.

She wanted me to fill in as her partner.

'Well... if she is alone, there must be all sorts of annoying things waiting to bother her.'

For example, marriage proposals.

Javert was about that age now, so plenty of families must have had their eyes on her.

So she seemed to be planning to bring me along as her lover and cut those conversations off at the source.

'It really was a request she made without any special meaning.'

She was a machine through and through.

Banquet superstitions, romantic rumors... all of that was probably outside her area of interest.

Her head was packed full of principles and rules. In other words, Javert was what people called rigid.

The woman set down the pen she had been scratching away with and spoke.

"Of course, if it burdens you, you may refuse."

"It would be my honor. Even if only for one day, being able to play your lover is more than I deserve, Chief Investigator."

"To be precise, it is banquet partner."

"Oh? Was it not husband earlier?"

"I will correct that. It was only a figure of speech."

"You are surprisingly careless in places, Chief Investigator."

"I am not."

"You are."

"I am not."

A few words of idle chatter passed between us.

Naturally, I accepted the woman's request.

"Ah. Then when is the banquet? Do we have about a week?"

"It is tomorrow."

"......?"

"It is tomorrow night, as far as I know."

"Pardon?"

No.

Then why are you only telling me that now?

***

Well, thankfully, preparations for the banquet went smoothly.

I thought there would be something grand to prepare, but that was not the case.

I was still a student, and since I was a commoner, I had no need for flashy adornments.

'It was just getting my hair done a little and putting on a suit.'

Having my hair swept all the way back felt quite awkward.

As I pointlessly adjusted my appearance, the red-haired woman came to stand beside me.

"Student Viktor."

"Ah, Professor."

Javert was dressed in the same uniform as usual.

As always, it was neat, without a single crease in the sleeves.

Of course, perhaps some light care had gone into it, because it looked slightly fancier than her everyday uniform.

"You look... wonderful today."

"It is the same uniform as usual."

It was a rather plain outfit for a woman attending a banquet.

However, considering the person wearing it was Javert, I could tell she had put in at least a little effort.

"......"

"Professor? What is it?"

"It is nothing. I was simply thinking that this is my first time seeing Student Viktor's bare face."

"Even I could not come to a place like this wearing that frivolous mask."

"I was surprised. You look more decent than I expected."

"......"

Why did everyone say that when they saw my face?

What did they even mean, more decent than expected?

How were these people usually looking at me?

As I grumbled in dissatisfaction, green eyes suddenly lingered on my cheek.

"That scar..."

The right cheek where a flower had bloomed.

But the woman soon turned her head, as if choosing not to ask.

'Is she pretending not to know?'

That consideration made me quietly happy, so I gave a small laugh.

Standing before the banquet hall doors, I gently held out my hand.

"Then, allow me to escort you."

"I leave it to you."

She lightly linked her arm with mine.

After that, we entered the banquet hall with composed steps.

As the doors opened and we stepped inside, I could feel people's gazes gathering.

-There... she's here.

-It's Chief Investigator Javert.

Attention certainly gathered.

The academy's de facto number two, and the person serving as field leader of this Purgatory Expedition.

It made me feel, in a strange way, just how powerful a backer I had behind me.

After a few words about Javert, naturally, I began hearing talk about me.

-Then that must be her lover.

-I heard he is the Chief Investigator's direct disciple?

-He looks handsome, but also somehow ordinary...

-How unexpected. To think someone so steel-like fell in love with a younger student.

This made it clear why Javert had picked me as her partner.

I was already tied to Javert, and all sorts of gossip was circulating.

If she needed someone to act as her lover, I was the perfect fit.

-But... from what I heard at the academy, there were also rumors that it was all a misunderstanding?

-I heard that too. I think they said they were not lovers...

-What? Then what is this banquet about?

-Maybe he just came as her partner because he is her direct disciple?

Of course, some people knew the truth.

Their numbers were small, but there were still people who accurately understood the academy's situation.

A brief, casual thought crossed my mind.

"Hmm."

Somehow, my pride was wounded.

Since Javert had asked me for this, shouldn't I shock people a little more thoroughly?

'It is absolutely not because I want to stir up trouble...'

This was all for the promise. The promise.

I worked hard to cover the twitching corners of my mouth with my hand.

Then I shifted my steps slightly and looked back at the girl who had been toddling after us.

"Lua."

"Ah... Dad."

It was Lua, dressed in a cute little dress.

I smiled brightly and spoke.

"You can come out proudly."

"......"

My hand stroked her affectionately.

At that, Lua shyly approached, then slipped in between Javert and me.

Lua held one hand from each of us in her tiny hands.

Her angelic eyes looked up at us, bright and round.

"Mhee... Mom, Dad!"

A small but clear chirp spread through the hall.

The pupils of the nearby nobles widened.

The murmuring stopped, and everyone went blank.

A small child calling Chief Investigator Javert and her lover "Mom" and "Dad."

""......""

The thoughts of those watching stopped.

The sudden situation sent hundreds of wild fantasies spinning through their heads.

"Pfft..."

"......"

I held back the laugh that tried to leak out.

Beside me, Javert was looking at me with a strange expression.

I asked calmly.

"Ahem... what is it?"

"It is nothing."

What?

You were the one who asked me, Professor.

I am simply handling it thoroughly.

===

This is Javert.

It felt like a shame that she only ever sticks to her uniform in the story, so I prepared this.

Her uniform looks like this.

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