Mistaken for a Masked Munchkin

Purgatory Floor 80

Banquet.

Brief scenes flowed and wound through the fabric of the night.

The night view beyond the terrace, which I had quietly gazed up at, had been that vivid.

As one summer night passed, the red-haired woman and I did not speak.

We simply sank silently into the night sky.

"......Um, Your Highness."

And then, the day after that night and its melody ended.

I was kneeling in my dorm room, flustered and helpless.

A sulky voice rang in my ears.

Sitting across from me was a silver-haired girl with her back sharply turned.

Her red eyes were fixed in the opposite direction, as if she refused to even look at me.

"I asked if you enjoyed yourself."

Last night.

I had made a grave mistake.

"Disappearing without a word, then only returning when dawn had already grown late..."

After spending an entire day preparing, I had needed to attend the banquet right away.

Perhaps it was because my schedule had been so hectic.

I forgot to tell Her Highness in advance.

"And all because you were spending time with another woman."

"......"

I bowed my head deeply.

Apparently, Her Highness had waited all through the dawn for me to return.

'Because I'd never done something like this without saying anything before.'

Usually, I always brought Carmilla along with me.

When I did not, I at least told her my schedule so she would not worry.

But this time, I had missed that step, and ended up leaving Her Highness alone for hours.

'To think I made a mistake like this.'

Lately, I had been out of sorts in many ways.

The evil god, Javert... all sorts of worries and problems had been filling my head.

Of course, that was no excuse.

I had made a promise to Her Highness.

A promise that, no matter the situation, I would not make her uneasy.

'Hm.'

Now that I thought about it, I did not seem to be keeping that promise very well.

At any rate, I had that duty.

'And yesterday was the day I completely abandoned it...'

Her Highness always pretended to be strong, but inside, she was more fragile than anyone.

That was only natural, since the thorn buried deep in her heart had not been pulled out yet.

In some ways, her mental state was even more precarious than Alice's.

-"Will you leave me too...?"

I remembered the tears that had fallen on my cheek.

Right after the eclipse event.

The dark bedroom.

The girl who had forced me down as if pouncing on me.

The closeness where even our breaths mingled.

That voice asking me through tears, in the middle of that mess.

-"I told you to answer."

-"Please, answer me..."

That voice had been crawling with distrust soaked deep into her life.

Despair had eaten away at the girl and made one corner of her heart rot.

-"At least you, Viktor, must not abandon me."

-"Do not leave me alone in this deep mire and go off by yourself."

-"If you must betray me in the end... then poison me instead."

Poor thing.

-"Just stay. Even if I order you to leave, ngh... do not leave..."

-"Bad retainer, hngh, making me anxious like this..."

Even that had happened less than two months ago.

Separate from her trust in me, this was still a time when learned anxiety had no choice but to remain.

During the twelve hours I had been gone without a word, the girl must have been swallowed by deep water and shadow.

'All that time, with her heart on edge...'

What if she had been abandoned?

What if she had been betrayed?

What if I had grown tired of her and left?

What if there had been an accident, or something terrible had happened?

-"Viktor."

Her Highness had not even been able to lie down in bed. She had spent a long time pacing near the entrance, waiting.

She had trembled all through the dawn in a room where the lights had not even been turned on.

When I returned, Her Highness rushed at me.

She clung tightly to me, buried her face against my chest, and sniffled.

-"Viktor, Viktor..."

My shirt had grown wet, drop by drop.

Like that, Her Highness had not let go of me for a long time...

'Hm.'

And now, here we were.

Her crying had calmed, and I had explained the whole story.

After learning everything, Her Highness seemed thoroughly upset.

"Bad retainer."

"......"

"Lecher."

"It was truly necessary..."

"Be quiet."

Yes, ma'am.

Since this incident was clearly my mistake, I had no choice but to be utterly weak to Her Highness's words.

"You could have at least left one message through the Crystal Orb."

"I apologize. I thought of it belatedly, but it was already late into dawn... I thought Your Highness might be sleeping. I was worried that if I contacted you for no reason, I might wake you..."

"That would have been better."

"I apologize."

"Impudent retainer."

Her answer was sharp, but there was moisture mixed into it.

It was resentment and relief toward this useless retainer.

The girl's shoulders quietly trembled.

As if trying not to show it, Her Highness forced strength into her voice.

"Hmph... I knew nothing and, sniffle. Like a fool, I waited anxiously, did I not?"

"I have committed a sin worthy of death. It was all because my loyalty was careless."

"So you do know. Still, do not say you will die."

"I will keep that in mind."

Words went back and forth, tossed out lightly.

I slowly stood and approached the girl sitting with her back turned.

She must have heard me, but Her Highness stayed in place without any sign of avoiding me.

"Your Highness."

I quietly reached out.

Then I gently stroked the sulking silver hair.

"I will make sure the same thing never happens again."

"Remove your hand."

Carmilla turned her head away.

Yet she showed no sign of actually trying to escape my touch.

"......Javert, was it? Viktor, is that kind of woman to your taste?"

"I only did what I did because it was necessary."

"Well, she was pretty enough to bewitch someone."

"I do not believe that is something Your Highness should say..."

"Do not flatter me so easily."

"I am always sincere."

Srrk, srrk.

My hand tidied her disheveled silver hair.

As I smoothed it down, I answered in a few quiet words.

"You know this, do you not? The lord I serve is you alone, Carmilla Blandir."

"......"

"I swore it too. That I would not leave your side."

"......Say more."

"You are the only person I respect."

"More."

"You are the flower that will bloom most nobly and most beautifully."

"More."

"That is why I always consider it an honor to serve you."

"......"

Carmilla closed her lips for a moment.

The head that had been turned away the whole time looked up at me for the first time.

"......You are not lying, are you?"

"I would rather die than lie to you."

"I told you not to die."

Even as she pointed that out, Her Highness's breathing had already settled.

Her pouting lips had softened as well.

The girl quietly leaned into my hand.

As her head tilted, she murmured softly.

"If Viktor says so... then I shall let myself be fooled one more time."

Thump, thump.

Her Highness came into my arms and bumped her forehead against my chest.

That small gesture melted the stiff air.

I calmly patted the girl's back.

Without resisting, Her Highness simply leaned fully against me.

***

Meanwhile.

The academy was just as noisy.

-"Did everyone hear about that? Last night's academy banquet!"

-"Chief Investigator Javert and Class E's top student attended as lovers..."

How had the rumor spread so fast?

News about last night's banquet had already spread all over the academy.

From the fact that I had attended as Javert's partner, all the way to the part where I danced with her in front of everyone...

'No, why did it spread in this much detail?'

The dating rumor between me and Javert, which had seemed to be cooling down lately.

That news poured oil on the dying embers.

It was like a pillar of fire had shot up.

I had expected it to some degree, but I never thought the reaction would be this explosive.

'For now, she'd asked me to do it, so I just went and did it...'

How was I supposed to clean this up?

'Hm.'

When I did it, I had gotten carried away and enjoyed myself. Once it was over, the situation felt bleak.

It felt like I had sprayed paint all over a white room.

I sank blankly into a wave of belated reality.

Naturally, wherever I went, gazes followed me.

It was bad enough that even my companions each had something to say.

-"Sir Viktor."

-"I heard the news. About last night's banquet."

-"To think you were in a romantic relationship with the Chief Investigator..."

-"Ahaha... It is nothing! I brought up needless talk!"

Ranne's voice had been strangely lacking in strength.

The girl smiled, but that smile seemed somehow empty.

-"S-Sir Viktor... is that rumor true?"

-"That you and Javert became lovers..."

-"But when I asked you last time, you clearly told me that was not the case..."

Alice looked deeply dejected.

Even as her shoulders trembled, she held tightly onto my sleeve and asked about last night.

There was even moisture gathered around her eyes.

-"How many fucking women do you have?"

-"You're a real lady-killer, huh? A lady-killer."

-"Let's see... Blonde, black hair, princess, and now an investigator too."

-"That's four already, isn't it? You're just going around seducing everyone, huh?"

Maybe Caitlin thought this was her chance, because she sneered at me with contemptuous eyes.

She even added pointless comments on top of it.

In the end, I had to discipline her a little.

And last was someone I had no idea why was included among my companions.

-"I heard the news."

-"That you and the Chief Investigator are in a common-law marriage, and you even have a child between you."

Rin Glacia.

The top student of Class A, who had transferred into Class E a few days ago.

-"Surprising. To think you were Professor Javert's lover."

-"As expected, you really are amazing."

-"I will try harder too."

The girl smoothly approached, spat out a few impressions, then disappeared.

What was amazing, and what exactly was she going to try harder at...?

She really was a hard-to-read person who walked her own path.

Anyway, it took a lot of time to explain the news to my companions.

"Hoo..."

Right.

Enough time to spend an entire day on it.

Only after I was half-exhausted was I able to return to my dorm room.

"It starts today, then."

Of course, I had no time to slack off.

I had to move right away.

Something I had prepared for a long time.

The moment had come to finally tie up all the buildup I had accumulated so far.

Her Highness, who had already transformed into bat form, wriggled her wings in the front pocket of my robe.

[So, where are you saying we are going when the night will soon grow late?]

"It is a place Your Highness has visited once before."

[Hmm?]

A short answer.

Right after, a blue screen appeared before my eyes.

Ding-!

[Sub Quest]

-Title: How to Greet the Self Who Looks Back

-Objective: Clear Purgatory Floor 80. Defeat the Master of Purgatory Floor 80.

-Failure Penalty: None

-Reward on Success: Forgotten Sage's Contract (A+)

[Time Limit: Before the final destruction arrives]

"Purgatory."

The world led me into the storm.

And to the moments that would spread after it.

"We are heading underground."

A calm declaration.

It was time to go collect the most important item needed to stop Javert's suicide.

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