Mistaken for a Masked Munchkin

Garulik & Manre of the Slayers

Professor Glinbert.

One of the longest-serving faculty members at Grandia.

By experience, by ability, he was the kind of man the word "veteran" suited naturally. Friendly toward players, and with a warm, grandfatherly impression that earned him genuine popularity.

In RGM.

A character with a rock-solid standing in the original game.

But as the story progressed, a shocking twist came to light.

[Title: What the actual f***]

[Author: BeGratefulWeExist]

I'm running Story <The Informant's Identity> right now

Wait, what??? Professor Glinbert is the traitor?????

He was one of the few genuinely likeable professors at Grandia??

The mentor who taught me magic, Barrier arts, countermeasures against dark mana and sorcery, who supported me in every possible way all through third year, turns out he was actually working for the enemy???

This bastard was colluding with the cultists to massacre the Academy?

And basically every major incident that broke out here was his doing?

He's the one who summoned that god-awful Red Knight and White Knight?

And I'm just supposed to believe all of this???

f***f***f***f***f***f***

[It's real though? If you won't believe it, what exactly can you do?]

-> Besides denial, what else is there to do, lol

[You deceived another student... Glinbert]

-> The

-> world

-> is

-> truly

-> like

-> that.

[Wake up, RGMer! Wake up from your kind, capable homeroom professor! That's not reality! Your mentor is not real! There is no teacher's grace or old professor's mercy in this world! Wake up, RGMer! Wake up and come live alongside us, wading through carnage and corpses for the rest of your lives in this hopeless dark fantasy dressed up like a cozy anime game, stuffed to the brim with disaster and betrayal! Wake up, RGMer!]

-> BeGratefulWeExist) God d***

And just like that, the truth was out. Glinbert, exposed as the informant.

He was the man behind every major incident that had shaken the Academy.

Naturally, the players had plenty to say.

The mentor they'd trusted with their backs had been, all along, a spy for the other side.

'The boss fight wasn't easy either.'

In the latter half of the original, Glinbert had long since crossed whatever lines a teacher was supposed to hold. As the story moved forward, he kept growing steadily stronger.

All those quests the player had occasionally accepted from the old professor. The research materials they'd gathered and handed over. Every last errand had been quietly feeding his strength.

In the end, he completed his enhancement compound and became something that had well and truly transcended human limits.

'Even the headmaster couldn't hold his own against Glinbert...'

Even for a mid-boss, there were tiers. Appearing as he did in the latter half of the game, he was absurdly strong. Strong enough that students and faculty alike had to combine forces just to bring him down.

[Title: Holy s*** Glinbert hits like a calamity]

[Author: PersonWhoPulledTheirNeckAndWentPale]

Half-baked party comp and you're not clearing this, period

Feels like you can't win without pulling the faculty in

This bastard eats a full-force hit from max-level Ranne and shrugs it off

At max level Ranne one-shots most mid-bosses doesn't she

Glinbert just keeps evading and punishing back with crits

Ended up dragging the faculty in and barely scraped through

[That's because he has the Holy Power immunity option]

-> Even at max level Ranne probably hasn't hit the potential ceiling right?

-> PersonWhoPulledTheirNeckAndWentPale) Yeah the potential ceiling costs way too much

-> That's normal. You need to max out the potential ceiling to break through the Holy Power immunity

[Glinbert really is something]

-> Feels about as hard to kill as most of the calamities tbh

[Glinbert losing... that's something I can't even imagine]

-> PersonWhoPulledTheirNeckAndWentPale) Still goes down if you bring enough faculty though?

-> Glinbert's spiritual pressure... gone...?

A truly troublesome enemy.

A boss that kept growing. And on top of that, the field he occupied, [Glinbert's Research Lab], had no bugs I could exploit.

Like the Red Knight from Lacquer Night, he was a particularly awkward opponent for me.

'Well... I gave it a moment's thought.'

Then I realized I could just blow the whole board up.

If the table looked rotten, you flipped it. Simple.

Come to think of it, there was no reason I had to follow the original story to the letter anyway. If I were going to worry about butterfly effects, I'd have been done for from the moment I enrolled.

'In the original, Glinbert's identity gets exposed in the late game...'

More precisely, right after Alice's Nightmare wraps up, just before the fourth calamity, Red Night, comes knocking. Third year, second semester, if I remembered right.

Glinbert had kept up his act, shamelessly, all the way until then.

'Why would I wait around for that?'

I decided to just beat the hell out of him.

Plant a trap in a nearby incident, secure clear evidence of his treason. Then use the suspicions Javert had been quietly nursing all this time, and pull her into the game as my wild card.

I'd win without lifting a single finger. Clean and simple.

The plan worked, start to finish.

"Urgh, ughhh..."

And here we were.

Glinbert lay completely wrecked, sprawled across the floor.

Standing before that pitiful sight, the red-haired woman, utterly unmoved.

"P... ple... please... spare... me..."

His jaw was shattered. The words came out garbled and wet.

He'd lost all composure, his body just twitching feebly on the ground.

Javert stripped off her bloodied gloves without a word. Not a scratch on herself.

'Brutal.'

She had been nothing short of overwhelming.

Even accounting for Glinbert not yet being enhanced, the gulf between them was something else entirely. Glinbert himself ranked among the best the Academy had to offer. Even a mob of students charging him all at once, he could wipe out with a flick of his hand.

'And yet against an opponent like that...'

One-sided. Start to finish.

Every time Javert threw a punch, the old professor's limbs bent at angles they were never meant to reach. Even then, she seemed intent on taking him alive, never once touching anything vital. She simply folded his bones and muscle into submission, piece by piece.

Crack. Crunch.

"Ghkk, gghkk...!"

Glinbert finally foamed at the mouth and went still.

His bones had been snapped in so many places that he'd been folded, more or less, into a cube.

Was this what that Transformer thing was about.

"Grrkk, nngh..."

Even so, she'd kept him breathing deliberately. Pained groans drifted down the long corridor.

Objectively, it was a violent scene. And yet a bone-deep satisfaction welled up in my chest all the same.

He'd done plenty to me in the original.

I looked at the rolled-back whites of the old professor's eyes.

Then smiled, as if genuinely sorry, and offered a quiet farewell.

"What a shame... I'd hoped we could part with smiles. You couldn't even give me that much."

Heh.

A light, theatrical sob.

I stood there teabagging him for a while, and before long Javert dusted off her hands and walked over.

"Student Viktor."

"Ah... Professor Javert."

"The target has been subdued."

"Well done."

Her usual flat gaze.

Those green eyes settled on me.

A colleague she'd worked alongside for years, someone she'd talked shop with just hours ago. She'd reduced that person to a half-corpse, and not a flicker crossed her expression.

"...Are you all right?"

"I only follow protocol."

I prodded gently. As ever, the answer was brief.

Javert spoke with that same blank face.

"Professor Glinbert's person will be taken into our custody from here. After extracting information through several interrogation procedures, he will be dealt with to ensure no loose ends remain."

"Please do. Will you be conducting the interrogation yourself?"

"The headmaster intends to handle it personally this time."

"Ah..."

Internally, I felt a surge of joy.

The Slaughterer of Cultists. A living legend in that particular field.

Being interrogated by a person like that... honestly, biting your own tongue and dying first would be the merciful option.

'The quest completion hasn't triggered yet.'

The status window was quiet.

It would probably pop once Glinbert was officially in custody.

'Should be done by tonight.'

That one could wait.

I was turning the situation over in my head when Javert spoke up.

"Are you all right, Student Viktor. Any injuries. Any dizziness."

"Not a scratch on me. All thanks to you arriving in time, Professor Javert."

"Even so, I'd recommend a medical examination, just to be safe."

"Ha, sounds like overprotection to me."

"That too is simply protocol."

Her usual blunt way of speaking.

The concern behind it was genuine, though. I knew that much.

"Thanks to you, we were able to apprehend the informant. Grandia Academy owes Student Viktor a great debt. The faculty will see to it that proper compensation is made."

"I wasn't doing it for compensation..."

"Does that mean you don't want any."

"It means I'll accept it gratefully if it's offered."

I matched her tempo, calm and easy.

A moment later, Javert's lips moved, hesitating in a way that didn't suit her at all.

Those faintly reddish lips finally parted.

"...You knew. The tail."

"Yes."

"How did you notice?"

"Hmm. That's my secret."

"When did you notice?"

"That too."

"I see."

Javert nodded, unhurried.

Then she bent at the waist.

A precise, ninety-degree bow.

"I'm sorry."

She apologized, formally and without reservation.

"Until now, I have suspected that Student Viktor was connected to the unauthorized Purgatory Floor 70 incident. On top of that, I had linked this practical to the same suspicion. That was why I had you followed. I'm sorry."

"Oh, Professor."

"I'll accept any reprimand you have."

"I'm fine. Please, raise your head."

"This is not a matter to take lightly. I placed myself in an adversarial position toward a student."

"And didn't it work out well in the end? You helped me too, after all."

"That's thinking in terms of results."

Even as I asked her to straighten up, she held her bow, stubborn as stone.

A laugh slipped out despite myself.

Chief Investigator, Javert.

The headmaster's adopted daughter. His one and only successor.

In practice, she was as close to second-in-command at the Academy as anyone could get.

"This is... quite a lot of pressure, honestly..."

"I will also promise compensation for the matter of this surveillance. During your remaining time at the Academy, if there is anything at all you wish for, tell me one thing. I will do everything in my power to see it done. This is compensation for the mental distress Student Viktor must have endured, so please, do not refuse."

"Oh?"

In short, I had just been handed a wish.

The Academy's formal reward. And Javert's personal wish.

A very satisfying haul.

I nodded.

"Understood. I'll let you know when I see you next."

"Noted. Once again, I'm sorry."

A short bow.

One final apology, and only then did she straighten.

Maybe I imagined it. But Javert's expression had eased, just slightly.

Those cold eyes were unchanged, naturally.

"Then, as the hour is late, I'll take my leave. If you have no other schedule, please report to the consultation room in the main building this afternoon. I'll need a brief statement from you regarding the informant's apprehension."

"Of course. I'll cooperate fully."

"Thank you. That will be all."

Javert turned and walked away.

Dragging a cube-shaped Glinbert along behind her with one hand.

A breeze through the window sent the hem of her uniform coat rippling.

"Ha."

I watched her go with a satisfied smile.

Plan complete.

Not just complete. A perfect clear.

'Smooth. So smooth.'

I hummed to myself as I left the research building.

As I walked, my uniform breast pocket began to squirm.

The Princess, who had been watching everything in silence, peeked her head out.

[Viktor.]

"Princess."

[You worked hard. Moving around until this late just to catch the informant...]

"Javert handled all the actual subduing. I barely did anything."

[Even so. You worked hard.]

"Ha, thank you."

[Then... are you heading back to the dormitory now?]

"No. There's somewhere I need to stop by first."

[Hmm? Didn't that professor just tell you to return to the dormitory directly?]

"Did you really think I'd keep that promise?"

[Of course not.]

It wasn't time to rest yet.

Apologies to the professor, but there was still work left undone.

When you decide to fell a tree, you pull out the roots.

Ding!

[Linked Quest]

-Title: Finish What You Started?

-Objective: Suppress the cultist branch that colluded with Professor Glinbert. Rescue the civilians captured as research subjects.

-Failure Penalty: None

-Reward: A clue regarding ■■■

[Time Limit: 6 hours 29 minutes 47 seconds]

The branches had been cut. The trunk had been felled. Now it was time to pull out the roots.

The quest that would put a period on this long, sprawling practical epic.

One cultist branch to demolish.

"Shall we leave right away?"

"That's the plan."

The Princess had already returned to her true form.

The red mask I'd given her before was fitted over her face.

I reached into my coat and drew out my soul's oldest companion, the Absolute Balloon Sword.

Moonlight poured in.

"Ahh, this light and squishy feeling..."

It had been a while.

"Time for the Sword Saint, Garulik, to make his return."

Garulik & Manre of the Slayers.

This time out as the Cultist-Slaying edition.

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