Chapter 17
“Is that you? The one who cleared Purgatory's 70th floor.”
“······Huh?”
An unexpected visit.
An unexpected question.
I couldn't help but be dumbfounded for a moment.
The first thought that came to mind was this.
‘Fuck, how did she know?’
Had I been found out? How?
I had deliberately moved only through the guards' blind spots.
There hadn't even been anything resembling a trace of mine at the scene.
There was absolutely no clue to catch me by, so how could she say this to my face?
“Hmm.”
Countless questions flitted through my mind.
More than anything else, the fact that she was asking so directly was the most puzzling.
‘I see.’
It made me think.
The reason a question is so pointed is that the asker doesn't know the answer.
If so, the correct response here would be not to waver.
“Purgatory? I'm not sure what you're talking about...”
I answered calmly.
There wasn't even the slightest tremor or sign of fluster in my voice.
I merely responded like someone hearing the subject for the first time.
“If you mean Purgatory... isn't that the underground dungeon said to exist within the academy? Did something happen there?”
“······.”
A perfectly natural answer.
Jaber's brow furrowed ever so slightly.
I grinned to myself behind my invisible mask.
‘Looks like I got the right answer.’
Her question had been strange from the start.
The conquest of Purgatory's 70th floor had not yet been made public.
The academy must have been controlling the information.
Judging by the fact that Jaber knew, it was most likely information available only to the faculty.
In other words, the academy was taking this incident extremely seriously.
‘They've probably held an emergency meeting at the very least.’
A conquest of the 70th floor for the first time in decades.
A man who had cleaved a dragon in half and killed it.
On top of that, a scene where not a single trace remained.
The academy must have classified me as an extremely dangerous element.
‘Then... it shouldn't end this easily.’
That is, if they had definitive proof that I was the culprit.
They shouldn't have just tossed out one question; the faculty should have stormed in as a group.
Regardless of whether I was hostile toward the academy, I was someone who might be dangerous.
You know, they should have barged in like the FBI yelling, 'Open up!' and arrested me or done whatever.
Even if they intended to hear the details later.
‘But her reaction right now is far too passive.’
Unlike the aggressive question, what followed was anything but aggressive.
Rather than storming into my room, she had paid a polite visit by following the established procedure—and she had come alone.
“Where were you last night? And what did you do?”
“Huh? Th-that? Why, I slept soundly in my room...”
“So you did nothing in particular.”
“That's right. Once I finish my academy schedule, I tend to be completely exhausted. I don't even have the energy to go out.”
“Grandia Academy's schedule is rather demanding.”
“And... doesn't the dormitory have a curfew in the first place? If I had gone out, the management would have a record of it. If you don't believe me, feel free to go check right now.”
“I see.”
It was around then that I noticed.
This wasn't because the faculty had noticed anything in particular.
This interrogation was merely something Jaber was conducting on her own.
““······.””
A silence laden with meaning.
Neither Jaber nor I was quick to speak.
‘So she was testing me after all.’
I became certain from her hesitant reaction.
The chilly tension faded, and the balance of the conversation reversed.
“Professor Jaber?”
“Yes.”
“Could you explain a little more about what's going on? Purgatory, the conquest of the 70th floor... The academy definitely hasn't made any announcement. Did some accident occur? And what does any of it have to do with me?”
“······.”
An anxious reaction.
An anxious student.
An entirely proper development, exactly what an ordinary student might show.
There was no point in trying to dissect my reaction.
My voice acting was perfect, and with a mask covering my face, she couldn't read my expression.
“Professor?”
“······.”
To be honest, I was curious.
The fact that she had chosen me as someone to sound out meant that she had at least made me a suspect.
Why?
Why could that be?
Had she noticed something?
She alone was suspicious of me.
‘No, come to think of it, isn't it only natural?’
She had been assigned as my supervisor from the start.
She had been made my homeroom teacher to determine whether I was connected to some sinister power.
She was probably monitoring me more meticulously than any other faculty member.
With this incident happening on top of that, she couldn't help but turn her attention toward me.
‘And I really am the one who caused it.’
After a brief silence.
Jaber parted the lips she had kept pressed together.
“I'm sorry for speaking as though I were pressuring you. It was simply part of the investigation.”
“Ah, it's all right! Please, don't bow your head.”
Jaber backed down rather readily.
She probably hadn't come intending to do anything in the first place.
Since she couldn't be certain, she had likely just meant to sound me out once.
“As I mentioned earlier, Purgatory's 70th floor was conquered without authorization. The faculty are conducting an investigation into the matter.”
“Th-then I see. Was our conversation just now also part of the investigation?”
“That's right. Victor, you happen to be the top student in the class I oversee. I wanted to check whether you knew anything. If it felt like an interrogation, I apologize.”
“It's really all right. It didn't feel particularly burdensome.”
A courteous apology.
Jaber used it to change the subject and step away from the topic.
As expected of the chief investigator, her way with words was no ordinary matter.
She had returned to her businesslike tone.
“Then... I ask that you keep the matter of Purgatory confidential.”
“I suppose the academy is controlling that information.”
“To prevent confusion. Once we finish assessing the situation, we intend to inform the students.”
“Of course, I'll cooperate. I don't want an atmosphere of unrest, either.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
A few more perfunctory exchanges followed.
As the subject drew to a close, Jaber rose smoothly from her seat.
It seemed she was about to leave.
“I'll be going now. I'm sorry to have taken up your time.”
“Not at all. I'm satisfied if I was able to help the academy in one way or another.”
“You know that the freshman welcoming exam is scheduled to begin tomorrow, yes? In any case, I hope you prepare well. It will likely be rather harsh for the students of Class E.”
“Yes, I'll keep that in mind.”
After that, Jaber left the dormitory.
Only then could I finally breathe a little easier.
‘Well... looks like I got through that.’
She probably still suspected me privately, though...
That was actually a good thing.
It was better for me if she continued to suspect me.
To make use of the card called Jaber, I could never let the time come when she fully trusted me.
‘For now, at least.’
Heh heh-.
I toyed with my mask with a faint smile.
As always, its black corners of the mouth were stretched all the way to its ears.
***
A few hours later.
I was sitting in the dormitory bathroom.
“Victor? What are you doing in the bathroom?”
“Ah, Your Highness.”
Whenever I fussed around by myself, Her Highness would come peeking over.
In my hands was the [Dragon Scale] I had obtained the night before.
I answered while continuing my work.
“It's what I mentioned at dawn. Refining the dragon scale.”
“That corrupted scale? You're going to refine it right now?”
“It's better to act quickly.”
“I would like to watch from the side as well.”
“Of course. It's not particularly dangerous, so you may watch from up close.”
“Oh-ho!”
Scamper, scamper-.
Carmilla pressed herself against my side, excited.
The girl's crimson eyes sparkled with interest.
Even she, a pureblood vampire, found a dragon item fascinating, I suppose.
‘Inventory.’
I took the items out from within my robe.
They were things I had obtained from the side quests after clearing Purgatory's 70th floor.
[Items]
-Holy Water×8
-Thin Mist×1
-Unrefined Scream×4
My hands grew heavy.
Thirteen potion bottles alone were laid out on the floor.
Eight bottles filled with sparkling water.
One bottle seemingly filled with gas.
Four bottles of an ominous hue.
Since they must not break, I carefully set them down.
“These must be the materials needed for the refining.”
“That's right. With just these, the refining itself isn't particularly difficult. The problem is that each material is so difficult to obtain.”
“You possess every one of those materials without fail. As expected of my trusted retainer!”
“Heh heh, that's right.”
A few words of idle chatter.
I placed the corrupted dragon scale into the large bathtub.
Then I poured in all eight heavy bottles of Holy Water without leaving a drop behind.
Sizzleeeee-!
A cracking hiss, as though something were burning away.
The undead's scale was reacting.
Its sinister energy burned away, and it gradually began to purify.
‘Now, the four bottles of Scream as well...’
Unrefined Scream.
Unlike ordinary liquid, it was sticky, almost solid in form.
Its color was extremely ominous. And a chill that made my skin crawl.
Taking care not to get any on my hands, I emptied the bottles.
“Phew...”
Fwoooosh-.
The Holy Water immediately began to glow, turning murky in color.
I uncorked the one remaining bottle.
One bottle of Thin Mist.
‘This stuff leaks out easily, so I was told to put it in as-is, bottle and all.’
Plop-.
The bottle fell into the dragon-scale stew.
As I stirred it with a ladle, a message from the status window appeared before my eyes.
Ding—!
[Would you like to refine the exclusive weapon ‘Dragon Scale’?]
-Estimated Time Required:48 hours
-Result Obtainable Through This Process:???
[Yes/No]
I clicked Yes without hesitation.
The dragon stew boiled and bubbled.
I quietly put the lid on so the contents wouldn't splash out.
[Time Remaining Until Refining Complete:47 hours 59 minutes 12 seconds]
Was it a success?
If I left it like this, it would complete on its own.
While I tidied up around me, Her Highness peeked her head over.
“Hmm? Is this the end?”
“Yes, all we have to do is wait like this.”
“How anticlimactic. I expected something more spectacular.”
“Heh heh, you may look forward to the result. It will be spectacular enough to live up to your expectations.”
“Victor says that, and even the expectations I didn't have are now sprouting up!”
And so I left the bathtub covered.
It should be finished around the time the freshman welcoming exam ended.
‘I've taken care of all the urgent matters, more or less.’
I sat down on the sofa with a light heart.
The scheduled event was already just one day away.
I took out the crystal ball and fiddled with the screen.
‘The freshman welcoming exam.’
It was an event that occurred in the original story as well.
As I manipulated the crystal ball, a message from the academy appeared.
[Freshman Welcoming Exam Notice]
-The exam scheduled for tomorrow will consist of one-on-one duels between students.
-Detailed instructions will be provided at the examination site on the day.
-Below is the opponent assigned to the user who received this message.
-Grandia Academy looks forward to seeing your performances.
[41st Match]
-Victor (Top Student, Class E)
-Sharien Lavriel (Top Student, Class C)
“Hmm...”
The top student of Class C.
So this was how it turned out after all.
“Victor? Isn't there something strange about the matchups?”
“Even Your Highness thinks so?”
“Yes! Victor is clearly in the lowest-ranked class, but Class C is two whole tiers higher, isn't it? And a one-on-one against the top student of such a class? It hardly seems like a very fair balance.”
“You saw correctly. It's a truly atrocious balance.”
That's because.
The exam existed for exactly that purpose from the outset.
The [Freshman Welcoming Exam] taking place tomorrow was—
-You know that the freshman welcoming exam is scheduled to begin tomorrow, yes?
-It will likely be rather harsh for the students of Class E.
Jaber's few words echoed in my mind.
My gaze at the crystal ball grew colder.
“A matchup like this... It might be one thing if it were Victor, but if it were an ordinary Class E student, wouldn't defeat be guaranteed? It seems like it would be nothing more than one-sided slaughter.”
“That's right. In this exam, the lower-ranked classes are used for precisely that role. At least in this exam.”
“So the academy is aware of it as well. They deliberately arranged the matchups this way.”
“Exactly. They provoke conflict between classes and push the lower-ranked students to develop even more spite.”
“While the upper-ranked students will grow intoxicated by their special treatment and strive not to lose their positions.”
“It's survival of the fittest taken to the extreme.”
“It is rather cruel...”
Carmilla furrowed her brow.
Her reaction was understandable.
Humans were a species particularly obsessed with competition.
At times, that very human side could feel utterly inhuman.
“What do you intend to do?”
The girl asked casually.
“What do you mean?”
“This duel.”
“I'm not sure. I have no intention of avoiding a matchup that has practically fallen into my lap.”
“So you intend to go through with it. In front of everyone, you mean to show the power Victor possesses.”
“Haha... It's not quite that grand. I'll simply play along to a reasonable extent.”
I laughed.
The mask laughed as well, its corners stretching all the way to its ears.
My gaze remained fixed solely on the matchup displayed on the screen.
“Don't worry.”
I was excited.
The prelude to chaos—by chaos, for chaos.
I could only grin as I thought about wrecking the whole stage.
“I don't intend to go easy on them.”
If the academy had arranged the matchups in such a shitty way, all I had to do was trample them as thoroughly as I could.
“I'm looking forward to tomorrow.”
Tap, tap-.
I toyed with my mask.