Chapter 90
A week.
The break from classes for calculating the midterm grades came to an end, and the day to return to the academy finally arrived.
“Dad.”
“Hmm?”
“Can I hold your hand?”
“Of course. We can't have you getting lost.”
“Heehee···!”
A black-haired girl smiled innocently.
Lua trotted along and pressed herself against my side.
She remained in human form instead of being stored away as a weapon.
“Shall we go, Miss Lua?”
“Yes, Dad!”
I left the dormitory with the girl.
Sunlight shone down with unusual brightness.
As we walked, Her Highness, tucked inside my uniform's breast pocket, suddenly tapped twice against my chest.
[Victor.]
‘Her Highness?’
[Are you really sure this is all right? Taking her around in human form like that···.]
‘But she loves being outside like that. What else can I do? Besides, making her stay still in weapon form for half a day would probably be torture for a child.’
[What do you intend to do during lectures?]
‘She promised to behave, so it should be fine.’
[······Victor, you are utterly helpless when it comes to children.]
“Ahem.”
She had hit the nail on the head.
I could only awkwardly scratch the back of my head.
[Is it all right at the academy? It isn't against the rules or anything···.]
‘That part is fine. Surprisingly, the academy regulations even have guidelines regarding Ego Weapons.’
[Oh, that is surprising.]
‘Apparently, there have been several Ego Weapon users in the past. The relevant regulations seem to have been created while those cadets were enrolled. Anyway, according to the rules, you can take an Ego Weapon around in living form even outside the dormitory. However, in some lectures designated by the faculty, they have to be stored in weapon form.’
[By living form···.]
‘Ego Weapons aren't all humanoid like Lua.’
Even if they all possessed a self and could transform, the form an Ego Weapon took varied wildly from weapon to weapon.
Only a tiny number of them could take human form.
Lua was a particularly special case even among Ego Weapons.
[I see···.]
‘It should be fine. She obediently follows me whenever I ask, after all. I don't think she'll cause any trouble.’
[Yes, it is a relief that Lua is such a gentle child.]
Her Highness accepted that without further argument.
Even as we talked, Lua kept tugging insistently at my sleeve.
“Dad! The buildings are so huge···!”
Perhaps it was because this was her first time walking through the academy district since gaining a self.
Everything seemed fascinating to Lua.
I let her excited steps lead me toward the classroom.
Holding that tiny hand, I felt as though a scent of nostalgia brushed past me.
-Hyung!
-Oppa!
Unnecessary thoughts distracted me.
In the meantime, we arrived at our destination, the classroom.
When I opened the closed door and entered, the E-Class cadets welcomed me as usual.
““Big brother! You've arrived!””
“Hehe, good to see you all.”
The Shuttles launched into a rigid bow as though they had been waiting for me.
Behind those burly guys, the rest sat with noticeably brighter expressions.
Had everyone done well on the midterms?
‘I mean, who taught them?’
After receiving this body's accelerated Kumon lessons, how could their grades not improve?
If anyone had, I'd kick them out of E Class immediately.
As I mulled over those pointless thoughts, a few of the Shuttles who had been peeking around spotted Lua.
“Huh?”
“A little girl? She doesn't look like a current student···?”
“Big brother! Are you acquainted with that little miss?”
The girl holding my hand tightly.
Come to think of it, she really was adorable.
The E-Class students' attention instantly shifted to Lua.
“My name is Lua! Lua is Dad's daughter!”
Even under the gaze of those burly guys, Lua flashed a bright smile instead of getting scared.
With an innocent expression, Lua dropped a bombshell in the classroom.
Father and daughter.
The students' mouths fell open.
Their eyes wavered in confusion.
“Dad? Your daughter···?”
“You mean, she's your daughter?”
“Oh! Now that you mention it, her hair is black too, just like Big brother's···.”
“Big brother! Is it true? Is this adorable little miss really your···?”
I knew this would happen.
An endless string of troublesome misunderstandings erupted.
I tried to calm the Shuttles down and explain Lua's situation.
“Everyone, it's not like that···.”
Squeeeak-.
Just then, a woman opened the classroom door and entered.
Neat uniform, red hair spilling down.
It was Jaber, the professor in charge of E Class.
“Good morning, cadets.”
A greeting without a flicker of expression.
Her tone was mechanical and businesslike.
It was the usual emotionless Jaber.
“Ah, Professor.”
The conversation briefly stopped at the woman's appearance.
At that moment, Lua slipped free of my hand.
“Huh.”
Pitter-patter-.
The girl passed the Shuttles and approached Jaber.
In full view of everyone, Lua took the woman's hand.
The situation unfolded abruptly.
And what followed was even more sudden.
“Mom!”
The girl looked up at the woman and spoke.
““······?””
Everyone's brains stopped working.
Mine did too.
Was it out of consideration for us?
Lua graciously declared it to us in more precise terms.
“This is Lua's mom!”
““······.””
Dad.
Mom.
Daughter.
Words that hammered the backs of our heads.
The cadets stood there dazed and frozen, then their eyes widened as if on cue.
“Excuse me···?”
Lua.
Victor and Jaber's daughter.
It was the moment that dizzying information lodged itself in the E-Class cadets' brains.
***
This was how the incident came about.
They say it is the natural instinct of living things to seek protection from a powerful being.
No matter that Lua was an Ego Weapon, she was ultimately a child who had possessed a fully formed self for less than ten days.
-She's incredibly, incredibly strong!
-So I want you to be Lua's mommy, big sis!
-Dad doesn't dislike you, either, and he thinks you're really pretty!
I suppose you could say she was simply following her instincts.
In the end, the reason Jaber was chosen was her overwhelming strength.
After all, at the academy, only the dean or Jaber reached that level.
With such a woman standing right in front of her, Lua seemed to have dashed straight over.
-Dad thinks you're super cool, big sis!
-So I'll give you a special chance to marry my dad!
Lua added some unnecessary remarks on top of that.
Thanks to her, I had to struggle to explain the situation.
After I scolded her a little, Lua sniffled and went into her gauntlet form.
-I-I'm sorry.
-Lua just got excited thinking about Dad and did it···.
-I'll be good. So please, don't th-throw Lua away.
I decided to give her a little time to reflect.
It was a situation where she needed scolding, but seeing her so dejected made me feel uneasy.
I decided I should buy her some cotton candy at the academy shopping district on the way back.
In any case, I was in the middle of explaining everything one by one because of my daughter's mischief.
“······That's everything.”
“I see. So that's how it happened.”
After the lecture ended.
I had been summoned to Jaber's office.
Since the exams had just ended, the class hadn't lasted very long anyway.
I explained Lua's circumstances as far as I could without arousing suspicion.
“Hmm.”
The two of us sat facing each other on the guest sofa.
Deep green eyes blinked amid a cascade of red hair.
“You only awakened as an Ego Weapon recently, you say.”
“That's right. It seems to have been about ten days, by count.”
“Interesting. To suddenly awaken as an Ego Weapon.”
“I found it puzzling as well and looked into it, but apparently cases like this exist, albeit with extremely low probability.”
“I wasn't particularly voicing suspicion.”
“Nor was I making an excuse.”
“You've acquired an adorable daughter.”
“Hehe, though I am still unmarried.”
A light exchange.
I had been summoned to the office, but it wasn't solely because of Lua.
That incident had merely given me an opportunity to speak with Jaber alone and clear things up···.
‘The main subject starts now.’
Clink-.
Jaber set down the teacup she had raised.
“I think we can announce it soon.”
“You mean the direct assistantship.”
A direct assistant.
It was one matter whose announcement I had been postponing.
Because I had been hoping to become Jaber's direct assistant.
“Until now, Victor's affiliation was holding us back. Ordinarily, a direct assistant is a position granted to only a handful of people among current and former students combined. It would have been absurd to entrust such a position to the top student of E Class.”
“Moreover, Chief Investigator Jaber is effectively the academy's number two. You have never had even an ordinary assistant, let alone a direct one. If a direct assistant were suddenly assigned to you, especially if the appointee were a first-year cadet who was merely the top student of E Class···.”
“There would have been considerable backlash. That is why I delayed the announcement···.”
“But circumstances have changed now. You have already demonstrated your abilities in front of everyone.”
“You not only defeated the top student of B Class in the ranking match, you also overwhelmed the top student of A Class in the practical exam.”
“Would that be enough to meet the standard?”
“More than enough.”
Things were different from a few months ago.
These days, I was only labeled E Class; unofficially, I was the top student in first year.
In other words, no one would fail to understand even if I were appointed as Jaber's direct assistant.
“Then shall we proceed?”
“······You remember the terms we agreed on. From the moment you become my direct assistant, Victor, you will be under my supervision.”
“Of course. Wasn't that the part I proposed in the first place?”
“I still suspect you are the culprit behind the unauthorized conquest of Purgatory's seventieth floor. Given the shocking feats you have displayed recently, my suspicions have only deepened considerably.”
“What do you intend to do if I am the culprit?”
“I intend to handle it according to the regulations.”
According to the regulations.
It was, as expected, an answer worthy of her.
“I am prepared for that. Of course, I am not the culprit.”
“Yes. I hope that is the case.”
Her eyes were emotionless.
Even so, I knew her words were sincere.
She was the sort of person who became buried in regulations while still harboring a contradictory gentleness.
“I will handle all the procedures related to your direct assistantship. It should take about three days for it to be officially announced.”
“Yes, then I look forward to working with you, Chief Investigator Jaber.”
“Likewise. I look forward to working with you, Victor, my direct assistant.”
The conversation ended there.
Before leaving the office, I called out to Lua, who had been lying low in gauntlet form.
“Ignition. Lua.”
Shrrrk-!
The gauntlet unfolded, revealing a small girl.
Lua kept her head bowed, watching my mood.
She looked utterly dejected.
“Miss Lua.”
“Dad···.”
Her eyes trembled anxiously.
How could I stay angry after seeing eyes like that?
I spread my arms with a helpless smile.
Lua hesitated, then soon threw herself into my arms.
Whump-.
“Sniff, I'm sorry···.”
“It's all right.”
“I promised to behave instead of following Dad around, but···.”
“How could you get it right from the start? You'll get used to it little by little.”
I gently stroked the girl.
Meanwhile, Jaber was watching us intently.
Perhaps she was lost in thought.
“······.”
Jaber wore an unreadable expression.
Regardless, Lua and I left the office hand in hand.
Jaber gathered her documents and moved along with us.
“Hmm? Do you have somewhere to go as well, Investigator?”
“I have documents to submit to the lecture building.”
“That happens to be the same direction we're going.”
“Yes, let's go.”
We walked side by side down the corridor.
Then a student who had been lingering nearby approached us.
He looked us over one by one, then finally addressed Jaber.
“Um, excuse me··· Professor Jaber!”
“What is it, Cadet Geschult?”
Jaber knew the cadet's name.
He must have been a student from another year who attended her lecture.
The approaching student seemed hesitant, but in the end, perhaps unable to hold back any longer, he asked a question.
“That child··· I heard she was your daughter. I-is that true?”
“······.”
Had the story spread already?
A few students who had heard the news seemed to have come to verify whether it was true.
Now that I looked, I could see cadets listening in while pretending not to.
‘Did this guy come to ask on everyone's behalf?’
Peeking glances.
Their eyes were quite earnest; they seemed to be a fan club that had long admired Jaber.
“······.”
A short silence followed.
The woman alternated her gaze between the student and Lua without giving an answer.
I stood quietly, waiting for Jaber to explain things properly on her own.
I had already explained the circumstances, after all, so she would surely organize them appropriately and pass them on to the cadets.
“Hmm.”
Jaber seemed to be deep in thought.
At last, the woman's lips parted.
“Yes.”
“······?”
An unexpected affirmation.
Before I could even voice my question, Jaber reached out.
She carefully lifted Lua and drew her into her arms.
‘What···?’
Then the woman stepped forward before the gazes focused on her.
Her usual emotionless eyes, impossible to read.
Jaber spoke.
“She is my daughter.”
Flick-.
Her green eyes passed over me as if checking my expression.
I could only stand there, stunned.
“Right, Cadet Victor?”
“······???”
Fuck.
What do you mean···?
===
This is Lua.