Chapter 99
The bomb Lua set off.
It took a little while to clear things up.
I calmly explained what had happened during the night.
“Ah, th-that kind of misunderstanding···.”
“We didn’t know that, and assumed Sir Victor had··· V-Victor···.”
Ranne and Alice.
The two, who had been thoroughly agitated, listened to me.
Before long, they realized they had misunderstood.
I asked with a mischievous grin.
“What were you all thinking? My night with Her Highness was nothing more than a leisurely stroll.”
“Ah, um··· th-that···.”
“Sir Victor, it’s just···.”
They were too busy avoiding my eyes.
Their faces flushed crimson with a sudden rush of heat.
Their eyes darted about as if they had indulged in some impure fantasies.
Alice did that often enough, but it was rare to see Ranne this embarrassed.
I teased them over those little details, savoring their flustered reactions.
[Victor.]
Meanwhile, Carmilla was perched on my shoulder.
Her Highness tilted her head as though she didn’t understand.
[Why is everyone reacting that way?]
[Lua did not exactly lie or say anything strange, as far as I could tell···.]
I suppose that was to be expected of a vampire.
Her notions of chastity were so strict—closed-off, even—that the possibility of anything impure never crossed her mind.
“It’s nothing.”
If she learned why the two had been so agitated, she’d spend the entire day hiding in embarrassment.
To protect her pure soul, I gave her a vague explanation.
Carmilla, a question mark practically floating over her head, didn’t press any further.
As I stroked the bat, something tugged insistently at my sleeve.
“Hmph!”
A short black-haired girl.
Lua was looking up at me, her shoulders raised.
Was she proud of having helped Dad so well?
Her black eyes sparkled brightly.
‘Dad, I did well, right?’
That was what her gaze seemed to ask.
The girl’s shoulders were held high with confidence.
There were plenty of things I could have pointed out, but I decided to simply pet her too.
‘She’s cute.’
There had been a brief commotion, but she was cute, so I’d let it slide.
Her soft hair curled around my fingertips.
“Mhe-hehe.”
As soon as I touched her, Lua giggled and snuggled against me.
When I hoisted her up, her small body settled into my arms.
The girl rubbed her cheek against my chest.
Her Highness, who had been watching, offered a comment.
[Victor seems especially kind to children.]
‘Oh··· is that so?’
[It is obvious that he likes children. Though Victor himself seems to be trying not to show it.]
‘I wasn’t particularly trying to hide it···.’
I like children.
I could only give a wry smile at that.
-Big brother! Read us a book today!
-Dummy, big brother promised to play with me!
Perhaps it was because habits from my previous life had remained.
Feeling awkward, I scratched the back of my head and smiled.
A chill settled over my heart.
I turned my gaze to the horizon, awash in blue.
“Hmm.”
Whoooosh-.
A refreshing sea breeze swept over the ship.
Amid the salty tang, the cruise ship continued cutting across the deep-blue surface.
We sailed past rocks rising like mountains from various parts of the sea, along with diverse ruins.
‘Amazing.’
Bright, picturesque scenes filled my eyes.
Perhaps because this was a fantasy world, there were plenty of marvelous sights to see.
“Whoa···! That rock is enormous!”
“Hmm! It has a grandeur unlike the North. To think buildings like those rise up through the sea···!”
“That’s an ancient, ancient tower, they say. It collapsed long ago, leaving only, only traces behind···.”
A bustling, noisy scene.
Lua looked around with sparkling eyes, while Ranne marveled as she compared it to her homeland.
Alice was even busily flipping through the booklet and reading explanations about the ruins to the two of them.
It was a scene that brought a warm smile to my face.
“Hehe.”
I quietly took a step back.
When I turned my eyes to the other side, I saw another group member.
“Miss Caitlin.”
Her yellow hair fluttered in the sea breeze.
Caitlin was perched precariously on the ship’s railing.
Whoooosh-.
Her brow was furrowed as usual.
I tossed her a remark from beside her.
“Who has displeased you so much this time that you’re frowning?”
“What are you talking about? It’s not like that.”
“What are you talking about? ‘It’s not like that’··· Are there three of them? You know some people with unusual names.”
“Damn··· You’re getting more creative with your comebacks?”
“Of course. I’m always striving to improve.”
“Talking to you is exhausting.”
“Don’t worry. You really are being drained.”
“You vicious bastard. You never lose an exchange, do you?”
“And you, Miss Caitlin, can’t win a single one.”
“Sigh.”
Caitlin let out a deep sigh.
I laughed as though it were utterly ridiculous.
“Give it up. Even if you spent your entire life trying, you could never surpass my super-intelligence and super-banter.”
“What’s ‘super-intelligence,’ and what’s ‘super-banter’?”
“It means intelligence and banter. I only added ‘super’ to the front to indicate that they’re extremely impressive.”
“Go screw yourself.”
She didn’t understand this simple principle.
The moment you put [super] in front of anything, you become number one in that field.
This is something even an elementary school student could understand.
“You’re definitely not normal.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“You did look kind of cool during Capture the Flag, though···.”
“Oh, you shouldn’t fall for me just because I’m cool.”
“Shut up, please.”
Caitlin replied while rubbing her face tiredly.
While we were bickering, half a day passed aboard the ship.
The cruise ship, which had been touring the ruins nonstop, came to a stop and moored in front of an island.
“Looks like we’ve arrived.”
Checking the map displayed on the crystal ball, I could tell it was a fairly sizable island.
Comparing it to the scale of my previous life, it was probably about half the size of Jeju Island.
Apparently, they had rented the entire island for the field trip.
‘How much money do they have?’
I muttered anew.
It seemed we would spend two days of the field trip on this island.
After disembarking, we found Jaber, who was in charge of the field trip, directing the students.
We stood beside the groups of students.
<Students.>
Once the general bustle had settled down, Jaber announced the next activity.
A woman’s voice was amplified and carried through a magical device.
<The tour of the ruins has ended. The next activity will take place on the main island.>
It was an event just like in the original.
A minigame held over two days during the field trip.
<The activity will be [Hide-and-Seek].>
A game of hide-and-seek with the entire island as its field.
The faculty would be “it,” while the students would take on the role of hiders.
<This activity will take place over the course of one day. The faculty will serve as “it,” while all students are asked to avoid being caught···.>
The explanation continued.
To summarize the rules:
[Grandia Hide-and-Seek]
1.This activity will take place over 24 hours.
2.The students’ victory condition is to avoid being caught for the duration of the time limit.
3.Do not stray too far from the island, and always move together with your group members.
The rules were no different from ordinary hide-and-seek.
The only difference from my previous life, perhaps, was that all kinds of magic and swords would be flying around.
In this game of hide-and-seek, students were allowed to unleash all the abilities they possessed.
<A special reward will be given to any group in which everyone survives until the end.>
<Students, please work together with your group members and do your best to survive until the end.>
<If a situation arises in which you require assistance, please press your crystal ball at any time to summon the faculty, regardless of the hide-and-seek game.>
Jaber added one final remark.
Immediately afterward, a time limit appeared above the students’ crystal balls.
[25:00]
<You have one hour to hide throughout the island.>
<The faculty are scheduled to set out all at once when the number on your crystal ball reaches 24 hours.>
<Then, let us begin.>
Hide-and-seek began at once.
The students scattered across the island with their group members.
I led our group straight across the center of the enormous island.
‘Good.’
This activity wasn’t bad.
Our group was full of quick-footed talents—both Caitlin and I included.
In an emergency, all I had to do was sling Ranne and Alice over my shoulders, one at a time, and run.
“Let’s move to the outskirts of the island like this.”
“Hey··· Do you even know where you’re going?”
“Of course. I have the entire map of the island in my head.”
As I led the group, a blue screen suddenly appeared before my eyes.
Ding-!
[Sub Quest]
-Title: Catch Me If You Can!
-Content: Become the last group to survive in the game of hide-and-seek.
-Penalty for Failure: None
-Reward: Consumable Item ‘Mid-Range Teleportation Engraving (B+)’
[Time Limit: Before the activity ends]
As expected, my goal for this activity was first place as well.
I also intended to take care of the main quest while I was at it.
Because I planned to storm the cult branch hidden in the deep sea.
“Hey! So where are we hiding? It’s about time the professors started chasing us!”
“Miss Caitlin, there’s no place on this island where we can hide perfectly anyway.”
“What?”
“There isn’t one. Just like my parents.”
“······Fuck, I don’t know how I’m supposed to respond to that.”
“You lack orphan sensitivity. This is what you get with non-orphans.”
We traded this sort of nonsense lightly.
Even so, we were running through the undergrowth.
“Miss Ranne.”
“Why have you called me, Sir Victor!”
“Can you swim?”
“Hmm! I’m not sure! I’ve never learned!”
“It’s fine. I’ll lead you. What about you, Miss Alice?”
“Pardon? As for swimming, I, um, can manage to some extent. Wh-why do you ask all of a sudden···?”
The two of them looked at me with question marks practically floating over their heads.
I flashed them a grin.
“I know a good place.”
“Hey, why didn’t you ask me?”
“Even if they’re professors, they won’t be able to detect us.”
“I’m asking why you only asked them and not me.”
“We’re going under the sea.”
“Hey···!”
I ran ahead.
A familiar mechanical chime rang in my ears.
Ding-!
[A chain quest has occurred!]
[A chain quest has occurred!]
[Chain Quest-01]
-Title: What Lies Buried Below
-Content: Eliminate the cult branch hidden in the deep sea. Defeat the deep-sea monster ‘Leviathan (Project Leviathan).’
-Penalty for Failure: The end of the coastal city ‘Geltin’
-Reward for Success: Good Deed Points (10,000p)
[Time Limit:???]
[Chain Quest-02]
-Title: For All the Alices
-Content: Defeat ‘OZ,’ the head of the cult’s Chimera Project.
-Penalty for Failure: Worsening of the Third Calamity, ‘Wonderland’
-Reward for Success: The Truth About Something
[Time Limit:???]
‘According to plan.’
Now.
Shall we go level up a little?