Chapter 99

There Isn't. Just Like My Parents.

"There isn’t. Just like my parents."

The bomb Lua dropped.

It took a little time to clear things up.

I explained, step by step, what had happened last night.

"Ah, th-that kind of misunderstanding..."

"We didn’t even realize... and Sir Vi, Viktor..."

Ranne and Alice.

Both of them, deeply shaken, listened to me.

Before long, they realized they’d misunderstood.

I asked with a teasing smile.

"What were you all imagining? I only enjoyed a light night walk with the Princess."

"Ah, um... th-that..."

"Viktor-nim, that’s..."

The two of them desperately avoided my gaze.

Their faces flushed bright red with heat.

Like they’d both been having impure fantasies, their eyes darted all over.

Alice was often like this, but seeing Ranne this embarrassed was rare.

So I kept poking exactly where it hurt and enjoyed watching them panic.

["Viktor."]

Meanwhile, Carmilla sat perched on my shoulder.

The Princess tilted her head, looking genuinely confused.

["Why is everyone reacting like that?"]

["It doesn’t seem like Lua lied or said anything strange..."]

Vampires really were something else.

Their sense of chastity was so strict it was practically closed-off, so the possibility of anything indecent never even crossed their minds.

"It’s nothing."

If she found out why those two were flustered, she’d probably hide in embarrassment all day.

To protect this pure soul, I gave a vague excuse and moved on.

Carmilla still looked puzzled, but she didn’t ask further.

As I stroked that bat, something tugged insistently at my sleeve.

"Hmph!"

A short black-haired girl.

Lua shrugged her shoulders and looked up at me.

Was she confident she’d helped Dad well?

Her black eyes sparkled.

Like she was asking, Dad, I did great, right?

Her shoulders were raised as high as her confidence.

There were plenty of things I could’ve nitpicked, but I decided to pat her too.

She’s cute.

There’d been a brief commotion, but she was cute, so I let it slide.

Her soft hair curled around my fingertips.

"Mhehe."

The moment my hand touched her, Lua smiled and snuggled in.

When I lifted her up, her small body settled into my arms.

She rubbed her cheek against my chest.

The Princess, who had been watching, said,

["Viktor, you seem especially gentle with children."]

Really... is that so?

["It’s obvious you like children. Though it seems you try not to show it."]

I wasn’t trying to hide it...

You like children.

I couldn’t help but give a bitter smile at those words.

"Oppa! Read me a book today!"

"Dummy, hyung promised to play with me, remember?"

Maybe old habits from my previous life were still there.

I scratched the back of my head with an awkward smile.

The beat in my chest cooled.

I turned my gaze and stared at the wide blue horizon.

"Hm."

Whoooooosh.

A cool sea wind swept across the ship.

Through the salty, fishy air, the cruise kept slicing across the bright blue surface.

We sailed past mountain-like rocks rising from the sea and ruins of every kind.

This was amazing.

Vivid scenes filled my eyes.

Maybe because this was a fantasy world, there were so many fascinating sights.

"Wah...! Those rocks are huge!"

"Mhm! A different kind of grandeur from the North. To think structures like that are rising through the sea...!"

"Th-those are called ancient to-towers. They’ve collapsed now, and only tr-traces remain..."

Bustling, noisy scenery.

Lua looked around with shining eyes, and Ranne admired everything while comparing it to her homeland.

Alice hurriedly flipped through a booklet and read out explanations about the ruins to the other two.

It was the kind of scene that naturally brought a smile to my face.

"Heh."

I quietly stepped back.

When I turned to the opposite side, I saw our other team member.

"Caitlin-yang."

Her yellow hair whipped in the sea wind.

Caitlin was perched precariously on the ship’s railing.

Whoooooosh.

Her brow was furrowed as always.

I tossed a line her way.

"Who rubbed you the wrong way this time, that you’re frowning again?"

"What are you talking about? It’s not like that."

"What are you talking about, it’s not like that... are those three different people? What unique names."

"Jesus... your comebacks keep getting more creative."

"Of course. I’m always making an effort."

"Talking to you is exhausting."

"No need to worry. That’s exactly what’s happening."

"You vicious bastard. You never let a single line go, do you?"

"And you can’t win a single one, Caitlin-yang."

"Sigh."

Caitlin let out a deep breath.

I smiled as if she were being ridiculous.

"Just give up. Even if your whole life passes, you’ll never surpass my super intelligence and super wit."

"What the hell is super intelligence, and what’s super wit?"

"It means intelligence and wit. I just put super in front to add the meaning of being extremely great."

"Oh, shut the hell up."

She didn’t understand such a simple principle.

The moment you put [super] in front of something, it becomes top-tier in that field.

Even elementary school kids know that.

"You’re definitely not normal."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"During Capture the Flag, you still looked kinda cool though..."

"Oh? No matter how cool I am, it’d be a problem if you fell for me."

"Please shut up."

Caitlin answered while rubbing her face with both hands.

While we bickered like that, half a day passed on the ship.

The cruise, which had been touring ruins nonstop, finally stopped, and the vessel docked at an island.

"Looks like we’ve arrived."

When I checked the map displayed on the Crystal Orb, I saw it was a fairly large island.

Compared to my previous life, maybe about half the size of Jeju Island.

It looked like they’d rented an entire island just for School Trip activities.

How much money do they even have?

I muttered to myself.

It seemed we were scheduled to spend two days of the School Trip on this island.

When we got off the cruise, Javert, who was overseeing this whole School Trip, was organizing the students.

We stood beside the clustered students.

<Students.>

Once the rough chaos settled, Javert announced the next activity.

Her voice was amplified through a Magic Tool.

<The ruins tour has ended. The next activity will take place on this island.>

Just like in the original story.

A mini-game held over two days during the School Trip.

<The activity is [Tag].>

Tag across the entire island.

The staff would become the taggers, and the students would hide.

<This activity will continue for one full day. Staff members will act as taggers, and students must avoid being caught as much as possible...>

The explanation went on.

To summarize the rules:

[Grandia Tag Game]

1. This activity lasts for 24 hours.

2. Students win if they do not get caught within the time limit.

3. Do not leave the island area too far, and always move with your team members.

Rules no different from standard tag.

If there was one difference from my previous life, it was that all kinds of magic and swords would be flying around.

In this tag game, each student could pour out everything they had.

<Any team that keeps every member alive until the end will receive a special reward.>

<Students, work together with your teammates and do your best to survive to the end.>

<Separate from the tag game, if a situation requiring help occurs, press your Crystal Orb at any time to call staff members.>

Javert added one final line.

Right after that, a time limit appeared on the students’ Crystal Orbs.

[25:00]

<Please spend the next hour hiding across the island.>

<The moment the number on the Crystal Orb reaches 24 hours, the staff will all set out at once.>

<Then we’ll begin.>

Tag began immediately.

Students scattered across the island with their teammates.

I also led my group across the center of the large island.

Good.

This event wasn’t bad at all.

Our team had speedsters, me and Caitlin included.

In an emergency, I could just throw Ranne and Alice over my shoulders one at a time and run.

"Let’s move to the outer edge of the island."

"Hey... do you even know where we’re going?"

"Of course. A map of this island is already in my head."

As I led the team, a blue screen suddenly appeared in front of me.

Ding!

[Sub Quest]

-Title: Catch Me If You Can!

-Objective: Become the team that survives the longest in tag.

-Failure Penalty: None

-Reward: Consumable item 'Mid-Range Teleport Sigil (B+)'

[Time Limit: Until the activity ends]

As expected, first place was the goal in this activity too.

And while I was at it, I planned to clear the Main Quest too.

I was planning to hit the Cultist Branch hidden in the deep sea.

"Hey! So where are we hiding? The professors should be chasing us soon!"

"Caitlin-yang, there’s no perfectly hidden spot on this island anyway."

"What?"

"There isn’t. Just like my parents."

"......Fuck, I don’t even know how to respond to that."

"You’re lacking orphan sensitivity. That’s the problem with non-orphans."

We traded light nonsense back and forth.

Even then, we kept sprinting through the brush.

"Ranne-yang."

"Why do you call for me, Sir Viktor!"

"Can you swim?"

"Hmm! I don’t know! I’ve never learned!"

"It’s fine. I’ll guide you. Then what about you, Alice-yang?"

"Me? Swimming, I can do it, um, to some extent. B-but why all of a sudden...?"

The two of them looked puzzled.

I grinned.

"I know a good place."

"Hey, why don’t you ask me?"

"Not even the professors will notice."

"I’m saying, why are you only asking them and not me?"

"We’re going under the sea."

"Hey...!"

I ran ahead.

A familiar mechanical sound rang in my ear.

Ding!

[Chain Quest Triggered!]

[Chain Quest Triggered!]

[Chain Quest-01]

-Title: What Lies Buried Below

-Objective: Wipe out the Cultist Branch hidden in the deep sea. Defeat the deep-sea monster 'Leviathan (Project Leviathan).'

-Failure Penalty: The end of the coastal city 'Geltin'

-Success Reward: Merit Points obtained (10000p)

[Time Limit: ???]

[Chain Quest-02]

-Title: For All Alices

-Objective: Defeat 'Oz (OZ),' the head of the chimera project affiliated with the Cultists.

-Failure Penalty: Worsening of the Third Calamity, 'Wonderland'

-Success Reward: Truth about something

[Time Limit: ???]

Just as planned.

Alright.

Time to go level up a bit.