Mistaken for a Masked Monster - Chapter 17

WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 17: I Don’t Know Anything

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“Was it you? Did you clear Purgatory's 70th floor?”

“...Pardon?”

An unannounced visit.

An unexpected question.

I couldn't help but be caught off guard.

My first thought was simple.

‘Fuck, how did she find out?’

I'd been discovered? How?

I'd deliberately moved only through the guards' blind spots.

There hadn't been anything at the scene that could be traced back to me.

There was nothing for her to grab onto, so why was she confronting me like this?

“Hmm.”

Countless questions flashed through my mind.

More than anything, it was strange that she was asking so directly.

‘Is that it?’

It made me consider the opposite.

The fact that her question was so forceful meant she didn't know the answer.

The correct response here was probably not to react.

“Purgatory? I'm not sure what you mean...”

I answered calmly.

There wasn't the slightest tremor or hint of panic in my voice.

I simply reacted like someone hearing about the subject for the first time.

“If you're referring to Purgatory... isn't that the underground dungeon said to exist within the academy? Did something happen there?”

“...”

It was an entirely natural response.

Javert's brow furrowed slightly.

Behind my mask, I grinned.

‘Looks like that was the right answer.’

Her question had been strange from the beginning.

Nothing had been announced about Purgatory's 70th floor being cleared.

The academy was probably controlling the information.

Since Javert knew about it, it was likely information disclosed only to the staff.

In other words, the academy considered this a serious matter.

‘They must have held an emergency meeting at the very least.’

The 70th floor had been cleared for the first time in decades.

A man had split a dragon in half and killed it.

On top of that, not a single trace had been left at the scene.

The academy probably considered me an extremely dangerous individual.

‘Then... this can't be all.’

That was, if they had proof that I was responsible.

Instead of tossing out one little question, a whole group of staff should have stormed in.

Whether or not I was hostile toward the academy, I was someone who could be dangerous.

You know. They should've burst in shouting, “FBI, open up!” and arrested me or something.

They could've gotten the details afterward.

‘But this response is far too passive.’

Unlike her aggressive question, everything leading up to it had been anything but aggressive.

She hadn't barged into my room. She had followed the proper procedure and paid a polite visit, and she had come alone.

“Where were you last night? What did you do?”

“Pardon? Well, I got a good night's sleep in my room...”

“So there was nothing in particular?”

“That's right. The academy schedule leaves me exhausted, after all. I don't even have the energy to think about going out.”

“Grandia Academy's schedule is rather demanding.”

“And... there is a dormitory curfew, isn't there? If I'd gone out, the dormitory staff would have a record of it. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to check right away.”

“I see.”

That was when I realized it.

It wasn't that the staff had caught on to me.

This interrogation was something Javert was conducting on her own.

“...”

A silence laden with meaning.

Neither Javert nor I spoke hastily.

‘So she was testing the waters after all.’

Her hesitation made me certain.

The cold tension faded, and the balance of the conversation shifted.

“Professor Javert?”

“Yes.”

“More importantly, could you explain the situation in a little more detail? Purgatory, the 70th floor being cleared... the academy hasn't made any announcement. Did some kind of accident happen? And what did you mean by saying it was me?”

“...”

An anxious reaction.

An anxious student.

Exactly the sort of reaction an ordinary student would show.

There was no point trying to pick apart my response.

My voice acting was perfect, and with a mask covering my face, she couldn't read my expression.

“Professor?”

“...”

Honestly, I was curious.

If she'd picked me to test, that meant she considered me a suspect.

Why?

Why me?

Had she noticed something?

She alone was suspicious of me.

‘No, perhaps that was only natural.’

She had been assigned to watch me from the start.

She'd become my homeroom teacher to determine whether I was connected to wicked power.

She was probably keeping closer tabs on me than anyone else on the staff.

Then this incident had happened, so of course it had caught her attention.

‘And I really was the one who did it.’

After a brief silence, Javert finally spoke.

“I'm sorry for speaking as though I were pressuring you. It was part of an investigation.”

“Ah, it's all right! Please, raise your head.”

Javert backed down readily.

She probably hadn't come here intending to do anything in the first place.

She must've been uncertain, so she'd simply decided to test me once.

“As I mentioned earlier, Purgatory's 70th floor was cleared without authorization. The staff is investigating the matter.”

“I see. Was our conversation earlier part of that investigation as well?”

“Yes. Viktor, you are the top student in my class, so I wanted to confirm whether you knew anything. If it felt like an interrogation, I apologize.”

“It's really all right. I didn't find it all that intimidating.”

A polite apology.

Javert used it to change the subject and remove herself from the matter.

Perhaps because she was the chief investigator, she was quite skilled with words.

She returned to her businesslike tone.

“Then... I ask that you keep quiet about Purgatory.”

“So the academy is controlling the information.”

“It is to prevent confusion. Once we understand the situation, we will inform the students.”

“Of course, I'll cooperate. I don't want the academy to become unsettled either.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

A few more formal exchanges followed.

As the topic came to an end, Javert slowly rose from her seat.

It looked like she was leaving.

“I'll be on my way. I'm sorry to have taken up your time.”

“Not at all. I'm satisfied if I've been of any help to the academy.”

“You know the Freshman Welcome Test begins tomorrow, correct? I hope you prepare well. It will likely be rather harsh for the Class E students.”

“Yes, I'll keep that in mind.”

Javert left the dormitory afterward.

Only then did I breathe a little easier.

‘Well... I think that went over well.’

She still seemed suspicious of me deep down...

If anything, that was a good thing.

If I wanted to make use of Javert, I couldn't let her trust me completely.

‘Not yet.’

Hehe.

With a faint smile, I fiddled with my mask.

As always, the black corners of its mouth stretched to just beneath my ears.

* * *

A few hours later.

I was sitting in the dormitory bathroom.

“Viktor? What are you doing in the bathroom?”

“Ah, Your Highness.”

As I rustled about alone, the princess came peering over at me.

In my hand was the [Dragon's Scale] I'd obtained the night before.

I continued working as I answered.

“It is what I mentioned at dawn. Refining the dragon scale.”

“That corrupted scale? You're refining it right now?”

“It is better to act quickly.”

“I wish to watch as well.”

“Of course. It isn't particularly dangerous, so you may watch from nearby.”

“Oho!”

Carmilla scampered over and pressed herself to my side.

The girl's red eyes sparkled with interest.

Even for a pure-blooded vampire like her, dragon items were fascinating, it seemed.

‘Inventory.’

I pulled items from inside my robe.

They were the rewards I'd received from the sub-quests after clearing Purgatory's 70th floor.

[Items]

-Holy Water×8

-Thin Mist×1

-Unrefined Scream×4

My hands grew heavy.

Thirteen bottles lay on the floor.

Eight bottles filled with shimmering water.

One bottle that seemed to contain gas.

Four bottles in ominous colors.

I couldn't risk breaking any of them, so I set them down carefully.

“These must be the materials needed for refinement.”

“That's right. Refinement itself isn't particularly difficult with these. The problem is how hard each material is to obtain.”

“You have every one of those materials. As expected of my retainer!”

“Hehe, that's right.”

After a little idle chatter, I placed the corrupted Dragon's Scale into the large bathtub.

Then I poured in all eight hefty bottles of Holy Water.

Sssizzle!

A cracking sound, as though something were burning.

The undead scale was reacting.

It burned away the wicked energy and was gradually purified.

‘Now, all four bottles of Scream...’

Unrefined Scream.

Unlike an ordinary liquid, it had a sticky, almost solid consistency.

Its color was deeply ominous, and it gave off a chill that raised goosebumps.

Careful not to get any on my hands, I emptied the bottles.

“Phew...”

Fwoosh!

The Holy Water immediately glowed and turned murky.

I opened the last remaining bottle.

One bottle of Thin Mist.

‘They said this one leaks easily, so I should just put in the whole bottle.’

Plop.

The bottle dropped into the dragon scale stew.

As I stirred it with a ladle, a status window appeared before my eyes.

Ding!

[Would you like to refine the dedicated weapon ‘Dragon's Scale’?]

-Expected time required: 48 hours

-Possible result from this process: ???

[Yes/No]

Without hesitation, I clicked Yes.

The dragon scale stew began to bubble.

I quietly put the lid on so the contents wouldn't splash out.

[Time remaining until refinement is complete: 47 hours 59 minutes 12 seconds]

Did it work?

If I left it like this, it would finish on its own.

As I tidied up, the princess peeked over my shoulder.

“Hmm? Is that all?”

“Yes, all that's left is to wait.”

“That was more anticlimactic than I expected. I thought it would be more spectacular.”

“Hehe, you may look forward to the result. It'll be spectacular enough to meet your expectations.”

“Viktor says that? Expectations I didn't even have are growing and growing!”

And so I left the bathtub covered.

It would probably be done around the time the Freshman Welcome Test ended.

‘I've taken care of all the urgent business.’

I sat on the sofa with a lighter heart.

The event was now only a day away.

I took out my crystal orb and browsed the screen.

‘The Freshman Welcome Test.’

It was an event that occurred exactly the same way in the original work.

As I manipulated the crystal orb, a message from the academy appeared.

[Freshman Welcome Test Notice]

-Tomorrow's test will be conducted through one-on-one sparring matches between students.

-Detailed instructions will be provided at the test site on the day of the examination.

-Below is the opponent assigned to the recipient of this message.

-Grandia Academy looks forward to your performance.

[41st Match]

-Viktor (Top Student of Class E)

-Shariel Labriell (Top Student of Class C)

“Hmm...”

The top student of Class C.

So it was going to turn out like this after all.

“Viktor? Isn't that matchup rather strange?”

“So it seems to Your Highness as well.”

“Yes! Viktor is clearly in the lowest class... and Class C is two levels above it, is it not? On top of that, a one-on-one match against the top student of that class hardly seems balanced.”

“You are seeing it correctly. The balance is utterly awful.”

Of course.

That was what the test was for from the start.

This so-called [Freshman Welcome Test] tomorrow.

-You know the Freshman Welcome Test begins tomorrow, correct?

-It will likely be rather harsh for the Class E students.

A few words Javert had let slip came to mind.

My gaze at the crystal orb cooled slightly.

“A matchup like this... if it were an ordinary Class E student rather than you, Viktor, it would be a sparring match with a guaranteed defeat, would it not? It sounds no different from one-sided humiliation.”

“That's right. The lower-ranked classes are used for that purpose in this test. At least in this particular test.”

“So the academy is aware of it. They deliberately made the matchups this way.”

“Exactly. They create conflict between classes and instill fierce determination in the lower-ranked students.”

“The higher-ranked students will become drunk on their special treatment and work to keep their places.”

“It is survival of the fittest at its most extreme.”

“How cruel...”

Carmilla frowned.

It wasn't that I couldn't understand her reaction.

Humans were a race particularly obsessed with competition.

At times, that human trait felt especially inhuman.

“What will you do?”

The girl asked indirectly.