Mistaken for a Masked Monster - Chapter 202

WeTried Translations

Translator: Coughing Baby

Editor: Coughing Baby

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 202: The Ring of Promise

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Ding-!

[You have completed the bonus quest!]

-Title: Welcome to the Autumn Festival!

-Details: Clear 100 or more booths featured in the autumn festival. An additional reward is available for a perfect clear.

[You have successfully cleared the festival!]

-A reward will be provided. Please check your status window.

I casually pressed the reward-collection button.

As I stared at the screen, I scooped up mouthfuls of the shaved ice in my hand.

It was one of the shaved ices I had just shaken down from Valteric Glacia.

'What's with this? Why is it so good?'

Mine was strawberry-flavored, and I liked the way the tart syrup popped on my tongue.

The others were munching away as if they were pleased with theirs too.

Quiet chatter drifted over from beside me.

"Where'd you buy this? It's not bad."

"Dad, it's yummy!"

Sitting at one end of a bench, I checked the reward I had received.

I could feel the texture of thin paper in the hand holding my spoon.

A ticket, black on both sides.

[Special Reward]

-You have obtained the item '???-Rank Reward Selection Ticket'.

-You may choose and obtain one of the rewards presented.

I turned it over in my fingers for a moment.

I'd expected it, but it was still nice to have it in my hand.

'I was starting to think I was running low, too...'

It was the most valuable reward I could get from status-window quests.

I had used two of my tickets in quick succession during the recent Blue Night.

Only one remained now, and I had been starting to feel uneasy.

'The more jokers I have, the better.'

The original story's flow had been completely smashed apart.

It wouldn't have been strange if the final arc began tomorrow.

That meant I had to prepare more thoroughly, stay alert for disasters, and arrange countermeasures from every angle.

-Selection List-

[Please select one of the options below!]

1. Obtain Merit Points (250,000p) [Increased]

2. Damaged Item Repair Ticket ×1 [Sold Out]

3. Broken Item Restoration Ticket ×1 [Sold Out]

4. Item Rank Downgrade Ticket ×1

5. Phenomenon Rank Downgrade Ticket ×1 [Sold Out]

6. Space Leap Ticket ×1

7. Item Cooldown Reset Ticket ×1

8. ■ ■■(???)

28.■■■■■■(???)

29.■■■ ■■(???)

30.■■(???)

I quietly considered the listed options.

A few things stood out.

'As expected, once you use one, that item can no longer be called up again...'

The repair ticket had been sold out for months already.

And two items had gained [Sold Out] notices after what happened during the Blue Night.

By this point, it seemed nearly certain that the items in the selection list were one-time products.

'Judging by the repair-ticket case, there's a high chance sold-out items won't be restocked.'

It meant I always had to choose carefully.

I never knew when I might need one.

'...But what's this [Increased] notice?'

The next thing that caught my eye was the [Increased] label beside option one.

The displayed number of points was absurdly inflated compared to normal.

I froze, spoon in hand, at the unfamiliar number.

'Two hundred and fifty thousand points...?'

I had spent roughly sixty thousand points in total to go from average E-rank stats to my current A-.

Yet one option now held more than four times that amount.

It was enough to raise my average stats to S and still have some left over.

'The most points I've ever received at once while using the Saint System was around twenty thousand...'

I clearly remembered option one being [Obtain Merit Points (10,000p)].

Yet its value had suddenly been increased twenty-fivefold.

My eyes naturally kept drifting toward it.

Lately, various restrictions had made it difficult to earn Merit Points.

'The Saint System is short-sighted. It doesn't consider future casualties. That's why the points it awards are focused on what happens right then...'

If I left Incident A alone, it would grow into a larger disaster later and cause casualties.

If I stepped in and stopped Incident A, that future would cease to exist.

But the system didn't award points for the lives saved in that future.

The only points I received were for people I directly affected and saved while resolving Incident A.

'That's why there was always a limit to how many points I could earn.'

I had always suppressed incidents when they were at their smallest and weakest.

That was how I could keep casualties to a minimum.

Earning points naturally came second.

But with two hundred and fifty thousand points, I could brush aside all those restrictions.

'I never even looked at option one before, but maybe I should start considering it...'

It was attractive enough to be the second-most tempting option among those that remained.

It seemed I would need to think carefully about how to use the ticket.

I rummaged through my empty bowl for no reason.

Meanwhile, the second reward flickered before my eyes.

Ding-!

[Selection Ticket Deluxe]

-Category:???

-Rank:???

-Status:???

-Description: This is a support item. When used together with the item '???-Rank Reward Selection Ticket,' it enhances the function of the reward obtained through that selection ticket. The degree of enhancement is random.

It was the additional reward for perfectly clearing the festival quest.

A peculiar item meant to be used alongside the ticket.

The ticket was black on one side and white on the other.

'Enhances its function, huh.'

Carefully, I stored the paper in my inventory.

A ticket that upgraded another ticket by one level.

I'd have to save this one carefully too.

Putting my complicated thoughts aside, I rose from the bench.

'Good. This reward haul was pretty good too.'

I cleared away the empty shaved-ice bowl.

When I turned my head, I saw the kids chatting among themselves.

"Hm! The shaved ice Sir Viktor bought us had an impressive flavor!"

"Really? Impressive? As impressive as that bastard's lips?"

"M-Miss Caitlin...?"

"No, why? You said it was impressive, so I was curious."

"W-Why do you keep bringing that up?! I've asked you not to several times already...!"

"Oh? Talking back when you're a sleep molester?"

"S-Sleep m-molester...?!"

"Yeah, a sleep molester."

"I've never done anything so shameless...!"

"You haven't? Then what did we see? You're going beyond being a well-behaved cat. Are you trying to become a shameless cat too?"

"Th-that was..."

"You even put your tongue in and sucked away so eagerly. You act all innocent and clueless normally, but behind the scenes you're so brazen. It wasn't even something you did while drunk. You did it wide awake and proudly, and now you're playing dumb?"

"Ah, ahhh..."

It was a lively scene.

The air around the group was full of noisy commotion.

"M-Miss Caitlin... You shouldn't tease her too much..."

"That's right, Student Caitlin."

"Stay out of this, Investigator. If she's a sleep molester, you're a rapist."

"..."

"Yeah. The top student of Class B is jealous right now. Because she was the only one who didn't do it."

"A-Are you insane?! Why would I regret not doing something with that bastard...! More importantly, don't talk to me! Don't act like we're close! Just having you here makes my blood boil!"

"Petty."

"What? You monster bitch, what did you just say...?"

"I'll understand, though. The top student of Class B is weak."

"Sh-Shittt...!"

"Are Sparky Mom and Stoic Mom fighting?"

"Who's fighting?! We aren't fighting!"

"Yeah. We aren't fighting."

"L-Lua, come here. You're bothering them..."

"But Sparky Mom and Stoic Mom seem like they're always fighting."

"We aren't fighting!"

"Yeah. We aren't fighting."

The chatter never had a chance to die down.

We had been together around the clock lately, so it felt as though everyone had grown much closer.

With a faint laugh, I walked over to them.

I really did like this noisy atmosphere.

"All right, everyone! Shall we visit the remaining booths one by one now?"

* * *

On the last night of the festival, we walked side by side down the academy streets.

Bang, ba-boom.

Though night had fallen, the surroundings still glittered.

Brilliant fireworks embroidered the sky.

"Wow...! Dad, flowers are blooming in the sky! So many of them!"

"They are. They're beautiful, just like a flower garden."

For the autumn festival's final event, we stood beneath fireworks of every color.

"Hm! Splendid!"

"I-I can't help but be drawn to them..."

"It's the pride of our Grandia festival."

"Pretty."

"Not really."

"You're lying. You've been staring at them the whole time."

"Shut up."

The night painted with flowers deepened the scent of autumn.

My hair was tousled by the cool breeze.

I looked back at the others.

"Um, everyone."

Was now a good time to give them these?

The peaceful, languid mood seemed perfect.

I searched through my inventory and took out six small cases.

'The first-place prizes I won at the lottery booth.'

Each case held a ring.

They were items coated with magic.

Ding-!

[Ring of Promise]

-Category: Accessory

-Rank: B+

-Status: Clean, Connected

-Description: A ring finely crafted by a magical-tool artisan. Its beautiful design and rare materials make it quite expensive. It is connected to rings of the same type, allowing users to contact one another, and has a longer effective range than ordinary communication magic tools.

They were rings that even came with a calling function.

When I first won them, I thought I absolutely had to give them to the others.

'I've been dragging them all over the place and putting them through a lot lately...'

They performed well, looked pretty, and were worth quite a bit, so I thought they would make perfect gifts.

On top of that, I wanted to express my gratitude somehow.

I placed one case in each of their hands.

'I hope they like them.'

They were simple gifts.

Yeah, I had handed them out without thinking much of it, but...

"V-Viktor? This is..."

"Student Viktor... What meaning does this ring have...?"

"Viktor."