Chapter 90 |
I Even Found a Mother for the Kid.
I even found a mom for my kid.
One week.
The break for midterm grading ended, and the day to return to class came.
"Dad."
"Hm?"
"Can I hold your hand?"
"Of course. I can't let you get lost."
"Hehe...!"
Lua took quick little steps and stuck close to my side.
She wasn't stored as a weapon. She stayed in human form.
"Shall we go, Lua-yang?"
"Yes, Dad!"
I left the dorm with her.
The sunlight was especially bright.
As we walked, Princess-nim, tucked into my uniform chest pocket, suddenly tapped me twice.
[Viktor.]
'Princess-nim?'
[Are you truly sure this is fine? Bringing her around in human form like that...]
'What else can I do when she loves being outside this much? Besides, making her stay in weapon form all morning would feel like torture from a kid's point of view.'
[What will you do during lecture time?]
'She promised she'd behave, so it should be fine.'
[......Viktor, you are endlessly soft with children.]
"Ahem."
That hit right on target.
All I could do was scratch the back of my head awkwardly.
[Will this be fine at the academy? It does not break school rules or anything...?]
'That part's fine. Surprisingly, the academy rules even include guidelines for Ego Weapons.'
[Oh, that is surprising.]
'Looks like there were a few Ego Weapon users in the past. It seems those rules were made while those cadets were enrolled. Anyway, according to the handbook, you can bring an Ego Weapon outside the dorm in life-form state. But in certain lectures designated by faculty, it has to be stored in weapon form.'
[Life-form state means...]
'Not all Ego Weapons take human form like Lua.'
Even if they all had self-awareness and could transform, the form an Ego Weapon took varied wildly from weapon to weapon.
Among them, the ones that could take human form were extremely rare.
Lua was a special case even among Ego Weapons.
[I see...]
'It'll be fine. She listens well when I ask her to. I don't think she'll cause trouble.'
[Good. Then it is fortunate that Lua is a gentle child.]
Princess-nim accepted that quietly.
Even then, Lua kept tugging on my sleeve.
"Dad! The buildings are huge...!"
Maybe it was because this was her first time walking the academy streets after gaining an ego.
Everything seemed fascinating to her.
Pulled along by her excited steps, I headed to the classroom.
Holding that tiny hand brought a flicker of nostalgia.
-Hyung!
-It's oppa!
My mind drifted into pointless thoughts.
By the time I snapped out of it, we'd reached the classroom.
I opened the door and stepped in, and as always, Class E welcomed me.
"Hyung-nim! You've arrived!"
"Heh, good to see you all."
The Shuttles snapped into perfect right-angle bows like they'd been waiting for me.
Behind those sturdy guys, the rest sat with noticeably brighter expressions.
Did everyone do well on midterms?
'Well, who taught them?'
After my crash-course Kumon drills, there was no way their grades wouldn't go up.
If anyone still failed after that, I'd kick them out of Class E on the spot.
While I was mulling over that nonsense, a few of the peeking Shuttles spotted Lua.
"Huh?"
"A little girl? She doesn't look like an enrolled student..."
"Hyung-nim! Do you know that little lady?"
The girl was holding my hand tightly.
I noticed it again. She really was adorable.
Class E's attention shifted to Lua in an instant.
"My name is Lua! Lua is Dad's daughter!"
Even with all those big guys staring at her, she didn't get scared at all. She just smiled brightly.
With an innocent face, Lua dropped a bomb in the classroom.
Dad and daughter.
The students' mouths fell open.
Their eyes shook in panic.
"Dad? Daughter...?"
"Do you mean your daughter?"
"Oh! Come to think of it, she has black hair just like Hyung-nim..."
"Hyung-nim! Is it true? This cute little lady is really your...?"
I knew this would happen.
Annoying misunderstandings poured out one after another.
I tried to calm the Shuttles and explain Lua.
"Everyone, it's not that..."
Creeeak.
Right then, a woman opened the classroom door and walked in.
A neat uniform and long red hair.
It was Javert, Class E's homeroom professor.
"Good to see you, cadets."
A greeting without a trace of expression.
A dry, businesslike tone.
Emotionless Javert, exactly as always.
"Ah, Professor."
Her entrance cut me off for a moment.
At that moment, Lua let go of my hand.
"Huh."
Pat pat pat.
The girl passed the Shuttles and moved toward Javert.
In front of everyone, Lua took the woman's hand.
Things escalated suddenly.
And what came next was even more sudden.
"Mom!"
The girl looked up at the woman as she said it.
"......?"
Everyone's brains froze.
Mine too.
Maybe out of consideration for us, Lua kindly made an even clearer declaration.
"This person is Lua's mom!"
"......"
Dad.
Mom.
Daughter.
Words that slammed into the back of our heads.
The cadets stood there dazed, then, as if on cue, all their eyes widened.
"Wh... what?"
Lua.
The daughter of Viktor and Javert.
That dizzying information stabbed straight into Class E's brains.
***
This was what really happened.
They say wanting protection from a strong being is a natural instinct of all living things.
Even if Lua was an Ego Weapon, she was still a child whose self-awareness had formed less than ten days ago.
-She's super, super strong!
-So I wanted noona to be Lua's mom!
-Dad doesn't dislike noona either, and he thinks you're super pretty too!
You could say she followed instinct.
In the end, the reason Javert got chosen was that overwhelming strength.
At this academy, only the Headmaster or Javert was at that level.
So when someone like that was right in front of her, Lua just ran straight over.
-Dad thinks noona is super cool too!
-So I'll give you a special chance to marry my dad!
On top of that, Lua added a bunch of unnecessary comments.
Because of that, I had to struggle through explaining everything.
After I gave her a sharp scolding, Lua teared up and went back into glove form.
-I, I'm sorry.
-Lua just got excited because of Dad...
-I'll stay quiet. So p-please don't throw Lua away.
I decided she needed a short reflection period.
She did need to be scolded, but seeing her so dejected still made me feel bad.
On the way back, I figured I'd buy her some cotton candy in the academy shopping district.
Anyway, thanks to my daughter's troublemaking, I was now explaining everything one piece at a time.
"...That's the whole story."
"I see. So that's what happened."
After lecture ended.
I had been called to Javert's lab.
The exams had just ended, so class itself was short anyway.
I explained Lua's circumstances within a range that wouldn't raise suspicion.
"Hm."
The two of us sat across from each other on a guest sofa.
Between her flowing red hair, deep green eyes blinked.
"So she awakened as an Ego Weapon not long ago."
"Yes. About ten days now."
"Interesting. A sudden awakening into an Ego Weapon."
"I was curious too, so I looked into it. Apparently there are extremely rare cases like this."
"I was not saying that because I doubted you."
"I wasn't making excuses either."
"You gained a cute daughter."
"Heh, though I'm still unmarried."
Light conversation passed back and forth.
I had been called into the lab, but not just because of Lua.
That was only an incident I explained while I had a private talk with Javert...
'Now for the real point.'
Clink.
Javert set down the teacup she'd been holding.
"I think we can announce it soon."
"You mean the Direct Aide position."
Direct Aide.
One thing we'd kept delaying.
I wanted to become Javert's Direct Aide.
"Until now, Student Viktor's affiliation held it back. A Direct Aide is a post granted to only a handful among all current students and graduates. So assigning that post to the top student of Class E would have made no sense."
"Also, Chief Investigator Javert-nim is called the academy's de facto number two. You have never taken even a regular aide, let alone a Direct Aide. If a Direct Aide suddenly appeared under you, and that person was only a first-year cadet listed as Class E top seat..."
"There would have been severe backlash. That is why we delayed the announcement, but..."
"Now circumstances have changed. I've already shown my capability in front of everyone."
"Not only did you defeat Class B's top seat in the ranking match, in this practical exam you even overwhelmed Class A's top seat."
"Would that be enough to meet the standard?"
"More than enough."
It was different from a few months ago.
I was Class E only in label now. In practice, I was the unofficial top first-year.
Meaning even if I were assigned as Javert's Direct Aide, no one would find it unacceptable.
"Then shall we proceed?"
"...You remember what we agreed on. The moment you are assigned as Direct Aide, Student Viktor will be placed under my watch."
"Of course. I was the one who proposed that in the first place."
"I still suspect Student Viktor as the culprit behind the unauthorized clearing of Purgatory Floor 70. Since Student Viktor has shown shocking performances lately, my suspicion has only deepened."
"If I really am the culprit, what do you plan to do?"
"I will handle it according to regulations."
According to regulations.
Exactly like her.
"I'm prepared. Of course, I'm not the culprit."
"Yes, I hope that is true."
A dry, expressionless gaze.
Still, I knew those words were sincere.
She was someone buried in rules, yet carrying contradictory kindness.
"We will handle all procedures related to Direct Aide on our side. It should take about three days until the announcement."
"Yes, then I leave it in your hands, Chief Investigator Javert-nim."
"I look forward to working with you as well, Viktor's Direct Aide."
That ended the conversation.
Before leaving the lab, I called out Lua, who had been silent in glove form.
"Activate. Lua."
Shrrk!
The glove unraveled, and the little girl appeared.
Lua kept her head lowered, watching my mood.
She looked utterly crushed.
"Lua-yang."
"Dad..."
Her eyes trembled with anxiety.
How could I stay angry after seeing eyes like that?
I smiled like I had no choice and opened my arms.
Lua hesitated, then rushed into my embrace.
Hug.
"Sniff... I'm sorry..."
"It's okay."
"I promised to stay quiet instead of following Dad around, but..."
"How can anyone do everything right from the start? You'll get used to it slowly."
I gently patted the girl.
During that, Javert was watching us closely.
Maybe she was lost in thought.
"......"
Javert wore an unreadable expression.
Either way, Lua and I held hands tightly and left the lab.
Javert gathered her documents and started walking as if she were coming with us.
"Hm? Do you also have somewhere to go, Investigator-nim?"
"I have documents to submit to the lecture building."
"Perfect, same direction."
"Yes, let's go."
We crossed the hallway side by side.
Then a student lingering nearby approached us.
He looked over us in order, then finally spoke to Javert.
"U-um... Professor Javert!"
"What is it, Cadet Geshult?"
Javert knew the cadet's name.
He was probably from another year and took her lecture.
The student hesitated, but in the end he couldn't hold it in and asked.
"That child... they said she's your daughter. I-is that true?"
"......"
Had the story spread already?
A few students who heard it seemed to have come to verify it.
Now that I looked, some cadets were pretending not to, while clearly listening in.
'So this guy came as their representative.'
Glancing eyes everywhere.
They all looked pretty desperate. Seemed like the fan club that usually admired Javert.
"......"
A short silence followed.
Without answering, the woman looked back and forth between that student and Lua.
I stood there, waiting for Javert to explain it herself.
I'd already explained the circumstances, so she'd probably phrase it properly and tell the cadets.
"Hm."
Javert looked deep in thought.
After a moment, her lips parted.
"Yes."
"...?"
A completely unexpected affirmation.
Before anyone could question it, Javert reached out her hand.
She carefully lifted Lua and pulled her into her arms.
'What...?'
Then she stood before all the eyes focused on her.
That same dry gaze no one could ever read.
Javert spoke.
"She is my daughter."
Glance.
Green eyes flicked past, as if checking my expression.
I could only stand there stunned.
"Right, Student Viktor?"
"...???"
Fuck.
Right about what...?
===
This is Lua.
