Chapter 47
Garurik & Maneur of Slayers
Professor Glinbert.
One of the longest-serving faculty members at Grandia.
By experience and by ability alike, he was someone the word "veteran" suited perfectly.
On top of that, he was friendly toward players, and his kindly demeanor made him popular.
A total fraud.
(As in, a total fraud.)
Even within the original story, he had held a solid, respected standing.
But as the story progressed, a shocking twist was revealed.
[Title: What the hell]
[Author: BeGratefulWeExist]
What is this???
I'm pushing through the story arc <Identity of the Spy> right now and
What the hell, Professor Glinbert is the traitor?????
He was one of the few actually likable professors in Grandia??
He taught me magic, taught me barrier techniques, taught me how to counter Demonic Energy and curses, supported me through all three years through thick and thin — and this mentor of mine was actually a spy???
This bastard was colluding with the Evil God Worshippers trying to massacre the whole academy?
So basically most of the incidents that broke out at the academy were things this guy orchestrated?
That awful Red Knight, the White Knight — he was the one who summoned them too?
You're telling me to believe that crap???
Damn it damn it damn it damn it damn it damn it
[This is reality. What are you going to do about not believing it?]
→ What are you gonna do besides deny reality, huh ㅋㅋ
[You deceived your students again... Glinbert]
→ That's
→ just
→ how
→ the
→ world
→ works.
[Wake up! Wake up from your kind and capable homeroom professor! That isn't reality! Your mentor is not real! There is no such thing as a teacher's grace or an old professor's mercy in this world! Wake up! Wake up and live with us forever crossing seas of blood and mountains of corpses in this hopeless dark fantasy world that's nothing but a weeb game full of disaster and betrayal! Wake up!]
→ BeGratefulWeExist) Damn it
And so it was revealed — that Glinbert was the spy.
He was the mastermind behind the major incidents that had rocked the academy.
Naturally, the players' reactions were explosive.
To think the mentor they had trusted and relied on was actually a puppet of the hostile faction···.
'The difficulty of the boss stage was no joke either.'
In the latter half of the original story, Glinbert had long since crossed the line of what a professor should be.
As the story progressed, he too had grown stronger step by step.
The quests the player had occasionally accepted from the elderly professor.
Supplying him with various research materials had been powering Glinbert up all along.
In the end, he completed a enhancement drug and became something that had truly surpassed human limits.
'Even the Dean had been outmatched by Glinbert···.'
Even for a mid-boss, there are tiers of power.
Appearing in the latter half of the original story, he was overwhelmingly strong.
Strong enough that students and faculty alike had to band together to take him down.
[Title: Glinbert is seriously insane strong]
[Author: PersonWhoseFaceWentWhiteFromBeingGrabByTheThroat]
No way you can clear this with a sloppy party composition
Pretty sure you can't win without pulling in the faculty
This guy takes a full-force hit from Lanne and walks it off
Lanne at max level one-shots most mid-bosses doesn't she
Glinbert just keeps dodging and landing crits back
Ended up dragging in the faculty and barely scraped through
[That's because he has the Holy Immunity option]
→ Even at max level, Lanne probably didn't hit the potential ceiling right?
→ PersonWhoseFaceWentWhiteFromBeingGrabByTheThroat) Yeah the potential ceiling costs way too much
→ That's normal. You need to max out the potential ceiling to break through the Holy Immunity option
[Glinbert is legitimately tough]
→ Felt about as hard to kill as most Disasters honestly
[I can't even imagine Glinbert losing]
→ PersonWhoseFaceWentWhiteFromBeingGrabByTheThroat) Still went down once you brought in a bunch of faculty though?
→ Glinbert's spiritual pressure... has faded...?
Truly a troublesome opponent he was.
A boss that grows stronger over time.
On top of that, the field he occupied — Glinbert's Research Office — had almost no bugs I could exploit.
Like the Red Knight I had faced during the Pitch-black Night before, he was a particularly difficult matchup for me.
'Well··· that's why I thought about it for a moment.'
And then I realized — I could just flip the board entirely.
If the field felt crooked, couldn't I just overturn it?
Thinking about it, there was no reason I had to follow the original story so strictly.
Butterfly effect or whatever — if I was going to worry about that, everything would have already fallen apart from the moment I enrolled.
'The original story has Glinbert's identity as the spy being exposed in the latter half···.'
More precisely, it happens after Alice's Nightmare concludes, right before the fourth disaster — the Red Night — arrives.
Second semester of the third year, if I recalled correctly.
In the original, Glinbert had kept up his brazen act until that very moment.
'Why should I wait for that?'
I decided to just beat him to it.
Plant a trap in a nearby incident, secure undeniable evidence that he was the spy.
Then use the suspicion Javert had been building up toward me to pull her into the game as the trump card of this hand.
I would win, simply and cleanly, without spending a single ounce of effort myself.
The plan had worked from beginning to end exactly as intended.
"Urk, ngh···."
And here we were now.
Glinbert, battered beyond recognition, rolling across the floor.
Before that wretched figure, the red-haired woman stood, utterly indifferent.
"Ple··· ase··· spar··· me, me, me, me···."
Broken syllables leaked out through his shattered jaw.
Whether he had lost consciousness wasn't clear — his body just twitched and spasmed.
Javert, without a scratch on her, peeled off her blood-soaked gloves.
'Terrifying.'
Javert had been nothing short of overwhelming.
Even accounting for the fact that Glinbert hadn't yet been enhanced, the difference in class was simply on another level.
Glinbert himself was a veteran professor who ranked among the top within the academy in terms of pure experience.
The kind of powerhouse who could slaughter a mob of students with a single gesture if he felt like it.
'And yet, against an opponent like that, in an instant···.'
It had been entirely one-sided.
Every time Javert threw a punch, the elderly professor's limbs bent at wrong angles.
Even so, she seemed intent on taking him alive — she never touched a vital point.
She simply folded his bones and muscles this way and that, rendering him helpless.
Crack, crack crack—.
"Kuh— gkhhh···!"
In the end, Glinbert passed out foaming at the mouth.
His bones had been broken in so many places that he had been folded into something resembling a cube.
Was this what they call a Transformer or something.
"Grk, ugh···."
Even so, she had kept him alive with meticulous care, and agonized groans drifted down the long corridor.
It was quite a violent scene, and yet I couldn't help but feel deeply satisfied.
In the original story, this guy had made me suffer more times than I could count.
I stared into the rolled-back whites of the upended elderly professor's eyes.
And with a smile that conveyed mild regret, I offered a quiet parting word.
"My, my··· I had hoped we could part with a smile, but it seems you couldn't grant me even that."
Sob sob—.
I mimed crying, lightly.
As I stood there briefly teabagging him, Javert soon dusted off her hands and approached.
"Viktor."
"Ah··· Professor Javert."
"The target has been subdued."
"You've worked hard."
That characteristically inorganic gaze.
Green pupils studied me.
A colleague she had worked alongside for years, someone she had been talking shop with just hours earlier — and yet, even having reduced that person to a half-corpse, the woman's eyes showed not a flicker of disturbance.
"······Are you all right?"
"I only act according to principle."
I probed gently, but as expected, only a short reply came back.
Javert spoke with an expressionless face.
"Professor Glinbert's custody will be secured by us on the faculty side from here. After extracting information through several rounds of interrogation, we will handle things so that no loose ends remain."
"Please do. Will you be conducting the interrogation yourself, Professor?"
"It seems the Dean will be stepping in personally this time."
"Ah···."
I felt joy internally.
The Slayer of the Evil God Worshippers — someone said to be a living legend in that particular field.
An interrogation by someone like that — honestly, biting one's own tongue and dying seemed like the more peaceful option.
'The quest completion hasn't triggered yet.'
The Status Window was quiet.
It would probably pop up once Glinbert was officially detained.
'Should be done before the night is out.'
That could wait a little.
While I was processing the situation, Javert suddenly spoke up from her side.
"Are you all right, Viktor. Any injuries, or dizziness."
"Not a scratch on me. Thanks to Professor Javert arriving right on time."
"Even so, please see a physician just to be sure."
"Ha, isn't that a bit overprotective."
"This too is simply protocol."
Her characteristic bluntness.
But I knew that her concern, at least, was genuine.
"Thanks to you, we were able to apprehend the spy. Grandia Academy owes Viktor a great debt. The faculty will make certain to repay you in time."
"It wasn't something I did expecting repayment, but···."
"Does that mean you have no need of repayment."
"It means I'll accept it gratefully if it's offered."
I conversed with her at an easy, measured pace to match hers.
And then, uncharacteristically, Javert hesitated with her lips.
Those faintly reddish lips parted.
"······You knew. About the surveillance."
"Yes."
"How did you figure it out."
"Hmm? That's my secret."
"From when did you figure it out."
"That too."
"I see."
Javert gave a calm nod.
The woman soon straightened her back and bowed at a perfect right angle.
A formal ninety-degree bow.
"I apologize."
She offered a sincere apology.
"Until now, I have suspected that Viktor was connected to the unauthorized clearing of Purgatory's 70th Floor. Beyond that, I also made the connection that this practical training incident might be similarly related. That was the reason I placed you under surveillance. I am sorry."
"My, Professor."
"I will accept any reprimand."
"I am perfectly fine. Please, raise your head."
"This is not a matter to be taken lightly. I was clearly in a position of hostility toward a student."
"Did things not resolve well thanks to it? I received your help too."
"That is merely viewing it in hindsight."
Even at my request to raise her head, Javert kept it lowered stubbornly.
I had no choice but to laugh in mild exasperation.
Chief Investigator, Javert.
The Dean's foster daughter and his sole successor.
In practical terms, the second most powerful person within the academy.
"Somehow, this feels like an enormous amount of pressure···."
"I also promise compensation for the surveillance incident. If there is ever anything you wish for during your time here at the academy, please tell me one thing. I will do my utmost to fulfill it. It is compensation for the mental stress you must have endured, so please do not refuse."
"Oh?"
In short, I had just received a single wish.
The academy's formal reward, and Javert's personal wish.
Quite a profitable haul.
I gave a nod.
"Very well. I'll tell you next time we meet."
"Understood. Once again, I apologize."
Bow—.
She insisted on apologizing one more time before finally straightening back up.
Perhaps it was my imagination. But Javert's expression seemed ever so slightly less rigid than before.
Though those inorganic eyes of hers remained just as they always were.
"Then, as it is late, I will take my leave. If you have no particular schedule, please come to the main building's consultation room this afternoon. I will need to take a brief statement regarding the spy's apprehension."
"Of course. I'll cooperate fully."
"Thank you. Then, farewell."
Javert turned and left without looking back.
Dragging a cube-shaped Glinbert along with her on one side.
Whether it was the breeze through the window, her uniform coat fluttered behind her.
"Ha ha."
I watched that retreating figure and smiled in satisfaction.
Plan successful.
Not just successful — a perfect clear.
'Smooth. Very smooth.'
I hummed to myself as I left the research building.
As I walked, the front pocket of my uniform began to squirm.
The Princess, who had been quietly observing the situation, poked her head out.
[Viktor.]
"Your Highness."
[You've worked hard. Moving until this late hour to catch the spy···.]
"Professor Javert did all the actual subduing, though."
[Even so. You have worked hard.]
"Ha ha, thank you."
[So··· you're heading back to the dormitory now?]
"No. There's somewhere I need to stop by first."
[Hmm? But didn't that professor tell you to return to the dormitory right away.]
"Surely you didn't think I would keep that promise, Your Highness?"
[Of course not.]
It wasn't time to rest yet.
Apologies to the professor, but there was still business left to handle.
If you've decided to fell a tree, you must be sure to pull out the roots as well.
Ding—!
[Linked Quest]
— Title: Make Sure It's Finished
— Details: Annihilate the Evil God Worshippers' branch that colluded with Professor Glinbert. Rescue the civilians taken captive as research subjects.
— Penalty on Failure: None
— Reward: A clue regarding ■■■
[Time Limit: 6 hours 29 minutes 47 seconds]
The branches had been trimmed, the trunk had been cut — now it was time to pull out the roots.
The quest that would place the final period on the long, long epic of the practical training arc.
I intended to demolish one branch of the Evil God Worshippers entirely.
"Are we departing at once."
"We must."
The Princess had by now returned to her true appearance.
Draped in the red mask I had given her before.
I too reached into my robe, and drew out the companion of my soul — the Absolute Balloon Sword.
Moonlight spilled in.
"Ahh, this light and squishy feeling···."
It had been a while.
"It's time to return to Garurik, the Sword Saint."
Garurik & Maneur of Slayers.
This time, the deployment was as the 'ver. Slayer of the Evil God Worshippers.'