The pink-haired girl had unknowingly stepped into such close proximity at his side.
The lingering afterglow of the setting sun bathed her delicate profile in a warm golden light, her long eyelashes casting fan-shaped shadows over her eyelids.
She tilted her head slightly, her pink eyes staring at him without blinking, a complex and unreadable emotion flickering within them.
“I-Is something wrong?” Greg asked.
Silvia's cheeks flushed with an enticing blush that spread all the way to her delicate earlobes.
She seemed a bit nervous; her fingers gripping Greg's wrist involuntarily tightened, conveying a smooth and warm sensation through her palm.
“U-Um... Senior Greg...”
Silvia's voice was softer than usual, carrying a subtle tremble, yet her tone was remarkably firm.
“Last time... about what happened last time... I-I still haven't found the chance to properly thank you...”
As she spoke, the hand grasping Greg's wrist didn't let go; instead, it slid slightly up his forearm, and then, before Greg could react at all—
Silvia used both hands to forcefully press Greg's captured left hand firmly against that area of unbelievable softness.
The back of Greg's left hand, along with half his palm, instantly sank into a lush, warm softness.
Even through the girl's thin academy uniform, he could clearly feel that wonderful shape and the slightly accelerated heartbeat beneath it.
Thump, thump, thump...
It felt as though it were thumping directly against the back of his hand, causing his mind to instantly go completely blank.
Holy—crap—!!!
What is going on?!!
Greg froze on the spot as if struck by an invisible bolt of lightning. His pupils contracted sharply, his head buzzed, and his brain stopped functioning entirely.
S-Silvia?! What is she doing?!
T-This sensation... this size... t-this is way too...!
Wait! No! That's not the point!
The point is, how could a pure, kind, slightly dorky, but strictly reserved poster-girl heroine from the original game do... something so... so bold?!
This isn't how she's supposed to act!
Why is Silvia acting so seductively sly right now?!
Did I transmigrate into some weird fanfiction instead?!
Greg felt his entire worldview and perception of her character suffer a violent impact in a matter of seconds.
He turned his neck stiffly, his eyes landing in disbelief on Silvia's flush-cheeked, pretty face just inches away.
Yet Silvia seemed completely oblivious to how shockingly scandalous her current actions were.
She merely kept her face tilted up, her pink eyes moist as if covered in a veil of mist, gazing straight into Greg's eyes.
Greg swallowed hard, barely managing to keep his composure as he spoke: “Ah, that matter... you really don't need to worry about it. Like I said before, if you ever run into trouble, I'll definitely come help you, so—”
“No!”
She spoke again, her voice still soft, yet carrying a level of firm resolve Greg had never heard from her before.
“I must... repay you personally, Senior Greg!”
Her hands pressed down a bit harder, stamping that stunning softness even more vividly onto Greg's sensory nerves.
“Ngh... Ah!?”
The sensory impact caused Greg to accidentally let out an ambiguous squeak.
His throat felt dry, and his left hand—tightly held in Silvia's grasp—was so stiff it hardly felt like his own, incapable of making even the slightest move.
Right at that moment, however, he suddenly noticed another critical issue.
Now is not the time to get distracted! Victoria! That gray-haired brat is still right beside us!
If she sees this and misunderstands that a guy like me seduced her best friend...
Then my cut from selling the glove... my thirty percent of the gold coins... won't that completely go down the drain?!
And given that gray-haired brat's personality, she might even start hunting me down immediately because of it!
An intense sense of crisis brought Greg back to his senses instantly.
Suppressing the exquisite sensation in his left hand—enough to make any normal male's heart flutter wild—he frantically shifted his gaze to where Victoria was standing before.
Fortunately, Victoria had her back turned to Greg and Silvia. She held a crumpled map of the academy grounds, her head bowed as her fingers traced lines across it, muttering quietly under her breath.
She was clearly cross-checking the exact location of the Faded Iris store Greg had just told her about, completely unaware of the scene unfolding behind her.
Seeing this, Greg secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his heart settling back down slightly from his throat.
Before he could fully relax, however, Silvia's next action and words hoisted his heart right back up to an even higher spike.
Sensing Greg's brief moment of distraction, Silvia didn't let go; instead, she stood on tip-toes slightly, leaning her body even closer to his.
The distance between them was so small they could practically feel each other's body heat.
Her pink eyes, like the purest gems, reflected Greg's panicked face as she whispered in a tone blended with shyness and anticipation:
“May I ask... Senior Greg, is there anything you need my help with?”
Then, she lifted her gaze, looking straight into the depths of Greg's eyes, uttering a phrase word by word that caused his blood pressure to soar once more:
“A-ny-thing at all is fine.”
“A-Anything... is fine?”
Greg dryly repeated the sentence.
Anything at all...?
What on earth... does she mean?
Is she testing my moral fortitude right now?
Judging by her gaze, her tone, and this... completely unabashed physical contact... it seems... she's serious?
If she's serious... then can I... actually make some... rather improper requests?
In an instant, countless alluring thoughts and images flooded like a breached dam into Greg's mind, which was already sluggish from shock and sensory overload.
Silvia's pure yet coyly beautiful face, that soft and plush sensation, her breath close at hand, and that line 'anything at all is fine' brimming with infinite possibilities...
Calm down! Greg!
Get a fucking grip on yourself!
Greg bit his tongue hard, the sharp pain pulling his chaotic thoughts somewhat back into focus.
Using sheer force of willpower, he forcibly suppressed those wild, runaway thoughts back into the darkest corners of his heart.
He was never a moral paragon, nor was he a saintly paragon of virtue who could resist all temptation.
Faced with such an offensive from a gorgeous girl like Silvia, claiming he was unmoved would be a complete lie.
However... precisely because he still possessed a shred of moral baseline and wasn't a total scum, he couldn't just give an irresponsible response to Silvia out of impulse and lust.
When dealing with a girl willing to give him her heart and soul, he wanted to treat her sincerity with care, invest in the relationship, and offer her a visible future and commitment.
Yet right now... he could barely guarantee his own survival.
If he couldn't even be sure he would survive to see the story's end, with what could he offer a commitment or cultivate a serious relationship?
Besides... having transmigrated into a classic Western fantasy game world...
Greg's ultimate dream was to live a shameless harem life after solving all his troubles!
After all, a single heroine route was satisfying for a moment, but a harem was bliss for a lifetime!
Unfortunately, the heroines in this work had a strict mechanic: once emotional progress with a specific heroine exceeded a threshold, it locked you directly into that single heroine route, while the affection of other heroines would freeze or even drop through various plausible or absurd ways!
Greg was no fool; he was certain Silvia's current state was a clear sign that her affection was off the charts, ready to trigger a special CG at any moment.
If he went along with her words now, making an improper request or giving too explicit an emotional response, he would undoubtedly enter Silvia's single heroine route the very next second.
“I have to say something that won't break her heart, but also won't actually agree to it...”
Greg's mind raced at an unprecedented speed, fine beads of sweat even forming at his temples.
It felt as though time were stretching out, every single second excruciatingly hard to endure.
Silvia's pink eyes, filled with expectation and a subtle, hidden longing, remained fixed on him without blinking, awaiting his answer.
In a flash of inspiration, a spark lit up Greg's mind!
Suppressing all the stray thoughts in his heart, he forced his expression to look as natural as possible and said:
“Um... Silvia, since you put it that way... I actually do have something I might need your help with.”
Silvia's eyes lit up, her grip on Greg's hand tightening slightly:
“W-What is it? Please just say the word, Senior Greg!”
Greg took a deep breath and said, “Next time, bring Victoria along for me, and the three of us can explore the second layer of the dungeon together!”
Rate on N.U.
