Her voice carried a glimmer of hope that she herself hadn't fully realized, mixed with anxiety that she might be rejected.
Greg paused for a moment before bursting into laughter.
He reached out, habitually intending to pat her head, but halfway there he realized the gesture might not be appropriate, so he casually pulled his hand back and shoved it into his pants pocket.
Flashing a somewhat unruly smile, he said:
“Hate it? How could I! Senior Yelena, you're underestimating me. Sometimes, gossip about a guy is the ultimate medal proving his charm and worth! Getting talked about just because a cute Senior is taking special care of me—for a guy like me, that's practically a dream come true!”
His words were half-joking and half-teasing, but he truly didn't care much.
Reputation?
To the current him, that was one of the least valuable things in existence.
Then, Greg stroked his chin with one hand, striking a posture of deep thought while his tone grew a bit odd:
“Although I personally don't practice Catholicism or have any weird lolicon complex... since Senior Yelena got caught up in these rumors just to help me...”
He paused and looked at Yelena, his amber eyes shimmering with a light that was half-joking and half-earnest, a slightly wicked curve lifting the corner of his mouth:
“Then, when the time comes, I will definitely take full responsibility like a true gentleman. On that, you can rest assured.”
“Catholicism? Lolicon complex? Take responsibility...?”
Yelena was left dizzy by the string of terms and phrases that sounded completely incomprehensible to her, her round face filled with even greater confusion and bewilderment.
She blinked her big eyes, attempting to decipher the meaning behind Greg's words, but clearly failed.
What on earth is Student Greg talking about...?
I don't understand it at all... but somehow, it doesn't sound very wholesome...
Just as Yelena's mind overloaded from processing this strange information, sinking into a brief daze—
“Watch out—!!!”
“Get out of the way!!!”
Not far to the side, at the edge of a small outdoor magic practice field, several panicked shouts suddenly rang out, accompanied by an unusually intense surge of mana!
Inside the practice field, a girl wearing a third-year uniform was flusteredly trying to regain control over a fully formed yet extremely unstable fire-red magic circle in front of her.
The magic circle's glow flared violently as the wild fire elements inside churned furiously, emitting a bubbling noise like boiling water. It had clearly slipped entirely out of the caster's control!
“BOOM—!”
In the next instant, the wild magic circle snapped inward, then erupted like a volcano pushed to its limit!
A searingly brilliant pillar of orange-red flame, carrying heat that distorted the air and a pungent smell of sulfur, shot wildly like a rabid dog unchained, completely disregarding the caster's original intent as it blasted toward where Greg and Yelena were standing!
Judging by the amount of mana, the power of this spell had clearly reached the level of Mid-tier fire magic!
The air along its path crackled from the heat, and the grass on the ground withered and curled instantly!
“Ah—!”
This sudden, lethal attack happened in the blink of an eye!
Before Yelena could even fully recover from her confusion over Greg's strange words, her field of vision was filled by the blazing pillar of flame emanating terrifying heat and destructive aura!
Extreme fear seized her heart instantly like a pair of freezing iron pliers!
Her mind went completely blank, her body freezing rigid. She could only watch helplessly as the fire representing death and pain rapidly expanded in her pupils...
Time felt infinitely stretched, leaving only the roar of burning flames and the wild, drumbeat thumping of her heart in her ears.
Yet right at this critical moment—
“Tsk.”
A click of the tongue, laden with obvious annoyance and a feeling of "here we go again," sounded beside her ear.
Unlike Yelena's complete stupor and terror, Greg had long grown used to unexpected attacks of this caliber, even becoming somewhat numb to them.
He didn't even look at the incoming pillar of flame, nor did he perform any complex casting wind-up or incantation.
He casually raised his right hand, pointing his index finger at the incoming flames as highly compressed, deep blue water mana instantly gathered at his fingertip.
“Water Gun.”
He softly uttered the name of this spell, which was as basic as water magic could get.
Yet what shot out from his finger wasn't the weak stream of an ordinary LV1 Water Gun, but a high-pressure Water Arrow—solid as a steel spike, sharp mana gleaming along its edges, and flying at lightning speed! It was precisely the LV3 proficiency version of [Water Gun]!
Pfft—chhh—!!!
The condensed Water Arrow clashed violently with the wild pillar of flame in midair, triggering an intense elemental annihilation reaction!
Searing heat mingled with freezing water vapor, forming a chaotic yet powerful shockwave that swept in every direction!
Just before the chaotic shockwave of steam could engulf him and Yelena, his feet shifted with swift precision, his body gliding half a step to the side like a phantom. At the same time, he extended his arm, firmly shielding the still-dazed Yelena in front of him!
Bang!
The blast of steam, mixed with scalding water droplets and glowing embers, slammed squarely against Greg's back.
The powerful impact made his body sway slightly, but his feet remained planted as if rooted to the spot, solidly sheltering the petite Yelena behind him without letting a single drop or ember touch her.
The chaotic gust came fast and left just as quickly.
A few seconds later, the dense white steam dissipated rapidly in the morning breeze, revealing the scene.
On the tree-lined path, Greg stood before Yelena, maintaining his protective stance with his arm outstretched.
His uniform on his back was slightly messy and torn, and his blond hair was ruffled by the air current.
But he himself seemed not to care in the slightest, casually brushing off the dust and water spots clinging to his clothes.
Meanwhile, Yelena behind him—having been completely covered—suffered no harm at all except for her hair and dress fluttering gently in the turbulent air. Not a single water stain or speck of dust had landed on her.
“Hey, Tiny... cough, Senior Yelena.”
Greg turned his head to look at Yelena behind him, who still hadn't completely snapped out of her shock. His tone carried a touch of nonchalance, as if he had merely swatted away a fly just now:
“Are you alright?”
“Ah... mm...”
Only then did Yelena seem to awaken from a dream. Her body trembled slightly as she slowly raised her head, gazing at the tall back standing in front of her.
He... he just...
Without even thinking, he stood directly in front of me...
Even though... even though he could have gotten hurt himself...
An extremely complex surge of emotion smashed through all the shock and lingering dread in Yelena's heart like a bursting dam, filling her chest to the brim.
In it was the throb of surviving a crisis and shock at Greg's lightning reaction and strength, but even more... was a flutter that inexplicably sent her heart racing.
For some reason, at this moment in her eyes, Greg's figure seemed bathed in a dazzling halo of morning sunlight—becoming unbelievably tall, upright, dependable, and even... so handsome that it left her spellbound.
Rate on N.U.
