In the main storyline of the original game's Act Two, the most critical conflict flashpoint between Lilith and Vivian, the sisters, stemmed from a core conflict:
Lilith, as a Princess of the Kingdom, had established an open friendship with Victoria, who came from a commoner background.
Within Vivian's frame of understanding, she was unaware of Victoria's hidden Hero identity and mission. Therefore, from the perspective of traditional noble concepts, she believed that a commoner girl whose conduct was entirely out of place in noble circles, and who deliberately approached a Princess of the Kingdom, had motives that were anything but simple. Out of a desire to protect her sister and uphold the royal reputation, Vivian sternly admonished Lilith to maintain distance from Victoria and sever this inappropriate friendship.
However, to Lilith, this admonition sounded like an insult to her friend's character, and even a desecration of the pure friendship she cherished. For the first time in her life, Lilith, who had always admired her sister, openly defied her sister's will. This conflict was like an ice spike, savagely chiseling into the seemingly solid icy surface of their sisterly relationship, leaving behind the first deep and difficult-to-mend rift, sowing the tragic seeds for more misunderstandings and opposition to come.
But now, because Greg had not immediately seen through Lilith's disguise earlier, Lilith, by a twist of fate, lost the opportunity to become friends with Victoria, causing major changes in the plot.
But thinking about it now, it might not be entirely a bad thing. After all, the sisters' first conflict flashpoint no longer existed.
"Then, the next set of priorities is much clearer."
Greg organized his thoughts.
Be wary of the Demon King Cult's allure, and at the same time, find a way to encourage these stubborn sisters to confront each other more openly, express their true feelings, and resolve the inner conflicts arising from talent gaps and external comparisons…
If he could just achieve these things, there should be a great chance to change Vivian's doomed ending from the original story.
Thinking of this, Greg felt his mood inexplicably lighten.
"So this move wasn't a loss at all; Vivian was just unlucky to appear at the wrong time!"
Greg quickly completed a perfect self-exculpatory logical loop in his mind and nodded in deep agreement, a 'that's just how it is' expression on his face.
After accepting his own explanation, the accumulated fatigue flooded him again.
He adjusted his sitting posture, planning to catch up on some sleep during class, to recover the energy lost from pulling an all-nighter clearing dungeons.
However, at that moment, he suddenly felt something was off around him.
It was too quiet; with no sound of lessons in the classroom, how was he supposed to sleep?
He raised his head, somewhat puzzled, and found the lectern already empty, with only faint traces of magic dust remaining.
The classroom, which had been half-filled earlier, now had… not a single soul left, besides himself.
Greg froze for a few seconds before realizing.
It seemed he had been so immersed in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed the passage of time or the commotion of class ending.
"Whatever, I can still sleep during the next class anyway."
He scratched his somewhat disheveled golden hair and stood up helplessly, preparing to leave the now empty classroom and head to his next class to continue his grand project of catching up on sleep.
But just as he turned to walk towards the door, he suddenly noticed a blonde girl sitting in the seat directly behind him.
Catherine Roman.
She seemed to have been sitting there all along, but Greg had been too lost in his own world to notice.
She was slightly bowed, a pair of exquisite gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. Her azure eyes behind the lenses were intently focused on a piece of scratch paper on the desk, covered with complex equations and business symbols.
As if sensing Greg's movement and gaze, Catherine's pen tip paused slightly.
She didn't immediately look up. Instead, she used the fingertip of her other hand to gently push up her glasses, then slowly raised her eyelids and calmly looked at Greg, whose expression was somewhat taken aback.
Her face once again wore that impeccable professional smile, and her voice was clear and pleasant, her tone calm and natural:
"Greg, I saw that you seemed to be deep in thought earlier, so I didn't want to disturb you."
She gently placed her pen on the scratch paper, elegantly clasped her hands on the desk, and sat up straighter, displaying her good posture.
"But now, it seems you've… thought things through?"
Her gaze lingered on Greg's face for a moment.
"If that's the case, I wonder if you could spare me a moment now? There are some things I'd like to discuss with you."
Greg: "..."
He felt his eyelid twitch uncontrollably again.
God, this is exhausting...
It really has been one thing after another since arriving on the surface!
Though he was ranting inwardly, Greg didn't show much unusual expression.
"Alright."
He returned to his seat, leaning back against the chair in a casual posture, his voice tinged with a resigned helplessness,
"Go ahead, Catherine, what's on your mind?"
Both of them were second-year students, and most of their required courses overlapped.
Even if he managed to escape this time with some excuse, what about next time? Or the time after that?
As long as he still needed to move around the academy and attend these classes, with Catherine's intellect and methods, she would always find the right moment to corner him.
Instead of constantly being on edge, wondering how to avoid her, it was better to take advantage of the deserted surroundings and lay everything out clearly at once.
He could also use this opportunity to propose the conditions he had already thought of.
Catherine seemed somewhat surprised by Greg's forthright attitude this time.
She took off her gold-rimmed glasses and carefully placed them in her portable glasses case. This action made her appear less like a sharp business elite and more like a graceful maiden.
She elegantly tucked a stray strand of golden hair behind her ear, her azure eyes looking directly at Greg:
"Actually, I only have one question for you."
Her voice remained steady, but the probing tone was clearly discernible.
"After you saved those three in the deep layers of the dungeon, did you already notice their purpose for entering the dungeon?"
Greg's eyebrow slightly raised.
As expected, she was here about the Screech-type magic conduit.
And even more direct than he anticipated.
"Yes, I know what you're referring to."
Greg nodded:
"I did indeed know their purpose and saw that thing. So, just tell me your purpose directly, Catherine. Let's both save some time and stop beating around the bush."
Facing someone like Catherine, playing word games or pretending ignorance would be the most foolish choice.
Because she possessed the troublesome trait of a Keen Mind, able to acutely sense if others are lying.
This was also a significant reason why she would be able to manage a business empire in the future.
Rate on N.U.
