Greg gritted his teeth and quickened his pace through this minefield of well-meaning gazes, consoling himself internally:
"...Forget it. Since I chose this path, I'll just have to suck it up."
"As long as I find a chance later to explain things clearly to Vivian in private—telling her it was just a stopgap measure to guide Lilith—all the misunderstandings should be resolved."
That was what he originally thought, but he soon realized a major blind spot.
Explain? How could he explain it?
Was he supposed to tell her directly: "Your Highness Vivian, I didn't say that to simp over you. It was to prevent you from being seduced by the Demon King Cult in the future, turning into a villain, and dying a miserable death"?
Or say: "I pretended to be deeply in love to foster harmony between you sisters and prevent a family tragedy"?
If he actually did that, she would definitely think he was making excuses to cover up his true feelings, which would only cement his persona as a devoted lover.
After all, right now he was just a total outsider. Why would he care so much about the relationship between the royal sisters that he would go to such lengths to help them?
Unless... he actually harbored special feelings for her, causing his affection to extend to her sister out of love for her.
Damn it... This was a total logical loop!
No matter how he explained it, it seemed like it would always circle back to the conclusion: "He really does like me!"
The more Greg thought about it, the bigger his headache grew. He felt that the clever plan he had concocted on a whim this morning was leaving behind aftereffects far more troublesome than imagined.
"Anyway..."
He forcibly interrupted his increasingly pessimistic train of thought:
"When we meet, my very first sentence must declare firmly: 'I, Greg Sass, have absolutely, positively, zero inappropriate feelings toward you, Your Highness Vivian Kahn, beyond that of classmates!' Set the tone once and for all!"
"As for whether she believes it or not... that's out of my control. At least I'll have made my stance clear."
Clinging to this ostrich-like mindset of treating a dead horse as if it were alive, Greg finally walked through the long corridor and arrived at the classroom door for his next elective class.
This was an elective course in Magic History and Theory open to multiple year levels, held in a lecture hall capable of holding hundreds of people.
There was still some time before class started, but quite a few students were already seated inside, an endless buzz of conversation filling the air.
Greg had zero interest in listening to the lecture. His goal was crystal clear: find the least disturbed corner possible and seize the chance to make up for his severe lack of sleep.
After all, the Headmistress had only demanded his attendance; she never specified that he had to pay attention.
And so, he walked straight past the students in the front and middle rows who were diligently preparing for class, heading with clear purpose toward the very back row of the large room, to the seat right by the window.
The lighting there was relatively dim, far from the podium, and shielded by high chair backs in front—a heaven-sent spot for catching up on sleep.
Pulling out the chair, he sat down and slumped forward without hesitation, crossing his arms under his forehead and facing the window, ready to enter sleep mode immediately.
However, his -10 Luck stat seemed determined to make his day miserable.
Just as he closed his eyes, before he could even catch a thread of drowsiness, he felt someone poke his back twice with a finger, neither too hard nor too soft.
"..."
Greg's body froze for a moment. He didn't move, pretending not to feel it, hoping the person would take the hint and leave.
Tap, tap.
Two more pokes, slightly harder this time.
No way... Again?
Aren't I supposed to be the "despised by humans and dogs alike," "friendless" guy in this academy?
Why is everyone coming to find me today, one after another like they're taking numbers in a queue?!
Exceptionally unwillingly, he raised his head and turned around, wearing a heavy expression of annoyance that practically screamed "you'd better have something important to say."
What came into view were two familiar faces.
Standing slightly in front was Victoria with her long gray hair, her perfect legs clad in over-the-knee socks shaking impatiently.
Her chin was raised slightly, and her gray-blue eyes glared down at Greg condescendingly.
Half a step behind Victoria stood Silvia looking somewhat uneasy, her long pink hair draping softly over her shoulders, her hands unconsciously wringing together.
When her pretty pink eyes looked at Greg, they were not as direct as Victoria's, but seemed to harbor even more complex emotions within.
"Hey, Greg."
Victoria spoke up first, her voice kept low, yet clear enough in this relatively quiet back-row corner.
She curled her lip, her tone carrying unsuppressed teasing:
"I heard that you pulled off something big this morning. A passionate confession to that ice-cold Student Council President in front of everyone? Tsk, tsk, I really didn't expect your taste to be so unique. You like the type who looks like she could freeze a person into an ice sculpture?"
Though she spoke in a light, slightly mocking tone, only she knew what was up with the sudden surge of annoyance and restlessness that had bubbled up inside her when she heard this ridiculous rumor from various channels this morning. It was as if something that originally belonged to her had suddenly been stamped with someone else's mark, with everyone making a scene about it. This indefinable annoyance had been clogging her heart. Crossing paths with the culprit right now, she had dragged Silvia over without hesitation to demand an explanation and vent her frustration. Silvia had originally been pulling Victoria back, saying Senior Greg looked like he was resting and shouldn't be disturbed.
But after Greg was woken up and Victoria brought up what happened this morning, Silvia also looked at Greg with anxious eyes and asked:
"I-Is that true...? Senior Greg, do you like girls like that?"
Although Silvia had already decided not to keep Greg to herself, she was indeed somewhat worried about the rumor she heard this morning.
Because she and Vivian were two completely different types of girls. If Greg liked someone who was the exact opposite of herself, she wouldn't know what to do.
Moreover, she had originally thought Greg only liked Victoria. Thus, she had planned to leverage her childhood friendship with Victoria to present it as a fait accompli after sleeping with Greg, asking for Victoria's understanding so they could both marry Senior Greg.
But if the person turned out to be Vivian, that plan might not work anymore.
Greg was completely unaware of these inner thoughts unique to young maidens; he only heard the mockery in Victoria's words:
"You gray-haired brat, can you stop bringing up touchy subjects? That was completely a huge misunderstanding!"
He deliberately emphasized his tone, attempting to clarify:
"Vivian is good-looking, but am I, Greg Sass, really that superficial? Liking someone just for their face? I'm telling you clearly, I do not like her! At least, absolutely not right now!"
"Really?"
Victoria raised an eyebrow. The doubtful look on her face had not entirely faded, but hearing Greg's resolute denial made the mysterious annoyance in her heart dissipate just a bit.
"Of course it's real!"
Greg rolled his eyes, his tone laced with helplessness and exhaustion:
"Don't you know my current situation? Kicked out of my family, penniless, and dealing with a mountain of troublesome mess. Just struggling to survive takes all my effort—where would I find the spare time or energy for crush or romantic pursuits?"
He pointed to the dark circles under his eyes, then gestured at the empty desk:
"What I crave most right now is rest, not romance! It's all those bored people in the academy who jump to conclusions and make up stories, turning me into some 'Most Devoted Lover of Glory Cael Magic Academy'... I'm seriously done with them."
This explanation was entirely reasonable, especially when combined with Greg's visibly disheveled and exhausted state, making it much more convincing.
Victoria stroked her chin and nodded thoughtfully.
Indeed, given Greg's current situation, liking an aloof beauty like Vivian Kahn seemed like asking for trouble no matter how one looked at it.
Could it really just be a misunderstanding?
Rate on N.U.
