Having achieved his goal, Greg began leading the team to explore further, completely satisfied. Their next objective was equally clear: to satisfy the trigger conditions for the hidden mini-boss.
Relying on his memories as a player, Greg began leading them step-by-step through the prerequisite conditions to trigger the hidden mini-boss.
These conditions were quite tedious and seemingly unrelated: they needed to kill specific types of monsters in three distinct, designated areas, gather several dropped items that were usually ignored, and briefly stop at a few specific coordinate points.
Although Victoria and Silvia found Greg's instructions a bit strange at times, given his previous performance and familiarity with the dungeon, they chose to trust and cooperate with him.
Along the way, at the end of a dead end filled with shattered clay pots that seemed to have once been a storage room, they saw a low, small altar constructed from rough black stone.
There were no offerings upon the altar, its surface covered in a thick layer of dust, appearing as though it had been abandoned for countless ages.
"Why is there an altar here?"
Silvia asked softly, her pink eyes filled with confusion.
"And there doesn't seem to be anything offered on top of it, either."
"Who knows? Maybe people in the past had weird hobbies." Victoria took a few looks, saw nothing noteworthy, and lost interest.
However, Nightmare, being a goddess, naturally sensed the anomaly here: "Can you feel it, my other half? There is a troublesome fellow inside."
"Yeah, I know."
Greg didn't offer further explanation.
Because this place was actually one of the ultimate targets of his exploration trip.
However, not right now.
They would still have to return here once the trigger conditions were completed.
Afterward, the three of them left the dead end, making a detour to press forward.
Silvia's gaze swept past Victoria, who was walking at the very front, finally coming to rest on Greg beside her.
He was turned slightly to the side, vigilantly scanning their surroundings for potential subsequent dangers, the contours of his profile appearing sharp and... striking under the dim light of the cavern.
"Senior Greg..."
Ever since their intimate contact last time, Silvia could feel a certain seed beginning to sprout within her heart.
And now, an uncontrollable urge, mixed with secretive desire and the thrill of a hint of guilt, suddenly surged within her.
Her heart rate accelerated beyond her control, her palms breaking into a light sweat.
I'm just... just trying to restore some mana for Senior, that's all... After all, I didn't exert myself much earlier and still have plenty of mana left over. Giving some to Senior so he can protect us better is... only right.
She told herself this in her heart, as if searching for a rationalized excuse for her upcoming action.
Yet this excuse was so flimsy that she couldn't even fully convince herself.
The deeper reason was a longing to get close to him, to touch him, and to confirm his existence—a subconscious search for comfort and connection in this dangerous environment, driven by a certain... possessiveness that she didn't want her close friend to discover.
She took a deep breath, holding her breath as her steps became light as a cat's, silently drawing close to Greg's side.
So close that she could smell the scent on him—a mix of dungeon dust and a certain crisp, refreshing aroma.
Then, she reached out her hand, her slender, fair fingers trembling imperceptibly as she gently clasped Greg's hand resting by his side.
The moment skin touched skin, it felt as though a faint electrical current surged through them, startling Greg, who was originally keeping watch over their surroundings.
He had intended to ask Silvia what was wrong, but when he saw her hand interlocked with his, he suddenly found himself at a loss.
"Hahaha, what a bitch! As expected, the Saintess of the bitch goddess is a bitch too!"
Nightmare's voice suddenly echoed in Greg's mind.
"Shut up, you Hajimi! How could my cute Silvia possibly be a bitch!"
Greg roared inwardly.
Meanwhile, Silvia's heart skipped a beat at this moment as well, her cheeks instantly flushing red all the way to her ears.
Forcing down the bashful urge to pull her hand back, she raised her head toward Greg, who had turned to look at her from the contact. She offered him a smile she had practiced countless times, her pink eyes shimmering with watery light. Her voice was pressed extremely low, carrying just the right amount of concern mixed with a touch of timid bashfulness:
"Senior Greg... using that spell earlier must have taken a lot out of you, right? I-I was a bit worried... I still have plenty of mana left, so I can share a little with you..."
As she spoke, she channeled the gentle light mana within her body, allowing a faint, vital glow to flow between their entwined palms.
This was indeed a modified application of 【Glimmer Healing】; while its effect was faint, it served perfectly as a cover for transferring mana.
"See? She's doing this for actual business! How could she possibly be a bitch!"
Greg refuted Nightmare once more in his mind.
Nightmare merely giggled and said, "Stop pretending. Thou clearly knowest as well, and I can feel that thou art already starting to enjoy this."
"..."
These words left Greg somewhat unable to refute. After all, being treated in such a secretive and intimate manner by a beauty of Silvia's caliber—who clearly harbored special feelings for him—was something virtually no guy could resist.
On top of that, the thrill of immorality when Greg imagined how Victoria would react if she caught him stealing her girl right under her nose made it even harder to refuse.
"Senior Greg...?"
Silvia's gaze locked onto Greg's eyes without blinking, observing his every reaction.
Her heart was torn between hoping he would accept her kindness, fearing he would perceive her impure intentions, and worrying even more about being noticed by Victoria up ahead.
"Well... yeah..."
Greg had no intention of exposing her, nor did he pull his hand back immediately.
Instead, he slightly closed his fingers, holding that soft, boneless hand more firmly in his palm, his fingertips even unconsciously giving the smooth back of her hand a gentle caress.
Looking at Silvia, he showed a soft, gentle smile and responded in a low voice, "Thank you, Silvia. I feel much lighter now."
Nightmare: "It seems the day I get to hear that bitch goddess panting beneath thy crotch isn't far off."
Greg: "..."
Am I really that kind of person!?
Though... that actually does sound pretty exciting...
Greg's response and that smile instantly washed away the faint guilt in Silvia's heart like sweet honey, bringing her immense joy and satisfaction.
Senior accepted it! He didn't dislike it! He even... held my hand back!
Senior's hand is so warm... and he smiled at me...
The elation inside her nearly overflowed, but the remaining thread of reason warned her of danger.
She relished this brief contact, yet had to remain constantly distracted by watching Victoria's movements.
"What are you two talking about?"
Walking up front, Victoria asked casually as she turned around.
In the split second before Victoria's gaze swept over!
As if she had rehearsed it a thousand times, Silvia withdrew her hand from Greg's palm with remarkable agility and naturalness.
At the same time, her feet glided back half a step with light grace. The blush on her face faded rapidly, replaced once more by her perfectly soft and serene smile.
She even took the opportunity to smooth down a lock of her immaculate pink hair near her temple, acting as if she had merely been standing next to Greg for a perfectly normal post-combat exchange.
"I-I was discussing the attack patterns of those Swift Hunters with Senior."
Silvia's voice was steady and soft:
"Their stealth ability is even stronger than what's recorded in the records. We'll have to be even more careful next time."
"Oh, yeah, we should watch out for that."
Victoria suspected nothing and nodded, her gray eyes still holding leftover excitement from their gains:
"Though the drops from them are pretty good! I really hope we encounter a few more."
Greg cleared his throat at the right moment and chimed in, "You shouldn't put it that way, Little Gray. Monsters that attack from places you can't see are still very dangerous."
However, after hearing that, Victoria spoke nonchalantly, "Monsters that only dare to attack from behind—I wouldn't take them seriously at all!"
For some reason, after hearing those words, both Greg's and Silvia's expressions turned a bit odd.
Rate on N.U.
