Greg really couldn't understand why Nightmare became so enthusiastic the moment this was mentioned; it was almost as if he wasn't going to clear a dungeon, but rather clean up Her enemies for Her.
Mentally grumbling a complaint, Greg didn't bother to press further into why this unreliable goddess was so obsessed with clearing dungeons.
He gave his waist bag and personal belongings one final check, squeezed back out of the camouflage, and returned to the cave where Vivian was waiting.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Got what I needed, let's keep moving." Greg pointed to his noticeably bulging waist bag.
Vivian's gaze lingered on the bulging waist bag for a brief moment. A faint trace of doubt flickered in her ice-blue eyes, but in the end, she didn't ask what was inside.
She simply gave a slight nod and stepped forward, following Greg as he set off once more.
The two continued forward through the dark, winding subterranean passage.
"First that pink-haired bitch, and now you're taking such exquisite care of this ice-faced human female... You truly keep a busy schedule, don't you?"
Nightmare's voice, distinctly laced with teasing, sounded in his mind once again, her tone leisurely.
Greg remained outwardly calm, retorting in his mind, "Heh, what's this? Is our noble Goddess... jealous? I seem to recall you mentioning before that you quite fancied this face of mine?"
"Hmph!"
Nightmare's response carried clear disdain and arrogance:
"I am the Goddess who holds domain over the dark night. How could I possibly be jealous of a human female? You underestimate the breadth of My mind far too much."
An imperceptible smirk curved the corner of Greg's mouth as he continued bickering in his mind:
"Is that so? But in my eyes right now, you're just a Hajimi who spends most of her time acting cute and making snide remarks. Once you can actually serve a useful purpose, maybe then I'll truly treat you like a goddess."
Even while the man and cat bickered silently through their minds, their pace did not slow in the slightest.
Greg had long since learned the path leading to the first layer's Floor Boss room like the back of his hand.
Furthermore, Victoria had swept through the area last time, clearing out most of the elite monsters at the spawn points along the way, and they had not yet respawned.
Thus, along the way, aside from a few low-grade Goblins that leaped out from the corners howling only to serve as free exp before Greg casually dealt with them, they encountered no real obstacles.
It was so smooth it hardly felt like exploring a danger-ridden dungeon, but rather like taking a stroll in their own backyard.
This anomalous smooth sailing caused the surprise and confusion in Vivian's ice-blue eyes to grow deeper and deeper as she followed behind.
For she clearly remembered that not too long ago, when she had led several elite members of the Student Council here to investigate the abnormal mana fluctuations in the dungeon, the sheer number of setbacks they had encountered.
Although with her level and strength, handling most monsters on the first layer one-on-one posed no pressure.
However, monsters generally possessed all kinds of strange resistances, odd attack patterns, and tenacious vitality. Worse still, they often acted in packs, launching ambushes by utilizing the complex terrain.
That time, even though her team was fully prepared, they still suffered several thrilling sieges, consuming quite a few potions and stamina before barely reaching the Boss area.
Yet today...
Looking at the back of the blond youth strolling ahead as if taking a leisurely walk, Vivian gained a concrete impression of Greg's recent changes for the first time.
At the same time, a vague suspicion in her mind—like a pebble dropped into a deep pond—stirred ripples that grew clearer and clearer, finally coalescing into a thought she herself found somewhat hard to believe:
This level of familiarity with the dungeon environment, combined with the earlier news of him defeating the Undead Knight alone...
Could it be... the mysterious person who subjugated Lady Eight-Legs last time...
Vivian's ice-blue pupils contracted slightly.
"...was him?!"
Once this thought arose, it grew wildly like vines, stringing together many details she had previously overlooked or could not explain.
From Greg's recent personality change, to his sudden increase in strength, his unusual knowledge of the dungeon, and even his confidence in leading her here late at night to clear the dungeon today...
Everything seemed to point to this answer that appeared absurd on the surface, yet was entirely reasonable.
Her ice-blue eyes once again deeply stared at the blond back in the dim light, looking both familiar and utterly unfamiliar.
An indescribable, complex emotion quietly spread through her heart.
Just when... did he turn out like this?
And just what was he risking his life to change like this for...?
Suddenly, by the tree-lined path that morning, amidst the clamor of the crowd, the youth's confession-like words echoed in her ears without warning—
"Because... in truth, I have always admired Lady Vivian."
Vivian unconsciously raised a hand, her fingertips lightly touching her pale pink lips as though she could still feel the faint flutter from her skipping heart back then. She murmured softly:
"Was it... for me...?"
Vivian harbored a hint of doubt, wondering if she was being overly full of herself.
After all, if Greg truly held such feelings for her, why had he treated her like that in the past?
And in the year after they first enrolled, why had he never once taken the initiative to offer her even a single sentence of explanation?
However, the moment this self-doubting thought arose, another fresh word flashed like light breaking through fog—
Tsundere.
This word was something Vivian had learned later when sorting through the morning's commotion. After describing Lilith's behavior—as recounted by Greg—to a few close and knowledgeable maids, she received that answer from their stifled smiles.
It meant saying one thing while meaning another, acting contrary to one's true feelings.
Clearly caring deeply, yet insisting verbally that one doesn't care at all, or acting cold toward someone on the surface while secretly caring about them in their heart.
It was a stubborn... yet somewhat cute personality trait.
At the time, after confirming that Princess Lilith was indeed quite tsundere, the maids exchanged glances, and one of them boldly added in a low voice:
"Actually... Lady Vivian, in certain matters, you seem to be... a tiny bit tsundere yourself."
Hearing this, Vivian hadn't gotten angry. Instead, she had tilted her head and genuinely pondered it for a moment.
Ultimately, she reached a calm conclusion: on certain specific levels, she indeed seemed to... fit the description of this word.
Ever since understanding and accepting this concept, Vivian felt a heavy and rigid part of her heart subtly loosen up, as if a light breeze had been injected into it.
Yet when she thought of how Greg had actually seen through the true feelings beneath Lilith's tsundere exterior even earlier than she had, the indescribable complexity and gloom in a deliberately ignored corner of her heart seemed to deepen a bit more.
However, at this moment, these chaotic thoughts were temporarily suppressed by a new idea.
"If the essence of a tsundere is saying one thing while meaning another, cold on the outside and warm on the inside, covering up true feelings with opposite actions..."
In the darkness, Vivian's ice-blue eyes reflected the amber light in Greg's eyes, which still shone brightly when he occasionally turned back to check if she was keeping up.
"Then those hurtful words of the past, the resolute distancing, the prolonged silence... along with this change that could only be achieved by putting his life on the line today..."
"Could it be... that Greg..."
This hypothesis was like a stone dropped into the lake of her heart, sending out ever-larger ripples.
"...is actually a... tsundere too?"
This realization, carrying a strange sense of plausibility and subversion, rapidly took root in Vivian's calm and intelligent mind. And with Greg's current awkward guide behavior, she grew more and more convinced of it in her heart.
Rate on N.U.
