“I see.”
Vivian didn't show any obvious disappointment upon hearing Greg's answer. She merely nodded slightly. Deep within her ice-blue eyes, a brief flicker of 'as expected' understanding seemed to pass, and perhaps... even a touch of relief.
Uh... she couldn't be making up some strange scenario in her head, could she?
Vivian's reaction left Greg feeling a bit puzzled.
Vivian showed no sign of ending the conversation there.
She leaned forward slightly, her gaze filled with concern as she carefully looked Greg over. Her eyes lingered for an extra moment on the areas where he had been injured during the previous battle, and her voice softened even further:
“Have the injuries on your body fully recovered?”
This subtle yet unmistakable concern made Greg pause for a moment.
Because in his memory, Vivian had never spoken to him in such a tone before.
“Yeah, pretty much completely healed.”
Greg rotated his shoulder in front of her and did a few simple stretches to demonstrate his fine condition:
“Thanks to Silvia's continuous healing, the auxiliary potions Chloe specially brewed for me, and those extremely precious herbs you brought me earlier, I recovered much faster than expected. It's basically fine now.”
Although he had turned misfortune into a blessing and surged in strength during the last battle, the injuries he sustained had been very real.
Without the simultaneous aid of the three girls, he never could have bounced back so lively in just a few days.
He would remember this favor.
Besides, an unsolved mystery still lingered in his heart: why had the Thirsting Maw suddenly entered a Phase 2 that was never mentioned in the game data or player community?
The only plausible guess seemed tied to his own dark mana.
However, due to Nightmare's missing memories, combined with being silenced by the Mother of Fragmentation, he still had no way to verify the exact reason.
“Mm.”
Hearing that Greg had fully recovered, Vivian seemed to breathe an almost imperceptible sigh of relief.
Yet immediately afterward, when Greg naturally uttered the names of two other women, her eyes—which had just softened—froze imperceptibly for the briefest moment.
Right after, that relaxed expression was once more overlaid with her usual cool detachment, even gaining a subtle hint of... scrutiny.
“Your relationship with them...”
Vivian's voice remained steady, but Greg inexplicably detected an inquiring undertone, as if she were evaluating something:
“...is it very good?”
“Huh? Yeah, I'd say my relationship with them is pretty good.”
Greg wondered why Vivian would suddenly ask about his personal relationships.
Wait...
A flash of insight hit Greg's brain. He suddenly remembered his near-suicidal confession from a while back—that nonsense about “actually, I've always admired you” and the like.
Back then, seeing Vivian's lukewarm reaction, he had assumed she didn't take it seriously at all. To avoid bringing up a sore spot, he hadn't gone out of his way to explain.
But looking at it now... could Vivian actually care, but just hadn't shown it at the time?
Combining that with their shared life-and-death experiences in the dungeon...
“Could it be that she considers me her simp now, so hearing that I have connections with other women is making her anxious?”
The more Greg thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
Hmph, as if a mere villainess thinks she can keep me on the hook—not a chance!
In a flash, Greg had already constructed an entire sensational soap opera in his mind.
Deciding to act immediately, he spoke up:
“Besides, Vivian, there's something very important I feel I need to clarify with you once more.”
Vivian looked at him quietly, her ice-blue eyes crystal clear, as if patiently awaiting his next words.
Meeting her gaze, Greg said word by word:
“At a fundamental level, everything I've done stems from my own interests—to grow stronger, gain a foothold in the academy, and achieve my personal goals. So, I don't actually hold... uh, that kind of special feeling like 'admiration' for you that I mentioned that morning. I really hope you don't misunderstand.”
Having blurted it out in one breath, he looked straight at Vivian, waiting for her reaction.
In his mind, he anticipated surprise, subtle disappointment or embarrassment from having a misunderstanding cleared up, or maybe even anger from shame.
No matter what, he was determined to completely nip in the bud any possibility of her thinking he was a simp!
Vivian listened quietly, her ice-blue eyes fixed on him without blinking, devoid of any intense emotional swings he had envisioned.
In fact, when he finished saying “I don't actually hold that kind of admiration for you that I mentioned that morning,” the final trace of scrutiny in her eyes—brought on by hearing Silvia and Chloe's names—melted away like thin ice under the sun.
She simply nodded gently.
“Mm.”
Her voice was smooth and unruffled, perhaps even slightly softer than when she had asked about his injuries earlier:
“I understand.”
Greg: “...?”
That's... that's it?
None of the reactions he had prepared for materialized.
No questioning, no lingering, not a shred of disappointment or embarrassment at being rejected, not even the slightest emotional ripple?
She just accepted it so calmly?
Greg was momentarily dumbfounded. The follow-up speeches and backup plans he had prepared all choked in his throat.
Looking at Vivian's still cool and exquisite face, he suddenly felt as though his solemn declaration to draw a line had landed like a punch into soft cotton.
“Could it be... I really overthought this? She didn't mean anything by it at all? Was she just showing concern as a companion who went through life and death in the dungeon, and asking about my social life in passing?”
Greg scratched his head, feeling inexplicably gloomy and full of self-doubt.
The current situation was like putting on a grand play with all his effort, only for the audience not to understand a word of it while politely applauding.
“...”
Vivian paid no more attention to the dramatic shift in expression on his face.
She turned slightly, offering Greg a view of her elegant profile, and directed her gaze toward the lush green canopy at the end of the tree-lined path, which was gilded with sunlight as if enjoying the scenery.
From an angle completely hidden from Greg, her face—usually as devoid of extra emotion as a precision instrument—curved at the corners of her mouth into an extremely faint, warm arch.
“As expected... everything he did, going such a long way around, was ultimately... all for me.”
“He's only saying this on purpose because he's afraid I'll feel indebted or burdened... What a tsundere fool.”
A gentle breeze swept by, ruffling a few strands of her aqua-blue hair and softly brushing past her slightly upturned lips.
The sunlight was perfect, the tree shadows swayed gently, and the maiden's inner thoughts flickered like sunlight filtering through the forest—quiet, shimmering, and beautiful.
Rate on N.U.
