"Look, look! That incredibly beautiful blue hair... Isn't that Princess Vivian?!"
"Princess Vivian must have just finished her academy duties and come out to relax, right? Still, seeing Her Highness in uniform really is a treat for the eyes!"
"But who's that guy next to Her Highness? How can someone be even handsomer than me?!"
On the street, the gazes of passersby turned one after another toward the two standing in the middle of the crowd.
Greg and Vivian walked side by side. Though they were not holding hands, they were extremely close, with barely a fist's distance between their shoulders.
To onlookers, this was already quite an intimate distance—the kind of space shared only by people with an extraordinary relationship.
At first glance, most people recognized Vivian's identity.
After all, as the eldest daughter of the royal family and the First Princess of the kingdom, her beauty and fame were second to none throughout the realm.
However, Greg beside her was a different story.
Although Greg Sass was a Duke's son, he had rarely participated in social events back when he was a noble, and the rumors about him had all been negative. Furthermore, news of him single-handedly defeating an Undead Knight had mostly spread within the academy and had not yet reached the wider public.
Thus, most commoners and lesser nobles could not necessarily connect the formerly notorious Duke's son with the extraordinarily handsome young man standing before them.
Consequently, Greg became the mysterious handsome stranger standing beside Princess Vivian, enduring a baptism of stares from all directions.
He could feel those gazes landing on him as if tangible—some probing, some scrutinizing, some disdainful, and some looking ready to pierce right through him.
"..."
Greg stole a glance at the blue-haired girl beside him, unable to stop his mind from wandering.
What did this behavior of hers mean?
First of all, he had clearly told her before that he had no special feelings for her, and she had replied that she understood.
Moreover, Vivian was by no means the type of person to turn around and pursue him. Their current status and standing were far too unequal, and as a princess, her pride would never allow her to do such a thing.
So, it definitely wasn't for that reason.
Second, she should have reconciled with Lilith by now, so her thirst for power was surely no longer as urgent as before.
The main reason she had been willing to tackle the dungeon with him in the past was that she desperately needed to increase her strength to cope with the pressure from her younger sister and the expectations of her family.
Now that this conflict was resolved, this probably wasn't about dungeon matters either.
Yet if that was the case, why on earth was she doing this?
Could she be planning to buy him a thank-you gift for the role he played in reconciling the sisters?
Greg mused.
Hmm, maybe it really was for that. After all, he had made a significant sacrifice back then!
That contribution certainly deserved formal thanks, though... it would be even better if she could just give him cash instead.
Just as Greg's thoughts were wandering—
"BOOM—!!"
A loud explosion echoed from not far away, accompanied by a sudden burst of violent fire.
A three-story building beside the street was suddenly engulfed in crimson flames, burning fiercely.
The flames poured out from the windows and door crevices like living things, instantly consuming the building's exterior walls.
The surrounding crowd instantly erupted into panic.
People scrambled to flee away from the fire, knocking over stalls and scattering goods across the ground, which were trampled to pieces by the frantic crowd.
"Here it goes again, damn this luck!"
Greg had some recollection of this scene; it was an encounter event in the original game with an extremely low chance of triggering.
A few human mages who were believers in the Demon King Cult were deliberately causing destruction to make others fear and revere the Demon King.
They had specifically chosen a heavily populated commercial street to strike, aiming to create panic so ordinary people would feel the Demon King's prestige and bow down in fear.
He had only read about this event in the player community; in his eighty-one completions of the game, he had never once encountered it.
Yet he hadn't expected to suddenly run right into it this time.
Although the event's occurrence had nothing to do with him and, strictly speaking, he could completely stay out of it, now that he had bumped into it, he couldn't just stand by and watch.
Provided it didn't endanger his life, he was still willing to lend a helping hand.
Greg quickly scanned the scene, gauging the intensity of the fire and locating the trapped individuals.
"Vivian, you should leave here as soon as possible too and go somewhere safer."
Then, without hesitation, he dashed toward the burning building.
Vivian watched Greg's retreating back, a ripple of emotion flickering in her ice-blue eyes, before she immediately gave chase.
"Why did you follow me? Didn't I tell you to leave first?"
Greg asked as he looked back at Vivian, who had caught up with him.
He wasn't sure whether this event had triggered because of his own bad luck or because Vivian was beside him.
However, if it was the latter, then Vivian being here might be somewhat dangerous.
After all, it wasn't dark yet, nor was this a dungeon. Greg could not use the Divine Protection granted by Nightmare, nor the talents provided by the system.
Furthermore, in a public place like a street, he couldn't openly use dark-attribute magic either. Thus, he could only rely on the skills he had acquired to fight, which wasn't particularly safe.
It was for Vivian's safety that Greg had asked her to leave first.
Yet Vivian said firmly, "I can help you."
She then raised her hand. Ice-blue mana condensed in her palm, transforming into a biting cold air that swept toward the surrounding flames, instantly clearing out a safety passage.
Seeing this, Greg said nothing more. Working together with Vivian, they quickly rescued several trapped residents from inside the building.
Just as the last injured person escaped the building and Greg and Vivian let out a collective sigh of relief—
"Not only do you dare get in our way, but I also fail to sense any reverence for the Demon King in either of you."
A gloomy voice echoed from a rooftop across the street.
Greg and Vivian looked up at the same time.
Three figures wearing dark hooded robes had appeared on the roof of the opposite building at some unknown point.
Their hoods were pulled low, obscuring their faces; only the faint outlines of their jawlines and the cold curves of their lips were visible in the shadows of their hoods.
All three held magic conduits in their hands, mana surging around them, clearly prepared for battle.
"Since you cannot offer your fear to Lord Demon King..."
The leader slowly raised the magic conduit in their hand, pointing it directly at Greg and Vivian:
"Then drop dead!"
Rate on N.U.
