There was still one day before the official start of the Hundred Academy Exchange.
Most students took this opportunity to wander through the Imperial Capital, soaking in the local sights and sounds of the empire's central hub.
With nothing pressing to do at the moment, Greg naturally joined in; after all, relaxing before a major showdown was essential.
At this moment, he was strolling aimlessly down the street with his two roommates.
The streets of the Imperial Capital were bustling with life.
Stalls of all kinds lined both sides of the road, selling snacks, magical accessories, and bizarre alchemy products. Hawkers shouted their wares and customers bargained back and forth in a constant din.
The scent of freshly baked bread, the fragrance of flowers, and the clamor of the crowd mingled in the air, weaving a vivid, vibrant tapestry of street life.
“Whoa, look at this!”
Rom suddenly stopped in front of a stall and picked up an oddly shaped trinket—a palm-sized mechanical bird. Once wound up, it fluttered its wings and emitted realistic bird calls whenever anyone drew close.
He grinned and said:
“If I bring this back to the academy, it'll definitely trick the professors. Set it on a windowsill as a sentinel! It can sound an alarm if someone comes near at night, way more economical than those expensive magic alarm systems.”
Greg bought one, though not to use as an alarm; he planned to tease Hajimi with it later to see if she found it interesting.
After all, she had been stuck inside his shadow all this time, so it was only natural she might get bored every now and then.
Corwin, meanwhile, was drawn to a used book stall.
He squatted down, flipping through a yellowed travelogue, and spoke in a gentle tone:
“This book records some ancient legends of the Elven Seas... mentioning deep-sea leviathans and lost islands. I'd only seen the title in our academy's library catalog before, but I never expected to find an actual copy here.”
Greg had seen this book too, though not in this world, but on the player community forums.
Because the contents of this book were actually related to the Undersea Dungeon.
The three of them chatted as they walked, stopping to look whenever something interesting caught their eye, and buying snacks to share whenever they found something tasty.
Since they were all guys, they didn't need to filter themselves. The conversation drifted from random topics to magic theory, and from magic theory to eccentric professors and classmates at their respective academies, accompanied by continuous laughter.
Rom recounted how a professor at his academy brought a desert lizard to every class, getting so excited during lectures that he would wave the lizard over his head like a pointer, leaving Corwin doubled over in laughter.
This brief stretch of time brought Greg a long-lost sense of comfort.
While he certainly enjoyed spending time with beautiful girls—after all, who wouldn't like being around pretty girls day and night?—
—there was no denying that being with guy friends was when he felt most relaxed.
No need to worry about his image, no need to read between the lines of what someone said, and no need to constantly stay on guard and calculate every move. He could just say whatever came to mind—a feeling that was simple and liberating.
He even realized, with a faint sense of dazed astonishment, that ever since transmigrating into this world, he had rarely experienced such pure, uncomplicated social interaction.
Just when Greg was thinking today would be a boys' outing through and through, Rom took a bite of the meat pie in his hand and suddenly asked in a casual tone:
“By the way, do you guys have any girls you like?”
Greg, who was taking a sip of water, nearly spat it out.
He never expected this seemingly rough and straightforward big guy to bring up a topic like this on his own.
He coughed twice, wiped the water from the corner of his mouth, and stared at Rom in disbelief.
Corwin's face instantly flushed red. He lowered his head, stammering out, “I-Is it really appropriate to talk about this right now...?”
“What's inappropriate about it?”
Rom gave a careless wave of his hand, completely unbothered as he said:
“I think if you like someone, you should express it openly. What's the point of hiding it? Take me, for example—the girl I like is our academy's team leader, Kayla.”
Kayla...?
The name sounded somewhat familiar to Greg. She seemed to be a side character who appeared in this act's storyline.
After spilling his own secret, Rom naturally turned his gaze toward the other two. “So, what about you guys?”
Corwin's face burned even redder. He hung his head, his fingers absently fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. After a long silence, he spoke in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz:
“Umm... I have a girl I like, too.”
Seeing this, Greg knew he couldn't dodge the question.
He shrugged and said in a matter-of-fact tone, “Alright, honestly, I have a girl I like, too.”
He added silently in his heart: It's just that, unlike you guys, I don't have just one.
If judged purely by appearances, there were indeed several women around him who fit his taste—after all, they possessed heroine-level beauty that hardly any man could resist.
Of course, he would never say such words out loud, or else his persona would transform from a bullied top student into a two-timing playboy.
Upon hearing this, Rom's eyes lit up immediately. He clapped a hand onto Greg's shoulder so hard that Greg nearly stumbled:
“Awesome! Since that's the case, the end of the exchange happens to coincide with the Imperial Festival. How about we take the chance to go on a triple date back then? That'll definitely be fun!”
Greg couldn't help but snort silently in his mind: As expected of a Galgame world; even mob characters without character sprites have minds filled with nothing but romance.
Before he could open his mouth to decline, Corwin, who had been shy about the topic just a moment ago, actually raised his head and said with a red face:
“Umm... If it's the six of us together... I think that would be fine.”
Greg looked at the expectant look in Rom's eyes, then at Corwin's shy yet resolute expression. Swept along by the atmosphere, he had no choice but to agree for now.
However, to ensure he could reasonably back out when the time came, he immediately shifted his tone and added:
“Though I'm not sure if she'll actually agree to come out and hang out with me in the end. She actually dislikes me quite a bit.”
This wasn't entirely a lie.
The “she” he referred to could apply to several people, and quite a few of them indeed harbored complex feelings toward him.
This way, if he didn't want to go when the time came, he would have a convenient excuse to decline.
“No worries!”
Rom patted his back carelessly. “When the time comes, we'll talk you up together! You're so handsome, there's no way it won't work out!”
Greg: “Heh, thanks a lot then.”
The three continued walking down the street, and as they rounded a corner—
“Ouch!”
A gray figure suddenly bumped into him from the side. Unable to dodge in time, Greg collided squarely with her.
Because his body was so solid, the impact sent her flopping right onto her backside on the ground.
Just as Greg reached out his hand to pull her up, he noticed that the person who had bumped into him was Victoria, and standing beside her were two female students from other academies.
Greg's gaze swept over the two faces, and he suddenly remembered.
Kayla seemed to be one of Victoria's roommates during the exchange.
And the girl in blue standing on the right was Adele, a student from Frost Ring Magic Academy just like Corwin.
Since Rom liked Kayla, could the girl Corwin liked be Adele?
Greg turned to look, only to see Corwin already hanging his head in shyness.
This tacitly confirmed Greg's suspicion.
Just as he was thinking about how full of coincidences this world could be sometimes, Victoria, who had been knocked to the ground, raised her head, anger blazing in her gray eyes:
“Greg, you bastard! Did you bump into me on purpose?!”
Rate on N.U.
