Although Greg had known from the start that Melina's current identity was not that of a student from one of the Five Great Magic Academies, he hadn't known specifically which academy she was from.
In the original game, aside from the Five Great Magic Academies, the other magic academies had very low visibility, so he hadn't gone out of his way to memorize their names.
He had thought it would be enough to just be a bit more vigilant during the exchange.
He never expected that current Melina would happen to come from the exact same magic academy as his roommate, Corwin.
Damn this rotten luck!
"Hehehe."
Right now, Melina was sizing up the man before her with great interest.
She was deeply curious—why had an indescribable feeling of disgust well up in her heart the moment she first laid eyes on him?
Judged solely by his appearance, it should have been impossible for him to leave such a terrible first impression.
Even across the entire continent, his handsome face was undoubtedly top-tier.
Besides, she wasn't such a superficial person; as long as someone wasn't undead, she had ways to make use of them.
Thus, she shouldn't normally feel disgust toward any living creature other than the undead. After all, a useful pawn didn't need to be likable—it only needed to be controllable.
Already interested in the man before her, her curiosity only surged further upon realizing that he was the very 'Greg Sass' she had heard about in reports from her subordinates.
According to the intelligence she received, this Greg Sass had rapidly risen in just a few short months from a trash banished by his family. Not only had he killed one of her confidants and thwarted her plan to implant a seed in Silvia, but he had also recently defeated an Undead Knight single-handedly. Even Huang Quan's current missing status was likely linked to him.
If viewed individually, these pieces of information might not seem particularly extraordinary, but linking them all to a single person made it extraordinarily intriguing.
Melina acutely sensed that Greg possessed a trait unlike anyone else.
These traits felt alien to her, yet they also thrilled her.
She even began to think that Greg might be even more special and worthy of attention than Victoria, the girl she had originally targeted.
That was why she had chosen to make contact first as she was doing now, rather than continuing to wait.
"Senior, why does your expression look a bit strange? Have I caused you some kind of trouble~?"
Melina tilted her head slightly, a gleam of slyness flashing in the eyes hidden beneath her ordinary mask.
Her voice was soft and sweet, carrying just the right touch of playfulness.
Although she had disguised her appearance, every action of hers—including her tone of voice and subtle body language—exuded a little-demon-like charm.
It was something etched into her very bones, impossible to conceal with a mere disguise.
"..."
Greg felt his scalp go numb.
In a fraction of a second, his brain completed the cognitive shift from "Holy crap, she's so hot, what do I do?" to letting his upper brain override his lower brain.
Making a split-second decision, he grabbed Corwin beside him, yanked him over to his side, and lowered his voice, speaking in an urgent tone:
"Corwin, what are you trying to do? Did you forget that I already have someone I like? Did you forget what I told you guys last night about wanting Victoria to bear me enough kids for a football team?"
Greg said with a solemn expression:
"Her saying 'I just want to get to know you' is definitely an excuse! After all, with how handsome I am, she must have ulterior motives! So please don't let her anywhere near me again! I am a champion of pure love!"
Corwin was somewhat bewildered by this barrage of words from Greg.
He blinked, looking at Greg's face—which practically screamed "long live pure love"—and then at Melina standing to the side with a smiling face. After his mind turned over a few gears, he finally belatedly realized that he might have done something foolish.
He scratched his head, an apologetic expression appearing on his face. "S-Sorry, Greg. I really didn't notice that... I just wanted to introduce a Junior to you..."
"It's fine. It's not too late now that you've noticed."
Greg patted his shoulder and said magnanimously, "Just help me send her away right now. I don't want the person I like to misunderstand me because of this."
Corwin nodded, took a deep breath, turned to Melina, and spoke rather awkwardly:
"Um, Melina... sorry, I didn't understand the situation just now. Greg actually already has someone he likes, so right now he's worried about being misunderstood by others... How about you go back for now?"
Melina narrowed her eyes slightly, yet the smile at the corners of her lips didn't diminish in the slightest.
Instead of replying to Corwin immediately, she shifted her gaze back to Greg, speaking in a tone tinged with playfulness:
"Oh, so Senior Greg already has someone he likes~ What a pity. But it's fine, I really just wanted to get to know you, Senior, I don't mean anything else by it~"
She paused, then added:
"Besides, you don't need to worry about me spreading rumors around, Senior. I have no interest in other people's love lives. I'm just..."
She tilted her head slightly, a meaningful glint flashing in her eyes:
"...simply curious about what kind of person Senior Greg really is."
Greg's heart thudded violently.
Curious? Curious about what? This is the first time we've officially met!
Though deeply bewildered, he quickly steadied his composure and spoke in a tone as calm as possible:
"Heh, Junior Melina, you're just thinking too much because of this face of mine. I'm just an ordinary student; there's nothing about me worth being curious about."
"Is that so~"
Melina drew out the syllable, clearly not believing his words.
She was about to say more when a crisp chime echoed from the front of the hall.
Soon after, a staff member's voice sounded over the broadcast, reminding all participants to return to their respective seats and prepare to receive their exam papers.
Upon hearing the chime, Melina finally withdrew her gaze.
She offered Greg a slight bow, her tone remaining light and polite:
"It seems time is up. In that case, I won't disturb your preparations any longer, Senior. I wish you great results in the exchange."
With that, she turned around and lightly merged into the crowd, quickly vanishing from sight.
Greg watched her departing back and let out a long breath, feeling as though he had just fought a hard battle.
He turned to look at Corwin, who also looked thoroughly exhausted. The two exchanged a glance and let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
"Good brother..."
Greg patted Corwin's shoulder, a weak tone in his voice:
"Next time before introducing a Junior to me, can you ask if she was born in the Year of the Snake first? This is way too terrifying."
Corwin shook his head with a bitter smile:
"I swear, I really didn't know she was like this... because she's usually really quiet."
"Forget it, forget it. You should get back to your seat too, the preliminary defense is about to start."
Greg waved his hand, saying no more.
However, he knew crystal clear in his heart that Melina's appearance today was by no means a coincidence.
Her actively approaching him, probing him, and observing him proved that she had already placed him on her high-priority watchlist.
Yet Greg didn't have any spare time to overthink it right now, because he had to focus all his attention on the upcoming preliminary defense.
Rate on N.U.
