Yes, you heard that right.
Silvia, Candidate Saintess of the Goddess of Light, would be kidnapped by a believer of that very same goddess.
It sounded extraordinarily ironic and absurd.
In the original game, although the upper echelon of the Holy Church of Light had not yet officially made Silvia's identity as a Candidate Saintess public, that associate professor should have been able to discern her special identity based solely on the pure light-attribute magic she displayed during the Placement Exam, which far surpassed that of ordinary believers.
Yet, she ultimately carried out the kidnapping anyway.
Even after the event concluded, the game never explicitly detailed this associate professor's exact motives, and the Holy Church of Light even issued a gag order internally regarding the matter.
Regarding this, the prevailing theory within the player community was that it was connected to an opposing faction within the Holy Church of Light—specifically, the faction belonging to the current Saintess.
It was very likely that the current Saintess had used the name of the Goddess of Light to convey some misleading information or order to this devout, yet perhaps somewhat paranoid, associate professor, enticing her into committing such an insane act.
As a result, most players believed that besides serving as a crucial milestone for boosting Silvia's affection, this event was also a hint to the players:
The Holy Church of Light, which seemingly stood on the same side as the protagonist, was not a monolithic entity internally, and could even become a potential enemy in the future.
Looking at the storyline in the later stages of the original game, this was indeed a piece of foreshadowing and warning.
But Greg harbored doubts as to whether this matter was truly ordered by the current Saintess.
According to the subsequent storyline around Chapter Three of the original game, players would meet that current Saintess.
Her impression was indeed paranoid, fanatical, and even somewhat neurotic, with her faith in the light reaching an almost twisted extent.
However, over his many playthroughs, Greg had developed an intuition: although that Saintess was unhinged, her faith was genuine, perhaps even pure to an absolute extreme.
She might resort to extreme measures to purify heretics or impurities, but using the Goddess's name to frame another God-blessed?
This seemed subtly contradictory to her twisted yet honest logic of faith.
Greg was more inclined to believe that the true mastermind behind this was either someone from another faction within the Holy Church of Light, or... another faction hostile to the church, attempting to stir up chaos.
And that associate professor was perhaps merely a pawn being used.
"Sigh..."
Greg let out a helpless sigh, his eyes resting on the roof of the tent, as if he could pierce through the canvas to see into the empty darkness.
"If I try to dig deep into the truth behind this, it'll just be way too troublesome with too many complications... And most importantly—"
A hint of gloom entered his voice.
"This whole thing was originally supposed to be stopped and resolved by that damn gray-haired brat!"
According to the original storyline, when Silvia was kidnapped, Victoria was staying in the dormitory room right next to hers.
It was Victoria who noticed something amiss right away, tracked down the clues, and ultimately rescued Silvia, deepening their bond significantly.
This was the Hero's moment.
However, the reality was that last night, Greg had quietly paid another visit to Victoria.
From Victoria herself, he learned that due to her severe shoulder injury, she needed at least three more days before she could be discharged.
This meant that when the kidnapping event took place tomorrow night, the protagonist Victoria, who was supposed to be present, would completely miss it because she was stuck in a hospital bed.
Thus, for the role of the hero saving the damsel, it seemed there was only one candidate left.
He had to step up and take the hit himself.
"Whatever... After all, that girl Silvia really did accompany me to clear the first layer of the dungeon before, even nearly running into danger... Even though things went a bit off track, she helped out in the end. I'll just consider this returning the favor."
Greg scratched his head, quickly convincing himself.
Besides, he knew how the script for the event unfolded.
He knew the associate professor's kidnapping timing, method, and even the temporary location where Silvia was hidden inside out.
To minimize hassle as much as possible and avoid unnecessary unplanned entanglements with the heroines to prevent the storyline from collapsing completely, Greg decided to take the most direct and efficient approach:
Secretly resolve the trouble before the associate professor could successfully kidnap Silvia.
That way, he would save Silvia while keeping the impact on the storyline to a minimum.
"Well then..."
Closing his eyes, Greg ran through the steps of tomorrow's operation one last time in his mind.
"Now, get some good rest to save up strength. Wait until tomorrow night... and act."
Having been busy non-stop these past few days, the sound of steady breathing soon echoed in the small tent, blending into the eternal, unchanging silence of the dungeon's shallow layers.
...
Glory Cael Magic Academy, Faculty Housing Area.
Unlike the communal dormitories where students gathered, the academy provided official faculty members with standalone single-story buildings in a quiet area on the west side of campus, taking into consideration academic privacy, independent research space, and faculty status.
These houses had a uniform style with small front yards and were spaced at appropriate distances from each other, ensuring privacy while maintaining a sense of community.
At this moment, inside one of the single-story houses numbered 7B, the light radiating from the study window stood out vividly against the heavy darkness of the night, conveying an unusual sense of tension.
The interior furnishings were simple, matching the neatness expected of a scholar.
The bookshelves lining the walls were packed with various magic books and literature, while unfinished papers and notes lay spread out on the desk.
The air was filled with the scent of old pages and cheap ink, mixed with a faint, stuffy atmosphere caused by the owner's restless mood failing to ventilate the room in time.
Audrey Hope, Associate Professor of the academy's Department of Magic History, was standing in front of the desk.
Around thirty years old, her face remained delicate, but long hours at her desk and excessive worrying had etched fine lines around the corners of her eyes. Her brown hair was pulled back into a meticulous bun, and she wore a somewhat worn dark brown professor's robe.
Yet, at this moment, her face lacked any of the composure or dignity expected of a scholar; there was only a near-subservient longing and a deep, anxious apprehension.
Her gaze was not on the documents on the desk, but tightly locked onto the center of the tabletop.
There perched a bird.
It was an all-black crow, slightly larger than an ordinary crow, its feathers shimmering under the indoor lighting with a dim sheen that seemed as if it could absorb light itself.
What was most bizarre was its eyes; rather than being round like typical birds, they were slightly narrow and long, with two points of extremely ominous dark red light flickering deep within the pupils.
It perched quietly on the table, tilting its head and looking at Audrey with those non-human eyes.
Facing this eerie bird, Audrey, despite being an associate professor, maintained an extremely low posture, her hands tightly clasped in front of her, her fingertips turning pale from force.
"If... if I do as you say... will my son... really... really gain magic talent?"
Rate on N.U.
