Silence reigned in the hospital room for a moment, filled only with the sound of Silvia's soft, even breathing.
Zipping up her backpack, Victoria seemed to remember something and looked back up at Greg, a trace of inquiry in her gray-blue eyes.
"Right, there's one thing... Did you offend someone at the academy earlier? Or did you have some kind of special... contact with someone?"
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Greg's heart skipped a beat, though he maintained a look of confusion on his face.
"Do you know a second-year girl named Catherine Roman?"
Victoria observed his expression:
"She posted a quest on the academy task board in her own name, offering a reward as high as 50 Gold Coins. The details were simple: find Greg Sass himself in the dungeon and pass along a message."
"What?! Catherine is looking for me?! And she even posted a quest?!"
Greg's heart pounded violently, and he almost leaped out of bed.
He had thought that matter had blown over during the past few days, but he never expected to still be targeted.
Could it be... that those three upperclassmen failed to keep their mouths shut after all and leaked his identity?
However, calming down to think it through, with Catherine Roman's mind and methods, even if those three kept their lips sealed, she could probably still deduce that he was involved based on her sharp instincts and intelligence network.
"What a pain... Is there really no escaping it after all..."
Greg felt a headache coming on.
Being targeted by this deep-thinking, calculating Fourth Heroine was definitely not a pleasant experience.
But now that things had come to this, blindly running away was clearly not an option.
She had publicly posted a bounty looking for him, making her stance plain.
If he kept hiding, it would only make him look guilty, potentially drawing more unnecessary speculation and attention, or even prompting Catherine to take more aggressive measures.
It seemed... he could no longer passively hide.
He had to find a suitable time to take the initiative and meet with this merchant's daughter... At the very least, he needed to figure out what she was really up to and regain as much initiative as possible.
Greg: "Now that you've passed the message to me, does that mean you can go claim the reward? Won't you share a bit with me when the time comes?"
Just as Greg was rapidly strategizing in his mind on how to deal with Catherine, Victoria had already put on her canvas backpack.
"Too late. That quest was canceled yesterday. If I'd known earlier, I would've crawled into the dungeon just to find you."
Greg sighed, "Ah, this damned luck, can't it be a bit nicer to me?"
Victoria walked over to her original bed, looking down at the fast-asleep Silvia. Her eyes softened for a fraction of a second, and she lowered her voice to Greg:
"She watched over you all day and night, barely closing her eyes. She only collapsed from exhaustion when daybreak was near. I moved her to my bed so she could sleep more comfortably. For now... try not to disturb her. Let her get a good rest."
Hearing this, Greg felt a warm surge in his heart, his gaze toward Silvia softening considerably as well.
This kind, slightly silly girl must have forced herself to stay awake out of worry for him... even though she herself had just been through such a terrifying ordeal and was physically and mentally exhausted.
"Yeah, I understand. No problem."
He nodded immediately and lowered his voice.
"There's one more thing, about..."
Victoria suddenly hesitated, her gaze drifting between Greg and the sleeping Silvia. Her fine gray hair slid off her shoulder as she tilted her head slightly.
She seemed hesitant, her lips moving without sound. Ultimately, she just raised a hand with a hint of annoyance and rubbed her hair.
"Hmm? What else?" Seeing her like this, Greg took the initiative to ask.
Was there another problem?
"No, never mind. It's nothing."
Victoria shook her head in the end, swallowing the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
She had originally wanted to ask why, when she woke up this morning, she saw Silvia sleeping slumped over Greg's bed, tightly holding his hand.
That posture, that undefended sense of reliance... With her knowledge of Silvia, this shy, introverted friend who always kept her distance from men had never been so intimate with any male growing up.
Yet when the words reached her lips, they felt blocked by something.
An emotion so subtle that even she couldn't explain or define made her instinctively refrain from asking.
As if a voice deep in her heart was faintly resisting, not wanting her to dig into the meaning behind that scene, or... not wanting to get a clear answer from Greg.
Watching her conflicted look before giving up, Greg couldn't help but roll his eyes and offer a habitual complaint, "Hey, stopping mid-sentence like that—are you fucking kidding me?"
He felt like the people around him lately were all trending toward becoming riddlers, always speaking in vague riddles or freezing right at the crucial part.
It was utterly maddening, just like finally finding long-awaited, high-quality study materials, excitedly getting ready to dig deep into research, only for your parents to suddenly push the door open without warning.
That suffocating, helpless feeling was truly terrible beyond belief.
Victoria clearly didn't fully understand his complaint laced with otherworldly slang, but she got that he was complaining about her leaving things unfinished.
A subtle awkwardness flashed across her face, and she didn't pick up on the topic.
Finally, carrying her luggage, she walked to the hospital room door and placed her hand on the handle, only to pause again.
Her back to Greg, she seemed to struggle for a few seconds before turning around somewhat awkwardly. Her gray eyes met his, her speaking speed slightly faster than usual:
"I read about it in the Academy Daily News. Thank you... for saving Silvia while I wasn't there."
She paused, her voice softening, yet remaining clear.
"Anyway... that's all I wanted to say. Goodbye."
With that, as if afraid of what Greg might respond or that she might say more, she hurriedly pulled the door open and walked out without looking back, gently clicking the door shut behind her.
"Whoa!"
Greg froze for a second before chuckling softly and shaking his head. "She actually knows how to say thank you to a nanny like me now? Truly... an interesting change."
It seemed recent events had indeed improved this tsundere gray-haired Hero's impression of him quite a bit.
That was an unexpected bonus...
However, his smile lasted less than two seconds before Greg abruptly realized another key piece of information in Victoria's words.
"Wait! What does she mean she read about it in the Academy Daily News?!"
His eyes widened in shock as a terrible foreboding surged in his chest.
Rate on N.U.
