The pink-haired girl had approached him so closely without him even realizing it.
The lingering glow of the sunset gilded her exquisite profile with a warm golden edge, and her long eyelashes cast fan-shaped shadows over her eyelids.
She tilted her head slightly, her pink eyes staring at him without blinking, shimmering with a complex and unreadable expression.
"Is... is something wrong?" Greg asked.
Silvia's cheeks were flushed with an alluring crimson that spread all the way to her delicate earlobes.
She seemed somewhat nervous; the fingers gripping Greg's wrist tightened instinctively, and a soft, warm sensation radiated from her palms.
"U-um... Greg-senpai..."
Silvia's voice was softer than usual, carrying a faint, imperceptible tremor, yet her tone was exceptionally firm.
"Last time... about what happened... I-I still haven't found a chance to properly thank you..."
As she spoke, her hands didn't let go of his wrist. Instead, she slid them up his forearm, and then, before Greg could react—
Silvia used both hands to press Greg's left hand firmly against a place of unbelievable softness.
The back of Greg's left hand, and even half of his palm, were instantly submerged in a warm, supple sensation.
Even through the thin fabric of the academy uniform, he could clearly feel the wonderful shape and the slightly accelerated heartbeat beneath it.
Thump, thump, thump...
It felt as if the heartbeat was drumming directly against the back of his hand, causing his mind to go instantly blank.
Holy—crap—!!!
What's going on?!
Greg felt as if he had been struck by an invisible bolt of lightning. He froze on the spot, his pupils constricting sharply, his brain buzzing as his thoughts came to a complete standstill.
S-Silvia?! What is she doing?!
This... this sensation... this size... this is way too...!
Wait! No! That's not the point!
The point is, how could a poster girl character who was pure, kind, a bit of an airhead, but absolutely reserved and proper in the original game do something... something so... so bold?!
This doesn't fit her character at all!
Why is the current Silvia acting so... vixen-like?
Did I transmigrate into some weird fanfiction?
Greg felt his worldview and character knowledge suffer a violent impact within those few short seconds.
He stiffly turned his neck, his gaze falling in disbelief on Silvia's beautiful, blushing face so close to his own.
Meanwhile, Silvia seemed completely unaware of how shocking her current actions were.
She simply looked up, her pink eyes shimmering as if veiled by a thin mist, moist and staring directly at Greg.
Greg swallowed hard, barely managing to maintain a calm tone as he said, "Ah, about that matter... you really don't need to worry about it. Like I said before, if you're in trouble, I'll definitely come to help you, so—"
"No!"
She spoke again, her voice still soft but carrying a determination Greg had never heard from her before.
"I must... personally repay you, Greg-senpai!"
She increased the pressure of her hands, making that incredible softness even more clearly imprinted on Greg's sensory nerves.
"Mm... ah?!"
The sensory overload caused Greg to accidentally let out an ambiguous sound.
He felt his throat go dry, and his left hand, tightly enveloped by Silvia, was so stiff it felt like it didn't belong to him. He didn't dare move an inch.
But just then, he suddenly realized another problem.
Now is not the time to get lost in the moment! Victoria! That gray-haired brat is still right there!
If she sees this and misunderstands that a guy like me has seduced her best friend...
Then the commission from selling the gloves... my thirty percent share of the gold coins... wouldn't that be completely down the drain?!
And with that brat's personality, she might even start hunting me down right then and there!
The immense sense of crisis instantly snapped Greg back to reality.
Resisting the exquisite touch from his left hand—which would have been enough to make any normal man lose his mind—he frantically and quickly turned his gaze toward where Victoria had been standing.
Fortunately, Victoria had her back to Greg and Silvia. She was holding a crumpled map of the academy surroundings, looking down and tracing it with her finger while muttering to herself.
She was clearly focused on double-checking the exact location of the Faded Iris shop Greg had just told her about, completely failing to notice the scene unfolding behind her.
Seeing this, Greg secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his heart lowering slightly from his throat.
But before he could finish that sigh, Silvia's next move and words sent his heart right back up to an even higher position.
As if sensing Greg's momentary distraction, Silvia didn't let go. Instead, she stood on her tiptoes, pressing her body even closer to him.
The distance between them was so small they could practically feel each other's body heat.
Her pink eyes were like the purest gemstones, reflecting Greg's flustered face. In a tone that mixed shyness and anticipation, she whispered:
"Is there... Greg-senpai, anything you need me to do?"
Then, she lifted her gaze, looking straight into the depths of Greg's eyes, and uttered a sentence that sent Greg's blood pressure skyrocketing once again:
"A-ny-thing... is okay, you know."
"A-anything... is okay?"
Greg repeated the phrase with a dry throat.
Anything...? What exactly did she mean by that?
Is she testing my integrity right now?
But looking at her eyes, hearing her tone, and this... this unabashed physical contact... it seemed... she was serious?
If she's serious... does that mean I can... actually make some... rather excessive requests?
In an instant, countless suggestive thoughts and images flooded into Greg's brain, which was already sluggish from shock and physiological stimulation, like a dam bursting.
Silvia's pure yet shyly beautiful face, the soft and plush sensation, the breath right against him, and that phrase 'anything is okay' which left so much to the imagination...
Calm down! Greg!
Calm the hell down!
Greg bit the tip of his tongue hard, the sharp pain clearing his muddled thoughts slightly.
Using powerful willpower, he forcibly suppressed those wild, beast-like thoughts back into the corners of his heart.
He had never been a saint, nor was he some paragon of virtue.
To say he wasn't moved by such an offensive from a beautiful girl like Silvia would be a lie.
However... precisely because he still had some shred of a baseline and wasn't a complete animal, he couldn't give Silvia an irresponsible response right now based purely on a momentary impulse and desire.
When facing a girl willing to give her heart and soul, he wanted to treat her with sincerity, putting effort into the relationship and giving her a visible future and commitment.
But right now... he could barely protect himself.
If he couldn't even be sure if he would survive until the end of the story, how could he make promises or manage a serious relationship?
And besides... he had finally transmigrated into a classic Western fantasy game world.
Greg's ultimate dream was to live a shameless harem life after solving all the trouble!
After all, a solo route is fun for a moment, but a harem is fun for a lifetime!
But unfortunately, in this work, once the emotional progress with a heroine breaks a certain threshold, it locks into a solo route. The favorability of other heroines would then freeze or even drop through various logical or illogical means!
Greg wasn't stupid. He was certain that Silvia's current state was a clear sign that her 'favorability was off the charts, and a special CG could be triggered at any moment.'
If he followed her lead now and made some excessive request or gave a too-explicit emotional response, he would undoubtedly enter Silvia's solo route in the very next second.
"I have to say something that won't break her heart but also doesn't count as accepting..."
Greg's brain worked at an unprecedented speed, and fine beads of sweat even broke out on his forehead.
He felt as if time had been stretched thin; every second was an agonizing ordeal.
Silvia's pink eyes, full of anticipation and some hidden longing, remained fixed on him, waiting for his answer.
In a flash of inspiration, Greg had it!
He forcibly suppressed all stray thoughts and tried to make his expression look as natural as possible.
"Um... Silvia, since you put it that way... then I actually do have something I might need your help with."
Silvia's eyes lit up, and her grip on Greg's hand tightened slightly.
"W-what is it? Just say the word, Greg-senpai!"
Greg took a deep breath and said, "Then next time, bring Victoria along too, and the three of us can go explore the second layer of the dungeon together!"
Rate on N.U.
