In the main story of Act Two of the original game, the most crucial point of conflict between the sisters Lilith and Vivian stemmed from a core issue:
Lilith, a princess of the kingdom, formed an open friendship with Victoria, who came from a commoner background.
Within Vivian's understanding, she was unaware of Victoria's hidden Hero identity and mission.
Thus, from the perspective of traditional noble values, she believed that a commoner girl whose conduct was completely at odds with noble circles, and who deliberately approached a princess of the kingdom, must have ulterior motives.
Out of concern for protecting her sister and upholding the royal family's reputation, Vivian sternly warned Lilith that she must keep her distance from Victoria and end this inappropriate friendship.
However, to Lilith, this warning became an insult to her friend's character and a desecration of the pure friendship she cherished.
This led Lilith, who had always admired her older sister, to openly defy her sister's will for the very first time.
This conflict was like an ice pick, harshly striking the seemingly solid ice of their sisterly bond, leaving the first deep and irreparable crack, sowing the seeds of tragedy for further misunderstandings and opposition.
But now, because Greg had not immediately seen through Lilith's disguise earlier, Lilith inadvertently lost the opportunity to become friends with Victoria, causing a major change in the plot.
Yet, thinking about it now, it might not be entirely a bad thing; after all, the sisters' first major point of conflict was gone.
“Well then, the next steps are much clearer,”
Greg mused, having organized his thoughts.
He needed to guard against the temptations of the Demon King Cult, and at the same time, find a way to encourage these stubborn sisters to face each other more honestly, express their true feelings, and resolve the inner knots caused by talent disparities and external comparisons...
If he could achieve all that, there should be a good chance to change Vivian's inevitable death in the original story.
At this thought, Greg's mood inexplicably lightened.
“So, I didn't lose anything this time. It's just that Vivian was too unlucky to be there at the wrong time!”
Greg quickly completed a perfect logical loop of self-exoneration in his mind, nodding in deep agreement, a look of “that's just how it is” on his face.
After accepting his own explanation, the accumulated fatigue surged through him again.
He adjusted his posture, intending to catch up on some sleep during class to recover the energy he'd expended from dungeon crawling all night.
However, at that moment, he suddenly felt that something was amiss around him.
It was too quiet; without the sound of a lecture, how could he sleep?
He looked up in confusion, finding the podium empty, with only faint traces of magic dust remaining.
The classroom, which had been half-filled, was now completely empty except for himself.
Greg stared blankly for a few seconds before realizing.
It seemed he had been so engrossed in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed the passage of time or the class ending.
“Whatever, I can still sleep in the next class anyway.”
He scratched his somewhat messy golden hair, reluctantly stood up, and prepared to leave the now empty classroom to continue his grand plan of catching up on sleep in the next one.
But just as he turned to walk towards the door, he suddenly noticed a blonde girl sitting in the seat directly behind him.
Catherine Roman.
She seemed to have been sitting there the whole time, but Greg had been so lost in his own world that he hadn't noticed.
She was slightly bowed, a pair of delicate gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose, her teal-blue eyes behind the lenses intently fixed on a draft paper covered in complex equations and business symbols spread out on the desk.
As if sensing Greg's movement and gaze, Catherine's pen paused slightly.
She didn't immediately look up, but instead used the tip of a finger from her other hand to gently push up her glasses on her nose, then slowly raised her eyelids to calmly look at the somewhat bewildered Greg.
On her face, that impeccable, polite smile reappeared, her voice clear and pleasant, her tone calm and natural:
“Student Greg, I saw you were deep in thought earlier, so focused, that I didn't want to disturb you.”
She gently placed her pen on the draft paper, elegantly folded her hands on the desk, and sat up slightly, displaying excellent posture.
“But now, it seems you've... figured things out?”
Her gaze lingered on Greg's face for a moment.
“If that's the case, I wonder if you could spare some time for me now? There are some things I'd like to discuss with you.”
Greg: “...”
He felt his eyelid twitch uncontrollably again.
This is just too much...
It feels like ever since I came to the surface, it's just one thing after another!
He ranted internally, but Greg's face didn't show much unusual emotion.
“Fine.”
He sat back down in his seat, leaning against the chair back in a casual posture, his tone carrying a hint of resigned helplessness.
“Go ahead, Student Catherine, what is it?”
Both were second-year students, and most of their compulsory courses overlapped.
Even if he escaped this time with some excuse, what about next time? Or the time after that?
As long as he still had to be active in the academy and attend these classes, with Catherine's intellect and methods, she would always find the right moment to corner him.
Instead of constantly worrying about how to avoid her, it was better to lay everything out now while no one else was around.
He could also use this opportunity to propose the conditions he had thought of earlier.
Catherine seemed somewhat surprised by Greg's straightforward attitude this time.
She removed the gold-rimmed glasses from her nose and carefully placed them in the case she carried with her. This action made her seem less like a sharp business elite and more like a gentle young woman.
She elegantly tucked a strand of falling golden hair behind her ear, her teal-blue eyes looking directly at Greg:
“Actually, I just have one question for you.”
Her voice was still steady, but the investigative tone in her words was clearly discernible.
“After you saved those three in the deep area of the dungeon earlier, did you already notice their purpose for entering the dungeon?”
Greg's eyebrow twitched slightly.
As expected, she was here about the Screech magic conduit.
And she was even more direct than he had anticipated.
“Yes, I know what you're referring to.”
Greg nodded:
“I did know their purpose, and I saw that item. So, just tell me what you want, Student Catherine. Let's save time and stop beating around the bush.”
Dealing with someone like Catherine, playing word games or feigning ignorance would be the most foolish choices.
Because she possessed the troublesome trait of a 【Keen Mind】, capable of acutely sensing if others were lying.
This was also a crucial reason why she would be able to command a business empire in the future.
Rate on N.U.
