Perhaps because processing so much information all at once was exhausting, when Greg finally woke up, night had already fallen.
“The Placement Exam event should be long over by now.”
That was the very first thought in Greg's mind the moment he opened his eyes.
In the original game, the Placement Exam was a fairly important event—the moment Victoria and Silvia first showed off their talents, officially opening Lilith's romance route.
But none of that had anything to do with him.
Right now, he had much more pressing business to attend to: slipping out of the dungeon under cover of night to stop his own maid from turning into a full-blown terrorist.
The mission sounded ridiculous, but he knew for a fact that it was no laughing matter.
“By the way, where's that black cat? Did it disappear? Don't tell me everything earlier was just a dream?”
Just as the thought crossed his mind, ripples suddenly spread across the shadow at his feet.
Then, a black cat popped out from the shadow on the ground.
“Hey, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not a black cat, I am the Goddess of Night. You really have zero manners.”
Greg shot back, “You're the one with zero manners! Sneaking into someone's shadow without permission—that's illegal trespassing!”
Nightmare said, “Then can I trouble you to let me live in your shadow from now on? I don't feel like braving the cold outside with you.”
Greg replied, “No way! Since the two of us share a shared fate, why should I be the only one suffering?”
Nightmare said, “Mm, I knew you'd say that.”
With that, she ignored Greg's protests and slipped back into his shadow once more.
Greg groaned, “Damn it, Hajimi! If you don't suffer with me, how are we supposed to forge our bond?! Didn't we promise to be each other's one and only angel?!”
The shadow on the ground twitched slightly.
“I don't recall ever saying anything like that. But if we really have to define our relationship, I'd much prefer you call me Master.”
Greg chanted, “Hajimi! Hajimi!”
Nightmare said, “...I don't know what that means, but I feel like I'm being insulted.”
Greg retorted, “Don't doubt it, I am insulting you! From now on, your name is Hajimi—wait, I was joking! Goddess-sama, please don't reshape my shadow into a catgirl! Serious talk, my stomach is turning, and if I throw up, it won't be pretty for either of us.”
Hearing this, the shadow on the ground slowly shifted back to its normal shape.
But then, Nightmare's voice echoed in Greg's mind once more, only this time without a trace of playfulness.
“Human... yesterday was the first time we ever met, right?”
Suppressing the wave of nausea, Greg answered limply, “What else? If I'd met a demon spawn like you any earlier, I'd probably have died of sheer rage by now.”
“Is that so... I see.” Nightmare's voice quieted down, as if confirming something, or perhaps lost in thought.
After that, she fell completely silent.
Although Greg felt a bit puzzled by Nightmare's sudden question, the quiet was actually just what he wanted right now.
He needed to focus on his next move.
He stuffed a few pieces of jerky he had made over the past few days into his mouth and headed toward the dungeon exit.
The reason he chose to leave the dungeon at night was that very few students would be wandering around the academy at this hour. Due to curfew regulations, most students were locked in their dorms.
Besides, most events triggered during the day, making the surface relatively safer for him at night.
After slaying a few small mobs lurking along the path, Greg smoothly arrived at the entrance of the Academy Dungeon.
He took a quick look outside.
Under the shroud of night, the academy was starkly different from its daytime bustle.
Magnificent buildings lay quietly under the starlit sky, while only a few scattered streetlights cast soft glows across the main square.
Most windows of the dorm buildings in the distance were dark, with light flickering from only a handful.
As far as the eye could see, there was hardly anyone around, save for one or two figures in the far distance—likely night-patrolling instructors—walking past at a slow pace.
“This situation shouldn't pose much danger to me. As long as I'm careful when passing locations tied to death CGs, I'll be fine.”
Taking a few deep breaths, he conducted one final check of his equipment and items to ensure nothing would make a sound.
Then, his eyes narrowed. Like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, he darted out from the dark shadow of the dungeon entrance, heading straight for a bush connected to a nearby garden.
That spot would provide excellent cover.
Moving swiftly and silently, he executed everything according to plan.
Using the garden trees and building shadows for concealment, he planned to make a detour toward the academy's outer perimeter.
However, just as he burst out of the entrance, his attention entirely fixed forward on potential patrolling guards in the distance—
“Eek!”
From the shadow of a statue base off to the side, another figure happened to come rushing out at that exact moment.
Caught completely off guard, the two collided head-on!
Was he caught?!
But by the faint glow of the distant streetlight, as he caught sight of the person he had bumped into—currently rubbing her forehead with a furrowed brow—all his alertness and contingency plans froze in his throat.
A small oval face, facial features slightly scrunched in pain, signature silky brown hair, and chestnut eyes that gleamed clear even in the dim light...
“Lily Carlo?”
Greg blurted out, his expression instantly overwhelmed by a wave of sheer absurdity and confusion.
What was going on? Why was she here at a time like this?
Greg looked at Lily Carlo, who was wearing dark casual clothes suitable for movement with her hair neatly tied behind her head. He glanced back at the path behind him—which clearly led into the dungeon—and finally shifted his gaze back to her face.
A speculation that made his lip twitch rose in his mind.
Could this girl... be trying to sneak into the dungeon under cover of night?!
Aren't the background NPCs in this world a bit too overachieving?!
Rate on N.U.
