【Killed Shadow-eater Beast, obtained drop skill: Insubstantiality LV1.】
【Insubstantiality LV1 Effect: Upon activation, ignore physical and elemental attacks for 5 seconds (limited to once per day).】
System notifications flashed in the corner of his vision.
Normally, Greg would be ecstatic to gain such a precious life-saving skill.
But right now, he clearly wasn't in the mood.
As soon as the battle ended, he didn't even glance at the three upperclassmen who were still in a state of shock and confusion. He walked straight to Silvia, his gaze behind the mask seemingly locked onto her.
"Silvia..."
He spoke, his voice coming through the mask with a deliberately flattened tone. "Don't tell me... you actually have a bit of an airhead trait?"
"A-Airhead...?"
Silvia was taken aback by the sudden question. Her pink eyes blinked, a confused expression appearing on her face as she tilted her head slightly.
"Are you... talking about me?"
Seeing her completely lack self-awareness, looking even a bit innocently clueless, Greg took a deep breath, forcing down the complex emotions churning in his chest.
Dammit... don't think I'll forgive you easily just because you're cute!
Do you have any idea that your shout just now likely tied me to that woman who's a total pain in the neck?!
He took a half-step forward. Even through the mask, Silvia could feel an invisible pressure.
"Yes, I'm talking about you!"
Greg's speech speed increased involuntarily.
"We clearly agreed beforehand to keep a low profile and hide our identities for this operation. That's a crucial tactical principle! And what did you do? You just went and shouted my name right in front of those three strangers! Do you know what that's like? It's like we went to rob a bank together. I put in all the hard work to wear a mask, change my voice, and plan the route until everything was seamless. Then, the moment I pull out my gun, you suddenly shout at the security camera, 'Greg-senpai, let's do this!'"
Greg looked pained. "This isn't just a small mistake anymore; this is like taping a copy of your accomplice's ID to the vault door with a home address attached! What awaits me isn't just a simple scolding; it's a full package of rotting in a cell, picking up the soap, and social death, my friend!"
This string of vivid accusations finally made Silvia realize the gravity of the situation.
Her small face instantly flushed bright red as shame and anxiety welled up.
However, a small thought still flickered in her mind: Robbing a bank is bad, but Greg-senpai is clearly doing a good deed by saving people...
But Greg-senpai seems so insistent on hiding himself. Maybe... there's a particularly important reason behind it, so he can't be easily exposed?
At this thought, her sense of guilt grew even heavier.
She lowered her head, her hands nervously wringing the hem of her clothes. Her long pink hair fell forward, covering part of her reddened cheeks. Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, filled with apology and helplessness.
"I-I'm sorry... Greg-senpai... I-I was too careless... I didn't think it through... I'm really, really sorry..."
Greg: "..."
Looking at Silvia like this—like a fluffy pink animal that had done something wrong and curled into a ball waiting for its owner's punishment—she radiated a pitiful and cute aura of "I know I was wrong, please don't be mad."
He felt as if his heart had been lightly squeezed by something, twitching violently for a moment.
Dammit... does this girl have absolutely no idea how lethal she looks right now?!
Stay calm, Greg, you have to stay calm!
You're a man who cleared eighty-one playthroughs!
You should have been immune to cuteness of this level long ago!
That's right, I'm immune!
So I absolutely cannot forgive her just because I'm feeling soft-hearted!
This is a matter of principle!
He frantically pumped himself up in his mind, trying to pull a stern face again.
However, when he looked again at Silvia's lowered, pink eyes that seemed veiled in a layer of mist, and those trembling eyelashes that looked like butterfly wings...
"Haha."
Greg's face broke into a smile that could be described as incredibly gentle and forgiving. His voice softened instantly, even carrying a hint of reassurance.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Just be more careful next time. I don't really mind that much."
...Shit! Where are my principles?! Where is my persistence?!
Greg, you absolute coward!
He roared frantically in his mind, despising his own pathetic, instantaneous cave-in.
When Silvia heard that he not only stopped blaming her but even comforted her in such a gentle tone, a massive wave of warmth and gratitude surged in her heart.
Greg-senpai... really is so kind.
Even though I made such a serious mistake, he isn't angry at all and is even comforting me...
This thoughtfulness and tolerance caused her affection for Greg to shoot up another notch uncontrollably.
"Thank you, Greg-senpai!"
She looked up, a bright and sincere smile blooming on her face again. The anxiety in her pink eyes was replaced by gratitude as she nodded vigorously.
"I'll definitely be careful next time! I absolutely won't make the same mistake again!"
Greg maintained a smile on the surface, but his heart was bleeding.
Sigh... no wonder so many brothers in my college dorm joined the army of simps one after another. It turns out some skills really are self-taught, instinctive reactions engraved in our DNA!
But then he had a second thought. What's done is done.
Instead of continuing to pressure Silvia, one of the heroines, it would be better to find an opportunity later to properly "persuade" those three background characters to keep their mouths shut and not spread word about his identity or today's events.
That was a more practical remedial measure.
At this thought, the self-loathing he felt for turning into a simp faded slightly.
After all, although the heroines in this work were each more troublesome than the last and had their own sinister personalities, their appearances truly hit every one of his aesthetic preferences with pinpoint accuracy.
If it weren't for that, no matter how high the gameplay quality was, he wouldn't have had the actual perseverance in his past life to clear eighty-one playthroughs and so many endings.
Rate on N.U.
