“Wow! It's Greg Sass!”
“Someone said they saw him in the academy yesterday. I thought it was just a rumor... I can't believe he's actually back.”
“He looks perfectly fine... Those rumors about him going missing or even dying were definitely fake.”
“Then what the Academy Daily News said... about him defeating a Demon King Cult cadre and rescuing a kidnapped freshman, is that actually true?”
“Hard to say... Maybe that Demon King Cult cadre was already severely injured and on their deathbed, and he just happened to steal the kill by delivering the final blow? Otherwise, there's really no explaining it...”
“B-But... why is he walking with the President right now?”
“I think I heard some upperclassmen mention before that Greg Sass... used to have an... engagement with our President, Her Highness Vivian?”
“Ah! Now that you mention it, I remember too! There was indeed such a thing! But wasn't it broken off later? Apparently, it was because Greg Sass was just... well, too disgraceful.”
“But seeing them walk together now... Even though they aren't talking, could they be...”
Walking side by side with Vivian Kahn on the wide, tree-lined path leading to the academy's Main Teaching Area, Greg could clearly feel the surrounding, scattered whispers quickly converging upon their appearance as a duo, ultimately and inevitably focusing on his past engagement to the blue-haired princess beside him—a relationship that should have been buried in the past.
Those hushed yet excited whispers buzzed into Greg's ears like countless tiny insects.
Although he kept his face expressionless, maintaining a near-numb calm, a subtle awkwardness inexplicably welled up in his heart.
After all, no matter how one looked at it, having one's past experience of being publicly dumped due to being disgraceful gossiped about was never a pleasant experience.
This feeling of awkwardness was only amplified by the fact that the other party involved was walking right next to him, completely expressionless.
“Seriously... Why does it have to be her of all people monitoring me?! That damn fake cowboy!”
For the hundred and eighth time, Greg cursed that irresponsible Headmistress in his heart.
He couldn't help but steal a quick glance at Vivian out of the corner of his eye.
Her ice-blue eyes gazed calmly ahead, her steps steady and composed, as if the whispers surrounding her were merely a breeze brushing past her, unable to stir even the slightest ripple in her heart.
She didn't even quicken her pace or release a frigid, unapproachable aura to disperse the gossipers, as Greg had expected her to.
On the contrary, after walking in silence for a short while, she actually turned her head and asked Greg in her usual flat tone:
“How has Erin... been lately?”
Erin Sass.
Greg's sister, or rather, his nominal sister adopted from a branch family of House of Sass.
Unlike Greg, who was set up as completely talentless in the original game, Erin Sass had displayed astonishing magic talent since childhood.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have caught the eye of House of Sass and been adopted from a distant branch family to be nurtured.
In certain story routes of the game, when the protagonist's faction was in complete opposition to House of Sass, Erin would sometimes appear as a formidable mini-boss, causing no small amount of trouble for the player.
At this moment, Vivian suddenly asking about Erin wasn't entirely out of the blue.
When she and Greg were still young, Vivian often visited the territory of House of Sass as his prospective fiancée. Naturally, she knew Erin, who was close in age, and they might have even shared a relatively friendly childhood together.
He pondered for a moment before replying:
“I don't know. It's been a while since I last went back to visit. But I think... given her talent and current performance, it probably won't be long before she is officially established as the family's next successor.”
Thinking about it carefully, Greg suddenly felt that his original situation in his family was actually quite similar to Vivian's.
Both had younger sisters who were far more outstanding than themselves. The only difference was that his sister wasn't related by blood, whereas hers was. Thus, the pressure she bore must be far greater than what the original Greg Sass had to endure.
“I see...”
Vivian quietly listened to Greg's answer, letting out a barely audible hum. Some emotion seemed to flash across her ice-blue eyes, but it was too fast to catch.
Then, she turned her head back and resumed her silent march, seemingly having no intention of continuing the topic.
Hey! Big sister! What do you mean by going silent right after asking a question?!
Looking at Vivian's 'none of my business' attitude, Greg couldn't help but complain in his mind again.
You're the Student Council President, for goodness' sake!
Have some self-awareness, will you?!
Can't you see the crowd around us is growing, and they're gossiping more and more eagerly?!
With your prestige, if you just casually said 'quiet down, don't gather' or gave them a cold sweep of your eyes, they would at least restrain themselves a bit, wouldn't they?!
Being in a place where so many people are gathered, I'm really worried that my damn -10 Luck stat will suddenly act up and cause some completely unexpected accident!
However, seeing Vivian's completely detached and calm demeanor, Greg knew there was no hope of relying on her.
He could only sigh helplessly in his heart. Then, keeping pace with Vivian, he silently willed the system panel—visible only to himself—to appear.
A pale gold screen of light quietly expanded in the corner of his vision.
“Calculating the time, it should be about time to enter the storyline of Act Two.”
Greg browsed through his system logs and task list, silently calculating in his mind.
In the original game, the main storyline of Act Two primarily revolved around the protagonist gradually rising to prominence within the academy, increasing his strength and reputation.
This was a crucial transitional phase.
At the same time, however, some important foreshadowing and conflicts began to be quietly planted in this act.
One of the highly critical hidden storylines was the gradually brewing conflict between the royal sisters, Vivian Kahn and Lilith Kahn.
As the subsequent plot progressed, this conflict would expand bit by bit, planting the seeds of tragedy that would eventually lead to Vivian being tempted and corrupted by the Demon King Cult.
Greg's gaze uncontrollably drifted once more toward the blue-haired girl beside him, whose face was as cold as snow.
Her long ice-blue hair shimmered with a cold luster in the morning light. Her delicate profile was expressionless, yet it naturally carried an awe-inspiring, inviolable dignity and beauty.
No matter which angle he looked from, she seemed more like the template for a heroic character rather than a villain who would later plunge into darkness and turn against her closest kin.
If he wanted to save her and prevent her from walking down that destined path of destruction... perhaps he had to find a way to intervene early during the events of Act Two, defusing any incidents that might escalate the conflict between her and Lilith.
But this method would likely only treat the symptoms rather than the root cause.
Because the root of their conflict lay in the gap between their talents.
As long as this fundamental issue remained unresolved, even if the surface storms were temporarily calmed, the conflict would eventually erupt in another form, ultimately leading to the same end.
Rate on N.U.
