"Whoa! It's Greg Sass!"
"I heard someone saw him in the academy yesterday, but I thought it was just a rumor... I didn't expect him to actually come back?"
"He looks fine... I guess those rumors about him going missing or being dead were fake after all."
"Then what about the news in the Academy Daily News... the part about him killing a Demon King Cult cadre and rescuing a kidnapped freshman? Could that be true?"
"Hard to say... maybe that cadre was already heavily injured and on the verge of death, and he just happened to get lucky and land the finishing blow? Otherwise, there's just no way to explain it..."
"B-But... why is he walking with the President right now?"
"I think I heard an upperclassman 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! That was a thing! But didn't they break it off later? Apparently, it was because Greg Sass was just... well, utterly disgraceful."
"But looking at them walking together now... even though they aren't talking, could it be..."
Walking side-by-side with Vivian Kahn along the wide, tree-lined path leading to the academy's Main Teaching Area, Greg could clearly feel the surrounding discussions—which had been scattered at first—rapidly converge as the two of them appeared.
Inevitably, the focus shifted to the past engagement between him and the blue-haired princess beside him, a relationship that should have remained buried in the past.
Those lowered but excitedly whispered voices were like countless tiny insects, buzzing incessantly into Greg's ears.
Although his face remained expressionless, maintaining a nearly numb calm, a subtle sense of awkwardness welled up in his heart.
After all, being publicly discussed for having an engagement broken because one was deemed unworthy was never a pleasant experience.
This was especially true when the other party involved was walking right beside him with a stony face, making the awkwardness even more intense.
"Seriously... why did it have to be her supervising me?! That damn fake cowboy!"
Greg cursed that irresponsible Headmistress in his mind for the hundred and eighth time.
He couldn't help but steal a quick glance at Vivian out of the corner of his eye.
Her ice-blue eyes stared calmly ahead, her steps steady and composed, as if the whispers about her were nothing more than a breeze brushing past her side, unable to stir even the slightest ripple in her heart.
She didn't even speed up her pace as Greg had expected, nor did she release a cold 'do not approach' aura to disperse the gossip.
On the contrary, after a brief period of silent walking, she actually turned her head slightly and asked Greg in her usual flat tone:
"How is... Allie doing lately?"
Allie Sass.
Greg's sister—or rather, his nominal sister who had been adopted into the main family from a branch of House of Sass.
Unlike Greg, who was established as having zero talent in the original game, Allie Sass had shown astonishing magical talent since childhood.
If not for that, she wouldn't have been chosen by House of Sass to be adopted and raised from a distant branch family.
In certain plot routes of the game, when the protagonist's faction completely opposed House of Sass, Allie would sometimes appear as a formidable mini-boss, causing no small amount of trouble for the player.
Vivian asking about Allie now wasn't particularly abrupt.
When she and Greg were still young, Vivian often visited the territory of House of Sass as his prospective fiancée. Naturally, she knew Allie, who was close to her in age, and they might have even shared a somewhat friendly time as young girls.
He thought for a moment before answering:
"I don't know. I haven't gone back to see her in a while. But I imagine... with her talent and current performance, it won't be long before she's officially established as the next heir to the family."
Thinking about it, Greg suddenly felt that his original situation in the family was quite similar to Vivian's.
Both had sisters who were far more excellent than themselves. The only difference was that his wasn't a biological sister, while hers was. Therefore, the pressure Vivian faced was likely much greater than what the original Greg Sass had endured.
"I see..."
Vivian listened quietly to Greg's answer and gave a barely audible response. Something seemed to flash through her ice-blue eyes for a fleeting second, but it was too fast to catch.
Then, she turned her head back and resumed her silent pace, seemingly intending to end the conversation there.
Hey! Hey, lady! What's with the silence after asking a question?!
Looking at Vivian's 'none of my business' attitude, Greg couldn't help but rant internally again.
You're the Student Council President! Have some self-awareness!
Can't you see the crowd around us is growing and the gossip is getting louder?!
With your prestige, if you just said 'stay quiet and don't gather' or gave them a cold glare, these people would at least back off a bit, wouldn't they?!
Staying in a place with so many people, I'm really worried my damn -10 Luck stat will suddenly act up and cause some completely unforeseen accident!
However, seeing Vivian's completely detached and calm demeanor, Greg knew relying on her was a lost cause.
He could only sigh helplessly in his heart. While keeping pace with Vivian, he secretly willed his system panel into view, which only he could see.
A pale gold screen of light quietly unfolded in the corner of his vision.
"Counting the time, it should be about time for the Act Two plot to begin."
Greg browsed the system logs and task list, calculating silently in his mind.
In the original game, the main story of Act Two revolved around the protagonist gradually making a name for themselves in the academy, increasing their strength and reputation.
It was a crucial transitional phase.
But at the same time, during this act, some important foreshadowing and conflicts began to be quietly planted.
One very critical hidden plotline was the gradually germinating 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 seduced and corrupted by the Demon King Cult.
Greg's gaze uncontrollably drifted toward the cold, snow-like girl beside him again.
Her long ice-blue hair flowed with a chilly luster in the morning light. Her exquisite profile was expressionless, yet it possessed a natural, inviolable majesty and beauty.
No matter how one looked at her, she seemed more like the template for a heroic character than a villain who would eventually throw herself into darkness to fight her own kin.
If I want to save her and prevent her from heading down that destined path of destruction... I might have to find a way to intervene early in the Act Two plot and resolve any incidents that might escalate the conflict between her and Lilith.
But that method might only treat the symptoms and not the root cause.
Because the root of their conflict lay in the gap in their talent.
As long as that fundamental issue wasn't resolved, even if the surface storms were temporarily calmed, the conflict would eventually explode in another form, likely leading to the same tragic end.
Rate on N.U.
