Standing to the side, Silvia felt the gloom in her eyes vanish the moment she heard Greg's firm denial.
She let out a soft sigh of relief, and her tense shoulders seemed to relax slightly.
That's a relief... Senior Greg doesn't like Princess Vivian after all...
The one he likes is indeed...
She subconsciously glanced at her friend Victoria. A complex, difficult-to-read emotion flickered deep within her pink eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a gentle smile.
As long as Senior Greg's feelings haven't changed and the target is still Victoria, then her plan still has a chance of succeeding...
However, at the moment Silvia's mind relaxed—perhaps because her movement was a bit too large when she sighed—
Clack.
Something slipped out of the side pocket of her uniform skirt and landed on the polished floor with a light thud.
Greg didn't hesitate to pick it up, discovering it was a small human-shaped doll.
The craftsmanship wasn't exactly exquisite; it was actually quite crude, made from a fabric that looked rather uncomfortable to the touch.
Despite the bright light in the classroom, a faint shadow seemed to cling to it, emitting a subtle, chilling aura.
Greg's pupils constricted imperceptibly.
"This is...?"
The style of the doll, the eerie symbol on it, and the unsettling aura it gave off...
It seemed very similar to certain cursed items from the original story. But why would Silvia be carrying it?
He was about to examine it closely to see if he had misidentified it.
However, a fair, slender hand snatched the doll away before he could.
Silvia's movement was so fast it almost left an afterimage, a sharp contrast to her usual gentle and slow demeanor.
After grabbing the doll, she immediately hid both hands behind her back.
Greg looked at Silvia in confusion.
"Silvia, that thing just now—"
"It's just an ordinary doll, Senior Greg. I was just sewing it for fun and didn't do a very good job. Please don't laugh at me."
She interrupted him before his question could even get past the start.
That gentle, pure, and cloudless perfect smile was back on her face, as if the moment of urgency and loss of composure had never happened.
"No, that doll seemed to—"
Greg tried to point out the doll's abnormality, but he was interrupted again.
The curve of Silvia's smile didn't change at all—it even grew sweeter—but her voice dropped slightly as she looked into Greg's eyes and repeated word for word:
"Senior Greg, you're mistaken."
"It really is just a... nor-mal... doll."
Her pink eyes remained clear as they gazed at Greg, but he felt a strange, subtle pressure.
"..."
Greg opened his mouth, looked into Silvia's beautiful yet seemingly emotionless pink eyes, and then glanced at Victoria, who seemed completely oblivious to the exchange, still stroking her chin as she pondered the morning's rumors...
He fell silent for a few seconds, then slowly closed his mouth.
His reason and a certain instinct born from survival warned him at the same time, so he decided to pretend he hadn't seen anything.
Besides, a cursed item of that level wasn't particularly dangerous and couldn't cause substantial harm to a person, so Silvia should be fine holding onto it.
"Students, prepare for class."
Soon, an unfamiliar middle-aged female professor entered the large lecture hall, clutching a thick set of lesson plans.
Her attire was more like the practical gear of a combat-oriented professor rather than the loose robes common among theory teachers.
She didn't slowly adjust the magic projector like most theory professors either. Instead, she swept a quick gaze over the crowd of students like she was inspecting a training ground, her brow furrowing slightly as if she were uncomfortable with such a quiet classroom setting.
Clearly, she had been temporarily transferred from another department to replace Associate Professor Audrey, who had died in the recent kidnapping case.
Asking her to teach the relatively static subject of Magic History and Theory was truly a case of putting a square peg in a round hole.
It was also worth noting that the Holy Church of Light's handling of the matter was exactly as it had been in the original story.
The public announcements and the Academy Daily News focused heavily on Greg Sass's feat of defeating a Demon King Cult member and rescuing the kidnapped freshman, but they didn't say a single word about the scandal of Professor Audrey colluding with the cult and ultimately dying from backlash.
Even the internal notices for students and faculty merely brushed it off vaguely, stating that 'Professor Audrey has resigned for personal reasons.'
However, Greg now realized it was only natural for them to cover up the truth.
A believer employed at Glory Cael Magic Academy, who theoretically should have strictly followed the Holy Teachings of Light, had been seduced by the Demon King Cult and committed such a heinous act against the Church's Candidate Saintess.
If such a scandal were made public, it would be a massive blow to the reputation and faith of the Holy Church of Light, which prided itself on being the incarnation of justice and purity.
"Scoot in further."
Greg's thoughts were interrupted by Victoria's blunt voice.
She was trying to squeeze into the empty seat next to him, but he was sitting near the edge, blocking her path.
Pushed by Victoria's uncompromising shove, Greg was reluctantly forced into the very corner by the window, practically pressed against the wall.
"Wait, what are you two doing sitting in the back row? Do you want to be delinquent students like me?" Greg muttered as he turned sideways to make room for them.
"Hmph, you think we actually want to be stuck with a magnet for trouble like you?"
Victoria made some room for Silvia and sat down next to Greg with a huff, giving him a sharp look.
"I just wanted to pay back that favor sooner rather than later."
As she spoke, she reached into her uniform pocket, fumbled around, and then pulled out a small bag, dropping it onto the desk in front of Greg with a thud.
Inside were about twenty gold coins, radiating an enticing luster.
"There, that's the reward we agreed on. Now we're even."
Victoria tilted her chin up with a casual tone, but a hint of relief flickered in her gray-blue eyes.
"Holy crap, this much?! You didn't... actually sell a pair of your own thigh-high socks to that shopkeeper at Faded Iris in private, did you?"
Greg was shocked as he took the heavy bag of coins.
He remembered that the glove could sell for forty gold coins at most. With a thirty-seventy split, he should have only received twelve coins. Yet here he was with twenty...
This made Greg suspect that Victoria had made some sort of shady deal with that female shopkeeper to get such a large extra profit.
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?!"
A suspicious blush instantly bloomed on Victoria's cheeks, and she glared at Greg in annoyance.
"My socks aren't encrusted with gems! How could they be worth that much?!"
She took a deep breath to calm herself before explaining at a normal volume.
"The extra is to pay you back for that gem you gave me in the dungeon. So for the glove sale, we're doing a fifty-fifty split. Forty gold coins, twenty each. It's only fair."
"What? You little gray-haired brat...!"
Greg was stunned. He looked down at the heavy coin purse in his hand, then back up at Victoria's awkward expression that practically screamed, 'I just did what I had to, so don't get too touched.' A complex warmth instantly welled up in his heart.
This girl... she's usually reckless, greedy, and sharp-tongued, and her chest is... ahem. But she really is a good woman!
Rate on N.U.
