“Strange, where did that little dragon girl run off to?”
When Greg snapped out of his thoughts, he only saw Rom and Corwin standing beside him. As for Juno, she was already nowhere to be seen, likely having slipped back into the crowd to chat with someone else.
Rom wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking a bit shaken. “I never expected girls who usually ask for help just to carry a few books to be this strong. Is their usual fragile appearance all an act?”
Corwin was also still a little jumpy. “We should probably get out of here while we can. After all, Greg is basically a celebrity in this exchange now. It won't end well if he gets surrounded again.”
The three of them nodded and prepared to leave.
But just as they turned around, they saw the red-haired Lilith standing right in front of them.
Noticing Greg looking her way, her lips twitched slightly before she spoke in a stubborn tone, “Hmph. Since you helped me carry my luggage before, I suppose I'll give you a little praise. You did a decent job this time, Greg.”
“...”
Greg was stunned.
Lilith stood with her arms crossed, her head turned slightly to the side. Her eyes darted around erratically as if she were intensely studying the patterns on the ceiling.
But her words made it clear that she was genuinely, directly praising him.
Greg's eyes widened, a storm of disbelief brewing in his heart. Lilith? That stubborn tsundere is actually praising me of her own accord? Am I dreaming? Or did the sun rise from the west today?
“Ugh...”
Under Greg's shocked gaze, a flush spread across Lilith's cheeks at a speed visible to the naked eye.
As if she could no longer hold it together, she abruptly whipped her head away, her voice rising an octave. “D-Don't get the wrong idea! I only praised you out of duty because you brought glory to the Kingdom and the Academy! It's absolutely not because I wanted to praise you! You're not even worth my praise!”
With that, she flipped her hair and spun around to run off, her red ponytail tracing a sharp arc in the air before she quickly vanished around the corner of the corridor.
Watching her retreating back, Greg let out a long sigh of relief. Good, now he could relax. Lilith was still the same familiar tsundere as always. She hadn't changed a bit.
However, Rom and Corwin didn't understand the concept of a “tsundere,” so they felt a bit indignant on Greg's behalf. Rom frowned. “That girl just now was really out of line. You've achieved so much, yet she still had the nerve to say you aren't worth her praise? Who does she think she is, some high-and-mighty figure?”
Corwin also nodded, chiming in for once. “Yeah, that was indeed a bit much.”
Greg quickly waved his hands. “No, no, it's fine. That's just how she is. She has a sharp tongue, but she doesn't actually mean what she says. Don't take it to heart.”
After a bit of explaining, he finally managed to soothe his roommates' annoyance.
As the three of them walked down the stairs, Rom patted his stomach and said, “I'm starting to feel a bit hungry. Why don't we head to the cafeteria for some food?”
“Agreed,” Corwin said, pushing up his glasses.
Just as Greg was about to nod in agreement, a crisp voice called out from behind them. “Are you guys heading to the cafeteria too? Mind if we join you?”
The three of them turned around to see Victoria standing at the top of the stairs, flanked by her two roommates.
Victoria's expression was slightly awkward, her eyes darting away to avoid Greg's gaze. On the other hand, Adele and Kayla looked thoroughly intrigued, their eyes darting back and forth between Greg and Victoria.
“Of course,” Greg replied generously.
The six of them then made their way to the cafeteria together.
Along the way, Adele suddenly spoke up. “Sigh, there's no way the four of us are making it to the final defense. All our hopes are resting on you two lovebirds now. You have to work hard on our behalf!”
Kayla nodded along vigorously. “Yes, yes! You two lovebirds better make us proud!”
Still unaccustomed to such sudden teasing, Victoria's face instantly flushed bright red. “W-Wait! What are you two even talking about?! This guy and I are absolutely—”
But before she could finish, Greg, who was long used to all kinds of romantic teasing, gave a thumbs-up and answered with a straight, righteous face, “Oh, leave it to us!”
“W-What are you saying now, you jerk?!”
Her face burning red, Victoria pounced at Greg like a cat with its fur standing on end, reaching out to claw at his face. She wanted to see just how thick-skinned this guy could be!
But Greg was quick on his feet. He caught her wrists first, holding her in place, before leaning in slightly to whisper in her ear, “Junior Sister, calm down. Getting this worked up is exactly what they want. If we just act like it's no big deal, they'll eventually get bored and stop joking about it.”
Victoria's movements froze.
She blinked, gradually calming down as she realized Greg's words actually made sense.
If she got flustered and reacted every single time, Adele and Kayla would definitely find it amusing and tease her even harder. On the contrary, if she acted completely unbothered, they would find it boring.
Taking a deep breath, Victoria forced her expression into a stiff smile and said in a deliberately sweet tone, “A-All right then. Let's do our best together, my dear Senior Brother~”
That last “Senior Brother” was practically ground out from between her teeth, but combined with her forced smile, she actually managed to look quite like a sweet, doting girlfriend.
Adele and Kayla exchanged a glance, their expressions turning a bit complicated.
They certainly loved shipping the two, but they preferred Victoria's flustered, explosive reactions over suddenly being stuffed with a mouthful of dog food like this.
The two silently traded looks, reaching a silent consensus: from now on, they would only tease Victoria when she was alone.
Meanwhile, watching the intimate display between Greg and Victoria, Rom and Corwin felt a sudden sense of urgency.
Greg had already made so much progress, which meant they couldn't just keep slacking off either.
Both of them silently clenched their fists, resolving to make their own moves soon.
What Greg didn't know was that at the corner of the upper corridor, a dark figure quietly withdrew her gaze and vanished into the shadows.
“So the person Senior Greg likes is the very target Father told me to keep an eye on.”
A meaningful smile curled Melina's lips. “How intriguing.”
Rate on N.U.
