“I can help you too. I know the most convenient spots around here to bury a body.”
Luna suddenly spoke up, her face completely expressionless.
Although her tone was flat, a hint of seriousness flickered in her pale purple eyes.
Even though Greg hadn't officially accepted her as his master yet, Luna had already decided that he was her disciple.
So if Greg needed it, she was more than willing to help, even if that meant handling some cleanup work that wasn't exactly suitable for public discussion.
After all, to her, her disciple's mental health was of the utmost importance. She didn't want to watch such a promising seedling go down the wrong path.
But despite their concern, Greg didn't immediately explain the situation.
After all, his goal was to raid the execution grounds to save Wendy. If he came right out and said it, even if these two were Great Archmages standing at the pinnacle of the world, they might refuse due to their official positions. He had to take a different approach.
“Sigh...”
Greg let out a deep, dejected sigh. His shoulders slumped, and his entire body radiated a heavy, suffocating air of exhaustion.
He looked up, his gaze shifting between Olivia and Luna with a mixture of gratitude and helplessness, and spoke in a low voice:
“Thank you, Headmistress... and... Master.”
Hearing Greg address her formally as “Headmistress” instead of his usual “damn cowgirl” made Olivia's brow twitch. A sudden wave of vigilance washed over her.
Is this guy up to no good again?
The last time he had addressed her so formally, he had made her gamble her entire reputation to deceive Veronica, the Saintess of the Church of Light.
That experience was still vivid in her mind.
Meanwhile, when Luna heard Greg call her “Master,” a subtle change finally rippled across her usually expressionless face.
Her features softened instantly, and a faint gleam flickered in her pale purple eyes.
Though she remained silent, the aura of pure joy radiating from her was so palpable that the other two in the room could practically feel it.
Slipping back into his dramatic act, Greg lowered his head, clenching his fists tightly as his voice trembled with suppressed emotion:
“But... forget it. I don't want to drag you two into this.”
“!”
Hearing this, Luna's estimation of Greg climbed even higher.
She had no idea what kind of trouble Greg had run into, but even in this state, he was still trying to protect them from being dragged down...
As expected of the disciple I chose. He truly possesses a noble soul!
With that thought, Luna's urge to help Greg grew even stronger.
Olivia, on the other hand, immediately felt that something was very—no, extremely wrong!
After all, when Greg had made her risk her reputation to deceive Saintess Veronica last time, he hadn't shown even a shred of guilt afterward!
Since when had this brat become so considerate?
Don't tell me he's planning to make an enemy of the entire world or something?!
There was definitely a catch here!
To play it safe, Olivia decided to test the waters first.
She took a sip from her glass and asked in a seemingly casual tone:
“So, what's actually bothering you? Just spit it out. Don't just sit there sighing by yourself.”
Greg still didn't answer.
He quietly walked over to the dining table, slumped into an empty chair, and looked up at Olivia.
“Pass me a bottle of wine first.”
Olivia reached under the table, pulled out an unopened bottle of malt whiskey, and handed it over.
Greg took the bottle, twisted off the cap, and without a word, tilted his head back and began chugging it.
Watching Greg gulp it down like water, Olivia felt a sharp pang of pain in her chest—that bottle was part of her private collection of aged whiskey, costing a whole Gold Coin!
“Hey, hey! Who drinks like that? This bottle is very—haha, actually, the price of the alcohol doesn't matter at all. I'm just worried about your health, so you should probably slow down.”
But just as Olivia was about to stand up and stop him, Luna glared her back down with a cold look.
The meaning behind that glare was clear: Let him drink.
Olivia could only awkwardly retract her hand and change her tune to a word of concern, trying to coax him into slowing down.
Still, she couldn't help but mumble under her breath in distress:
“That's aged malt whiskey bought with money I worked so hard to embezzle... A whole Gold Coin a bottle... Even I can't bear to drink it like that...”
But the moment the words left her mouth, Greg placed a bulging pouch onto the table with a heavy clatter.
The pouch wasn't fully tied shut, revealing a sliver of gleaming gold coins inside. It was clearly a bag packed to the brim with gold!
Greg set the bottle down, wiped his mouth, and spoke in a tone that was half-tipsy and half-dejected:
“Headmistress, I want to get drunk. Can you bring me a few more bottles?”
Olivia's gaze lingered on the pouch for approximately half a second. Then, with lightning speed, she swept it into her pocket. In that exact same instant, her expression seamlessly transitioned from agony to benevolence, and from distress to unwavering support.
She patted Greg on the shoulder, her voice filled with passionate resolve:
“What are you saying! When a student is sad and wants to drink their sorrows away, how could I possibly not support such a simple request? Come, I'll drink with you!”
As she spoke, she fished out two more bottles from under the table, handed one to Greg, kept the other for herself, and tilted her head back to chug.
“Gulp, gulp, gulp... Ah, drinking it like this really is the best!”
Olivia downed nearly half the bottle in one go, then set it down, wiped her mouth, and let out a long, alcohol-scented breath.
Looking at Greg, who had also put down his bottle but still looked unsatisfied, the suspicion that had risen in her heart mostly evaporated.
She began to wonder—could he really just be in a bad mood and came to drink with me?
After all, given Greg's usual personality where he'd gladly offend a Great Archmage like her just for a bit of coin, there was no way he would treat her to drinks, let alone whip out forty Gold Coins all at once!
Thus, Olivia speculated that Greg might have actually suffered some massive blow, causing a temporary shift in his temperament.
While those forty Gold Coins made her incredibly happy, she was also worried about whether Greg's current state would affect his final defense results.
Having finally secured a life where she could hold her head high and boast to everyone, she didn't want to suddenly go back to how things were overnight.
She dragged her chair right next to Greg, wrapping an arm around his shoulder in a friendly manner:
“Don't worry, no matter how much you want to drink today, I'll be right here with you. So don't worry about those annoying things for now, let's just drink to our hearts' content!”
She then clinked her bottle against Greg's and began chugging straight from the bottle with him.
Rate on N.U.
