Every boy has surely fantasized about being woken up in the morning by a cute childhood friend, right?
At least, back in his previous life as an ordinary gaming shut-in, Greg had certainly fantasized about such a scenario more than once.
In those hazy and beautiful imaginings, the scene usually went like this:
The soft white light of early dawn filters gently through sheer curtains, casting dappled shadows across the duvet.
Not yet ready to fully open one's eyes, lazily buried in a soft pillow, a crisp, melodious female voice tinged with a bit of feigned annoyance rings out in one's ear:
"Wake—up—now! You absolute super-duper lazy pig! The sun is already burning your butt!"
As consciousness gradually clears, a fresh and pleasant fragrance unique to a young girl quietly wafts into one's nose—perhaps a faint scent of soap mixed with sunlight, or maybe some floral-fruity shampoo.
Then, vision clarifies to see a cute girl straddling him, cheeks puffed out slightly, beautiful eyes wide and round. Despite her urging, her face carries an irrepressible look of concern, even as she adds a layer of feigned tsundere-ness:
"Hmph! If it weren't for the fact that we're childhood friends, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to wake you up! Hurry up and get out of bed, you're going to be late!"
Fantasies are always beautiful, filled with a filter-like soft glow and heart-pounding excitement.
As for reality...
"Aba... aba aba...!"
A cold, hard, metallic object invaded his warm mouth without warning, bringing a suffocating sense of threat.
"Mmph! Ptu! Cough, cough—!"
Greg jolted awake from his dream, eyes snapping open as he looked in horror at the source of his discomfort—
A beautiful girl stood quietly in the center of his somewhat cramped tent.
She had waist-length blue hair, deep and calm like a lake, meticulously tied into a high ponytail. Her ice-blue eyes were calm and motionless, like the surface of a frozen lake in winter, looking down at him.
She wore the standard Glory Cael Academy uniform, draped with a dark blue short cape with silver trim that signified her status as the Student Council President. Her posture was as upright as a bamboo stalk.
In her hand, she held a long, slender sword that shimmered with a cold light.
At that moment, the sharp tip of the blade, which reflected the dim light inside the tent, was held steadily against Greg's open mouth. A bit of... glistening liquid clung to the blade, clearly Greg's saliva.
"You—! Are you trying to murder your former fiancé?!"
Greg finally managed to shake off the metallic taste and icy sensation in his mouth. Surprised and angry, he shouted at the expressionless blue-haired princess.
He could even feel cold sweat instantly breaking out on his back.
That's right, this uninvited guest who had woken him up in such a unique way was none other than the First Princess of the Kingdom of Kahn, the Second-year Representative of Glory Cael Academy, the Student Council President, and his former betrothed—Vivian Kahn.
Strictly speaking, in the original game's setting, Greg and Vivian were indeed childhood friends.
When they were both young, due to the close relationship between the House of Sass and the Royal Family—and because the Queen was very fond of Greg's increasingly exquisite face—both families intended to bring them together. They often played together and studied court etiquette, eventually leading to an official engagement.
However, as they grew older, they took completely different paths.
Vivian's diligence and sense of responsibility saw her rise like a morning star, quickly becoming the pride of the Royal Family as the First Princess.
Meanwhile, Greg, possessing zero magical talent, became increasingly arrogant and engaged in a series of progressively outrageous behaviors. He gradually became the laughingstock of the nobility, and the interaction between the two grew sparse, the gap between them widening into a chasm.
Eventually, after Greg caused yet another scandal that brought shame upon the Royal Family, the King personally ordered the dissolution of the engagement, which had long since existed in name only.
Since then, the two had completely severed ties publicly, becoming the kind of strangers with almost zero interaction seen in the original game.
But in the original game's player community, because both were labeled as "doom-bound villains" and shared the dramatically tense relationship of "former fiancés," a small niche of crack ship fans had emerged. They were passionate about imagining various tragic and deep-seated love stories between the two in fanworks.
Regardless, in the original game's plot, until they each met their respective tragic or absurd ends, there really wasn't any interaction between them worth mentioning.
So, facing Vivian—the former fiancée who, in theory, should view him as a stain on her past—suddenly appearing in his secret camp in the dungeon and even using a sword to wake him up, Greg felt nothing but bewilderment and confusion.
What was the situation now?
Could it be... that they actually had some kind of secret underground alliance?
Cutting ties completely on the surface, while secretly staying in contact?
Greg's imagination ran wild for a split second, but Vivian's cold, business-like voice quickly shattered his unrealistic speculations.
"The Headmistress was worried you would continue to skip class, so she specifically commissioned me to come here... and remind you."
Vivian's tone was flat. She completely ignored Greg's mention of "former fiancé," as if it were an irrelevant title.
As she spoke, her wrist flicked slightly. The rapier moved in a fluid arc like it was alive. With a crisp clink, it was precisely sheathed into the ornate scabbard at her hip, the movement clean and decisive.
After completing this action, she turned slightly, her ice-blue eyes slowly scanning Greg's simple camp in this corner of the dungeon's shallow layers.
In her gaze, there was a hint of scrutiny she couldn't quite hide, and... a very faint trace of surprise.
Yesterday afternoon, when Headmistress Olivia personally called her to the office and told her in that lazy, slightly mischievous tone that Greg Sass was currently holed up in some corner of the southeast shallow layers of the first floor of the dungeon, Vivian's shock had been genuine.
Aside from professional adventurers who valued money over their lives and a very small number of students who had to venture deep for specific materials or cultivation needs, almost no one was willing to enter the dangerous environment of the dungeon, let alone live in it.
In Vivian's established perception and impression, a pampered, arrogant young master like Greg Sass, who had grown up surrounded and served by servants in the Duke's mansion, should have had absolutely nothing to do with words like hardship, adventure, or dungeons.
He should have been boasting in comfortable noble salons, or losing himself in the gentle embrace of some mistress. At the very least, he should have been hiding in some remote corner of the academy wallowing in self-pity. But he definitely shouldn't have been here.
Rate on N.U.
