Ellie clapped a hand over her coin pouch almost instantly, a flicker of wariness flashing through her azure eyes like a cat guarding its food.
"What do you mean?"
Greg's expression didn't change. He even held out a hand as though he were perfectly entitled to it. "Lend me some money."
Ellie's gaze turned cold in an instant, and the subtle atmosphere between them vanished without a trace.
"Huh?"
She narrowed her eyes, her voice brimming with disbelief. "Borrowing money from your own maid? Young Master Greg, have all those idiotic adventures finally ruined your brain for good?"
Greg choked on his reply, then puffed out his chest-though he wasn't feeling particularly confident.
"Quit nagging! I've paid your wages plenty of times. Now it's your turn to pay me once. What's wrong with that?!"
"Huh?! You-"
Ellie nearly laughed in anger. She was about to argue, but when she saw how utterly justified Greg looked, she somehow swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.
Frowning, she carefully considered Greg's twisted reasoning.
His logic was complete bullshit, but... somehow, she actually felt as though... he'd convinced her a little?
Being led astray like this annoyed Ellie even more, but above all, she felt a weary resignation. Forget it. Why bother arguing with this idiot?
She shot Greg a fierce glare. In the end, wearing an expression that said I must be out of my mind, she took her hand off her coin pouch and roughly undid the clasp.
She looked down and rummaged through her pouch, then pulled out three gold coins. Without even looking, she flung them at Greg's face as though she were throwing away trash.
"Just this once."
She spoke through clenched teeth, each word seemingly forced out between them. "Ask me for something like this again, and I'll really cut you down."
The coins traced three faint golden streaks through the air.
Greg scrambled to catch them and clutched them in his palm.
The cold touch of the metal and its reassuring weight lifted a huge burden from his heart.
"Abso-fucking-lutely!"
The internet slang from his original world slipped out instinctively, and a thoroughly satisfied smile spread across his face.
With these three gold coins, he could buy some essential supplies and improve the Dungeon's inhumane living conditions.
Ellie watched his undisguised delight, her gaze complicated.
She knew that Greg Sass had once spent money like water. It was inevitable that he'd be penniless after being banished.
She also knew that, though he still talked nonsense constantly, the sight of him rejoicing over a little money was slightly easier on the eyes than the extravagantly wasteful young wastrel he'd once been.
Of course, only slightly.
"So."
Ellie put away her coin pouch and folded her arms again, scrutinizing Greg. "Where exactly have you been hiding these past few days? Is playing disappearing games that much fun?"
Greg was happily weighing the coins in his hand and answered casually, "I haven't been hiding. I've finally come to my senses. I'm planning to take conquering the Dungeon seriously, get stronger, and prove myself."
Ellie stared at him expressionlessly and fell silent for two seconds.
"Your brain really is broken after all."
"Hey! Is it that strange for me to have a little ambition?!" Greg protested.
But then he thought about what he'd been like in the original story and had to admit, "Okay, now that I think about it, I guess it is pretty strange."
Still, strange or not, he had to clear at least the first floor of the Dungeon, both to complete that damned system quest and to keep scraping by in this world.
This was a matter of life and death, not whether he felt like improving himself.
Greg put away the coins, and the relaxed look faded from his face.
He raised his head and looked straight at Ellie, moonlight pooling in his amber eyes.
"I'm serious, Ellie."
His voice was quiet, but it carried a certainty Ellie had never heard from him before.
He paused, then continued without looking away. "Besides, I don't want to... stand behind you forever."
The night breeze seemed to still at that moment.
Ellie looked at Greg, at his moonlit face, at the unfamiliar yet undeniable seriousness in his eyes.
Suddenly, she felt that the young master she knew down to his very bones really did seem... different somehow.
He was no longer the fool who did nothing but bluster and cause trouble, nor the good-for-nothing who fell apart after a setback and never recovered.
He said he didn't want to stand behind me forever...
Recalling what Greg had just said, Ellie felt her cheeks grow faintly, uncontrollably warm beneath the cool, clear moonlight.
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