My place is pretty big

While Greg was inwardly howling over the system notification, his words had also set off a storm in Victoria's mind.

He knows I'm the Hero?

Only a handful of people knew that identity.

Aside from a few of the Holy Light Church's highest-ranking members, there was only Sylvia, her childhood friend standing before her, who was a candidate to become the next Saintess.

But how had this former duke's son, exiled by his family and hiding in a gloomy Dungeon, found out?

Victoria discreetly took half a step forward, shielding the unconscious Sylvia completely behind her.

Her voice was calm, almost devoid of emotion, but Greg keenly sensed the murderous intent churning beneath that calm.

"Who exactly are you?" she asked. "And where did you learn about this?"

Greg snapped back to his senses.

The system's sudden interference had thrown him off his rhythm, but it had also unexpectedly given him a whole new idea.

He quickly combined his prepared explanation with the quest he had just received, weaving a new chain of logic in his mind.

"I'm actually an emissary of a goddess, too."

He met Victoria's scrutinizing gaze and spoke candidly. "Only, the enemy you need to defeat is the Demons, while my mission is to conquer Dungeons."

In this world, humanity faced two greatest threats: the Demons watching for their chance to strike, and the underground labyrinths scattered across the continent, which spawned countless Monsters.

Considering his talent and the quest the system had issued, Greg wasn't really lying. His current goal truly was to conquer Dungeons.

"That doesn't explain what you did before." Victoria remained on guard.

"Because that was an act I had to put on to break away from my family."

Greg lowered his voice slightly, adding just the right touch of gravity.

"In Duke Sass's House, aside from me, the maid who used to serve me, and an adopted younger sister taken in for her talent, everyone else-"

He paused, then enunciated every word. "Is a lackey of the Demons."

Victoria's pupils contracted slightly.

"Besides, if I really wanted to ruin you..."

Greg continued, his tone even carrying a hint of incredulous self-mockery.

"After tampering with the Magic Device, why would I go around openly bragging about it? Am I some idiot who's afraid people won't know he's doing something evil?"

Thank goodness Greg Sass originally had only one point of intelligence.

Greg silently bowed to his predecessor in his heart.

It was precisely because the man's earlier actions had been so bafflingly stupid that the claim he had done it deliberately now had room to stand.

Victoria remained silent.

The Church had indeed secretly investigated Duke Sass's House, but had never found conclusive evidence.

She had never imagined that a former member of the family's direct line would lay such a horrifying secret before her so bluntly.

And when she thought of those absurdly stupid misdeeds of his...

A seed of doubt quietly took root.

"Then why didn't you confess to the Church of Light?" she pressed, her gaze sharp as a blade. "If what you say is true, the Church should be your most reliable ally."

"Because it wasn't the Goddess of Light who blessed me."

Greg answered smoothly, casually supplying the name of a deity mentioned in the original work's lore.

"The one who blessed me was the Goddess of Night."

Watching the subtle changes in Victoria's expression, he added:

"Besides, the Church isn't exactly united either. Otherwise, Sylvia would have officially become the Saintess long ago, instead of merely being a 'candidate.' Am I right?"

Victoria's breath caught.

He even knows the secret about factional struggles within the Church delaying the Saintess's succession...

This was certainly not information a marginalized young noble could have obtained.

By now, Victoria believed a little over half of his story.

But years of caution kept her from letting down her guard completely.

"I'll still remain skeptical," she told him frankly, looking him straight in the eye.

"That's enough." Greg spread his hands, his tone relaxing. "Miss Hero, I never intended to be your enemy. I just want a peaceful life."

The tense atmosphere finally eased a little.

Only then did Victoria belatedly feel a chill.

In her earlier rush to save Sylvia, she had removed her outer robe, leaving her in nothing but thin white underwear.

The damp fabric clung to her skin, revealing every curve in the firelight.

She stiffened briefly, then raised her arms and crossed them in front of herself with feigned nonchalance, giving Greg a smile utterly devoid of warmth.

"Seen enough?"

Greg blinked and answered honestly, "To tell the truth, not yet."

"...Keep looking, and I swear I'll smash your eyes in."

Greg obligingly turned around.

The rustle of clothes came from behind him.

Only when the sound stopped did he turn back. His gaze passed over Sylvia, still unconscious and soaked through, before settling on Victoria, now fully dressed but wearing a complicated expression.

He pointed toward the narrow passage behind him that led to his temporary camp and extended a sincere invitation.

"Before Sylvia wakes up..."

"Want to come over to my place?"

He paused, then broke into a sunny grin beneath his blond hair.

"My place is pretty big."

After gently laying Sylvia on a dry patch of stone beside the fire, Victoria straightened and slowly surveyed this so-called home.

The spacious cave was almost completely empty, aside from the crackling campfire in the middle and the heavily stained Academy jacket spread on the ground as a mat.

The walls were rough rock, the floor hard stone slabs, and the air smelled of damp earth with a faint undertone of Monsters' rank odor.

"...This is what you call a 'home'?" Her tone made no attempt to hide her disdain.

"Just tell me it isn't big." With his back to her, Greg wrung out his soaked jacket, sending droplets pattering onto the ground.

He took off his sodden shirt, exposing his lean, muscular upper body to the flickering firelight.

Water slid down the grooves of his back muscles, and the outlines of his shoulder blades shifted distinctly as he wrung out his clothes.

Victoria's gaze swept over him discreetly, then quickly moved away.

To be fair, judging by appearance alone, Greg Sass was undoubtedly the most striking man she had ever seen.

Yet for some reason, that dazzling blond hair and excessively handsome face had instinctively made her feel... uncomfortable ever since their first meeting.

An inexplicable sense of aversion, like a faint electric current, occasionally shot down her spine when their eyes met.

Even now, after hearing his explanation whose truth was impossible to judge, that subtle revulsion remained.

She couldn't make sense of it, and couldn't be bothered to investigate further.

Victoria sat down on the other side of the fire, staying close enough to her unconscious childhood friend to react at any moment.

She took the pack off her back and began checking its contents to see whether anything had been lost in the earlier chaos.

She took several items out one by one.

A few bottles of basic healing potion, some rations wrapped in oiled paper, several light crystals for illumination, and a few changes of clothes.

Finally, her fingers touched two unremarkable-looking objects at the bottom of the pack.

One was a palm-sized, flat, round box made from some dark metal, its surface engraved with intricate patterns that were difficult to make out.

The other was a small bundle of dark brown, dried roots tied with hemp cord, giving off an extremely faint smell like old leather.

Just as she took the two items out and casually set them on the ground beside her, a shout bordering on a breakdown suddenly erupted through the cave.

"Son of a bitch! You damn gray-haired brat, you've brought your little care package all the way into the Dungeon?!"