"My other half, thou wert fighting just now, so I refrained from disturbing thee. But... I had not expected thee to know such... interesting little tricks."
Just as Greg had collected himself, Nightmare's voice drifted through his mind again.
Her tone carried unmistakable amusement and curiosity. She was clearly referring to the skill Greg had used to restrain the monsters earlier: Tentacle Bind.
"It seems thou art hiding rather more secrets than I first imagined."
Greg knew she was probing him.
But since the goddess had played coy with him earlier, Greg decided to return the favor this time.
"Everyone has secrets of their own that they don't want-or can't allow-others to know. Isn't that right, my goddess?"
Nightmare clearly hadn't expected that response. She paused noticeably.
Then she gave a soft chuckle, tinged with resignation and understanding.
"Heh... thou hast a point."
She seemed to accept his explanation and pressed no further, but her tone soon shifted as she brought up another matter.
"Also, I can sense that the source of the 'foreign noise' I mentioned earlier... seems to be within that lizard-like monster's abdomen. If thou art at all curious, thou mightest cut it open and see what is causing it."
Greg refused without a moment's hesitation. "No, I'm not curious in the slightest."
He already knew what was in there.
It was most likely the malfunctioning prototype of the Screech Magic Device, which kept emitting noise at a specific frequency. The Spineback Lizard had probably swallowed it, or it had become lodged somewhere inside its body.
Knowing was one thing. He had no interest in digging through a monster's stomach with his own hands.
"Is that so? What a pity."
Nightmare did sound a little disappointed, as though she'd missed out on a good show.
After all,