Greg rolled his eyes inwardly and unhesitatingly blocked out the wicked cat's devilish whispers in his head.
He stopped, turned around, and faced Sylvia, his tone firm and clear:
"Of course. You helped me a lot this time."
He paused, then added as he watched Sylvia's eyes suddenly light up:
"Without your enhancement magic and timely support, the fight wouldn't have gone so smoothly. Your light magic also disrupted and purified those monsters. You did well, Sylvia."
"R-really?!"
Sylvia's eyes sparkled instantly. A radiant smile, relieved and a little shy, spread across her face, and she instinctively patted her chest.
"Thank goodness... I thought... I'd just caused you trouble again..."
Seeing her genuine happiness, still tinged with lingering anxiety, Greg suddenly remembered that in the original story, one of Sylvia's defining traits early on was her severe lack of confidence.
Unlike Victoria, who was proud and resilient despite also being a commoner, Sylvia felt mostly immense pressure from her position as a saintess candidate, along with subtle exclusion and malice from another faction within the Church. It had even made her resent her own status and want to escape it.
That mindset was precisely why, despite her powerful affinity for light and the Church's backing, she always seemed timid and hesitant, unable to make full use of her power.
According to the original plot, Victoria would gradually help her work through and resolve that issue later.
But Sylvia really had helped him quite a bit this time, both by providing support and by following his orders to evacuate the others at the end. Greg felt that, by any measure, he ought to give her some positive feedback.
As he continued walking, he said in a casual, conversational tone:
"You don't have to keep doubting yourself, Sylvia. Your power is special,