When the last rays of the setting sun pierced the gloom at the Dungeon entrance and spilled freely over Victoria and Sylvia, they stopped almost in unison and took deep breaths of the dry, warm air aboveground.
An almost instinctive sense of security seeped slowly into their limbs with the warmth of the sunlight, dispelling the invisible tension that had gripped them in the Dungeon.
Sylvia could not resist raising her hand, touching the falling sunlight with her fingertips as a faint smile of relief appeared on her face.
She turned toward Victoria, who stood beside her lost in thought, and spoke softly. "Victoria... about Greg, our upperclassman..."
Drawn out of her thoughts, Victoria shifted her gray eyes toward Sylvia, signaling for her to continue.
"I think we really might have misunderstood him."
Sylvia sounded certain:
"If he really hated us as much as he seemed to when the term started, then back there... he wouldn't have needed to take such a huge risk and jump into the Dark River to save me."
She paused, her voice growing softer but utterly earnest:
"And his identity as the goddess's emissary... that absolutely cannot be faked. The mark of divine favor is more real than any oath or evidence. I know that better than anyone."
As a saintess candidate, her ability to sense and distinguish divine auras was an instinct etched into her blood.
The profound, pure blessing of darkness upon Greg could not be faked.
Victoria listened in silence, her gaze turning toward the deep, shadowed entrance to the Dungeon.
She could not trust him as completely as Sylvia did. Wariness came as naturally to her as breathing.
But... the look on Greg's face when he had tossed her the Gem without hesitation, and that almost openhearted display of trust, kept replaying in her mind.
I can't figure him out.
In the end, she murmured, her brow still furrowed, "But he really is... completely different from before."
The arrogant, overbearing young noble with his clumsy schemes, and the Greg who now remained remarkably composed in danger and was even willing to entrust precious resources to an enemy... the two images overlapped, yet were riddled with contradictions.
"Maybe..." Sylvia ventured, "he really just wants to get away from his family first, since they've most likely already betrayed humanity."
Victoria did not answer. She merely tightened her grip on the Gem.
Its cool touch pressed against her palm, like a promise yet to be fulfilled, or a pebble tossed into the lake of her heart, disturbing the once-clear distinction between friend and foe.
Each occupied with her own thoughts, they quietly exchanged guesses about Greg's transformation as they followed the trail behind the Academy toward the main road leading to the dormitories.
Just as they were about to step onto the stone-paved road, a girl suddenly slipped into the Dungeon from their blind spot.
Victoria stopped short, her sharp gray eyes sweeping toward the entrance, but she saw nothing.
"Was I imagining things?"
Before she could think further, they stepped onto the main road, and three maids in matching uniforms suddenly emerged from beneath the roadside trees, surrounding Victoria in a triangle.
Without warning, the maid in front, a stern-faced woman with ear-length hair, reached out and gently pinched Victoria's cheek with her white-gloved fingertips.
"Hmm..." She examined the feel carefully, as though inspecting a precision instrument. "Although her height is very close to Her Highness's, her facial bones and muscle structure... don't appear to be altered by disguise techniques or an item."
Victoria said, "...Hey."
Her icy warning seemed to go completely ignored.
Another maid, who wore glasses and had an intellectual air, adjusted her frames and openly surveyed Victoria's chest before offering a calm analysis:
"Furthermore, based on the comparative data, Her Highness's bust contours... should theoretically be more... hmm, pronounced than this student's."
A vein seemed to throb at Victoria's temple, and faint but dangerous magic began to curl around her fingertips. "It seems that when I need subjects for magical experiments... I won't have to bother making dummies anymore."
Sylvia hurriedly caught her arm and whispered urgently, "C-calm down, Victoria! Violent crime is absolutely out of the question!"
Just then, the third maid, who wore her hair in a high ponytail and looked the liveliest, suddenly leaned closer. Staring at the lines of Victoria's trouser-clad legs, she exclaimed:
"Wait! Look at her legs! Long and straight, with smooth, perfectly defined muscles... th-they're even better than Her Highness's ideal leg shape, which the royal etiquette instructors spent years correcting and refining!"
Victoria, who had been on the verge of exploding, froze.
She lifted her chin slightly, the corners of her lips curving into an almost imperceptible smile tinged with pride:
"Hmph... it seems you three aren't entirely lacking in taste-ah! Did one of you just stick out your tongue and lick me?"
Sylvia said, "..."
The three maids suddenly huddled together. "She's definitely not Her Highness. The taste is completely different."
"I see. Then it appears we have the wrong person."
As though they had completed some sort of rapid identification procedure, the three maids stepped back in unison, lifted their skirts with matching movements, and performed impeccable, textbook curtsies.
"Young ladies, please accept our sincere apologies for our discourtesy."
The short-haired maid spoke on their behalf, her tone returning to businesslike politeness:
"We are looking for a... particular person. Have you seen a red-haired girl nearby whose behavior... well, might be somewhat eccentric?"
"No," Victoria answered curtly.
All three maids' faces simultaneously filled with undisguised frustration and dismay.
"We've lost her again, just as we thought..."
"Her Highness is far too good at running off..."
"Who knows where Her Highness has gone this time?"
They exchanged quick, quiet remarks, their faces clouded with worry.
"Her Highness..." Sylvia caught their muttering and repeated the words under her breath.
Victoria's gray eyes sharpened. She now knew whom they were looking for.
Lilith Kahn.
The Kingdom's second princess had enrolled in the same year as them, yet was already one of the Academy's most talked-about figures.
Rumor had it that at only level 10, her astonishing talent had allowed her to master an embryonic form of [Flame Explosion], one of the highest-tier fire spells.
Without a doubt, she would be one of the most formidable rivals in the class placement assessment.
Yet that very strength drew Victoria like a magnet.
Defeating an opponent like that would be all the more meaningful.
At that thought, Victoria temporarily set aside the turmoil Greg had stirred in her heart.
She lingered no longer. With a slight nod to the three maids, she pulled Sylvia away at a brisk pace, determined to devote the last of her time to practicing magic.
Watching the two girls hurry away, the three maids exchanged helpless glances.
"If Her Highness Lilith still hasn't returned by lights-out..."
The bespectacled maid adjusted her glasses, a helpless glint flashing across the lenses. "I'm afraid we'll have no choice but to report to 'her' first."
"Her Highness Vivian..."
The ponytailed maid sighed. "Let's hope Her Highness has her fill of fun and comes back before she's found out."
Before you continue