Chapter 119
Chapter 119
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: 34-1. We Fight, But We Also Love.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
White Wolf, Shadow Fang worked just as well as it had during the grade exam.
"Pine, just like last time, it's only the two of us left."
"..."
Darkness enveloped our surroundings.
A void no one could approach, my mental image itself.
I'd thought about it endlessly, but what kind of life would I have lived without our Pine?
Would my heart have shattered and broken long ago, extinguishing like a flame in a cold world where hope was nowhere to be seen?
"Feels familiar, right? No one outside can check inside here."
If Pine hadn't been in a rage and had been in her right mind, she might have been able to block my attack.
But I'd grown much stronger by fighting with my head on the line.
"Not gonna answer? It's making me a little sad."
A faint assumption crept in that I might even be able to beat Pine as she was now. But if we really fought, I'd let her win.
I could discard my pride anytime for the warm, cozy feeling of love.
Love was always lost by the one who loved more, anyway.
'Talk about real pocket-sized destructive power... No, it's downright ferocious.'
Looking at Pine, who only wore the glass helm, I tried to regain my composure, but she drew my gaze too strongly no matter what.
Maybe it was because I had a poster of Pine as the Saintess on my bedroom wall in the real world. It was too stimulating. Familiar flavors were the scariest, indeed.
'I don't even glance at other girl characters usually, but Pine's the exception, huh.'
I was already in love with a game character, keeping my distance from real-world women.
With someone who even loved her burn scars right there on my monitor, was there any need to fuss over reality?
My wife and imaginary kids were in the computer, after all.
Last time, I'd only seen her body and hadn't realized it was our Pine. The timelines were different anyway.
At least five to ten years—that was the time gap between [Knight Heart] and [Black Heart].
In imperial calendar terms, it probably lined up.
"Remember? You called me a pervert here."
I'd memorized even her measurements as the Saintess, which ironically blinded me with preconceptions and kept me from recognizing her.
She'd grown bigger from there? No way.
Anyone else would probably have failed to recognize her too. Ah, nosebleed incoming again. Damn it.
"Once again, only the helm remains..."
Pine Granasia, left only in her glass helm, approached me step by step, her footsteps echoing.
Wolf eyes blood-red like fresh blood.
Probably the Apostle of Wrath's power at work.
Since they were mid-bosses you had to go through while catching the Hero Cult's Demon Kings, I knew their abilities to some extent.
This was why I said to be careful. She had a personality like mine, refusing to listen to others no matter what.
Acting on her own thoughts alone, dictatorial and arrogant.
"Pine, even so, putting dozens of glass walls around the palace was too much."
A slight similarity made me chuckle involuntarily. What was wrong with having things in common with the one you love?
The world was full of couples whose love faded over trivial reasons. This was a reward by comparison.
Even when I used Spatial Boundary in my room, dozens of glass walls surrounded me, blocking escape and making me late. How thoroughly she'd planned to imprison me.
"Imprisonment from a pure love angle is nice and all, but I'll escape anytime. Pine."
"..."
Sharing mana circuits let me sense where she was intuitively. Our lives weren't shared, but we shared heartbeats.
"If you're mad, let's fight it out and talk."
"Licht..."
No matter how the white wolf sulked or got angry, it was just cute. No other impressions left.
"That's the answer I believe in. Pine."
As the Nameless Saintess, I could love her freely.
She was just a game character, after all. Unreciprocated emotions were no issue.
But now that I'd entered the game, she was no longer fictional.
I hated the idea of her getting hate for marrying or dating someone like me because of her severe burn scars, and this was the best way.
"Come here. I'll hug you tight, no matter how much you hurt me."
I couldn't arbitrarily judge her or strip away her colors because of my shallow love.
What was pure love, anyway? I'd matched her pace and moved forward.
"I can handle that much spoiling. Pine."
Black Knight and White Knight.
Shadow and glass.
Even if we seemed polar opposites, packed with contrasting traits, our statuses as commoner and imperial princess starkly different.
Even if ignorance stole our memories and erased our shared past.
Wasn't being able to love again what pure love was?
"..."
"It might feel stuffy, but bear with it."
I hugged Pine tightly. I pressed a bit harder to keep her from struggling. Even after being caught, she used glass magic,
"...Ugh."
slicing my back with glass shards. I felt the stinging pain tearing into my flesh and the lukewarm warmth of blood.
'The Apostle of Wrath's power has a time limit.'
Better than her attacking someone else or collapsing the cavern. With her soft heart, she'd surely feel guilty.
I was the Black Knight. A pure love Black Knight, at that.
Not some extraordinary hero—just a knight who could do anything for Pine Granasia's happiness.
If someone had to get hurt, better me.
"Li, Licht... Let... go..."
"Nope. Bad wolfie."
Even in rage mode, why was she so calm? I'd expected more yelling or outbursts. Her heart must really be empty.
"Why do you always... do this..."
"Because I'm your Black Knight. Pine."
Could I capture the empty heart of the Platinum Wolf? Probably not. But as I always said,
"Don't move for a bit like this."
I'd do my best. If I couldn't love her, at least I could protect her by my side.
Without loosening my embrace, I pressed our bodies even closer.
"Licht... I'm... so mad..."
"Why are you mad?"
To ensure she wouldn't hurt herself with Blind Magic just in case, my back could take all the wounds. I had karma to pay for not recognizing her last time.
Breaths mingling at touching distance. Hot body heat like we'd become one.
"Because... you didn't kiss me last time..."
She started dropping shocking bombs. Was the anger making buried emotions burst out?
"I read in a book... There, they just did that and it was fine..."
"..."
Like a hedgehog shedding its spines, Pine unpacked her pent-up feelings. How much did she idolize romance novels? Knowledge's ultimate goal was practice, but this was overkill.
"They welcomed everything... and cherished it all."
Clang. The glass swords slicing my back shattered. The attacks stopped. No more burning pain.
"You're the bad one, Licht... Princess... is mad..."
She huffed cutely through her nose. My lips curved up even though they shouldn't have.
"Just once... To see if it's really lemon-flavored..."
My heart pounded wildly like an engine starting up, so fiercely I couldn't tell if it was mine.
"I'm curious... Licht."
The wolf's eyes shifted from red back to gold, and with the glass helm on, she rubbed her mouth against mine, seeking a kiss.
There was a topic I'd debated until dawn with that pillar husband guy before.
'If you love someone, can you love even their flaws?'
A hot issue on the game community boards. A new poll post popped up, racking up hundreds of comments.
"This is still burning. Thought it'd fizzle out quick."
Countless players cited their successful routes as examples, posting long explanations.
"I'm against. How can you love the bad parts?"
"What? Of course you can? Loving the flaws is pure love. Basement dweller."
Thoroughly pragmatic Kwon Ki-seok was on the against side. Bad habits should be fixed—that was true love, he said.
"Does that mean gratefully swallowing the poison your ducal lady offers? Lee Soo-hyun?"
I agreed to an extent. But there was one difference:
"To a certain degree."
"You're crazier than me. Why the hell eat it?"
I believed you fought because you loved. Reality wasn't a fairy tale. Happy days couldn't repeat forever.
"If your beloved nearly collapses from poison, won't even that ice queen change her mind? You pillar hubby."
That's why you couldn't force your ideal on them. Everyone had flaws, and loving those was pure love.
Pine Granasia could imprison me like that. Judging if it was pure love was separate.
"Can you arbitrarily change someone just because you like them?"
"If it's a flaw, you fix it. Soo-hyun."
Forcing unconditional change wasn't right. You had to respect your love's opinion at least.
"What if they don't want to change?"
I cast my vote for "Love even the flaws" and continued.
"That's what I think. Kwon Ki-seok."
The numbers ticked up. I opposed the northern duke husband completely. If you love, love their true self.
"If your beloved is in darkness, pulling them to the light is great."
Thanks to that stale mate, I'd realized it. He thought differently, though. Couldn't shake his cool-headed nature.
"But... I think groping for the light switch together in that darkness is closer to pure love."
Happiness wasn't pure love. Loving and fixing your partner's wrongs together—that was it.
"You fight and get mad because you don't match. That's the emotion called love."
No emotions, no fights. Indifference was scariest.
I ended with a thumbs-up emoticon.
Her rage seemed to subside a bit, so I loosened the hug. Now our Pine had even removed her helm.
"Licht..."
I hadn't expected this. The white wolf slowly closed the distance again.
"Treat me... preciously, specially... differently from others."
A predator's move aiming for a kiss. If caught like this, her strength would make escape impossible.
Think. Think. I couldn't kiss her like this.
'If at all, when she's in her right mind.'
Love Meter at 50%, official dating approved. Impossible at a measly 2%.
Only after truly knowing love. Right now, she confused obsession with love.
So...
"Pine, settle for this for now."
If she wanted a kiss, satisfy that purpose. I quickly lifted my visor, exposing my face.
I pressed my thumb to my lips like a stamp,
"Ah... Eut."
and stamped it firmly on Pine's lower lip. Barely an indirect kiss. Just my finger touching our lips.
"This... is a kiss...?"
It wasn't, really. Even kids passing by would say it wasn't even a peck. But no choice. I was a virgin with zero dating experience.
A coward who couldn't even kiss stylishly like Dennis or White Magnolia.
"Tingly."
A jolt like electricity shot up my thumb too, with the soft sensation traveling from my fingertip.
Women's lips were this soft? Time seemed to stop for a moment,
This wasn't a kiss. So why was my face burning? A faint rose scent swirled in my brain.
"...Licht did it for me."
Just touching lips with a finger. With that, Pine staggered and collapsed.
"Pine?"
I panicked. It wasn't even her first kiss stolen. Was the shock that big?
"Pine?! Get a grip!!"
I barely caught the falling white-haired girl. Thankfully unhurt, she fit perfectly in my arms—a wolf who didn't know love.
"Hehe... Licht..."
She was even sleep-talking, like she was having a sweet dream.