Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: 40-2. No Lovey-Dovey in the Library
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I sprinted all the way to Wolf Pavilion, but it wasn't long before Pine caught up to me.
In a dim corner of the academy stairs, I was backed against the wall with nowhere to run.
"...Licht. Where have you been?"
The knight in gleaming full plate armor loomed over me. She'd left the hero couple behind and come searching alone.
"Th-the library."
"You said you were just going to the bathroom."
Her question felt colder than ever, bringing back the future I'd just witnessed.
The princess with her hair returned to its original black instead of white, transformed into the Black Rose.
Judging by the Sage's reaction, we'd been caught in the middle of something even more shameful than a fling. I'd never seen her face turn beet red like that before.
"Why... did you lie to me?"
"...."
A brief silence followed. The golden wolf eyes inside her glass visor glared at me.
We were tucked away in a spot where no one could see, but somehow I'd ended up wall-slammed instead. Pine's arm was planted right next to my head.
"You're not answering... Licht, you always hide things from me."
She drew so close that her breath brushed my skin, carrying the sweet scent of roses. It made my nerves tingle, my legs go weak.
"You smell like another woman... Licht."
How did she know? I'd only talked with the Sage. I knew her sense of smell was sharp, but not this sharp.
"No wonder you seemed so practiced..."
Like a wife grilling her cheating husband. Her tone was icier than I'd ever heard.
"You cheater... My Black Knight, you said..."
Her words dripped with crumbling trust. Stop—it wasn't like that. I did meet the Sage, but not in the way you think.
In that future, she even repelled precognition. I knew she was a cheat character, but how strong does she get?
"It's not a lie. I went to the bathroom, but then I changed my mind."
I swallowed hard. Something told me I couldn't lie here.
"I wanted info on the future... so I went to see the Sage."
It wasn't rational thought—it was pure instinct.
"...It's true."
Pine grabbed my hand and sniffed it, checking for scents.
The Sage has a crush on Master Drake.
There's no way I'd wedge myself between them for some NTR nonsense.
The relationship between Master and the Sage was always ambiguous in the original and the sequel.
It was a one-sided crush from the start. Connecting them would take a ton of setup.
"Licht."
"What is it, Pine?"
Pine spoke in a low voice. Had we veered into yandere territory? I'd heard elves were prone to that.
"Don't run off... stay with me..."
But what came back was a sulky pout.
Like she was scolding me for ditching her earlier, she rubbed her face against my chest. The helmet made it hurt.
"Why would I ever leave you?"
So the future the Sage saw was just one possibility. I thought for sure it'd be me locked in some gym storage room.
Don't worry needlessly. It might not be set in stone.
Precognition shows possibilities—fragments of probability. Not every future, of course.
Even if black-haired Pine imprisoned me, I could use Release...
Oh, right—they'd chained the lever shut so I couldn't pull it. And no rain in sight for omen anyway.
She's gotten even more thorough than now. My Pine.
Making her more anxious here could turn that possibility real. Not dying would be nice, at least.
But I should save it as a last resort to avert a death flag.
Her love's too intense. Might mess with the kids' emotions. Pine—that little girl from last time kept coming to mind.
"This good enough?"
"Ah... Licht..."
Brute force it is.
I pushed aside my unease and hugged her tight. Her tone softened instantly. Give her stability, convince her she's loved and I'm not eyeing other women—should shake off the yandere route, right?
In reality, Pine melts like butter with just this much skinship.
The glass knight who'd seemed colder and more aloof than anyone was now rubbing against me in my arms.
"That's enough now..."
Despite her words, it was Pine who wouldn't let go of her arm around me. Guess she wanted me to keep holding her like this.
I entered the headmaster's office with Pine. The quiet study-like space was empty.
Had Laplace stepped out? A sudden question prompted me to ask Pine.
"By the way, Pine—why'd you need me so urgently? It hasn't even been that long."
"Oh, Kainel said... you were with some girl..."
That brat again. I sighed deeply. He knew Pine was the Saintess and was just teasing.
With Pine already anxious about me vanishing, Kainel had grinned slyly as he said it.
"Thinking of you with another girl... it made me feel sick."
So that's why her eyes had gone wild, like she'd caught me cheating.
Sophia's warning rang true—werewolves get scary when jealous.
"Well, I was with the Sage."
I'd gone to the library and met another woman, so it wasn't a lie.
That punk's smug face clouded my mind. Is this how I look to everyone else?
"The Sage... you think she's pretty?"
"Huh? No way. Not my type at all."
Pine asked immediately. The horns made her popular with other players.
Demon characters always had demand. But I never found her pretty except for Pine.
"...Good."
Satisfied, Pine scooted closer. A warm contrast to her earlier distance.
"Hey, no matter how hot and heavy you two are, no PDA here."
That's when a man's voice came from behind us.
A figure appeared, dragging an ornate grand mage's robe. The headmaster, with his striking green hair.
"Hello, Headmaster Laplace."
"Hello..."
Librarian Laplace. He alternated glances between Pine and me, smirking. His playful side kicking in.
"The Black Knight and White Knight—the famous couple, right?"
This guy's personality was one of a kind. Even as headmaster, he narrated grade exams and became an archmage through his wild antics.
"W-we're not like that...!"
Pine denied it before I could speak, blushing as she put some distance between us. She mumbled an excuse.
"Oh? Not like that? You've seen each other naked with just a towel between you. If His Majesty found out..."
"...."
She hung her head. As librarian of the 'Library of Truth'—with access to past records—he knew everything we'd done.
So he'd found out about our bathhouse romp up north. Unlike the Sage, no visuals, so that was a relief.
The Akashic Records, filled with books logging all past events. He was its keeper.
I'd underestimated Laplace's intel. In the game, it wasn't this intense. My misjudgment.
"Sorry about that. Just wanted to mess around after so long. I'll keep it from His Majesty, so forgive me."
Laplace laughed heartily, trying to reset the mood. He patted my shoulder apologetically.
"You're Licht, right? The hero who nabbed the Head."
"Ah, yes. That's me."
He extended his hand. As I went to shake it...
"Don't let your guard down till the end, Licht."
"...Huh."
It ended up shaking Pine's hand instead. I stared blankly at the glass knight now in front of me.
Magic? I knew he was unpredictable.
"Why'd you come to see me, Licht? Right after meeting the Sage, no less."
Laplace crossed his legs in a chair, watching us like a fond couple.
"...You investigated me?"
"Whoa, don't be startled. I just happened to read that book."
His relaxed vibe screamed he knew my angle. Persuasion might be tough.
"I request access to the library, Librarian Laplace."
Straight to the point. I needed the perfect Demon King killer to slay Magic Hat or my old magic sword back—no hiding it.
"...Wasn't the academy library where you just came from, Licht?"
"Not that one. The Library of Truth."
"This guy's got the name?"
Laplace looked surprised. His library was deep in the temple of the God of Wisdom.
Normal folks wouldn't know.
"Hero of Conviction. Why do you need our library?"
He eyed me, probing. Fingers poised to snap anytime.
He'd clawed his way to archmage, but his specialty was that.
Putting out fires without touching them.
Human consciousness is electric signals—he could mess with it. One snap, and I'd be out cold.
The power to interfere via 'concepts' was that strong.
"Same reason as you, Laplace."
I took a deep breath.
The romantic who made the Akashic lights flicker wildly.
In lore, his power seemed lame back then, magic at beginner level.
Yet he became archmage and headmaster—all to save his beloved.
"Same reason, huh."
The green-haired man who'd been stone-faced stood.
The fake mage who became real through endless toil to cure his lover's incurable disease.
I needed info to save Pine too. Same reason.
"...So what you read in the library was real."
He met my eyes steadily, then turned satisfied. He activated a magic circle in the study, conjuring a massive door.
"Gotta repay you for slaying the Head. Just this once, hero."
A huge door materialized amid the bookshelves, like it'd been painted there.
"This is the deepest part of Akasha's Temple—the Library of Truth."
Laplace flashed a playful grin at Pine and me, suspicions gone, looking relieved.
"Hope you enjoy your reading time."