Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: 4I. The Butterfly Dream.
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After returning from the Library of Truth, my mind was filled with swirling thoughts.
A memo that seemed left behind by me from another route. The handwriting was scrawled as if someone were chasing after them, but I'd been the only one to use that notebook from the start.
The hero of prophecy, the death of a loved one.
The prophecy the Head had spoken of must have been about me.
It fit too perfectly with being the hero of "conviction." Thanks to the love I'd learned from Pine, I'd even possessed this game.
But... is this really the game?
The settings I knew were starting to unravel bit by bit. Ever since I'd encountered Magic Hat, everything had changed. Like that guy who was supposed to be a man turning out to be a woman.
'What if I'm just dreaming a long dream?'
At first, I'd worked hard for the Nameless Saintess's happy ending. I figured even someone as unfortunate deserved a shot at happiness.
If I'd just trusted the status window and raised Love Meters, things would've flowed easily.
Like confessing mutual feelings between Kainel and Ariel, or arbitrarily marrying off Nex and Sharutineth Saintmarriage.
That's what ordinary people would do. The easiest path. Blanc, the player, courting me made it obvious.
But that wouldn't be pure love.
If she'd fled from the Demon King instead of facing him, Pine Granasia would have lost everything.
I'd confirmed it using the Library of Truth and the sage's future sight. This world wasn't kind to Pine.
Is it this hard to be happy even once? It's just a game. Like a light nap you wake from by closing and opening your eyes.
But even that felt too precious to me. In despair, I looked down. A pond reflecting my face came into view.
Wait... reflecting my face?
"Knight, good evening."
"...That voice."
A pure white nun's habit appeared at my feet. Could this be...
"You haven't forgotten the face of the one you love, have you?"
The Nameless Saintess waved lightly at me with a smile. Her snow-white hair sparkled under the moonlight.
It's a dream. I must have tossed and turned without sleeping well before finally drifting off. Looking at myself now, I was clad in armor.
Dark Horizon, my magic sword. Armor in a deep, near-black hue.
"Saintess... how in the world..."
"Hehe, you really kept your promise."
The Nameless Saintess smiled at me. She wore the same outfit from last time—the defensive gear I'd gifted her in the game.
So these were the abilities I had as a hero.
Maybe I could meet people from other routes too. The sage or Laplace might be similar. A power to see possibilities.
What's stopping me? Even if it's a dream, fine by me. Here, I could be honest with my heart.
"I was going to scold you if you'd cheated... but I'm disappointed."
She didn't seem like a ghost of the past, wagging her tail so seductively. Unlike Pine, who was my age now, this version felt older.
Is this what enchantment feels like?
"I'd never do that."
"Oh? Really? But I hear you're quite the pervert."
She pressed her chest against my arm, flaunting it boldly. So different from her current frantic charges—pure leisure here.
I couldn't argue. She knew me inside out, the complete opposite of now.
If Pine really set her mind to capturing my heart, I wouldn't stand a chance.
"Don't stare so intently... drink in. Your eyes look lewd."
Pine flushed, embarrassed after tempting me first. Her shaking eyes showed she wasn't used to this.
"...I really can't win against you."
I'd suspected our last encounter wasn't the end. The future where she becomes the Nameless Saintess hadn't vanished completely.
"Shall we walk a bit, puppy?"
She extended her hand like someone training a dog. "Puppy" felt like an endearment.
"If that's your wish, I'll do anything."
"K-Knight! That's too stimulating...!"
I knelt on one knee and lightly kissed the back of her hand. Her hand and cheeks turned red instantly. Her wolf ears flopped cutely as she lost control.
Some things never change. It felt like cheating on Princess Pine, but I was mentally cornered enough to want to escape somewhere.
The grass rustled underfoot as we walked through the forest. A full moon lit the sky brightly, crickets chirping for an atmospheric scene.
"...So, you enjoyed bathing naked with me, your same-age self?"
The silence broke with Saintess Pine's words. Being a dream, she knew these details? Last time, she'd seemed aware of her princess self too.
"What are you talking about? Bathing naked...?"
"You know it shows when you lie, Lee Soo-hyun."
Her eyes curved foxily as she pressed close, flaunting her figure again. Her tail coiling around my leg...
Wait, Pine. That's not my leg.
Good thing I was armored from [Black Heart]'s perspective. Glancing sideways, she feigned innocence.
"...It was good, Saintess."
"See? Your honesty is cute, Knight."
Then, a glowing butterfly fluttered by. It circled the Saintess like a light. The tiny glow seemed like it would vanish if caught.
"Saintess. No, Pine."
I'd wanted to ask so much. Was I really the hero of prophecy? Why had she become the Nameless Saintess?
"What... exactly happened to you?"
I wondered if she'd sacrificed herself to block the Demon God.
The penalties that appeared every time we hunted Demon Kings. Why the Head targeted the princess knight over the hero couple first.
"..."
Pine didn't answer right away, responding with silence. She tried to smile, but her expression darkened.
"This world is cold and lonely, like you, Lee Soo-hyun."
She placed one hand over my heart's center. My heartbeat raced like an engine at the proximity. Her touch seemed to fill a gaping hole.
"Love is a powerful force that transcends everything, yet that spark so easily flickers out."
Her golden wolf eyes scolded me. She'd noticed I'd run despite knowing her feelings.
"...If one person's unhappiness makes everyone else happy, isn't that enough?"
Used like a scapegoat maiden? My deductions were spot on.
"No way, Pine."
"Hehe, I believed the Black Knight would say that."
I overlaid my hand on hers. Both hands aimed at one heart. Our pounding beats synced as if we were one body.
"I've been unhappy since childhood, Knight. My forgotten memories returned through ignorance, but I even wished to forget them all."
Saintess Pine bared her true heart.
As princess, her memories were filled with tears, until they stopped coming.
"If you hadn't been there, what kind of life would I have lived?"
Empress Bellin was thought dead, and she'd lived isolated at the academy. Completely different from the current Pine.
"Like your life in the real world—grueling, right?"
"Wait, how did you..."
Nameless Saintess Pine cupped my cheeks. She pressed her forehead to mine, pulling me close. Our noses nearly touched.
"Hehe, an enchanting wolf needs secrets. A woman who reveals all lacks charm!"
Pine ended with a bewitching, fox-like smile. Her soft touch warmed my cheeks.
"Then... I need to seduce the current you even more to learn the rest later."
"W-What?!"
She could've given more hints, Pine. Still, raising others' Love Meters was necessary.
"The Head's ignorance is shattered. Catch all the Demon Kings, and it'll be even better."
Plus, defeating them all might prevent Pine from becoming the Nameless Saintess.
"Cheating in front of your lawful wife...? Now?!"
"Yes, exactly."
They're both the same Pine, aren't they? Who knows if completing the Grand Route saves this Pine from unhappiness too.
There was Sophitia Coldheart's case. It wasn't impossible.
"You're sly... You sure can talk."
Poof. Pine hugged me. Her fluffy tail behind her wagged wildly. A sign of satisfaction.
"Oh right. Pine, do you know the meaning of the black rose?"
"Black rose...?"
I asked Saintess Pine, who loved the blue rose's meaning. Ignoring it was hard when it kept appearing from past and future.
"The black rose means..."
Then, cold voices overlapped. Thick rose scent choked me.
Glass rose stems grew around our embrace—not clear white glass, but black obsidian.
"...want to know, Licht?"
"Pine, your speech..."
The Nameless Saintess in her pure white habit vanished. In my arms was black-haired Pine in a black dress.
"You're mine forever, Licht."
Black Rose Pine toppled me with brute strength, grinning like a predator with captured prey.
Her heated breaths and sticky exhales licked my nape, dizzying me.
Clang. Like the sage's vision, iron chains bound my wrists and ankles. I tried breaking the hug, but the power gap failed me.
I barely opened my eyes to see a blond hero before me.
"Licht!! You okay?!"
"Ka... Kainel...?"
Kainel had woken me. The Light Hero shook me, helping me sit up.
The clock beside me read around 3 a.m. My body was drenched in sweat.
"Nightmare?"
Only after gulping cold water did I calm down. Too much stress lately?
"You were groaning 'don't lick there' earlier. Looked like sleep paralysis."
"...I did that?"
"Yeah, magic didn't work, so I thought it was serious. Good thing I purified with the holy sword..."
Looking closely at Kainel's words, the Light Holy Sword hummed with glow. Had another route's Pine interfered?
If even the hero barely saved me, it must be the future Pine the sage saw. Yandere route? Blue Rose or Black Rose?
"That was one brutal dream."
I'd nullified a succubus's powers, yet a few more seconds and I'd have lost something precious.