Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: EP.176 51-4. At This Rate, It'll Be a Sports Festival.
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I stepped into a forest adorned with lush green grass and thick bushes.
Towering trees so dense they blocked out the sunlight beating down.
The grass grew up to my thighs, making it tough to walk.
It felt like a scene I'd seen somewhere before. The vegetation resembled what I'd encountered in that forest during the group assignment not long ago.
No one would believe this place had been the sports field until yesterday.
Overnight, the academy had transformed.
'Did Professor Maria and the White Magnolia have something to do with it?'
Dennis had packaged those strawberries to take away last time, so maybe they'd given him a heads-up.
If it was the work of the Spring Dragon and the Dryad, it wasn't all that unbelievable. For the Ten Heroes' number two, it'd be a piece of cake.
And right now, number one was chasing after me—I could feel it in my bones.
Once this sports festival was over, I had no idea if my lifeline would still be intact.
I'd ended up in a situation like Nex's. In the end, to get permission to date his daughter, I'd have to face the father-in-law.
Just running away wouldn't solve anything.
I remembered the title of that drama I'd seen before.
I needed time to talk with Locke. Even just a little.
"Licht. Over there—that's where we place the runes."
"...Yeah, looks like it."
While I'd been lost in thought for a moment, Pine tapped my shoulder.
A wolf statue stood where she pointed.
Atop it sat a massive orb like a full moon, inscribed with letters.
The number read 0pt.
That must be the scoreboard. No matter how I looked at it, it resembled the scoreboards from games.
'We collect runes engraved with magic circles, and the team with the highest total score at the end wins.'
Each rune is worth 10 points. With four types scattered across each camp—ten of each—that makes 800 points total.
Students from our team were already heading to enemy camps to snag runes.
"...Just wandering around won't get us much."
The opponents were probably thinking the same. We needed a more efficient approach here.
Finding well-hidden runes wasn't easy, after all.
"Licht. You think so too, huh? We're on the same wavelength."
She let out a soft huhu, smiling in agreement.
Pine always got chattier around me.
Should I be happy she was gradually reclaiming her Nameless Saintess persona?
One day, she might even drop her alias within the academy.
"I've got a good idea, Mardol."
To make that possible, I had to become someone worthy of her.
Whether it was the Demon King, the Grand Route ending, or this sports festival—I had to overcome it all.
Even if the Wolf King had opened the path to thwart his threats against me, showing solid results here was the right move.
"Let's try what I heard from the professor before. We'll use my attribute."
To borrow Pine's mana circuits, I took her hand.
"...Okay, Licht."
Now that she was used to it, the glass knight even twiddled her fingers playfully.
"Dark attribute magic. If I blanket the area in darkness..."
In the game I'd played, this kind of playstyle was common. Stacking weapons for burst damage, or...
"...Only the runes with magic circles will stay intact."
"Exactly. Just like how Professor Dennis's water attribute makes it easy to combine other spells."
The spell I was casting now shrouded the surroundings in darkness.
Normally an expedient to blind foes or escape encirclement.
"Like oil floating on water, runes that require swordsmanship, spirit arts, or holy power to move won't change color."
As if a smoke bomb had gone off, black mist began rising around me.
"...Licht."
"What's up, Pine?"
She turned to me, sensing something off.
Her golden wolf eyes gleamed through the fog, like a cat's at night.
"Your magic... it's contained around us...?"
"...Huh?"
The swirling black mist refused to spread further, merely eddying nearby.
A vortex of fog.
Why? It shouldn't have failed. Unless the whole space was an illusion—but it wasn't...
Ah, of course. That explained the familiarity.
"The realm of imagery...?"
The martial arts I'd learned from the Heavenly Demon mostly drew on internal energy, manifesting mental images into reality.
The heart of the Endless Monster Forest. This was that same place, reconstructed by the Heavenly Demon.
Yeah, it'd have been weirder if a basic spell like this revealed the runes.
The mist cleared completely, visibility returning.
"Licht. What now...?"
As I sighed, Pine spoke up worriedly from beside me.
What to do? We couldn't get stuck here.
"...Mardol, could you take off your Masterpiece for a bit?"
I said, eyeing her up and down in her heavy plate armor.
"P-Pervert...? Or... all human guys are like that after all...?"
Like what? What book did you read this time?
No choice, Pine. We have to win here.
With the Wolf King watching, would he really chop up the sports festival champ with his axe?
"...."
Pine placed her palm over the center of her chest. Was she seriously about to unequip right now?
"I-It was about using a glass wall... soundproofing magic... and a joint technique."
I waved my hands frantically. After that Demon King tailing incident, caution was key.
The princess's identity had already been gossiped about plenty within the academy.
"Oh, sorry... my mistake."
She shrank back, erecting a glass wall around us. Pristine, sparkling white glass.
Pine's Granasia-brand magic gave the feel of diamonds or crystals.
"...This okay?"
Helmet off, her long white hair cascaded to her waist.
Her wolf ears swept back, tail wagging furiously—it looked less wolf and more Pomeranian, almost awkward.
"Licht, your helmet... help?"
She stood on tiptoe, whining like a sulky kid, tugging at my visor.
"Got it, Pine."
I flipped up my visor, revealing my face. Her eyes curved softly.
The burn scar others found repulsive.
Tastes sure are unique. Not that I can talk.
"Now hug me, Licht..."
Arms wide, eyes squeezed shut, she barely managed the words.
Trembling lashes and body drew a chuckle from me.
Remembering how the hero couple made their joint technique by embracing?
Her face rivaled a tomato, tail stiff upright.
"...Pass."
Sorry, but I'm no amateur like Kainel.
I swept back her hair, stroking gently. Her soft wolf ear twitched.
"L-Licht... ears are... sensitive..."
If anyone else touched them, they'd lose an arm in a flash.
These were the ears of Granasian royalty, after all.
"Heh... this'll... spoil me..."
I soothed her slowly to avoid messing her hair. Being manhandled by a stranger wouldn't sit well.
"Pine, I'm gonna hold you close."
Watching her fully relaxed expression, I slipped my arms behind her waist.
Her silky white hair brushed my hands.
"Ah..."
"...."
I pulled her tight. A soft sigh escaped as our bodies pressed together.
Her rose scent choked my breath, her warmth sending sparks through my mind.
"Knew you were a perv. Last time... you didn't..."
Holding her firm, I felt unusual pressure at chest level. Thump, thump—her little heartbeat.
"Gotta align the hearts as much as possible."
No helping it. No other academy girl had a figure as scandalously perfect.
Even the Heavenly Demon would concede a point.
Might be why I couldn't look elsewhere. Our wolf was just too perfect.
"I recall a method: painting on glass."
It's called...
If smoke won't rise, coat the glass in darkness instead.
Like in the dream, Pine's hair briefly turned black. The concept of darkening the world.
Like the saying: those close to ink turn black.
Thankfully, the black hair that seemed set to last reverted to its original color quickly.
"...A shame."
Pine, back in her Masterpiece, grumbled wistfully.
Didn't she used to love her white hair? Women are enigmas.
Black-coated glass shards floated around Pine.
Beyond them, the world appeared tinted black, like wearing colored lenses.
"Found one over there."
It worked like a radar for runes etched with magic circles.
A small stone hidden in distant bushes, glowing orange—swordsmanship-related, by the look.
I drew my iron sword from my belt to hack through the foliage.
When—
"Whoa, Junior Licht! Didn't expect to see you here!"
Purple flames erupted, blocking my blade. The scorching heat nearly burned my hand.
"...Senior Nex? What are you doing here...?"
"Shar and I joined the sports festival too."
The purple-haired man popped out beside me, flashing a foxy grin and waving. Nex.
His clothes were red—the Sun Wolf team, direct opposites to ours.
The Aureus name carried weight.
If we'd been teammates, he might've lent a hand or two.
"Junior, I never properly thanked you after the social."
"That seems like overkill for a thank-you."
Suspicious. Attacks are banned in this event. He'd just skirted the rules cleverly.
"Sorry, had to dodge prying eyes."
As Nex finished, massive phoenix wings enveloped the three of us.
"Now, anyone peeking will think we're just duking it out over a rune, right?"
Having cast the spell, he approached me slowly.
Come to think of it, Pine had been quiet. Normally, she'd scold or stop Nex.
"Normally, since we're rivals, I shouldn't help... but!"
He gave a hollow laugh, clapping my shoulder.
"...I've received so much from you, Junior."
The familiar magic circle pattern glowed at my chest's center.
A black Pomeranian burst from near my heart, lunging straight at Pine.