Chapter 209
Chapter 209
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: 60. The Boy Who Couldn't Believe in Love Learned Love from the Girl Who Lost Her Memories. (Part 2 End)
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Everything was hazy.
When I opened my eyes, the world was shrouded in a milky fog, everything blurred.
'...Where am I?'
My head throbbed, and the cold floor pressed against me. It felt like I'd passed out after drinking myself stupid.
No matter where I looked, mirrors surrounded me.
I'd clearly been playing [Black Heart] when I got invited as a beta tester.
"...I don't remember anything after that."
It was all wiped clean, like a blank slate.
What the hell happened? An empty glass vial rolled at my feet.
"A dream, maybe."
I must have dozed off while gaming. What a vivid dream.
The Black Knight helmet covering my head contrasted ridiculously with my white outfit.
They just didn't match.
If I had to compare, it resembled Licht, the character I'd been playing in the game.
But the burn scars were wider, and my eyebrows darker—it was me, no doubt.
A bit younger-looking, but still my face. No matter how hard you customize, you can't make it perfect.
'Why are my hands like this...?'
Glancing at them, I saw cuts crisscrossing the skin.
Calluses everywhere, ugly and rough—like hands of someone who'd devoted their life to the sword.
Unlike my ordinary office worker body, muscles bulged all over.
Just to check, I rolled up my sleeve, and a long scar sent chills down my spine.
Confusion reigned. How did I end up here?
Are dreams usually this realistic?
"......"
I pinched my cheek. It hurt. No way this was real.
Questions swirled in my mind like storm clouds.
Lucid dream, wet dream... what do they call this again?
No amount of modern knowledge could explain what I was experiencing.
'It looks like the temple from [Knight Heart].'
A place I'd seen in the original game. The temple housing the God of Emotions, Pantos.
Where others' feelings manifested as a maze.
I'd come here with Kainel and Ariel, for sure.
We'd wandered it to awaken as heroes.
'...Wait, didn't I come with someone else too?'
Not Dennis or the Heavenly Demon. Not Laplace or the sage.
Dragon Slayer Drake? No. There was something more.
I tried recalling faces, but nothing came.
A precious something had slipped from my heart.
Like I'd forgotten something important. What was it?
I must have paced in front of the mirrors for a while.
"Licht... you're awake...!"
A voice called from behind.
A woman with teary eyes stared at me. A knight in massive glass armor called my name.
"....?"
Her eyes were cold, more wolf than puppy.
Snow-white hair, fluffy tail and ears that stood out.
With looks like that, anyone would call her a beauty without hesitation.
Licht—the name of my game character. Why call me that?
Black Knight Licht.
A wandering knight from the knight class, boosted for swordplay.
I picked it just because it looked cool.
No deeper reason for a kid's choice.
I'd grown that weak character into a magic swordsman tree without much thought...
Wait, didn't I plan to reroll into a different class?
Memories jarred like mismatched puzzle pieces.
My head pounded; I pressed my forehead. Nausea rose.
What was wrong?
Who was this woman acting like she knew me?
"As I thought... you've lost your memories..."
"Who are you? Why the sad face looking at me...?"
The nameless woman's face was pained.
She bit her lower lip, holding back tears.
Wolf ears and tail. Did I enter the game?
That was the only explanation left.
I'd never seen anyone like her. Was there a character like that?
All the beastkin I knew had black hair. Emperor Locke and Lupus weren't white-haired.
"...Soo-hyun. Do you remember the Saintess?"
"....."
Saintess? No such person in my game.
A hunter gifted in magic and a cursed spring dragon.
Childhood friends, a hero and mage, dishonest with each other.
All tied to the Hero Cult's Demon Kings.
'Did I know a Saintess...?'
Party had a healer spot, but who was it? No memory.
This woman looked like a knight, no matter how I saw it.
"Licht... that's not your usual speech..."
"Don't come closer. Hold on. Who the hell are you?"
My heart raced as she approached.
A stranger, yet my body reacted inexplicably. It tormented me.
"I'm Pine Granasia. Soo-hyun... you really don't remember? At all?"
Her voice was wet with tears. Drooping wolf ears and tail mirrored her feelings.
Her steadfast eyes fixed only on me.
"...Who are you? How do you know my name?"
A warm sensation bloomed in my chest.
Something was off. A stranger, yet she felt familiar.
"I'm someone who treasures you. Soo-hyun."
I couldn't push her away. Her fingers touched my cheek.
She wiped a tear from one eye.
Huh, why am I...
"And... someone who loves you."
Crying? Like facing a mirror.
Pine Granasia and I gazed at each other, tears flowing.
"I like you even if you're weak."
"……!!"
Her lips met mine. Rose scent overwhelmed my breath.
Our breaths mingled, and something inside me snapped.
"Even if you're a liar... that's fine."
Time froze eternally.
My fists clenched. I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them.
"I believe you. Always."
She smiled cutely. Beautiful.
First kisses taste like lemon? Lies. It was soft, dizzying.
Pine paused, lips smacking, still gripping my tie.
Once wasn't enough; she claimed my lips again.
"So, don't ever leave my side..."
Trembling lips, softening eyes.
The wolf girl now probed past my teeth with her tongue.
"...Because I love you. So fiercely I can't live without you."
I couldn't push away her pleading affection. Was it her pure confession? Or her treating me like a long-lost lover?
"Does love need more reason? Soo-hyun...?"
Pine continued her bold assault even after the kiss.
Her lips now brushed and pulled from my scarred face, begging for love.
Overwhelmingly pure affection.
This should be for someone truly loved. Why with me...?
"......."
These words felt familiar.
I'd said something like this up north. How long had we been together?
A ticklish sweetness spread in my mouth, fog lifting from my mind.
"...Saintess?"
Memories returned. Yes, the glass knight with the Nameless Saintess's face.
The status window before my eyes ticked up.
Love Meter starting at 1% surged past 30% in a blink.
It hit 50% instantly.
Pine showered kisses even on my burn scars, as if they were lovely.
Thorough marking, covering every burn scar. A princess's possessive confession.
The more traces she left, the more my heart reignited—like a flame that flickered but blazed fiercer.
The fuse of love was lit.
"Saintess. Nameless Saintess, right...?"
The one who'd given me everything.
Even reborn, I couldn't abandon her—precious, worth my life to save. Pure beyond words.
Memories fade, but love endures.
"Wrong. Idiot."
Yet Pine teased, pecking my lips playfully.
Hot breaths mingled repeatedly; we felt as one.
No one taught her tongue kisses. Where'd she learn?
Deep, sticky affection sent electricity tingling through me.
"...Pine. I remember now. You can stop."
"No. Memories aren't all back yet, Knight."
Maybe from a book borrowed from the Library of Truth.
She was turning naughty. Her speech even mimicked the Saintess now.
"...Hah."
"Satisfied now, Pine?"
"Licht... you're good at kissing too."
I kissed her deeply, teasing her tiny tongue—proving who the wolf was.
I wouldn't yield control yet. I was supposed to confess first.
"Hehe, but you never kissed as the Saintess. I win."
"...Ah, no way."
The full-body mirror reflected the Saintess beside us.
Everything clicked back.
I'd told Pine I was the Nameless Saintess.
What now? My emotions became this maze, trapping her maybe.
The Saintess in the mirror smiled at us.
"...Pine, I have something to say. Will you listen?"
"Yes. Anything you say."
She bared her heart; I should too.
Deep breath. Time to unearth a long-buried story.
"Pine, I'm a weak human."
After the fire took everything, I fled through life.
Grasping anything felt like tempting loss again.
"...Without you, I couldn't have survived."
Why I wished she'd find happiness with someone else at first.
I had nothing. Didn't want to burden your radiant light.
"Just an empty, useless glass of a person."
"...No."
The Potion of Oblivion lay at my feet. I'd drunk it and forgotten only Pine.
Chilling—others remembered, but not her.
"Truth is, only shadows lingered inside. Pine."
She shook her head, denying it, but my past self was darkness.
I was scared, honestly.
A possessed game character confessing love? Felt wrong.
"The one who filled my heart with light was future you."
I knelt like confessing sins.
My life saved by the Nameless Saintess was saved again now.
"Even a cowardly liar is fine."
Truthfully, no lies. An answer to her confession.
"Even if you don't believe me."
This was right—baring my heart.
"Pine Granasia. I've admired you for so long..."
She knelt too, meeting my eyes.
Why had I pushed away someone so lovable?
"...cherished you."
As earnest as it was late, I kissed her lips in vow.
"Yeah. I love you too... Soo-hyun."
She reciprocated, no refusal. More familiar now, breaths entwining.
As lips parted...
"See, helmets come off like this during kisses."
"...Huh?"
A click, and my long-worn Black Knight helmet fell away.
Pine must have touched it while kissing. Wouldn't budge no matter how I tried before.
—To the Knight Who Can't Believe in Love, I'll Teach You Love.
Inscribed inside the helmet.
Stunned, familiar handwriting appeared before me.
'...The Nameless Saintess.'