Chapter 216
Chapter 216
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 216
Chapter Title: 62-3. Can a Frozen Heart Melt?
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A blazing gaze.
Honestly, I hadn't expected such a reaction.
"Summon the hero for me. I'm ready."
A firm declaration as she looked at me and Pine.
The grand duchess's face was filled with determination to save Ki-seok.
'Gotta say, I'm jealous, Ki-seok.'
Pine nodded, seemingly understanding Sophitia's feelings, and I let the corner of my mouth curve up into a small smile.
The once icy Northern Grand Duchess had changed this much for my friend.
I'd been foolish to think you couldn't love someone in a different body.
'I thought it was a limitation of possession.'
After all, it was borrowing someone else's body.
I'd figured the love would fade if the possession was discovered or if he returned to his original body.
It was the same reason I hadn't told Pine the truth back then.
"...I'm learning something here."
But was this a counterexample?
Or was it the world showing that exceptions always exist?
Ki-seok and Sophitia's bond was far more tender than I'd imagined.
Love wasn't about appearances, after all.
"Truth is, the original Flintz was a vampire who lived a thousand years ago."
I began reciting what I knew about Flintz's backstory.
It was the stuff Ki-seok had bragged to me about before.
Honestly, I'd thought it was just some edgy middle-school fantasy.
"He was a loner from the start. An immortal whose entire world had vanished."
Given that this game wasn't virtual but reality,
settings like this were probably true.
"Feeling the cruelty of time's passage, he fell into slumber in his ancient castle."
A loner.
Everyone Flintz knew had died over the years, but he couldn't die even if he wanted to—a unique constitution.
'He called immortality not a blessing, but a curse.'
Whether it was his potent blood or a rare trait, vampires weren't normally eternal beings.
His "Vampire Lord" title wasn't just bravado, it seemed.
Unlike Sharutineth, who died in the sequel.
"Why did the original Flintz suddenly decide to sleep...?"
"...His beloved died too."
Pine asked me curiously.
A bitter taste filled my mouth as I answered.
"Ah..."
Pine let out a long sigh at the unforeseen reason.
It was the hidden backstory for unlocking the spearman class.
According to Ki-seok, Flintz had entered eternal sleep after his lover's death.
"Then Ki-seok's soul entered and woke him up."
The vampire who'd said a world without his love wasn't worth living in.
Returning to the castle and reading his diary revealed the message he'd left.
'Come to think of it, he's a lot like us.'
He'd lost the will to live after his love died.
Even now, the image of Pine dying to Magic Hat haunted me vividly.
What would a world without Pine feel like?
Dozens of retries, and I still couldn't save her in that unhappy future.
Could I succeed this time? Even if we completed the Grand Route, what if we failed?
"....."
No, we'd make it this time.
One or two tragedies were enough.
No matter what future lay ahead, I wanted to grant her wish.
'Her dream of wearing a pure white wedding dress.'
That was why she'd endured even after I was pulled into this world by the beta tester email.
So Flintz would understand us too.
"Even so, he won't mind us summoning the hero."
A sigh mixed into my bittersweet words.
Looking at his white hair and red eyes, I felt a twinge of pity.
"...Flintz's wish was to reunite with his love."
The true desire of the eternal vampire.
Paradoxically, it was death.
The gods knew this, which was why they'd possessed Ki-seok. Otherwise, no need for the hassle.
"Providing rest through hero summoning... It's a bit bittersweet."
"Sad story, isn't it."
Sophitia nodded as she listened.
The Northern Grand Duchess spoke up, as if she knew something more.
"No records of Flintz anywhere, no matter how much I searched."
She'd already investigated him thoroughly, but found nothing.
At least he hadn't stolen someone else's life—a small mercy.
She sighed, holding her precious one's hand.
"So, how are we going to do the summoning?"
Pine continued, pondering the space between Sophitia and Ki-seok.
Her pure white wolf ears perked up as she asked.
Yeah, how?
The game never specified how to summon a hero.
'...The Hero Cult's demon kings seemed to sacrifice living offerings.'
From fighting the apostles before.
Same in the academy basement and the northern mountains.
But we couldn't do that.
The moment we did, we'd become demon kings, not the prophesied heroes.
I leaned against the wall, deep in thought.
Considering what he'd left on the chessboard, this guy was a god too.
Maker of the sequel [Black Heart].
Whether he knew his identity was exposed or not, the maker was still spamming emojis.
What did he mean by "gave you the hint before"? When...?
"......Pine, do you know a spell called Arcturus?"
Something suddenly clicked.
The magic the Nameless Saintess—Pine—had used in my dream.
This had a high chance of working.
Come to think of it, his status window reacted sensitively to the saintess Pine.
Checking if I'd properly taken the saintess route at the temple.
Stopping me from drinking the memory-loss potion.
'Too vivid for a dream.'
From what Pine said after escaping the labyrinth, the saintess version of her seemed to know me too.
If gods were involved, the Nameless Saintess I'd seen in the dream was likely real.
"Arcturus... ? What does that mean...?"
Pine tilted her head at the spell name.
I'd only heard it from the Nameless Saintess myself.
"Could you give me your hand, Pine?"
"S-Soo-hyun... You're so bold..."
Instead of explaining, I took her hand.
Unlike in the dream, her smaller palm fit perfectly into mine.
"This connects the magic circuits, so I can try casting too."
Pine's cheeks flushed slightly.
I smirked playfully, and she smiled back.
"...You're still a perverted puppy knight, huh."
A nickname.
Now Pine called me Soo-hyun, dropping "Licht."
When I asked why, she said she wanted to be different from others.
She even used formal speech like the saintess sometimes—must be jealous.
"Follow my chant, Pine."
"...Okay. Whatever you say, I'll trust you."
Like the hero of affection.
I'd better avoid misunderstandings going forward.
"Sevenfold will, voices aspiring to the stars..." "Cup water in your palm, hold it without spilling..." "Let there be light. Arcturus."
⟨ Arcturus ⟩
I chanted while meeting Pine's golden eyes.
Even though incantation was optional among magic's three elements, I included it deliberately.
'To slowly align our intellects.'
Recalling what the Nameless Saintess—Pine—had taught me.
Tiny orbs of light bloomed around us like flowers.
I closed my eyes slowly to focus.
For the Hero of Affection to use her power, it wasn't just the Love Meter—she needed me too.
A heart intimately loving someone. Affection.
Maximizing our mana to twist causality.
As I finished the chant and opened my eyes, a large orb of light floated between us.
"So pretty..."
Pine sighed at the soap-bubble-like spell.
Now I knew the source of the dream's soft glow.
'A blend of mana and holy power.'
Using intellect to manifest miracles in reality.
Using spirit to defy physical laws.
Together, they could summon a hero into reality.
The orb rose slowly, then burst with a 'pop,' dissolving.
The light turned into tiny motes, swirling around Ki-seok like fireflies.
The glow faded like melting snow.
Through it, the man's face and body began to change.
White hair turned black.
Color returned to his pale face, and his slender, refined build bulked into muscle.
"....."
Oh right.
This guy was a gym rat.
"Where...?"
His eyes refocused.
The man with black hair and dark eyes like mine spoke up.
"Flintz...! You're awake!"
"Milady...? I was surely defeated by Magic Hat... How...?"
The moment he regained his senses, Sophitia embraced him.
She didn't care about the changed appearance. Guess I worried for nothing.
"Really... I'm so relieved."
A body honed like the northerners.
Gone was the haggard look; now he was a musclebound hunk with bulging quads and biceps.
"Ki-seok. Long time no see."
I greeted my friend, who was dazedly taking in the situation.
"Ki-seok" fit better than "Flintz."
"...That voice? No way, Soo-hyun...?"
Kwon Ki-seok stared at my face.
He recognized me instantly from knowing his name—and my real voice.
"The burn scar gives it away... You really were here."
He barely spoke from Sophitia's embrace.
The demon king's power that paralyzed him was gone like a lie.
"Took you long enough. The hint was tricky."
"...Tricky? I made Promotion and Stalemate easy."
Ki-seok was bragging even after narrowly escaping death. Consistent as ever.
If I hadn't figured it out, he'd have forgotten Sophitia or stayed comatose forever.
"So, the lady next to you is the saintess?"
Ki-seok smirked at Pine beside me.
Anyone could tell she was the Nameless Saintess, but he was provoking on purpose.
"....Yeah. The saintess from the past."
"Hello."
I said it while reflecting on not recognizing Pine before.
She was the same person, after all. This pillar-support guy knew the Northern Grand Duchess but not current Pine.
"..Sister-in-law, take good care of my pathetic friend."
As he bowed his head in greeting, Ki-seok grinned warmly.