Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Love Knows Nothing
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Pine Granasia let out a sigh in her room.
"I intentionally came in second. Licht."
It was because she had no idea that the man named Licht wanted the Mana Rose.
The way he slipped out of the arena, then accepted the rose at the award ceremony with such genuine joy in his movements.
"...I got played."
He had been after the Mana Rose from the start. Her keen eyes had spotted it right away. As she thought about the man in the Black Knight helmet,
"Hehe."
A laugh bubbled up unbidden. His initial reaction to seeing her body had been so cute. It was like a young puppy fleeing in fear from a human.
"...Pervert."
Truth be told, he wasn't that much of a pervert. He'd even taken off his own top to cover her right away, and she'd found it amusing how desperately he tried not to look at her figure any longer.
'His neck turned red all the way up, like a ripe apple.'
At first, she'd been utterly flustered when her Masterpiece shattered. One of her greatest strengths had crumbled, and she'd thought she could no longer protect those close to her.
"...He was kind. Licht."
But Licht had gone out of his way to shield her from the audience and students from other academies discovering her gender, even laying down shadows to block their line of sight.
'Well, according to Licht, Magic Hat possesses the power of falsehoods.'
If someone precious to him had fallen to Magic Hat, it made sense. He must have feared that a fake disguised as someone he knew could take their form.
Verifying the truth was frightening, but something she had to do someday.
She couldn't help thinking that if Licht had simply asked about her gender and she'd honestly told him she was a woman, none of this would have happened.
'It's partly my fault...'
She'd given advance warnings to the academy's faculty, Sharutineth, and Nex, asking them to help keep her identity hidden as much as possible.
It had probably helped that Nex, who was so skilled at deception, had gone around calling her the crown prince.
"...With Licht, maybe it's okay to be weak."
Licht was gradually touching the depths of her heart. He'd told her it was fine without the armor.
She'd thought there was no point if she wasn't strong, but he'd essentially said to rely more on others.
What Pine truly needed might not have been thick glass armor, but someone reliable like Licht to trust and lean on.
"...But he'd hate hair like this."
She removed her helmet and released the armor. Snow-white hair cascaded down to her waist. She gazed into the mirror, stroking her locks.
"It's hideous."
The extreme stress from past events.
That was why her hair and tail were a different color from the rest of her family.
The day she believed Magic Hat had killed her mother. It was a scar from her own powerlessness that day, an indelible guilt.
If the audience or Licht had seen it, they surely would have found it suspicious. Whispers might even spread that she wasn't truly of royal blood.
She stopped stroking her hair with sad eyes. Even with flaws like this, she had to grow stronger. Licht had climbed that high despite being weak, after all.
'But why did he go after the Mana Rose?'
The more she thought about Licht, the more contradictions nagged at her.
If he wanted it for magic, the Dragon Heart she'd won in first place would have been far more useful. It was the same kind of catalyst, but a dragon's heart, after all.
'It's that person again.'
The Nameless Saintess. It had to be her, no matter how she looked at it. It was rare for him to show that much emotion. Pine's golden wolf eyes narrowed.
"...I'm jealous."
Someone who'd forged him into a Sword Master, whom he'd mentioned even when heading to face the Demon King. Clearly, it was Sharutineth, the older sister she knew, who was the current Saintess.
'The next Saintess. The one after...'
Who on earth was she, that even Laplace or the sages couldn't find her? She was probably under the protection of the God of Light.
They'd been meeting since before she came to the academy, judging by what he'd said. Her sharp eyes pieced together the situations she'd observed.
'She made him come in second, but didn't even show up to watch.'
She'd scanned the stands and even asked the imperial guards, but no one called the "Nameless Saintess" had appeared. No one in the audience even knew Licht to begin with.
'...I still don't know much about you, Licht.'
That was one reason Pine saw him as a hero. Even Dennis among the Ten Heroes had few who knew his past, with scant records.
He seemed shrouded in too many secrets. And he was so bad at lying that he always got caught quickly.
"It doesn't matter anymore."
She gazed at the Dragon Heart in its small box. So what if he was a hero?
Even if the Nameless Saintess meant more to him, it was none of her business.
"...I have to deliver it myself."
Unbeknownst to her, Licht was becoming ever more precious in her heart.
She didn't want the Hero Cult's heroes making her think badly of him.
"..."
She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Replaying the day's events, she revisited the words Licht had shared.
That it was okay to be weak.
That she didn't need the armor.
The warm encouragement to rely on others more.
It had been a precious day, full of such moments. A day so transformative she wanted to mark the date with a red circle as a commemoration.
Pine, deep in thought, made a slightly pouty face. Images of Licht's embarrassed reactions kept swirling in her mind.
"...What's so great about these boobs anyway? Idiot."
With that, Pine tried on the lightweight armor the imprisoned dwarf had made separately. Unlike the glass armor, it clearly outlined her feminine figure.
"Pervert, Licht."
She was a bit annoyed at her still-developing chest. If it were smaller, hiding her identity would be easier, and Licht wouldn't have been so shocked by her body.
"...I'm not taking off the armor yet. Not with perverts like Licht around."
She placed her hand on the center of her chest and equipped the Masterpiece once more. Now covered by the heavy plate armor layered on top, her body was concealed.
The earlier vulnerable girl was gone; she had resumed her guise as the Glass Knight. A tall, imposing knight using the alias Mardol.
"So, just wait a little longer."
Yet even clad in the same glass armor, Pine Granasia now carried a lighter burden in her heart than before.
Pine grabbed his outer garment and the Dragon Heart, then left the imperial palace.
The grade exams' award ceremony had ended, and I returned alone to the men's dormitory.
"...Good thing I have time to sort my thoughts."
Kainel had gone with Ariel to an imperial forge to see if they could make a staff from World Tree leaves.
I opened my notebook. No matter how I thought about it, there were too many parts that didn't match the information I knew.
"Is it because it's a prequel from the past...? Things that should be important are starting to not line up."
I began jotting down information about Mardol Granasia on one side of the paper. The main protagonist of [Grand Hearts Academy], wielder of the Masterpiece.
"Glass Knight. Fitting nickname."
At times sharp, she was like a mirror reflecting myself back perfectly.
The protagonists of the [Knight Heart Trilogy] each had nicknames, so it probably fit.
"Couldn't break the Masterpiece, but confirmed her gender."
I'd first tried shattering her glass armor but kept failing, so I resorted to other methods.
Mana's source is the heart.
All I could do was briefly sever the link to her heart and force the armor to release. The helmet must have been made separately, as it didn't come off.
"So that's why her voice was always distorted."
The buzzing tone. Excellent gear for fooling anyone into thinking she was male. Probably Masterpiece-grade like the rest.
Fakes are fakes, after all. I couldn't fully sever the link with a fake holy sword that wasn't real, but it was still regrettable.
"..."
Mardol's body from earlier flashed in my mind, and I shook my head vigorously. Her assets didn't measure up to our Saintess. I couldn't let cheap tricks seduce me.
'Get a grip, Lee Soo-hyun.'
I knew from the game that getting involved with other heroines kicked you off the Saintess route immediately. Probably the same here.
A transparent status window popped up before my eyes.
So the bakery incident was only settling now? This damn window was useless. The delayed real-time calculation pissed me off even more.
Aside from the Nex incident, it had never helped me. It had even indirectly hinted that Mardol was a new character in this scheme.
'I even got a penalty trying to deal with Magic Hat early.'
Thinking about it, the creator probably wanted me to stray from the Saintess route and couple up with Mardol, the main protagonist of Grand Hearts Academy.
That couldn't happen. I'd keep her as just a comrade. With my current weakness, I needed the help anyway.
"Got the Mana Rose too... No more issues."
I refocused and looked at the blue rose in the vase. Our Saintess would be thrilled to receive it.
"I knew blue roses existed, but seeing one in person is still amazing."
A rose infused with mana, turned brilliant blue. What was its flower language again? Overcoming the impossible, I think. Not my expertise.
"Is our Saintess... really okay?"
Thinking of her pure white form, seemingly entangled with the Demon King, filled me with worry.
Divine powers aren't perfect. There should be traces somewhere. Even if Laplace or the sages missed it, like with the white magnolia.
"...I'll find clues eventually."
Dennis vaguely remembered the Heavenly Demon, at least. And I knew.
Same with Magic Hat. By cross-checking the attendance roster and classroom records, I could identify the victims.
—Knock knock.
As I pondered the variables, a knock sounded. A guest was at the door.
"Licht, you there?"
The buzzing voice. Anyone could tell it was Mardol. Just thinking about our real Saintess, and here she comes to interrupt.
Main heroine or not, this was too much. This was the men's dorm.
"Yes, I'm here."
I sighed and turned the doorknob.
While the two were about to meet in the academy dormitory, in the Demon King's castle somewhere...
"Looks like there's a hero at the academy I don't know about."
The man with the monocle finished moving his pen.
"Someone outside my calculations who can neutralize my power."
His book was filled with countless equations, the white pages blackened with dense writing.
"I should confirm it myself."
The man tucked the black mask Magic Hat had given him into his bosom and rose to prepare for departure.
"...Even you won't unravel two layers of my power, hero."
The Omniscient Demon King, Head Eike.
"Fate cannot be changed."
He was targeting someone at Grand Hearts Academy.