Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: 23-1. Who is the Uninvited Guest?
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After a brief commotion, the magic club room we visited was abuzz with excitement.
"Eek! A monster!!"
"Haha, Ariel. It's Licht and Mardol."
"Eh... really...?"
Kainel was dressed as a yellow Cerberus, and Ariel as a red Cheshire Cat.
"Ow. Oow. Ah, that's not it. Kurururuk."
The oblivious neighbor pup and the tsundere red cat.
Truly fitting nicknames. I held my spare helmet in one hand, trying to watch the scene fondly.
However...
'...Something feels off.'
Right now, there was a single rose tucked into the inner pocket of my coat, giving off an odd sense of incongruity.
Just in case, I'd stopped by the male dorms on the way and grabbed the Mana Rose.
It was a high-grade item from the start. It wouldn't wilt without water. It would draw on mana somehow.
'If it couldn't be carried, she wouldn't have told me to take it. Should be fine, right?'
I recalled Rin, the black-haired girl I'd saved just earlier. It was strange how she resembled me a little.
And she'd left with those cryptic words. It was a game company that loved Easter eggs. Holding onto it would prove useful somehow.
The game had events that required possessing specific items to progress. I pondered it deeply, layering worries upon worries, but...
'...Is she really my kid from the future? But why black hair? One side's brown.'
It would be proof that I never ended up with the Nameless Saintess. I shook my head, rejecting the sudden thought.
No way that could be. Just a random event. Saving a kid from a carriage was a pretty common cliché, wasn't it?
A lost child spotting the protagonists and calling them mom and dad was the same. It even showed up in the romance novels our Saintess loved.
'Just my imagination.'
Not even the slightest possibility. It was a misunderstanding to begin with, and she only called me dad after seeing the armor. That boy Iphrit had apologized to me, too.
"...Licht, what're you doing?"
"Nothing."
She didn't seem to be on the princess route yet. If she was, she'd have called Mardol mom, too. Since that hadn't happened, I decided to relax.
"The Dullahan costume looks super real. With the glass completely hiding the head part..."
"Thanks to Mardol."
Currently, everything above my neck was distorted and invisible due to the Glass Knight's magic. Transparent glass floated around the area.
Magic expressed mental images, and this sharp, cold glass fit her perfectly.
"Licht, helmet."
"Ah, here."
Mardol, dressed as a tree monster, stared intently before approaching me.
"Put flame magic in here, right? Mardol?"
"Yeah. Ariel. Do it."
Whoosh. In that instant, blue flames erupted. Mardol confirmed the magic was complete and tried handing the helmet back to me.
"Licht, here. Not hot."
"...Ah."
Flames flickered inside the black helmet. My breath caught. Seeing the dancing fire brought back past memories.
I'd thought it would be fine since it was magic. But looking versus touching were different. Cold sweat beaded on my skin.
"...Licht?"
"Gasp."
I was still terrified of fire. My legs buckled, and Mardol noticed my stagger. My vision spun.
"Licht, you okay?"
"I'm... okay..."
I just had to hold it. If I was scared of this much, I couldn't save our Saintess. I gritted my teeth, trying to shake off the fear.
"Hey, you good? Sweat pouring from under the helmet...!"
"Helmet! What's wrong?!"
Oh no, the hero couple noticed too. Water dripped from the joint between helmet and armor like I'd just showered.
"Licht."
"Wait... just a moment..."
"Licht, if you're scared, you don't have to."
With that, the Glass Knight in her Cuore costume pulled the helmet back to her chest. She cradled it carefully, like a treasure.
"I'll hold it."
I was saved. I could finally breathe. The drowning sensation vanished. I hung my head, staring at the floor as I calmed my racing heart.
"...Thank you. Mardol."
"Then how do we do the Dullahan costume? Doesn't Licht need to hold it?"
"It's fine. I have a way."
Like she'd thought of something good, Mardol dispelled the magic floating around my face, then tapped the forehead of the helmet with her finger.
"Say something. Licht. Better now?"
"Ah, yeah. Thanks... Huh?"
My voice emerged from the spare helmet Mardol held, like a speaker with a slight delay.
"...Voice-altering magic."
"Right. Smart."
So that's the magic on the glass helmet. It distorted my voice into an echoing rumble, like speaking in a cave.
"Good..."
As if praising me for getting it right, Mardol unconsciously reached to pat my head. Her hand, adorned with wooden decorations, rose.
"Mardol?"
"Ah, sorry. Licht. Just felt like cheering you on..."
She seemed to notice something off and halted her movement awkwardly.
Was she trying to encourage me because of my earlier reaction? What am I, a puppy?
'Unlike Lupus in the sequel, she's a good person.'
A chuckle escaped me. The princess looked surprised at her own actions, clenching and unclenching her small palm in confusion.
"Doesn't that mean Mardol has to go around with Helmet now...?"
That was when it happened. The sharp-eyed red cat planted the flag first.
Hmm, could I even shoot it down? She'd noticed my fear of fire and shown consideration.
In this case, I didn't want to repay kindness with ingratitude.
Honestly, it was surprising. In reality, people often mocked weaknesses like this.
"It's oka..."
"I'm fine. Ariel."
She answered before I could, but just this once, I'd let her do what she wanted.
If it hadn't been Mardol just now, it would've been a disaster. My heart was still pounding like a drum.
"...I trust Licht."
"..."
"It doesn't look right otherwise. A Dullahan with just the head visible."
The flag felt a bit too firmly planted, but she'd even been willing to hand over a Dragon Heart for my sake before.
She's just a good person. No way she likes me. If Mardol felt that way, the status window would've reacted immediately.
"Then Kainel and Ariel, you two go scare people..."
"Got it, Licht. Don't push yourself too hard today. Get some good rest."
"...Thank you."
This would raise the hero couple's Love Meter more easily too. With the tension gone, fatigue crashed over me. Maybe I should just sleep in the dorms.
"...Licht."
"What is it, Mardol."
"Want this?"
Candy. Did she still have some from the group project last time? Where'd she even pull it from in costume?
"...Thank you."
Mardol stared at me intently. I took the candy, lifted my visor slightly, and popped it into my mouth, rolling it around.
"...Ah. What a shame."
"No chance. Haha."
She wanted to see my face, huh. You'd hate the burn scars too? Mine's a bit special. I got badly burned as a kid out of ignorance.
Recalling that stale nightmare soured my expression, narrowing my eyes. Dizziness hit. Still far from overcoming it.
'No regrets, but...'
In that moment, sweetness spread across my tongue. Honey and sugar melted in. A stamina recovery item—I'd never actually tried one before.
"...It's sweet. Thank you."
"Yeah, good. You look okay now, Licht."
They weren't cheap, so I'd been saving them for our Saintess. It was tasty. The candy let me set my worries aside for a bit.
'...Huh.'
Mardol's golden eyes looked especially pretty today as she gazed at me relieved I'd calmed down. I shouldn't think that. Probably just from the shock.
'Misattributed arousal.'
My heart was still racing. Hadn't settled yet? Like with Kainel during the carriage incident, it was just the sudden situation making it seem that way.
Definitely not me developing feelings for someone else while having our Saintess.
"...Why? Licht?"
"Nothing..."
I swallowed, the sweetness fading as I seemed to melt into the atmosphere. Today of all days, I felt endlessly sorry toward the Nameless Saintess.
'It's only the Saintess for me. Lee Soo-hyun. Get it together.'
I gripped tighter unconsciously, denying the stray thoughts in my head.
While Licht was wrestling with his inner turmoil, at one of the empire's fountains...
"...There's no way the current Kainel could unravel my authority."
A monocled gentleman was flipping through a book, confirming something.
"New hero, new hero... The gods are stirring up trouble again."
The man picked up a pen and scribbled in his notebook with evident dissatisfaction.
"Hey, sir. Spare a coin...!"
"Hm? What now?"
A hunchbacked man appeared beside him, begging. He looked like a wretched beggar in his tattered rags.
"...Tom."
"Eh? H-How do you know my name...?"
The gentleman waved him off nonchalantly, like shooing a fly.
"Well, there's always a way."
"Aigoo, sir, I don't know how you know me, but please, just one coin...!"
The beggar didn't back down. The gentleman stood with an annoyed expression.
"Better than begging—dig up this fountain."
"...Pardon? Why?"
"There's a 'treasure' underneath. Use it to eat and buy a shovel."
The man pointed at the ground, handed over a single silver coin, and walked away.
"Aigoo! Thank you, sir!"
"Take care. Tom."
The man clutched the gleaming silver, bowing deeply to the departing gentleman.
"...Left as is, he'd join a gang and become a murderer."
Hed walked along, jotting something in his notebook.
"Hope you'll forgive this much consideration. Tom."
In the densely packed notebook was written, in small letters:
'Imperial Year 18. Around 1 AM, Tom digs deep into the fountain, discovers treasure, then falls to his death trying to climb out with it.'
"We're old acquaintances, after all."
The Omniscient Demon King straightened his slightly rumpled clothes as if nothing had happened. He treated it as trivially as brushing off dust.
"Two heroes this time..."
He tucked the notebook back into his pocket and headed toward Grand Hearts Academy. The question of who had undone his authority kept binding his steps.
"Black Knight class Licht."
"...No, not quite."
Suddenly, his shoe clicked against the ground, and Hed stopped.
"Should call him Lee Soo-hyun. That's more precise."
The Demon King's lips curved up slightly after his calculations. The black-suited gentleman approached the summer festival.