I started to have a little chat while eating snacks and drinking black tea, sitting across from Asha.
“Nice to meet you, Licht.”
It seemed like he had been out of touch with the other Ten Heroes while staying in the North for too long.
“They say you dealt with the Head using the power of Akasha.”
“..That’s about right.”
The reason I lied about being the Hero of Intelligence was obvious.
From Asha Aureus’s perspective, I was just a third party. It was better to be in this position if I wanted to talk about the secret regarding Nex and Asha.
“I never expected Drake to take on a disciple. Were you there for too long in the North?”
Knowing the backstory was thanks to my knowledge from reality, and it was probably right to focus on logic rather than emotions here.
“My ability lies in finding or hiding information. Even in ignorance or knowledge, I could handle it.”
“That’s a bit envious. It would have been nice if someone like you was around during the war.”
Indeed, both Nex and Dennis had called me the Hero of Intelligence, and I actually heard that gods don’t just pick one Hero.
“Can I take a look at the Holy Sword? Licht.”
“Oh, here it is.”
I had already taken out the fake sword to make it look like a Holy Sword. Since Holy Swords often vary in abilities, using this wouldn’t get me caught out in a lie.
“It’s not a fake.”
“Of course, it’s the real deal.”
Asha Aureus sprinkled little feathers made of fire to check if the Holy Sword would melt, and my artificial sword showed no reaction.
“Hmmm, I wish there was a Hero who could handle spirits blessed by Pantoze…”
That was my very own feelings for Pina Grancia.
Even if her future of becoming a Saintess was now gone and she might not like me, I knew my feelings wouldn’t dissipate because of that.
‘She’s been glaring at me since earlier, and it feels weird.’
It was a white-haired woman, standing far away against the wall, crossing her arms as if unhappy about my lies.
Still, Pina, there’s a difference in status compared to the Academy.
No matter how you look at it, this person is a superior. An elder at that.
Most players rated Asha as beautiful, but I just couldn’t understand it.
“..What kind of Apostle is sending monsters to the North? Duke Aureus.”
I asked what I was curious about, trying to ignore Pina’s fierce gaze.
“Isn’t that something you should know? Hero of Intelligence.”
Her tone suddenly turned icy.
Yeah, this is how she usually is. She’s behaving less oppressively now that there’s a princess or northern noblewoman beside her.
I suppose her suspicions haven’t eased yet. If that’s the case, I need to lay some groundwork so my lies will hold. The geography of the North is mostly mountainous.
There’s only one Apostle who could lead monsters from such rugged terrain down to Caprostia.
“If it’s the Apostle of Wrath, I already know, but there’s something more coming up.”
An Apostle that can put a crowd into a state of rage. There was only one choice.
“It’s true. I apologize for testing you. It’s just that I have a thoroughly cautious personality.”
“Do you have any objections? Living Sun.”
We sized each other up.
Asha’s meticulous personality resembled that of her son, Nex. She was skilled at deceiving others and gathering information. Given how much they looked alike, why hadn’t she revealed the truth?
“Surely the Demon King of Might must have done something.”
That’s when a word I hadn’t heard before came from the Duke’s mouth.
‘Demon King of Might..? Was Finn or Black Cloud such a Demon King?’
I had only seen the name in the setting book. I guess powers or abilities leaned that way.
The Demon Kings of the Hero Church were initially four.
Was one of them the Demon King of Might? Then they probably used both military power (武力) and the absence of power (無力).
‘That makes sense why Pina’s strong abilities have vanished.’
The puzzle pieces were slowly piecing together. The remaining question was why she became a Saintess who poorly used Divine Power.
But why on earth would they turn the Grancia Empire’s princess into a nameless Saintess?
If it were to keep an eye on Emperor Rock, it would be even weirder. When I was challenging [Black Heart], Bellin Grancia was still held hostage.
Even if it could end up setting the entire Empire ablaze, that was a huge risk for someone looking for the Hero Church.
‘I must have missed something. Think. Thinking is my strength.’
I habitually rested my chin on my hand and pondered.
The nameless Saintess was initially such a weak character that it would be hard to include her as even a party member in a Demon King raid.
‘..Is it because Pina is threatening to the Demon Kings?’
This is the most likely scenario.
Using glass magic was quite overpowered, and she had somewhat held her own against the Magic Hat.
Without Pina, Kainel and Ariel would have suffered severe trauma during their defeat. Or they might have been dragged to the Demon King’s Castle and faced horrible fates.
The members of the Hero Church were all insane individuals.
Some falsely claimed the dead were alive or only revealed terrible futures, crushing all hope for survival.
‘But if that’s the case, there would be no need for force… Ah, Rock would be out to kill her.’
Making a princess of one nation into a nonexistent person would have massive repercussions.
Just making a slightly misleading statement would have gotten me attacked, while Dennis had some resistance to ignorance.
This seemed like a way to minimize the potential for any events. It would have been impossible without help from other Demon Kings.
“Still, you don’t need to worry anymore.”
“Hmmm. Your helmet is quite unique. Is it an artifact as well?”
But would they let it go like that? Would I just watch the one I loved fall into misfortune?
‘Penalties will no longer matter.’
The Head said that the future can’t be changed, yet I, the Black Knight, completely rejected that notion.
“That’s right, Duke Asha Aureus.”
“I will trust you. Please handle the monsters with Drake starting tomorrow, Hero.”
I knelt before Duke Aureus to show respect, and she told me I’d help prevent the bombing starting from tomorrow.
“Starting tomorrow? Shouldn’t we tackle the monsters right away today?”
“I’m activating the Phoenix’s Cradle since I’m the head of the Aureus family.”
Again, Asha smiled confidently, sipping her black tea.
The golden wings of the Phoenix wrapped around the entire Northern region.
Her son Nex could cover at least one Academy building. The Ten Heroes really are different.
“After all, you resemble Nex, don’t you?”
“..Do you know Nex? Hero.”
I tested her slightly. I needed to gauge if she knew about Nex and Schartines’s relationship.
“Yes, I’m Nex’s junior.”
“..So, you’re a student at the Academy.”
For a moment, Asha Aureus’s expression hardened. Was she surprised to hear unexpected news about her son? If she’s upset, I might be able to use that.
“During the Head’s attack, my senior used the cradle.”
“…”
Her lips seemed to twitch just a bit. It looks like she hasn’t heard from Nex.
“Thanks to that person, the second-year students at the Academy are unharmed.”
Clink. She set her teacup down and got up, heading toward the prepared room. Asha needed time to reflect as well.
*
I took out the bedding from the closet and unpacked my things.
Except for some simple clothes, there wasn’t much I could carry with my Mind Sword. It felt like returning to a solitary existence, reminding me of my room back in reality.
It was filled with soothing white goods. But it felt like we lacked enough noble wolf essence.
‘Do they not sell that here?’
That’s when I heard the sound of a doorknob turning, and someone cautiously entered my room.
“..Licht. Why did you lie?”
Startled. I wondered how long she had been following me, and after a slight delay, Pina had chased me down. The woman representing the Inrang tribe stood before me, her wolf ears perked up with curiosity.
“Because it’s easier being a liar.”
“Licht, you know it’s obvious, right?”
“I’m aware.”
Pina sighed quietly as she looked at me. It didn’t matter if I got caught. The name Hero followed my actions.
“Licht.”
“What is it, Pina?”
Pina moved closer to me, coiling her tail around my leg again. It was soft, but my reasoning felt like it couldn’t hold out much longer.
“Why do you always get yourself into trouble?”
“Because that’s my mission.”
I must protect you, even if I lose everything I can grasp.
Truth nearly burst out from my throat, but I held it back.
Right now, she wasn’t a Saintess. She was the princess of the Grancia Empire.
Currently at 2% affection, it could suddenly plummet like during Schartines’s kidnapping, and she was likely to meet someone better than me. Just because I held the Head didn’t make me the Hero of Conviction. I definitely wasn’t a prince on a white horse.
‘Just a pure-hearted Black Knight.’
Like the Black Knight who silently bears infamy for the sake of the one he loves, all I had to do was assist the ongoing Love Line by her side.
Even if I didn’t fully trust the status window, it was what brought me to this point with an invitation as a beta tester.
I had also fulfilled a condition to see a CG under the Lily tree.
If the Grand Route is a lie, the game would fall apart, but considering the warnings I’ve received so far, it didn’t seem there was any reason to do so.
It would have been safer to avoid making a vessel. They knew I had only dug into the Saintess Route.
“I’m worried about you, Licht.”
As I sank into thought, Pina’s expression turned sad. Her tail and ears drooped with concern.
“I just hope you won’t get hurt any more than this.”
Her breath drew closer, making it harder to breathe.
Pina always rocked me like this. In reality, I suffered badly from burn scars and had trouble adjusting to people.
After my father passed away, she was my only anchor in life.
“If you’re trying to pair Nex with Schartines, don’t.”
“…”
“It’s not like being in love or an engagement is automatically happy.”
But unlike when she was a Saintess, she seemed to have developed an extreme mindset due to her experience of her mother Bellin Grancia being kidnapped.
“If you think that way, it’s not always guaranteed happiness, Licht…”
This level of worry made me feel a strange sense of something. I could sense something special about why Pina treated me in this way.
I had felt that way for quite a while. Last time, she tried to kiss me out of the blue with knowledge she read in a book.
“Princess Pina Grancia.”
Even now, she was coiling her tail around me, expressing possessiveness. Instead of love, her actions seemed more like obsession.
“Why, Licht?”
As the pillar of the house says, people cannot simply be divided into black or white. To someone, she might just look like a girl in love.
“How do you see me?”
This could be actual obsession. I swallowed my bitter saliva and finally asked the question I was curious about.
“..Honestly, I don’t really know.”
Pina Grancia lowered her head, avoiding my gaze.
“But one thing is certain.”
She finally raised her head and looked at me, her golden eyes sparkling. The eyes of a wolf shining in the night.
“Licht, you’re… precious to me. I don’t want to lose you to someone else.”
The eyes of that predator revealed the truth.
