*
Since visiting the Library of Truth, I’ve been lost in thought.
A memo that seems to be left by me from another route. The handwriting was frantic, like someone was chasing after me, but I was the only one who had used that notebook in the first place.
The hero in the prophecy, the death of a loved one.
The prophecy that the Head mentioned must mean me.
It perfectly aligns with the fact that I’m the ‘hero of conviction.’ Thanks to the love I learned from Pina, I’ve even become part of the game.
But is this really a game?
Everything started to unravel from what I knew. Ever since I encountered the Magic Hat, that is. The guy who was supposed to be a man suddenly turned out to be a woman.
“What if I’m actually just dreaming a long dream?”
At first, I tried hard for the happy ending of the Nameless Saintess. I thought a miserable person deserves to be happy at least once.
If I had just trusted the status window and raised my affection levels, things would have gone smoothly.
If I revealed my feelings to Kainel and Ariel, or even forced Nex and Schartines to get married, it would have been easy.
Ordinary people would have done that. It’s the simplest path. Watching the player Blanc pursue me made it obvious.
But that’s not true love.
If I had run away without facing the Demon King, Pina Grancia would’ve lost everything.
That’s a fact I verified by using the Library of Truth and the Sage’s foresight. This world isn’t easy on Pina.
Is it really this hard to be happy just once? It’s just a game. It’s like awakening from a light sleep after closing my eyes.
But I cherished even that too much. I looked down in despair and saw the pond reflecting my face.
Wait, it’s reflecting my face?
“Sir Knight, good evening.”
“..That voice…”
I noticed a white nun’s uniform at my feet. Could it be…?
“Don’t tell me you haven’t forgotten the face of your beloved?”
The Nameless Saintess waved at me gently. Her pure white hair sparkled in the moonlight.
It’s a dream. I must have tossed and turned before finally falling asleep. When I looked at myself again, I was clad in armor.
The Magic Sword Horizon. Dark armor, almost black in color.
“Saintess, how on earth…?”
“Hehe, you really kept your promise.”
The Nameless Saintess smiled at me. She looked just like the last time I saw her. It was the armor I had gifted her in the game.
Was this the ability I had as a hero?
If I can meet people from other routes, including the Sage or Laplace, it might be possible. After all, I possess the ability to see possibilities.
What can’t I do? I could even admit my feelings here, even if it’s just a dream.
“I was going to scold you for cheating, but… what a pity…”
With the demeanor of someone training a puppy, the Saintess reached out her hand. The nickname “puppy” felt more like an affectionate term.
“If that’s your wish, I’ll do anything.”
“Sir Knight! That’s too stimulating!”
She knelt down and lightly kissed my hand. Pina’s hand and cheeks flushed immediately. The wolf ears that lost control looked cute.
Some things never change. It felt like I was cheating on the princess Pina, but I was mentally overwhelmed, wanting to escape somewhere.
Pat, pat, we walked through the forest, stepping on the grass. The bright full moon and the sound of insects created a charming scene.
“So, was it good to bathe with someone my age?”
It was the Saintess, Pina, who broke the silence. Is it because this is a dream that she knows these details? She seemed aware when we spoke last time too.
“What do you mean, bathing together…?”
“You know when you lie, it’s really obvious, Lee Soo-hyun.”
She kept flaunting her figure as she got closer. Her eyes sparkled like a fox. Her tail wrapped around my leg…
Wait, Pina, that’s not your leg.
Thank goodness I was in armor from the perspective of [Black Heart]. I glanced sideways and saw Pina acting oblivious.
“It was… good, Saintess.”
“Sir Knight, I find your honesty cute.”
Just then, a luminescent butterfly passed by. The light danced around the Saintess. The soft glow seemed like it could vanish if I grabbed it.
“Saintess. No, Pina.”
I had many questions I wanted to ask. Was I truly the hero in the prophecy? What on earth was the reason for becoming the Nameless Saintess?
“How… how did you…?”
I wondered if Pina had sacrificed herself to stop the Demon God.
Every time I tried to catch the Demon Kings, I encountered penalties. The Head had aimed for the blessed princess instead of the hero couple.
“…”
Pina didn’t immediately answer my question and responded with silence. She tried to smile, but her expression looked dark.
“This world is as cold and lonely as you, Lee Soo-hyun.”
The Saintess placed one hand over my heart. My heartbeat thudded close, like an engine roaring in proximity. It felt as if her touch was trying to fill a gaping hole.
“Love is a powerful force that transcends everything, yet that flame often extinguishes swiftly.”
Her golden wolf eyes looked at me reproachfully. It seemed she noticed that I had tried to run away despite knowing her feelings.
“If one person must be unhappy for the others to be happy, wouldn’t that suffice?”
Was she implying that she was destined to suffer? My deductions seemed correct.
“That can’t be true, Pina.”
“Hehe, as a Black Knight, I knew you’d say that.”
I placed my hand atop hers. Our two hands were positioned over one heart. Our racing heartbeats resonated as if we were one.
“I’ve been unhappy since I was young, Sir Knight. My memories forgotten in ignorance have just returned, and I thought carelessly that I wished to forget everything.”
Pina, the Saintess, bared her heart.
Her memories as a princess were mostly filled with tears, eventually leading to her becoming unable to cry at all.
“If you hadn’t been here, what kind of life would I have lived?”
She also believed Queen Bellin was dead, and she had lived separately at the Academy. It was a completely different scenario from Pina now.
“Like you in the real world, my life must have been tough.”
“Wait, how do you…?”
The Nameless Saintess, Pina, cupped my cheeks with both hands. Our foreheads touched as she pulled me close. We were nearly nose-to-nose.
“Hehe, a charming wolf must have many secrets. A woman who reveals everything lacks appeal!”
Pina finished with a bewitching smile that resembled a nine-tailed fox. Her gentle touch warmed my cheeks.
“Then… I must entice you further so you’ll know in the future.”
“What?!”
Couldn’t you give me more hints, Pina? It’s still true that I need to raise the affection levels of others.
“With the Head’s ignorance shattered, it’s for the best if we capture all the Demon Kings too, right?”
Once we capture all the Demon Kings, it might also prevent Pina from becoming the Nameless Saintess.
“Are you saying you’ll cheat in front of your official wife..? Right now?!”
“Yes, indeed.”
After all, they’re both Pina, right? Who’s to say that completing the Grand Route wouldn’t make this Pina happy too?
There was also Sophia Coldheart’s case. It wasn’t impossible.
“Men are all beasts… I’ve lived my life only looking at you…”
“It’s better to have your brother or mother-in-law at the wedding, Pina.”
If we can defeat the Magic Hat, Queen Bellin will return from the cards as well. There’s still plenty of hope. The hero couple and Nex also seemed to be steadily improving their affection levels.
“You’re so sly… you really have a way with words.”
Hug. Pina wrapped me in her arms. Her fluffy tail behind her swayed wildly. It was a sign of satisfaction.
“Oh right. Pina, do you know the meaning of the black rose?”
“The black rose…?”
I asked the Saintess, who had loved the meaning of the blue rose. No matter how much I tried to ignore it, the past and future kept surfacing.
“The meaning of the black rose is….”
At that moment, a cold voice began to overlap. The thick scent of roses constricted around me.
Around our embrace, stems of roses made of glass began to grow. They were not the clear white glass I usually saw but black glass.
“..Want to know? Licht?”
“Pina. Your tone…”
The Nameless Saintess, who wore a pure white nun’s outfit, had vanished entirely, replaced by black-haired Pina dressed in black.
“It means you’ll be mine forever, Licht.”
With a strong grip, Black Rose Pina knocked me down, laughing like a predator who had captured its prey.
Her heated breaths and sticky exhalations were licking at my neck, almost making me dizzy.
Clank, like the future the Sage saw, chains bound my wrists and ankles. I tried to pull free from the embrace, but failed due to the sheer difference in strength.
*
When I finally opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the blond-haired hero.
“Licht!! Are you okay?!”
“K-Kainel…?”
It was Kainel waking me. The Light Hero shook me, helping me wake from my sleep.
It was around 3 AM when I glanced at the clock beside me. I was drenched in sweat.
“Did you have a nightmare or something?”
After pouring cold water down my throat, I finally calmed down. Had I been too stressed lately?
“I could hear you struggling, saying not to lick there. You sounded like someone under a sleep paralysis.”
“Did I really say that?”
“Yeah, I thought it was serious since your magic wasn’t working. Thank goodness the Holy Sword purified you…”
Listening to Kainel, I noticed the Light Holy Sword buzzing and shimmering brightly. Had I really been interfered with by Pina from another route?
If even the hero barely managed to save me, it must have been the future Pina the Sage saw. Yandere route? Was she a black rose, not a blue rose?
“That dream was intense.”
I had been the one to nullify the Succubus’s power. If I had been just a few seconds slower, I could have lost something precious.
