*
I stepped into a forest adorned with lush grass and bushes.
The trees were so dense that they blocked out the sunlight.
The overgrown grass reached up to my knees, making it uncomfortable to walk.
This scenery looks familiar. It reminds me of the forest where we went for a group project.
If I told anyone this used to be the playground, they probably wouldn’t believe me.
The school had changed overnight.
‘Did Professor Maria and White Lily have a hand in this?’
Since Dennis packed strawberries last time, he might have given them a hint.
If it was the Spring Dragon and Dryad, it wouldn’t be too strange. Being in the top two of the Ten Heroes should make it easy enough.
I could physically feel the first-place person chasing after me.
I wonder if I’ll still have my life after this sports festival.
I’ve ended up in a situation similar to Nex. In the end, I have to face my father-in-law to get permission to date his daughter.
Just running away won’t resolve anything.
That title of a drama I saw once comes to mind.
I need some time to talk to Rock. Even just a little.
“Licht, over there, is the place for the runes.”
“…It seems like it.”
While I was lost in thought for a moment, Pina tentatively tapped my shoulder.
She pointed to a wolf sculpture.
Above it sat a massive orb resembling the moon, inscribed with letters.
It said 0pt.
Is that the scoreboard? It looks just like a score board from games.
‘They said the team with the highest total score at the end wins by collecting engraved runes.’
Each rune is worth 10 points. With 10 of 4 types of runes scattered across each faction, that totals 800 points.
Other students from my team are already trying to go to the enemy’s side to collect runes.
“…Just wandering around won’t yield much.”
That’s probably what the other side is thinking too. We should move more effectively here.
Finding the runes hidden away will be quite challenging.
“Licht, you think the same way. We’re on the same wavelength.”
She chuckled softly, expressing agreement.
Pina especially talks more in front of me.
Should I be happy that she’s gradually regaining her former self as the Nameless Saintess?
Maybe one day, she won’t even use a pseudonym at the academy.
“I have a good idea. Mardol.”
To do that, I need to become someone worthy for her.
I need to be able to tackle whatever comes my way, be it the Demon King, the Grand Route ending, or this sports festival.
Even if Emperor Rock opened the path to prevent me from being threatened, I should show a successful result here.
“Let’s try what the professor mentioned before. Let’s use my attributes.”
I grabbed Pina’s hand to borrow her magic circuitry.
“…Okay, Licht.”
Now that she’s gotten used to it, she started playfully fidgeting with her fingers as the glass knight.
“Dark attribute magic. If I envelop this area in darkness…”
This kind of play style was common in the games I used to play. Using weapon overlap to deal concentrated damage.
「Black Out.」
Or sometimes, using ordinary magic in an unconventional way by inspecting the surrounding environment.
“…Only the runes with the magic circle engraved on them will be unaffected.”
“That’s right. Just like Professor Dennis with water attributes being advantageous for mixing different magics.”
The magic I’m currently using darkens the surroundings.
It’s typically a temporary measure to obscure the opponent’s view or to escape encirclement.
“Much like oil floating on water, the runes that can’t be moved using swordsmanship, spirit magic, or divine power won’t change color.”
As if a smoke bomb has been detonated, black mist began to rise around me.
“…Hey, Licht.”
“What is it, Pina?”
At that moment, she detected something odd and looked towards me.
Golden wolf eyes sparkled in the mist. It felt like encountering a cat at night.
“Your magic is blocked by the surroundings…?”
“…Huh?”
The black mist that had been billowing stopped spreading and began to swirl around instead.
Why? There shouldn’t be any reason to fail like this. Unless this entire space is an illusion…
Ah, could it be?
No wonder it feels familiar.
“Is it… a mental image?”
The martial arts I learned from the Celestial Demon mostly use internal power, drawing out the mental imagery inside.
The endless forest of monsters’ depths. This place was reassembled by the Celestial Demon from somewhere I had visited before.
Right, it was strange to find the runes with such common magic.
Now the mist has completely dissipated, and my field of vision began to clear up again.
“Licht, what should we do…?”
As I sighed, Pina opened her mouth with a worried expression.
What should I do? I can’t afford to get stuck here.
“…Mardol, could you please take off the masterpiece for a moment?”
I looked at Pina in her heavy armor from head to toe.
“Are, are you a pervert..? Or is it that all human men are like that?”
What’s with that even? What book have you been reading?
There’s no other way, Pina. In the end, we have to win here.
Does Emperor Rock want to split the one victorious in the sports festival with an axe?
“….”
Pina placed her palm on the center of her chest. Is she really about to release it now?
“W-well, I mean we should use a glass wall and soundproof magic… and let’s use a combination move.”
I waved my hands. I have to be cautious since I’ve already been stepped on by the Demon King once.
The mention of a princess has been thrown around several times within the academy.
“Ah, I’m sorry… I misunderstood.”
She shrank back as she cast a glass wall around us. The pure, glistening white glass.
It even feels like looking at diamonds or crystals, her magic as Pina Grancia.
“…Is this going to work?”
As she took off her helmet, her long white hair fell to her waist.
Her wolf ears already pointing back and her tail wagging hard make it seem like I’m not looking at a wolf but a Pomeranian.
“Licht, can you put on the helmet for me?”
Pina was raising her heels and whining like a child trying to take off the visor.
“Of course, Pina.”
I lifted the front part of the helmet to reveal Pina’s face, and her eyes formed gentle curves.
It’s a burn mark that others would say is gross, but I have to admit she has unique tastes. Well, I can’t talk much about that.
“Now hug me, Licht….”
With her arms wide open, she squeezed her eyes shut and barely managed to say it.
Seeing her trembling eyelashes and body made me chuckle.
Is she reminiscing about the time the hero couple embraced while performing a combination move?
Her face had turned so red, it was reminiscent of a tomato, and her tail was standing at attention like it was trying to touch the sky.
“…I don’t want to.”
Unfortunately, I’m not the kind to play around like Kainel.
I stroked Pina’s hair backward. She flinched as I stroked her soft wolf ears.
“L-Licht. My ears… they’re a bit… sensitive…”
If someone else were to touch them, they probably would’ve had their arm sliced off without question.
These ears belong to someone of the Grancia royal bloodline, after all.
“Hmm… this will spoil my manners…”
I gently reassured her to keep her hair from getting tangled. After all, suddenly hugging an outside guy wouldn’t be ideal.
“Pina, get ready for a close hug.”
Slowly looking at her completely relaxed expression, I wrapped my arm around her waist.
The soft, shiny white hair was now easily within my reach.
“Ah…”
“….”
As we embraced, a small sigh escaped as she melted into me.
The scent of roses and her warmth coursed through my head like an electric current.
“Looks like the pervert was right. Last time… it wasn’t like this though…”
Holding Pina tight, there was a significant pressure around my chest. Thump, thump, thump—her little heartbeat echoed through.
“I have to keep my heart as close as possible.”
It can’t be helped. There’s no way I could find a woman more scandalous than her in the academy.
Even that Celestial Demon would take a step back with her figure.
Maybe that’s why I can’t take my eyes off her. Our wolf is just too remarkable.
“If I’m not mistaken, there’s a way to layer paint on glass to create a picture.”
That name is.
「Paint on Glass.」
If I can’t create smoke, I’ll just overlay darkness on the glass instead.
Pina’s hair briefly transformed to black, just like I saw in my dreams. The concept of darkening the world.
Is that what they mean by “A person near ink turns black.”
*
Fortunately, the black hair that seemed to last didn’t take long to return to its original color.
“…What a shame.”
Wearing the masterpiece once more, Pina spoke with a disappointed tone.
Didn’t she feel happy when I liked her white hair before? The mind of a woman is hard to understand.
The black-coated glass shards floating around Pina.
Beyond them, the view looked as if I had put on sunglasses, the whole world was now shrouded in black.
“There’s one over there.”
It acted like a radar searching for engraved runes.
Hiding among the bushes was a small stone. The orange hue indicated it was a rune related to swordsmanship.
As I prepared to draw my iron sword from my waist to cleave through the bushes, suddenly—
“Huh, Licht junior! I didn’t expect to see you here!”
A purple flame erupted, blocking my sword. The heat nearly burned my hand.
“..Nex senior? What are you doing here…?”
“I’m participating in the sports festival with Shar.”
A man with purple hair emerged next to me, flashing a fox-like smile and waving at Nex.
By the looks of his outfit, it was red. Opposite from me, he was on the sun’s wolf team.
The name of the Aureus family sure holds its ground.
If we were on the same team, I could have received all sorts of help.
“Junior, I didn’t get to thank you separately during the social club.”
“I think that’s a bit excessive for gratitude.”
Something feels off. Attacks are prohibited during this sports festival. Just now, he cleverly sidestepped the rules.
“Sorry, I did that on purpose to avoid the eyes watching.”
As soon as Nex finished speaking, a massive pair of phoenix wings enveloped the three of us.
“…The cradle of the phoenix.”
“Well, now it’ll look like we’re fighting over the runes, right?”
Once he used his technique, he began to slowly approach me.
Now that I think about it, Pina has been quiet since earlier. Under normal circumstances, she would be scolding or trying to stop Nex.
“If it were normal, we shouldn’t help because we’re from opposing teams…!”
Laughing hollowly, Nex placed a hand on my shoulder.
“..I’ve received so much from our junior.”
The familiar pattern of the magic circle I’ve seen many times began to glow at the center of my chest.
A black Pomeranian popping out from near my heart dashed toward Pina.
