Is looks really not important in love?
The answer to that question has already been provided by that column guy and the northern grand duchess.
“I’m sure Giseok will manage well even without me.”
He had been so attached ever since Giseok woke up.
They had already succeeded in the game, and the grand duchess had come to like her macho form even more, almost like a northern person.
Before I return to the academy, I had to stop by the bakery up north.
Since I’m here, it would be nice to buy some dessert for Pina.
“…There might be a situation that makes Pina feel jealous. I should prepare for that in advance.”
I’ve heard that the Inrang Tribe can be overly sensitive about romantic matters.
In that case, it might be better to get some sweet desserts that Pina likes.
“This is [Caprostia Confectionery]…”
Just as expected, it looked quite similar to the confectionery in the Grancia Empire, almost like a twin to the empire.
Upon entering the bakery with steam rising from the hot bread, I noticed the bustling crowd.
Looks like it’s a famous place after all.
“Welcome, customer.”
A white-haired bear beastman greeted me while pulling out a batch of bread from the oven.
Wouldn’t it feel natural even if he was holding a cola in one hand?
“Uh, do you have ‘Northern Baklava’?”
“Yes, of course. I see you possess a charm; you must be a VIP.”
Immediately, I mentioned the name of the sweetest dessert I knew.
Baklava.
This is a pastry made by layering paper-thin dough with nuts.
It’s a type of dessert that has a crispy and sweet texture since syrup is poured on top to harden it.
Depending on the filling, like pistachio powder or cream like Kaymak, it comes in different varieties.
Among them, what I wanted to buy was a local specialty from the north.
“Northern Baklava.”
A cake-like food topped with honey, lemon syrup, and fresh cream.
It contains special nuts that only grow in the north, warming the body.
You could say it’s a warming food.
It’s great for enduring the cold of the north.
While it’s sweet, I’m also worried about catching a cold.
“Uh…? Isn’t that Licht?”
“Kainel? What are you doing here….”
At that moment, I heard a familiar voice next to me, waiting for my baklava.
“Wow, I almost didn’t recognize you without your helmet.”
A hero with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Kainel sat across from me and started talking.
He was probably buying desserts for Ariel, as both of his hands were full of sweet treats.
“…What are those?”
“Oh, these are things your friend Giseok recommended.”
Just like the vice guildmaster of the same guild.
Giseok had also supported me in helping connect the hero couple like he did for me.
While showing off his muscular body, he even told Kainel to keep exercising.
“Kainel should buy something else too.”
But compared to me, he seemed just a little short.
Unlike Ariel, he wasn’t one to indulge in sweets, so it’d be better for him to buy something separately for himself.
“You should buy something else. You can’t eat sweets that easily, right?”
“…I guess it’s still hard to match your tastes? Thanks for the advice, Licht.”
I immediately suggested he add something for himself, and after picking sandwiches and snacks, Kainel asked me.
“By the way, Licht, did something happen with Pina a little while ago?”
He asked with a playful smile, looking like he had some sort of scheme behind his cheerful demeanor.
“…Nothing happened.”
I sealed my lips tight, sticking to ignorance.
I hadn’t crossed the line, but how could I mention rolling around on the bed with the princess?
He seemed to catch on to something, but seeing Pina flustered made me want to keep the secret.
“It’s not ‘I don’t know,’ but ‘nothing happened…’”
Kainel picked up on the strange part in my words.
The nickname of “clueless neighbor dog” seems to have disappeared, as hanging out with me has changed him quite a bit.
“Actually, I just heard Pina talking to herself after bumping her forehead against the wall.”
“….”
Kainel spoke with a smirk on his face.
It seemed he had witnessed Pina running away after giving me a deep kiss.
She was repeatedly muttering “I made a mistake” while banging her head against the wall.
It was obvious how flustered she was.
Even after starting to date, her defense was as weak as a glass cannon.
‘At least I don’t have to worry about being eaten.’
She even asked Ariel and Sophia for beauty tips and was fidgeting around before entering my room.
To be honest, it was cute.
Thinking back, she initially showed interest in swordsmanship and approached me, which is the complete opposite of her current self.
“Your lips look a bit chapped. What did you two do?”
“…There was a little happening with Pina.”
Wow, it seems the mark from Pina’s bite might still be visible.
As I got caught slightly talking about her, Kainel subtly brought up another topic.
“So, it’s true that your mission isn’t just about defeating the Demon King to save the world.”
“….That’s right.”
He probably confirmed his suspicion after seeing Giseok transform from a vampire to muscular in an instant.
My goal is to connect the love lines of the main characters to complete the Grand Route.
Defeating the Demon King at the Hero Church is just a side quest for Pina’s peace.
It would be sad to become the Nameless Saintess.
I’d lose family, friends, memories, and strength altogether.
“In that case, can we help with Drake and the sage’s romance too?”
After hearing my reply, his eyes sparkled as he proposed something to me.
He was suggesting helping others raise their affection levels.
He also mentioned wanting to return the favor when I helped him before.
“You said you’d repay the favor one day.”
I remembered it when we first met around the campfire.
He was acting true to the name of the Light Hero, and I smiled.
[Kainel♡Ariel 78% ‘NEW!’]
At that moment, a status window appeared in front of me.
Because of buying desserts, the hero couple’s affection level had gone up.
Those two would soon reach 100%, it seems.
If I recall, Kainel and Ariel proposed while making a snowman.
‘With winter approaching, could it be that the Grand Route will soon be achieved?’
I thought of the CG from [Black Heart].
Childhood friends confessing their love while making a snowman in the falling snow.
Seeing that, these two might end their romance with a wedding.
[Lee Soo-hyun♡Pina Grancia 55% ‘NEW!!’]
Just as I was about to smile happily, the affection level between me and Pina came up.
Unlike Kainel’s pink level, it had a red background with a lip-shaped emoticon.
It seems even the author, God, is watching over us.
‘…Is this really only 55%?’
Comparing the numbers with the hero couple, I was at a loss for words.
The affection level in the status window seems more like an achievement level for reaching marriage than just a number.
I shuddered, thinking that if I miscalculated, I might end up like a wilted towel in front of Pina.
“…Thank you, Kainel.”
I reluctantly accepted his suggestion while trying to keep a smile.
Initially, it was completely opposite to my solo struggles in preserving the love lines of others.
‘With no one to help, I ended up in situations that could lead to misunderstandings.’
It feels like it was just yesterday when I was pretending to be the Crown Prince in the carriage.
When did so much time pass?
Late autumn.
It’s already been almost a year since I enrolled at the academy.
It took quite a long time to get to know and date Pina.
“It was actually your sister-in-law who suggested it. Saying she wanted to help with your love business.”
“…Who?”
At that moment, as I stepped out of the confectionery with the wrapped baklava, Kainel said one more thing.
When did I hear the term “sister-in-law”?
Pina must have been bragging about it to those around her.
“Princess Pina Grancia. Should I now call you a national treasure?”
National treasure.
As in, the consort of the queen, I think?
Though in the Grancia Empire, the succession right belongs to Pina, not Rufus.
“No, she’s not a queen yet… so maybe a consort?”
“……That’s embarrassing, Kainel.”
I told Kainel not to tease me, but I couldn’t stop the corners of my mouth from rising.
*
On the way back to the academy from the north,
Sofia and Giseok waved us goodbye.
“Be careful on your way back, Soo-hyun.”
“Keep up the good work, Pina.”
Seeing that, I felt their affection levels would rise without any intervention from me.
Who knows, by the time I come back, they might actually hold a wedding.
The nickname of ‘husband of the northern grand duchess’ was no exaggeration.
Pina, while looking at her friend, wrapped her arms around me with determination.
“You can’t be eyeing other girls, Soo-hyun. Not even Sofia.”
“…..”
“Hehe, the dessert tastes sweeter today.”
With her tail wrapped around my leg, she was claiming her ownership over me.
I doubt I’d run away even without that.
‘This must be why I saw her in the sage’s future vision.’
While she nibbled on the baklava I gifted her, she kept her gaze fixed solely on me.
What choices did my future self make that led me to be chained to Pina?
The collection of possibilities that could have been realized—that is what the sage’s foresight could show.
“Now, I’ll cast teleportation, Licht.”
Immediately after, a 3D magic circle sparkled in Dennis’s hands, and we began transforming into a shining light.
*
Once we arrived back at the Grand Hertz Academy, autumn leaves were falling.
The season was shifting from fall to winter.
With the cold air filling our lungs, our party returned to this chilly place where the breeze was brisk.
“Let’s head straight to the library.”
I dashed toward the library right away.
First, I needed to understand the relationship between Drake and the sage.
These two were embroiled in one-sided love on one side.
Even if the Demon King, Black Cloud, had perished in [Black Heart], they still hadn’t managed to come together.
From the descriptions, it seemed they both had feelings for each other.
‘Even the column guy said he didn’t know.’
Then, the answer would be for the parties involved to ask directly.
With my anxious heart, my legs felt leaden.
“Oh? Isn’t that Licht?”
I encountered the sage who had been reading atop a pile of books, looking at me oddly with his yellow eyes, a characteristic of demonkin.
I was curious about how the Grand Sword Master managed to win the sage’s favor.
“…Sage, would you tell me about your first love? It’s necessary.”
I said with a smile on my lips.
The memory of one’s first love is something that isn’t easily forgotten by anyone.
