First Love.
Gasp.
The air was as if it could stop you from breathing.
A shiver like electricity coursed through feelings.
An emotion everyone experiences at least once, like a spell that hands over control of oneself to another.
What I knew was that the Sage’s first love was a Drake.
“…What?”
As I exposed the Sage’s secret, she wore a dazed expression once again.
A face that seemed to say, ‘How on earth did you know that?’ She had said the same thing before.
“I didn’t expect anyone to suddenly show up and talk about this.”
“…I have my reasons.”
Trying hard to maintain her composure, the Sage had secretly cast soundproof magic around us.
How long would she keep pretending to be clueless? There was a way to know everything.
‘Valentine’s Day.’
In the game, it’s the event on February 14th where players give gifts to heroines.
It was an event where I couldn’t give chocolates to Saintess Pina.
‘…She really is thorough when it comes to this.’
Among those, one quest lingered in my memory.
In the sequel, [Black Heart], there was a quest that glimpsed the Sage’s feelings for Drake.
The player delivers the Sage’s letter with chocolates to him.
The exact details weren’t written, but…
‘If I read it, I could understand the situation to some extent.’
It was about her first love and how she had liked him since childhood.
It was a love letter where the Sage confessed to Drake.
Of course, if I were to read that letter, an event where I get scolded by the future-seeing Sage would occur.
What on earth made her like that muscle-headed master of mine?
A tingle welled up in my chest. A smile formed at the corners of my mouth.
I had heard some explanation from Dennis, but…
Just for saving her from the Wizard Tower didn’t align with her saying she’d liked him since childhood.
‘Reasons.’
They say love has no reasons, but if we’re at this point, it’s natural to be curious about those reasons.
“If you foresaw the future, you must have noticed something.”
“Not at all, I have no reason to tell you such things.”
Pressing the Sage with strange words, she scoffed.
The ability to see routes that change depending on choices.
The Sage’s foresight, to be precise, was in the realm of ‘possibilities.’
Threatening her like this probably wouldn’t lead to anything. Azmodius, narrowing his eyes at me, looked at me strangely.
‘Her attitude changed.’
She must’ve realized we needed to safeguard love lines to complete the Grand Route.
To bring about a happy ending for Pina Grancia…
“…I can’t see your future.”
The woman looked down at me with pity.
She scratched at her sheep-like demon horns, sending a sympathetic gaze my way.
“…What?”
“I meant what I said. Licht, I can’t see your future anymore.”
What on earth did that mean?
My mouth was shut, much like when I faced the Nameless Saintess.
The Demon King of All Knowledge must have dealt with it.
Why on earth would she say my future was unseen?
“…..”
It seemed strange to blame it on the Magic Hat.
If that were the case, my future should appear false. This kind of reaction shouldn’t happen.
“..Is Pina okay?”
“It’s the problem that I can’t see the Princess either.”
I hastily asked about her well-being.
Pina had transformed back to being like the Nameless Saintess.
It was troubling that after defeating the Head, my foresight was blocked.
“Can you imagine anything? Or other people’s futures…?”
“None. Did the Head revive?”
The conversation tilted my head in confusion.
While returning from the northern incidents, I could only think that the Magic Hat caused trouble.
“Is there no solution, Sage?”
“Well, I just started this, so… I’ve brought it up to the council.”
Looking at the Sage while asking for solutions, she only mentioned her powers had activated moments ago.
“Then, do you remember seeing my future before?”
The powers of Demon Kings aren’t perfect.
There’s always some flaw somewhere. I asked the Sage about the last possibility she saw for me.
“…On a rainy day, I saw the Princess crying at a grave marked ‘Licht.’”
“…..”
The Sage shook her head, continuing.
Her words were like thunderclaps. It felt like a doctor giving a terminal diagnosis.
Pina crying in front of my grave sent a cold sweat trickling down my spine.
What on earth could happen for me to die while Pina lives?
‘Did I die to save Pina?’
I clenched my fists and regained my composure.
I had decided on this sacrifice five years ago.
To change her future, so entwined with the Demon King that she became the Nameless Saintess.
I had come this far for that reason.
“So you’re saying I’m going to die in the future?”
I was surprised, but I took a deep breath to maintain my calm.
The Sage’s vision was just one of the possibilities.
“It might sound like a lie… but it’s the truth.”
Conversely, that meant I could still save my life. I tried to calmly ask the Sage for more information, but…
“What do you mean Su-hyun will… die?”
“……Pina.”
I had been followed by my group who came to the library. They had discovered the truth. Perhaps it was shocking. With trembling legs, Pina collapsed into a heap.
“Mr. Helmet… what the heck does this mean?”
“Licht, you’re dying? You’re still alive, though?”
Kainel and Ariel gasped in surprise and shouted.
“Sage, I just saw the council recruitment. Laplace said the library has gone blank too.”
Dennis shocked us with news akin to when the Head attacked the Academy.
The Magic Hat must have resurrected the Demon King and caused some mischief. After all, Infinion had been a resurrected Demon King too.
“Tell me again, Sage… is it true?”
Even knowing the Sage’s prophecy is an amalgamation of possibilities, Pina was mournful at the notion I might die.
Tears streamed from her eyes now.
When I first met her, I never thought she would be someone to cry for others.
Pina clutched at my legs and sobbed.
When had she changed this much?
I could never speak of her being like a hollow glass now.
“Pina, I’m still alive. It’s okay.”
I knelt down to meet her gaze.
Her golden wolf eyes sparkled with gems.
I wiped her tears, trying to force a smile.
“Get up. If you cry, your pretty face will get ruined. I don’t like the ugly Pina.”
“…That’s a lie. Su-hyun.”
Only after I joked did she smile faintly.
It seems she’s incredibly good at spotting lies.
“Don’t die. If you do, I will follow you to hell… and be mad…”
A chill suddenly crept around us.
With a lifeless face, she said coldly. Perhaps her expression could cross a line.
“Do what you want. I’m not dying. Besides…”
I supported Pina to her feet and patted her head until she felt reassured.
“The Sage’s foresight isn’t perfect.”
As I gently stroked her head, her wolf ears flopped back.
She looked completely tuned to my touch now.
Hehe, her signature laugh broke through, finally allowing our conversation to continue.
“Do you still think I’m a liar? Is that why you’re not scared?”
The Sage found my strangely calm demeanor fascinating, even after hearing I would die and asked me.
“It may not be a lie…”
The mixed black and yellow of her demon-like eyes seemed to contribute to the prejudice Azmodius faced.
When reading her letter during the Valentine’s Day event,
Drake, my current master, told me the Sage was not a liar.
“…Well, can’t the future be changed?”
In the game, if you register Drake and the Sage as party members, that’s what he says. I recited a line I thought the Sage would like the most.
“Seems like you really are Drake’s disciple. You say the exact same thing.”
Only then did the Sage let out a weary laugh, apologizing for her earlier coldness.
She couldn’t reveal the truth, fearing I’d be shocked to hear I might die.
*
“So, how do you know I like Drake? You don’t have the future-seeing power or anything.”
The Sage asked me directly why she needed to talk about her first love.
How should I explain that? Should I say I heard it from my master, Drake?
“…..”
No, if I said it that way, it would just be a lie.
Currently, I have comrades who acknowledge my efforts to connect love lines and are willing to help.
“Protecting people’s love is my mission.”
The Hero of Conviction.
In a way, it could also mean I believed in love thanks to Pina.
I had been a wild human since childhood.
Without her, I might have wandered through life in fear.
“Please, won’t you share your story with me, Sage?”
Pina crossed her arms as she spoke.
I felt the softness of her skin and her breath on my arm. Was it because it was a woman in front of me? She leaned closer to me intentionally.
I could see now why Inrang Tribe members were said to be quite jealous.
I finally understood why Sophia and that pillar guy warned me.
“That’s right. Sage, Mr. Helmet helped me and Kainel with our romance too!”
“To be honest… that’s true. I’ll ask you a favor.”
The hero couple bowed their heads to the Sage for my sake.
It was the opposite of how they first were, doubting or being unsure of me.
“I can’t afford for my grad student to die either. Sage, let’s help each other.”
Dennis cracked a joke, trying to lighten the mood that could easily darken.
“By the way, Sage, what kind of situation occurred that made you fall for my master?”
Completing the Grand Route could secure our safe endings, so I politely asked the Sage again.
“…It was when I was a child. When I didn’t completely understand my abilities.”
All eyes turned to the Sage.
With a look of surrender, she began her first love story.
“…I was known as the lying girl in my village.”
This was a story of the one now called the Sage of the Wizard Tower, back when she was called a liar.
