*
On the road of the Academy, shrouded in deep darkness, the vampire nun was heading towards the girls’ dormitory.
“Thank goodness our Pina seems to be doing well at the Academy. But I worry a bit about her getting close to a guy!”
To her, the two looked alike. Knights wandering the Academy even wearing helmets.
Denying a friendship seemed like a childish prank, and it was cute.
“They don’t seem to be chasing after wealth or power, and all they’ve done is a Swordsmanship Exchange.”
Recalling the conversation they’d had, she didn’t think he was a flatterer.
The junior named Licht just seemed like a pure boy who liked love.
She felt like her dear younger sister might have an opportunity to erase bad memories, and a smile crept onto her face.
“Oops, Schartines.”
“Cardinal..?”
At that moment, someone with a familiar face appeared to her, lost in joyful thoughts.
“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
“Yes.. I heard you recently came as a professor for our lectures, Cardinal.”
It was Beatrice, the professor of Divine Power Studies at the Academy.
Two nuns dressed almost identically, except for hair color and length.
Black clothing, matching shoes. Their manner of speaking was similar too.
Even a stranger would think they were mother and daughter due to their resemblance.
“I was lucky. It felt like fate to step into the vacancy. I’ve been wanting to meet you, Schartines.”
“Cardinal, that makes me a bit bashful..”
Beatrice only smiled at the shy Schartines, who scratched her cheek.
“You’re like a daughter to me. What’s there to be embarrassed about? I even gave you the surname Saint Mary.”
“Hehe.. That’s true.”
When she smiled with her eyes, Schartines felt something strange but soon dropped her guard.
“..It’s been a while for me too, Cardinal!”
Shyly pulling herself back, the vampire nun also returned a bright smile as a sign of response.
“The Academy is truly a wonderful place, Schartines.”
“That’s right! Meeting you here is one of those wonders too!”
Watching them, Beatrice stretched out her arms, indulging in the sentiment.
“Hehe, you’ve become much brighter! When you left for church, I shed a few tears, you know?”
“Re-really?”
“Does it sound like a lie?”
“No.. I know you don’t do that often.”
Feeling the closeness between them as they teased and checked up on each other.
“Oh dear, I’m losing my mind.”
Suddenly, the blonde nun spoke as if she had realized something.
“..It’s getting quite late. Let’s chat later, I should head in now, Schartines.”
“Ah, Cardinal, please be careful heading back too!”
The two moved away from each other as if passing by.
The sound of their shoes faded on the ground.
“Ah, Schartines.”
“Yes, Cardinal? Is there more you wish to say..?”
After taking a few steps, the blonde nun turned, delivering her last words.
“..Have sweet dreams.”
Thus, their midnight meeting came to an end.
*
Nex Aureus woke up as usual and greeted Schartines through telepathy.
“Did you sleep well, my pretty bat? Want to meet on the terrace today?”
Even if he was going to get hit with Divine Power later, to him, it was nothing but an expression of affection so he intentionally used cheesy words.
“..? Why is there no reply?”
Nex, grinning, eagerly awaited his lover’s response.
But returned to him was an unusual silence.
“Chirp..?”
Something felt off. His spirit was showing confusion too.
Usually, he’d get a response like, “You sly man!! Are you a pervert? What are you doing calling me that? No more cute nicknames!”
“Why so quiet..?”
He gathered his outerwear. A chill ran down his spine.
Reflected in the Phoenix’s emblem was his anxious face. The uneasy feeling wouldn’t go away.
“Schartines. Oh, she isn’t here?”
Noticing her empty seat throughout the second-year class too.
“Why isn’t she answering… Schar..”
It didn’t seem like she was sick. If she were, she would have either sent an urgent notice or fallen silent in response to telepathy.
As soon as class ended, Nex sprinted to the library.
“Surely a Sage might know something. After all, he’s a hero specialized in that area.”
“Sorry, but the insight is blocked.”
“Yes..? Sage, does that mean..?”
“Even Laplace, who specializes in information, doesn’t know. Sigh.. Those Hero Church guys again.”
However, asking the Ten Heroes about Schartines’ whereabouts resulted in nothing but unpleasant replies.
“I’ll bring it up at the council. Wait here.”
A woman with devil horns sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead. The purple-haired man yelled at her.
“If you do that, it’ll be too late!! You’re saying Schar is in danger!”
“You don’t know how vicious the Demon King’s faction is. They only reappeared after 20 years, we must proceed carefully…”
“Enough. I’ll look for someone else!”
Leaving the Sage in the library behind, Nex dashed around the Academy looking for information.
‘The Ten Heroes? Notorious for not moving unless someone’s life is at stake!’
He bit down hard as he pushed through the crowd, contemplating conflicts with his mother.
Thud thud thud—!
While he was bustling about, a man burst out from an alley and collided with Nex.
“Whoa, be careful!”
“Drake-san?”
The blonde-haired man, scarred with many marks on his face, helped Nex to his feet.
“What’s going on? Nex? You look like you’re in a panic!”
With a hearty smile, the middle-aged man asked.
“…Please help me, Dragon Slayer.”
The purple Phoenix sought help from Drake.
*
[Schartines♡Nex 51% “DOWN↓”]
“What is this..?”
Days later, I woke up to a startling status window before my eyes.
Why is my affection level suddenly dropping?
I knew the game would have ups and downs, so I couldn’t be shocked by that.
But there hadn’t been any incidents to explain this.
Only two days had passed since then.
‘My guess is that the love line was updated after the route was established the night before yesterday.’
Rubbing my eyes.
[49%]
[48%..]
The numbers kept dropping. Isn’t this a big problem? Grabbing my sword, I sat up in bed.
“Uh, Licht, are you awake? Today we’re going to the training ground…”
I couldn’t even respond to Kainel before hastily throwing on some clothes and dashing outside.
I need to find either Nex or Schartines first.
I headed towards the terrace. The entrance to the shop was locked, either because it was before business hours.
Jumping over a chain barrier, I stepped inside.
Empty tables and chairs.
Glancing around, I looked for the spot where we first sat, but it wasn’t there.
“Not here either..”
No matter how I searched, she was nowhere to be found.
I ran. I sprinted. I collapsed.
Gasping for air.
Finally, thinking perhaps the nun might be at the cathedral, I made my way there only to find the doors tightly shut.
Another failure.
“Is anyone there?”
Even after knocking on the iron door, there was no response. The early morning air was still cold, biting at my chest.
The Academy was remarkably quiet for it to have been attacked by a Demon King somewhere.
‘Where on earth could they be?’
Sweat began to form under my helmet. My head spun with thoughts.
There were no more places left to guess.
I checked the back mountain, the courtyard, and the Central Hall. I had been ticking locations off a university map while wandering around.
Had something happened outside the Academy?
This university, never properly described in the original or its sequels, I couldn’t be expected to know it inside and out.
What if there was a secret room, and they were trapped in there?
The only memory I had was of an instance dungeon nearby….
“Chirp! Cheep! Chirp!”
At that moment, a purple sparrow was flying above my head.
“What is this..?”
“Licht-senpai─!!”
Noticing the spirit, a man was waving his hands and sprinting towards me from afar.
“I was looking for you, Senpai!!”
“Nex-senpai?!”
Click─.
Thanks to the spare key Nex had, the cathedral doors swung open.
Did the vampire saint give this to you? We moved inside right away.
“Schar has vanished. She hasn’t been seen since yesterday..”
“Are you talking about Schartines-senpai?”
“Yeah, the telepathy won’t go through, and she’s absent from all her classes.”
He was showing an uncharacteristic amount of anxiety, already biting his nails.
“Chirp..”
Seemingly affected by the mood, even the Phoenix appeared weak.
“I saw her the night before yesterday, but she wouldn’t have disappeared right after that, would she?”
“Is that so? Where was she heading?”
“She was headed towards the girls’ dormitory.”
“..I asked the guard about that yesterday. He said she never came back.”
What? Then did something happen after she met with Mardol that day? The effect on the status window started today.
‘At least two days have passed; something must have happened yesterday.’
Looking at it this way, the status window was practically useless. Dangerous situations should’ve been blocked by quests or restrictions, no?
There’s no store or traits, skills, or anything else. It doesn’t appear when I want it either.
I sighed deeply. Could I really protect our saintess with this level of ability?
“The second saintess position being vacant will surely cause chaos.”
“It seems that’s what they’re aiming for. I think so.”
Nex shared my dissatisfaction and sighed deeply too. Both of us worried about different saintesses, anxiously.
“Have you met with the Ten Heroes?”
“Of course! Even the Sage’s insight is blocked.”
“..It’s the Hero Church.”
I frowned under my helmet. It seemed the timing was much earlier than I knew.
‘Is this because of me?’
“That’s right. You’re quite the insightful one. The Dragon Slayer’s disciple, right?”
“If not, I wouldn’t have known about the asset issues.”
Nex was quick to deduce the source of my information. But there was no problem in that.
‘So, Laplace’s abilities are useless too. This could be quite challenging. I see why the Ten Heroes are inactive.’
Knowing too well from the experiences of war that if they moved, things could easily spiral out of control.
“That’s why I even consulted Drake, but there seems to be a high possibility of a trap, so instead…”
“What did your teacher say?”
“He recommended you. He said you were the most promising among the knights he had seen.”
Ugh, the old man must have passed the buck to me. I think I can handle at least a b-class threat…
Wait, there’s someone similar to me!
“What about Mardol?”
“That kid is no good; he has severe trauma.”
There was definitely something related to the Demon King involved.
My deductions were spot on.
I thought the glass knight looked strong unlike Black Heart, and I thought it would be easier if I brought him along, but alas.
‘Kainel and Ariel have similar wounds, and Dennis would make our school far too dangerous if he stepped outside.’
Things must have gone horribly wrong.
This is why they hadn’t appeared in [Night Heart]. If Nex hadn’t managed to save them during this event, it makes sense now.
I couldn’t exist in this world in the first place.
A feeling of bewilderment washed over me.
“..I think I know a place, Senpai.”
This world truly was cold and harsh toward our saintess.
Happy Academy life? I doubt it.
“If it’s not this place, we’re out of options… Can you trust me?”
“I will trust you, Junior. So just hurry up and tell me. You’re not one of those from the Hero Church, right?”
“Understood.”
If things had been that easy, I wouldn’t have shadowed Black Heart.
“There’s a blind spot near the Academy’s barrier in the underground.”
I pointed at the dungeon’s location with my finger on the map.
“The meeting place as the sun sets.”
This was the place that had initially seemed the most likely.
“If it’s related to the Hero Church, the closest spot is here.”
Unlikewise to the original or sequels, this was their past.
“You’re talking about here.”
“It’s likely.”
There was far too much detail for it to be considered junk data.
There were signs of a boss monster and mechanisms too,
And suspiciously, the rewards seemed too good to be true.
“Let’s go right now, Licht-senpai.”
“Yes, Nex-senpai.”
The two young men stood up and headed toward a single location.
