Pina Grancia I know is no more.
Boom!
Those words struck like thunder.
Hearing that, I shut my mouth tight and fell into thought.
‘… Was it a problem that I died?’
Maybe that’s why the Status Window tried to stop me during my battle with the Demon King.
Routes divided based on choices.
Among countless world lines, there could have been one where I died fighting the Demon King.
“Are you really saying she’s not the Pina I know?”
“… You don’t believe me, do you, Junior?”
I shook my head and pouted.
“……I do believe you.”
That’s also why Emperor Rock initially opposed Pina and me.
The Inrang Tribe loves one person fervently for life.
So, they say that if their partner dies, they may choose to end their own life as well.
She loved cute things and couldn’t resist sweet candy.
When she transformed into a card due to the Magic Hat, she told me not to cry, not wanting to worry me.
Could it really be that the Pina I know is gone?
“But she is still Pina, right?”
No, no matter how different the world, Pina is still Pina.
The Magic Sword Horizon.
A sword that can slash the horizon that separates sky and earth.
“If this Pina hadn’t existed, I would already be a dead man.”
She helped me win when fighting the Demon God.
“Junior, are you out of your mind?! You don’t know what could happen to you if you get caught!”
“I at least have to try and talk to her.”
Wounds fester if left unattended.
That’s something I know well because I once tried to distance myself from Pina.
“Nex-senpai, where should I go to meet Pina?”
I looked Nex straight in the eye.
A man with purple hair, trembling and sweating. What terrified him so?
“The Demon King’s minions from the Hero Church have all been decapitated alive. It’s insane, Junior.”
Nex pressed his hand to his forehead, sounding exasperated.
The Demon King’s minions have already all been defeated by her.
They say no one would dare oppose Pina’s power.
“I’m totally against this. No way.”
Just like the Magic Hat, she killed all the Demon Kings and ascended to the throne of the Demon God.
It was said her power had surpassed even Emperor Rock Grancia.
“Just tell me everything you know, senpai.”
“In the world you’re in, what’s the Princess like…”
I stood my ground.
There must be a reason for my presence in this world.
“She’s full of jealousy and sometimes suddenly tries to take me away, but….”
Ever since I possessed this body, it’s like I crossed over to another world.
Because of the wish I made to the God of Light, perhaps it was as if I was drawn here like a magnet.
‘Pina Grancia’s happiness.’
Like the Nameless Saintess, it probably means that the Demon God Pina should also find happiness.
She was broken after suffering alone for ten years.
“…… She’s the same person. But still, I should scold her for bothering an innocent person.”
People’s hearts are like hedgehogs, even if their spikes might show.
“You’re serious…”
“Was there ever a time I wasn’t?”
You won’t know unless you say it.
I didn’t shed a drop of blood even while caught in Pina’s rose vines.
“Seeing this, I can tell you’re definitely my junior. I just want to hug you and jump around.”
“That’s disgusting.”
Nex looked at me and drew a line at the corners of his mouth.
His gaze held a sense of nostalgia. Perhaps I was also close to Nex in this world.
“Fine. I’ll tell you everything I know. I owe it to the one who saved Schar.”
Looks like Schartines is alive too.
“First off, you died from the Demon King’s bullet.”
“I already knew that.”
He pulled out a golden, shining booklet.
It had a strange title: ‘The Biographies of Black Knight Licht.’
It was probably something Pina wrote about after my death.
The emblem of a black rose looked familiar.
“And, the Princess fell to the Demon King. When a hero loses their loved one, they change.”
“… I already know that part.”
I too became the Demon King of Conviction after losing Pina.
“You probably didn’t know this one. Junior Kainel also fell to the Demon King.”
“… What?”
Nex once again spat out an unbelievable story.
The Demon King of Light.
The Corruption Route of Kainel I had seen in the game.
A Demon King in black armor wielding the Magic Sword like I did.
What on earth led Kainel to become a Demon King?
“Could it be… Ariel…?”
“That’s right. When confronted with the Demon King of Might… They didn’t know they were twins.”
He pressed his hand to his forehead, frowning.
In the split space from the Demon King’s powers, Kainel failed to protect her.
‘Everything has gone wrong because of my absence.’
A butterfly effect caused because I was killed by the Demon King of All Knowledge.
Since then, Pina had developed an even greater hatred for heroes from other worlds.
“All the Demon Kings were subjugated, even the Demon King of All Knowledge… After that, Kainel lost track of where she was.”
In the end, the party captured all the Demon Kings.
But the victory they found was one filled with nothing but wounds.
Ariel and I died, and Kainel fell into despair, embarking on a journey.
And Pina absorbed the powers of the Demon Kings and became the Demon God.
“After that, the Princess tried every trick to bring you back to life….”
Nex held up the book, paused on a certain page.
The table of contents had entries about the future predictions seen by the Sage.
“Do you see this?”
“Black Knight Licht will someday return to this world..?”
Like a god resurrected.
The sentences within the book foretold that I would someday arrive at this place.
The Sage’s future predictions are a compilation of possibilities.
‘I saw a scenario where I was alive.’
It was also after contacting the Sage that the black-haired Pina appeared in my dreams.
After discovering that I could have lived, her obsession only deepened.
“Yeah, they say there’s another world line. I didn’t expect to see it with my own eyes.”
Nex sighed as he closed the book.
He gave me a knowing look and sat back down.
“It’s close to the anniversary of your death. And here I am, meeting a dead person…”
Plus it’s summer.
He said it was just a few days before I toppled the Demon King of All Knowledge.
“Senpai, so how are you alive right now?”
“Pina transplanted a Dragon Heart into me.”
I placed my hand over my chest, right at the center.
“Since then, it’s become a relationship where we share mana circuits.”
Two heartbeats raced as if signaling each other’s survival.
That should mean the original world’s Pina would know I’m alive.
“…… That didn’t bring you back to life.”
Hearing my answer, Nex shook his head.
They said no matter what elixir of the world was used, even a Dragon Heart couldn’t bring me back.
I was in the same situation, but the results turned out differently.
‘Could it be the Nameless Saintess Pina did something for me?’
The only lead I had was the pure white saint I saw in my dreams.
Just like the Demon God Pina crossed the world line to reach me.
The Nameless Saintess may have clung to my life as well.
“Perhaps, I was the problem.”
Divine Power is the manifestation of miracles, formed through reason.
Even if the Demon Kings had stripped me of my abilities, I am still the chosen Saintess of the God of Light.
“Was there no special incident?”
“Hmm.. I’m not sure.”
I began to ask Nex if there were any differences from the original world.
The Grand Route.
Pantoze mentioned that all the routes built up to this point would help me.
[Lee Soo-hyun♡Pina Grancia 55%.]
The numbers of the Status Window returned to the original state and exceeded half.
Still, a long way to go.
“We’ll save Schar… meet the Magic Hat and the monsters in the forest… That’s about all I know.”
What could have gone wrong?
It seems like the biggest mistake was not forming the Grand Route.
Just hearing what he mentioned made it hard to guess what the problem was.
“Oh, by the way, the Princess once told me she was exposed.”
“… When was that?”
At that moment, Nex suddenly opened his mouth, as if something had come to his mind.
“During our annual exam. She was anxious because her helmet came off.”
The reason everything went haywire might have been…
“…….”
It was probably just a moment of bad luck.
*
“Should I wear this..? No.”
A black-haired woman stood in front of the mirror, pacing back and forth.
“Since he’s a vigorous man.. what would Licht like…?”
Pina Grancia fluttered her hair, reminiscent of the night sky.
Instead of the usual black dress she wore, she was choosing an outfit that had a bit more exposure.
He is a man.
The honest reaction of the man looking at her figure.
“I still don’t know what kind of woman you like.”
Pina sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror.
A book she couldn’t borrow from the Library of Truth.
The book titled [How Inrang Tribe Women Eat Human Men] was already checked out by her.
She rummaged through the library like a cat looking for a mouse to find a way to save Licht.
“Maybe that version of me….”
The soul-seeing Grim Reaper wouldn’t mistake a person.
That other version of her probably checked it out.
“Licht is.. mine…”
Gritting her teeth, the black-haired Pina bit her lower lip hard.
Jealousy.
More than feeling envious, it was a petty emotion.
What on earth did she do that Licht is still alive?
Moreover, seeing the man without his helmet stirred jealousy within her.
“What if… you hadn’t died…?”
She looked down at the blood-stained glass armor.
All kinds of delusions flashed through her mind.
What if Licht hadn’t died protecting her?
“You and I… what could we have become…?”
A bright smile as she looked at herself.
“… Licht. Don’t smile at other girls.”
Imagining the days spent attending classes at the Academy, sharing delicious meals.
“Don’t have meals with other girls. There are still so many places we haven’t been together…”
And even after graduating from the Academy, being especially close.
“You are mine. I can’t give you to anyone… Licht…”
Imagining being crowned Empress and having Licht as her husband.
But that was just an unattainable fantasy.
“…….”
Looking at the blood-stained helmet, she struggled to wake from that unending nightmare.
Did that wish reach the heavens?
[Pina, can you hear me?]
[… Licht?]
A familiar voice resonated.
[I’m waiting in the Imperial Palace. I’ll be there soon.]
The voice Pina longed to hear again.
