*
It was just another ordinary day.
“Unnamed Knight. Today, we’re going to learn about this hero.”
Beatrice began explaining about a certain hero to the students.
In the subject “The History of Divine Power,” the achievements he accomplished were significant.
“The Unnamed Knight didn’t cause a single casualty while defeating the Demon Kings of the Hero Church.”
It was more than a miracle, it was fate.
While he was taking down all the Demon Kings trying to resurrect the Demon God, he didn’t harm any innocent people.
“From this, we can infer that he is someone who handles Divine Power quite well.”
The Demon King of All Knowledge, Head Ake. The Demon King of Might, Finn, and Infinium.
A hero who defeated powerful Demon Kings that even the Ten Heroes couldn’t defeat.
In the world outside, that individual was referred to as “the Unnamed Knight”.
“However, why is someone who achieved such incredible feats being called by such a name?”
──thud.
Beatrice’s hand, which had been writing down his accomplishments on the board, suddenly stopped.
Why specifically “Unnamed Knight”—no name, no title to speak of.
That trivial question created ripples in the calm lake of thoughts.
“Student Mardol? Can you answer that?”
She turned to Pina, clad in her Masterpiece.
Pina, glimmering in her glass armor, was pointed out by Beatrice without hesitation.
“Ah, it’s because there’s no record of the Unnamed Knight.”
Pina reluctantly stood up and shared what she knew.
Even a flawless hero had a flaw.
As if someone had deliberately erased it.
“That’s right. So we concluded that the Demon Kings wiped everything out.”
There were no records about the Unnamed Knight, nor anyone who knew him.
“Because of this, only the result remains amidst the cause and effect…”
The professor tapped the board twice to emphasize the importance of this part.
It was visible that the stories she’d just written were being erased.
“Some people even say he was a fabricated existence.”
The information regarding the Unnamed Knight disappeared.
Due to this bizarre phenomenon, concerns arose that he might actually be an all-consuming Outer God.
No one remembered the hero who protected the Grand Hertz Academy from invasion and saved the students.
“What do you think, student Mardol?”
Even for students recalling a certain guy named Licht, who walked around in a Black Knight helmet.
“……”
He didn’t exist.
*
After the lecture, Pina’s mind began to spiral with complexity as she returned to the Imperial Palace.
It was just another day like any other, yet this unsettling feeling gnawing at her had been bothering her for a while.
‘This is weird.’
Hiding her identity under the Masterpiece, swinging her sword to get stronger than others, day after day.
She shouldn’t be feeling uneasy about her monotonous life, like a squirrel running in a wheel.
After looking at the ring on her fourth finger, Pina realized she had forgotten something important.
The simple design, free of sharp edges.
Without large jewels or fancy decorations, it seemed almost too common compared to other accessories in the royal treasury.
Why did just looking at it bring about such feelings of nostalgia?
‘The Unnamed Knight… Is this item related to him…?’
What Beatrice had just mentioned suddenly popped into her mind.
She speculated that this ring might have something to do with the Unnamed Knight.
Her steps back to the palace were slowing down.
Time felt like it had halted, and the whole world seemed to move without her.
Like a snake chasing its own tail, questions led to more questions once noticed.
‘Why did I carry the blue rose ornament in my hair…?’
When did I even start carrying this glass sword?
Why did I choose the Masterpiece to wear over something less obvious?
Pina, unknowingly resting her hand on her chin, was deep in thought.
‘No matter how much I think about it… it’s just not coming to me.’
Nothing clear emerged.
The more she struggled with her question, the more her head started to ache.
This ring felt like it was given to her by someone very dear. That person was the Unnamed Knight?
Then why did she have no memory of meeting him?
No matter how hard she tried to recall, nothing came to mind.
‘Surely, surely… he was someone I shouldn’t forget… but his appearance… I can’t remember…’
A feeling of her heart being torn in two made her steps quicken once more.
It felt like if she didn’t run somewhere now, she would suffocate as the air got stuck in her throat.
She started fleeing from the gaping emptiness within her heart.
How long did she run?
As she caught her breath, something appeared before her eyes.
“kiiinng…”
“…..?”
A small creature made a sound as it approached her feet.
With fur that looked almost ominously black, its identity was clear.
“Why is a puppy here…? This is… a terrace, isn’t it…?”
It was a cute puppy, all wet as if it had just fallen into water.
Had it lost its owner? Or was it being bullied by the other students?
Sticks and grass were tangled in its fur, as if it had fought its way through bushes.
Given that there had been no rain in the academy recently, if it was in this condition, it could only be one of two possibilities.
Normally, a princess of the empire shouldn’t approach a mysterious creature, but…
“It looks so pitiful…”
That familiar feeling from somewhere, mixed with a bit of sympathy, made Pina use healing and cleansing magic on the puppy.
“Woof! Huff!”
It looked fluffy as if it had just finished a bath.
The revitalized puppy was even charmingly wagging its tail towards her.
“Alright then, lost little pup… are you feeling better now?”
Just looking at its adorable appearance made her smile spontaneously.
When it was drenched, she hadn’t noticed.
The soft fluff of the puppy seemed to float away like dandelion seeds.
“Woof!”
The little creature stuck out its tongue and smiled at Pina.
It didn’t seem aggressive, rolling over playfully.
Whether it liked humans or not, even when she pet it without reservation, it wagged its tail furiously.
It was a curious creature whom she couldn’t tell where it had come from.
It couldn’t be someone’s spirit, for it looked too much like a living doll, yet not quite feral enough to be called a wolf.
The black puppy sniffed the ring on her left hand and…
“…Are you telling me to follow you?”
“Woof!”
It jumped up and spun in place.
Where was that strength coming from?
Despite its small stature, it had impressive jumping power.
This cute little fluffball, which she wanted to call “Blackie”, stretched and began trotting ahead.
As if the act of saving her wasn’t merely coincidence, but fate.
‘They say dogs have a great sense of smell… maybe this one knows the owner of the ring.’
She nodded slowly and decided to hold onto a glimmer of hope.
As the greenery thickened and the roots of the trees grew dense along the mountain path, Pina Grancia began to follow Blackie to a more secluded part of the academy.
When had she been starting to feel this unsettling feeling?
“Blackie… is this path… correct?”
“Woof! Huff!”
With Blackie guiding her, Pina began to ponder the facts she knew.
The Demon Kings of the Hero Church were said to have fallen at the hands of an unnamed knight.
An accomplished hero, yet no one knew his name.
Neither his comrades who fought alongside him, nor any family, friends, or even a lover who shared his life.
‘What have I been doing until now…’
Pina glanced down at herself and bit her lower lip.
Why was she dressed in this glass armor?
The goal of wanting to become stronger to defeat the Demon King of Truth had somehow vanished.
Despite that, she practiced wielding her sword every single day.
But what exactly was she doing this for?
For revenge against the people who died at the hands of the Demon King… No, it wasn’t that simple.
Her mother, Queen Bellin, had already regained her powers and returned to life.
So there was no need for revenge.
It was a chain of events where the cause mysteriously vanished, leaving only the odd result.
Why hadn’t she found this strange before?
As if answering her lingering questions in her mind…
“…Where is this?”
Blackie wagged its tail and led her to an architectural structure.
Symbols of the sun and moon representing day and night. Below, a depiction of something that looked ready to devour them.
Pina felt a strange sensation looking at a structure that seemed like two doors made of white and black.
She felt like she had seen this somewhere before.
Where had she seen it… and just as she pondered…
Blackie, who guided her here, darted through the door.
“Blackie…?!”
It transformed into a wolf devouring the moon.
Like steel taking shape in a mold, Blackie merged into the depicted symbols.
Watching this scene, Pina felt a familiar instinct awakening within her.
It was as if she also needed to summon a spirit.
If she were to turn back now, all the questions lingering would end up left unresolved and would continue to gnaw at her.
“From the flames, be reborn anew.”
Though she couldn’t remember with her mind, her body recalled the incantation as Pina spoke it.
Reacting to her emotions, it seemed.
“Awoooo—!”
In opposition to Blackie, a large white wolf appeared.
Surely, she hadn’t awakened a spirit.
Since some moment, Pina could call upon Hayan, grasping at the thread of her lost memory.
‘I’ve become honest with my feelings…’
Spirits are beings birthed from emotions.
Even if endowed with great strength or magical powers, unless one is honest with their feelings, they cannot awaken a spirit.
So, it probably had something to do with the Unnamed Knight.
───ku ku gun!
As her spirit melted into the door, two wolves symbolizing day and night began to take form.
The black-and-white door gradually opened, radiating light.
Pina squinted as the dazzling light engulfed her.
“Long time no see, sister.”
“You are from the Grand Route… aren’t you?”
Facing the identical woman, as if looking into a mirror.
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