*
Something soft and squishy.
I felt a sensation that could even be described as moist stirring in my mouth.
Who on earth is doing this to me?
It’s like someone’s leaving meticulous traces on their possession.
“Pina…?”
“Hehe, I knew you’d wake up if I did this.”
As I regained my senses, I saw white hair in front of me.
Looks like Pina was showering me with kisses to wake me up.
“Su-hyun is such a pervy dog…”
Even though she knew I was awake, the kisses didn’t stop.
In fact, she smiled slightly, her cheeks reddening.
She seemed somehow more alluring than before.
The way she gently wagged her tail like a fox made my heart race.
“……Thank you for waking me up, Pina.”
I responded as I seized back the initiative for the kisses.
“…Heh, haah.”
“I feel like I had an incredibly long dream… You don’t have to confirm it’s this real.”
As I finished that long kiss, her face was bright red. I wonder when her hiccups will stop.
Looking down, I saw gray metallic fragments scattered about.
Those must be remnants of when I turned into the Demon King of Innocence.
[You have achieved 100% Affection Level with Pina Grancia!]
A status window appeared before my eyes.
Now, a transparent window shimmering like a diamond was shining bright.
[EVENT CG: “Love Linked Through a Single Thought and Eternity” has been collected!]
It was celebrating the fact that my love with Pina had completely blossomed.
So, does this mean there will really be no more hardships?
[Due to the creation of the Hero of Affection, the Grand Final Route is unlocked!]
Grand Final Route.
What a grandly named route.
Now I get why there wasn’t a separate route for the Nameless Saintess Pina in the game.
“Each route is named after the person.”
Her name itself was a spoiler, it seems.
Just like the name of the person I possessed meant ‘Retry’—Licht.
Going back at the ends of a blank musical staff—Pina (Fine).
Our lives were being beautifully played, like a sheet of music.
“So… Pina, where are we?”
“In the depths of the shrine of Starter and Reset.”
Pina stood up and glued herself to me while looking around.
She wrapped her tail around my leg and crossed her arms, pressing her chest against me.
Maybe it was because I’d died and come back, but her approach had become more blatant.
“I brought you here after finding another you, who turned into the Demon King of Innocence.”
“Another me…? Don’t tell me….”
This aggressive method was something our Saintess often resorted to.
Is it possible I met her due to the effects of the Grand Route?
Though she had been there when I expressed my aspirations to Starter and Reset just moments ago.
“That’s right. It was the Nameless Saintess and Pina Grancia who became the Demon God.”
“…….”
This is bad.
It seems not only the Saintess but also the Demon God Pina had ended up here.
Starter and Reset are the gods who oversee time and space.
With their help, it should have been easy to cross world lines.
“Were you happy playing around with other girls without me?”
She spoke in a cold tone, unlike her usual style.
It felt like sharp rose thorns were constricting my neck.
Speaking of which, Pina had always been incredibly possessive.
I recall almost being imprisoned by her after she fell into corruption as a Demon God.
‘Is this how a man feels when caught cheating?’
There was no way to make an excuse here.
I had consistently tried to save Pina even in another world line.
The Nameless Saintess I met when I possessed Licht in the first round.
The Demon God Pina from the world line where I died because her helmet fell off during the semester exam.
“I’m sorry for seeing other girls..”
I bowed my head and apologized.
If I made an excuse or told a lie, it would only make her mood worse.
“Is it that you like girls with bigger boobs than me…?”
“No, that’s absolutely not it… I just wanted to save you in that other world line…”
Ugh, comparing with her ten years later is cheating.
I was sweating buckets trying to explain the real reason so that Pina wouldn’t misunderstand.
“That’s right, in the end, they’re all the same me. I’ll let it slide this time.”
“Thank you..”
She seemed to show a hint of jealousy but then pressed her lips against my cheek again, satisfied.
Fortunately, it seems I managed to persuade her well.
No matter what world line Pina came from, her true self wouldn’t disappear.
They all loved me with the same heart and had the same thoughts for me.
‘If it weren’t for Pina, I would have long since been a lost life.’
Whether holding my life together when I got shot, needing a heart transplant.
Or reminding me of the sacrifices made for the Grand Route.
She saved me when I was trying to jump off the rooftop in school.
Then there was the bonus of her saving me deep in my heart through the game [Night Heart].
“Welcome back, Su-hyun.”
“I’m back, Pina.”
Once reunited, we said as we embraced each other.
I thought I’d never see Pina again after sacrificing myself at Jisheer’s shrine.
“Is this what they call… a miracle?”
“Don’t cry, Pina.”
“Hehe, of course, my partner really made me worry a lot…”
Pina smiled while shedding tears.
Her eyes had turned slightly red earlier, so it seemed she cried when she saw me turn into the Demon King of Innocence.
In the reception room with the fireplace burning.
Time slipped away as we kissed each other lock in a warm embrace.
“Pina, do you know how to get out of here?”
Suddenly, I thought about the others left behind.
My Affection Level isn’t high enough to perfectly finish the Grand Route.
Kainel and Ariel, Drake with the Sage, Sophia with Giseok.
Only when the love of these three couples is fulfilled can Pina also be ‘truly happy’ in the Grand Route.
She wouldn’t want her friends or acquaintances to be unhappy either.
“If we reverse time and go to just before the Magic Hat dies, we’ll be good. Then the Power of Pure Thought will cancel out.”
“……Pardon?”
Hearing my question, Pina stretched out her hand, and at her gesture, pitch-black rose vines began to bloom around us.
How could the Pina Grancia who fell into corruption as a Demon God do this in the Grand Route?
In the Grand Route, everything converges into one.
Did Black Rose Pina come from another world line to take out the others?
If that’s true, then the Pina I’m hugging right now can’t possibly be…
‘That’s impossible.’
No, it absolutely can’t be.
Even having become a Demon God, she wouldn’t kill the innocent or take their place.
“Ah, were you surprised..?”
Pina noticed my anxiety and gently placed my hands together, slowly parting her lips.
It was like the Nameless Saintess praying for me.
The reason I saw glimpses of other Pinas earlier must be this.
“Pina… this is….”
“In order to save you… the Saintess and the Demon God had to sacrifice themselves, Su-hyun.”
While healing my body, which still bore some aftereffects, she revealed a shocking truth to me.
The Nameless Saintess and Demon God Pina Grancia had to perish in order to save me.
Two wolves representing night and day.
I could feel the swirling energies of the two from Pina’s left ring finger, resonating with me.
“If we reverse fate by defying time and space… another me had to disappear.”
“……”
I was at a loss for words, my mouth fell silent.
The Grand Route takes precedence over all other world lines.
It was as if both her past and future selves sacrificed themselves for the only road that leads to Pina’s happiness.
Even the lost Nameless Saintess, or the corrupt Demon God, just for me even though she was demonized.
‘Even in another world, Pina tried to save me.’
Her essence hadn’t changed.
She helped me regain my memory or made wishes to support me.
Is this the right thing? At least I should have said I’m sorry before coming back.
Once the Grand Route is completed, all those unfortunate pasts and futures will vanish.
“Don’t worry. They’re both alive too.”
“…Huh? How on earth…?”
Pina confidently tapped the center of her breastplate as if reassuring me.
“I thought to truly be happy, we must cherish both sad and joyful moments.”
The reason she accepted the Pinas from other world lines was simple and clear.
It was due to numerous failures that she was able to arrive at the Grand Route.
“In the end, all those experiences led to me knowing and loving you like this.”
Living in the present, Pina made a significant resolution.
“I’m alive in my heart. The current me embraced the two.”
“Wait… So then, does that mean the memories and all abilities….”
The reason I kept seeing glimpses of other world line Pinas.
“Exactly, all of it belongs to me, the legitimate wife.”
Pina must have embraced the two who were about to perish, merging their memories and abilities into one.
“What is this, some Cerberus?”
“But even in another world line, you loved me, and I loved Su-hyun.”
Somehow, Pina had turned into a guardian hellhound, guarding the gates of hell.
It didn’t feel like she had completely transformed into a new person due to the fusion of different personalities.
They all possessed the same thoughts and feelings.
It’s appropriate to say that the futures and pasts of the same person have merged.
Just like me, no matter how much time passes, Pina hasn’t changed either.
“I am Pina Grancia, Princess of the Grancia Empire and the Crystal Knight, no… I’m truly Su-hyun’s partner.”
Pulling the door that folds space forward, Pina spoke confidently.
“So, are the Saintess and Black Rose like… concubines?”
“Exactly. I’m the one who’s more greedy than the two of them.”
Her own jealousy was so cute that I couldn’t help but laugh.
When she kisses, she gets shy and starts hiccuping.
And when I gently pet her head like this, her ears get all floppy too.
“What’s with the ears being so sensitive… Why… touch… heh, Su-hyun…”
“It’s because you’re cute, you know. That point about you being jealous of yourself.”
Who’s saying what to whom?
To calm her down, I gently stroked Pina’s head.
It must just be the passing on of memories or abilities, right?
Loving three Pinas at once makes it hard to call it pure love or a harem.
Even if she acts spontaneously like this, it seems fine since no other personality comes through.
“…Now, let’s really take down the Magic Hat, Su-hyun. We need to protect the love of others too.”
Pina, who had been receiving my gentle pats, continued with a determined look in her eyes.
“We’ve got to raise the Affection Level for the Grand Route, right?”
“…Can you see my status window?”
She opened her mouth in shock upon seeing the status window displayed before her.
When did Pina start being able to see this?
“Yes, it started showing from when I swore before the gods with my husband…”
