*
To achieve the complete Grand Route, two love lines were necessary.
The Grand Sword Master, whose family was killed by a Dragon and the last Sage of the Wizard Tower.
And the Hero of Light and the Flame Mage.
[Kaenel♡Ariel 80%.]
Seeing the text floating in the status window made me ponder a question again.
Why did I have to go to the world line where Pina had fallen into the Demon God?
Was it to prevent an unhappy future that changes with choices?
Or was it to save Pina, who was sad over losing me?
‘No way.’
While that reason might not be entirely wrong, I was missing one crucial part.
The world line that changed with a tiny difference.
It had become a norm to walk around with an umbrella as the rain in the sky never stopped.
‘I died in that world.’
There, I met Kaenel, who had fallen into the Demon King of Might.
With his help, I escaped from the Imperial Palace and faced Pina, who had become a Demon after gathering herself together.
Why did my affection level increase at that time?
No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one answer.
“Hey, Kaen, won’t it be hard for a lone helmet to take down the Demon God?”
“I was just thinking the same. No matter how strong Licht is.”
The blonde-haired Hero and the red-haired Mage were chatting among themselves, seemingly unaware that I was listening.
They made a pact to come help me if it looked like I was struggling against the Magic Hat.
That’s why I wasn’t following my original plan.
‘Good people are hard to find.’
I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself.
Through dozens of loops, these two always tried to help me.
Even during my first life when I defeated the Magic Hat with Licht’s body.
Even now, they were making the effort to step up and help me.
It seems that what mattered more than a Hero’s abilities or strength was their mindset.
“What are you two talking about so happily?”
I approached them and asked casually.
I understood they were underestimating the Magic Hat after defeating the Demon King, but they were too early for this challenge.
“Uh, umm? It’s nothing! Right..? Kaen!”
“Yeah, we weren’t doing anything suspicious. Right, Licht?”
As I caught onto their weirdness, Kaenel and Ariel, just like childhood friends, averted their gazes in unison.
“Just… I think the upcoming battle might be very dangerous….”
“That’s right. After all, it’s not just any Demon but a Demon God.”
Should I call it the source of all evil, or should I just say it’s the most trashy thing?
The Magic Hat, transformed into a Demon God, excelled at swapping lies and truths and toying with people.
“I wish that if we just catch this guy, everything will be over…”
“…….”
Everyone gathered here had a wound from the Hero Church.
They hoped that no more misfortune would repeat itself.
Sofia’s father, the Northern Duke, was killed by the Demon King, forcing her to live as a ruler since childhood.
Dennis forgot his beloved, and Drake lost his precious family.
“Ariel, this really is the last chance. We just need to hang in there a little longer.”
Kaenel lost his brother, and Ariel lost her hometown.
I couldn’t help but grimace in a way that I had to suppress.
Could their futures change too?
This time, the Magic Hat would attempt to kill everyone based on the world line it failed previously.
“Kaenel, Ariel. Could you follow me for a moment?”
I called them separately, ready to use the secret plan I had been thinking of for a while.
Running away for a lack of love and going missing was enough just once.
*
Stepping outside the Academy, cold winter rain fell.
The temperature seemed like it could freeze everything in the world.
The drip drip sound of rain echoed elegantly.
“Su-hyun, where are you going..?”
Pina followed me with her arms crossed.
Even though I told her she didn’t have to tag along, she said she felt uneasy without me.
I couldn’t believe she was the same cold princess from before.
“Licht… If you called us to brag about your romance, I think the timing is wrong.”
“Right, right! There were people around earlier, and you kissed! How shameless!!”
Kaenel and Ariel expressed their worries while looking at us.
To anyone looking, it might seem strange.
Just a moment ago, we were explaining the plan, and now they were all over us with kisses.
“What’s so shameless about that? It’s just marking my territory so that other bitches can’t approach!”
“Pina….”
She no longer hid her feelings for me, expressing them plainly.
Should I tell her to be more mindful of the timing and place?
No, it seemed cuter to just leave it as it was.
“We’ve arrived.”
I came to a stop in the central courtyard, where only the magic circle the Hero couple had set up was left.
I wondered why I had come back here after finishing the trap setup.
“Kaenel. I have something to discuss.”
After calming Pina, who clung to my arm, I called the Hero aside.
The remaining 20% affection level from the Hero couple.
There was a hint to solving it from Kaenel’s Corruption Route.
‘Kaenel, do you have an engagement ring ready?’
‘…How do you know, Licht?’
When I detected the hidden fact, Kaenel’s eyes widened in surprise.
In the world line where he had fallen into the Demon King, he had been engaged to Ariel.
So, he should have it at this time as well.
Even if he had turned into a Demon King, his essence wouldn’t change.
He probably bought it at the accessory shop we visited before.
“There are always ways to know. I’ll help set the mood, so just hand it over smoothly.”
I nudged his shoulder and smiled.
I was about to recreate my favorite scene from [Night Heart].
Now the Hero couple would confess their feelings to each other.
“Belief, Kiwoo.”
I grasped the Mind Sword falling from the sky and lifted it high.
It resembled Pina’s glass sword, perhaps influenced by battling the Magic Hat in the past.
“It’s just like mine… Amazing.”
“The Kiwoo and E-sang were originally the same sword, after all.”
Time split them in two since they were entangled.
Because I had handed her the sword among countless loops, I experienced a strange déjà vu.
“The sword you gave me, I cherished it all this time…”
Ugh, did the cancellation of the power bring back memories of childhood?
Pina now beamed at me with squinty eyes.
“I don’t know where the necklace I made for you went… Onii-chan.”
“I’m sorry…”
The paper necklace she made for me got ruined in the hands of the Magic Hat.
Still, I had never looked at another girl, so I kept my promise.
“Hehe, I’m just joking. It seems you enjoy being called Onii-chan…”
She waved her tail like a fox.
I had no idea when she learned to toy with a man’s heart like this.
It’s said that being called Onii-chan is every guy’s dream, but unlike others, this strange bond formed across time felt awkward.
If seen by others, we looked like the same age students at the Academy.
“Anyway, from now on, I’ll turn this falling rain into snow.”
Swinging the Kiwoo, I struck towards the sky with force.
And just like a ruler measuring it, the sky perfectly split in half.
The sword made to replace the tears of Pina Grancia could now let white snowflakes fall instead of rain.
‘A sword that has the ability to influence reality.’
Just like the Celestial Demon shattering the sun with a flick of a finger.
Even after erasing my existence with power, it’s probably why I was able to survive.
Transforming into another Demon King was unexpected.
But even in early winter, the thick snow began to fall.
The Hero couple looked astonished as snow piled up around our feet.
“Licht, when did you learn this…?”
“Wow! Kaen! Look at this! It’s the first snow of the year!”
Kaenel squinted at me, but Ariel was bouncing like a puppy, loving the falling snow.
A situation where the neighbor’s dog and the cunning cat were swapped.
“What are you doing? Aren’t we having a snowball fight?”
I playfully tossed a snowball at them.
Puff, the soft sound echoed as the snowball broke apart.
“No, the Magic Hat that has turned into a Demon God might attack soon… Ah, Ariel…?”
“Hehe, Kaen, you’re as slow as always!”
The red-haired mage was concentrating her attacks on the Hero.
She aimed to boost her affection level by fending off the Magic Hat.
“…You’ve been caught.”
“Yikes! It’s cold!”
Originally, the scene of the Hero couple playing in the falling snow appeared in the epilogue after defeating the Head, the final boss in [Night Heart].
Their joyful snow play played out right before my eyes now.
“Ah, the playboy Onii-chan must accept the punishment of snowballs!”
“Why am I a playboy, Pina…”
The only difference was that instead of the Nameless Saintess, it was Pina, the glass knight, who was there.
She teased me while taking pleasure in the snowball fight more than anyone else.
“I noticed you lost the mark of a married man I gave you… You kissed two women who have larger bosoms than me, didn’t you?”
“…… Ugh.”
It wasn’t a lie.
I lost the paper necklace Pina had made for me as a child and received kisses from the Saintess Pina and the Demon God Pina.
“Both are you, Pina…”
I aimed snowballs at her armor as she looked like she could get hurt.
“But, I felt jealous.”
Perhaps fueled by competitive spirit, she started attacking everyone around her.
“Wait! Pina, it’s too cold!”
“Licht, I think the princess is mad at you because of this! What did you do… Eww! It got in my mouth.”
Under the aftermath of her attacks, we both looked like we were showering in snow.
We four ended up laughing and playing together.
“If you’re going to keep playing like this, I can’t hold back!”
“Ariel, let’s attack Licht together!”
Neither of them holding back, we were able to drop everything on a field covered in white snow.
How long did this go on?
“I’ll take Su-hyun… If not, I’ll turn him into a snowman.”
“Pina? Put that down! How can you make the snow this big…?”
Pina sparkled her golden eyes like a fierce beast and buried me under a snowball, and thus the snow battle ended for now.
*
“Hehe, warm, right? Let’s stay like this.”
“Thank you…”
The sound of our teeth clattering rang out.
Pina was melting the cold snow with her body against the shivering me.
I couldn’t tell if she intended to do this from the beginning. She started seeming scarier the more I got to know her.
Imagining what could happen if we really got married was unimaginable.
She might check if I met other girls after going out just by smelling me, right?
[Kaenel♡Ariel 90% ‘NEW!’]
The status window popped over Pina’s head as she nuzzled against my chest.
Seeing the Hero couple building a snowman far away made my lips curl upward naturally.
“Sir Knight, was this your plan from the start?”
“…Yes, Saintess.”
Pina spoke softly while observing them.
Even the memories of her days as the Nameless Saintess had returned, she probably knew what I was trying to achieve now.
In [Night Heart], they would usually confess their feelings while building a snowman.
“You should recognize that Sir Knight is the biggest shy guy in the Empire. Hehe.”
In my first life, I hid in the bushes so as not to interfere with them.
As two small snowballs rolled toward each other from opposite ends, they grew closer and larger.
Just like the feelings Kaenel and Ariel had experienced until now.
Eventually, when the two snowballs met, they merged into an adorable snowman.
“Ariel… Will you accept this…?”
“Uh…? Kaen..?”
Kaenel knelt before the snowman, offering a ring.
And the sight of Ariel blushing as she looked at the ring never failed to fascinate me.
A sweet sensation blooming on my taste buds.
It was because of these sweet descriptions that I loved [Night Heart].
“I’ll make you happy for life, Ariel….”
“I love it!!”
Before the Hero even finished speaking, Ariel snatched the ring, beaming with joy.
[Kaenel♡Ariel 100% ‘NEW!’]
This was definitely the answer.
Once the proposal was successfully made, the status window appeared.
Like fireworks soaring into the sky with a loud pop, heavenly fireworks exploded.
[EVENT CG: “[Knight Hearts] – True Ending” has been collected!]
The following kissing scene became a snapshot that would remain forever in my memory.
