*
Pitch-black darkness. In that place, Pina Grancia trembled with anxiety.
‘Where is this…?’
A black space where she couldn’t see an inch ahead. Inside it, she fidgeted while only wearing a helmet.
Her once-proud glass armor was gone. She was okay since she wore separate clothes, but…
Her pure white tail was hidden inside her clothes, just in case it got in the way during battle.
But ever since taking a hit from Licht’s shadow fang, she had been in this state.
‘What do I do… my armor has been released.’
Trying to take out her masterpiece and wear it again failed. She was worried that her feminine curves would be visible to the audience, so she covered her body with one arm.
“Mardol, you really are a woman.”
“…Licht?”
A man in a black knight’s helmet appeared before her, causing her legs to buckle and sit down. It was Licht. He let out a small sigh while looking at Pina.
“What a pity. I wanted to see your face.”
“…”
“Now, can you get up?”
With a calm demeanor, Licht extended his hand to her. He acted as if there was nothing to be afraid of and calmly maneuvered through the pitch-black darkness.
“..I’ve been seen.”
Her glass helmet was intact, so the man in front couldn’t see everything, but it was still a shocking situation for her.
“Everyone… must have seen me too…”
She flinched, imagining that the audience had discovered her femininity. She might not be able to protect her close friends from Magic Hat anymore.
“It’s okay since it’s just me watching. Mardol.”
“What…?”
Licht, the man, only gently extended his hand, as if Pina’s concerns were nothing.
‘He says it’s okay…?’
She looked around the darkness with good eyes. Golden wolf eyes scanned the place, but it was all blocked by sheer darkness, making it impossible to distinguish front from back.
“You can’t see outside. This is my manifestation.”
“…It really is.”
“I’ve lived a pretty gloomy life.”
So it had not been visible to the audience. No matter how hard Pina tried to pierce through the darkness, it was impossible. Relief washed over her. At the same time, a bit of anger began to rise.
‘Why did this man… take off my armor?’
Wasn’t it enough to just attack the outer protective gear? What was so important about going this far? It was incredible that he could even get past Dennis’s magic.
“I wanted to make sure you were a woman. Sorry for being rough.”
“…”
He apologized to the Pina who looked at him skeptically from inside her glass helmet. Some of her questions were answered.
‘Well, he did say it was important to him. My gender.’
The source of mana was the heart. He had aimed for it and temporarily disconnected it from the masterpiece. She placed her hand at the center of her chest and pieced together the situation.
“..Um, why don’t you wear this? Mardol.”
That’s when Licht awkwardly turned his head while looking at her, unable to get up, and offered his coat.
The academy uniform with the imperial wolf emblem. It was so big that it covered her entirely. While putting it on, she noticed something strange.
‘..Huh?’
The shy gaze that avoided her. The man who had seemed calm until now was acting strangely.
‘He’s embarrassed. Licht.’
Pina’s keen eyesight could see Licht’s brown eyes shaking with agitation. He didn’t know what to do upon seeing her body.
He had taken off her armor to confirm, yet now he was desperately trying not to look.
What a funny guy. Every time she shifted her body slightly, he jumped back in surprise.
“Licht, you’re a pervert.”
“..I’m not!”
He covered the front of his helmet with one hand, embarrassed. Then again, dwarves were known to have that brutish physique.
“Taking off armor like this is a crime, Licht.”
“Please stop. I misunderstood.”
Not wanting to let go of his pure reaction, she immediately clasped her hands around his. That made him even more flustered.
Where had that fierce wolf-like man from earlier gone?
“..Pervert.”
“…”
The Licht before her looked like an innocent puppy. His every visible reaction was amusing, making her want to tease him further.
‘..I’ve never seen such a reaction before.’
Unknowingly, her icy expression transformed into a sly smile. The rough touch of his hand made her feel even more relieved.
After holding hands for a moment in silence, he finally spoke.
“I messed up, so please get up now…”
“Okay, I’ll forgive you. Licht.”
Licht’s neck turned red with embarrassment. Even though his face was hidden by the helmet, it showed.
Using his help, she pushed herself up.
‘The scent of reassurance.’
As she moved her body, his lingering scent on the coat brushed against her nose.
He was of the Inrang Tribe with wolf-like features. Thanks to that, she had spotted him first during the group project last time.
“Ah, you don’t need to worry. You’ll be able to wear the masterpiece again soon.”
As Licht encouraged Pina, who was lost in thought, she felt a strange sensation.
“…Licht, are you okay?”
“What’s wrong?”
“With no armor… I’m weak…”
Knowing that he had discovered her femininity made her think he would take advantage of that. But Licht before her wouldn’t do such a thing.
“Mardol.”
He had already saved Bellin Grancia without any conditions attached. If he desired power or wealth from the royal family, he would have taken it long ago.
Did he not realize how naive he was or how incredible his actions had been? Just breaking the princess’s armor and exposing her body would be a death sentence.
“I told you before, everyone has their weak points.”
“…Really?”
“Don’t you believe me? You’ve seen me all this time.”
“…”
It was true. Though Licht was among the strongest in terms of physical power, he became soft and malleable when it came to anything related to the “Nameless Saintess.”
“…Anyway, I’m okay with you being without armor.”
A person who, if called weak, would yet be quite contradictory in some ways.
“To be honest, you were the toughest opponent I faced.”
“I’m strong, so.”
“Yeah. You’re really strong. If you hadn’t used shadow fang, I might have lost.”
Recognition of each other’s strength. Gratifying feelings swirled in Pina as the strongest person she had seen, apart from her father, acknowledged her.
‘Licht is covering me with shadows so I won’t be exposed.’
A thought suddenly flashed through Pina. He was a man who had been unhappy with her name since the match started, even changing how he addressed her.
‘Even if I’m weak… I’ll be protected.’
If Licht had used shadow fang without the glass dome, someone would have seen her figure through the audience.
‘He must have waited on purpose.’
With her good eyes, Pina detected Licht’s carefully laid plan.
He must have known he could isolate the space with the glass wall while facing the Armored Queen Bee.
“I don’t care if you’re weak.”
“…”
Pina Grancia was obsessed with strength. It meant nothing to her to not be first. She always thought she had to protect those weaker than herself from the Demon King.
“So now, lean on others a bit more. Mardol.”
She thought that was her penance for the people who had died because of her. That was also why she never fled during the melee with Magic Hat.
She finally had someone to depend on. Someone who wouldn’t fuss about her weaknesses, saved her mother, and healed her, her benefactor.
“Don’t try to carry everything alone. I’m here, aren’t I?”
“..Okay, you pervert.”
Someone strong enough to stand beside her as an equal, no, to be precise, Licht was even stronger than Pina herself.
With a refreshing and decisive defeat, she was able to let go of one burden in her heart and lean on Licht.
After the story ended, the two stood back to back. How long had it been in the darkness?
“Now you can look over here. Licht.”
“Really? No, not yet!”
“..Pervert.”
Teasing Licht a few times, Pina put her glass armor back on. The masterpiece was once again animated.
“This time, you really put it on. Phew…”
Her figure was once again that of a proud armored white knight. She had become Mardol.
“Oh, and your ‘strength’ won’t crumble, so you’ll be fine. Mardol.”
At that moment, Licht made a puzzling statement.
“Uh…? What do you mean? Licht?”
“I mean it literally. It looks like I won this time, but…”
He confirmed that she was wearing the masterpiece properly and swept away the darkness. The audience and sunlight were once again visible.
“..The actual result will come out as my defeat.”
With his back turned to the sun, he gleamed like a reflection, making it hard to see. Pina didn’t quite understand what he meant and hesitated for a moment.
[Time’s up!!! The winner is, Student Mardol!]
Laplace’s booming voice echoed throughout the arena, announcing the shocking results.
*
[When all time is exhausted, Licht’s mana shield suffered more damage!]
She walked away from the arena, leaving Mardol behind.
‘What I was aiming for from the start was this.’
Even without getting noticed by the audience, it was a result that made sense to Mardol, who was obsessed with strength.
‘A special rule that prevents a draw.’
[And the final winner will be!! Student Mardol!!]
[The Grand Hertz Academy’s year-end exam!! The strongest of the first years is Student Mardol!! Congratulations!!]
The content was that when all time passed, the side with more intact mana protection wins.
In that way, she could safely obtain the mana rose.
She had aimed to cut through the masterpiece with her own will from the very start, and if you exclude the initial mixing of swords, she had barely taken any damage.
“Licht!!”
Oh no, it seemed Mardol didn’t think this made sense. Her steps slowed down as she heard a fierce voice coming from behind.
“..Why?! Why did you let me win on purpose?!”
“Well, you’re stronger?”
“That’s a lie! Licht!! I lost after the shadow fang hit me…”
How did he know all this? The audience was cheering loudly, so they wouldn’t hear what they were discussing. Even from the outside, it didn’t seem like she had lost.
“Sometimes, losing is necessary to protect what’s important. That’s why I lost, Mardol.”
“What…?”
She had needed to obtain the mana rose. If the second prize went to Mardol, it would likely lead to an increased route of favorability.
The knight in plate armor stood perfectly intact, while she was staggering and trying to escape. If they fought again now, she would lose.
‘Honestly, I can’t use my mind anymore today.’
She had to escape before the referee watching the match could raise any objections. There was a limit to the energy coming from her lower abdomen.
‘That’s a shame. If only I had seen your face, I could have surely pushed it out of my mind.’
It was Mardol who, like her, had worn a helmet separately. It appeared they were distinct pieces of equipment and not one body with the masterpiece.
She hadn’t even seen her presumed black hair. Those odd dwarves.
“Wait! Licht!! This isn’t right! If you had just smashed the mana shield back then…!”
In truth, she had already obtained everything she wanted. The mana rose, definite intel on Mardol that she hadn’t known, and some resolution concerning her trauma.
She kept taking steps towards the exit.
This should be enough.
There shouldn’t be any facts she had missed. If there were, surely her Saintess would have cursed at her. After all, she had undone another girl’s armor as well.
‘A burning trash! A lecher! This beast… Yeah, I might truly be a pervert as someone said.’
There was also a part of her that wished she had listened a bit more to Mardol’s opinion. However, after getting a bit closer, her confessing to him that she was a woman would surely create a love flag.
“I’ll demand a rematch, or at least a ranking adjustment…!”
“Ah, right. You just keep talking longer, it’s kind of better.”
“What…?”
If she just left like this, perhaps Mardol wouldn’t mind. She mimicked Nex from [Night Heart], echoes of words from the rival route.
“Licht!! Don’t go..!”
With all her mana spent, Mardol couldn’t block her. She tried to reach out in the air, but she kept stumbling as if she had lost all strength in her legs.
“Then, see you later. Mardol.”
Ultimately, it would be better to capture the Demon King together as allies. This must have secured her path into the ally route overwhelmingly.
No matter how inexperienced she was in romance, she knew this ridiculous incident wouldn’t hold her back.
