*
The Head stepped into the booth of the Magic Club, standing before a dark maze of mirrors where only a bit of light seeped through.
“Hehe! Surprised you, right? …Huh? Not surprised?”
“Ariel, it’s probably because you didn’t do it right.”
“Not bad, young ones.”
Suddenly, a massive Hero couple appeared in front of him, attempting to scare them, but the Demon King stood still, deep in thought, seemingly unfazed.
‘Guess it’s not Kainel after all.’
The Demon King made a hmm sound. The yellow Cerberus in front of him hadn’t grown enough to outsmart him yet.
“That wasn’t too bad. My old heart nearly stopped.”
“See, Kain? I did it right!”
The red-haired Mage beside the Hero smirked at them, but no artifact-level equipment was visible at all.
Once again, the most likely candidate was the man wearing the Black Knight helmet, who had previously displayed unexpected talent during the year-end exams.
‘It’s troubling that he almost defeated Princess Pina Grancia.’
He surmised that Licht was the one who injured the Magic Hat. No matter how many times he calculated, there were no variables. Even if it was information veiled in lies.
‘Winning in information warfare means not revealing your cards.’
That man, Licht, had asserted himself too much. No matter how he thought about it, only one possibility existed.
“Only one minute left.”
He briefly checked his wristwatch, knowing there were no more variables; his future encounter with Licht was confirmed.
“…What is this?”
However, after passing the Hero couple and stepping deeper into the maze, he realized the area where students disguised as Sphinxes and Kuer should have been was completely empty.
Another calculation had gone awry. He could excuse himself for being caught off guard during the Schartines kidnapping incident, but now…
‘Not knowing the Hero’s abilities was a huge setback.’
It was absurd that two people who should be here were missing. He determined that they were individuals capable of not just uncovering ignorance but completely concealing information.
‘Is it a power that completely distorts perception?’
The Head felt a sense of hopelessness and slapped his forehead, realizing he had been two moves behind. After all, he was also a Hero who had defeated the Demon King of Truth.
Even after cautiously seizing the location, not being able to meet them was strange. The Demon King gazed at the bottom of the deeply dug tunnel.
“…Did they fall down here?”
He muttered, watching as a training slime squirmed below.
*
The incident occurred suddenly.
“…Licht. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine… More importantly, can you get off me?”
Startled by the student who took out a fire Spirit at the sight of my Dullahan costume, I stumbled back and stepped into a trap next to me.
“Ah, sorry.”
Seeing me fall into the area filled with training slimes, Mardol immediately threw himself down to join me underground.
“I’m sorry… I still seem to be scared of fire.”
“It’s okay, Licht.”
It was just like when Ariel had blasted a fireball at me before; it seemed my body still hadn’t recovered from that day’s injuries.
“…I thought I had gotten over it by now.”
I sighed deeply. Mardol fell cleanly onto me, but I was covered in the slimy gooey mess of the slimes, feeling a bit gross.
“Licht… Why are you afraid of fire?”
She questioned me curiously as she got up. There had been something in my childhood about that.
The reason why I got burned and people kept their distance from me. My screams for salvation echoed, and once again I had to dive into a fire scene where miracles didn’t exist.
I pondered how I would have survived without [Night Heart].
“There was an incident.”
“…Something bad happened.”
She seemed to sense my mood, her golden wolf-eyes sparkling through the wooden disguise. She was very perceptive, unlike others.
I was grateful she didn’t ask more. This was a scar I have to carry alone. I couldn’t expect others to understand or share it with me.
“Licht. I’m here for you.”
“…So you fell down with me?”
“Yeah. You shouldn’t leave a pervert alone…”
Suddenly, Mardol, who had been clenching her fists, lost her balance and wobbled. What was going on?
“…Mardol?”
“…”
“Did you twist your leg?”
“Ah, I think I did…”
Mardol limped. I was about to suggest healing her with Divine Power when training slimes began approaching us.
The surroundings were too dark; if I swung my sword blindly, I might end up breaking the booth, and the situation was as if they were telling me to take care of her.
‘Guess I have no choice.’
It seemed like the flags had piled up and exploded. How come the one who came to help got hurt? It was absurd. I turned my back to Mardol and bent down.
“Get on.”
“Licht..? Just wait a bit…”
“Slimes are coming! Plus, you’re injured, right?”
“…Alright, Licht.”
If we lingered here, an unusual scene would unfold. The sight of a princess injured while wearing a masterpiece outfit was something that left me with only one choice.
‘This should be the right call.’
It had become a matter of necessity. In games, when flags stacked up like this, weird unexpected events were bound to occur. Besides, she was the main heroine.
In visual novels, it wasn’t unusual for the heroine to be late with a loaf of bread in her mouth and bump into the male protagonist.
The thought that she might get into trouble with the slime crossed my mind. As coincidences piled up, they turned into fate itself,
“Well then, I’ll walk forward.”
“…Okay.”
It wasn’t unreasonable. After all, just leaving her behind or swinging my sword would be the wrong decision. The Empire’s Imperial Guard might appear and hold me accountable.
‘Not too heavy, though.’
Choosing to bulldoze through the event, the princess wrapped her arms around my neck. I felt the firm touch of wood on my back.
I had felt this before, but she was surprisingly light. Or maybe I had become stronger through training.
“Mardol.”
“…Licht, excuse me.”
“I wasn’t going to say you need to lose weight or anything…”
“Pervert, pervert… Licht.”
The princess I carried lightly punched my back. Thankfully, it seemed she hadn’t sustained serious injuries. I sighed in relief inwardly.
“Oh, speaking of which…”
“What is it…? Licht?”
“Why do you keep your helmet on, Mardol?”
I decided to question something I had been curious about, thinking the system must have had a reason for bringing just the two of us together.
“…”
“If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine too. I won’t pry into bad memories.”
At that, she buried her face deeper into my back. What was this? Just moments ago she had been lightly tapping me; it seemed her feelings had taken a turn. Soon, she opened her mouth.
“…It’s because of a Magic Hat I met when I was a child.”
Her voice trembled as she barely spat out the truth. I knew this would steer us away from the Saintess route, but.
‘It had been bothering me. Was it really the Demon King’s fault?’
She was the one who threw herself in to save me from falling, and now she had injured her leg. An emotional connection had already formed for me with Mardol.
“What exactly did the Demon King do to you?”
“He said it was a problem because I was a girl. He killed maids and…”
“So that’s why you hid your gender.”
“Yeah… I was afraid others would fall victim to the Demon King because of me…”
That meant she must have lived a life far from the norm. One would think the position of the Empire’s princess would grant her anything, but it wasn’t as simple as that.
“…That must have been tough.”
“It’s my fault… I…”
“Don’t say things like that. Didn’t you say it happened when you were young?”
Everyone has moments of weakness. Hearing about that mad magician ruining her life was akin to tearing apart everything she had known.
“…I might have said something too harsh before. I’m sorry.”
My steps came to a halt, recalling my dark past of hurling insults at her in Swordsmanship Training.
While she seemed as cold as glass, she was someone who cared for others more than anyone else. Life shattered in childhood is not easy to recover from.
“It’s okay… Licht.”
“Then, to apologize, I’ll share my reason for keeping my face hidden too?”
“Uh…? Uh! Please tell me…”
Knowing too well how she felt, I could relate deeply. A child confronted with a harsh wall of reality – what solutions could exist for that?
“When I was little, I suffered severe burns.”
Eventually, when you can’t blame anyone else, you turn that judgment onto yourself. Since you can’t blame others, you start nibbling away at your own soul.
It was better not to indulge in young and naïve self-blame.
“I barely made it out… but hearing the screams for help, I dashed back in. That’s when I got hurt.”
“…I see. It sounds like you didn’t want to say it. Why tell me…?”
“Didn’t you share an unpleasant memory with me?”
There’s a saying: joy shared is joy doubled; grief shared is grief lessened.
Plus, since the year-end exams, Mardol had been someone who wanted to protect me, so it was impossible not to be concerned about her.
“…So please don’t just self-blame. The Demon King is the bad one, right?”
“Licht…”
“In the end, there’s no need to hurt yourself. I know from experience; that’s truly not worth it.”
Feelings aren’t a straight line. I wanted to offer some encouragement to a knight who resembled me.
‘The Saintess might get mad, but this is the right thing to do.’
The warmth radiating from her back might have stirred emotions within me.
Or perhaps it was just cheap sympathy. I didn’t know her that well, so it was easy to speak.
‘Ultimately, she just had no one to rely on, just like the young me.’
But for someone who has been hurt, even the smallest gesture of encouragement is desperately needed, so I couldn’t push Mardol away for unearthing her trauma to answer my question.
“…Stay strong. Or would you like to have a drink with me tonight?”
“Uh…? At the night market?”
“Yeah, you’ve got to unwind when you’re feeling down.”
I suggested a drink to my wooden creature. With the Hero couple joining us, I thought we could enjoy the night of the summer festival.
She was a new student from the academy and should have gone through the adult ceremony, so it’d be fine if we shared a drink. Besides, the Imperial Guard would be watching, so no accidents would occur.
“Sounds good. Licht… just so you know, I won’t lose.”
“Haha. I’m looking forward to it. Let’s wrap up the day with something fun, not depressing.”
It was also a favorite method I had to relieve stress in reality. When I bought a can of beer and some snacks from a convenience store and played games,
“…Licht.”
That day’s painful memories faded away. This should be fine. She’d probably lose interest in my face hidden behind the helmet.
“…Thank you, Licht.”
“Don’t mention it. We’re friends, right? Mardol.”
“Friends…”
“If you ever face troubles like this, just talk to me. I’ll take a meal from you later as my payment.”
Actually, asking for a meal was a joke. She seemed to have more to say but then buried her face deeper in my back. She must have felt better now.
“…Right, we’re friends.”
So, sharing each other’s burdens, we walked together toward the exit of the booth, where light was visible.
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