EP.103 30-1. Please Remember Me Under the Magnolia Tree.
After receiving the Dragon Heart transplant, my body had become stronger.
"..Licht, you should rest a bit. You can't even walk properly yet."
The blonde-haired hero clicked his tongue, displeased, as he watched me barely doing push-ups on the bed.
"I have to adapt to the output of the Dragon Heart."
"You're always the same..."
"If I don't train, I'm useless."
I gasped for breath. There were three Demon Lords left. I had to become stronger to protect Phine, so this was the natural order.
'I thought that now that I've caught Head, there would be no chance of her becoming the Nameless Saintess.'
This damn world didn't seem to want to leave her alone.
I felt a chill as I looked at the status window that was floating like a warning sign. So the penalty was still there.
It was my fault for being happy when they congratulated me without knowing what it was.
[Reward: Return to the real world, 'Grand Route' ending for Phine Gransia.]
[Failure: ?Myth]
What the hell did ?Myth mean? It was good that Phine Gransia was definitely her name now.
Because of this, I was gritting my teeth and training in the sickroom. I was the only one who could protect her.
I didn't care about the penalty. I would sacrifice myself no matter what, and I had to prevent our Phine from becoming unhappy.
'If she had become the Saintess, one thing was certain: she would have been more unhappy than she is now.'
Nex would have lost Charitines, and Phine would have been forgotten from the memories of those around her, or she would have lost her own memories and become ignorant.
That was the storyline of the original work and its sequels. I had to deny it completely.
"Mardol, no. Princess Phine has explained everything from beginning to end."
"Does Kainel know now too?"
"Yeah, Ariel and I just went to buy some fruit, so I was told to watch over you."
Kainel opened his mouth. So Phine had told her real name to someone other than me now. It was kind of amazing, like something had developed.
"She asked us to continue being friends... Well, I guess that's just like Mardol."
"Yes, she has always been herself."
Fortunately, I didn't feel any uncomfortable vibes. I was happy if she made more friends. Phine, who had become the Saintess, was lonely because she didn't have any friends.
"Licht, you did something amazing. You saved the Princess with Mana Rose, right?"
"I just did what I had to do, Kainel."
"The Princess of the Gransia Empire is taking care of you with all her heart... You've made it, our Dark Knight."
I wondered if this was a good thing.
"..Isn't this too much kindness?"
"Well, I definitely think the Princess likes you."
Thud. At that moment, the strength in my arms instantly gave out, and I buried my face in the bed. Phine liked me? That Phine Gransia liked me?
"Kainel, why are you saying such nonsense...!"
The blood rushed to my face. I raised my upper body and shouted at him. There's no way.
"No, isn't it obvious? You saved her from Magic Hat, and you caught Head Eike."
"..."
"Licht, you even shared your magic circuit with the Princess. Your lives aren't connected, but you know where each other is."
I couldn't stand being embarrassed anymore. It had been three months since I didn't recognize Phine right next to me.
"Stop. Please stop."
"You have to keep your word, Licht."
I was scared even though the affection meter was displayed. I expected the favorability to have already been reduced to the worst.
It was only 1 percent. A low number that could always return to 0%.
"From the start, you're two-timing. You have that Nameless Saintess and the Princess..."
"Ughhhhh! Stop it!"
"Why, I'm just giving advice to my womanizing friend."
I got angry as I watched the mutt mock me while imitating my tone. A fist that cut through the air.
"There's no such thing as a harem romance. Choose just one person and live a healthy life, Licht."
He easily suppressed me as he watched my weakened state. He blocked me easily with one hand.
"So you have to make sure you only have one. Is it the Nameless Saintess or the Princess?"
"From the start, I only have one...!"
When did he get so good at teasing people? It was a completely opposite situation from when we first met.
"What? You weren't two-timing...?"
That was when it happened. With a thud, the door opened, and a red-haired girl and a white-haired wolf girl entered the treatment center.
"Kai, we're here! Huh...?"
"..Licht. You."
Ariel and Phine came in with fruit baskets. As if they noticed that Kainel and I were about to fight, her golden wolf eyes were glaring at me.
"I told you to rest quietly..."
"Ah, Phine."
Thump, thump. She walked towards me quickly, as if she was angry, and lifted my mask.
"The burn marks..."
I said urgently, worried that the grotesque burn marks would be a nuisance to her. But she wagged her tail and spoke slowly.
"I'm okay, Licht. It's proof that you've lived your life."
"Could it be... Did you leave them on purpose?"
That's a relief. In fact, my guilt hadn't been completely erased yet to erase the burns. This was something I had to carry with me.
"Yeah, I want you to be more confident. Don't think such bad thoughts."
"Thank you for your consideration."
Phine grabbed my cheeks with both hands. Even as she looked at my grotesque cheeks stretching out.
She only smiled softly, "Hehe." I could see her cute wolf fangs.
"..So, what did you do with Kainel? Tell me quickly."
"I didn't do anything...! Phine."
"Really? Kainel?"
Ah, my cheeks were tingling, but I felt good. Now, I felt proud when I saw her wearing only armor or the academy uniform.
'So she's walking around without the glass helmet. That's a relief.'
The trauma that had been holding Phine captive might have been resolved. She might be a little more confident in the world now.
"No. Licht, this guy. He was just working out?"
"Kainel...! You betrayed me...!"
I was secretly feeling relieved, but when I heard the hero's answer, the pure white wolf ears perked up and looked at me with cold eyes again.
"Lie down. Licht."
"I need to train more...!"
"Princess... Aren't you going to listen...?"
"I will lie down."
She pressed down on my body like a cat with her slender hands, preventing me from getting up with her strength. Why was she so strong? Even though she was the daughter of Emperor Roque.
'Even though I defeated one of the final bosses.'
It might be because I didn't want to get up that I couldn't put in any strength. It seemed like I didn't want to reject her worried touch.
"Ah, you can get up again. Licht."
"Yes? Why is that, Phine?"
"You have to eat fruit. You have to get better quickly..."
Suddenly, Phine raised me up again. The soft touch of her grabbing my arms made all the nerves in my body go wild.
"Tada...! Kai, it's a Cloud Peach! Phine and I bought it together~!"
"That's too sweet..."
"Hey, don't be shy! You ate the chocolate parfait just fine last time!"
Ariel, wearing a magician's hat, smiled brightly and handed Kainel a white peach. The hero looked at me and sent out a distress signal.
"Leave the helmet guy to Phine and eat it quickly!"
But I couldn't help him.
"Here, Licht. Ahh."
I was also under pressure. Because Phine, who had quickly cut the peach at a speed I didn't even know she could, was holding the fruit to my mouth.
"I can eat it myself."
"My arm hurts... Licht?"
The daughter of that Emperor Roque said her arm hurt with a Cloud Peach? It was a peach that boasted a light weight like a cloud and a fluffy taste.
"Ugh... It's wobbly... Licht..."
Judging from her subtly trembling actions and words, it was definitely a lie, but I decided to accept it because she wanted it so much.
"I understand. Phine."
I deliberately started to break the peach little by little with my teeth. This really seemed ruined. What on earth had I been doing all this time to make our Phine like this?
"..It's sweet."
I was being careful in case my lips touched your fingers. I was being careful because an unexpected event might occur.
"Eat it all the way to the end. Licht."
"Gulp...!"
When I tried to leave only the end of the peach, she put her finger in my mouth. I wish she had at least given it to me with a fork.
"Hehe, you look like a scared puppy."
"..."
Phine's soft finger touched my lips. Whether she knew it or not, she was just smiling like a sly fox.
'Is this what 1 percent is like...?'
I suddenly felt a sense of discomfort and looked at the hero couple next to me.
"Hehe, how is it? Kai, is it delicious!"
"Uh, yeah. It's delicious. Bitter... No, it's sweet."
Cloud Peaches were stuffed in the mutt's mouth, who was grimacing and trying not to get caught for not being able to eat sweet things.
"This time it's a Crystal Apple! It's also sweet!"
"Ariel, st.. stop..."
Even after seeing that, the red cat kept shoving sweet fruit into his mouth. Even a couple with a 35 percent affection level was like that.
"Why, Licht?"
"It's nothing, Phine."
I came to the conclusion that Phine and I could be like that too. It was fruit from someone I liked, so I had to eat it gratefully.
"Oh, that's right. Helmet Guy! One of the Ten Greats... Was it White Magnolia? I found her."
"..Really?"
"Yeah! I just saw Professor Dennis bringing her back when I returned to the academy?"
It hadn't even been a few hours since I regained consciousness and told Dennis that the Heavenly Demon was in the center of the Endless Forest of Demons.
"That's a relief."
So she had already been found. After all, it was true that the Ignorance was lifted because Head had died, just like in the original history. I vaguely knew her location too.
'If I receive help from Laplace or the Sage, I'll be able to calculate the exact spatial coordinates.'
I raised my body. Even if it was only for a month, she was someone I had served as a teacher.
I couldn't miss the reunion of the main couple of .
It was a scene I had already seen in the original work, but an instinctive feeling that something might be different made me move.
"Licht. If you're going to walk, hold on to me."
Phine looked at me with worried eyes and supported me.
My body and mind were still separate when it came to walking. It felt like I was a baby learning to walk for the first time.
"I have to practice alone."
"I'm okay. Come on."
I had to be able to walk alone so I could go to the bathroom without Phine's help, and reduce the constant close physical contact. I put all my strength into my legs.
"I'm okay now..."
"Licht..?!"
Stumble, I lost my balance and fell backward while trying to walk alone after shaking off her touch. It was a situation where Phine, who was grabbing me, could have been hurt.
Crash. The sound of the floor resounding spread. My momentary judgment shone.
"Are you... Are you hurt anywhere?"
"I'm okay... But..."
"Ah."
I barely crashed into the ground first, and wrapped my arms around the thin waist of the white-haired girl, so she didn't hit anything.
The structure where I fell over softly as if I was hugging Phine.
The scent of roses wafted through the air. The sweet scent of a woman's flesh that seemed to melt my mind was felt all at once.
"Licht, are you okay?!"
"Phine, are you hurt...?"
She was on top of me, and I was lying on the floor as if I was being crushed. Two men and women stacked together like a sandwich.
"..Pervert."
"I'm sorry."
The overwhelming power of the main wife that I felt on my chest made my mind go dizzy as if the wick in my head was burning. This was an accident. It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't tried to walk alone.
"Hehe, you're a really big wolf."
Such a thing would not have happened. Phine, whether she knew my heart, which was taking deep breaths and breathing deeply without losing her mind, was rubbing her face against my body.
"It's cozy..."
Was she leaving her scent? I had heard about it in the settings. There were cases where werewolves would do it to prevent others from approaching.
'Wolf, wolf... Yeah, our Phine was a wolf.'
I barely managed to keep my sanity and moved to meet the Heavenly Demon and Dennis, with her support.