EP.105 30-3. Please Remember Me Under the Magnolia Tree.
When the sun went down below the horizon, and night came again.
"Ehehehe! As expected, my disciple is amazing!!"
"Drake, our Magnolia is also a disciple."
A tavern in the Gransia Empire was bustling.
"I was his first disciple!"
"Who caught Head in the end? Drake. It wasn't you, was it?"
"..Beatrice, you shouldn't say something true all of a sudden!"
The faculty of the academy gathered to celebrate the return of the Heavenly Demon. It was natural that Phine and I were invited.
"Let's not be so bickering. It's been a long time since Lady Magnolia returned~."
"This lady does not know you."
"Still, you put flowers in your hair like me... I admired you when I was young!"
People I hadn't seen in a long time. There was Beatrice, who was nagging the Dragonslayer, and Maria, who was trying to act familiar with White Magnolia.
"Let's all drink today! I'll pay!"
"Waaaaah!!"
Clatter. The refreshing sound of a dwarf, who appeared to be an employee, pouring beer from an oak barrel rang out, and Dennis filled a cool glass to the brim and pushed it straight towards one side of the table.
"..That burn mark is infuriating."
White Magnolia watched him with a displeased expression, her arms crossed. Next to her, I was barely standing, supported by Phine.
"Disciple. You are late in greeting your master."
"This unworthy disciple greets the master."
The Heavenly Demon greeted me as she looked at me. I thought I would be able to save her someday, but I didn't know it would be this soon. I bowed my head.
"Shouldn't you do the nine prostrations?"
"Ah, yes."
"Licht, it's a lie. Don't do it."
I thought I had to bow nine times. As I bent my knee to bow, the white-haired girl grabbed my body and stopped me.
"Hehehe! When did you become such a man who is completely held captive by a woman!"
"..."
I couldn't bring myself to say, "It's because it's our Phine Gransia." I was too embarrassed.
"Before, you used to sing about wanting to see that Nameless Saintess or whatever."
"As expected, that person is the problem."
Honestly, I didn't have the face to say anything to the Heavenly Demon here. The reason I caught Head was ultimately for Phine,
"I'm glad you look healthy."
Until now, I had drawn my Heart Swords while thinking of our Phine, and I had endured the Heavenly Demon's training with the thought that I had to become stronger.
It would only hurt her to reveal here that Phine was the Nameless Saintess.
I had never shown her kindness in order to gain her past love.
"This lady didn't know that our disciple would even catch a Demon Lord!"
"Aren't Demon Lords just people who end up losing?"
"That's right. That's correct."
If I told Phine this fact, she would doubt me endlessly. In the first place, it's another world.
Who would believe that I possessed a character I was raising in a game world?
That's why I had previously introduced myself to Phine as, "I am a Dark Knight who came to make you happy."
"To defeat a Demon Lord with a Heart Sword drawn while thinking of the Saintess, and two of them at that."
"I also thought it was just one."
"..It's an unusual thing. It means that the boy's heart takes on that many different forms and mysteries."
The faith that replaced her tears, the old thoughts that she created while saving me from trauma.
My love for Phine Gransia, in fact, was old, but it hadn't even started properly.
"Continue to work harder. My beloved disciple."
"Thank you, Heavenly Demon."
Before, it was just a relationship between a game character and a player.
A one-sided love similar to unrequited love, a one-sided emotion.
It's not love to overlap Phine with the Saintess or try to change her as I please.
Isn't it pure love to be able to love Phine's true self?
I love everything about her. I couldn't use magic alone in this world, but I think love is the magic of making you like what you hate.
If it doesn't work, we can fix it together. If it's slow, I can match my pace.
"..Hey, old lady."
I was confident that I could overcome any trials or hardships in front of me with love.
"Stop acting like you know our Licht."
"Hmm, this child is not afraid even after seeing this lady!"
Seeing Phine acting like this while looking at the people around me, it seemed like the favorability had jumped strangely. As soon as I was about to talk to the Heavenly Demon,
"Phine, even so, she's my master."
"..I don't like it when you talk to pretty girls."
Phine immediately pulled my body back and made me avoid the spot. Why on earth was our cute platinum wolf acting like this to me?
'Could it be that she likes me..?'
The assumption instantly filled my head. But there was no way. It was always not the case when I thought that in reality.
"Ariel has Kainel, after all."
"Then isn't your master with Professor Dennis too? Phine."
Before I got burned, there were also girls who said they liked me, but at that time, I didn't have a girlfriend because I was worried about being a nuisance to someone.
Later, it was only the Saintess, so I didn't know much about dating. My wife is inside the monitor.
"I don't know, I just don't like it."
"Heh! After all, this lady is stronger, so she's instinctively checking her."
"..That's why I don't like it."
I guess she doesn't like me after all. Who falls in love these days because someone saved their life? That's too outdated.
"You said Phine?"
"Yeah, White Magnolia."
As I let out a sigh of relief, the Heavenly Demon sat me down on a chair and took Phine somewhere for a while. I was watching to see what would happen.
"This lady has nothing to do."
"Really?"
"..."
The two were whispering. It was too far away to hear. What kind of fun story were those two women having together? How much time had passed?
"Okay. I'll trust you."
"Hehehe! Disciple. You're such a bad man!"
Phine started using honorifics to the Heavenly Demon like she did to Dennis. Did a few words change our glass knight that much?
She approached me and even gave me a small smile. Her white hair fluttering was pretty, but.
"What on earth did you tell our Phine?!"
"Wouldn't it be better to think hard about it with that dull head? Disciple."
White Magnolia tapped her temple with her finger and said something, and Phine pulled a chair to my side and narrowed the distance.
"Let's drink today. Licht."
"..Yes? I thought you told me not to drink because I'm recovering."
"I want to drink something a little stronger."
Originally, I knew that dwarves drank it because they had a hard time sleeping after making masterpieces. They couldn't relieve their tension after exerting a high degree of concentration, or something like that.
"..What's the reason?"
"When you're drunk, your guard will weaken, Licht."
Golden predator-like eyes met mine and shone. Now that I thought about it, Kainel and Ariel weren't here either, so I couldn't make any excuses.
"Drink slowly instead. Phine."
"I tried it before. I drank better than you, Licht."
Phine was laughing softly. When did she become someone who could blend into the atmosphere like this? She was completely different from the emotionless doll I saw when I first met her.
I had to let her drink since she wanted to drink. I would be her Dark Knight before anything happened.
Phine brought a small glass. The moment we filled each other's glasses.
"Then let's also toast."
"Cheers."
Out the window I happened to look at, I saw a crescent moon, and like the moon that had begun to rise again, we began to drink alcohol.