(Continued)
“Licht, you’re late.”
“I’m sorry.”
The other students were attentively listening to the lecture. I could see a redhead, a blonde, and the Glass Knight sitting at the front.
Catching my breath, I pulled out my notebook and started taking notes.
Professor Beatrice, who had called me out, resumed the lecture.
“..So if you concentrate your holy power, you can even use it as a weapon.”
The vampire saintess had wrapped her fist in holy power when she was hitting earlier—was that the principle?
“A good way to use it is to apply it to equipment, increasing strength or range…”
Professor Beatrice picked up the weapons that had been laid out behind her, one by one.
The sword sharpened as if it were cloaked in aura, and the spear’s thrusting range extended.
“Or like this, freely wielding them. It might be difficult for you, though.”
After setting them down, she conjured a bow and arrow made of light in her hand once again.
A nun archer? That was an interesting concept. I wondered if there was ever a ranged character like that in the game.
“It might seem flawless, but there’s a weakness: you must keep your composure in any situation to maintain your holy power.”
The short-haired nun smiled with only her eyes. A chill ran down my spine. No matter how I looked at it, she seemed like a villain.
“Manifesting your wish works like this. If you accept a truly despairing situation, your holy power might not gather at all.”
“…”
My hand, which had been taking notes, froze. I recalled something similar from *Knight Heart* in the past.
So that’s why the healing prayer hadn’t worked back then. I felt uneasy.
‘The situation must have been even more hopeless than I realized. Is that why the Nameless Saintess couldn’t do it?’
In the game, skills rarely failed unless you were hit by crowd control or facing a boss with immunity. But there had been an event like this, where something similar occurred.
It showed the game creators’ passion for adding coherence to the story. The fact that these were the same people who made *Black Heart*? Ridiculous.
“Now, as always, we will proceed with practical training.”
While I was lost in thought, Beatrice made a shocking announcement.
“Each of you will create your own weapon today, little lambs.”
Was this an automatic failure for me? Should I just give up now? The professor was smiling at me. On purpose, right? She must have seen me fail to gather holy power during the healing prayer.
I nearly bolted out of the classroom but managed to steady myself.
‘…I don’t want to see the Nameless Saintess get hurt.’
I thought back to when I had been pulled into this game world. Maybe I should aim for a retake rather than flee.
If I scored full marks on the theory exam, I could pass, right? As long as I didn’t get an academic warning.
“Kai, look at this! A staff made of holy power!”
“Ariel, does that mean I’ve made a holy power sword?”
“I think so! Hehe.”
Watching Kainel and Ariel easily gather their holy power and craft a sword and staff made me feel dejected. Well, they were the protagonists after all, so I guess they were naturally overpowered.
Mardol, on the other hand… appeared to be making a stuffed puppy. Now that I thought about it, that wasn’t even a weapon.
The fluffy, white holy power formed into a bundle of fur resembling a dandelion seed.
“…Kkamang.”
The Glass Knight was gently stroking the round head of the white puppy. The fur had been combed into the shape of a square-faced dog.
“…”
I was doomed, no doubt about it. Anyone could see it was a Pomeranian. And not even white—*Kkamang*, which meant black. What on earth happened while I was asleep?
***
After finishing the practical exercise in the Holy Power Studies class, I walked along the path.
Why was I the only one who couldn’t create anything? It wasn’t fair.
“I didn’t think even my spirit would be fond of a knight’s helmet.”
“They’re cool. Like a hero for everyone.”
“Ugh. That’s cringeworthy, Licht.”
Kainel glanced at my helm with an odd expression, recalling yesterday’s events.
The spirit probably mistook me for its master after seeing me in a helmet. I thought about it as I stared at Mardol’s shining armor. Aside from wearing armor, we looked somewhat alike.
“So, Kainel, are you really saying that’s what my spirit did?”
“It wouldn’t leave Mardol’s side. It growled, but it looked so harmless that it was actually kind of cute.”
“Yeah! Helmet guy, it was more like a puppy than a wolf! Super fluffy!”
“It was adorable.”
I asked the others about what had happened earlier in the day. Besides my spirit clinging to Mardol, they said nothing strange had occurred. But for me, it was a serious problem.
“It was probably just a mistake on the spirit’s part.”
I tried to downplay it, struggling to break any potential flags.
“You should’ve been more careful! It didn’t look happy!”
“…Kainel.”
“All right, Licht, I’ll stop.”
That mutt was dead meat later. I had only been thinking of our Saintess. You’ll pay for this next time you mess up with Ariel.
I felt dizzy, like I was about to pass out. Maybe it was because I’d gotten closer to Nex. But to meet a harem crusher and end up like this?
“Licht.”
The ominous voice came from beside me, as if to confirm my bad feeling.
“What is it, Mardol?”
The Glass Knight stared at me for a long time. I feared my name and something about Lupus might appear in my status window.
“…Can you wake Kkamang?”
“Kkamang…?”
“Licht, your spirit.”
When did they name it again? That’s not even your spirit! Stop the flag already.
“I’m not sure.”
I put my hand on my chin. Was it really unusable? In the game, it didn’t work until the end.
Swinging a sword with the spirit could let me exploit at least one of the Demon King’s weaknesses.
‘At least the spirit exists.’
A black wolf. With it looking part Pomeranian, it seemed that my real-life experiences were influencing things here.
The spirit really does manifest from emotions, huh? Maybe it would wake up if it saw the Nameless Saintess.
This explained why Nex’s phoenix was so attached to Chartines. The first person to recognize it must have been that nun.
I had seen through the phony liar’s mask. There was no doubt about it.
But why had my spirit gone to Mardol? As I was about to pick apart the oddity, my thoughts were interrupted.
“…Let’s wake it up soon.”
“Do you realize how rare spirit summoners are?”
“You’re unique, Licht. You can do it.”
“…Excuse me?”
It looked like I needed to wrap up this swordsmanship exchange quickly. Something was very wrong with everything.
All the flags were pointing me toward the crown prince route.
I just wanted to properly take the Saintess route and happily protect her from the sidelines. Why was this world being so cruel to me?
“Mardol.”
“Yes, Licht?”
“Let’s head to the swordsmanship exchange right now.”
“Really?”
This was a head-on approach. Once this was over, I wouldn’t get tangled up anymore. Technically, I’d have to handle this using magic, but…
I had to distance myself from the crown prince, no matter what. I couldn’t even remember how I got involved in the first place. I hadn’t done anything to raise Lupus’s affection.
“It wasn’t a lie after all.”
“I’m not very good at this. Kainel saw through it right away.”
“Is that supposed to be a compliment? Licht?”
“Helmet guy, Kainel’s pretty observant at least.”
No way. If that mutt next door knew something I didn’t, I’d sell all my items and quit the game.
“I’ll only teach you the first form. Nothing more, Mardol.”
“That’s enough, Licht.”
I regretted sending my party off to adventure and defeat the boss in *Black Heart*. If only I hadn’t, I might’ve memorized the Saintess route.
But this was an incredibly dangerous character. I hadn’t even tried to explore her path.
‘Being the emperor’s only son is a huge factor.’
If you get involved, you could really end up dead. In the game, at least there were loopholes to force an end.
Here, it was impossible.
“But, Licht.”
“What is it, Kainel?”
“Do you know what a swordsmanship exchange means?”
“I don’t.”
“Helmet guy, you really don’t? It’s like exchanging letters with—hmph!”
“…Ariel, hush.”
Kainel clamped a hand over the red-haired mage’s mouth. Oh, her face is turning red. An unexpected win.
Who knew the crown prince’s brief response would help me?
“Yikes.”
“Good luck, Licht.”
Ariel’s eyes wobbled slightly as Kainel let out a relieved sigh. Her lips must’ve brushed against his palm.
So 24% affection wasn’t going to cut it.
I dreaded having to raise the love percentage even higher.
“You should focus on yourself.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I shot a pointed remark at the clueless mutt. Honestly, whenever you say stuff like that, it feels like disaster is looming, but seeing you two flirt somehow makes me feel at ease.
“Who knows? Let’s just say there’s something.”
“Pfft. Helmet guy, have a good exchange…”
“I understand, Ariel.”
At that moment, Kainel’s hand fell away, and her lips parted.
Both of them looked awkward, unsure how to handle the lingering feeling. Their eyes were bigger than usual, as if in shock.
“Ariel, uh, sorry. Did I scare you?”
“No, Kai. I kind of butted in too much…”
“Go on ahead… Licht. Should I wash my hands now…?”
There was a faint, romantic vibe between them
. Now *this* was the original game’s mood.
“…Idiot, dummy, sea anemone.”
“What is it now, Ariel?”
“I don’t know. Figure it out, Kai!”
And why are they walking in perfect sync while saying that? The distance between them hasn’t even changed.
That’s a good flag. At least I wouldn’t be seeing Kainel’s harem route. Ariel clearly held the reins in that relationship.
I couldn’t help but laugh inwardly. I’d better not laugh out loud.
“Go on ahead, Helmet guy.”
“Understood.”
Rather than trusting that mutt next door, it was safer to rely on the red cat’s advice.
If I linger too long, I’ll never clear my thoughts and will end up in the middle of a mess. I never really had a choice in the first place.
“Well then, I’ll see you at the dorms later, Kainel.”
For now, I’d face this head-on and figure it out as I went.