“You need the will to believe you can cut.”
“Honestly, that doesn’t sound believable.”
The knight in heavy armor tilted his head in confusion. He really did seem hollow inside—like an empty glass.
I picked up my sword again and decided to throw out a line that might help me escape the crown prince route.
“The reason I wield a sword is to bring happiness to someone unfortunate.”
“Who is it?”
“I’m simply repaying a favor, so it’s a secret.”
“Repaying…?”
“I’ll never tell you. I’m going to use this spoiler-laden line to stack up flags properly,” I thought to myself as I continued to reflect on Kainel’s true nature. If it applied to him, it would eventually apply to me too.
“For that person’s sake, I’ll cut down this shadow.”
I stomped down hard on the ground. The blood rushed through my body, concentrating all my senses at the tips of my fingers.
*Slash─*
The shadow of the sword cut deeper and sharper than Mardol’s attempt. It was as if my entire body was filled with the belief that I could cut through shadows.
“I can do this over and over. What do you think, not so easy, is it?”
“…Deceiver.”
Mardol’s voice muttered behind me as he looked at the bisected wooden dummy. I could feel his glare, but I ignored it. Honestly, this was partly revenge from the past.
So please, in this round, don’t cling to our Saintess. I’ll find you a good match elsewhere and tie up that love line properly.
“Well, since it turned out like this, I guess I won’t be learning any magic. Sorry about that.”
I was about to sheath my sword when it happened.
“No, Licht.”
Suddenly, Mardol stepped closer to me. So close that our helmets almost touched. Even though I had made all sorts of attempts to derail this route, why was it going like this?
“This much is enough.”
“No, this is a failure. Anyway, let’s just say it is!”
A strange feeling crept over me. Was it my fate as the third protagonist to be stuck with him? My thoughts raced faster.
*Grip.*
“What…?”
“Magic, Licht.”
He clasped my hand again. His gauntlet dwarfed mine.
‘This isn’t good! The Saintess route is going off track!’
What did this even mean? I failed to teach him swordsmanship, and I’d dropped all these spoiler lines. What was going wrong? Even the harem crusher, Nex, had gotten friendly with me.
“…Hold still.”
I tried to pull back, but as soon as I twisted my wrist, a spell locked me in place. I couldn’t escape.
“W-Why are you holding my hand like this…?”
“Watch closely.”
Two knights stared at each other.
Our helmets reflected back at one another, and our heights were nearly identical.
If you wanted to describe it as a decalcomania, this would be exactly how it felt. Except I was the only one wearing academy clothes instead of armor. Cold sweat trickled down my back.
“Wait, hold on a second. Can we at least let go of each other’s hands first?”
“With this circuit, it’ll work.”
My brain was scrambling to keep up. Was this guy really going to be the one to take my second? Why did he have such monstrous strength?
All I could do was wiggle my fingers, a pitiful form of resistance. The bloodline of the Wolf King was truly OP. If I had known, I’d have been born the son of one of the Ten Greats too.
Then, the Glass Knight in front of me spoke.
「Merak.」
As Mardol finished the incantation, a sphere of light materialized between us. It floated upward like a soap bubble, gradually illuminating the surroundings like a miniature sun.
He had twisted the concept of glass and light reflection.
‘So that’s why it’s like a soap bubble.’
I understood quickly. There was no choice but to go along with it. He seemed ready to call the Imperial Guard if necessary.
“…This is a lighting spell.”
“Yes. Now, do it.”
There was a faint clink as his helmet shifted. His structure seemed eerily similar to mine.
“Huh? Now? You know I don’t have any mana, right?”
“You’ll manage.”
I didn’t even have gloves—his hand felt cold, like I was holding onto transparent glass. Despite it being the second time he had held my hand, the smoothness of it felt unsettling.
「…Merak?」
It was worth a shot. I closed my eyes tightly and chanted the spell.
‘I can’t let her die again.’
I’m sorry, wolf-eared Saintess. The Demon Kings are too cruel, so I had no choice but to become stronger. Inside, I scrambled to think of any excuse I could offer.
“Huh? It worked?”
“Of course. It worked.”
Floating gently above Mardol’s head was a tiny sphere of light. It was more like a small bubble, but…
…I had succeeded.
“Why did that work? How did you do that?”
“The circuit, it’s mine.”
Mardol’s voice buzzed from inside his helmet.
“Ah, so because my body’s mana pathways are blocked, you implemented the magic on my behalf?”
“A temporary fix.”
I was stunned. So it *was* possible to use magic through an intermediary like this? After all, Nex had forced magic through my body yesterday.
Dennis had said all I needed to do was refill my mana. Wasn’t this just a workaround?
‘I might actually be able to use magic.’
Excited by the sudden realization, I raised my voice.
“What if I used magic circles to cast spells—!”
“That’s not possible.”
A flat refusal. But why? Using a person as a magical medium worked, so why not a magic circle? I was still wondering about this, even as I remembered my hands were still tightly clasped.
Could it be…?
“In the end, it’s about your body.”
“So, I need to fix this condition before I can properly cast spells… Understood.”
“Exactly. You’re smart.”
Of course, the game’s mechanics were the same as in the first installment. None of this had changed, only the characters around me had.
I lowered my head, feeling a sense of defeat.
“I’m sorry…”
“No, you did teach me magic, didn’t you?”
“No, you’re wrong.”
“So, in the end, I can’t use magic?”
“Yeah…”
For the second time, I saw him looking dejected.
“It’s not over yet, Licht.”
From inside his helmet, his golden eyes glowed. The more I saw them, the more they reminded me of the Saintess. Perhaps the gold came from their shared wolf bloodline.
“What?”
“…Instead, let’s exchange swordsmanship.”
His grip on my hand finally loosened.
“But I didn’t teach you the Shadow Slash properly.”
“You did.”
Wait, this wasn’t some kind of romance subplot, was it? Was this the ally route? He bowed his head slightly, as if apologizing. There should’ve been a chance for a pinkish mood here, shouldn’t there?
‘He’s too kind…’
He wasn’t a bad person. He could have pretended not to know anything and let me go. In the end, he had told me how to use the *Merak* spell.
“You can become stronger, Licht.”
Ah, so this was about my strength all along. For a moment, I almost respected him again.
“…Understood.”
For once, his words were lengthy. Since there wouldn’t be any more hand-holding, I might as well learn what he wanted to teach. There was no harm in it for me.
“All right.”
“I’ll teach you ‘Wolf Fang.’”
The Gransia style. Specifically, this was a reinterpretation of one of the Ten Greats’ techniques.
Mardol charged forward. The air cracked as he moved. He was incredibly fast.
“Move like a wolf would bite.”
“So you leave your body to instinct. This is the opposite of my swordsmanship, isn’t it?”
“You’re smart.”
It was a basic form of swordsmanship—Wolf Fang. That day, I learned a new technique.
Immediately after, Mardol suggested we start sparring.
“So that’s what you wanted to teach me.”
“Yes, Licht.”
My shadow had been slightly cut just now. You really are a Mary Sue character, aren’t you? My weapon clanged with a metallic *ting* despite there being no direct hit.
“…You’re such a deceiver.”
“You too.”
His response came after I answered with Wolf Fang.
In the end, both the Dark Knight and the Glass Knight realized they could master each other’s techniques by clashing their swords.
In a world without phone numbers,
The two knights exchanged swordsmanship as if leaving behind traces of themselves.