EP.70 19-4. The Difference Between a Guard Dog and a Wolf
***
Inside the men’s dormitory at the academy, Kainel had noticed I didn’t seem well and suggested I take a day off.
“…I’m losing my mind.”
Left alone, I rummaged through my notes, checking if there were any details I had overlooked. I searched for information on all members of the Gransia royal family.
“Why isn’t Mardol’s name listed anywhere?”
Like Lupus, she had black hair, wolf ears, and golden eyes. Plus, she was undoubtedly a woman. Her reactions had confirmed that much. The striking white hair of certain individuals had always been the anomaly.
“Could she really be a new heroine?”
It would make sense, even if she had been hastily added. She was the complete opposite of the Northern Duke’s daughter, who that lazy guy supposedly liked.
Reversing the traits of a popular character often led to another popular one. Either that or slapping on new clothes and claiming it was a different archetype.
They even released swimsuit versions of characters in the middle of winter.
But why doesn’t our saintess have a swimsuit version? Thinking about it annoyed me. I closed the notebook with a huff, feeling irritated for no reason.
Mardol’s real name was likely Mardol Gransia. The theory that she was a stand-in had already been debunked. She was a completely separate person.
Just like how Lupus appeared out of nowhere in the sequel, could easily pull the same stunt. After all, the creator of that cursed sequel had personally haunted me.
I frowned deeply. Was I supposed to give up on our saintess? To watch her walk down the aisle in a wedding dress for another man?
To make matters worse, the character I’d inhabited was the Dark Knight, a name synonymous with sacrifice for love. They might’ve done it deliberately to torment me.
If I couldn’t get closer to our saintess, I felt like biting my tongue and ending it all. She had already endured enough misfortune.
“She didn’t even have a name and lacked abilities, so players treated her as disposable….”
Anyone who played knew the norm: keep her as a healer early on, then replace her later.
Even I, who relied on skill and equipment to brute force my way through, found it hard to fight with her in the backline. She was just that weak.
“…But her heart was stronger than anyone’s.”
Despite her shortcomings, she always worried about others and saved me with a warmth that surpassed anyone else’s. “Even a rat’s hole sees the light of day,” they say. That was exactly it.
I lay back on the bed and stretched a hand toward the magic lamp on the ceiling. Like trying to grasp light itself, I wondered if I would ever get close to her at this rate.
A vision of a pristine white-haired woman came to mind, warily watching me as if I was building a harem. As someone devoted to pure love, she would struggle with my growing closeness to Mardol. You can’t cover the sun with your hand, after all. I let out a bitter laugh.
She was already tied to the Demon Lords. I couldn’t afford for her to face any more danger. Shutting my eyes tightly, I tried to push away the negative thoughts.
“…It feels like I’m missing something important.”
The question lingered in my mind, sharpening my senses. Why was Mardol so entangled with me?
“Was it from the Shadow Wolf incident? Maybe. Dijur-sensei did mention something.”
Maybe tweaking the hero couple’s path and putting them in that carriage together had been the butterfly effect’s starting point. That’s where I met the butler and where Mardol’s curiosity about me likely began.
She was someone obsessed with strength. To her, the Drake-style swordsmanship must have been captivating. There was also the fact that my master had only accepted me as his student.
“…And then I mistook her for Lupus.”
Overloaded with information, I had fallen into confirmation bias. If I hadn’t known so much about the game, I wouldn’t have made such an error.
If she really was a woman, sticking to a companion route was probably safest. I needed to confirm it during the next opportunity. Ignoring unknowns had always been dangerous here.
“Magic Hat was also a woman… And in Nex’s case, not knowing almost got Charitines senior killed.”
Being a prequel, there were too many unpredictable variables. As if trying to save our saintess wasn’t hard enough, I didn’t even have someone to confide my worries in.
Ah, now that I thought about it, I had once asked Mardol to look after the Nameless Saintess.
Everything was so tangled now that unraveling it seemed impossible. Even the recent situation was a mess.
“…Licht, you lie too.”
The beginning had already gone astray. We were both harboring secrets. Was she just that intuitive, or did she suspect I was someone possessing Licht?
“Is my lying that obvious?”
I sighed. Even that oblivious golden retriever had commented on it, and Ariel had scolded me too. Lies, like snowballs, only grew bigger as they rolled along.
It was my own cowardice that had caused all this. Telling people I was a transmigrator and asking for help…?
No. I could never do that. Who in the world would believe “You’re a character in a game”? Even I, living as Licht, experienced this world as vividly as reality.
“What am I supposed to do now?”
From what I could predict, I needed to continue the academy’s romantic storylines without contradictions to reach the Grand Route for our saintess.
“What’s her love line, anyway?”
A sudden thought sent shivers down my spine.
Could it be me?
I had no tolerance for romance with anyone else, and the idea of dating someone else only pushed me further away from our saintess. That wasn’t even an option for me.
‘What if I can’t follow the “Saintess Route”? What if I fail to grow closer to her and can’t protect her…?’
I lowered my head, overwhelmed by the chaos in my mind. Was it impossible for things to be solved by pure feelings alone?
“Let’s stop, Lee Soo-hyun. Overthinking won’t change anything.”
I stood up, grabbed the Pure Love Imbuer #2, and gripped its hilt tightly. Today, the signs of my hard work stood out more than usual.
Seeing those marks of effort gave me an odd sense of pride. They felt like the footprints of the life I had walked.
If I were to meet the saintess now, I could confidently say, “I’ve done my best for you.”
“…Because the saintess is someone special to me.”
I smiled as the thought filled me with joy. Just imagining her gave me the strength to stand tall.
‘The person who saved me.’
Some say time heals all wounds. Others ask how someone could love a person for 15 years. For me, it just happened. No one else caught my eye.
She was too radiant for me. Like fireworks illuminating a pitch-black night sky, she shone brighter the darker things got, reminding me of her preciousness.
‘The person who made me believe in love.’
Some say to let go, that first loves never work out. I knew that too. That’s why it was so valuable and even more endearing.
I wanted to see her snowy wolf ears twitching faintly, their small movements betraying her joy. I wanted to savor the sight of those ears folding back adorably when she was happy.
‘The person I care for.’
The cynical remarks about fleeting love held no meaning for me. I wanted to make her happy, no matter what it took.
This world, with its four Demon Lords, was too cold a place for someone like her.
‘The person I love.’
In this moment, I loved her.
“…That’s all there is to it.”
Love’s depth was immeasurable, its intensity indescribable, and no one had the right to trivialize someone else’s feelings.
With my heart now settled, I knew what I needed to do in the grade exams.
I had to obtain the Mana Rose and gift it to her later.
That was the best I could do for now. As for worrying about romance with the princess, it wouldn’t matter as long as I kept our relationship strictly platonic.
***
And so, time passed.
[The final day of the grade examinations has arrived!]
In the center of the circular arena, two knights stood—one clad in black, the other in white.
“Hello, Licht.”
“Good day… Mr Mardol.”
When I reverted her title to its original form, the glass knight flinched slightly, her body betraying a hint of unease. Watching her reaction, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Huh…?”
How endearing. When we first met, she had seemed so cold, but she had changed a lot since then.
“Didn’t you dislike it?”
“…Yes.”
Mardol gave a small nod. Of course, someone who went to such lengths to conceal her identity with masterpiece-grade armor wouldn’t want it revealed.
‘This must be the correct path for the companion route.’
That was the conclusion I had reached after much deliberation. I didn’t know how to interact with women, but treating her like a male comrade should work just fine.
Kainel got along with me well enough. He and Ariel were lovey-dovey on the side, and my lack of dating experience hadn’t been an issue so far.
“Thanks to our saintess, I’ve learned about romance through games.” That’s me—a guy who could pull it off.
“…Licht.”
As I drifted into thought, she raised her sword and called my name.
“I don’t know you well, Licht.”
Her golden eyes, glowing through the helmet, were no longer gentle. A cold, razor-sharp aura surrounded her, sharpening all my senses.
“…The same goes for me.”
It was true. From beginning to end, I knew very little about her. I drew the sword at my waist. My opponent was a heroine who bore the blood of Emperor Roque.
[Licht, the Dark Knight in black armor, faces Mardol, the White Knight in shining glass armor!]
Thinking about it, our encounter had been strange. Though we appeared to be opposites, we were alike in many ways.
[Black versus white—two knights who cannot coexist now clash! Who will claim the top spot among the academy freshmen?]
One of us was obsessed with strength, the other with the saintess. Both of us struggled to be honest with our hearts. How much sadness had we each endured alone?
Yesterday’s exchange and the words we shared in the training ground came to mind. I always seemed to hurt Mardol in some way.
“That’s why I want to—”
This fight might reveal many things. Talking wouldn’t help anymore. Swordsmen were the kind to speak through their blades.
My heart raced as I listened to her declaration of intent. This was a chance to witness the magic-based combat she would unleash.
“…Show me.”
Her voice, echoing from within the glass helmet, resonated across the arena.
[The final match of the grade exams at Grand Hearts Academia begins now!]
Mardol’s golden wolf eyes gleamed as the duel commenced.