EP.74 0-4. To Know Love
***
Phine Gransia sighed in her room.
“I deliberately placed second, Licht.”
It was because she had no idea that Licht had wanted the Mana Rose.
The way he left the arena like that, received the rose at the awards ceremony, and genuinely looked happy.
“...I got played.”
From the start, his target had been the Mana Rose. Her keen eyes quickly saw through it. As she kept thinking about the man wearing the Dark Knight’s helmet—
“Hehe.”
She suddenly found herself laughing. His reaction when he first saw her body was adorable. Like a frightened puppy running away from a stranger.
“...Pervert.”
Though, he wasn’t actually that much of a pervert. He had taken off his own shirt to cover her and had desperately tried not to look at her figure any further.
‘His face turned red all the way up to his neck, like an apple.’
At first, when her Masterpiece armor had been stripped away, she had been utterly flustered. She had thought one of her strengths had been shattered and that she would no longer be able to protect those dear to her.
“...He was kind. Licht.”
But Licht had deliberately cast shadows to block the view, making sure that neither the audience nor the other academy students discovered her gender.
‘Well, according to Licht, Magic Hat possesses the Power of Falsehood.’
If someone dear to him had fallen victim to Magic Hat, that would make sense. The fear of someone disguising themselves as a familiar face—
Confirming the truth was terrifying, but it was something she had to do eventually.
She couldn’t shake the thought that if she had just told Licht outright that she was a girl when he asked, none of this would have happened.
‘It’s my fault too...’
She had asked the academy professors, Charitines, and even Nex to help keep her identity hidden as much as possible.
And with Nex, who was skilled in deception, going around calling her ‘Crown Prince,’ it only solidified the illusion.
“...Is it okay to be weak in front of Licht?”
Licht was gradually stirring something in her heart. He had told her it was okay even if she didn’t wear armor.
She had thought that if she wasn’t strong, she was meaningless. But he told her to rely on others a little more.
Maybe what she really needed wasn’t a thick glass armor—
But someone like Licht, someone she could trust and depend on.
“...Still, he’d probably hate this hair.”
She took off her helmet and removed her armor. Her snow-white hair cascaded down to her waist. She gazed at herself in the mirror, gently touching her hair.
“It’s unsightly.”
Extreme stress from past events—
That was why her hair and tail color differed from the rest of her family.
The day she believed Magic Hat had killed her mother. It was a scar left by her own helplessness that day—an indelible mark of guilt.
If the spectators, or Licht, had seen this, they would have found it unsettling. Rumors might even spread, questioning whether she was truly of royal blood.
She stopped touching her hair with sorrowful eyes. Even with these flaws, she had to become stronger. Licht had said he had reached his position because he was weak.
‘But why did he want the Mana Rose so badly?’
The more she thought about Licht, the more a contradiction nagged at her.
If he needed it for magic, the Dragon Heart she had won for placing first would have been far more useful. They were both magical catalysts, but the Dragon Heart was far superior.
‘Is it for her again?’
The Nameless Saintess. No matter how she looked at it, that had to be the case. Licht rarely showed his emotions so openly. Phine’s golden wolf eyes narrowed.
“...I’m jealous.”
The woman who had helped Licht reach Sword Mastery.
The woman he had spoken of before marching to his death against the Demon Lord.
By all accounts, the current saintess should be her acquaintance, Charitines.
‘The next saintess, huh? The next saintess...’
Who in the world was she? No matter how much she asked Laplace or the Wise One, no answers came. Perhaps she was under the protection of the God of Light.
Had Licht been in contact with her even before coming to the academy? From the way he spoke, that seemed to be the case. Phine pieced together everything she had observed with her sharp eyes.
‘He even placed second just for that, but she didn’t bother to show up to watch his match.’
No matter how many times she scanned the audience or asked the Imperial Guard, there had been no sign of a ‘Nameless Saintess.’ In fact, there wasn’t a single person in the crowd who seemed to know Licht.
‘...I still don’t really understand you, Licht.’
That was one of the reasons she considered him a hero. Even among the Ten Greats, Dennis had few people who knew about his past.
Licht seemed to have too many secrets.
And yet, he was always terrible at lying, always getting caught immediately.
“It doesn’t matter anymore.”
She looked at the small box holding the Dragon Heart.
Whether he was a hero or not—
Whether that ‘Nameless Saintess’ was more important to him—
None of it mattered to Phine anymore.
“...I have to deliver this to him.”
Without realizing it, Licht had become someone precious to her.
She didn’t want to resent him just because of the heroes from the Heroic Church.
“...”
She gazed at her reflection in the mirror, replaying the events of the day.
And she recalled the words Licht had spoken to her—
That it was okay to be weak.
Warm encouragement, telling her to rely on others a little more.
It had been a day where all those things had felt precious—so much so that she wanted to circle today’s date in red and make it an anniversary. That was how much had changed within her.
Deep in thought, Phine pouted slightly. The image of Licht’s flustered expression kept lingering in her mind.
“...What’s so great about a chest like this, idiot.”
With that, she tried on the lightweight armor a dwarf had crafted for her during her imprisonment. Unlike her glass armor, it clearly revealed her feminine figure.
“Pervert, Licht.”
She was still a little angry about her growing chest. If it had been smaller, it would have been easier to hide her identity, and Licht wouldn’t have been so startled by her body.
“...I’m not taking off my armor yet. I don’t want perverts like Licht swarming me.”
Placing a hand at the center of her chest once more, she re-equipped Masterpiece. The additional heavy armor now concealed her body again.
The girl from moments ago was gone, replaced once more by the Glass Knight—
A tall, imposing knight named Mardol, known for her aloof demeanor.
“So, just wait a little longer.”
But even though she wore the same glass armor, this time, Phine Gransia had shed a bit of the burden in her heart.
With Licht’s coat and the Dragon Heart in hand, she left the imperial palace.
***
After the awards ceremony for the academy exams, I returned alone to the male dormitory.
“...At least I have some time to organize my thoughts.”
Kainel had gone with Ariel to a blacksmith in the empire to see if they could craft a staff using the leaves of the World Tree.
I opened my notebook. No matter how I looked at it, there were too many inconsistencies with the information I knew.
“Is it because this is a prequel? Some really important things aren’t lining up.”
I started writing down everything I knew about Mardol Gransia. The main protagonist of Grand Hearts Academia who wore Masterpiece.
“The Glass Knight. A fitting nickname.”
At times, she was sharp and cold, reflecting back my own self like a mirror.
Every protagonist in the Knight Heart Trilogy had a nickname, so it made sense.
“I couldn’t break Masterpiece, but at least I confirmed her gender.”
At first, I had tried to destroy her glass armor, but after repeated failures, I had to find another way.
The core of mana was the heart.
So all I could do was momentarily sever the link between her heart and her armor to deactivate it. The helmet, however, must have been made separately—it remained intact.
“So the reason her voice kept sounding distorted was because of the helmet.”
That deep, buzzing voice—her equipment was good enough to make anyone mistake her for a man. It was probably Masterpiece-level gear as well.
But in the end, a fake was still a fake. Without a real holy sword, I couldn’t completely sever the connection, which was frustrating.
“...”
The memory of Mardol’s body flashed through my mind, and I shook my head violently. No, our Saintess is the only one. I can’t let myself be fooled by shallow tricks.
‘Get a grip, Lee Soo-hyun.’
In the game, if you got involved with another female character, you would immediately get kicked off the Saintess Route. It must be the same here.
[Kainel♡Ariel 34% ‘NEW!’]
Just then, a transparent status window popped up in front of me.
So the events from the bakery had finally been processed. This damn status window was practically useless. The fact that it didn’t update in real-time was even more frustrating.
Aside from the time with Nex, it had never been helpful to me. It even vaguely hinted that Mardol was a new character in this version.
‘I got penalized when I tried to take down Magic Hat early, too.’
Thinking about it now, the developers must have wanted me to stray from the Saintess Route and get romantically involved with Mardol, the main protagonist of Grand Hearts Academia.
That’s not happening. We’ll just be comrades—nothing more. I do need her help right now, given how weak I still am, but that’s it.
“The Mana Rose... I managed to get it. No more problems now.”
Refocusing myself, I looked at the blue rose in the vase before me. Our Saintess would surely be happy to receive it.
“I knew blue roses were real, but seeing one in person is still fascinating.”
A rose that had turned deep blue from absorbing mana. What was its flower language again? Something like overcoming the impossible? I wasn’t really knowledgeable about this kind of thing.
“I hope our Saintess is okay...”
Worry crept in as I thought about her—
A pure white figure who seemed somehow entangled with the Demon Lord.
Truthfully, the Power of Omniscience wasn’t perfect. There should be traces left behind somewhere. Even if Laplace or the Wise One didn’t know, as in the case of the White Magnolia, there had to be a clue.
“...I’ll find something if I keep searching.”
Dennis had vague memories of the Heavenly Demon. I knew about him, too.
The same applied to Magic Hat. By cross-referencing names from the attendance sheets and checking who had been in certain classrooms, I had been able to track down the victims.
—Knock knock.
As I was pondering the different possibilities, a knock interrupted my thoughts.
“Licht, are you there?”
A buzzing, distorted voice. It was unmistakably Mardol.
Seriously, every time I think about our Saintess, she shows up to block me.
I know she’s the main heroine, but this is getting ridiculous. This is the male dormitory, you know?
“Yes, I’m here.”
With a sigh, I turned the doorknob.
***
While a certain pair was about to meet in the academy dormitory, elsewhere—deep within the Demon Lord’s Castle—
“Looks like there’s a hero in the academy I don’t know about.”
A man wearing a monocle finished moving his pen.
“An unknown factor capable of neutralizing my Authority.”
The book in his hands was filled with so many complex equations that the once-white pages had turned almost black from the sheer density of calculations.
“It would be best to confirm this in person.”
Tucking the black mask Magic Hat had given him into his coat, the man stood up and began preparing to leave.
“...Not even you will be able to overcome the power of two Authorities, hero.”
The Demon Lord of Omniscience, Head Eike.
“Fate cannot be changed.”
And he had set his sights on someone within Grand Hearts Academia.