EP.78 21-4. Emotions Like a Launched Firework.
***
Inside a Weapon Shop in the Empire—
"Hah! How about this one?!"
"...I’d like something else."
"What? You don’t like this one either? Then how about this helmet?!"
A black-bearded dwarf was loudly arguing with a tree monster.
"Mardol..."
"What, Licht?"
Mardol wandered around the shop, shaking her head in disapproval.
"Can’t we just keep my costume simple?"
"No."
She kept examining the helmets that the dwarf and I had selected, clearly still undecided.
She was picky.
Was it because she was a princess?
"Can you bring out all the helmets? Only the black ones."
"Hope you don’t regret it, customer!"
The dwarf let out a hearty laugh and carried a box larger than himself to the back of the shop.
"What kind of helmet are you even looking for?"
This wasn’t even her costume—it was mine.
Did she have some kind of romanticized image of the Dullahan?
Otherwise, there was no reason for her to be this invested.
"...Dark Knight."
Ah.
She wanted one that looked like my helmet.
A black one.
I’d also need to buy a light armor set to match.
"Isn’t that too expensive? I still need to buy armor."
"I’ll pay for it, Licht."
"Please don’t. You can’t buy friends with money."
This kind of thing could easily become a liability.
Besides, flaunting wealth wasn’t always a good thing.
I was reminded of Lupus, who was treated like a walking piggy bank in Black Heart.
‘Maybe it’s because they’re both royalty. There are similarities.’
That meant she was probably beautiful, too.
Maybe she had black hair and wolf ears—
Wait. That would make her the complete opposite of our Saintess, both in appearance and personality.
I rested my chin on my hand, deep in thought.
Would it be okay to maintain this ambiguous relationship?
‘If I get too involved, the Grand Route Ending could get messy. And if I drift too far, I might lose my connection with our Saintess…’
She wasn’t a bad person.
Actually, she was too good of a person.
That made things complicated.
"Licht, what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
"...Liar."
I sighed.
She was a protagonist of Knight Heart Trilogy, after all.
Most main characters were good-hearted.
Dennis was, Kainel was—
And as a protagonist, she likely had her own romance route separate from mine.
‘If I had known she was a woman from the start, I wouldn’t have thought about this so much.’
This was why I usually ignored main heroines.
I was afraid of not being able to save them—just like during the final battle in the sequel.
Some might say, “It’s just a game character, why worry so much?”
‘But I owe my life to someone.’
I was saved by our Saintess.
She was the one light in my world of darkness.
The person who had given me hope.
She had saved not a protagonist, but a supporting character.
Maybe that was all someone needed—just a small place to rest to keep going.
"..."
In a world this cold, people needed those moments.
With Demon Lords everywhere, there had to be something to hold onto.
Finishing my thoughts, I looked at Mardol.
"Licht, why are you suddenly staring at me...?"
"I was thinking about you."
"...What?"
Mardol Gransia.
I already knew so much about her.
She was involved with Magic Hat, forced to hide her identity.
That was why she wore Glass Armor.
Right now, she looked more like a giant tree monster because of her costume, but—
"Licht... Wait. Why are you actually serious?"
She was tragic.
Unfortunate.
A princess burdened with wealth and power, yet left with nothing else.
She was too much like me.
That similarity kept nagging at me.
She had probably struggled to find someone to lean on.
Just like I had.
"I just... worry about you, Mardol."
"...Why?"
"You remind me of someone I know."
A bitter smile crossed my lips.
Maybe I was arrogantly assuming things.
Maybe this was unwanted sympathy.
She could call me a hypocrite or say it was pity. I didn’t care.
"That person again?"
"No. Someone different."
"...Licht."
I knew now that people didn’t need grand sacrifices or immense efforts to be saved.
The Nameless Saintess had taught me that.
"I just hope you open your heart to others, not just me."
"..."
Sometimes, a single kind word was enough to save someone.
‘It’d be best if she overcame some of her past trauma. That way, she can remain an ally.’
If I pushed her away now, things could turn disastrous.
Shoving away a developed heroine?
That could lead to a fallen route or even a hostile turn.
‘She could lock me in the underground palace of the royal castle.’
Or we might become enemies.
Judging from everything that had happened so far, that was entirely possible.
A chill ran down my spine.
"I’m still too... weak. I can’t, Licht."
Mardol’s eyes wavered as if something inside her had broken.
Then—
"Here! Every helmet in the shop you asked for!"
The dwarf returned, carrying a box larger than himself.
With a loud thud, he dropped it onto the floor.
"...Mm. Good."
"That’s a lot of helmets. I didn’t think black ones were this common."
"Hah! Do you take dwarven craftsmanship lightly?! This is nothing!"
Dozens of black helmets filled the box.
Mardol inspected each one carefully, turning them over in her hands as if searching for the perfect match for me.
"...It needs to look uglier than your current one. Rejected."
What kind of weird criteria was that?
Sighing, I rummaged through the box as well.
One immediately caught my attention—it had a rough, unpolished finish.
"Oh! You’ve got an eye for quality, customer! That one’s our best seller!"
"...This seems like a good choice."
"I should’ve known from the helmet you’re already wearing!"
The dwarf suddenly said something strange.
‘That helmet?’
Was he talking about my special edition helmet?
I raised a hand to touch my headpiece.
"Are you talking about this?"
"Yeah! It even looks like it has underwater breathing capabilities! Where did you get gear like that?!"
"...I got lucky."
By landing a global first kill on a raid boss.
I had earned this after defeating Magic Hat.
I had suspected it was special, but was it that rare?
Did dwarves just naturally recognize high-quality gear?
"It looks just like something The Immovable Mountain would’ve made! You can see his signature wave pattern!"
"Then this one was also made by one of the Ten Greats...?"
"Nah, that one’s just something I copied! It just looks high-quality!"
So my helmet was at least on the same tier as Mardol’s Masterpiece armor.
Not that it mattered—
It was cursed.
Bound to me like a piece of garbage equipment that couldn’t be unequipped.
This game had plenty of high-rank but useless gear.
‘Maybe my helmet’s hidden ability is the status window.’
It was the only power unique to me.
It made sense.
‘Still... I wish it had been a Holy Sword instead.’
A sigh slipped from my lips.
Fighting the Demon Lords would be easier with a weapon, not some fancy helmet.
That was why I had to forge a fake Holy Sword in my mind just to compensate.
"Let’s go with this one."
"...I agree, Mardol."
Before I could dwell on it further, Mardol nodded at my selection.
"It’s probably expensive. Are you sure your wallet can handle it?"
"It’s fine. Do you have armor as well?"
"Of course! A fine choice!"
She pulled out something golden and handed it over.
It was an Imperial Gold Coin with a wolf insignia.
I blinked in disbelief.
"Mardol, hold on—"
"Quick, let’s finish the payment."
"Hahaha! You two must be quite close!"
Absolutely not.
This was strictly a business relationship.
I reached out to stop her, but she blocked me with one hand.
The strength of a Wolf King’s heir.
I had been too shocked to react in time.
How did this happen?
I had dodged all the relationship flags—hadn’t I?
"This armor’s pricey, too. You’re the first customer to buy both a helmet and armor at once!"
"...It looks fancy. Ugly."
"Exactly! This one’s more for decoration than combat! That’s why it has to look ugly!"
The dwarf didn’t seem to mind her harsh words.
He was already grinning at the sight of the gold coin.
Dwarves really were obsessed with money.
"Mardol, you really didn’t need to do this."
"It’s fine, Licht. I wanted to do this for you."
This was too much.
Before I realized it, she had already brought over the black armor set.
"Come on, try it on."
"...Fine."
With no way out, I ended up fully armored before heading back to the clubroom.
"Yes. It’s exactly how I imagined it."
"..."
The mirror reflected a Dark Knight.
It looked eerily similar to my Fallen Route Glitch appearance, but it matched my helmet better than anything else.
"You have a good eye."
"Yes. Licht. How did you know?"
Her golden wolf-like eyes curved into a crescent as she smiled.
***
Originally, I had only planned to buy materials.
But somehow, I had ended up completing my costume, too.
"...I wonder how Kainel will react when we return."
"He’ll probably fall over in shock."
I was now a Dullahan carrying my helmet, while she was a forest guardian disguised as Cuere.
Both of us represented protectors in different ways—
She, a tree monster guarding the forest,
Me, a knight sacrificing himself for someone else.
"Awoo~ Awwooo~"
"Cuere doesn’t howl like that."
Mardol curled her branch-covered hands into paws and let out a wolf-like cry.
It was unsettling.
Something about her kept overlapping with someone else.
I couldn’t let that happen.
"Then how about grrr...?"
"That’s wrong too. Try krrrk instead."
There’s a saying—blood is thicker than water.
Lupus had resembled our Saintess in some ways, so maybe this was natural.
As I sank into nostalgia—
"Huh? Mardol. Look over there."
Something caught my eye.
A carriage was speeding through the capital’s streets—
A child directly in its path.
"Hiiiiiing!!"
There was no time to hesitate.
Wolf Fang.
I sprinted forward.
Clang.
The helmet I had just bought fell to the ground.
I didn’t have time to pick it up.
A small figure in a mage’s hat sat frozen, about to be run over.
The coachman yanked on the reins, but the horses were moving too fast.
The dust cloud proved it was too late.
‘Am I too slow...?!’
The child cowered, crying.
I had no weapon.
I couldn’t cut through the carriage.
I couldn’t grab the child and escape—the distance was too short.
I would have to take the hit and hope the kid survived.
I braced myself—
"...Be careful, Licht."
Then—
Mardol’s magic lifted me and the child into the air.
A transparent floor of glass formed beneath us as the carriage sped past.
"Mardol... thank you."
What had been solid ground moments ago had carried us upward like a floating carpet.
No one was injured.
Everything should have been fine.
But then—
"...Daddy?"
"What?"
The small girl I had just saved—
With black hair and wide eyes—
Looked up at me and spoke.
"Dark Knight armor... You are Daddy!"
I AM A LIFELONG BACHELOR.