EP.81 23-2. Who is the uninvited guest?
The summer festival had begun. The academy was packed with people and bustling with activity,
“The Magic Club’s haunted house booth is here! Come and join us!”
“Ariel, it’s starting soon, so let’s get ready to go in.”
“Okay! I understand! Kain…!”
Couples were holding hands or wandering around fun booths together.
“Licht, what are you doing…?”
“I’m just enjoying the view. Ah, Mardol, is there anything you’d like to do at the festival?”
“Not really. Nothing.”
Memories and happiness mixed together, making the whole world seem buoyant. Except for us two. Mardol, dressed as Kuer, stared at me blankly.
“...Licht.”
“What is it?”
No matter how much I thought about it, this person didn’t seem to have any connections with anyone. I wondered if there were people like Dennis who needed to catch a Demon Lord to get a love line.
“...Are you enjoying the festival?”
“Well… of course? Because I can see scenes I don’t normally get to see.”
“I see.”
The tree monster lowered her head. Why was she so gloomy again? Was she scared the Imperial Guard would show up? I cautiously said to her,
“Perhaps… are you not enjoying the festival?”
“...I don’t know. It’s just a lot of people.”
“That’s what’s good about it.”
“Huh…?”
What a great time to watch the Pure Love Dark Knight. It was a pity she didn’t know this joy.
“Look over there.”
“A harpy and… an oni?”
Right. I pointed to a woman with bird wings and a man with horns, sticking close and walking side by side.
“They look hot.”
“It’s still early summer, so of course?”
My lips naturally curled up inside my helmet. The oni man was hesitant, while the harpy woman smiled slyly and got even closer.
“...Why are they?”
“Maybe those two like each other? They’re like friends who are just one step away from becoming lovers.”
“How do you know that…?”
“I have a feeling.”
I deliberately spoke a little louder so Kainel and Ariel could hear. My voice echoed from the burning helmet Mardol was holding,
“Hiyak.”
“...”
The yellow Cerberus and red Cheshire Cat, who were finishing preparations for their booth next to us, looked at me in surprise. I hoped they would quickly develop their relationship and get married.
“Don’t you feel that fresh sensation?”
“...I don’t know. They’re just embarrassed.”
Golden wolf eyes seemed to shine from within the helmet covered with branches. Was I still the only one who saw her coldness?
I habitually rested my hand on my chin and pondered. It would be quite troublesome if the main heroine was like this. She always had to be at the center of the pandemonium.
I couldn’t always be around Mardol to help. Eventually, I had to connect other couples too.
‘What will happen to this person’s love line?’
I gave a bitter smile. I wondered if a character who could truly love this glass knight could ever appear.
After all, she was someone whose own mother had been turned into a card because of Magic Hat. It was rare to find someone who could understand her and help her from the side…
‘There’s no use worrying about this. Really.’
I stopped thinking, lamenting myself for the sudden dizzying sensation I felt.
Love is fair. There’s also a saying that every dog has its day. I, who was like a sewer rat, had changed a lot after meeting the Nameless Saintess.
‘I habitually thought negatively. I need to fix this too….’
Just like unlocking the Northern Grand Duchess’s affection. Maybe if I caught Magic Hat, she would meet a good person and naturally start dating.
I was relieved that her emotions seemed to be returning a bit, but it seemed too much to ask since the Magic Hat incident hadn’t been resolved yet.
‘It’s rare to find a gigolo like that.’
What mattered was the heart. Even if it wavered, it just couldn’t break. Like me, the glass knight still seemed to have a chance for recovery.
“I’m sure you’ll realize it someday, Mardol.”
“Will Licht tell me?”
“...As a ‘friend,’ I will help.”
“Wow. I got a promise.”
Mardol said it was a promise as if she had been waiting for me to encourage her. I was only helping her as a ‘friend.’
It was often said that friendship didn’t exist in male-female relationships.
But there was no relationship like mine and Mardol’s anywhere in the world. We were rivals and friends. I said it twice because it was important.
“I’m only thinking of giving you advice as a friend. It’s not like it’s a promise….”
“It’s not a promise?”
“It’s not like I’m doing it because I want to.”
The main heroine. No, I was recently convinced that I wouldn’t have gotten involved with this person if I hadn’t misunderstood her for the Crown Prince in the first place.
At least I thought Magic Hat had changed her gender.
‘I didn’t know she was a new character, a princess.’
I lacked information in the necessary areas, and had too much information in the unnecessary ones. It was largely my negligence that we had gotten so close.
“But Licht’s eyes. They look happy.”
“Me? There’s no way.”
“...Liar.”
Even so, I couldn’t just push away someone who looked so pitiful just because she was a woman. She was also kind.
She had cried in my arms at the confectionery store. She had noticed my trauma and worried about me, and she was the first person I met after the fight with Magic Hat.
‘Even then, she must have been constantly looking for me.’
A heart more fragile than anyone else was hidden inside her strong-looking armor. People were contradictory beings, so even if I was oblivious, I knew that much.
“Don’t regret it later. If you try to make a reverse harem, I’ll punish you right away.”
This level of consideration should be enough. She was someone I knew too much about to dislike now. I chuckled inwardly and spoke to her.
“...I’ll be looking forward to it.”
It seemed she had been aiming for my reaction from the start. She found it fun to tease me, leaning forward and showing blatant interest.
‘Is she really a wolf?’
Her golden eyes were crescent-shaped like someone else, making me feel like I was dealing with Nex Aureus.
I felt like a black wolf’s tail was moving inside her.
I sighed slightly. Actually, I didn’t mind even if flags were gradually piling up.
There was absolutely no way Mardol would become a priority in my heart over our Saintess.
“Mardol, get ready. The festival is really starting now.”
“Three promises, Licht.”
“I know…”
I changed the subject to avoid falling deeper into the trap, but it only reaffirmed her excellent memory.
‘The first is to take care of the Nameless Saintess. The second is the Dragon Heart… the last one is helping with romance as a friend.’
There were no words that could become flags. Besides, no matter how high her affection level rose, it wouldn’t turn into a romantic relationship, so it should be fine.
“I’ll hold the helmet. Licht. Tell me if you’re having a hard time.”
“...Thank you.”
I moved my heavy feet that felt heavier than usual and walked into the club’s booth.
***
At that moment. At the main gate of Grand Hearts Academia.
“Identification check. Elder.”
“Oh dear… I’ve really fallen a lot.”
Head was expressing his difficulty, blocked by two men guarding the entrance. A gentleman making an unavoidable expression.
“The time is, one minute late.”
“We may use binding magic if you do not comply.”
“Don’t rush me. Surely the Magic Tower’s permit is…”
Seeing the guards, he was about to take something out from his pocket, but as soon as he did, the person in front of him immediately threatened him with a spear.
“Raise both arms!”
“...Alright. Alright. I can’t beat the vigor of you young ones.”
As if he had expected it. Head willingly raised both arms. Then, the permit fell to the floor with a thud. It was a small parchment that read: “Sage of the Magic Tower.”
“Ah, by the way, I’ll warn you.”
The Demon Lord leisurely warned the two men approaching him.
“Don’t touch my body.”
Ignoring Head, the two guards in armor patted down his suit, checking for any dangerous items.
“What is this…?”
How much time had passed? One of the guards found something in Head’s pocket.
“A magical tool…?”
“It’s obviously a strange item. Seize it immediately… seize it?”
The item in his hand was an eight-shot revolver with a striking red color. An anomaly that didn’t fit with medieval fantasy.
“Ugh…?”
“Hee…”
At that moment, the two men’s focus blurred and they fell to the floor. Drooling, they collapsed and crawled on all fours.
“...Did they touch the Holy Sword.”
Head didn’t react much, as if he were familiar with the scene.
“Waah! Waaaaah!!”
The guards, who were crying and looking for their mothers, seemed to have been attacked by something before they could even react with spears or magic.
“That’s why I told you to be careful. Hmm, surely the name is…”
It was as if something was about to come to his mind but stopped. He leisurely moved forward. Even with the guards acting strangely like babies right in front of the academy,
“...There’s no time to calculate again. I’m sorry. At least you spared your lives.”
The people around him didn’t seem to care. The crowd was chattering and enjoying the festival as if nothing had happened.
“If you had touched it a bit more, you would have forgotten how to breathe… consider this your luck.”
The Demon Lord sighed, picked up his revolver that had fallen on the floor, and put away the permit that read “Sage” again.
“Well then, what kind of hero will the protagonist of the anomaly shown in the grade exam be?”
Head smiled as if something was pleasant. It was unexpected that his calculations were off, but he had anticipated this level of variable.
“Emotion, intellect, reason, will… it was definitely swordsmanship, so he must be a hero from Tarhoon.”
The screams that sounded like a child’s crying grew farther away, and the entrance to Grand Hearts Academia’s summer festival, which was written largely, appeared before his eyes.
“First, I’ll try to persuade him… and if he’s not a person who fits my ‘prophecy.’”
He stroked the revolver in his pocket and continued to speak. A magazine with only one bullet missing.
“...I’ll have to eliminate him. With the most probable method.”
As Head blended into the crowd, the surrounding air vibrated and felt momentarily cold.