54-1. Force and force.
***
What is happiness in the first place?
I was lost in thought as I watched Fine congratulate me on the podium.
Is happiness only with money or fame?
If not, will it be the fulfillment of the wish you have been dreaming of all your life?
I found the answer to this question when I met Fine.
‘A normal life.’
Why, don’t there often be cases where the vacancy feels bigger?
Hot home cooked food, harmonious family.
Someone can easily come in contact with it, but those things that no one else can reach.
Even I, who thinks like this, would have lived a miserable life if I hadn’t encountered the game .
She was good at games, but more precisely, she was the one who brought sunlight into my gray life.
So I wanted to do everything I could.
Even if my bank account was empty, if I bought goods related to Night Heart, I would be full even if I didn’t eat that day.
A room now filled with pure white colors.
It was the future Fine who brought me out of an empty room and led me.
If it wasn’t for this miracle, I wouldn’t have been able to stand here.
Five years from now,
She appears as a nameless saint at the time when Kinel and Ariel graduate from the academy.
If we catch all the demon lords like this, the future where Fine experiences misfortune will also disappear.
‘… Changing the past will change the future.’
Falling paper pollen. The cheers of the cheering crowd.
In front of him stood a shining knight in glass armor.
A princess with a name who can’t even be called a nameless saint now.
Grand Hearts Academia’s Fall Sports Festival concluded with the relay race.
[The final winning team is the Ceres team!]
That also ended with Fine’s solo.
She accepted Pandora’s box and ran as if she had waited for me.
I didn’t know her feet were so fast.
When I finished my training with the White Magnolia, I should have recognized you from the first time I came to you.
Pine Grancia proudly holding a golden trophy on top of a pure white podium.
She
She didn’t flinch, her flat shoulders and her chest thrust forward, showing off her dignity.
Although Fine was hiding her identity by wearing her heavy armor and using the pseudonym Mardol.
I saw a cute fantasy that looked like a white wolf’s tail was rustling inside her armor.
Involuntarily, the corner of her mouth went up.
“….”
It is right that Fine should be happy among more people.
With all of her family and friends, even her name and memories taken away, it’s not like she becomes a saint.
[—Ah, hello. Students of Grand Hearts Academia.]
Just as she was about to turn her steps, Fine’s voice began to be heard loudly.
[And the guests who gathered to watch this sports day.]
Fine speaks with a helmet on a stick that looks like a microphone.
Is it like a game item?
[In this sports day, our students worked hard to demonstrate their abilities.]
It was a voice that could be heard even by the spectators gathered under the podium, probably because of the amplification magic.
[We worked hard to help each other, compete, and reach a higher level.]
[Among them, I would like to invite one student to this place.]
Fine looks at me and talks quietly. A soft eye smile visible through the glass helmet.
[…] … The reason I was able to get first place in the relay race was thanks to a certain driver.]
I was trying to get out of my seat like this. The retreat was already blocked by Kainel and Ariel.
[Introducing the MVP of this athletic meet..!]
Pine receives the red paper from Laplace.
She speaks in a humming voice because she is wearing a masterpiece.
[Black Knight Licht.]
His voice was full of laughter, like someone playing a joke.
“Rich, come up.”
The last word that moves me.
I can’t help it. Unable to overcome Fine’s encouragement, he climbed the podium.
She held out her hand as if guiding me up step by step.
At that time, boom—! Golden pieces of paper rained down from the sky with a sound.
“..I did well.”
Looks like Fine was wearing her hair. Although he did well in rune battles and escape room games.
From noble mtl dot com
“Doesn’t it stand out too much? Mardol.”
“You have to do this much.”
When Fine looked at the red envelope in her hand, it contained only my name, not the script.
“… Because you are my knight.”
She whispers so low that no one can hear. Whooping, her laughter tickled her ears.
The sound of my beating heart stops my ears. Her fingertips blush the moment she touches her.
Whether you know it or not, Fine made me carry the trophy with me.
“This sports day is a victory for the two of us. Licht.”
He lifted the golden trophy high into the sky. A black and white knight reflected on its shiny surface.
Fine and I were seen wearing helmets.
I see someone clapping their hands in the distance.
Roque Grancia.
The Emperor’s coming to this sports day was considered a secret, so he must have hidden his attendance from others.
However, I could recognize Locke.
‘Is this also thanks to passing the Tardun test?’
Rock nodded as he watched the two of us, like a leader cheering for the independence of a wolf cub.
Gulp, saliva passed automatically. The danger to life felt as soon as one noticed his presence.
It feels like a razor-sharp blade has been placed on my throat.
I don’t know how the hell he breathes life.
There were people like Laplace, Dennis, and Drake around him.
A woman with short black hair was making a strange expression while looking at me.
A smile as if there is a plan.
She pulled the corners of her mouth down, feeling something strangely creepy.
Did you originally have that kind of impression?
***
─Chang-G-Rang.
Two pitch-black knuckles landed on the empty table.
“Here is the holy sword that was stolen by the emperor. Pin.”
A weapon that shines like obsidian.
“So, Magic Hat, why did you fake it again? Weren’t you coming with my sister?”
A demon king of power speaking to a woman with short black hair.
Magic Hat and Pin were arguing in the Demon Castle far away from the academy.
Heukwoon, the demon king, moved away for a while at her request.
“Whoops, I’m late because the academy has a sports day for my husband.”
Magic Hat shuffled her cards and cast her eyes down.
“Are you so late because of that?!”
“It can’t be. Actually, it took time to break through the imperial palace’s strict security.”
Unlike Finn, who escaped the dungeon first, she climbed backwards and searched for the holy sword.
“I didn’t have to kill anyone, so how hard it was.”
There was little blood on the clothes. It seems that he didn’t end his life while taking care of all the guards.
“Do you know how time-consuming it is to attach just a few breaths at a time?”
Magic Hat, who put her hand on her forehead and said something bewildered, even made a tsk.
“The Wolf King was also very scary!”
A magic hat that blows a card with “Emperor” Written on it. It was a card that meant Roque Grancia.
“I don’t know what kind of coincidence, but I lived because I was away!”
Her face was filled with excitement rather than fear.
“You’re lying again, tell me where your sister is!”
Boom! Finn hit the table. As soon as the man’s fist was pierced, it turned into powder and flew away.
Blinking her eyes, Finn looks at the magic hat. She apparently heard that she saved Intinium.
A man who gets angry while making her face blush.
“You have a quick temper. By the way, Finn. Do you know that there is nothing good about being angry with me?”
Seeing such a powerless Demon King, Magic Hat rather laughed at her as if it were funny.
“…… You, your real sister, are already dead.”
A magic hat that taunts and provokes pins.
“Such a bastard… !!”
The moment he got angry and tried to twist Magic Hat’s neck right away.
“Pin.. Brother..?”
In front of Finn’s eyes, a girl with blue hair appeared. His own sister who was holding her by the throat and weeping.
He doubted his eyes and immediately relaxed his wrists.
“You know how to feed meat well, right?”
Though it was Magic Hat who spoke in a pitiful tone as he looked at Intinium, who was sitting on the floor.
“… Because I faked it again this time.”
Her gaze was cold. She is an uninspiring pupil who sees things that are not human.
“Sorry, sorry.. Intinium.. Are you okay..?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.. Brother Finn..”
Pin hugged the blue-haired girl, who was sighing and controlling her breathing, as she checked her comfort.
“By the way, brother.. Where are my parents?”
Intinium looked at her brother and began to tell her wacky story.
“What? Wait, Intinium. You can’t….”
My sister’s body with no heartbeat. But that wasn’t the part that Finn noticed was strange.
“Yes, unfortunately, he died again.”
Magic Hat took out her sad expression mask and put it over her face.
“Finn, the memory you gave me is useless?”
However, the voice behind the mask was brighter than anyone else’s, and rather aroused displeasure.
“..Who are you? My little sister touched it!! Could it be you?!”
Pin’s hand is automatically powered. The air vibrates with a crackling noise.
“No way! I just told you to keep the temple of Tardun. Shouldn’t the hero in the prophecy awaken?”
Magic Hat didn’t lose her smile even as she felt her body being crushed.
“Not me….”
Chorarak, a magic hat that draws the top card from the arranged pile of cards.
She created a new card that didn’t even exist in the trump cards or the tarot.
A card depicting K and the Black Knight.
“My husband is the culprit.”
Magic Hat smiled as she tossed her card.