“..I know that too.”
His face was already a mess of tears, completely at odds with his usual demeanor. So this really was the true “comrade” route. I had never seen him like this before.
“Even while we were dating… to be honest, I was scared.”
“Nex, your junior is right behind you! This is embarrassing, can we talk later…?”
“..I don’t care about that. Let him hear it all. Junior, you’re fine with it, right?”
By now, the water had already been spilled. The inevitable flag had been triggered, so I vigorously nodded in agreement. After all, there was still the matter of achieving the grand route.
“Of course. Say whatever you want, senior.”
If, by chance, in the original story the spirit’s maturity was triggered by the death of his lover, I had to make sure it turned out differently here.
After all, I had come here to ensure the Nameless Saintess got her happy ending.
“..Thank you, Licht junior.”
She would surely agree that this was the right course of action. Though I was still wearing my helmet, I stretched my lips horizontally to suppress my smile. No matter how happy I was, making a sound would ruin the atmosphere.
“After everything that happened today, I feel like I’ve learned a lot.”
“Really? I just woke up from a nap, though..”
“Ha.. seriously. Seeing you like this, I realize it’s my job to protect you.”
“..What? Nex, if you start saying something cheesy again, I swear I’ll use holy power to… mmph.”
Nex let out a mixture of relief and concern, then blocked her words by pressing a finger to her lips, stifling her complaint.
“Would you marry me, Saintess Charitines?”
A clean, straightforward declaration of love.
“..What?! All of a sudden?”
Even my mouth tingled with the sweetness of it. Proposing at a moment like this… Just like with Kainel, I suppose this really is a romance academy story after all.
“I’m saying let’s go ask for formal permission from the head of the family. Even if I get slapped or doused with water, I want to face it head-on.”
“I thought you didn’t like your mother? Why now…?”
At that, Nex smiled awkwardly and gently played with her black hair, twisting the strands in his hand.
“Because I can’t stand the thought of someone I care about being disrespected by others. Char.”
“..Really, it’s because of me? Not because of you?”
Hearing this, the vampire saintess’ eyes widened in surprise.
“Yeah. Think about it, if you became the official wife of the Aureus family… Who would dare lay a finger on you, like today?”
It made sense. Touching a member of the Ten Greats’ family would be disastrous, so this was probably someone’s scheme to manipulate Nex into becoming their pawn.
“A-um.. Nex…”
In the end, this whole kidnapping incident likely happened because Charitines’ position was too low compared to the first saintess.
It was the same for the Nameless Saintess in the game. Even though the position of saintess was supposedly noble, chosen by the God of Light, there was still discrimination, especially if you were a non-human, like the first saintess.
“The Saintess… can get married, but…”
Her voice trailed off, and she shrank slightly as she spoke, clearly startled by the unexpected proposal.
“I’m not lying this time, Char. I’m being serious.”
Nex mentioned the title of ‘official wife,’ and unlike his usual fox-like smirk, his expression was serious. He looked resolute, no one could doubt his sincerity.
At that moment…
“Tweet.”
His sparrow suddenly scattered its purple feathers and began to grow larger.
Like a snake shedding its skin, the sparrow transformed into the majestic phoenix I had come to know.
The trigger for a spirit’s growth into adulthood was the recognition of one’s emotions. It seemed he truly meant what he said.
“It’s real. Nex, congratulations on your spirit maturing.”
“So, what’s your answer, Char?”
“Well…”
The fully grown phoenix wrapped its wings around its master and Charitines, as if celebrating, while the purple feathers fluttered down like petals at a wedding banquet.
“..I can’t just let you face your mother alone.”
“Wait, does that mean…?”
Nex’s eyes widened, and a tear-streaked smile appeared on his face. Charitines, seeing him laugh after crying, couldn’t help but smile too, shaking her head in disbelief.
“..I don’t know. You silly fox.”
Their faces and necks turned crimson.
“How can you propose in a situation like this?!”
“Haha, sorry. I guess I got a little too excited seeing you safe.”
“There won’t be a second chance. Got it?”
“..I understand. Char!”
They exchanged warm smiles, gazing at each other with affection. In this moment, they looked like the happiest couple in the world.
Right after, a pink status window appeared in front of me.
[Charitines♡Nex 62% “NEW!!”]
Matching the atmosphere, paper petals fluttered around us.
Ah, this is what a proper event CG should look like.
It felt like a wedding ceremony blessed by the phoenix. The spirit had matured, and the bond between the two had grown stronger.
I guess this is the time to say, “Well, that’s a job well done.”
“Congratulations.”
I gave them a discreet thumbs-up. It was my own small way of expressing my feelings.
Fortunately, the relationship score had not only been restored but had even surpassed the halfway mark. I nodded with satisfaction.
“..Thank you for everything today, junior.”
“I didn’t do it to be thanked.”
“Haha, that’s exactly what I like about you, Licht.”
He’d even dropped the “junior” title for a moment.
Nex, without any pretense or formalities, was sincerely thanking me. His eyes were red with tears, but his smile was genuine and full of joy.
So, I ended up being the witness to their engagement. I guess this means there won’t be any more rivalry. The speculation that the “comrade route” was real turned out to be true.
“If it weren’t for you, junior, this could have gone really badly. Right, Char?”
“Really..? I just woke up here, though…”
“It’s been two days, sleepyhead.”
“What? You’re kidding, right?!”
She looked shocked, glancing back and forth between Nex and me, as if trying to confirm we weren’t lying. Given that they’d practically gotten engaged, there was no way we would be.
“It’s true. You’ve been asleep for two days because of the archdemon.”
“No way…”
I broke the news to the confused senior. Maybe she was worried about her academy grades. But if she knew what we went through to get here, she wouldn’t be able to say a word.
“Char, Licht is really strong, you know? Our crown— I mean, even the crown prince has taken notice of him.”
“Really? It already seemed like the two of you were friends.”
“..Seniors? Maridol and I are not friends!”
Why did the crown prince flag have to get triggered again? At least Lupus’ name hadn’t appeared in the status window yet. And it would be a disaster if the elder abandoned me too.
“You’ll like it too, junior. It’s not every day you get connections to the royal family.”
“No, thank you.”
All I want is to be with the saintess.
I shook my head vigorously in rejection,
“..You really are pure-hearted, aren’t you? Almost naively so.”
“You’re just realizing that now, Nex? I’ve known for a while!”
“Char, lying is bad. You were suspicious of him at first, remember?”
“Uh, well.. I guess I got fooled this time.”
The two newly engaged lovers were laughing brightly.
The dungeon, which had been so dark without a single ray of sunlight, now seemed bright as day, illuminated by the artificial light created by the spirit.
In that glow, the two stood up.
“Why are you trying to set me up with Maridol…?”
“Because you’re the first person she’s ever taken an interest in.”
“..He’s right, Licht junior.”
Nex and Charitines approached me, spouting strange ideas.
Since it’s come to this, should I go ahead and set a flag with the saintess myself?
“Kya-haha…”
At that moment, someone interrupted the conversation between the three of us.
“Yes… if I just get rid of you, heretic… the prophecy will remain intact…”
I lowered my gaze as I looked at Servi. She’s ruining the good atmosphere again. Even after hearing all that talk about the crown prince, she still couldn’t keep quiet.