WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight

Chapter 024

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Episode 24. Approaching Threat.

Over the academy road, where darkness lay thick, the vampire nun was heading towards the girls' dormitory.

‘It's a relief that our Phine seems to be doing well at the Academy. Though I'm a bit concerned about her being close with a boy!’

In her eyes, the two resembled each other. Knights who wore their helmets even within the Academy.

Their denial of being friends looked like child's play and was quite cute.

‘He don't seem to be after wealth or power, and all they did was a swordsmanship exchange.’

Considering the conversation they just had, he's no flatterer.

Because the junior named Licht just seemed like a pure boy who liked love.

Feeling that this could be an opportunity for her close junior to erase bad memories, a smile formed on her face.

“Oh, Shartiness.”

“Cardinal...?”

Just then, someone with a familiar face appeared before her, who was lost in such happy thoughts.

“It's been a while. Have you been well?”

“Yes... I heard the news that you came as a lecturing professor this time, Cardinal.”

It was Beatrice, the Academy's Divine Power Studies professor.

Two nuns in identical attire, except for their hair color and length.

Black robes, same-shaped shoes. Similar way of speaking.

Even a stranger would think they were mother and daughter, so similar they were.

“I was lucky. It was like fate, stepping into an empty position. I also wanted to meet our Shartiness.”

“Cardinal, saying such things makes me a bit shy...”

To Shartiness, who scratched her cheek to express embarrassment, Beatrice merely offered a smile.

“You're like a daughter to me. What is there to be embarrassed about? I even gave you the family name Saint-Mary.”

“Hehe... you're right.”

When she smiled with her eyes too, Shartiness felt a slight oddness but soon dropped her guard.

“...It's been a while for me too, Cardinal!”

Slightly shrinking back as if shy, the vampire nun also returned a bright smile as a reply.

“The Academy is truly a wonderful place, Shartiness.”

“It is! Like how I met you here...!”

Watching that, Beatrice spread her arms wide and adopted a reflective posture.

“Fufufu, you've become much brighter. I even cried a little when our Shartiness left the church, you know?”

“R-really?”

"Do I look like I'm lying?"

“No... because I know you don't usually do that.”

A sense of intimacy could be felt between the two, as they exchanged jokes and asked after each other.

“Oh my, look at me.”

Then, as if a sudden thought struck her, the blonde nun opened her mouth.

“...It's gotten too late. Let's talk later, and you should go in for tonight, Shartiness.”

“Ah, Cardinal, please go in carefully too!”

The two people immediately moved away from each other, as if passing by.

The sound of footsteps echoed on the ground and grew fainter.

“Ah, Shartiness.”

“Yes, Cardinal? Do you have anything more to say...?”

After a few steps, the blonde nun turned around and spoke her last words.

“...Have sweet dreams.”

Thus, the midnight encounter came to an end.

***

Nex Aureus, as usual, greeted Shartiness with a telepathy spell as soon as he woke up.

-Did you sleep well? My pretty bat? Want to meet on the terrace again today?

Even if he were to meet her later and get beaten with divine power,

he deliberately used cheesy words, as it was now no different from an expression of affection to him.

“...? Why is there no reply?”

Nex was smiling widely, anticipating his lover's reaction.

But what returned was a silence unlike usual.

“Chirp...?”

Something was strange. His spirit was also expressing doubt.

Normally, the reply would be, 'You foxy man!! Are you a pervert? What are you doing! The nickname "bat" is forbidden now!'

But there was no answer.

“Why is it so quiet...?”

He grabbed his coat. He felt an eerie sensation.

His face was reflected in the phoenix's emblem. The feeling of unease did not subside.

“Shartiness. Oh, she didn't come?”

Her seat was empty in the second-year lecture that followed.

‘Why isn't she answering... Shar...’

She didn't seem to be sick. If she were, she would have had an excused absence or wouldn't be unresponsive to telepathy.

Nex ran to the library as soon as class ended.

He thought a Sage might know something. Since they were heroes specialized in such matters.

“Sorry, my foresight is blocked.”

“What...? Sage, does that mean...?”

“It means even Laplace, who specializes in information, doesn't know. Haa... those Heroic Cult guys again.”

But even when he asked the Ten Greats about Shartiness's whereabouts, he only received displeased answers.

“I'll bring it up to the board. Wait.”

A woman with devil horns caressed her forehead and let out a deep sigh. Looking at her, the purple-haired man roared.

“Then it will be too late!! You're saying Shar is in danger!”

“You don't know how wicked those Demon King fellows are. It's been almost 20 years since they appeared, so we need to handle this more carefully...”

“Enough. I'll look for someone else!”

Leaving the Sage behind, Nex ran around the Academy, asking for information.

‘Ten Greats? Ten outstanding heroes? And they won't even move when someone's fate is unknown!’

Mulling over the discord with his mother, he pushed through the crowd. He gritted his teeth.

Thud-thud-thump-!

As he was doing so, Nex was bounced off by a man who suddenly emerged from an alley.

“Whoops, gotta be careful!”

“Drake?”

A blonde-haired man with many scars on his face helped Nex up.

“Is something wrong, Nex? To be running around so terrified!”

The appearance of a middle-aged man with a hearty smile.

“...Please help me, Dragon Slayer.”

The purple phoenix asked Drake for help.

***

[Shartiness ♡ Nex 51% "DOWN↓"]

"What is this...?"

A few days later, a status window like a bolt from the blue appeared before me, who had woken up at dawn.

Why had the affection level suddenly dropped?

Since it's a game, I expected it to drop as well as rise.

But there hadn't been any notable events during that time.

Only two days had passed.

My guess was that the route was confirmed the night before last, and this love line was added then.

I rubbed my eyes.

[49%]

[48%..]

The numbers kept dropping. Wasn't this a big problem? I immediately grabbed my sword and got out of bed.

"Oh, Licht, are you up? Today we're going to the training ground..."

Without even being able to reply to Kainel's words, I quickly dressed and rushed outside.

First, I had to find Nex or Shartiness.

I headed to the terrace. The entrance was locked, perhaps before opening hours.

I climbed over the chained fence and went inside.

Empty seats and tables.

I looked around for the spot where we sat during our first meeting, but they weren't there.

Not here either.

"This place... is empty too."

No matter how much I searched, they weren't there.

I ran. I sprinted. I fell.

I gasped for breath.

Finally, I headed to the cathedral, just in case the nun was there. The door was also firmly closed.

Another failure.

"Is anyone there?"

Even when I knocked on the iron door, there was no answer from inside. It was still the hour when the dawn air pierced the lungs coldly.

The Academy was quiet, too quiet for it to have been attacked by some Demon King.

‘What on earth are both of them doing, and where...’

Sweat began to build up in my helmet. Blood rushed to my head.

There were no more places I could guess.

The back mountain, the courtyard, the central hall. I searched everywhere. I even checked a university map as I moved around.

Did something happen outside the Academy?

A university that wasn't properly described in the original work or sequels. There was no way I'd know its structure inside and out.

It would be bad if they were trapped in some secret room.

At best, all I could remember was one instance dungeon nearby...

"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!"

At that moment, a purple sparrow flew and hovered above my head.

"This is...?"

"Licht junior-!!"

Looking around at the sight of the spirit, I saw a man in the distance waving at me and running towards me.

"I was looking for you, junior!!"

"...Nex senior!"

Clang-.

The cathedral door opened thanks to the spare key Nex brought.

Did the vampire Saintess give it to him? We immediately moved inside.

"Shar is gone. I haven't seen her since yesterday..."

"Shartiness senior?"

"Yes, her telepathy spell is completely out of reach, and she's been absent from all classes."

He showed an uncharacteristic anxiety. The man was already biting his fingernails.

"Chirp..."

Perhaps influenced by his emotions, the phoenix also looked weak.

"I saw her the day before yesterday, so perhaps she disappeared right after that?"

"Really? Where did she say she was going?"

"Her direction was towards the girls' dormitory..."

"...I asked the security guard there yesterday too. He said she didn't come in."

What? So something happened after she met me and Mardol that day? But the status window only showed an impact starting today.

‘At most 2 days, at least yesterday, something must have happened.’

Looking at it this way, the status window is really useless. Shouldn't dangerous things be blocked by quests or restrictions?

There's no shop, no traits, no skills. It doesn't even appear when I want it to.

I sighed deeply. Could I really protect our Saintess with this level of ability?

"If the position of the 2nd Saintess is vacant, there will be chaos."

"It seems that's what they're aiming for. Probably."

Nex, like me, sighed and voiced his dissatisfaction. Both of them were fretting, worrying about their respective Saintesses.

"Have you met the Ten Greats?"

"Of course I have. The Sage's foresight is blocked too, they said."

"...It's the Heroic Cult."

I frowned inside my helmet. The timing is much earlier than I expected.

Is it because of me?

"Right. You really do know some things. Aren't you the Dragon Slayer's disciple?"

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have known about the property issues either."

As expected of Nex. He quickly deduces the source of my information. Still, there was no problem.

‘Then Laplace's ability is also useless. This might be quite difficult. There's a reason the Ten Greats are being cautious.’

Judging by their bitter experience in war, they must think that if they move, the incident will escalate too much.

"So I even met Drake, but there's a high possibility it's a trap, so instead..."

"What did my master say?"

"He recommended you. Said you showed the most potential among the swordsmen he'd seen."

Ugh, the old man pawned it off on me. I think I can handle an Apostle-level opponent to some extent...

Wait, there's one more like me.

"...Besides me, what about Mardol?"

"Not that child, his trauma is severe."

So there was indeed something related to the Demon King.

My deduction was correct.

The Glass Knight looked strong, unlike in <Black Heart>, so I thought it would be easier if I took him as a companion, but that's a pity.

‘Kainel and Ariel also have similar wounds, and if Dennis leaves the Academy, the school becomes too dangerous.’

Something must have gone terribly wrong.

Is this why it didn't appear in <Knight Heart>? If an incident happened at this time and Nex couldn't save her, it makes sense.

Originally, I wouldn't have been in this world.

I felt a little complicated.

"...I know of a place I can guess, senior."

This world truly is cold and harsh to our Saintess.

A happy Academy life? I doubt it.

"If it's not here either, there's no other way... but can you trust me?"

"I'll trust you, junior. So tell me quickly. I know you're not one of those Heroic Cult people."

"Understood."

If it were that easy, would I have struggled so much to clear <Black Heart>?

"...There's a blind spot in the basement adjacent to the Academy's barrier."

I pointed my finger at the dungeon's location on the map.

"The secret club where the sun sets."

It was the place with the highest probability from the start.

"If it's related to the Heroic Cult, this is the closest place."

Unlike the original work or sequels, this is the past.

"So it's here."

"Most likely."

Because there was a long explanation as if something had been there.

To call it dummy data, there were traces of a boss monster and gimmicks,

...and suspiciously, the rewards were too good.

"Let's go right away, Licht junior."

"Yes, Nex senior."

The two men, who had sprung to their feet, started walking towards one location.

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