WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight

Chapter 036

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Episode 36. There are things that don't help if you run away shamefully.

Ariel, unlike others, was quick-witted and easily noticed the Black Knight's change.

‘Helmet Guy has been acting strange since earlier.’

He kept swinging his sword. His movements, as he cut down every monster he saw, showed a hint of nervousness.

As if he were pouring all his attention into something else.

“Kainel.”

“Licht. You want me to use Shine Strike? Over there?”

“Yes. I’ll handle the other side.”

It was a sudden group project. Licht had said they would catch strong monsters, but his behavior was odd.

His strategy of using Void Slash everywhere and sweeping up surrounding monsters was bold, but also uncharacteristically reckless for him.

Normally, it wouldn’t be strange for him to say, ‘Let’s use our heads. Let’s gather and hunt easy, strong monsters.’

“…”

Something was broken. She kept getting a chill.

“Watch where you’re walking! Licht! You’ll get hurt!”

“Oh, sorry.”

Even now, his arms and legs were moving together when he walked, weren’t they? It seemed he hadn’t noticed until the blonde Hero stopped him.

“So, how long will he be like this?”

“..Until a strong one appears?”

“I’ll take your word for it, seriously.”

She expected him to chime in with their usual teasing, like a comic relief, about the back-hug incident that had made Kainel and her so embarrassed.

‘He kept sighing deeply while watching Mardol…’

Now he seemed like someone whose soul had left his body. To suddenly change like this, it wasn’t like he’d eaten something bad.

“Hey, Kai.”

“Hm? Ariel.”

“Did Mardol and Helmet Guy… fight?”

The most quick-witted red-haired magician had drawn a conclusion close to the truth, but,

“I don’t think so? Why suddenly?”

“Because he seems like something’s bothering him.

“..I wonder? Maybe it’s because of what happened a few days ago?”

Her childhood friend, the Hero, was always like this. Even if he was chosen by the Holy Sword, he was truly clueless in strange ways.

“So something happened back then…?”

“It’s probably nothing. Honestly, I don’t know either. If it was something bothering him, he would have told us.”

Seeing Kainel shrug and say it was nothing, she felt frustrated. How had she come to like such an indecisive man?

“Ugh… Kai, this is your problem.”

“Still, if he doesn’t talk about it himself, it’s not right to ask, Ariel.”

“But why is he acting like that, more than Mardol?!”

This was the part that bothered Ariel. Even if the Glass Knight was seriously reserved.

Seeing him embrace Fox Slimes or dote on Licht’s spirits, he didn’t seem like a bad person.

Her complaints grew. Of course, she liked even this aspect of Kainel, but the situation now seemed a bit serious.

“This shouldn’t be happening…”

She muttered to herself and approached Licht.

Because Helmet Guy was the only person in her life who helped her make progress with her clueless childhood friend.

“Hey, Helmet Guy.”

“What is it, Ariel?”

She had been overjoyed when he seemed to deliberately make space for them in the carriage. Only Kainel wouldn’t have noticed something like that.

“Aren’t you going to tease Kai and me today…?”

“I’m a bit low on energy… I apologize.”

Her poor ability to express emotions also played a part in this situation.

‘It was so nice getting close to Kai again recently…’

How could she directly express her feelings when she had fallen in love with the Hero at first sight?

Besides, Ariel was naturally shy.

She had always thought that Kainel should be the one to confess.

‘As we got older, we gradually grew distant, you know…’

The reason was that having grown up in the countryside, she had only ever thought of Kainel as a man.

Whereas Yellow Dog was someone whose heart ached and burned whenever he saw a pretty girl.

‘I’ll never confess, not even if I die…’

She still held in her heart what he had said as a child, about liking the girl next door.

“Why, why… are you low on energy?”

The red-haired magician shivered and asked the Black Knight in the helmet for the reason.

“..Because it looks like rain?”

He was uttering a foolish remark towards a perfectly clear sky with not a single cloud. Licht just stood there, seemingly not sensing anything unusual.

“The sky’s clear right now…?”

“So it is.”

The situation was truly serious. It was so creepy she even got goosebumps.

The brown eyes visible inside his helmet were unfocused. What on earth had happened with the Glass Knight?

“Mardol… what on earth happened?”

“..I don’t know.”

She tried talking to the knight in shining heavy armor, but it was no use.

If there was a change, it would have been right after she talked with Mardol, and around the time they learned the combined skill.

‘I only talked about going back to <Gransia Patisserie> later…’

When the man in the Black Knight helmet was lost in thought, the content of the conversation he’d missed wasn’t much.

“..Mardol, you didn’t fight with Helmet Guy, did you?”

“Why would I…?”

The Glass Helmet moved left and right, signaling denial.

All that happened was Mardol tipping her off about a limited-edition cute parfait and them discussing their dessert preferences.

‘No… this can’t be happening now…’

She stomped her feet in frustration.

Her romance project with the blonde Hero she liked.

Licht had actively helped. She still remembered the street where she and Kainel walked as if on a date, thanks to him subtly vacating his spot when they first arrived in the Empire.

“Ariel, please rest for a moment.”

The sweet snack she had eaten from a street vendor back then still seemed to linger in her mouth.

‘Noooo!! Why are you suddenly like thisss!! Come backkk!!!’

Seeing him speak absently towards her, she screamed internally.

She was supposed to capture Kainel’s heart for sure at the Academy, then graduate, marry him, and live happily ever after in their hometown, but,

That plan, which had been progressing smoothly, had collapsed overnight.

‘If Helmet Guy acts like this, my future is ruined!’

Last time, when she cast magic, she was actually reminded of a romance novel she liked where accessories were made in the colors of each other’s eyes and hair, so the fireworks turned gold and blue,

‘What on earth is the problem!!’

Seeing him not miss even that detail and telling Kainel about it, she thought he was truly a unique person.

She grabbed Licht’s shoulder and shook him to bring him back to his senses.

“I’m dizzy. Please stop…”

Honestly, it had been very embarrassing, but it also had the effect of keeping other girls from clinging to her childhood friend.

“Helmet Guy, are you sick?”

“No? I’m perfectly fine…”

Not only that, but seeing him give a thumbs-up during the piggyback ride incident, even if he was clueless, wasn’t that definitely a sign that he actively supported her and Kainel’s relationship?

“..Lies.”

The Glass Knight mumbled briefly, looking at Licht. She wholeheartedly agreed with Mardol’s opinion.

Helmet Guy right now was not fine. He was broken.

And she hadn’t even properly received a confession from Kainel yet.

“Kai, please fix Helmet Guy somehoww…”

“I don’t know about this one.”

Watching Licht drink water while wearing his black helmet, she wanted to cry.

***

The sensation of my heart being squeezed simply wouldn’t fade.

‘Her happy face, the Fox Slimes she liked, candies made of sugar and honey. Her soft laughter…’

Thinking that she would be with someone else for all of it made me dizzy.

“Next, Kainel. 11 o’clock direction.”

“Huh? Yeah.”

Stupid. The other person doesn’t know me from the start. I swung my sword harder. I wasn’t a childhood friend like Kainel and Ariel, nor did I meet her as a colleague like Dennis.

I lack the qualifications.

From the beginning, there’s no point of contact to meet like in the game. Even in the beta tester mail, it only said ‘you can save’ the Saintess. It didn’t say that the protagonist of the wedding dress illustration had to be me.

‘I was fooled again. Damn it.’

My whole body felt like stone. My muscles tensed, and I started feeling nervous. Now the Saintess and Lupus have to date and get married, don’t they?

Let’s stop. I re-adjusted my stance and held my breath.

“Licht, one’s coming from the front!”

I have to stop.

“Licht, you put too much power into that just now…. Hey! Be careful with your swordsmanship!”

I have to stop.

“..I should just keep my mouth shut. Licht.”

It’s just BSS. So pathetic and wretched. I had already failed to control my strength multiple times, turning the surroundings into a wasteland.

(TL Note:

It is one of the Japanese subculture terms, a genre in which the person you are interested in is suddenly taken away by another person while you are not in a relationship.)

“…”

The broken trees and piles of dirt seemed to express my feelings.

No, if I think about it, that’s unfair to me. If I meet our Saintess, I’ll crawl on all fours like a dog to get close to her.

Because it’s right to confess and then regret it.

Do you think I’d care about pride or anything else? I’ve already felt in reality, through the Saintess, that if your love is great, you can’t endure it.

Such pure and intense emotions cannot be hidden, even if you try.

“..Licht, are you okay?”

“Probably.”

Mardol asked how I was, looking at me. Actually, I wasn’t okay. When I flailed my arms and waved my hands vigorously, a rattling sound came from the glass armor.

‘The place where that person can be happiest is not by my side.’

I’ve already been pushed around my whole life because of the flaw on my face. If I think about her being pointed at because of me, like in my life before transmigration…

“…”

The mere thought of it is horrible. It’s truly a relief to be wearing the Black Knight helmet in times like this. I caressed the visor part of the helmet.

Thank you, special bonus. Looking at it now, customizing it to resemble me too closely might have been a problem. I once again expressed gratitude for the unremovable item.

Being by Lupus’s side right now is a hundred times more correct. Wealth, ability, even his reserved personality - he had no rough edges.

..Moreover, he had a renowned handsome appearance. The plausibility was sufficient. The Nameless Saintess would like handsome people too, wouldn’t she? Who likes ugly people?

‘This is right, Lee Suhyun.’

I closed my eyes for a long moment, then opened them. I thought about what I could do for the Saintess.

Mardol! Could you come over here for a moment!”

“Oh, why…?”

I called one of the party members who was standing far away, in case they got hurt by my Void Slash. Then, the heavily armored knight, a large figure, moved and approached me.

“I have something to ask. Do you know someone called ‘Nameless Saintess’?”

“..Who’s that?”

A different answer than expected came out. So you don’t know her either. Even as the protagonist, he hasn’t met her yet? He’ll meet her soon, I guess. A slight sense of relief settled in my heart.

‘Still, it’s not a development like, “Oh, the Nameless Saintess? I’m already dating her?”’

I’m quite a petty person myself. Someone who was continuously unhappy in two games, yet I was thinking such trashy thoughts. Feeling pathetic, I scraped my foot on the ground.

Alright, let’s at least make a decision.

To make up for my mistake, I swallowed and steeled myself.

“If it’s not too much trouble, could I ask you for one favor?”

“..Suddenly?”

“I’ll grant any request you have later. Except for the ones I can’t grant.”

I sheathed my sword. He’s the Emperor’s only son. This method would be reliable. At the very least, if the Imperial Family stepped forward, even Demon Kings wouldn’t easily touch her.

“..Could you find someone named ‘Nameless Saintess’ and take good care of her?”

“Someone you know…? Licht?”

The Glass Helmet tilted, expressing curiosity towards me. This must be the first time I’ve directly brought up such a topic with them. Even if her name isn’t exactly a name.

“She’s someone very precious to me. Even if she doesn’t know me…”

“The Second Saintess. No, that’s not it.”

Indeed, for the safety of our Blue Rose, dealing with The Heroic Cult must come first. I had to come up with the sharpest move I could think of right now.

“She will probably be the next Saintess. She’s incredibly cute and kind.”

All the Demon Kings are male. And there are four of them. At first, I didn’t think they would target our White Wolf.

Because the Saintess wasn’t at Grand Hearts Academy where I was. I had been too simply at ease.

‘..Something is up. Their goal doesn’t seem to be merely restoring their authority.’

But seeing that the 2nd Saintess, Shartiness, was kidnapped a few days ago, she couldn’t possibly be safe either.

I lamented my own helplessness.

If only I were a Hero, I would have caused a ruckus with the Holy Sword. As I sighed deeply, the Glass Helmet suddenly came close to my face.

Startled. My heart almost dropped.

“Really, anything?”

“Probably. If push comes to shove, I’ll teach you all of Drake’s swordsmanship. On the condition that you protect our Saintess, of course.”

“..Understood, Licht.”

A reaction showing immense interest. Fortunately, was it a success?

“Thank you, Mardol. I will definitely keep my promise.”

This method should be right. The Imperial Family possesses artifacts or equivalent masterworks, so they would be somewhat capable of dealing with Demon Kings.

“Whoa.”

“Are you that happy about it?”

“Yes, Licht.”

Seeing the Crown Prince raise both arms in an uncharacteristic cheer, I felt increasingly certain.

“..Strong person. Skill.”

“I’m not that strong.”

“Lies. Licht. Mean.”

This person, like Nex, is different here. Seeing him like this, he seems a little cute, perhaps, despite his large build.

“Haha, it’s not a lie. I’m telling you, I’m weak?”

As one worry disappeared, my mind eased, and a slight laugh escaped me.

“..Deceiver.”

I wished time wouldn’t flow like this.

Still, if I saw the Saintess and Lupus together, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to bear it.

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