WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight

Chapter 047

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Episode 47. Drunken Life, Dream Love (醉生夢愛).

I dreamt of my childhood.

My naive school days.

I thought I was unluckier than anyone else.

An accident due to fire, an unfortunate family history. The absence of someone to protect me. An indelible burn mark and scars.

“..Why am I even scared of this?”

It was an ordinary life if ordinary, and an unlucky life if unlucky. Because my father, who raised me alone, passed away yesterday. I couldn't bear it.

“My head hurts..”

No longer seeing hope, my broken heart, so tired, was in agony.

The rooftop of a building in my hazy memory. That day, I tried to end everything, but,

“...”

I was scared and couldn't jump. I looked down at the passing cars and sat down. I was the fool who couldn't even make a proper decision like this.

"..It's rain again."

A drizzling shower fell. It tickled my cheeks, and I couldn't distinguish tears from rain. Without an umbrella, my clothes were getting miserably soaked.

What I hated most in life back then was rain.

“Let's go home. Lee Suhyun.. Huh?”

I placed my hand on the ground and pushed myself up. Something strange caught my eye. A beautifully decorated game poster.

“Knight Heart..?”

Then, by some one-in-a-million chance. On the rooftop of the building where I went to end my life, I saw an advertisement.

An RPG game titled <Knight Heart>.

A blue-haired man with mysteriously glowing white eyes, and next to him, a long brown-haired woman with deer antlers looking at him with pity. Beside them,

A blond-haired figure who looked like a hero was drawn, paired with a red-haired mage.

[What determines a Demon King and a Hero! <Knight Heart>! We will present you with love!]

What do a Demon King and a Hero have to do with love? Looking back now, the phrase was very suspicious.

Thus, I encountered the destiny that would completely change my life.

“..Love? Ha, that's hilarious.”

Back then, I was dumbfounded. Because I was the one who had just tried to abandon my life. I thought love would never be given to me.

People would see my severely burned face and get scared, or,

“All that stuff is just lies, you know.”

They would only offer cheap pity. With the thought, 'throw those kinds of feelings to the dogs,' I started the game because the ad's text was too funny and disgusting.

..Back then, I didn't even know our Nameless Saintess. Shamefully, I admit.

Leaving my failed suicide attempt behind, I bought a game CD on my way home and went inside. A empty room, devoid of anything.

Only an old computer tower and monitor were left conspicuously there.

Around the time when people still knew what floppy disks were.

Whirrr-.

The sound echoed as the CD was inserted, and,

“White hair and wolf ears..? That's interesting.”

I began playing the first installment of the <Knight Heart Trilogy>.

[Nice to meet you. Lee Suhyun.]

The pure white woman who introduced herself as the Nameless Saintess. Her first impression, like an empty musical staff, was the worst.

[I apologize, Mr. Knight. I've collapsed again.]

“..Why is her performance so bad?”

The Saintess, designed to be unable to even catch a passing 1-star slime, was, as I later found in the community, mostly a character used only in the early stages and then discarded.

[No matter how weak I am, I will always be a source of strength by your side, Mr. Knight.]

“...”

I felt pity at her appearance. It was a desperate situation where she couldn't do anything, but her efforts to be helpful were uncomfortable to watch.

She's like me. It would be easier if she just gave up.

[What? You want me to stay behind because I'm a hindrance? No.]

She never left my party until the very end. The loading screen even said there were characters who would automatically leave the party if their fame or affection was low. Why was she like this?

“..Someday, she'll get tired and give up on her own.”

Even for a game character, there would be limits. How could someone be like that? Curious how long she would last, I continued to play with her in my party.

[Hehehe, you've completed the quest well today.]

Each time I progressed through a mission, protecting the Saintess became a daily routine.

“Why are you talking as if you did it..?”

I understood why she was called "incompetent."

“..Hm, still, her personality is good.”

However, unexpected sides of her gradually appeared as I played the game. Though she seemed emotionless and blunt on the surface,

[Quickly escape this way! Everyone!]

She was the first among my party members to rush to anyone in crisis.

[Hehehe, today you are all 'it'. Now, this Saintess is coming to find you~!]

[It's the wolf-eared Saintess! Run away~!]

Also, when visiting a village during our journey, she always loved to stop by the orphanage there to care for or play with the children.

[Howl~ I am a scary wolf~! Ah, would you like to join?]

Whenever she smiled then, she seemed like a different person.

[It's not... particularly difficult... because this is something I ought to do...]

“...”

In villages oppressed by the Demon King, she often healed the injured for days and nights without pay until she collapsed.

Just as spring arrives and snow melts.

[Good morning. Thank you for visiting again today.]

The Saintess's initially stiff tone gradually softened. The distance in my heart grew closer, and,

[Don't try to carry everything alone. I'm here, aren't I..!]

I had come too far to avoid it.

[You is quite shy, aren't you? Hehehe..]

More than anything, she was warm and kind. An unstoppable, unreasonable attack.

While progressing through the story together, she said something upon seeing my character.

[Your burn mark, shall I heal it for you?]

My eyes widened at the sudden dialogue.

[Yes/No]

Ah, she wasn't talking about my face. I misunderstood. I pressed "No" on the option that appeared before my eyes, exhaling a sigh of relief.

"This is quite amazing, the game is very detailed."

Perhaps I customized him too similarly to myself. Engraving a burn mark on Licht's face, just like mine, must have been the problem.

[Ah, I spoke too lightly. I apologize.]

I used my mouse to stop her hand from reaching my cheek.

[..Cheer up. Those people are strange. Shall I go scold them?]

"You can't even do that... You can't even catch monsters properly."

I sighed deeply in reality. Because the Nameless Saintess was weak, my character had to become stronger and stronger.

“...”

To keep her in the party, I couldn't hire anyone else because her healer spot was irreplaceable.

[Honestly, I really disliked this village.]

Are you really a Saintess? Shouldn't you not say such things? A description appeared, saying her wolf ears and tail were sharply raised in annoyance.

In the previous scenario, the Saintess shot a retort at the NPCs whose affection had dropped after seeing my character's face. Once far from the village,

[Our Knight is so kind and handsome..! They have no taste..!]

"Hmph!" the Saintess fumed, making such a sound. Perhaps that's when I started to feel a bit of affection. She was the first person to get angry on my behalf.

"..I wish there had been someone like that in real life."

It was already a belated regret. My heart had shattered like glass and emptied out. Back then, I foolishly thought I couldn't put it back together.

Even if I ran and denied it, she was the only one who came to me.

[Today is February 22nd..! Happy Birthday! Ta-da~ It's your favorite chocolate cake..!]

"Today was my birthday. I forgot because there was no one around."

A carefully wrapped item appeared in my inventory. The description said it was purchased from the <Gransia Empire Confectionery>.

"..Why am I crying? It's clearly a happy day."

Thus, memories piled up one by one. My heart gradually became colored with her hue. Pure white settled into my charred black heart.

[Today, let's go buy dolls to donate to the orphanage. What? I'm not buying them for myself..!!]

"Haha, there's already another one on your back."

She, who secretly paid for a Fox Slime doll without me knowing, might actually be a gold thief when you look at it this way.

[I'm sorry.. It was just too cute..]

Her appearance, hiding her face with a large doll. I might have found her surprisingly clumsy side a little cute.

"How long has it been since I laughed like this on my own."

A Saintess who can't even heal properly, yet she absolutely loves cute things.

[Please give me the candy I entrusted to you.]

"..I don't remember that? What is it?"

Watching her cutely sulk and nag if she didn't get something sweet, I always thought she was like a real person. I naturally fell for her.

[If the people of the world don't believe you, I will be the first to believe you.]

"She speaks as if she truly knows a person's heart. The game is really well-made."

Gradually, white merchandise began to fill the empty room one by one. As the empty spaces were filled, a meaning was born in my life.

[..I told you not to spread rumors about me reading romance novels anywhere.!! Aaaah!! I'm so embarrassed..]

"Hahahat, this is a game."

Whenever something sad happened, I'd chug a can of cola, tear into chicken, and play the game.

Though life was tough and hadn't changed even as I aged,

[Oh, the Fox Slime doll you bought me last time is doing well!]

Now, seeing her gentle smile, which was the opposite of that, gave me strength.

[Thank you!]

"I'm more grateful, Saintess."

A shelter appeared in my world where the rain never stopped.

[If you're worried people might be scared, how about using polite language?]

She once made a peculiar suggestion: if I used polite language instead of informal speech, people wouldn't be afraid of my grotesque scar.

[Because there will surely be people who aren't scared of you, just like me!]

"Should I try that.. Well, there's nothing to lose."

I followed it. Nowadays, there are too many people who look young for their age, so it was better than making a linguistic mistake. It's become a habit until now.

When did I start liking her?

A story she told me once, in front of the Demon King's Castle, when the ending of <Knight Heart> was imminent.

[Do you believe in love?]

The pure white Saintess bandaged my character's arm, which was injured by the Four Heavenly Kings, showing a worried demeanor. Her wolf ears and tail were drooping. He had already healed, though.

"..Honestly, I don't believe in it."

I revealed my feelings while looking at the highly free-form options.

[What..? Are you serious..?]

Then she tilted her head. The ears on her head were drooping as if disbelieving. No, don't be depressed. It hurts my heart.

[Why, exactly..?]

Her tail also lost its vitality. Was she disappointed? In my embarrassment, I started making excuses that wouldn't even be heard.

"The affairs of the world aren't solved by merely liking someone, are they?"

[That just makes me sad. What on earth happened to you….]

"..No matter how much you love someone, there are fates where you can't even go near them, Saintess."

Because her expression, with widening golden eyes as if tears would flow, painfully pierced a corner of my heart.

[You're saying 'there are problems that love can't solve'? That's true.. But it's still okay! Pure love is invincible!]

She interjected into what my character Licht was saying, as if somewhat dissatisfied. It felt a little like a real conversation.

"For those people, the starting line itself is different, Saintess."

The height of unreasonableness that couldn't be overcome no matter how much I envied it. Before I knew it, I was calmly speaking, recalling my own broken life.

"Before I had the burn mark, I also had a lot of people around me.. Now, I have no one, so I'm single."

Perhaps because it was a game, my true feelings came out, and I ended up saying gloomy things.

[Those are reasons to dislike love, not reasons to distrust it.]

Then the white-haired Saintess held the Black Knight's face with both hands and spoke. She left no room for escape, just in case.

[I've been watching everything you've done so far.]

She leaned in, forehead to forehead, at the same eye level. Very aggressive. Is it because she's a wolf character?

"..That startled me."

The illustration is really close. Enlarged to this extent, she seems like a real living person. But this doesn't have voice acting either. What are the developers doing with the money from selling packages?

I wondered what it would have been like if I had chosen "I believe in love."

[If you don't believe, then why have you done such things?]

A sentence filled with questions. She asked, her eyes sad.

"..I just did what I wanted?"

It seemed I was thoroughly caught. There was the Nameless Saintess, unraveling each question as if cross-examining me.

[I had many thoughts while watching you.]

[..At first, I thought you were a dangerous person I shouldn't approach. Honestly, isn't that true?]

[Wearing only blackish-brown armor and calling yourself a Black Knight.]

[So, on the first day, I didn't even speak to you, and only after you collapsed did I feel sorry and talk to you.]

What? So that's what you said when I first collapsed?

"Then what about when you said, 'No matter how hard it is and you collapse, you must stand up again.'..."

I recalled her dialogue at that shocking statement. No wonder she didn't talk for about 3 days after we met; I thought it was just a bug.

[When the Demon King used a diversionary tactic, you defended the village's defenses alone until you collapsed from exhaustion.]

[How could I suspect such a good person? I'm disqualified as a Saintess.]

A soft chuckle, "Hehehe," escaped her lips, and her eyes curved into crescents.

[What I want to say is….]

[You are a truly good person, more than you think. I can assure you. Because I am a Saintess.]

"Is that so.. Saintess.."

[So, if you cannot stand at the starting line and are sitting down.]

[I will help you up and support you all the way to the finish line together.]

A text appeared, stating that her rose scent was strongly felt at a distance of less than a handspan between their faces.

[And if there is a destiny that obstructs you, I swear here and now that I will resist it and fight for you until the very end.]

As her golden wolf eyes met my brown eyes, a soft smile coincidentally curved on her lips.

[Even if love is the height of unreasonableness, the memories we shared will become unforgettable shards of glass embedded in my heart.]

[Therefore, if you are afraid of being hurt and losing something when you love. You may push me away now.]

She lightly kissed the wolf-adorned cross necklace she was wearing.

[Because I will surely make you.. no, Mr. Knight will, believe in love.]

She passed it over and put it on my character.

[..You can look forward to it.]

Blocking him from escaping by putting her arms around his neck was a bonus.

[Hehehe, love is naturally embarrassing!]

The Saintess, seeing the shining metal around Black Knight Licht's neck, wore a satisfied expression as if stamping her seal on a certificate of ownership. His face and neck were already red. Cute.

A confession that wasn't a confession.

The Nameless Saintess, who was honest about her feelings despite her cold appearance,

Seemed displeased that the person she liked denied love.

Or perhaps it was this.

A memory flashed back from just before possessing the body in <Black Heart>.

[The reason I like you?]

Seeing the Saintess whose affection was MAX for me, I once asked her at the end, "Is it because I protected you when fighting the Demon Kings?"

[Tch, to fall in love just because your life was saved. Aren't you a fool?]

Then what is it? I kept clicking the mouse. Then, with a hesitant movement, she blushed.

[What? Haven't I said enough? Are you that curious..?]

The Saintess slowly looked up. I'm curious, so tell me quickly.

[..Everything.]

The pure white woman, biting her tongue in embarrassment. She wasn't originally this type of character, so I liked that she became so gentle only with me.

[Actually, love doesn't need a reason. Lee Suhyun.]

[If I had to attach a reason….]

Leaning her chin on her hand, frowning her brow, and pondering deeply, she was cute with her eyes even closed before I knew it.

[To me, you are a hero who protects everyone, more wonderful than a warrior who protects only one person.]

[And only you believed in a half-baked Saintess like me, who can't even heal properly.]

[And cherished me.]

[Hehehe, actually, I like how you're cuter than anyone else. Where else would you find a fool who asks why someone likes them?]

[..Do you understand a little better now? Mr. Foolish Puppy.]

She smiled shyly, her white hair fluttering.

"I've been had."

Calling the Black Knight a foolish puppy, she certainly is a playful person.

[Let's go, it's the Demon King's castle with Magic Hat soon.]

Then, as my character moved away, there was a single line of dialogue that only appeared as a subtitle.

[At this distance, you probably won't hear me.]

Without even the common direction for a supporting character, not a lead,

[..I truly love you, Dear Knight. Forever.]

A simple confession, without even voice output.

It was better than anything else.

Perhaps it was then.

..No, it wasn't because of those big events.

The moment I fell in love with her was….

'From the very beginning, I suppose.'

What a ridiculous thought.

Who sits and debates the catalyst for love?

Like getting caught in a shower and not realizing your sleeves are getting wet.

I learned through her that the feeling that wells up unknowingly is love.

Thus, I lived intoxicated by dreams, and,

“...”

I loved intoxicated by dreams.

The reason I sacrificed even my life for her was simple.

Because I liked the Nameless Saintess a little, a lot.

“..Hey, boy.”

Someone keeps poking me as I close my eyes. Who could it be?

“Boy. Wake up.”

I'm dead. Don't wake me.

"Will you only wake up if you get hit?"

Huh, wasn't I dead? The tone is too vivid to be a dream like just now.

“..No way.”

I opened my eyes to see a brown-haired woman looking down at my collapsed form. A mature woman with an impressive black hanbok and deer antlers revealed pointed teeth.

(TL Note:

A traditional Korean costume consisting of a long-sleeved jacket or blouse and a long, high-waisted skirt for women or loose-fitting trousers, typically worn on formal or ceremonial occasions.)

"How long are you going to sleep? You're the first one I've seen so carefree in front of me."

"Heavenly Demon..? Baek-Mokryeon, The Cursed Dragon of Spring.?"

"Hmm? How do you know me?"

The main coupling of <Knight Heart>. Dennis's forgotten lover.

Why is this person here?

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