WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight

Chapter 079

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Episode 79. ZZ. SAVE point.

A father's back looks as big as a mountain when you're young, and when you grow up and look at it, it's supposed to look infinitely small.

I think the moment I realized that was when I finally became an adult. Because that's how my father, who was a firefighter, was.

The reason I bring this up now is.

“Dad..!”

“Little one. I am not your father….”

Because a little girl dressed from head to toe in black, wearing a wizard's hat, clung to me calling me Dad.

“Licht, are you a married man?”

“No! Mardol! You know I'm not, right!”

“..That's true.”

Next to her, Mardol, dressed as a tree monster, was walking along with us, looking amused as she watched me and the child.

“..Little miss, what's your name?”

Thinking she might be a child who lost her parents nearby, I asked her name,

“I can't tell!”

The girl covered her mouth and grinned mischievously. Her brown eyes were quite bothersome. With a sinking feeling, I lifted her wizard's hat.

“Dad, why are you playing tricks..! Give me back my hat!”

At that, the girl puffed out her cheeks as if sulking. Now she was even giving me resentful looks, this black-haired person. Why does she keep reminding me of someone?

‘Wolf ears…. None? And her irises too, she's just a normal human.’

I tried to look for traits of the werewolf tribe, wondering if she might be related to the Nameless Saintess, but unfortunately, there were none.

For a moment, I thought she might be my daughter from the future, but no matter how much of a fusion fantasy world this game is, that kind of thing can't be common.

“I need to know your name to find your real parents, don't I?”

“..Clueless dad, I hate you.”

The child scolded me while pointing at the black knight armor. Who's calling who clueless? Feeling dizzy, I put my hand on the forehead of my helmet.

“Little one. Any other family?”

“I came to the empire with my brother, but there were too many people and I lost him!”

She wasn't even surprised to see Mardol dressed as Quercus? I thought it was pretty scary.

“Oh, it's a Fox Slime? The doll is cute! Hehe.”

“Thanks, for the compliment.”

She seemed to find the little dolls I attached cute, even speaking to her comfortably. Thank goodness she didn't call Mardol Mom.

“Little one, why do you think I'm your dad?”

“Black helmet! Armor! Anyone can see only my dad wears stuff like that!”

I asked the mysterious girl why she kept calling me that strange title, but all I got back were sharp words. What's wrong with being a Black Knight anyway.

‘Did she mistake me for someone because of the armor I'm wearing now?’

I looked down at the black knight armor I was wearing. The item the princess just bought me.

If she called me Dad because of this, I was sure she was related to Mardol. Especially since she had black hair.

Well, I guess it's because they said it was a best-selling product.

She probably confused me with another NPC who has the Black Knight class. In this vast world, I can't be the only one wearing a black helmet and armor set.

‘Is it just my imagination…?’

But even as I tried to calm down, it kept bothering me.

Actually, black hair isn't common in this world. Only the imperial bloodline or the Northern Grand Duchess have black hair.

“Then let's go to where that brother of yours is. Where did you get separated?”

“At the fountain! Clueless dad, you don't even know that?”

I'm telling you, I've never seen you before. At this point, I don't know if she's just naive or if she knows and is messing with me.

She means the fountain on the way to the academy. It's not far from here.

“Dad! I want to eat that..!”

“..Crystal Apple?”

Just then. The child pointed at a sparkling apple in a fruit shop. She grabbed my leg and stopped me.

“No. First of all, I'm not your….”

“Hic. I'm gonna cry.. Dad..”

“Licht, buy her one.”

Now she's even threatening to cry. Her parents must have a hard time. Even Mardol is pushing me to buy it.

I hate the sound of children crying, I heard too much of it in the past. I guess I have no choice.

“Welcome! Oh, is that your daughter?”

“Absolutely not.”

As I went inside the fruit shop to buy a Crystal Apple, a young woman was sitting at the counter.

“Hehe, what a cute little girl. Huh?”

“Dad, let's go somewhere else!”

When the woman who seemed to be the shop owner reached out to the black-haired girl, the mysterious girl jumped like a startled cat.

“No flirting..! Dad!”

She hid behind my back, muttering about flirts and such. What is this? I'm not your dad, and I'm far from being a flirt.

Calling a man who's only loved one woman for 15 years a flirt.

“You don't have to be scared. Here, a Crystal Apple.”

“Licht, the flirt.”

“Absolutely not. Mardol..”

Before a strange flag could be raised, I quickly paid and handed the crystal-like apple to the girl in the wizard's hat.

“Why did you say I shouldn't flirt?”

“..Mom told me to protect Dad from women getting close!”

Taking a big bite of the apple, the girl finally regained her cheerfulness and, chewing, said something that looked like a flag to anyone.

‘Who is this mom? I've been single forever.’

If I were to get married, it would have to be our Saintess and nobody else. All other women look the same to me, and frankly, I don't feel anything for them.

“Eat slowly.”

“Hehe, what can I do if it's delicious!”

Even though Mardol warned her, the mysterious girl ate the apple hurriedly, crunching. Is it okay to ignore an imperial princess's order?

“I'm glad I met Dad here! Honestly, I thought I wouldn't get to meet you!”

Now she was holding one of my hands, acting like we were really father and daughter, this girl who wouldn't tell me her name. Watching her, I started to feel a strange familiarity.

‘..Maybe her parents told her not to give out personal information to prevent her from getting lost.’

I remembered seeing something on TV about writing names or phone numbers in inconspicuous places like the inside of a bag.

“We've arrived.”

After walking for a while, the fountain came into view. In the distance, I could see a boy frantically searching for someone.

“You..! I've been looking all over for you!”

“Hehe, sorry, big bro. I ran into Dad!”

A boy wearing a sword at his waist like a swordsman ran up to me and Mardol. His hair was brown, and his eye color was the same.

Oh, please don't tell me he's going to call me Dad too.

“Dad..?”

“Yeah! Anyone can see he's Dad!”

At the wizard's hat girl's words, the boy looked up at me with narrowed eyes.

“...”

“Hey, what's wrong, big bro..?”

He furrowed his brow for a moment, then turned pale. Could it really be what I think?

Just as I was starting to imagine that I marry a brown-haired woman in the future,

“..I'm sorry! This one is such a tomboy!”

“Huh, huh? He's not our dad?”

The brown-haired boy wrapped up the situation. Thankfully, it seemed she wasn't my daughter from the future.

“Of course not! Just because he wears knight armor, if he were our dad, then the entire Imperial Knights would be our cousins?”

“But his smell….”

Bowing his sister's head down with his hand, the boy bowed to apologize. He said she was just playful and oblivious.

“I am Iferit. This one is Lin.”

“Mmph! Big bro..! My name..!”

“Quiet, Lin. You caused trouble for these two.”

So she did have a name. Not a 'Nameless' person like someone. Iferit was holding back the struggling Lin by covering her mouth.

“..I'm glad it was a misunderstanding. I almost became a married man with a kid.”

“She was cute, Since it didn't resemble anyone.”

I let out a sigh of relief. With two people having brown eyes, I thought it might be a flag or a route.

“Are you insulting me, Mardol?”

“..Maybe.”

Seems like it was just a random event. Mardol, who looked like she was covering her mouth with one hand and laughing, looked quite scary in her tree monster costume.

“I'm sorry for causing you trouble. Everyone.”

“We'll be going! Bye!”

Who does he take after, using honorifics so properly. He looked so young. Just as we were about to end this brief encounter at the fountain,

“Dad. Take good care of the Mana Rose.”

“..What?”

Lin, wearing the black wizard's hat, scurried over to me, whispered in my ear, and went back to her group.

“Wait, how do you know that..!”

“Hehe, it's a secret!”

How does she know? Even if she saw the grade exam, saying it at this timing is very strange.

Leaving words as if it would be necessary later, the girl took her brother's hand and disappeared into the crowd.

***

A place quite far from Licht and Mardol. In a quiet alley with no people.

“Eve, no matter how urgent it is, we shouldn't be here like this when you can't even use disguise magic properly.”

A boy sighed as if the ground would cave in, speaking to the black-haired girl.

“But I hid my wolf ears..!”

“Shh, be quiet, Eve. Lest we be caught by the 'Omniscient.'”

“Okay. Got it.”

Then, the girl who took off her black wizard's hat. Eve, who had been using the alias Lin, released her disguise magic by placing her palm on top of her head.

“But Sei, what was that just now? You even lied, which is unlike you..! He is our dad!”

Her small, soft-looking wolf ears reappeared, twitching as she complained to her brother,

“Eve. Right now, Dad and Mom don't know us….”

“Ah. So that's not allowed, right. I forgot.”

Sei looked at her with a displeased expression. He had managed to deceive the man in the black knight armor by hastily coming up with the aliases Iferit and Lin.

“You're funny too. How did you run into our parents in that short moment….”

“Hehe, jealous much, big bro Sei!”

“Mom was right beside you too. You should have been more careful.”

Following Eve, Sei also released his magic. Then, wolf ears popped out from the top of his head as well, and his brown hair turned black.

“..Huh? Mom was next to me? All I saw was a pretty tree monster decorated with flowers?”

“How can you be as clueless as Dad….”

Seeing her tail shoot straight up like a startled rabbit, Sei shook his head and told his sister the truth.

“Golden wolf eyes. Among those who have them, there's only one person who would be walking with our dad.”

“I couldn't tell because she only smelled like dirt….”

“I have good eyes, unlike you. It's understandable you didn't know.”

The boy's brown eyes glinted slightly, emphasizing their special nature. He showed how sharp his vision was, just like someone.

“Then you should have told me! Big bro Sei!”

“It's too dangerous. You know how great the Demon Kings' authorities are.”

Eve stomped her feet. She looked at Sei with resentful eyes, as if disappointed.

“..That's true.”

“At least it seems we weren't caught. That's a relief.”

Sei, who had been checking an array of countless letters while flipping through a slightly worn-out book.

“..The notes Dad wrote haven't changed.”

After a while, the boy wiped his cold sweat and spoke to his sister.

“Let's go back now. Eve. We're done with what we came to do, right?”

“Yeah, big bro.. Is this really enough? Can the route really be changed?”

“We can only hope.”

With a bitter smile, the black-haired boy and girl vanished somewhere along with a halo of light.

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