WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Academy's Pure Love Dark Knight ◈

Chapter 102

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Episode 102. 1%. (Part 1 End)

* * *

Morning sunlight slipped through the curtains and into the infirmary.

"It's finally over, Phine."

"Mm.. thank you, Sister Char.."

Fortunately, Licht's surgery had ended in success, the one percent chance of success rendered meaningless, as if someone had lent a hand.

"How many hours has it been..?"

"Sixteen hours. I'll go tell Nex and the others, so get some sleep."

"Please do.."

After such a massive surgery that had eaten up so much time, even Phine Gransia couldn't help but be overcome with drowsiness.

"Oh, goodness..! You worked hard too, Phine!"

Creak. With those words, the door opened and Chartiness stepped out.

She needed to let Nex Aureus, who had kept the Phoenix Cradle active this whole time, know as well,

"It finally worked.."

and had to tell everyone around them that the Black Knight had survived even after being shot by the Demon King of Omniscience.

"Hehe, Licht."

Left alone, Phine's pure white wolf ears twitched. Shifting moment to moment like an antenna,

they sought out the steady thud, thud of a heartbeat.

"..It's beating."

To begin with, their circuits were now one, so she could already feel his heartbeat, but worry for the man's safety had made her do it anyway.

"Thank goodness.."

She was gladder about having been of use to him than about whatever that 'Nameless Saintess,' absent from this place right now, might have done.

The glass helm that had once hidden her was already set on a table far off,

and she'd even taken off her Masterpiece armor.

"..Licht. Why did you keep hiding your face this whole time."

Feeling that something about it was unfair, Phine carefully lifted Licht's visor.

Deep, thick burn scars.

"I don't mind, though."

Now that she knew the whole story of how Licht had gotten those burns, she only smiled faintly even looking at the disfigured face.

"You're handsome, if you look closely. Mm-hm."

Young himself, and surely in pain, but the moment he'd heard a scream from a building that looked like an infirmary, he'd run back in anyway.

In a way, even the young Licht had been every bit himself.

Against the Apostle of Gluttony's attack, he'd probably thrown himself in and changed the original course of history. Or else Licht had tried to sacrifice himself in that child's place.

"Licht."

Left alone, he was the kind of man who'd dart off somewhere and try to protect people even at the cost of shaving away his own life.

"You worked so hard. You're fine now."

She took his rough, calloused hand in both of hers and drew it to her cheek.

Even Phine, having done it as though drawn by a magnet, felt a flush of embarrassment at her own action and her cheeks reddened slightly, but,

"..A hero who's worked this hard deserves to be rewarded. You can't die."

her gratitude that he was alive outweighed that embarrassment by far. Not minding the slight chill of his hand, she went on talking.

"Licht, actually, I.."

She slowly closed her eyes, then opened them again. She liked being connected, like this, to the hand of the man wearing the Black Knight's helmet.

"..Until yesterday, I thought my eyes were cursed."

A hand grown callused and rough all over from gripping and swinging a sword.

Looking at it made her own strange body feel less abnormal somehow, and holding it always gave her a sense of relief.

"My eyes are far too good compared to other people's, you see. I could always tell whether someone was lying or not."

To fight off her drowsiness, Phine started talking to herself. With Chartiness, the 2nd Saintess, having left too, it was just the two of them in the room now.

"Not perfectly, to be precise. A person's heart really is.. contradictory."

Right now Licht was breathing quietly, sound asleep, and the long, long fight with Ache was finally over.

"Sometimes I thought something was a lie and it turned out true, and sometimes the opposite."

She let out a small sigh. The fact that she'd grown, since childhood, a personality as brittle and cynical as glass was partly because of what had happened with her mother, Bellin Gransia, but

"..that's why I couldn't trust people."

it was also because of the people who approached her knowing she was a princess, or the nobles who tried to exploit her power or her pain.

In short, a distrust of people.

"Watching you, I thought about a lot of things. Licht."

To someone like her, Licht, or rather, this man she wasn't sure whether to call Lee Suhyun now, was special.

"You're terrible at lying, so it's nice I don't even have to concentrate to see through you."

Phine let out a small hehe and let go of his hand. She poked Licht's cheek with a finger to check his reaction,

"It all shows on your body, you know. Because you're a silly pup."

and, watching his eyebrows twitch slightly, she felt something amusing about it.

"Besides, when you lie, it's never to put someone else in a tough spot, it's to help them. I liked that."

It really had been that way. Without the three-dimensional magic circle, facing Ache would have been far harder. If not for Licht, the students there would have gotten badly hurt.

"I don't know how you figured it out, but I trust you."

Even knowing she was a woman, he'd kept protecting her without changing how he addressed her, and even though he'd known from the very start that she carried imperial blood, he'd never let it show.

"..Because you're precious to me."

On top of that, faced with Magic Hat, he hadn't fled, but walked forward without flinching and managed to win the Queen of Hearts back.

Kindness with no reason. Goodness with no reason.

Phine Gransia liked those things about him. He was nothing like the people who calculated and measured everything.

"That's why I worry. That someday you'll collapse again."

But then there was the bleak past, standing in complete opposition. She couldn't quite understand how a person could have lived through something like that.

"Is it because of the Nameless Saintess, maybe..?"

A woman's instinct was kicking in. Anyone could see that the road Licht had walked so far ran close alongside sacrifice.

If the next Saintess had put some strange idea into his head, it would make plenty of sense. Maybe something had been done to him after he was summoned as the hero.

"..."

That would explain why he'd confused her with someone else even in the middle of his trauma.

A man who had risen all the way to Sword Master rank for the sake of someone he loved. No matter how much help Drake had given him,

that a body that could barely use mana had grown into the hero who'd take down Head Ache must have been thanks, in large part, to his own effort.

"The person Licht loves. It's probably true."

It would be a lie to say it didn't hurt her. Even if, right now, everything but his face had been healed.

The legs that had leapt so high to block the Demon King's ultimate attack had been broken until just moments ago,

and the hand that had kept using its skill even while being pierced by the thorns of the Mana Rose, all to save her, had been a wreck.

A Black Knight who didn't cherish his own body.

"Your eyelashes are long.. ah, that's not it."

For a moment she'd been staring intently at Licht's face, and she flinched, startled at herself, shrinking back.

The princess, who'd found herself wondering whether a man's eyelashes could really be this long,

"..In the end, saving you was exactly what my good eyes were needed for."

pulled the man's hand back toward herself again, this time setting it between her two wolf ears.

"My eyes were never cursed."

His hand rested gently atop her pure white hair. Their racing heartbeats flowed through each other's pulse.

"I tried harder than that Saintess person ever did. So.. so.."

Her lips trembled. She couldn't understand why she was shaking this much over just a few words.

"Tell me I did well. Praise me. Licht."

Her true feelings, tinged with jealousy, finally spoken aloud.

"..Mm."

As she said it, forcing Licht's hand to stroke her by sheer will, the man wearing the Black Knight's helmet regained consciousness.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, quite a sight greeted me.

"Good morning.. Licht.."

"Ah.. Phine..."

My hand was resting on top of Phine, and she was holding it in place, using it to stroke her own head.

"Are you, feeling alright?"

Like a child caught mid-mischief, she stopped what she was doing and asked after my well-being, squirming as though embarrassed.

"..I feel so refreshed it's almost strange. Phine."

At the somehow nostalgic words and tone, the sunlight from outside the window shone in from behind her, catching her beautiful white hair.

"You worked hard. Lee Suhyun.."

Phine Gransia smiled shyly once she'd confirmed I was alright. There was no glass helm or armor left hiding her anymore.

"You're not wearing your Masterpiece..? Or your helmet..?"

"I took them off because they got in the way while I was operating on my Suhyun."

She'd done that to save me? Ah, damn it. That's just too cute. I couldn't hold back anymore, and set my hand on her head again.

"If you go around calling me by my real name so freely..."

Pat, pat. So as not to startle her, I stroked Phine's head gently but affectionately.

Much like in the dream, the wolf ears catching at my fingertips felt soft and pleasant. A faint scent of roses spread through the room.

So this is how soft and silky a woman's hair is. How strange.

"I'll do it like this for you. Phine."

"Ah.. hng.. you're not supposed to touch my ears..."

She looked up at me, her face turning red. Well, who told you to go using my real-world name so carelessly. If anyone else heard it, they'd take me for the actual hero, wouldn't they.

"Should I stop?"

"Licht. Touch there more.."

Her expression had completely melted. I'd heard canines dislike having their heads touched, but maybe they come to like it once they get used to it.

"Hehe.."

That's real-world knowledge I barely remember anymore, anyway. This is inside a game, so let's set it aside a little.

"Alright, that's enough now."

"..Shame."

I stopped stroking Phine's head. It was the same method I'd used to soothe the Saintess in my dream just before, and if I kept going any further here, I felt like I'd get addicted to it myself.

The more I stroked her head, the more her lovely white ears folded back adorably, settling into an ever more comfortable pose.

"Still, it must have been a nice change of pace for you. I heard wolf-kin tend to like it."

"Did the Nameless Saintess tell you that..?"

"..."

Why is she so sharp about this. Maybe it's because she's really talking about herself.

I'm the guilty one here. I'm the bad guy who made even our Saintess cry before walking out of that dream. I had nothing to say for myself even with two mouths, so I changed the subject.

"So, how am I actually alive right now? It feels like there are two hearts beating in one body."

"Close, but not quite. The heartbeat you're feeling right now, Licht, is.."

Phine left my hand where it was, resting near her own heart, and pulled my other hand toward the very center of her chest.

"Sa, Saintess?!"

"..Saintess?"

"Ah, no. Phine, if you do that so suddenly..."

I was definitely just touching the center of Phine Gransia's chest near her heart, but the soft sensation against my palm had cold sweat breaking out on me.

"Are you actually a pervert? Licht?"

"..."

Truly an overwhelming presence. Even through her clothes, the fierce sensation had every nerve in my body on edge.

"..Anyway, that's my heartbeat. You can feel it, right."

"Yes.. I can feel it.."

Thud, thud.

With my hand resting there, our heartbeats pounded as though they'd become one. But by what principle did this even work?

Even I, who'd played this game for so long, didn't remember a skill like this existing.

If anything, something like this would fall under black magic or necromancy, wouldn't it.

"Phine, don't tell me you used a life-sharing skill?!"

"No, it's nothing like that at all. Licht."

Thinking she'd used a forbidden art to bring a dead man back to life, I'd been startled, and Phine calmed me down, shaking her head.

"It's more like.. we can each feel the other's heartbeat, that's all."

"Ah.. then does that mean the mana circuit..."

"I connected it completely to mine."

"..What?"

I'd thought it was simply a way to check that my heart was beating, but apparently not. I didn't know there was even a setting for connecting mana circuits with another person.

"..So, casting magic entirely on your own probably won't work anymore. But."

As my brain failed to process the sudden flood of information and I sat there blanking out, a voice slotted directly into my mind.

[Like this, we can even do something like a telepathy spell with each other.]

The beautiful voice of a wolf.

The very thing I'd just heard in my dream moments ago, I was now hearing in reality, unchanged.

A slightly high voice I couldn't forget no matter how hard I tried.

A cute little hehe of a laugh.

[If I'm by your side, I can even heal your body.]

[Ah, can you hear me? Phine?]

[Hehe, loud and clear. Licht.]

To think Phine had even shared her mana circuit with me, of all things. A sudden, enormous debt had appeared out of nowhere, and I felt dazed by it.

"Besides, you'll be able to call Kkamangi too.. later on."

My heart must have been shot clean through by Ache's bullet. If not magic, then how had that fundamental problem even been solved.

"Don't tell me, my heart is... a Dragon Heart?"

My guilt was snowballing, growing bigger and bigger, and I swallowed hard as I pushed the question further. No way. There's no way she put that expensive a medium into my body.

"Yes, because I kept my promise not to say I was weak."

"Just to save someone like me...mmph."

Come to think of it, the energy flowing through my body had felt off from the moment I woke. Strength was surging through my whole body, as if every vessel in it had been replaced brand new.

"..Don't say 'just.' Stop with the bad words. Licht."

She cut me off, pressing a single finger to my lips. When had my visor been lifted again? I'd been too out of it to notice.

"You're precious to me. This much is only natural."

"..Phine."

At her bold move, I glanced around. The room was already bathed in morning light. Looking at her tired features, I felt like it was time to finally admit what needed admitting.

"I'm the Black Knight who came here to make you happy."

"I know. Lee Suhyun."

The empire's princess, calling me by my real name, not budging an inch.

Watching her be so cute, I let out an involuntary chuckle. It's been a while since I laughed this naturally.

"I'm not some hero. Even less am I the kind of hero anyone would sing praises of."

"Still, to me... you were a hero."

"Then I suppose I'm a hero to you alone, at least. Phine."

I couldn't help but agree with what Phine said. If it's what the person I love says, it's probably true.

"I owe you my life. Thank you."

"No, compared to what I've received, this is nothing much..."

Her golden wolf eyes and mine reflected each other's faces.

I felt a racing heartbeat that seemed to have become one. Was it because of the shared mana circuit?

"There's one thing I'm curious about."

If these words could make up, even a little, for having failed to recognize her all this time, how good would that be.

That was a debt I'd have to keep repaying, little by little, from here on.

"Phine Gransia."

"What is it.. Lee Suhyun..?"

Now that I truly had to make a new start with the woman I loved, I spoke slowly, our bare faces turned toward each other, calling her by her true name.

"Today, were you happy."

Slowly, at a pace she could take in. So that it wouldn't be buried under that other self called the Nameless Saintess.

"Today..? I'm not sure. But."

So that I could love only the person named Phine Gransia, and no one else, I steeled every nerve I had for this moment and spoke my resolve.

"Right now, I'm happy that Lee Suhyun woke up."

"I'm glad. Phine."

Anyone can fall in love. But I'd always believed that love comes with responsibility.

'Because love is filling a glass with wine and looking out at a freezing cold world through it.'

I wanted to keep living, from here on, taking responsibility for that glass.

"I want to keep making you happy, by your side, from here on too. Phine."

"Then don't go trying to die.."

"Ha-ha, I'll try to hold back. This time was pretty rough."

I wanted to hold that fragile, easily-shattered glass called love, and live out my whole life, right up until I died.

"..Licht, I think my heart's broken."

"What..? Mine's completely fine, though?"

Just as I'd said that with certainty and felt a wave of relief, she leaned in closer over my bed.

"No it's not, I can feel it too."

"..."

"It's pounding like crazy, like it's actually broken..."

"It's probably just your imagination."

Ugh, she'd caught me racing. I really did feel like I'd become nothing more than prey now, unable to run from her at all.

Just as I was wondering how the love line would play out at this rate,

"..Huh?"

something appeared before my eyes, redder than any status window I'd ever seen, written in gold lettering, showering a burst of hearts.

[You finally noticed! Lee Suhyun!]

Why is the affection level status window showing up right now...

[I'll be rooting for your romance going forward! She's no longer the Nameless Saintess, but a 'Named Princess' now, but I'm sure you can love her plenty either way!]

The definitive word from Black Heart's creator. This thing had known all along and kept it hidden from me.

[Lee Suhyun ♡ Phine Gransia: 1%]

A translucent status window, written in short, bold letters.

The contents were downright shocking.

Which meant, dating Phine, could it possibly be...

"Licht?"

The protagonist looking at the illustration of Phine in a wedding dress, right now, as she looked back at me with her wolf ears twitching cutely,

'is... me?'

They'd definitely said to carry over the previous game's couple. So that no 'contradiction' would arise in the story.

To reproduce the love that appeared in both the first and second installments.

Since I'd played both of them on the 'Saintess Route,' the route meant for my Phine,

if I thought it through carefully, including the status window that had just appeared, only one conclusion could be drawn.

'The condition for the Grand Route included me ending up with Phine too?!!'

I'd thought she was originally supposed to meet and marry some other man, and finding out that wasn't the case at all left me speechless.

"Licht, your nose is bleeding."

"Wh, what? Really, blo..."

At the hot sensation spreading across my face, I brought a hand up to check, and just as she'd said, it really was bleeding.

"Pervert. Did you like my chest that much..?"

Embarrassing. I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. Phine smiled at me, alluring.

"..I'm sorry."

Looking at her, my heart pounded like mad, and my mind went completely blank white.

"If you're sorry, then hurry up and recover and get out of that bed. Licht."

Lee Suhyun, the freshman Black Knight of Grand Hearts Academy,

"Understood. Phine."

had, in the end, found a pure love all his own.

Academy's Pure Love Dark Knight, huh. Looks like that's really become true now.

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