WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Academy's Pure Love Dark Knight ◈

Chapter 109

──────

Episode 109. The Wolf's Love Is Surprisingly Heavy.

* * *

The first time Emperor Rook heard Licht's name was through a report from the Imperial Guard.

He'd known, at least, that Phine and Licht were close at Grand Hearts Academy.

"...and so, Your Majesty, the person who saved the princess's life is currently in critical condition."

But no one had told him how far things had gone between the two of them, or what feelings they held for each other.

"His name? What did you say his name was?"

"Licht. A man who wears a Black Knight's helmet."

A few days earlier, when Phine, the daughter he cherished more than his own life, had asked the imperial household for support to save a man's life-

"Is that the man I heard about before?"

"It seems certain he's a hero from another world."

"A hero... and one close to my Phine, no less."

His expression soured. He'd already seen countless heroes and Demon Kings from other worlds through the war.

"Gold, and if I refuse?"

"The princess will grieve, Your Majesty."

Most of them had been fools who were all talk.

Cases like Dennis and the Heavenly Demon were the rare exception, most were drunk on the intoxication of having been chosen to become something.

"That man has saved the princess's life more than once."

"Wouldn't it be more fitting for me to have all your heads cut off for failing to follow my orders?"

"Your Majesty... please grant your permission."

A person's worth was for them alone to decide, yet even the Demon Kings of the Heroic Cult had seemed trustworthy people at first.

He'd already seen more than enough heroes and Demon Kings vile enough to make him sick of it.

Some had swindled or committed crimes against his people, claiming to be heroes chosen by the gods,

"I refuse. I will not permit it."

With Empress Bellin's very survival uncertain, he'd been pushed to his limit. Whether this man called Licht lived or died, if he was a hero, it was better not to concern himself with him at all.

"...He said that if I showed you this, Your Majesty would believe him."

Just then, a single card was held up before the emperor's eyes.

"This is-?"

The Queen of Hearts, the card Licht had taken from Magic Hat.

"...Bellin."

"Yes, it seems this too was recovered by the man called Licht."

Unlike the design of the other playing cards, it depicted a queen with wolf ears.

"It's certain. That card does hold Bellin's soul. But how in the world?"

"It was passed on from what the princess herself was carrying until just now."

Emperor Rook rose from his throne at once and examined the item Gold had brought. His eyes glowed faintly, just like Phine's, as he confirmed the card was genuine.

"We didn't know either, until now. Our apologies, Your Majesty."

In truth, Rook had hidden the possibility that the empress might still be alive, afraid it would hurt his daughter.

"Her soul is bound to a corrupted holy sword. This, this can be brought back."

No body had ever been found, but after watching Phine collapse and turn white-haired from the stress once before, he'd resolved never to torture her with false hope.

"B-but more importantly... you're saying the hero who recovered this is about to die?"

He'd even issued a gag order and dressed up the empress's death as fact. In truth, it had been almost certain she'd been seized by the Heroic Cult, so it amounted to the same thing as death.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The princess pleaded with us earnestly."

"...To open the imperial vault. Well, I'll be."

He laughed, a faint trace of tears in his eyes.

However he thought about it, what was held in that card was, without question, his wife's soul. It didn't look like she could be fully restored just yet, but-

"A Dragon Heart transplant method... I'm not certain one even exists."

A catastrophe that had happened while he was away. How exactly it had been recovered from the Demon King of Truth, who so often made clones of herself, didn't matter.

"Wolves, hear me!! Open the vault at once and bring back whatever is needed to save the life of our benefactor!!"

In a way, he thought, it might well be this man Licht's own doing. Not a hero in name only, but a true hero.

Having dealt with many Demon Kings, Rook could judge the truth of it: if Magic Hat were simply killed, his wife too would be freed from the card, just as had happened in Ache's case.

"By your command. The Golden Wolf obeys, Your Majesty."

The moment the emperor's decree fell, the many layers of locks within the palace released with a rattling clatter,

and as the thick, gold-adorned doors swung open, precious artifacts and Masterpieces came into view.

"Steel Wolf, I follow Your Majesty's will!"

"Copper Wolf will move as well, for the empire's benefactor."

"Silver Wolf. Glory to the Gransia Empire."

The rest of the Imperial Guard rushed inside, searching for relevant texts and needed materials to raise the odds of success for the surgery Phine was performing.

"Licht, is it... Licht."

Having sent off the Guard, Rook sat back down on his throne and slowly examined the card.

"Just what kind of relationship does he have with my daughter, to do all this..."

He muttered to himself, caught in a sense of confusion over whether this was a dream or reality.

This was the first he'd heard, from this very report, that the man had saved Phine's life more than once during Demon King attacks,

"I'll have to meet him myself, without fail."

and the fact that he'd saved even Bellin was just the same. For the first time in a long while, the emperor found his prejudice against heroes beginning to change.

* * *

I felt a sensation of freezing, from the tips of my toes up to my knees.

"So then, exactly what is your relationship with my daughter?"

Exactly what relationship, indeed. The truth was, we weren't comrades, and calling myself just "a guy she's friends with" felt way too awkward for what this actually was.

"Why can't you answer? Lee Suhyun."

The emperor wore a kindly smile, the kind that, in a way, made him look like nothing more than a friendly uncle.

'If I answer wrong, I feel like my head's going to roll.'

A bitter taste rose in my mouth. Killing intent assaulted my whole body.

If I called him father-in-law, I felt like an ultimate attack would come flying at me immediately. And to begin with, Phine might be somewhere nearby,

"...We're just friends."

Ever since I'd found myself in danger just now, I could feel her heartbeat overlapping faintly with mine. I couldn't put her in a difficult position.

We weren't even dating to begin with, so what father-in-law? A commoner with no noble title demanding marriage with a princess would be suicide.

"Hmm, friends, just friends, is it... And yet you fought a Demon King at the risk of your own life, I hear."

"Because it was the right thing to do."

Was that the right answer? The corners of Rook's mouth rose, and the killing intent vanished.

"Ho, a rare young man in this day and age."

His expression had softened completely. Only then did I think, inwardly, that I'd survived. But still, wasn't he a little too strong for this?

"By the Imperial Guard's report, I heard you are the Hero of Conviction. Lee Suhyun."

"...But I'm not that."

"Ha, quite right. A person's worth isn't something for others to decide!"

The emperor who'd looked frightening just moments ago now looked like nothing more than a warm, handsome middle-aged man.

"You're clearly someone I see eye to eye with, and I like that. And you're my Phine's friend, too!"

Maybe it's because he's Phine's father, but now that I look closely, they really do resemble each other. With his black hair, his strength, his element, nothing about him overlapped with her at all, so I just hadn't noticed.

"Your Majesty, might I ask if there's another reason you've called me here?"

If he'd simply meant to congratulate me or repay me, he wouldn't have tried to test me like this. Something felt off, and I asked the emperor the question.

"I thought as much. You've heard about the recent events in the north, haven't you. Lee Suhyun."

Did he mean the monster raids? I'd heard about it once, back when that gigolo bastard kept reciting the Northern Grand Duchess's backstory in one long stream.

"An apostle sent by another Demon King is driving monsters down into the northern territory."

"Am I to deal with it?"

That's why I'd noted it down in my notebook too. If I went north, I'd be able to meet Asha Aureus as well.

"That's right. It seems you're able to resist a Demon King's authority."

While I was at it, maybe I could get approval for Nex and Chartiness's marriage too, I thought, listening closely to what he said.

"...In truth, I'd like to go myself."

He spoke, a faint trace of unease on his face.

"It seems our Phine is a target of the Heroic Cult, so I can't afford to act rashly."

It seemed that with Ache's Erasure of knowledge undone, he'd heard what Ache had said while fighting me.

If the Heroic Cult had its sights on Phine, raising an army to sweep them all away would hardly be wise either.

"I nearly lost Bellin doing just that once before."

So that was how the empress had been taken from him. If he'd tried to wipe out the Heroic Cult's remaining remnants and failed to protect what mattered most to him in the process, that would explain it.

"Then might I go together with Senior Nex, Your Majesty?"

"...Asha said that wouldn't do. I'm sorry."

A shame. I'd thought it would be perfect to go with Chartiness or Nex and get their marriage approved. I guess the bad blood between them hasn't cleared up enough for that yet.

'I guess it'll be hard for things between Asha Aureus and Nex to mend right away, but...'

But it was fine. I knew what came after, after all. At the very least, if I could just bring her back from the north to the empire, I should be able to raise her affection level to some degree.

"I'll send Drake with you instead, so go, just the two of you."

"I'll carry out your command, Your Majesty."

I knelt again and paid my respects. Still, going with my mentor was fine by me. With Ache already dealt with, it would be hard for the Demon Kings to go straight after Phine anyway.

"I'll devote myself to hunting down the traitors still hiding within the empire. Now that the Erasure of knowledge has been undone, I can finally find them."

If we left Phine in the empire like this and pushed the Heroic Cult bastards back slowly...

"Dad, you were mean."

That was when I felt a presence beside me. Someone with an adorably swaying white tail.

"Phine, I'm sorry about that."

A woman who stood as the exact opposite image to the black wolf king appeared. A wolf with hair as white as snow was right there beside me.

"Did you really have to torment Licht?"

"When you bring home a strange man, what father in this world wouldn't put him to the test? My daughter."

"You didn't even tell me..."

Before I knew it, Phine had pressed herself close beside me. When had she even gotten here?

"Licht, stand up."

"Phine, this is His Majesty's presence, whatever else is going on."

She hauled me straight up from my kneeling position. Why are you suddenly like this? Right in front of Rook, she had her leg and even her tail wrapped around me, holding me up.

"I'm not talking to you anymore, Dad."

"Phine? What in the world are you talking about...?"

"And, we're not just friends."

A sense of dread washed over me. I tried to clap a hand over her mouth before she, someone who seemed to have zero sense for how romantic relationships between men and women worked, could drop a bombshell, but-

"...He's my boyfriend."

It was already spilled milk. She'd made the shocking declaration before I could even move.

"Phine, if you say it like that, His Majesty is going to get the wrong idea!!"

"Why...? You are a friend who's a man. Kainel really is just a friend, but... you're someone precious to me..."

"Aaaaargh!! Phine, stop!!"

An overwhelming chill struck me all at once. When I turned to look, I saw Emperor Rook, his face gone fierce again after hearing that outrageous statement.

"...I must be misunderstanding this. Lee Suhyun?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Phine and I are nothing to each other!!"

His voice came out in a low mutter as he forced down his anger. At his words, teeth clenched, I scrambled to smooth things over,

"No, we're already about as mixed together as two people can get...?"

Oh no, there was Phine, putting it that way to mean our mana circuits had been shared. While I was making excuses to the emperor, she'd pried my hand off her mouth by sheer force.

"Ha ha. So I've let a madman into my palace."

I swallowed, hard, without meaning to. Today's the day I die. What route did I even end up on, that every single one of my Phine's lines is catastrophic like this?

"Phine, plea-please tell His Majesty it's a misunderstanding..!!"

"...We really did share our mana circuits, didn't we. Licht."

She told the truth, though far too late, but it seemed Rook hadn't heard a word of it. He simply walked toward the back of the throne.

"You, you... how dare you..."

The emperor snatched up a hand axe mounted on the wall with a loud bang. Its handle was long enough to grip with both hands, an axe closer to a halberd.

"You laid hands on my Phine-! Didn't you-!!"

He hefted the massive axe with one hand and swung the steel straight down at me. A blade of wind sprang into being in an instant, trying to cut off my breath for good.

'I'm going to die. I'm going to die. I'm going to die.'

A sonic boom made from raw physical strength alone.

So this was the original Void Slash. It was the first time I'd actually seen it in person. I was too stunned to even scream.

'Old Thought, Reminiscence...!!'

I had no choice but to bring out Old Thought immediately and flee the palace together with Phine. Because of it, a hole opened up in the ceiling,

"That rat-faced little..."

The wind blade, having lost its target, tore the massive entrance doors I'd come through earlier clean off and sent them flying.

* * *

After Licht had taken Phine and fled.

"Your Majesty, please, your dignity!"

"Dignity? As if I care about that, aaargh!!! A warrant, yes. Issue a warrant for his arrest!!"

Rook, tearing at his own hair and stamping his feet,

"No, wait, if I do that, our Phine might never set foot in the palace again!!"

could do nothing for fear his daughter would hate him even more, and could only keep swallowing his fury.

"What in the world am I supposed to do, Gold...!!"

Seeing the emperor's outburst, the guard clad in golden armor came rushing straight over.

"...I think simply staying still is your best option, Your Majesty."

Gold tried to calm the wolf king down. Having watched the situation unfold from the side, he'd known something like this would happen eventually, but-

"Your Majesty knows as well as anyone that this is simply how the werewolf race is..."

He'd never once, in his whole life, seen that cold, emotionless imperial princess talk back to her father like that.

"However much they only ever love one person, isn't this too soon, Gold?"

"My apologies. It was my failing, Your Majesty."

Rook, having returned the axe to where it belonged, sank back onto his throne and let out a deep sigh. Wolves were, by nature, monogamous animals.

"Even I need time to prepare my heart for this! Besides, that child doesn't even know what a wolf's love truly is yet...!"

Wolves loved heavily. Once they loved someone, that never changed. But couldn't a human be different?

He agonized seriously over the possibility of infidelity, or worse, that someone might turn his daughter's love into a leash and exploit her with it.

There had been real cases where, after getting involved with a human man and then breaking up, a werewolf couldn't bear the loneliness and made an extreme choice.

"If, by some chance, she's gotten tangled up with a bad man... what am I supposed to do..."

"Didn't you confirm it with your own eyes, Your Majesty?"

And that Phine's emotions had once been utterly empty was a fact the emperor knew as well. Because of it, Rook worried that she, unaware of her own love, might end up causing some kind of trouble.

"Even so, I cannot accept this!"

If it had been Empress Bellin Gransia, she might have accepted Licht, but a father-in-law and son-in-law meeting for the first time could be an awkward pair.

"...That man is a thief. The most wretched thief in the world."

Seen from where he stood, it was no different from some thief suddenly appearing and stealing away his precious daughter.

The emperor's vision swam at his daughter's declaration that they'd already mixed together in every way there was.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried