WeTried Translations
Translator: Botanica
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Academy's Pure Love Dark Knight ◈
Chapter 137
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Episode 137. No Matter How I Look at This, It Doesn't Seem Like a Duplicate.
* * *
The men's dormitory at Grand Hearts Academy. Right now, Phine's duplicate stood in front of me.
[Licht, can you hear me?]
[Yes, I can hear you.]
I was talking to the real one through telepathy magic. The duplicate hadn't so much as twitched.
'I told her before that she shouldn't just come into a man's room like this….'
And this time it was me who'd dragged her all the way into the dorm. Words that left your mouth couldn't be taken back, so I had to be careful.
"...."
There was no helping it, since Phine had said it meant nothing if it wasn't done in my room. I'd have to go along with it.
'If this works out, I could use it like a spare life.'
In the game, it had mainly been Magic Hat's trick. Even in our last fight, as long as her real body went untouched, the Demon King just kept getting back up.
As the Nameless Saintess, Phine died because of a forced event.
But now I basically had a way to break through that. If I used the enemy's own trick, it could be a breakthrough.
'Thought you killed the real one, and ta-da, it was a duplicate all along. That's allowed now.'
It's common enough for a character everyone thought was dead to show up perfectly fine later. If Phine's death flag was the problem, I needed to build a survival flag to counter it.
Kainel had said he was going around the empire with Ariel, so we should be fine.
Just a moment ago, he'd given me a greasy wink and a signal to leave it to him.
A hero whose face and personality both shone bright. Thanks, man.
[I've put up soundproofing and anti-detection magic.]
[Ah, yes.. Is that really necessary?]
The voice echoed inside my head. The imperial guard was apparently on standby outside too. Felt like a bit of overkill, honestly. I swallowed nervously at the tension.
[..It'll be necessary.]
Phine's duplicate took off its helmet. White hair, exactly like hers, spilled down to her waist. Nothing looked especially strange about it.
[What do you think of the duplication magic?]
Even I wouldn't have known at all it was a duplicate, if I hadn't been told. Phine, who'd fully released even her Masterpiece, spun around once.
[It's perfect. It's just like the 'real thing'.]
The duplicate's body gave a small flinch. I'd heard that right now Phine was moving it like a puppet, linked to her own body. The real one had gotten startled, so I guessed that was the reaction showing.
Mirror Mirage. Magic that creates an illusion mimicking the target's actions.
But why had she asked for my help with this?
[M, my own duplicate turns out fine, but with someone else's, I can't get the texture right….]
Ah, so that was it. She wanted to make a duplicate of someone else too? That would help a lot when it came time to fight the Demon King.
Unlike my own plan to break the death flag, it seemed she had a different angle in mind.
[For example, if I tried to make a duplicate of Licht….]
A soft shimmer, and a glass wall formed, out of which popped a duplicate shaped like me. The visor was raised, so I could see its face.
[The texture comes out different.]
This one looks like it came out a little too handsome, Phine.
I knocked on its chest like a door, and it made a hollow, empty sound. Even knowing it was my own duplicate, it felt strange.
[I'm pretty sure Licht is a bit more solid, and more handsome….]
I felt embarrassed. To be precise, the upper body's detail had been outstanding. The muscles were built the same way mine were, right down to the helmet and academy uniform looking almost identical.
But if she tried to send this into the Demon King's castle to infiltrate it, they'd figure it out. It wasn't good enough to use as a decoy to lure out Magic Hat.
[I saw you at the hot springs too.. but I really don't know Licht well..]
Phine's glass magic shattered with a soft crack, and my duplicate disappeared.
[What exactly do you need me to help with?]
[Just once, could you hug the duplicate of me over there? Licht..?]
Her duplicate spread both arms wide, striking a pose asking to be hugged. It wasn't like she'd actually feel it herself. Why would she need to go this far?
[I think I can check how Licht's mana circuits are laid out that way.]
She was trying to work out the texture through the mana circuits.
The source of mana is the heart.
Its overwhelming presence cast a shadow. If I hugged that tight, Phine was sure to be startled. No, wait, maybe it'd be fine since it was just a duplicate.
"You did give permission, then. Your Highness."
Uneasy, I muttered to myself as I stepped closer. Phine was the one asking me to hug her. It wasn't my fault.
I made a wide circle with my arms, leaving some room. Not a full embrace. And even so, the overwhelming presence of her chest showed off its full force.
'Stay calm. Calm. This is just helping with magic, that's all.'
Phine's duplicate was soft. It really could reproduce even the sense of touch. Holding her and staying still like that, a feeling of comfort settled over me.
Like a little teddy bear.
This was the first time I'd hugged her knowing what I was doing. Last time, I'd thought she was the crown prince and comforted her without realizing.
[More, hug me harder.. I still don't know yet.]
[..Understood.]
When I kept the contact to a minimum, Phine started to whine. Her snow-white wolf tail flicked back and forth like it had a motor attached.
[Is this enough? Phine?]
I pulled her in just a little more, and Phine jolted upward in surprise. Why did she keep getting so startled like this? It was only a duplicate, after all.
[J, just a little more..]
Still not enough, then. Even the hero couple needed close contact when they used their combo attack.
I pressed in, and, with no other choice, held Phine fully against me, body to body. Her white hair poked through the vents of my helmet, tickling me.
A body heat and scent sweet enough to melt me drove me half out of my mind. I had to hold on. Lee Suhyun.
"..Phine? Are you all right?"
Several minutes of holding Phine tight passed. An awkward silence settled in.
There was no answer coming back through telepathy, and the duplicate's arms hung slack, like their strings had been cut. Sensing something was wrong, I called Phine's name a few times, startled.
"...."
The duplicate, smelling of roses enough to tickle my nose, stayed still in my arms.
Had she disconnected the link? It was just like her, always running away the moment I got close.
'..Wait, a duplicate has a scent?'
Right then, a question occurred to me. Something made of glass shouldn't have a smell.
"Phine."
The scent of roses. Sweet, soft, floral.
Suspicious no matter how I thought about it, I let go of the hug and studied Phine's face carefully.
"..This isn't a duplicate, is it."
Her flushed cheeks and widened golden eyes made it clear that this whole thing had been a lie.
[No. It's a duplicate….]
She shook her head. Even without using magic anymore, just speaking out loud, Phine still understood me. So she'd been the real one pretending to be a duplicate.
It had just been Phine, from the very start, who'd walked into my dorm room. Once I got suspicious, she tried to fix her expression. Sorry, but you're already caught. You're even blinking.
"So it's fine if I keep doing this, then?"
"Ah.. ahnn.. Licht…."
I grabbed her wolf ears and started kneading them. A soft, jelly-like texture, irresistibly appealing.
"Don' do that.. I did something wrong…."
With my other hand I stroked her hair too, and as I kept touching her everywhere, I finally got a reaction. If she was going to get caught this fast, why even bother?
"..Did you do this on purpose because you wanted a hug?"
I stopped my hands and asked her slowly. She was the type to get embarrassed easily, after all.
"N, no.. really.. I wanted to make a duplicate of Licht."
Phine confessed that she'd been putting on an act. Her tail hadn't stopped moving the whole time, though, so it didn't seem like she'd hated it.
"If I'm going to make a duplicate of someone else…. I only want to make one of Licht."
An honest, pure answer.
This was exactly why I'd fallen for Phine. Unlike me, she never ran from her own feelings. Transparent and clean, like the season's first snowfall.
As the Saintess, Phine had once preached to me that pure love was invincible, the very one who'd corrupted me with that theory.
Someone like this was the easiest to stain, which was exactly why I had to be careful.
'If she'd done this to some other guy instead of me….'
Just imagining it was awful. Phine, held in the arms of some blond, tanned punk? I might end up heading out, tears of blood in my eyes, to hit him with a Demon-King Slayer.
"So.. so I could make it more realistic.. help me. Licht."
Phine asked, her voice trailing off as she stared at the floor. It had clearly taken a lot of courage for her to tell the truth.
Well, this was still better than her lying to make a duplicate of me some other way. If she was being honest about it, there was no reason I couldn't help.
"Would hugging you more do it?"
"Th, that's enough already. Could I see your back..?"
Phine's magic was a mirror.
It reflected whatever faced it directly. Thinking back over every Mirror Mirage I'd seen her use, they'd only ever shown the front of the target.
"..Whatever you want, I'll do it for you. Phine."
Click. I started undoing my clothes, one piece at a time.
She'd never seen my back even at the hot springs. If I could use my own duplicate to lure Magic Hat out later, this would help a lot.
Having already possessed a body inside this game, there wasn't much I wouldn't do to protect Phine.
"Wait, this is.. too much stimulation…."
Phine covered her face with both hands. Through the gap between her fingers, her wolf eyes watched me closely. Acting like she wasn't looking while seeing everything.
Back when we bathed together, she'd even touched my arm, saying it felt firm. Ever since that kiss on the cheek, her reactions had gotten unusually intense.
'..Guess she's slowly coming to understand love.'
Even as the Nameless Saintess, Phine had never actually experienced love. Manipulated by the game's own writers, all she'd had was a vague longing.
A saintess who admired the characters out of a romance novel.
Even taken on dates, there'd been no special events, not even the kind of couple's activities you could do with a heroine.
Valentine's Day chocolate, for example, was an item you could never give her.
"Licht.. you have scars on your back too."
"Ah, I've lived kind of a rough life."
The moment I stripped off my shirt and showed her my back, something warm touched it. Phine's hand.
"..That must have hurt."
I'd struggled through it all. To protect Phine, I'd needed to become stronger than anyone.
Since I couldn't do magic, or spirit arts, or anything like that, I'd poured every spare moment into swordsmanship.
Bitten by wolves, beaten by orcs, practicing Void Slash on wyverns flying overhead. Looking back on it now, it really had been quite the journey.
There was no point moping over having no talent when I never knew what was coming next. Every time I got impatient, I pushed my body harder.
Because I was the only one who knew the game's future, the only one who could save Phine.
"This much is just a medal, Phine."
I gave a bitter smile. I'd finally met her again. Did she even know how much time, five whole years, had passed?
While I stood there saying something foolish, Phine tapped my back with her palm.
"It's not.. a medal…."
Phine, on the verge of tears just from seeing my scars. Her hand moved like she was scolding me, but it didn't hurt at all.
"I never knew.. Licht had lived through this much…."
"I just did my best."
That was when I felt a heavy weight against my back, and Phine's arms wrapped around my waist. She'd hugged me from behind.
"Don't ever do that again.. it's because of that person called the Saintess, isn't it…."
Ugh, sharp as ever. I hadn't said a single word about the Nameless Saintess, and she'd already figured it out.
"...."
Instead of dodging the question, I chose silence. Kainel had told me before that my lies were always easy to spot anyway.
"Licht. Just stay like this for a moment.."
Her breath touched my back. She'd pressed her whole face against me. This was getting more than a little embarrassing. What if someone walked in?
Before I could figure out how to handle this sudden reversal of positions.
Speak of the devil, they say, and he appears. Kainel threw open the dorm room door and walked right in.
"Licht! How'd the magic training with Her Highness go…."
The blond hero looked back and forth between me standing there shirtless and Phine hugging me from behind, and then.
"Ah, right…. Guess I came a little too early?"
He gave an awkward smile and tried to close the door. Not what you think. Stop.
Startled, I grabbed the doorknob. Kainel cracked the door open a little and said something.
"I'll keep watch out here, so.. take your time..!"
It took Phine and me a full thirty minutes just to explain the whole situation to Kainel.
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