WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight

Chapter 14

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Episode 14.  As expected, a world where only I lack mana is wrong.

The lecture ended, and a crowd poured out all at once. Among them were four individuals.

"She's creepy, that professor. Should we bomb her with bad lecture reviews?"

"I think so too. Would you like to join, Kainel?"

"Be careful."

"Ugh, Fox Slimes don't even attack people."

Ariel shivered, as if still getting goosebumps. Kainel checked on her beside her. And Mardol and I.

Anyone looking would see us as a truly peculiar quartet. How can there be so little overlap in our colors?

We walked in step.

"Ah, Licht, you're going to the central hall, right?"

"Probably. I need to apply for club membership."

"I'll go with you too, Helmet Guy. Kai will come too, right!"

"I'll follow."

Why are you coming? I can't have a flag breaking and drifting off like this. I tried to change the subject as much as possible.

"By the way, Mardol. Aren't you interested in the sword club?"

"Nope. I already know everything."

Ah, that's more than two words.

What's famous in the Empire is swordsmanship,

especially the Gransia-style swordsmanship passed down from the imperial family. He certainly doesn't need to learn that elsewhere.

"So you want to learn swordsmanship from me?"

"Aerial combat, weak."

Indeed, the Emperor is a madman who doesn't care about distance. I forgot he was one of the Ten Greats.

The Wolf King who pacified the continent with just a one-handed axe. It was a relief if I didn't die upon meeting him.

"..Isn't that enough?"

"No, it's not enough."

If I break my promise with the Crown Prince like this, it'll be a big problem. I thought about the character's settings in my head.

Emperor Rook Gransia, huh.

'He was a person who cherished his family terribly.'

That's why, even in <Black Heart>, if the Crown Prince refused from the start, or if there was a threat to his person, the Imperial Guard would immediately appear. His personality was greatly influenced by the war.

"Hmm... Are you going to join the magic club, Mardol?"

"What about you?"

"Well, since I can't use magic, I'm going to seek Professor Dennis's help. You know that."

I spoke honestly.

My secret was already out. Any more lies would put me in danger. Mardol might summon the Imperial Guard, thinking 'How dare you upset me?' So I told only the unvarnished truth.

"That's right."

"What, Licht, you can't use magic...? What do you usually eat to be like that?"

"Really? Is something wrong, Helmet Guy?"

I put a hand to my forehead. It's not that something's wrong, it's that you guys are weird.

I hadn't told these two that I had a mana-less body to begin with.

'Other people wouldn't be able to use it if they starved for a few days either.'

They say mana is charged by eating, like bananas infused with radiation. No matter how much I ate, I never felt that sense of fullness.

It's already been five years. This definitely indicated a problem.

"There's... a bit of a reason for that."

"Oh, sorry. It was a sensitive topic. Helmet Guy... You poor thing."

"Don't tell me even the swordsmanship you used with me then was like that? That it was a mana-less technique?"

"My turn, was it stolen...?"

Ariel covered her mouth with both hands. And the Yellow Dog furrowed his brows. The Crown Prince hung his head. The situation began to twist ominously.

"It's just that I have a somewhat peculiar constitution."

I'm not the pathetic human you're imagining. Stop, I'm not someone who goes days without eating. I had to quickly defuse the situation. Waving my hands, I tried to appease them.

"I'll believe you, Licht. Instead, if you're hungry, just tell me, I'll buy you food."

"Helmet Guy... Our Academy cafeteria food is cheap and delicious, you know... Why are you like this..."

"..Hungry?"

"I told you it's not like that! I really don't go hungry!"

I felt my face turn bright red. I was so embarrassed I wanted to hide in a mouse hole. Is this the protagonist couple's banter? What suffocating teamwork.

Just then, the two of them suddenly looked at me and laughed.

"Alright, you can't take off your helmet, so it must be because of that. Just kidding. Just kidding."

"Kai, this is fun. Shall we tease Helmet Guy again next time?"

Kainel, Ariel. So you knew all along and did that. You've grown up so much. I'll have to set your next romance increase to 50 percent. I smiled wryly inwardly.

"..."

Mardol, it seems, has severed ties with comedy. Even so, he lacked too much social grace. Was he raised only like a hothouse flower?

What on earth happened in those 9 years until <Black Heart> for him to be like this?

"..We've arrived."

As we chatted and walked, we found ourselves in front of the central hall's sign that read [Magic Club].

I opened the firmly closed door.

***

Then, a blue-haired young man was watering a yellow flower.

"My students, no, aren't you the students who listen to my lecture? What brings you here? Don't tell me, club applications?"

"That's right, Professor Dennis. It's been a long time."

I immediately bowed and greeted him. Seeing a face I'd seen so often from <Knight Heart> to <Black Heart>, I felt a sense of familiarity. I made the slip of saying "It's been a long time."

"I'm still young enough that I shouldn't know students like Licht, you know."

"You know me?"

He laughed as he drank his coffee.

"Old Man Drake bragged about you so much. Though I did give him a minor warning."

"That's interesting."

A person with unparalleled white glowing eyes. He, who could barely keep his wits by maintaining a state of intoxication, offered me a handshake mixed with tipsiness. Seeing him like this was fascinating.

"Hello, Professor! Do you remember me?"

"Ariel... a student, I see. Are you doing well with your magic formulas?"

"Yep! Thanks to you! I've come to apply for club membership!"

"It's really been a long time since I've had students. Usually, people don't come often, saying someone like me is scary."

"But you're handsome, Professor? Not as handsome as Kai, though..."

Ariel, bright as ever. She was laughing, her red hair fluttering. She greets even people she's seeing for the second time so well.

Cat-like friendliness is the best.

"I'm Kainel. I want to practice infusing mana into my sword, so I'd like to join the club."

"This is the Holy Sword, isn't it. You must have had a hard time."

"..You know this?"

"Of course. I've seen it countless times, tried to break it, to shatter it."

The man made a complicated expression. Dennis, to begin with, valued human lives, so he often acted to eliminate the Holy Sword.

He also expressed his approval when this Academy was founded.

"Nurture those with the potential to become heroes or champions properly."

He formed the liquid in his coffee cup into a sphere and wrote words on it.

A single, simple sentence.

"It was the founding purpose of the Grand Hearts Academy that I first proposed. Even Brother Rook hated it, and it failed because of Chancellor Laplace."

He continued speaking, lightly twirling his finger once.

"You, you're that late student from back then."

"Hello."

"I hope you won't be late for lectures starting next time."

Oh, looking at him now, he could speak normally?

As expected, do protagonists understand each other or something? But why is he giving short answers to Kainel? The Glass Knight lowered his head.

"Well, enough with the small talk. Welcome to the magic club, everyone."

As soon as he finished speaking, rainbow-colored water droplets began to form layers before our eyes.

"As I said in the introductory lecture before, I aim for the extreme."

The water droplets lined up and spun in a ring shape in his hand. Is this also alcohol? It smells like alcohol.

'It must be something like a cocktail.'

As I was smelling it like that, the Crown Prince's armor next to me twitched.

Is he sensitive because he's a wolf? This is historical accuracy, I guess.

"Alright, now show me your magic."

He said, grinning at us.

I don't know when he pulled out the desks, but there was already enough space for five people to sit comfortably.

But I won't be able to. Feeling uneasy, I raised my hand and asked a question. It was better than speaking during lecture time, anyway.

"Professor Dennis."

"Yes? Student Licht?"

"I can't use magic."

"..You're kidding, right? Even Drake can do it to some extent."

I shook my head. For some reason, it wouldn't work. I was the type of person Old Man Drake truly liked. That old man also had a constitution with low mana, though.

"How did someone worse than that old man get into the Academy...? Ah, did you beat them all up with swordsmanship? Don't tell me?"

"Yes. Master Drake told me to."

"He really should have restrained himself... No wonder the examiner looked like they'd been beaten by someone."

At that story, everyone else stared at me.

You can do it too. It's easy if you learn from Old Man Drake.

"Am I normal for crossing swords with a guy like this, Ariel? Even though we passed too."

"I'm a little scared now, Kai..."

"..He's peculiar, as expected."

The two looking at me with strange eyes, and the Crown Prince looking as if he was seeing right through me.

I felt as if my muscles inside my clothes were visible, but I dismissed it as my imagination.

"Let me just touch your hand for a moment, Student Licht."

Dennis unfolded a magic circle.

Oh, it's really a magic circle made only of water droplets. Looking at it again, it feels kind of refreshing.

"You know the three elements of magic, don't you, Student Licht?"

"Mana, magic circuit, and incantation."

"Among them, incantation can be omitted. It gets a bit weaker, but it gets strong again if you do this."

"Beer Gold."

Dozens of magic circles, turned golden, rose around me.

The scent of beer spread inside the clubroom. And the magic circles glowed for dozens of minutes.

"This... will be difficult."

"What's the problem, Professor Dennis?"

He withdrew his magic. He was ruffling his hair, his body language saying that the situation was serious.

"You can't do it."

Seriously, no way? Even with this, I can't? Even if Dennis, the pinnacle of water magic, comes? I wore an expression of disbelief.

Though it wouldn't be visible due to my helmet, I tried.

"Your mana circuits are all tangled. Like a ball of yarn... What did you do?"

Transmigrated into a game.

"I've only eaten and slept well, though..."

"If you lack mana, you can just fill it up, by eating..."

He sighed once more. So, there was no problem with eating after all. I felt relieved that my stomach was normal.

"This is to the extent where your blood vessels themselves would all need to be replaced."

"Wouldn't a person die from that?"

"That's right, but if there's an advantage. You'd be somewhat strong against magic attacks."

"That's not bad at all. What's the downside?"

To my spirited question, Dennis shook his head sadly.

"Healing won't work. If you get injured, it'll be the worst."

"..That's really bad news."

So that's why my body still felt tired even when I drank potions and slept. I felt bewildered by this mystery of the human body, which I learned after five years. So that's how it was.

"Even Old Man Drake heals with potions, but..."

"That's sad. Is there no other way, Professor?"

"This is truly beyond my domain, Licht. So this is why Old Man Drake made you his direct disciple."

He sat back down and drank his coffee. And he returned the paper I had brought, leaving the others' application forms as they were.

"I'll have to reject your club application. I'm sorry."

"..."

I never expected this.

No, where did my happy magic romance academy story go? I have to watch Ariel and Kainel too. I thought of a countermeasure in my head.

"..Professor. Have you perhaps heard of a three-dimensional magic circle?"

Dennis's ultimate skill from <Knight Heart>.

With this, there should be a way.

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