Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight - Chapter 35

WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight

Chapter 35

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Episode 35. There are things that don't help if you run away shamefully.

Colloquially, the Saintess Route.

Actually, it's a term I popularized in the community.

My life achievements are eating and playing <Knight Heart Trilogy>, and nothing else.

It was quite a casual term, too. If she were the main heroine, a prettier official name would probably have been given.

Because she's Nameless. Our Saintess.

There are a total of three conditions to see it.

First, not breaking the game's main coupling. In the case of <Knight Heart>, this is automatically achieved by playing the game normally.

"Why did you call? Licht."

"Kainel, Ariel. Could you both come over here for a moment?"

"Got it! Helmet Guy!"

In the original, it was Dennis, and in the sequel, it was these two.

I was organizing my thoughts while watching the blonde and red-haired couple. To align the Grand Route with the Saintess Route, preparation was needed.

Now, the Crown Prince Companion Route also had to be included.

Second, not taking the NTR or Harem route. This was a condition specifically created in <Black Heart>.

Anyway, our Saintess suffers only because of the developer who likes strange things.

This was also why I initially avoided Lupus.

"Licht, what are you doing?"

"I had a good idea, Mardol."

Lastly, almost no one besides me succeeded at this.

'Not changing the healer to anyone else until the game is cleared.'

Because of this, most people derail even while on the Saintess Route. While her healing prayers are effective in the early stages of the game,

Small heals wouldn't work on characters strong enough to defeat the Demon King. That's why I also learned skills from other professions to compensate for the insufficient recovery.

The moment you change the healer even once, you apparently can't see the Nameless Saintess Route.

[What? There's a cutscene like this?]

[Is it a hidden route? I haven't seen this dialogue appear??]

[Does the Saintess really become a heroine? There were tons of hints, though..]

I had never done that from the start, so I didn't know. I was surprised when the community was flooded with questions about how I defeated the Demon King with such a low-performing healer.

Honestly, I wonder if it's just a lack of effort. If you don't get hit, she doesn't need to heal you.

'Ultimately, a skill-based masterpiece.'

I was famous in the community as a crazy person who either overpowered enemies with control, steamrolled them with stats, or memorized strategies and patterns to hunt down Demon Kings.

[Pure Love Black Knight: Before you read the guide, take a look at our Platinum Wolf!]

The reactions were most annoying when I first wrote a guide post for Magic Hat's Phase 1.

[A build using a trash character no one uses... I'll try catching them differently.]

[Newbies, don't fall for it...! Run!!!]

[Why is this a guide?? Looking at the video, you just don't get hit?!]

[As expected, ^Waifu^ level.. See how She's not needed at all for the guide.]

└[Pure Love Black Knight: Where do you live?]

└[No, how can someone who can't even use Divine Power well be a Saintess? She heals worse than a Yellow Dog.]

└[Pure Love Black Knight: Tell me your address right now!!]

No, honestly, our Saintess is cute. My only sin was inserting illustrations into Demon King guides to try and attract people's attention.

Among them, the two techniques I found most useful in Demon King guides were.

"Would you two perhaps be interested in learning a combined skill?"

The ultimate skills and combined skills of NPCs.

"A combined skill...? Kai and I?"

"Licht, what on earth are you thinking?"

"Something came to mind. I guess you could say I was inspired."

In Kainel and Ariel's case, casting two ultimate skills simultaneously creates a combined skill.

'I avoided teaching these two magic because I was afraid of derailing the Grand Route.'

Because the player shouldn't interfere and mess up what could be called their 'love certification magic.' It was also a technique frequently seen in the game.

I drew a picture on the ground with my sword.

Since it would be too difficult to learn ultimate skills right now, let's try to get both flags and romance affinity with a simple, new combined skill.

"..This, explode?"

"That's correct, Mardol. Your keen eye is impressive."

"Three-dimensional magic circle. Application."

The Glass Knight spoke with interest about what I had drawn on the ground. Is his eyesight that good? He immediately understood a circle with a diagonal line splitting it.

"It's about casting a fireworks spell multiple times like a three-dimensional magic circle, condensing it, and then Kainel unleashes Shine Strike to detonate it."

Actually, it's a strategy I came up with thanks to something Ariel said in the clubroom. It should even be somewhat effective against water-aligned enemies, which are a weakness.

"Is there an advantage to doing this, Licht?"

"Light and fire attributes will be combined. Furthermore, since it's a chain explosion of overlaid magic, its destructive power will be stronger than regular magic."

"Hmm... So Kai can detonate it like a time bomb? Flexibly?"

I could see the red-haired elf pushing down her hat and thinking hard. As she said, a three-dimensional magic circle has a high risk of injuring the caster if done incorrectly.

"That's correct, Ariel. And it will allow us to effectively deal with multiple targets."

"But it's too dangerous... Helmet Guy... unless you're water-aligned like Professor Dennis..."

"You two. You need to catch strong and many monsters, don't you?"

"That's what I said, but..."

Moreover, overlapping fire attributes makes it very unstable. Therefore, I came up with a good idea here.

"Cast the magic while making physical contact with Kainel. Then it should be fine."

"What did you say? Licht?"

"Hiyayak!! Licht. What on earth are you suddenly talking about!!!"

What I learned through the Glass Knight. If you borrow someone else's magic circuit, this problem will also be solved. Because the light attribute will overlay the fire attribute as if coating it, reducing the danger.

"Shall I show you a demonstration? Mardol. You can, right?"

I nodded towards Mardol. I needed to show them directly to avoid suspicion.

"Yes, Licht."

The Glass Helmet nodded, and the knight in shining heavy armor grasped my hand. Both before and now, he really likes interlocking fingers.

"With this method, even I can use magic."

His grip strength is quite strong. Ease up a bit, Crown Prince.

"What? You can use magic...?"

"Well, that's a relief... No, what does that have to do with anything, Licht!"

Kainel making a strange face as he looked at me, and Ariel expressing embarrassment loud enough to burst her throat.

「Merak.」

As soon as I finished chanting, transparent, bubble-like spheres of light began to float into the air. Seeing this, they would also get the gist of it.

"Oh...? This is a bit different from regular Merak? Licht?"

"..Ah, I've seen it in books before. I heard it is rare to actually do it."

Originally, Merak is simply a skill that floats spheres of light. That it's cast like bubbles here is likely due to Mardol's influence. That's how I noticed it then.

Because he's someone who twists earth-aligned steel to use it like glass.

"As such, an individual's attribute is unique and hard to change. That's why it gets overlaid."

The protagonist is indeed a cheat. Seeing how Dennis also twists water into alcohol and uses it right away.

Then later, would it be easier to find only light-aligned people and identify our Saintess?

I furrowed my brow at the sudden brilliant idea.

"Would you like to try it? In a back hug pose."

Let's add a level of difficulty here, unlike with Mardol. This is perfect for increasing the romance affinity of childhood friends. Because sometimes, embarrassment can be very helpful.

"..Huh? What? Are you serious?"

"Licht, do you really, really have to?! Why would I back hug Kai!!"

The red-haired magician's face flushed. Ariel was glancing at Kainel repeatedly while shouting. At times like this, she really is a tsundere.

"Absolutely not! I hate it-!!"

"..Isn't there another way?"

Our tactless Yellow Dog is trying to back out again here. I needed a way to put more pressure on them. I secretly hoped Mardol would play along and opened my mouth.

"Mardol, don't you think a back hug would be good too?"

"..Yeah. That's right."

As expected, Lupus at this point is an intellectual. He really gets it. I chuckled inside my helmet.

"You can separate once the three-dimensional magic circle casting is complete. But until then, the idea is to maximize stability by keeping your hearts as close as possible."

That's true. Ultimately, the source of mana is the heart. This was also why the game's titles were <Knight Heart> and <Black Heart>.

"..Hiyak, Helmet Guy... that's true, but..."

"Ariel, let's just try it once."

The closer they stick together, the lower the risk of explosion. It is quite a romantic setup. There were even players who drew swords from their hearts.

"If you... ask me that much... there's nothing... I can't do... Kai..."

"..."

She yelled when I said it, but she listens when Kainel says it.

I finally succeeded. The corners of my mouth curled up uncontrollably. How great would it be if they could flirt so well without me? I felt lucky I was wearing a helmet.

"Ariel, you're not... uncomfortable, are you?"

Kainel took a stance, gently hugging Ariel from behind.

As expected, The Hero of Light. He embraced her from behind, just slightly, to avoid touching any strange parts.

"Mhm... Kai. I'm okayy..."

Ariel would probably like this more and more, but her face and neck were already so red they were indistinguishable from her hair color.

"Alright. Now try casting the three-dimensional magic in multiple layers. But be careful to use only weak techniques, as it could explode."

I opened and closed my palm, sending a signal. Beside me, Mardol was watching with his arms crossed.

"Licht, why?"

Golden eyes were visible inside the helmet. The heavy-armored knight spoke as if from a cave.

..Surely, he wouldn't back hug me to teach me magic, would he?

A sudden chilling sensation ran through me. The threat to my chastity was felt once again. I just want to see our Saintess's happy ending, I don't want a 'drift'.

「Fireworks.」

「Bright Flare.」

「Sparkler.」

Ariel began chanting. A total of three weak spells. Fortunately, at this level, even if they exploded, they would only make a loud sound and wouldn't be dangerous.

"Good. Compress them to about the size of a sphere. Kainel, get closer."

I checked the slowly rotating three-dimensional magic circles multiple times and gave a hint to the red-haired magician.

"Ariel. You need to be careful."

"..Thanks for worrying, Kai."

In her childhood friend's embrace, she lowered her head deeply and leaned into him. At that, Fssssst-. something like a fireball began to gather into a single point, making a sound.

"Good. Throw it forward when I give the signal."

"And I just need to cut it with Shine Strike, right?"

"That's right, Kainel."

He's quick to understand, which is good. As expected, The Hero of Light. Anyway, even if something goes wrong, I can just cut it down with Void Slash. I held up three fingers.

"Throw it on three. One."

In response, Kainel released his hug and stood beside Ariel, nodding at her. Holding the Holy Sword, he focused on the candy-sized flame on her palm.

"Two."

"You'll do great, Ariel. Don't worry."

"Really? Kai... I'm scared I'll hurt you like last time..."

The reason I insisted on this method was because I knew she had burned Kainel's hair while practicing fire magic when they were young.

"It's fine. This hairstyle looks cooler now, doesn't it? It's actually better."

"..Thanks, Kai."

Content from the setting book. It was a good thing I copied it into my notebook as soon as I possessed this body. Who could memorize all of that?

It's not good to be afraid of firepower. While it's resolved by the time of <Knight Heart>, it's not now.

"Three! Throw it!!"

I shouted loudly. If magic is kept clashing for too long, it's prone to auto-detonation.

「Shine Strike.」

I focused on speed as much as possible for such a situation. After all, area-of-effect skills can be solved by using combined skills with Ariel in this manner.

-KABOOOM!!

The condensed magic circles were sliced by the blade of light, causing a chain of explosions.

A gust of wind raged due to the aftermath of the combined skill, and trees were burning. I'd have to use Void Slash to push it back and put out the fire. Putting it out isn't the problem. Something else is.

"Hiyak!"

Perhaps not expecting the wider range, Ariel was startled on the trembling ground.

She immediately lost her balance, swayed, and fell. Because of that, Kainel also fell while trying to support her.

"Ariel, are you okay?!"

"U-uh... M-mhm... Kai... I'm okay..."

With his arms braced on the ground, the Hero ended up protecting the magician pinned beneath him, like in a 'wall-slam' pose.

Their distance so close that their noses almost touched.

Their pounding heartbeats seemed audible even from here.

"..Uh... Kai..."

"Ariel? Are you hurt anywhere? You're not injured, are you?!"

As expected, a romance fantasy academy story. I wish their romance affinity would shoot up quickly like this. The tactless Yellow Dog was still saying strange things even after seeing the scarlet cat.

Ah, they're not dating yet, are they? Is the goal to get past 50 percent?

"You need to move... for me to get up..."

"Ah. Sorry."

He says things without understanding how people feel. How meticulously did I supervise to ensure they wouldn't get hurt in the first place? It's almost disappointing.

"It's... much stronger than I thought..."

Ariel, shaking off the dust from her hair as she stood up, and,

"It's a relief you're not hurt..."

The Hero, whose face was now flushed, finally realizing how close they had been.

As if the burning forest from their combined skill was of no concern, they simply cleared their throats, maintaining a slight distance.

Look, the Soul Bears and Armored Bees are dead over there. Look ahead. Dumbfounded, I placed my hand on the forehead of my helmet, and a familiar status window appeared.

[Kainel♡Ariel 29% ‘NEW!’]

It definitely rises slowly. With Nex, it started at a base of 50 percent. How long do I have to keep doing this? I pondered for a bit.

'Well, that's fine by me.'

I'm not too fond of them suddenly falling in love at first sight or dating due to forced circumstances. A slightly satisfied smile played on my lips.

"..Peculiar."

As I nodded slightly, the Glass Knight beside me looked at me strangely.

Sensing a presence, I looked at Mardol, and my black helmet reflected on his shining surface.

'Ah, no way.'

At that moment, something poked. A stabbing sensation in my chest. Come to think of it, I need to protect our Saintess's love line like this too.

It wasn't over just by connecting them. Indeed.

My guess is that the main coupling of this installment is the Crown Prince.

"..."