Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight - Chapter 38

WeTried Translations

Translator: Botanica

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight

Chapter 38

──────

Episode 38. Always you, just one step behind.

Class.

A classification of professions, appearing since <Knight Heart>.

[The reason I became a Saintess...?]

Among them, I chose the Black Knight.

Thanks to her words, I even used a nickname change ticket to rename myself 'Pure Love Black Knight'.

[Well. I guess I just suddenly heard a voice when I woke up...]

My skill tree was Magic Swordsman. I swept away enemies by using swordsmanship and magic simultaneously.

It was convenient in a game where magic was overpowered. The white-haired woman pricked up her wolf ears while looking at me.

[..Ah, you just had a strange thought, didn't you.]

Even incorporating Holy Knight skills, it was optimized to protect her, a non-combat class.

The scent of roses wafted, and golden eyes drew closer.

Wolf eyes, indeed. They certainly shine brighter than human eyes.

[The God of Light is quite thoughtful, so there are many times when people in the world don't understand him. But I thought a Knight wouldn't be like that...]

She puffed out her white cheeks, making a pouty expression.

The inn lobby that appeared when first logging into the game. The Saintess and I stood there, just the two of us.

[How can you be a Saintess if you can't even answer your name?! I've heard that a lot. Me.]

She, who would respond silently or say she didn't know, no matter how much the player asked about her name.

It was often joked that even the Demon King of Omniscience didn't know.

[I'm also a half-baked cleric who can't even use Divine Power properly.]

That's true. In game communities, they often used '1 Saintess' as the standard for comparison. Her wolf ears and tail drooped, as if she had become gloomy.

[Title: Today's Character Performance Analysis (Long post warning)]

If there were a post like this, for example,

[She's totally 666 Saintess-level, isn't she? Wow, with just basic skills, HP is full, and leftover healing goes into a shield?]

[An Ancient Elf is a Priest? Uses a bow and heals too? This isn't an elf!!]

└['That Saintess' lost like a dog again today... No, since she's a wolf, it's not 'lost like a dog'.]

└[Pure Love Black Knight: You're the worst.]

..There were many malicious comments like that. I later added them to my block list.

Even if she couldn't heal, she was a good person. Moreover, there was no other Saintess class besides our Blue Rose.

It was her unique pride that no one could take away.

That's why I was so surprised when I learned about Chartiness, the 2nd Saintess, after transmigrating.

(TL Note:

Hey there people, I have decided to change (샤르티네스) from 'Shartiness' to 'Chartiness'.

The original transliteration "Shartiness" was too easily misread as having an unfortunate indecent connotation in English.)

[Hehe, I'm still a Saintess. I believe that a profession or name should come with a corresponding status or effort.]

Once again, the Nameless Saintess, whose white ears and tail returned to their place, formed a fox-like arc at her lips.

[It's the same for you, Knight. If you're 'the Black Knight', you should show a cooler side! Hmph.]

Playing pranks like snatching my helmet, which was an equipped item in my game, and running away,

['Pure love power' is lacking. This isn't love...]

Or sighing and scratching her head in exasperation while reading a romance novel she liked.

[Burn scars...? I don't really mind those. Knight, you're always number one in my heart...!]

It was hard to think of her merits one by one because they were all so good; she was simply endlessly lovable.

[Lee Suhyun.]

“...”

[All this time, I'm sorry for being weak.]

[..Please, may you find peace.]

I wanted to protect her.

I wanted to give her a happy ending, just once.

This time, it's okay to be weak.

***

“..That dream was disgustingly realistic.”

I woke up from my sleep like that. The fact that I sometimes even dream like this makes it feel real. Even if it's a world within a game.

It was morning, with sunlight peeking in from outside and gently touching my eyelids. I had slept deeply for the first time in a while. Perhaps it was because I had used Void Slash so much.

“And the Saintess appeared again... Did I talk to Yellow Dog for nothing yesterday?”

I thought I wouldn't feel so down anymore. Even after several years, I haven't changed.

“Ha... Seriously.”

I sighed deeply. Somehow, memories kept lingering instead of fading with time, and only the good ones came to mind.

I lifted the visor part of my helmet.

“No matter what, right now I have no way to protect the Saintess.”

Because I'm different from Black Knight Licht in the game. I can't use magic or Divine Power.

I rubbed my sleepy eyes. They were a little wet. Did I even cry? You crazy bastard. I shook my head side to side, trying to regain my senses.

“Instead of worrying about this, let's just swing the sword.”

I lowered my helmet again, covering my face. My condition had certainly been very bad since yesterday. I picked up the Pure Love Injector Mk.2 lying nearby and stepped out of the tent.

“Licht. Hello.”

“Good morning, Mardol.”

As soon as I came out, I ran into the Glass Knight. Was he practicing swordsmanship too? Seeing him repeat the same movements multiple times, it was the Gransia Empire's sword style.

Huh, but something looks really strange. It's like several transparent people are overlapping around one person...

“What are you doing...?”

As I stared intently, he stopped his sword and asked me a question. Then, a single distinct figure became clearly visible.

“Are you creating illusions with glass? That's amazing.”

“Actually, no.”

I made my guess based on the fact that the tree in front of me was cut even though nothing had struck it, and that I saw something without a shadow.

Since magic disregards the laws of the world, it's entirely possible.

“This glass magic. Is it a realistic illusion, then?”

“Yes. That's right.”

“You said you twisted concepts, right? Like Professor Dennis.”

“..Steel. Shines.”

It's like a clone technique. Magic is indeed overpowered.

So, among the concepts of earth-attributed steel, he twists 'it sparkles. it reflects light.' to use glass?

“Then, you can also apply it in other ways. It seems incredibly hard.”

“As expected, strong and smart.”

When you think about it, it's an effective method. Since glass shares the properties of steel, it has high strength and can be easily reshaped, allowing for unconventional use.

‘He was an overpowered Crown Prince character, wasn’t he?’

I made a brief observation. This level of ability is certainly enough to protect our Saintess. I looked at the golden eyes inside his glass helmet and felt envious.

As expected, he's a descendant of the Ten Greats. Nex Aureus too; their bloodline is truly overpowered. But why did he appear weak in the sequel?

“But were you originally this strong, Mardol?”

“No, I'm weak.”

“..Lying is bad. Tell me.”

“I need to get stronger.”

Even when trying to dig for information, he's a character with the compulsion "I need to get stronger." I looked Mardol up and down, impressed by his pure white full plate armor.

“..Why? Licht.”

I paused and pondered for a moment. Something was really bothering me; was he truly the same person?

‘This might be the real Crown Prince’s personality. Or maybe the Lupus I saw was a double...’

Seeing his magic, I was starting to get a grasp. Each person's attributes are unique.

It's strange for a unique character who twists earth attributes to fall to a mere Gary Stu.

The Nameless Saintess has the same light attribute as Kainel.

“What on earth is the reason, then? That you couldn't protect because you were weak.”

“...”

In <Black Heart>, Lupus lacks too much solemnity. It would have been easier to make him a silent character like he is now to encourage monetization.

“..Hm, you don't have to answer. I spoke too strongly. I apologize, Mardol.”

“No, my fault...”

Seeing the Glass Knight hanging his head, my heart softened.

In reality, he's not a bad person right now. I took a step closer to reduce his wariness.

“Mardol.”

We'll have to become comrades and hunt Demon Kings together in the future.

“..Still, don't worry too much. This time, I'll be able to protect her.”

“Okay... Sorry.”

I also need to entrust the Nameless Saintess to him, so let's shift gears a bit and approach this gently. I patted the shoulder of his crystal armor as a gesture of encouragement.

“Ah, among the monsters we've defeated so far, there aren't any 6-star ones, are there?”

“Yes, Licht.”

To change the subject, I looked at the spoils of war collected in one spot. This performance is decent, but...

We lack something to definitely earn an A+. And with Ariel and Mardol missing, our teamwork score won't be good either.

“When Kainel and Ariel wake up, let's talk. Let's catch something stronger and seemingly easier.”

My current condition is top-notch, thanks to our Platinum Wolf and the dream I had. I needed to make up for what I lacked all day yesterday.

***

“Heeum...”

Meanwhile, at the Academy where Licht's party was absent.

“This shouldn't be happening...”

A white-haired woman wearing a magician's hat was touching the barrier. Zzzzt. As an outsider tried to approach, making a sound, the barrier, unlike before, didn't allow it.

“..How boring.”

She rested her hand on her chin, a look of disinterest on her face. A woman clad in black from head to toe, except for her hair.

“Is it because that Reaper got caught? The barrier has thickened.”

Her polite speech had changed to informal speech. How much time had passed?

“Guess there's no choice...”

She pulled out a black mask from her pocket and placed it over her face. An accessory whose smiling expression could be described as eerie.

“Now it passes through. As expected, my power is the most convenient...!”

As soon as she put it on, her attire changed into that of a common academy student, and even her face took on another person's form.

“Ah, if I wear a mask, my darling might not recognize me...?”

She touched her own face, expressing discomfort here and there. The black mask she had just worn had vanished as if it had never been there.

“No, my darling will recognize me! Let's trust him.”

The Demon King of Truth, humming a tune as if in high spirits. From within her came a cute female voice.