WeTried Translations
Translator: Botanica
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight
Chapter 41
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Episode 41. What Came Out of the Magic Hat Was a White Rabbit.
“Hahahaha!! Royal jelly from an Armored Queen Bee! Well done, Licht's team!”
The yellow-haired man with scars all over his face laughed, looking at me. Drake, the Dragon Slayer.
“A material you wouldn't have gotten if you were only focused on killing monsters! The faculty were watching closely!”
“That’s right. It’s hard to extract if the boss monster dies first.”
“..Licht, you knew.”
He let out a hearty laugh as he evaluated our party’s spoils.
“Swordsmanship is still the best, isn’t it! Student Licht!”
The professor’s gaze is a bit scary. Did he notice I joined the magic club? I broke out in a cold sweat inside my helmet.
“Then.. it’s almost evening, so I’ll announce the first place! Dennis, are you ready?”
“Yeah, Drake.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Dennis pulled out a three-dimensional magic circle, and a transparent ranking window appeared. It was the same magic I’d seen during practical training.
[1st Place: Licht's Team.]
[2nd Place: ….]
My name, proudly at the very top. As the team leader, was that natural? I turned my head to look at the others.
Then the red-haired elf shouted with a bright smile. She even threw her hands up in joy.
“Kai, Helmet Guy, Mardol! We did it!”
“How many monsters did we catch? It must be dozens just by eye.”
“..We won.”
The blond hero spoke to me as if it were obvious, and the Glass Knight clenched his hand into a fist, as if having accomplished something.
“Actually, if you hadn't brought the royal jelly, your score would have been around 2nd or 3rd place, Licht.”
“Is that so..?”
“Because in this world, being good alone isn't everything.”
My prediction was correct. No matter what, a group assignment is a group assignment. Overall teamwork is important. The blue-haired Dennis opened his mouth.
“..So, you really have no thoughts of graduate school? Licht.”
“None, Professor..”
“That’s a shame.. it's rare for an undergraduate to know the characteristics of the Armored Queen Bee.”
I might already be doing sword training with Professor Drake, or if I get caught by Mardol, I could be confined in the Imperial underground and never see the light of day.
The thought of being caught in a three-way choice, even with a graduate lab, was terrible.
“..You utilized the bees’ characteristics, accurately leveraged your teammates’ abilities, and even protected other team members in the end.”
“That’s right, Licht.”
Did I do that? Well, I did cut down the stinger flying towards Mardol at the end. The glass helmet rattled, affirming Dennis’s assessment.
“Therefore, our faculty has decided to give full marks to the team Licht belongs to. Any more questions?”
“None, Professor Dennis.”
“Alright, the sun will set soon, so let's return to the Academy.”
As if relieved by the satisfactory result, he chuckled and patted my shoulder. Moments like this make me nostalgic for the original story.
‘Actually, I used to be very close with this person too.’
The protagonist of <Knight Heart>. A human male who loved a cursed dragon.
There was a specific reason why he was described as a human male, not a mage, from the beginning.
“Well, it seems everyone has had a good experience, so we will return to Grand Hearts Academy to rest. All classes tomorrow are canceled, so rest well.”
Dennis grinned and offered words of encouragement to the other students.
“Hooray!”
“Good work! Professor!”
Looking at it this way, even though it's the past, the famous good nature of characters like Kainel hasn't changed.
“Alright, reflect well on today’s events and grow. Our Academy students worked hard too.”
In the original story, he was a character with impressive white eye-glow. He was described as someone who had transmigrated from the real world, similar to me.
‘..That’s why he’s a human male, not a mage. His original profession wasn’t a mage.’
But it’s dangerous to reveal that I’m a transmigrator. The fictional world he lived in is different from mine.
‘To save this person, I’ll have to defeat the Demon King of Omniscience…. That’s how the original story had a happy ending.’
Called the Drunkard, in the bad ending, he was a tragic man who yearned for his lover associated with magnolia flowers and was slowly dying.
Seeing him force himself to drink just now made my heart heavy.
“Then, let’s move.”
As I was deep in thought, the three-dimensional magic circle rotated, and teleportation was cast.
***
The moment Dennis cast teleportation, a white-haired woman wearing a magician’s hat was walking around the empty classroom.
“Hmm, is this it?”
Checking the remaining traces of magic around, she noticed something unusual. There were signs of several magic circles bundled together.
“It seems teleportation magic was used this way…. Water attribute, so Dennis?”
Mumbling to herself again, the white-haired magician with golden eyes pondered how to move to where the hero was.
“Ah, that should work!”
As if another good idea had struck her, she clapped her hands.
Then a red revolver formed in Magic Hat’s hand. Her eyes crescent-shaped as she looked at it.
“If it’s the holy sword used by the Demon King of Omniscience, surely circuit reversal is possible, right?”
-Bang!
And then, she accurately fired the gun towards the lectern where Dennis had cast teleportation. Soon, a three-dimensional magic circle made of several rings appeared.
“Hooray! As expected, interesting things are within my calculations! Oh, was it not this?”
The white-haired magician expressed her joy, bouncing around like a child. Taking one step at a time, as if approaching an interesting toy,
“..If I touch this, I think I can move to the other side.”
The distance between the three-dimensional magic circle and the Demon King narrowed.
“A hero I’m meeting after a long time, I should give them some senior-level education!”
Grinning wide enough to tear her lips, she barely managed to suppress a burst of laughter.
The moment Magic Hat’s hand touched the three-dimensional magic circle, white light erupted from the magic circle as if in response to her touch.
***
A sudden movement, like a stage set changing.
“Well, gentlemen…. No, students. With this, the group assignment is concluded.”
I had moved to the classroom where I was yesterday morning, as if being in the forest just moments ago was a lie.
As expected, three-dimensional magic circles are cheating. I felt a strange sense of pride that they were using the ultimate skill I taught them right away like this.
‘In the original story too, depending on which magic circles were combined, there were endless possibilities for their use.’
Other students had already started packing their bags and leaving the classroom. Soon, only Professor Dennis and I remained in the empty classroom.
Huh, but it feels very empty.
Even after looking around several times, I couldn’t see Kainel, Ariel, or Mardol. Did Dennis fail the teleportation? I spoke to him.
“..Um, Professor Dennis?”
“What is it, Licht?”
No matter how I thought about it, it was strange. The pinnacle of water magic couldn’t be this shoddy. He’s a person who values students’ lives more than anyone. There’s no way he would leave students abandoned in a remote forest.
“..My team members haven’t arrived yet, Professor.”
“What on earth are you talking about, Licht?”
“Huh?”
“Everyone was teleported. No one should be missing.”
What?
“Isn’t there some mistake, Professor Dennis?”
That can’t be.
I spoke Kainel’s, Ariel’s, and Mardol’s names, but he shook his head, saying he didn’t know them.
The hairs on my body stood on end, and goosebumps broke out.
His attitude, looking at me strangely as if nothing was wrong. This could only mean….
“Even if I check the attendance register again, there are no such names, Licht.”
“..Professor. Then, do you remember who else I did the group assignment with?”
“Didn’t you.. do it alone?”
It had to be ‘that bastard’.
There was only one case where people around believed a false truth so firmly.
A mad magician who wears a mask and deceives characters.
The Demon King who covers the world with the authority of falsehoods.
“Huh, wait a minute…. That can’t be. It was a ‘group assignment’, after all.”
In Dennis’s case, he was a person who always drank to resist the Demon King, so he soon showed confusion at my question.
Magic Hat, Demon King of Truth. That man has started his activities.
‘...Damn it.’
I bit my lower lip. What the hell went wrong? I thought he was a character who first appeared in the sequel, so he wouldn’t act so boldly here.
“Professor, it’s urgent. Please send me back to the forest we just came from.”
“..Me, Licht? It’s too dangerous. What if it’s not the Demon King, but a lure? If the Head used his authority, isn’t it safe?”
By this point, he must have realized it was related to the Demon King. He was trying to maintain a calm demeanor and control his expression to prevent the Academy from falling into chaos, but.
“Just hurry, anyway!!”
“..Are you really sure?”
His face had already turned white, and he was trembling at the uncanny feeling he was experiencing. It must be a sensation he had continually felt because of the Demon King of Omniscience.
‘Calling the Ten Greats would endanger the Academy.’
In Dennis’s case, he would know that if he left the Academy, another Demon King might invade.
“..I’ll do graduate school or whatever. Just now!!”
He was that strong and important of a person. Moreover, at this point in time, I was the only one with the possibility of defeating Magic Hat.
‘In the forced event I saw in <Black Heart>, Dennis died helplessly. Drake did too.’
The global first kill achieved solely by me. Is this why the creator transmigrated me into Licht? My whole body began to tremble with fear.
No, I shouldn’t be this frustrated already. This is the past.
An unhappy future can be changed as much as possible. When I raised my head, my black helmet rattled.
I clenched my fist. I opened my eyes wide and looked ahead. The Nameless Saintess is in danger, and Kainel, Ariel, and Mardol’s safety is at stake.
“No backing out later, Licht.”
Perhaps seeing my determined expression, he soon nodded and pulled out the three-dimensional magic circle. I’ll do graduate school or whatever.
The person who killed our Saintess had gone to the hero couple, so I had to stop them.
“..We’ll see about this when I get back, Professor Dennis.”
I savored the memories of the original story from long ago, and bid him farewell. Dennis’s expression showed he hoped the Demon King wasn’t involved, but.
That couldn’t be. Magic Hat was the only one capable of such madness.
***
The Endless Forest of Monsters. In that place, there were three individuals who hadn’t returned to the Academy.
“Huh..? Kai, why are we here?”
“I don’t know. Ariel, maybe the professor accidentally left us behind?”
“..Something feels off.”
A quiet place with no one but them. At that moment, the sound of grass being trodden on occurred, and a woman’s voice was heard.
“Oh my, ladies and gentlemen…. And Glass Knight? Hello, everyone!”
“White hair..? Huh, wait a minute.”
“..Who are you? Did Professor Dennis send you?”
The woman in the black magician’s hat faced the hero’s party. She spread her arms, adopting an attitude as if greeting an audience.
“..Magic Hat.”
Phine drew her sword the moment she saw her, and began to cast glass magic. Golden eyes clashed, trying to assess each other.
“..Do we know each other? I’ve never seen anyone like you before.”
“Shut up.”
“I have so many enemies, you see..! Well, maybe you’re one of them.”
Seeing Phine raise her sword at her, Magic Hat, unfazed, floated playing cards in the air and prepared for battle.
“Wha- what, Mardol?! Do you know her?! Why are you suddenly like this?!”
“..Ariel. Prepare to fight.”
“Kai..?”
Although the Holy Sword of Light at his waist didn’t vibrate, Kainel keenly felt that the situation was far from ordinary.
‘Is that the white-haired woman Licht talked about?’
A menacing and chilling aura enveloped her entire body. A murderous intent could be felt even as she smiled gently, as if covered in blood.
The Hero of Light, facing a Demon King for the first time, personally witnessed with his own eyes that the holy sword’s special abilities wouldn't work on a mad person.
“..Oh dear, how amusing. You’re still green, aren’t you?”
At this, the Demon King of Truth showed interest in Kainel. As if her rough estimation was complete. Her eye corners curved, showing a relaxed demeanor.
“It seems you’ve broken the Head’s authority. Probably!”
“Kai.. what is she, really?”
Even while continuously saying chilling things, she maintained a bright, childlike expression. Ariel aimed a magic circle at the Demon King and asked the hero beside her.
“Probably.. a Demon King.”
“W-what..?! Kai. Really? At least among the Demon Kings I know, there’s no one like that!”
The red-haired elf mage’s eyes were trembling. Likewise, the blond hero’s fingertips, gripping his sword, also began to tremble.
“Be careful.. Kainel, Ariel.”
The heavily armored knight in glass armor also feared whether his attacks would work.
Just before both sides attacked each other.
“Should I kill them all.. No, I should leave them alive! Yes, that’s what I should do!”
Magic Hat’s face, with her white hair fluttering, was slightly flushed.
“If I don’t kill anyone…. He’ll know that I fervently love my darling!”
The expression of a madwoman in love.
Uttering a sentence that no one present could understand, the enraptured magician moved her hand, sending cards flying.
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