WeTried Translations
Translator: Botanica
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◈ Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight
Chapter 67
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Episode 67. The Difference Between a Watchdog and a Wolf.
A few days after that commotion. I was hunched over in a chair in the waiting room, anticipating my next match against Kainel.
Even if I lost unfortunately, my intuition screamed that I had to confirm Mardol's gender. If she truly was a new heroine, it could prevent me from seeing our Saintess.
‘Come to think of it, there were many strange things.’
Like her subtly feminine side, enjoying cute and sweet things like Ariel, or her hands being small despite wearing heavy armor.
Because Nex said he was the Crown Prince, I thought he was truly Lupus. But looking back, he also spoke awkwardly at times,
Mardol didn't refer to Chartiness or Nex as 'older sister' or 'older brother' either.
Perhaps Nex called him the Crown Prince to help him hide his identity as much as possible. Or it was an attempt to test me, to see if I was a villain approaching him, knowing he was of imperial blood.
Furthermore, Mardol was someone so obsessed with strength. Perhaps he thought it was his weakness.
‘To think I didn't even notice such a simple fact…’
Due to many distractions and my singular focus on our Saintess, I hadn't considered the possibility that Mardol was a woman at all.
To follow the Saintess route, I couldn't form a harem. There was too much information, and my thoughts were drawn in that direction.
‘I need to reach the finals.’
I need to advance to the finals, shatter her glass armor, and confirm if she's truly Lupus's older sister. If she's a female character, I can start keeping my distance from now on.
I let out a long sigh. To think I was thinking so deeply about another woman. Our Saintess would have something to say if she knew. Ariel is fine because she has a coupling like Kainel.
‘What route am I on right now?’
As I connected those thoughts, I realized I needed to check how I was behaving to achieve the Grand Route. Ultimately, I had to work for our Saintess's happiness.
I definitely want to see that wedding dress illustration. If I die without achieving that, the creator is truly evil.
Ultimately, Mardol's help will be indispensable to defeat the Demon King. His strength was truly immense, and his magic and swordsmanship seemed superior to the Hero couple's.
‘...Is it just a comrade route with Kainel and Nex?’
If all else fails, I can just take this comrade route. Dennis, the protagonist of <Knight Heart>, never gets involved with the player. His only lover was Heavenly Demon Baek-Mokryeon.
Surely the Glass Knight wouldn't end up with a player like me. Seeing that my name doesn't appear in his status window, there must still be a chance to get closer to our Saintess.
Ignoring the ominous feeling creeping up my spine, I got up and headed to the arena.
Because I only have our Saintess. I won't be swayed.
***
[The Grand Hearts Academy's annual examination is nearing its end!]
Laplace's voice boomed loudly, heating up the audience stands.
[Student Licht, wearing the Black Knight helmet, and Student Kainel, with his striking blond hair! A semi-final match featuring two swordsmen! Only one winner here will advance to the finals!]
As expected, they're hiding the 'Hero' part. I stood still in the arena and looked at the audience stands. I could see the glittering Glass Knight reflecting the sunlight, even from afar.
He came to watch my match. It must be because of the comrade route, right?
“Licht. Are you alright?”
“..I'm fine.”
The blond-haired Hero who walked forward was worried about me. My despair over having cheated on our Saintess must have manifested physically.
“Alright, if you say so, I'll believe you. There are things in this world that are hard to talk about.”
“..Thank you.”
“I'll definitely beat you this time, Licht! I can't keep owing you forever.”
The Hero of Light, displaying a kind smile and speaking positive lines.
Watching him, I drew a faint arc with my lips inside my helmet. These days, Heroes are either somewhat mentally unhinged, or,
“If you can, try it.”
They're guys filled with despair about the world. The Demon Kings of The Heroic Cult are like that too. I get that they can fall into corruption. But why point an innocent gun at other people?
It's clearly wrong. One's own mistakes or misfortunes should end there. That's why I'm trying to take both the Grand Route and the Saintess route simultaneously.
Because of the malicious creator, she's the only one without a happy ending.
“Licht.”
“What is it Kainel?”
It was then. Drawing the Holy Sword of Light, he looked at me with serious eyes, unlike before. He seemed to have something else to say.
“..We're friends, aren't we?”
“Why are you asking that suddenly?”
I tilted my head, questioning his query. He wasn't the type to say such things. Had something changed in his heart after the decisive battle with Magic Hat?
“It's just that, to be friends, it feels like we don't know much about each other.”
“...”
Our clueless Yellow Dog has grown a lot. I wish he'd notice Ariel's affection like this too, and they'd get lovey-dovey quickly.
“We are friends.”
“Oh, really?”
I gave him a definitive answer as he expressed his unease. From <Knight Heart> to <Black Heart>, you, Kainel, have also been with me for 10 years.
“Why are you stating the obvious?”
“..Yes, you're right, Licht.”
Now that his trauma with Magic Hat is healed, he won't flee from a battle with the Demon King, and our Saintess won't die.
“I worried for nothing.”
“Well, rather, that quirky side of you is so like Kainel, and I like it.”
“That's a compliment, right? You get quirky too when it comes to the white-haired Saintess.”
“..Let's start quickly, Kainel.”
Oh, I got hit before the match even began. The blond-haired Hero even gave a playful smile like Ariel. They say lovers resemble each other, but I didn't expect to see it here, besides Nex.
[Then, the final match of the semi-finals. We shall begin!]
At that moment. The horn blared, and the two swordsmen raised their swords against each other.
I had immediately adopted the stance for Void Slash, so I released the wind pressure from my right hand, just like in the battle with Leon. The wind shot straight towards Kainel.
“Shine Strike.”
Seeing that, he also reacted and countered. A crescent-moon-like sword aura of light flew. Their attacks collided and canceled each other out, creating a great gust of wind around them.
“..You seem a bit weaker, Licht.”
“That can't be.”
Kainel's provocation continued. Bringing up the Saintess, he must have noticed that my swordsmanship is heavily influenced by my emotions.
He was, after all, someone who easily saw through and pointed out the weaknesses of Drake-style swordsmanship. The burden on the body. He's aiming for that. I immediately charged with Wolf Fang.
“Your stance isn't concise enough.”
“Ugh..!”
Your techniques should focus on speed, but this time too, they were slower than Void Slash. After closing the distance with him, I used Reverse Scale Pierce to carve away at his mana protection gear.
“Shine Strike!”
Once again, Kainel fired a light sword aura at me. This time, I was at a disadvantage as I needed a wind-up. I distanced myself backward and adopted a defensive stance with my sword.
“That's it, Kainel.”
Gggg-gk. My feet scraped the ground as I was dragged. Its power had increased compared to before, and it was good. I felt a sense of pride swelling within my chest.
“Indeed, I can't beat you with my existing techniques, Licht.”
“..What?”
I questioned, seeing the blond-haired Hero still smiling after being hit by me once. What? Could Kainel, at this point, still have another move?
「Shine Advance.」
In an instant, his body began to glow. A technique that focuses the Holy Sword of Light's power on the body to move at light-speed for a brief moment. How could Kainel, at this stage, use this….
‘Could it be that he thought he needed to get stronger after seeing Ariel?’
He probably adopted that mindset during the decisive battle with Magic Hat. The conditions were already met. Surprised by the unexpected development, I showed an opening.
Lines of light rushed towards me.
“Where's your confident attitude from before, Licht!”
“Quite impressive..! Kainel.”
Cha-ang, chang! Sounds rang out as I struggled to block Kainel's flash-like attacks, dodging with Wing Deflection.
Kainel still seemed to have many techniques. Though he didn't finish me with a single attack like I did before, I was on the defensive and would lose if this continued.
‘..If it comes to this, I have no choice but to use it too.’
I had saved this to use against Mardol. I had to bring out another one of my cards.
Holy Sword against Holy Sword. Although it's said that a fake cannot defeat the real thing, there's also a difference in fundamental effort.
“I believe in love.”
Swaaaah. With that sound, rain began to fall. A cobalt-colored sword fell onto the flash of light.
“..I barely dodged that! Licht. This is quite surprising! The ability to summon a sword?”
“Say hello. He's my son.”
Kainel dodged with an instantaneous evasion, but this sword's ability isn't like that.
It was my heart, forged while thinking of our Nameless Saintess. In a way, it was a sword that could even be called my son.
Pajik, pajik. Sounds emanated from Kainel's body, and seeing the sudden rain and the blade that had fallen on him, he paused for a moment to assess the situation.
“Conviction. Giyu (冀雨).”
“That's a cool sword. Does it make swords fall like rain?”
Perhaps his instinctive perception is excellent. If he had continued his attack as is, he would have lost immediately. He warily picked up his sword, then charged at me again with Shine Advance.
“No. This sword's true ability is….”
“..Huh?”
I vanished in an instant. Seeing that, Kainel turned his head this way and that, agitated, and I reappeared behind him, swinging my sword.
Cha-ang! The sound of metal clashing against metal rang in my ears. To have noticed that. You've truly grown a lot, Kainel.
“You can turn into raindrops, can't you?”
With those words, I transformed into water droplets and mingled with the falling rain. A sword that can move freely and effortlessly deflect opponents' attacks.
“So what if it's that sword! I just need to cut you down before you turn into water!”
“Try if you can.”
Flustered, he kept firing Shine Strikes, targeting me. Normally, combined with light-speed, it would have been a threatening technique.
“..You need to be able to hit every single raindrop, Kainel.”
He's still a rookie Hero. This isn't the <Knight Heart> era, and holding this sword that will replace our Saintess's tears, there's no way I'll lose.
Furthermore, Shine Advance is a technique with a short duration. Its activation had already ended, and his movements slowed.
“Indeed, you're not at that level yet.”
Unless he blocked every single raindrop, it would be impossible to hit me. I slowly approached him and brought my sword down from above.
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