I Became the Dark Knight in the Game World - Chapter 31

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

◈ I Became the Dark Knight in the Game World ◈

Chapter 31: The Society of Dead Mages (2)

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The Abyss Eradication Society, huh.

Kriel stroked his chin. Wizards were known to research all manner of things, but there was actually a society perfectly suited to his circumstances.

While Lewein searched through bundles of letters scattered across the laboratory, Kriel and Orisin waited outside.

Kriel agreed to Lewein’s request to wait a moment, then stood with his back against the wall like a painting.

Not in the flattering sense of having a picture-perfect appearance. He looked so lifeless that he could have passed for a still life.

Only Lewein’s footsteps and the rustle of paper broke the quiet. Unable to bear the boredom any longer, Orisin asked in a low voice.

[Come to think of it, isn’t the place beyond that door where that wizard named Collin was trying to get to?]

Kriel was about to ask whether Orisin had forgotten their agreement to stay quiet around other people, an agreement they had made after Lewein mistook the earlier situation for a Spirit-summoning incantation. Then Kriel remembered that one of those “other people” was behind the door and spoke instead.

“Probably. It’s the Advisory Mage’s laboratory. It would have everything from classified documents, such as the lord’s yearly plans and the state of the city barrier’s maintenance, to personal research materials.”

[You’re awfully calm about it. It’s the culmination of a secret plan to overthrow the city. Aren’t you curious?]

“I’ve seen a few wizard laboratories before.”

Kriel had once held a certain fascination with wizards.

More precisely, he had been fascinated by every class other than Dark Knight. Wizards, along with knights who were not Dark Knights, held a slightly special place in that fascination.

Magic. The very symbol of fantasy.

Anyone who delved into fantasy was bound to encounter wizards, from the gray wizard who became white and led an expedition to the headmaster of a British magic school. Those images of mysterious sages had left a deep impression on Kriel.

But.

“The wizard I met was, well, terrible at keeping things tidy.”

[Uh... You mean the wizard you said you planned to visit once you came to the Empire?]

Kriel nodded.

It was the wizard of the County of Kett, whom Kriel had met while struggling to get by as a mercenary. After spending some time together in that territory, much of Kriel’s admiration and sense of mystery toward wizards had evaporated.

“The room was an absolute disaster. When I tried to clean it up, she threw such a fit that she nearly...”

Kriel remembered that Lewein was behind the door. Tuon, too, hummed and released a thought wave, as though reaching the same conclusion.

[Master. A knight must maintain dignity at all times.]

“Right, I understand. Anyway, wizards don’t like other people touching their laboratories. It goes beyond disliking people entering the room. They seem reluctant to let anyone even see inside.”

Kriel recalled the excuse the wizard in Kett had given. It might look disorganized to others, but it was supposedly the result of a delicate arrangement based on each wizard’s own aesthetic sense and sensibilities.

Lewein’s laboratory had looked remarkably neat during Kriel’s brief glance through the door, unlike the wizard who had said that, but Kriel decided it was simply a matter of individual differences.

“There’s no need to offend someone who’s trying to help us. Curiosity is best kept within reason.”

Orisin tilted their head. The wizards Orisin knew disliked exposing their laboratories to others, but they did not keep their most important research materials in laboratories that were out in the open to begin with.

The reaction Kriel described seemed unusually extreme.

As Orisin headbanged in curiosity, Lewein opened the door and appeared.

“Phew, I found it!”

Lewein held an envelope in a very old-fashioned style. Its exterior was sealed with wax, giving the impression that the Abyss Eradication Society was quite wealthy.

[Oh?]

Orisin sensed more than that. The wax seal had not simply been stamped. It formed a small magic circle.

It was refined magic that both protected the letter and left evidence if someone opened it improperly. Such precise magic had been compressed into a tiny seal.

Considering that most recipients of this letter would be wizards, it was likely a promotional strategy meant to draw interest by displaying their skill. Orisin revised their opinion of the Abyss Eradication Society upward.

Without using a letter opener, Lewein tore open the envelope. Inside was a conventional invitation to a society meeting on a certain date, addressed to a distinguished wizard.

“This invitation was originally sent to me, but if I write you a letter of authorization, Your Lordship will be able to attend the meeting as well.”

“I’ll accept it gratefully.”

Kriel’s light attitude from moments ago seemed like a lie as he assumed the bearing of a dignified knight. Lewein swiftly wrote the letter of authorization and handed it over with the invitation to the Abyss Eradication Society.

“This meeting will be held in the Duchy of Argetlam. It’s quite a long journey, but the roads are well maintained, so reaching it in time shouldn’t be difficult.”

After bowing his thanks, Kriel promptly left the Gate City. His departure was as abrupt as his arrival.

His steps suggested that he had no interest in the honor or praise of defeating a Servant of the Abyss.

* * *

In truth, Kriel had not planned to leave so suddenly.

He had defeated the Servant of the Abyss and somehow managed to come to an agreement with the bereaved family, so he had planned to rest another day or two. It was only human nature to want to sit after stopping on the road, then want to lie down after sitting.

The one who disrupted Kriel’s rest was Tuon. After returning to his room, Kriel had been pondering how much he could eat at the evening banquet celebrating the defeat of the Abyss without seeming shameless when Tuon suddenly asked a question.

“Master, is it really all right for you to be lounging around like this?”

Tuon was tending to the greatsword and Horn Dagger with a dissatisfied expression. This strange assistance came from the fact that, while Tuon disliked Kriel using swords other than Tuon, Tuon found it even more intolerable for Kriel to tarnish his own honor by looking so shabby.

Kriel was happy to have fewer daily chores and allowed Tuon to take human form, though only in places where no one else could see.

Privately pleased that he seemed to have gained an attendant, Kriel was puzzled by the unexpected question.

“Hm? Why?”

“The journey to the duchy.”

“It’s not like we’re pressed for time. I don’t think resting for a day or two will make us late.”

“The wizard said it would take just a few days to reach the duchy from here.”

“You know that well enough. So when it’s time to rest, we should rest properly...”

“But wasn’t that based on the standards of a knight?”

It was a sudden act of verbal violence. How could a sword say something as rude as, “Are you even a knight?” to its master? Before Kriel could recover from the shock, Tuon continued.

“Think about it. An Advisory Mage would naturally have some kind of mount, whether a horse or something else. A Champion of an order would probably be given at least one fine horse by the order.”

Kriel was about to ask whether that meant a Dark Knight was not a knight, but he closed his mouth.

A proper Dark Knight was indeed a knight. All one had to do was dominate and ride a Demonic Beast, whether an Underworld Wolf or a Hellfire Wyvern.

But Kriel himself was not a knight. He had no intention of keeping a Demonic Beast, and there had been no offer to carry him.

“But Master has no horse.”

Orisin protested, shouting, [Hey, what about me?!] but Tuon did not budge. When Tuon delivered the brutal verbal blow that a headless horse could run, but a legless horse could not, Orisin cried, [Stop the violence!] and fled into the sword.

“Shouldn’t we leave as soon as possible if we are to make the meeting date?”

Annoyingly, Tuon was right. After bidding farewell to the pork roasting over the fire, Kriel hurriedly set out.

The garrison commander and Lewein rushed over with a pouch of silver coins, but Kriel took only one coin and left the pouch in the room assigned to him. Filled with curiosity, Orisin asked.

[Only one coin? If you’re neither taking all of it nor refusing it entirely, isn’t that neither here nor there?]

“Ah, you don’t know? This is called marketing.”

Since ancient times, countless knights had performed good deeds, mostly causing bloodshed with the Abyss as their target, then departed without accepting any reward. But Kriel was the only knight who always took exactly one coin, whether it was copper or gold. Kriel explained how this set him apart from other knights and let him claim that image first.

“One coin. The One-Coin Knight. Isn’t that cool?”

[Hm. It does have a certain romance to it. So how is your reputation?]

Rumors of a wandering knight who fought injustice while accepting only one coin had spread to some extent.

Before anyone could even discuss those rumors, though, far more people looked at Kriel’s appearance and said, “What is that? He looks suspicious.”

Kriel avoided answering.

Author’s Note

The subtitle has been changed from “Dead Mages’ Society” to “The Society of Dead Mages.”

Footnotes:

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