WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Order

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◈ I Became the Dark Knight in the Game World ◈

Chapter 48: The Gabi Trading Company (2)

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Somewhere deep within Kriel, a desire for self-preservation whispered.

‘Don't needlessly draw the Demon Sword and invite danger. Aren't you already fulfilling your duty as a human being just by trying to save people? There's a reason people say not to adjust your shoes in a cucumber patch. There's no need to make people suspicious even after helping them.’

The moment he heard that, another part of Kriel rose in protest.

‘Fool! Chivalry does not compromise!’

‘Are you insane?’

‘How can you fail to do your utmost before innocent people in danger? And still call yourself a knight?’

‘Isn't that precious chivalry of yours perfectly willing to compromise when it comes to the Abyss?’

At that exact point, a brilliant idea came to Kriel.

He could use Tuon.

‘First, I'll use Tuon's power to put out the fire. If anyone suspects traces of the Abyss, I'll just pin the blame on the servant of the Abyss!’

A knight had to be noble. Defeating the Abyss was generally a noble deed, so long as it did not force innocent people into mortal danger.

In other words, adding another spoonful of suspicion to servant of the Abyss Kim Abyss, provisional name, who had presumably blown up the third floor of the Gabi Trading Company, was undoubtedly noble as well.

The more dangerous the villain seemed, the sooner the servant of the Abyss would be captured. Having built a perfectly chivalrous rationale for shifting the blame, Kriel drew Tuon without hesitation.

[At last! Have you realized that I am the weapon most befitting my master's dignity!]

Kriel did not bother replying. His Fighting Energy flowed down the blade. Although it was not Dark Battle Aura imbued with the power of the Abyss, Kriel's Fighting Energy was terribly dark even now. A sinister black, as though darkness itself had melted down.

Yet the Fighting Energy poured into Tuon and mingled with the Demon Sword's power flashed in a different color. Compared to its original form, a darkness so deep that even the term sword light did not suit it, it was tinged with a little blue and became dark blue.

It resembled the night sky, enough that it could at least be called radiant.

Through the Fighting Energy covering the entire sword from hilt to tip, Tuon understood its master's will. Countering fire with ice might have seemed foolish at first glance, but cold as dense and deep as Tuon's could produce a different result.

From the upper left to the lower right, Kriel swiftly swung his sword.

Sword energy altered by the Demon Sword swept through the burning corridor.

Normally, that destructive force would have hastened the building's collapse. But Tuon, filled with Kriel's Fighting Energy, followed its master's will and weakened the sword energy's destructive force as much as possible, leaving behind nothing but overwhelming cold.

Snowy cold engulfed the inferno.

[Such ordinary flames cannot possibly stop my power. Ordinary fire and a Demon Sword's frost stand in a complete hierarchy!]

"Be quiet."

Even amid this chaos, Tuon was openly talking about being a Demon Sword. If anyone heard, it was obvious this would become extremely troublesome.

Blue cold radiated from the sword's tip, flowing down the corridor toward the lower and upper floors. The sound of water boiling and the sharp crack of freezing rang out at once.

After confirming that the flames had been brought under control, at least roughly, Kriel began running toward the life signs.

* * *

Mazhar Gabi felt pain weighing down his entire body. The dull ache of being struck and the stinging pain of burns came over him at once.

His body felt heavy.

‘Heavy?’

As Mazhar retraced his memories, he was bewildered. The fact that he was alive was strange enough. A sudden explosion had occurred while he was reviewing documents on the third floor. His last memory was being swept away by the shockwave and thrown aside.

The protective artifact he always wore? It should have exhausted its usefulness just by saving him from instant death in the first explosion. It could not have protected him from being burned to death by the flames or suffocating in the smoke.

‘Did one of the company employees save me?’

Someone had pulled him from the center of the explosion. Concluding that he must have been fairly well regarded within the Gabi Trading Company, Mazhar opened his eyes.

"Oh."

Pale white hair filled his vision.

"Why are you here?"

"Because I saved you."

Kriel stroked his chin, recalling what he knew of Mazhar Gabi.

‘He didn't look like this when he appeared in the game.’

Mazhar Gabi in Tirnanog RPG had looked like a little child who had only just entered kindergarten. The Gabi Family had not been such a thriving trading company, either.

The moment the quest began, Mazhar Gabi died under mysterious circumstances. The beloved youngest child of the family died, plunging the family into internal conflict, and the Gabi Family fell into a horrific swamp of kin slaying and mutual suspicion. That was the premise of the side quest, Tragedy of the Gabi Family.

‘It makes sense that I didn't recognize him. He changed from a little kid into a greasy young man.’

Having generously forgiven himself, Kriel reflected on Tragedy of the Gabi Family.

‘In the end, it was never properly revealed who killed Mazhar Gabi.’

There had been vague hints that the Abyss was involved in Mazhar Gabi's death and the downfall of the Gabi Family. At the time, the Gabi Family had supposedly been responsible for military supplies on the Empire's Abyss front.

Following that line of thought, Kriel judged this attempt to kill Mazhar Gabi in an explosion to be the work of the Abyss as well.

‘They probably used something like a magic scroll. Naturally, the remains of the scroll would have burned away in the explosion.’

Even if the scroll had remained, it would have been difficult to trace with a Dark Knight's traits if the servant of the Abyss had not made it directly and had instead bought a mass-produced one from some Mage Tower specializing in warfare.

"...Thank you."

Mazhar's calm words of thanks pulled Kriel from his thoughts.

"I have questions, such as why you were there and why you saved me. But first, I should fulfill the duty of one who has been saved. You have my gratitude."

Hearing his honest thanks, Kriel shrugged.

"Any proper knight would have tried to save people in that situation."

Mazhar nodded in agreement outwardly, but inwardly, he was somewhat skeptical. Based on the things Kriel had said leading up to the trial and this conversation, it was clear that Kriel had a slight, no, immense fantasy about knights.

He did not want to argue with the person who had saved his life, so he let it pass. Still, Mazhar had seen quite a few knights throw their weight around as members of the privileged class while conducting trade.

"Since you're thanking me, can I ask you something?"

"Is this an extension of your previous question?"

"Something like that..."

Kriel stroked his chin. Ever since Mazhar had expressed concern for his family, Kriel had suspected that a servant of the Abyss might be behind it.

Seven out of ten strange incidents in Tirnanog were the Abyss's doing. And now that he remembered Mazhar's identity, his suspicion had almost become certainty.

But what Kriel wanted to ask right now was something else.

"Have you ever met any Heroes?"

"...Heroes? All of a sudden?"

Kriel nodded. This world had much in common with the game, but it was not exactly the same as the game.

The number of Heroes was one example. Tirnanog RPG was a single-player game. There was only one player. Yet three Heroes had appeared before Kriel drifted here.

Kriel suspected that one of the Heroes who had arrived long ago had prevented Tragedy of the Gabi Family. Mazhar Gabi's survival meant the family had not split apart, allowing it to retain its standing as a trading company that supplied the military. That chain reaction must have led to it growing into the major company it was today.

"It's not something worth hiding. Yes. I met one when I was young."

Kriel nodded. Most of the people he met while tracking the Heroes' whereabouts were characters from the main story.

Since Tirnanog RPG's main story was about defeating the Demon King, most notable characters possessed some degree of martial strength. And Kriel's status as a Wandering Knight at least gave him grounds not to be turned away by those from similar knightly professions.

Few would coldly reject a junior knight who wanted to hear the experiences of a senior knight who had fought in the Demon King War.

Most of the Hero witnesses Kriel met as a Wandering Knight were, in this way, people connected to knighthood. Those from other professions were very rare. Mazhar Gabi was the first witness he had encountered who was neither a knight nor a character from the main story.

"Did you ever meet that Hero after the Demon King was defeated?"

"...No. I considered writing a letter to ask for help with what happened to my family, but by then, the Heroes had already disappeared without a trace."

That was what he expected. He had not asked with great hope, so he was not disappointed. Kriel was satisfied with gaining even firmer proof that things unchangeable in the game could be changed in reality.

Hope that he might be able to remove the word dark from Dark Knight overflowed within Kriel.

"You wanted to ask for help... Has something happened to your family?"

Mazhar Gabi closed his eyes. He was uneasy about whether he should speak honestly.

But Kriel had asked about his connection to a Hero as soon as they began talking. He seemed to have approached Mazhar with some degree of certainty about what had happened to the Gabi Family.

"Officially, my father, Tushkin Gabi, is said to have stepped back from the front lines while the test to succeed him as head of the trading company is underway."

"What is the reality?"

"He is bedridden. But it is not due to an ordinary illness. I am certain it is a curse."

After hesitating one final time, Mazhar shut his eyes tightly and forced out the words.

"I suffered from the same curse when I was young."

Author's Note

The cover has been replaced with an AI illustration of Morgina!

There are slight differences in the blunt weapon's color and the pendant's detailed design, but the overall feeling is similar!

Footnotes:

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