WeTried Translations
Translator: Coughing Baby
Editor: Coughing Baby
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 4: Carmilla’s Night (1)
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It had been a long day.
Once the entrance examinations ended, Grandia Academy held a meeting.
Every faculty member had gathered around the circular table.
“Everyone, good work.”
““Good work!””
The entrance examinations had lasted the past fortnight.
Now that they were finally over, it was time to review the results.
“This year has an especially impressive crop of talent.”
“That’s true. There are several promising students in every field.”
The faculty operated the crystal spheres in their hands.
The displays were filled with student assessment results.
With just a few clicks, dozens of profiles streamed past.
“Ranne Kihano. As expected, she passed with ease. B-rank or above in every category.”
“The eldest daughter of House Kihano. She’s been making quite a name for herself for some time, hasn’t she?”
“That’s right. They say her talent as a knight is exceptional...”
This year had no shortage of promising newcomers.
Several names came up in discussion.
“The top freshman is... Lady Glacia, as expected.”
“Overwhelming. She was practically a fully fledged mage already.”
“There are also talents who could be called the best in sorcery and Divine Power...”
The faculty reviewed the records with anticipation in their eyes.
A-Class.
B-Class.
C-Class.
D-Class.
Then finally, E-Class, the lowest-ranked class.
Even as the faculty held their heated discussion, their attention soon turned to the final profile.
“Viktor...”
Viktor.
One of the students admitted in joint last place this year.
A boy who wore a strange mask over his face.
On the display, he held up a playful V-sign.
“Last place... He’s even the last student in E-Class.”
“He received E-ranks in every category except theory.”
“How strange. How did someone like this even get admitted?”
“I hear he got full marks on the practical examination. Is that even possible?”
The faculty members each had their doubts.
They checked the footage from the practical examination.
[Teaching Assistant?]
[Are you all right? I still have one attempt left.]
Bugs left no record.
As a result, the recording showed no effects or hallucinations.
All the faculty could see were shadows flickering into view here and there.
The indifferent looks in their eyes turned serious.
“What is this...?”
One professor muttered without thinking.
Everyone shared the same impression.
“It feels unsettling.”
“Should I call it bloodlust...?”
Every faculty member frowned.
A bizarre chill ran down the backs of their necks.
A smiling mask.
A mask smiling wide.
The air seemed sharp enough to cut.
“This boy is in last place...?”
Grandia Academy was the continent’s finest educational institution.
Its faculty matched that reputation.
They stood at the forefront of their respective fields, whether swordsmanship, magic, or sorcery.
“His profile is strange too. Could it have been tampered with?”
“His stamina, strength, agility... They’re all E-rank.”
“And he overwhelmed a teaching assistant with stats like that?”
The professors narrowed their eyes.
Suspicion.
“He’s in last place? Judging by the footage alone, I’d believe he was in A-Class.”
“He cleared the practical exam with full marks in exactly one minute and twenty-seven seconds.”
“What was this year’s top freshman’s time again?”
“Seryla Glacia. Three minutes and twelve seconds.”
“That means he was more than twice as fast as the top student...”
The clown mask.
Whenever their eyes met his through the display, it felt as though goosebumps crawled across their hearts.
It wasn’t bloodlust, since there was no murderous intent behind it.
It wasn’t pressure either, since his abilities were so lacking.
If they had to put a name to it...
“His presence is unpleasant.”
Discomfort.
No, it was something even more alien, a feeling like it was scratching at one side of their hearts.
The atmosphere around the boy was that chilling.
Even a blank white page seemed liable to turn pitch-black beside him.
“It does seem like he’s using some kind of special power.”
“No matter how I look at it, it isn’t a normal power. There isn’t even a trace of mana, Divine Power, or sorcery.”
“This stinks. Could he be a spy? Maybe those Cult bastards sent him?”
“No demonic energy was detected. If there had been even the slightest sign, we would’ve noticed the moment he set foot in the academy. Besides, his approach is too sloppy for a spy...”
“How can you be sure? We always need to leave every possibility open...”
The mood in the room rapidly chilled.
Before long, the professors began arguing.
“It isn’t right to suspect him so easily! That child is also a student we must accept!”
“Who said we should suspect him blindly? He’s suspicious. Ignoring the circumstances when they’re right in front of us is just as...”
“More than anything, what he showed during the practical exam. It’s impossible to believe with those stats...”
“He certainly needs to explain that part...”
The room filled with murmurs.
Then an old man spoke.
“Enough.”
““...””
At that single word, the professors fell silent as if by magic.
The old man seated at the head of the table wore a wrinkled smile.
That alone was enough to silence the room.
With their heads lowered, the faculty listened to his aged voice.
“We are Grandia Academy.”
A man once known as the Slayer of Cultists.
The leader of Grandia Academy’s faculty.
The headmaster.
“We do not discriminate in learning.”
Valter Droit.
The old man spoke with a kindly smile.
The professors could no longer raise their voices.
“Student Viktor is qualified. There is no problem with his admission.”
““...””
“Of course... There are unsettling points, so we’ll need a safety measure.”
His fingers tapped against the table.
As though responding to that signal, the shadow standing behind the old man stepped forward.
“I will assign Professor Javert as E-Class’s homeroom teacher.”
“You mean Chief Investigator Javert?”
“There is no one more reliable for this sort of matter.”
Chief Investigator Javert.
A professor specializing in methods for dealing with Cultists.
A woman who had killed dark mages in the triple digits.
“Professor Javert.”
“Yes, Headmaster.”
“I will assign you as E-Class’s homeroom teacher from this semester onward.”
“Yes.”
It was a dry reply.
Her presence and expression were frigid, sharp enough to cut.
The woman looked as though she had been forged from iron.
Red hair flowed.
“Please keep an eye on Student Viktor. If you discover that he is connected to the Cult, or notice anything suspicious...”
“I will deal with it at my discretion.”
“I leave it to you.”
Surveillance, investigation, disposal.
At those direct words, the room grew heavy.
The ominous mask still stood beyond the crystal sphere.
Distrust and wariness flickered in the faculty’s eyes.
Meanwhile, whether he knew of the danger he was in or not, Viktor walked along, bobbing his head.
“Ah, I really milked that bug for all it was worth!”
He sounded completely carefree.
* * *
After finishing the entrance examination, I walked down a secluded street.
A relaxed sense of satisfaction filled each step I took.
‘Perfect.’
I recalled the practical examination.
It was the result of spending the past month after possessing this body getting a feel for things.
Among bugs used for movement, this one was considered fairly difficult.
If my timing slipped even slightly, it usually failed.
‘Step with my left foot twice, my right foot once, then make one big circle...’
Crackle.
As I followed the sequence, my vision flickered.
I had teleported about five meters.
I continued layering those frantic movements.
Crackle.
This time, I jumped even farther.
It was a bug that exploited tangled command inputs.
It was difficult, but once I learned it, it became useful anywhere.
‘Thanks to that, I got full marks on the practical.’
The only downside was the terrible motion sickness.
Use it several times in a row, and the whole world started spinning.
‘Anyway, getting admitted was a success...’
I’d probably be assigned to the bottom of E-Class.
Well... honestly, I could’ve used exploits to enter a higher-ranked class.
I could steal a recommendation letter with a bug, or manipulate my assessment results.
‘But.’
There was a reason I had deliberately entered E-Class.
It meant this had all been planned from the beginning.
‘A major incident breaks out there too.’
It happened much later, but it was something I had to take care of as well.
Lost in thought, I crossed the pitch-black alley.
The sky had grown dark before I knew it.
‘The semester starts in a week.’
Until then, I had to wait at a nearby lodging house.
‘Then... should I take care of some business in the meantime?’
There was someone I needed to meet.
Step. Step.
Before long, I reached a corner of the city.
Hardly anyone came here. The night trembled with each breath.
“Oh, here it is.”
I turned into the fifth alley and walked exactly three and a half meters.
A wall came into view.
A stone was partly wedged beneath it.
Without hesitation, I flopped down on top of it.
Then I began grinding my body against it.
Thud. Thud.
‘It hurts a little. Is that because the stone’s digging into me...?’
Still, I endured and kept rubbing myself against it.
If someone saw me, they’d think I was a master of feral floor-humping.
There was a reason I was doing something this stupid.
‘When is this thing going to work...?!’
This was the point where the bug occurred.
I was serious.
‘The Map-Clipping Bug.’
If I rubbed my body against a specific point, my character could pass through a wall.
I had wondered if it would work in reality, but it operated on principles similar to teleportation.
Rub against the point, and I moved.
I had already tested it several times.
‘If I clip through the ground here, I can reach my destination in one go...!’
I was a respectable member of society too.
(Even if I was dry-humping the ground in a dark alley at midnight.)
I was only enduring a little humiliation and shame for the greater good.
About three minutes after I started coupling with the ground, I felt my body slip.
Stagger!
“Whoa!”
Splat.
My body sprawled across a damp floor.
It seemed the bug had finally worked.
‘I almost came.’
The scenery around me had changed completely.
A musty stench assailed my nose.
An underground sewer.
And one far from the academy, in a remote area.
I got to my feet.
“Hmm.”
It was a familiar sight.
I had seen this backdrop countless times while playing the original.
It seemed I had arrived at the right place.
Maybe it was reacting to the nearby event.
My status window chimed as well.
Ding!
[Story ‘Carmilla’s Night’ in progress.]
[Would you like to accept the Main Quest?]
I clicked Yes without hesitation.
The status window immediately flipped open like the pages of a book.
[Main Quest]
-Rescue ‘Carmilla,’ the last princess of the Vampire Dynasty.
-Time remaining until Carmilla is killed: 1 hour 36 minutes
Carmilla, the last vampire.
A supporting character who was killed early in the story if the player did not save her.
That was why I had gone through the trouble of visiting this old sewer.
She was someone I absolutely had to recruit.
“Then... shall we go save the princess?”
Screams and signs of someone’s presence came from beyond the darkness.
My black robe fluttered as I moved forward.
Toward the girl waiting for a savior.
Footnotes:
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