WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
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◈ The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons ◈
Chapter 16: Provocation
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Late at night, the dormitory was filled with silence.
Elise Lorendia, dressed in pajamas, was reading a book on magic while thinking about the person who had prevented the tragedies in the Scenario Note.
‘A Swordmaster who uses magic like a silver-gray blade wind and hides their identity...’
That was all she knew for now.
There were only a handful of Swordmasters even in the Empire, and it was difficult to find information on anyone who was not famous.
They were undoubtedly powerful individuals. If they truly intended to conceal information about themselves, there was little anyone could do.
Much about the person who had helped her remained shrouded in mystery, but she could at least guess one thing.
That unknown powerhouse seemed to know about dangers that would occur in the future. They had personally overturned the Scenario Note’s tragedies several times.
And despite being so strong, they seemed to have a reason to hide their identity.
‘Things have been moving in an unsettling direction lately, too.’
The Scenario Note had been updating unusually often recently, and demonkin had even targeted the power of her fairy.
Meanwhile, the unidentified Swordmaster had been helping her, whether intentionally or not.
‘Who are they? And why are they doing this?’
There were too many questions.
Elise slowly closed and opened her eyes.
“I’ll find out somehow.”
Her quiet vow drifted through the room.
Meanwhile, in another dormitory room.
Lara Twislope lay on her bed in pajamas, staring blankly at the ceiling as she pondered.
There had been many suspicious aspects to the Dungeon incident she had been caught up in last time, but she had left everything to Griffin Knight School. So all she thought was, ‘I’m glad everyone is safe.’
And right now, only one man occupied Lara’s thoughts.
Ron Hazely, the male cadet with light-brown hair.
Before long, Lara became certain.
‘That guy is a pervert.’
It was the conclusion she reached after careful consideration.
He had stared at her legs twice. The first time, he had secretly smiled in a sleazy way. The second time, he had looked at them with satisfaction.
Of course, there was a chance she had misunderstood.
No matter how good her senses were at noticing someone’s gaze, she could not read their thoughts.
It was only a conclusion based on the circumstances. It was too soon to tell Elise about it.
Or perhaps...
‘Maybe... it was because I’m pretty.’
The moment that thought occurred to her, Lara’s eyes went wide.
‘Aaaah! I’m insane!!’
Lara screamed inwardly and shot upright.
What kind of deranged thought was that? She clearly was not in her right mind!
‘Ugh, damn it! Why am I even thinking something like that...? What charm do I even have!’
Lara ruffled her pale-blue hair before her gaze suddenly fell on her smooth bare legs.
“...”
Still... if she looked carefully, maybe they were not so bad?
The instant that pointless thought came to mind, Lara realized what kind of crazy idea had seized her again. She buried her face in her pillow and screamed silently.
* * *
After morning roll call, I changed clothes and headed toward the training grounds.
‘Will Chapter 1, Act 6 unfold like it did in the first and second playthroughs?’
Chapter 1, Act 6 of For Elise, the Sparring Test.
In the third playthrough’s Hard Difficulty and the true ending Route, Lara was originally supposed to lose one leg, while Elise was consumed by guilt.
After recovering, Lara told the knight school that she desperately wanted to spar, then faced Elise in a match.
She gave it everything she had, showing Elise that she was still fine and encouraging her. Thanks to that, Elise came to her senses.
...But that development had now disappeared. Lara’s legs were fine, and Elise’s mental state was fine too.
‘If it unfolds like the first and second playthroughs...’
It would just be a hot-blooded shonen manga-style spar between Elise and Lara. There would be nothing to worry about.
‘I’ll keep an eye on that side. The problem is mine.’
Soon, I arrived at the training grounds and finished the grueling training under the instructors’ orders.
“I will now announce the details of the Sparring Test!”
As I caught my breath and wiped away sweat, Instructor Logan addressed the cadets.
“The Sparring Test will assess your combat ability! Matchups will be randomly assigned among cadets whose mana capacities do not differ too greatly! However, cadets who placed in the top ten in the last test will face those with adjacent ranks!”
Instructor Logan continued.
“Winning your spar will earn you extra points! Defeated cadets will spar once more among themselves and receive another opportunity! So do not despair after a single loss. Fight until the end! Understood!?”
“Yes, sir!”
It was something like a second-chance round.
But...
‘I can’t let it get that far.’
There was an Achievement I could only earn by winning the first spar in Elwi.
Its reward was Physical Ability Experience.
So I absolutely had to win my first match.
“Then! Check the notice board for your matchups in two days!”
“Yes, sir!”
I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed desperately.
Please let my opponent be near the bottom.
The closer they are to my level, the better. Please.
...
As Instructor Logan had said, sparring matchups were randomly assigned among cadets whose mana capacities were not too different.
The problem was that the range was fairly wide in the first round.
‘Even so...’
Two days later, in front of the notice board.
Among the gathered first-year cadets, I stared at the large parchment posted on the board with a hollow smile.
The parchment listed the first-years’ sparring matchups.
And Ron Hazely’s opponent was...
‘Why Theodore?’
Theodore Garniel.
A middle-ranked first-year from the Garniel House, which inherited the sword style Shatterflow Sword.
The son of the current commander of the Magic Knight Order, and a genius who showed rapid growth in For Elise.
And...
‘He’s a main character.’
It was an utterly absurd matchup, but I could understand it.
Matchups were based on mana capacity.
Meaning...
‘Theodore’s mana capacity was barely low enough for him to be matched with me?’
Elwi mentioned that Theodore had been born with a low mana capacity. That was why he remained in the middle ranks despite his talent.
Of course, that was only compared to the main characters. He naturally had far more mana than me or most ordinary cadets.
In any case, he had to be the worst possible opponent I could have been assigned.
...At least on the surface.
‘Hmm, maybe I can manage this?’
After thinking it over, I knew Theodore’s fighting style well.
I had no choice but to see it often in Elwi, and I had also paid close attention whenever I saw him training. He was a main character, after all.
That meant I could come up with a way to deal with him.
‘And if it’s Theodore’s fighting style...’
...I might have a chance of winning.
That was when it happened.
“Ron Hazely.”
A handsome young man with reddish-brown hair approached me.
His sharply upturned eyes looked fierce, and he wore a confident smile.
“Theodore?”
My sparring opponent, one of Elwi’s main characters.
It was Theodore Garniel.
It seemed he had come to check the matchups too.
“Come with me for a moment.”
Theodore gestured somewhere with his chin and started walking. I followed him.
We arrived in an alley between buildings.
Theodore let out a sigh, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall. Then he scoffed.
“Hah. Isn’t this ridiculous? That we have to face each other.”
“Well, yeah. They said it’s based on mana capacity, so I guess this is what happened.”
“...Why are you so calm?”
“Huh?”
What was he talking about?
Theodore’s eyes widened as he stepped close to me, lowering his voice threateningly.
“You’ll be facing me. You’re practically at the bottom of the rankings. So why are you so calm?”
‘What the hell is this guy talking about?’
Was I supposed to beg, “Please go easy on me, Sir Theodore! I’ll even lick your shoes!”
I narrowed my eyes.
“What’s gotten into you? Do you have some problem with me?”
“Ha... No. I was too aggressive just now. My apologies.”
Theodore closed his eyes, took a deep breath to calm himself, and readily admitted his mistake as he stepped back.
“Since we’re in the same matchup, I’ll say this now. Honestly, I don’t like you.”
“Me? Why?”
“I simply cannot understand why Elise chose you.”
Ah, right. He was one of the countless cadets who pined after Elise.
He had a crush on Elise and had always seen her as his goal. Even in the original story, he had been obsessively devoted to her.
But the Elise he admired and loved had suddenly started showing interest only in me, the last-ranked cadet. Of course it would twist him up inside.
Well, being honest was nice, but...
‘I have no idea what he wants me to do about it.’
Theodore turned his back and started to leave.
“I’ll tell you in advance, I have no intention of going easy on you. No, I intend to crush you completely.”
“...”
“Be prepared when you step into the sparring grounds, Ron Hazely. That was why I called you here.”
I see. He was warning me in advance that he would beat me half to death.
How kind of him.
That settled my resolve too.
“Theodore.”
“Hm?”
Theodore turned toward me.
I gave a small laugh.
“Don’t use such strong words... It makes you look weak.”
“...!”
Theodore’s eyes widened, and veins stood out on his forehead.
“What an insolent thing to say...!”
Theodore turned fully toward me, fury showing on his face.
He hated me over Elise? So he had specifically called me here to warn me, “I’m going to destroy you, so you’d better know that beforehand”?
...There was a limit to how lightly he could take me.
‘I’m definitely beating this bastard.’
The Achievement mattered, but now my pride was on the line too.
I would use every scrap of knowledge I had and train without rest until just before the spar.
I would win no matter what.
“Do your best.”
“Ron Hazely!”
Ignoring Theodore’s irritated shout, I waved and left the alley.
...My legs trembled a little because I was scared, but I somehow managed not to show it.
* * *
The importance of Griffin Knight School’s Sparring Test could not be overstated.
It was also an event for identifying promising cadets and for Magic Knights to take note of candidates worth making their personal squires.
Their attention was especially focused on the new faces, the first-year cadets.
Inside the instructors’ office, red bobbed hair was visible beneath a pointed hat.
Instructor Rachel looked over several official documents floating in the air through Telekinesis and let out an impressed sound.
“A lot of Magic Knights applied to observe this time. Is it because this year’s first-years are worth watching?”
“I suppose so.”
The squire helping beside her agreed.
Dark shadows lay beneath the squire’s eyes. She looked as though she had barely slept.
“Hm?”
Instructor Rachel’s gaze suddenly stopped on a name on the list.
She let out a disbelieving laugh.
“You’ve got to be kidding me... Even someone like her is coming. This is going to be quite something.”
The five pairs of wings that protected the Empire.
The commander of the White Wing Knight Order, at their very peak.
Lucia, the Silverblade Demon.
She had never once taken a personal squire, yet had exceptionally applied to observe this first-year Sparring Test.
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