WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons ◈

Chapter 21: Not a Date

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‘Ugh, she’s so dazzling...!’

Ahh...!

Violet Blackgarden felt the gulf between them.

Elise Lorendia, the magenta-haired cadet, was dazzling just to look at.

Was this... the aura of a top-tier insider?

She was like sunlight driving away the darkness cast by an outsider like Violet.

“I don’t want anyone taking you away from me.”

‘Huh?’

Wait. What did that mean?

Had Elise just said she didn’t want anyone taking Ron Hazely away?

‘From me...?’

Violet had already been wary of Elise.

She had been worried that Elise might take Ron away from her.

After all, Ron would probably prefer being friends with someone like Elise over someone gloomy like Violet.

But Elise had said that outright? Alarms blared loudly in Violet’s head.

‘Gasp!’

Then Elise’s turquoise eyes glanced toward Violet, as if testing her reaction.

Like a kitten facing a black panther, Violet pressed herself against the back of her chair in fear.

‘No, don’t cower!’

She could not back down. She had to protect her precious friend!

With the resolve of a general heading into battle, Violet forced herself to glare back at Elise.

Elise responded with a meaningful smirk.

* * *

Seeing Elise Lorendia dressed prettily in casual clothes felt strangely new.

Maybe it was because seeing her in person felt completely different from seeing her in the game.

‘Everyone’s losing their minds.’

Looking around, the restaurant’s atmosphere was unusual too.

The Commercial District was technically outside the knight school, so there were outside guests as well as cadets. Every one of them kept glancing toward Elise in admiration.

No wonder it had seemed so quiet.

Well, Elise was beloved by everyone.

Just look at that radiance, as if a field of flowers had bloomed around her. That cheerful smile. How could anyone not look?

Still...

‘She doesn’t want anyone taking me away from her?’

I wasn’t the male lead of some romantic comedy. Why was she saying something like that?

Did this girl maybe like me?

...That thought was immediately pushed aside.

Lara Twislope was looking this way from another table, her face red and her eyes wide with surprise.

‘So she really was just teasing me...’

Elise had a mischievous personality, and she seemed to enjoy watching Lara get flustered over my relationship with her.

So I answered lightly.

“Wow, I had no idea you liked me that much.”

“Pfft! You’re not surprised, Ron Hazely? Not bad.”

Elise laughed happily and straightened back up.

“So? Are you two dating?”

“No.”

“You two are on a date, aren’t you?”

“No. We just decided to hang out together. Violet taught me magic, so I wanted to return the favor.”

“Is that so~? I was wondering why you used elemental magic I hadn’t seen during the sparring match.”

“Did you come with Lara?”

“Yeah. And I was happy to see you, so I came over to say hi right away!”

We had gotten friendlier, but were we close enough for that?

No. Elise was popular for a reason. She always chose exactly the things people wanted to hear.

Her answer just now was probably another example of that.

“Right, you’re Violet Blackgarden, aren’t you?”

Elise suddenly turned toward Violet and smiled at her.

Violet swallowed a gasp and lowered her head.

Elise must have been a difficult person for someone as shy as Violet to approach.

“Is it just me? I feel like you look at me often. Is there something you want to say to me?”

“I-I’m sorry for looking at you...”

“Hehe, why are you apologizing? Do I look like I’m going to eat you?”

“T-That’s not what I meant...”

“Should we talk for a bit?”

“Gasp...!”

Elise naturally pressed herself close against me. She seemed to be asking me to make room.

But I held my ground. Elise turned toward me with a puzzled expression.

“Hmm... Ron, won’t you make room for me? I’m hurt.”

“I never said you could join us.”

Today was supposed to be the day I spent with Violet, and for some reason, she was uncomfortable around Elise.

Whatever the reason, I didn’t want Elise joining us.

Violet gave me a touched look, as if crying, “Mr. Hazely!”

Elise narrowed her eyes seductively and gave me a teasing smile.

“Hmm? Then how about I sit with you? You said it isn’t a date anyway.”

“Sit with us?”

Elise looked at Violet.

“Violet.”

“Y-Yes...!?”

“You’re Ron’s friend, right?”

“Ah...”

Violet looked to me for guidance.

“Of course she is.”

“Y-Yes. We’re friends...”

When I answered for her, Violet lowered her head and mumbled shyly.

“Then you’re my friend too, right?”

“Huh?”

“I’m Ron’s friend too.”

“......!”

Had she reached some unexpected realization? A strange light appeared in Violet’s eyes.

That brat Elise seemed to have seen right through Violet’s intentions and sweet-talked her.

“Friends can eat together, right?”

“W-Well... Ahem. Y-Yes, that’s true. I don’t mind if you join us... if Mr. Hazely is okay with it.”

Violet’s voice trembled with embarrassment. Her wariness seemed to have eased considerably.

Judging by the way the corners of her mouth kept twitching upward, she had not completely disliked what Elise said earlier.

“Oh my, she says it’s fine. Lara, are you okay with it too?”

Elise turned toward Lara.

Lara nodded while sipping her drink through a straw, fixing me with a pointed glare.

“Ron?”

“Good grief...”

“Hehe, the seat next to Ron~”

Since Violet had given her permission, I had no reason to stop Elise anymore.

When I shifted over, Elise happily sat beside me.

Lara brought her drink over and sat next to Violet. She was dressed in casual clothes too.

“Hi, Lara.”

“Hi.”

“What? You dressed up pretty nicely today.”

“W-What is that supposed to mean!? Are you trying to hit on me!? Don’t get any stupid ideas!”

“?”

Her greeting had been so perfunctory that I lightly complimented her. Lara immediately turned red and snapped at me.

‘Why is she flying off the handle?’

Seriously.

I hadn’t even teased her. I had complimented her.

That was enough. I decided to retaliate with a joke.

“Do you seriously like me? Why are you taking it that way? Want me to actually hit on you?”

“What are you even talking about!? Why would I like you!?”

Lara shouted as she braced her hands on the table and shot to her feet. She was still short, though.

She stomped her tiny feet on the floor several times, putting all her effort into expressing her displeasure.

Violet looked startled, while Elise giggled.

“They say vehement denial means the opposite...”

“Stop talking nonsense, Ron Hazely! I’m seriously warning you!”

Lara pointed at me with her index finger and yelled.

Her reaction was stronger than I expected. It only made me want to tease her more.

Still, I stopped there. There were lines that should not be crossed.

Afterward, we ordered food together, shared it, and chatted. It was nice having so many different things to eat.

Elise completely loosened up what had initially been an awkward atmosphere. Her social skills were almost frightening.

At some point, Violet let down her guard, only to suddenly gasp and put it back up again.

After we finished eating, we each paid our own bills and left the restaurant together.

Elise clasped her hands behind her back, leaned toward me, and smiled brightly.

“Ron must’ve had fun. You even went on a date with us.”

“What kind of date was that...?”

It would have been different if any one of them and I had feelings for each other.

But that wasn’t the case. It only felt like I had spent time with some female friends.

All I could worry about was how the cadets would start gossiping about me again.

“Oh my. Is it because the White Wing commander chose you? Ron’s gotten awfully cocky.”

Elise teased me in a mockingly sorrowful voice.

“Conceited Ron Hazely.”

“I thought I heard my name. Where was that?”

When Lara joined in and grumbled, I deliberately looked around with an obvious joking tone.

“Grr...!”

A sound of someone holding back an angry outburst came from below my line of sight. Elise smirked beside me.

“Well then, see you later, Ron.”

Elise, still beaming, and Lara, still fuming, prepared to leave together.

“You’re leaving?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, take care. You too, Lara. It was nice meeting you.”

Lara opened her mouth slightly, then for some reason blushed, stuck her lips out uncertainly, and turned away from me.

“You take care too... I guess.”

“Lara told me to take care... I’m so moved.”

“Grrr! There you go again! You’re so full of yourself!”

Lara started fuming again when I teased her.

“Ah, right.”

Elise suddenly moved close to me.

Violet gasped in panic beside us. I had no idea how much longer she planned to keep getting startled.

Covering her mouth with one hand, Elise whispered gently into my ear.

“I meant it when I said I didn’t want anyone taking you away from me.”

“...?”

Leaving those words behind, Elise pulled away with a playful smile. Then she waved and left with Lara.

Lara’s face was bright red again, apparently from how she had interpreted Elise’s actions.

“Mr. Hazely?”

“Hmm...”

I put a hand over the ear Elise had whispered into. It felt rather hot.

Surely it wasn’t a sign of romantic interest.

Elise had always been interested in my swordsmanship, and she had unexpectedly learned advanced swordsmanship from me.

Now that the White Wing commander had even taken an interest in me, it made sense that Elise’s curiosity about me had grown. Maybe she wanted to keep me to herself for that reason.

Of course, she had probably intended to tease me too.

Still.

‘My heart skipped a beat for a moment.’

I was a man. It couldn’t be helped.

Well, I had enjoyed the feeling for a moment. I just had to shake it off.

“M-Mr. Hazely... What did Miss Lorendia say just now...?”

“She said she meant it when she said she didn’t want anyone taking me away from her.”

“...!”

Violet’s face went pale.

She was doing this again.

By now, it was impossible not to understand why Violet was acting like this.

She was probably afraid that I would get closer to Elise and neglect her.

“Now that they’re gone, should we get back to our plans?”

“Ah, yes...!”

I spent time going around to different places with Violet. During that time, I deliberately avoided bringing up Elise or Lara.

Violet looked happy the entire time.

Before we knew it, the sky had turned the color of sunset. Violet and I headed back to Griffin Knight School.

Violet wore a deeply touched expression.

“Mr. Hazely. Is someone like me really allowed to enjoy something this luxurious...?”

“What are you saying now...? There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“But I keep wondering whether it’s okay to be this happy.”

Violet fidgeted with her fingers, gave an awkward little laugh, then lowered her eyes.

“I was just... thinking that.”

“This isn’t anything special. Why think about it so deeply? We can just hang out whenever we’re bored.”

“Whenever we’re bored...?”

As if those words were something entirely new, Violet repeated them to herself.

“Want to hang out again? How about next week? No, until we get sick of it, let’s hang out every day off for a while.”

“...”

“Why aren’t you answering?”

“I don’t know if I should ask this, but... Mr. Hazely, are you really okay with continuing to spend time with me like this?”

“Huh? It’s fun.”

Violet’s eyes widened briefly.

“...Hehe.”

Then she looked at me and smiled brightly.

“I love that...!”

Just then, a gentle breeze blew by.

Violet’s bangs lifted softly in the wind, and the sunset light brightly illuminated her face.

My eyes widened before I realized it.

Her bangs usually cast shadows around her eyes, making her seem gloomy, but now she looked quite...

‘She’s ridiculously pretty...’

I nearly let out a gasp of admiration. Barely, I swallowed it back down.

I had always known Violet was pretty, but I hadn’t expected her bright smile to have such overwhelming destructive power.

“Violet, you could trim your bangs a little.”

“Huh? Ah, th-that would be difficult...! I get embarrassed when I make eye contact with people... Showing even one eye was the last of my pride...”

“Was it?”

“Yes. But why did you suddenly bring up my bangs?”

“No reason. It just came to mind.”

We crossed through the sunset, chatting about nothing in particular.

Chapter 1, Act 7 of <For Elise>’s Third Playthrough story was approaching.

I was starting to plan how I would persuade Violet to become my companion.

Because I had realized at some point that I had grown attached to Violet.

......

<For Elise>’s Third Playthrough Hard Difficulty had an unusual design.

The enemies that had appeared in the first and second playthroughs remained at the same difficulty, but the newly added elements were cruel in a different way.

Normally, trials and hardships led to a protagonist’s growth. But that was only true in the hopeful stories of the first and second playthroughs.

‘The Third Playthrough story was a complete mess.’

Its sadistic elements were focused solely on thoroughly filling the protagonist in the story with helplessness and despair.

Rather than helping her grow, they only wore away at her mind. The genre had gone completely off the rails.

‘Violet was one of those sadistic elements too.’

In the first and second playthrough stories of <Elwi>, Violet had only been a minor supporting character.

But in the Third Playthrough story, she disappeared at the beginning of Chapter 1, Act 7, then appeared in Chapter 3 as a brainwashed Dungeon boss.

False Demon King.

Undead Lord, Violet Blackgarden.

The game’s many foreshadowed details came together, including Violet’s constitution that made her the only cadet able to sense demonic energy.

She was a boss who could not be defeated. The only strategy was to use a special mechanic to seal Violet away.

‘I have to stop that storyline.’

It was obvious, but I wasn’t going through all this trouble just to face such a garbage storyline.

My next plan was to stop it before it happened, persuade Violet, and join hands with her.

Still, I couldn’t prevent the incident beforehand. The Gate leading to the culprit would only open once Violet disappeared.

However, I didn’t know exactly when Violet would vanish.

One thing was certain, though. If Violet suddenly left somewhere on a day off, that would be the moment.

That was why I had made plans with Violet for every day off for the time being.

And then...

Tap tap.

One day, on a day off, an owl flew to my room and tapped on the window with its beak. It was a mail-delivery magical beast from the knight school.

When I opened the window, the post owl took an envelope from its small bag and handed it to me.

I opened the envelope and checked its contents.

[I’m sorry, Mr. Hazely. Something urgent has come up, so I think I have to cancel our plans today.]

It was a short letter that hurriedly conveyed only the essentials.

‘Is this the time?’

I immediately got ready. Now I only had to head to the place I had investigated beforehand.

Of course, there was no proof that this letter was a sign of Violet’s disappearance.

If it wasn’t, then it wasn’t. I could simply say, ‘It wasn’t time yet,’ and return.

But if it was...

‘I’ll have to go get the person who might become my first companion.’

Click.

Creak.

I left the dormitory.

Footnotes:

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