WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons ◈
Chapter 24: Violet - Interlude
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Violet Blackgarden’s deep-violet hair, coated in dust, fluttered in a wind of mana.
She reached toward the corpse of the high-rank magical beast, Poisonous Monster Bird Popus, and spoke a Word Command.
“Answer the summons.”
Fwoooosh!
In an instant, Popus’s corpse was covered in pink mana like flames.
I had already moved its severed parts into place and fitted them back together.
The pink flames consumed Popus’s flesh and organs, and Popus rose with only bones remaining.
Violet stared at the successfully reanimated Popus in amazement.
“It... worked?”
Nod.
“I-I’d never tried it with a high-rank magical beast before, so I didn’t think it would work....”
“Because it’s you.”
I gave her a thumbs-up.
Why else would the remnants of the fallen Demon King’s Army try to rebuild their strength by making you their new Demon King?
Because you’re an insanely good necromancer.
‘Still, she made it look way too easy.’
Reanimation was the core magic of necromancy.
When a necromancer infused a corpse with special black mana, the corpse became an undead servant under their control.
The condition was that it had to be a corpse immediately after death.
It was weaker than when it had been alive, but Popus would still be threatening enough with its strength.
‘It would’ve been nice if she could make demonkin into undead servants too.’
Unfortunately, just as with Demonkin Orankel, demonkin always turned to ash and disappeared the moment they died.
Demonkin Nameld and Demonkin Cerys had been the same.
There were no bodies left, so they could not become undead servants.
“Shall we head back now?”
“Ah, yes...!”
I converted Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak and Flame Demon Sword Hwama into mana and stored them inside my body.
Violet also converted the undead Poisonous Monster Bird into mana and recalled it to her circle.
Bzzzt.
Whoooosh.
After turning the key in the air to create an Exit Gate, I left the Dungeon with Violet, who carried her mother on her back.
We arrived at the place where we had entered through the Gate.
Since it was a maze, I set the exit there in case we got lost by creating it somewhere else.
“Ughhh....”
The moment I stepped out of the Exit Gate, all the strength drained out of me, and overwhelming exhaustion washed over me.
It felt like my body was melting like ice cream. I could barely stop myself from groaning.
Violet immediately panicked.
“Mr. Hazely!? A-Are you all right!?”
“I’m fine.... I’m always like this.”
Ahh... so I had returned.
To being the usual weak Ron Hazely....
“What do you mean, you’re always like this...?”
“I’ll explain everything later.”
“???”
It looked like question marks were floating all around Violet’s head. I felt a little sorry for her.
Then Violet closed her eyes, as though she were collecting her emotions. When she opened them again, she smiled.
“You’ll explain everything properly, right? Got it?”
“......”
I could feel her determination to trust me in those pink eyes.
“...I will.”
I nodded seriously.
......
I asked Violet not to tell anyone about me. She chose to set aside her questions and respect my wishes first.
On the way back, Violet occasionally used search magic to check whether I had left behind any traces, such as body hair, footprints, or remnants of mana.
Maybe because I wore shoes that left no footprints and was careful not to drop even a single hair, she found nothing.
And so, we left the underground maze.
‘This is really convenient. It puts my mind at ease, too.’
Long live magic.
We decided to talk at length later and deal with what needed to be done first.
We quickly discussed what Violet would tell the Blackgarden family. Still, I could not be sure things would go well.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Hazely. I know how the Blackgarden family handles things.”
After reassuring me, Violet headed to her family with her unconscious mother.
If people I had not built trust with discovered my identity, it would be a huge headache. I had no choice but to trust Violet.
I returned to the knight school alone.
‘I’m so nervous....’
For the first time, I had revealed my secret....
Violet was trustworthy, but actually doing it still made me tense.
“E-Everything will be fine, right...?”
I trembled in my dorm room and waited endlessly for Violet....
A few days later, Violet returned to the knight school.
Bracing myself, I met her alone in a secluded part of the campus.
After confirming through detection magic that no one was nearby, Violet cast soundproofing magic.
Had Violet changed her mind while she was at her family’s estate? Violet’s face was terribly pale.
Violet apologized in a voice trembling as though there had been an earthquake.
“I-I-I-I, someone like me, dared to fail to recognize a Swordmaster like you. I-I-I was so out of line....”
“......”
I pressed a hand to my forehead.
‘This isn’t what I wanted....’
It seemed I would have to work quite hard before I could convince her that we were still friends.
......
“You only become strong inside Dungeons...?”
“Yeah.”
As I had a long talk with Violet, I first heard what had happened at the Blackgarden family estate.
Violet told them this.
The remnants of the fallen Demon King’s Army had kidnapped her mother and tried to make Violet the new Demon King.
Then, a mysterious swordsman suddenly appeared and saved both Violet and her mother.
The Blackgarden family immediately began investigating and learned that Elise Lorendia had also been saved by a mysterious swordsman in a Dungeon, and that person had displayed the same abilities as the one who saved Violet and her mother.
The Blackgarden family informed the knight school of the situation.
They agreed that only key parties would be told that Violet had been targeted as the new Demon King, while the matter would be concealed from the public.
No one could predict what chaos and trouble would result if that information came out. It was also meant to protect Violet.
Since knight school cadets were under the school’s jurisdiction, Violet had to return. Violet wanted to return as well, so she came back to the knight school, underwent questioning, and then came to meet me.
After hearing all of Violet’s story, I revealed my secret too.
The principle behind my ability, the dangerous factions, and my purpose of protecting the people here.
“I-I’m not saying I doubt you, Mr. Hazely, but.... Isn’t it too strange, whether it’s a special constitution or an ability? Your realm and mana both rise so much inside Dungeons....”
“But you saw it too, didn’t you?”
“Then the weak Mr. Hazely I knew wasn’t fake...?”
“Ahem. It pains me to say it, but... that’s right.”
“How can something like that....”
Ron Hazely was weak outside a Dungeon.
Ron Hazely was a Swordmaster inside one.
What kind of ridiculous ability was this? It was only natural for Violet to be confused.
“Gasp!”
Violet was soon struck by shock as though someone had hit the back of her head.
“I-I thought you had been putting on an incredible performance this whole time, Mr. Hazely! I was so impressed by you...!”
“You’re shocked by something I never expected you to be shocked by...?”
If I had that much acting talent, I would have become an actor in my previous life.
“But, Mr. Hazely. Then how did you know I would be in danger...?”
“That....”
This was the problem.
Should I make up some vague lie for Violet or not?
‘After coming this far, lying feels wrong.’
All I could trust now was the faith we had built between us.
I answered carefully.
“That much... is difficult to tell you. It’s complicated to explain, too. So about that part... I’m sorry.”
How could I tell her it was information I learned from a game?
Not only would it be completely useless, it would obviously just confuse her more.
“I see....”
An uncomfortable silence passed between us for a while.
Then Violet quietly moved her lips.
“Is the reason you can’t tell me perhaps because you’re trying to protect me...?”
I gathered my thoughts before answering.
“Saying it’s to protect you might be a little grand. It’s just that it would obviously confuse you. It wouldn’t help at all even if I told you.”
“Then is it something like seeing the future?”
“It has similarities, but not exactly.”
“Then that’s enough for me.”
“Hm?”
“I trust you, Mr. Hazely.”
The corners of Violet’s lips rose gently.
“You’ve taught me far too many amazing things for me to stop trusting you over something like that. More than anything, I know you’re on my side.”
“That’s true, but....”
“You could have gone out of your way to lie to me. I think there must be a reason you can’t tell me just that part.”
“You’re taking this really well?”
“That’s because we’re friends... after all.”
Violet said, “Ah,” then blushed and lowered her head.
“...Probably.”
Adding those meaningful words, she pressed her fingertips together and fidgeted, as she often did.
She looked like she wanted to ask something but could not easily bring herself to say it.
I could easily guess what that question was.
Perhaps because the atmosphere had grown awkward, silence hung between us, broken only by the chirping of insects.
I slowly waited for Violet to say what she wanted.
A cool breeze suddenly blew, and Violet barely managed to move her lips.
“Mr. Hazely....”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know if I should ask something like this, but....”
With a faintly worried expression, Violet looked at the ground and spoke softly.
“We’re... still friends, right?”
There was an oddly anxious feeling in her voice.
‘Of course we are....’
What are you talking about? We’re already soul friends!
I wanted to blurt out something so silly right away, but it seemed better to answer seriously now.
Unlike Violet, I looked up at the sky as I spoke.
“Violet.”
“Yes?”
Violet had learned there were forces targeting her, and I had even revealed my secret, my weakness, to her.
From now on, we were destined to share life and death. At least, that was how I felt.
Violet had probably sensed something similar.
So.
“To be honest, I see you as more than a friend. I’ve even opened up this secret to you, and we’re both caught up in enormous problems.”
Violet’s head trembled.
“Mr. Hazely, what do you mean by more than friends...?”
“Um, a relationship deeper than friendship...? Of course, I don’t mean lovers or anything like that. More like comrades and companions, something that’s hard to define exactly? Ah, saying that might make you uncomfortable.”
“N-Not at all! It doesn’t make me uncomfortable at all...!”
Violet hurriedly looked at me and denied it.
Following her gaze, I met Violet’s eyes and smiled.
As though she had realized what she had just said, Violet gradually let out a trembling, “Y-Yeah....” Her face flushed with embarrassment.
Well, as long as she was not uncomfortable, that was fine.
“Violet. You learned this through what happened, but I’m going to help you from now on. But when I don’t have the strength to do it, I want you to be on my side.”
“......”
“That’s what I wanted to ask of you.”
Violet stared at me with her mouth slightly open.
I put both hands behind my back and tightly clenched my fingers to stop them from twisting on their own.
‘Ugh, that’s embarrassing....’
I had said it myself, but it gave me goosebumps.
Well, wasn’t that what sincerity was like?
Hang in there, hands and feet.
‘But what if Violet refuses here....’
That would be... sad even to imagine.
Then there would be no helping it. I would have to accept the risks from now on.
As I waited tensely....
“Hehehe....”
A pure smile spread across Violet’s face.
Her bangs fluttered in the gentle breeze. Her smile shone brightly in the sunlight.
Once again, I thought it was a truly beautiful smile.
It seemed tears had gathered at the corners of Violet’s eyes. But I deliberately pretended not to notice.
“Could I... ask something of you too? When things are difficult, please lean on me.”
Whenever hearts connect, you always know it.
Just like now.
“...Yeah. Thank you.”
Smiling, I held out my fist to Violet. She bumped it with her own.
It was the moment I gained my first companion.
Soon, the breeze calmed again, and Violet’s bangs cast a shadow over her eyes.
“More than friends.... Hehehe....”
‘Hm?’
At some point, Violet’s smile had become... from the outside, it looked like the sinister smile of a witch plotting something.
It was enough to leave me speechless, to the point that I wondered if she was doing it on purpose.
* * *
“Sigh....”
[You sigh a lot, Master.]
Violet Blackgarden sat blankly in her dorm room, letting out sigh after sigh.
Scally, the skeletal puppy covered in pink mana, moved around atop the desk and spoke with a woman’s voice. Black mana itself served as the voice.
Violet suddenly looked out the window. Under the sunlight, birds chirped as they flew past together.
“The world looks so peaceful....”
Yet it seemed her own life had reached a major turning point.
She had learned that remnants of the fallen Demon King’s Army were targeting her, and she had even become companions with a mysterious person who became a Swordmaster only inside Dungeons.
Still, how was she supposed to repay Ron Hazely?
She had asked Ron too, but he told her to forget about repaying him and simply help each other whenever they could.
Even so, she should give him something in return. Violet was lost in such thoughts.
At the same time.
‘I can’t stop thinking about it.’
The sight of Ron saving her would not leave her mind.
Morning, noon, evening, night, even when she lay down to sleep. Always.
‘Of course I can’t. How could I forget that...?’
If anyone had saved her in a moment like that, she would have been touched and treasured the memory for the rest of her life.
But what if that person was her friend?
And what if that friend was known as the weakest cadet at the knight school?
She wondered if there would ever be another moment in her life that left such a deep impression.
No one would believe her no matter whom she told.
“I see you as more than a friend.”
Ron’s words suddenly wrapped around Violet’s heart.
“More than friends....”
Simply being the first friend she had always wished for made Ron someone Violet would not exchange for a thousand gold pieces.
But a relationship beyond that. When she first heard it, she had taken it to mean deep affection and had been purely happy. Looking back, though, questions remained.
Friend, companion, collaborator, comrade... and so on. What should she call it?
That was right. It had become difficult to define her relationship with Ron in a single word.
“Of course, I don’t mean lovers or anything like that.”
Ron’s casual addition came back to her one after another.
Lovers. It was a relationship she had never even considered, nor expected in her life.
A gentle breeze entered through the open window and quietly stirred the curtains.
Violet unconsciously placed a hand over her chest.
Her heart gradually began to tickle, and her thoughts turned soft and fuzzy.
Violet... did not know what that feeling was.
[Good grief, Master.... How frustrating.]
The skeletal puppy Scally suddenly shook its head and made a rattling sound as though clicking its tongue. Of course, it had no tongue.
[Why do you keep muttering to yourself and worrying? I may be dead, but even I know it is hard to find a man like Ron Hazely.]
“Huh?”
[Ron Hazely would be more than suitable as your mate. You have even drooled after seeing that man’s bare body before. So the next time you see him, first take him to a bed and....]
Whoosh!
Violet hurriedly dismissed the skeletal puppy Scally before it could continue its nonsense.
“W-W-W-What are you talking about...!?”
Violet breathed heavily.
Her face had already turned burning red.
Footnotes:
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