WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

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

Chapter 29: personal squire (4)

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The sun peeked over the mountain ridge.

The infirmary of the White Wing Knight Order’s Campbell branch.

I straightened my clothes and loosened up with some light stretches.

‘That good rest really paid off.’

Nothing hurt, and I was in great condition.

I was just about to head out for morning roll call.

Suddenly, someone leaned just their upper body through the open doorway.

“Eek...!”

I flinched.

A brightly smiling face and magenta hair spilling down with her tilted body.

Standing with both hands behind her back and looking at me was my classmate, Elise Lorendia.

The moment she saw me jump, Elise narrowed her eyes seductively and giggled.

“You’re awake? I wanted to wake you myself.”

“You little...”

“Good morning, Ron.”

Elise walked over to me.

“You came to pick me up this early?”

“Yep. I’m your guardian, after all.”

“Guardian, my ass... Why are you my guardian?”

“Who was it that nursed Ron yesterday~?”

Elise spoke cheerfully, shamelessly teasing me.

“...”

Logically, she was right. I could not argue with that.

“Alright, speechless Ron. Shall we go?”

“Yeah... let’s go. Huh?”

That was when it happened.

Cain, the Campbell branch chief with a deep scar by his eye, appeared in the infirmary.

“For the Empire.”

“For the Empire.”

We exchanged salutes on reflex.

‘Good timing.’

I needed to clear up yesterday’s misunderstanding...

“Ron Hazely.”

“Cadet Ron Hazely!”

“You’re exempt from morning roll call. The commander wishes to speak with you privately.”

‘...Pardon?’

Out of nowhere?

Elise and I exchanged puzzled looks before I followed Branch Chief Cain alone.

We arrived at a sealed training hall.

Knock, knock.

“Commander, I have brought him.”

“Come in.”

The White Wing commander’s voice came from beyond the door.

Click.

Creak.

An empty space. Only a wide floor filled my view.

At its center, atop a large rug.

A graceful woman with fox ears sat on her knees as though meditating.

Early morning sunlight streamed through the window and illuminated her.

The White Wing commander turned her face toward me, her eyes gently closed.

I saluted.

“You summoned me, Commander.”

“Welcome, my temporary disciple. Come over here.”

“Yes!”

As I approached the White Wing commander, the branch chief tactfully closed the door behind him and left.

Whoosh.

The White Wing commander cast a soundproofing spell over the training hall.

Was she about to discuss something confidential?

“Would you sit?”

“Yes!”

I sat straight on my knees in front of her, mirroring her posture.

For some reason, there was an elegant box in front of her.

“My temporary disciple.”

“Cadet Ron Hazely!”

“Did you rest well? Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine!”

“Hehe, that’s a relief.”

A dignified smile touched the White Wing commander’s lips.

“There’s something I’d like to confirm. What do you think of Demonkin?”

“Demonkin...?”

‘What is this?’

Why bring up Demonkin all of a sudden?

I did not know what she was thinking, but... did it matter?

In Elwi, the White Wing commander had clearly stood against the Demonkin.

“Could you speak freely?”

“I believe they’re a race that should be exterminated.”

“...Excuse me?”

Was that not obvious?

Yet the White Wing commander tilted her head in confusion.

“Exterminated?”

“Yes. Every Demonkin is worse than trash. If I get the chance to kill one, I must kill them. They should be wiped out completely, without leaving a single one behind.”

Had it not been stated in For Elise from the beginning?

Demonkin were inherently incapable of coexisting with humanity. Their goal was to consume this world.

Having lived in this world myself, I understood that even more deeply.

Those fucking bastards who tried to ruin my friend’s life and threatened my future with every kind of bad ending.

“I... see...?”

...Ah.

I immediately relaxed my expression.

“I believe I answered too emotionally. My apologies.”

The White Wing commander could not see, but she could read things like a person’s emotions and desires.

My answer might have seemed overly aggressive to her.

Fortunately, the White Wing commander let it pass with a soft smile.

“Firm convictions and values are virtues in a knight. I respect your beliefs. If anything, I’m relieved.”

Relieved? Why?

“Could you keep what you’re about to see a secret?”

“Yes, I’ll take it to my grave!”

“Thank you.”

Click.

Slide.

The White Wing commander opened the box before her and held it out to me.

Inside was a silver bracer.

Yet in contrast to its beautiful color, an ominous black aura flowed from it.

‘Ah, this. It’s that.’

I could tell at a glance what kind of energy it was. I had seen it in For Elise.

“It’s a cursed bracer.”

The White Wing commander spoke without hiding it.

“I can’t tell you the details, but you can think of this haze as being released by a Demonkin curse.”

Unlike the stories of Elwi’s first and second playthroughs, all of the White Wing commander’s exclusive equipment was cursed in the third-playthrough story.

‘This bracer must be one of those items. But why show it to me?’

Only a very small number of people should know this secret.

As I stood there confused, unable to say anything, the White Wing commander gave me an instruction.

“My temporary disciple. Could you use aura on this bracer?”

“My aura...?”

The White Wing commander nodded.

“You don’t need to worry about being harmed. If the curse tries to hurt you, I’ll suppress it.”

Of course she would.

‘Hmm, could it be...?’

If I had a signature color, a trace of it might have appeared in my aura yesterday.

After all, my aura-coated sword had clashed with the White Wing commander’s cursed sword, Silver-White Sword Euclia, once yesterday.

‘If that affected the curse...’

Then this strange situation could be sufficiently explained.

In other words, my signature color was...

No, I should not jump to conclusions yet.

“Understood.”

Shing.

I rose to my feet and drew the sword at my waist.

Crackle!

I imbued the blade with blue lightning-shaped aura and steadied my breathing.

The White Wing commander broke into a cold sweat.

“Um, my temporary disciple...?”

“Haaah...!”

Just as I was about to bring the sword down with enough force to shatter the bracer.

The White Wing commander threw out both arms and cried out urgently.

“Wait! You don’t have to try to break it...!”

“?”

Was I not supposed to attack it...?

A few minutes later.

Crackle!

I held out my hand toward the bracer and poured aura into it.

My aura erupted in powerful plasma, lashing at the black demonic energy wrapped around the bracer.

Crack!

With the sound of something breaking, the black haze warped.

My eyes widened the moment I saw it.

“Commander, this...”

“...”

“Commander?”

The White Wing commander’s shoulders trembled slightly in silence. I deliberately held my tongue.

Soon, she took a deep breath and spoke softly.

“I think... this is your signature color. It’s only a trace for now, so I can’t say for certain what its exact nature is. But it does appear to possess the power to destroy demonic energy.”

Destroying demonic energy was my signature color...?

I had never expected that. I was simply stunned.

‘Wait, then is it different from the Flame Demon Sword’s power? Blue flames wouldn’t work against curses.’

As far as I knew from Elwi, the flames of Flame Demon Sword Hwama only burned mana physically manifested into substance.

They could not stop curses, mental attacks, or anything similar.

“Let’s try a little more.”

“Ah, yes!”

Boom!

Crackle!

After that, I tested the effect several more times, forcefully releasing my aura.

But the first crack did not grow any larger.

The curse only trembled briefly on the surface, remaining intact.

‘Well, my signature color must still be weak. And the curse on this thing is at the highest level to begin with.’

Thinking that, I looked toward the White Wing commander.

Though blind, she still had her eyes closed as if concentrating her senses on the bracer. She seemed lost in deep thought.

‘Still...’

Was this an unexpected gain?

‘If my signature color reaches a high enough level before this person dies...’

I might be able to save her.

A supporting character from For Elise.

Lucia Silverbane, commander of the White Wing Knight Order.

In Elwi’s third-playthrough story, she became terminally ill due to a Demonkin curse.

She grew close to Elise through their master and squire relationship before dying, which greatly worsened Elise’s mental state.

But.

‘What if the White Wing commander survives safely?’

It would help my own survival, and the likelihood of bad endings would decrease too.

Keeping a powerful force on Elise’s side would also be a major advantage.

‘More than that, though, I like her.’

She had recognized me and was helping me grow.

And on a human level, I did not want to simply let her lose her life so easily.

She was a character I had grown attached to in Elwi, in my own way.

“My temporary disciple.”

“Yes, Commander.”

The White Wing commander raised her head and turned her gaze toward me.

“I believe your signature color will be a threat to Demonkin. They’ll surely target you. So I hope you can keep this secret.”

I agreed. It was not an ability Demonkin would leave alone.

With this weak body of mine, I needed to be careful.

“Understood.”

“And... Hmm, never mind. Keep training hard, my temporary disciple.”

A gentle smile spread across the White Wing commander’s face. I could tell she was trying hard to control her expression.

‘Of course.’

She had accepted death, but she must have glimpsed hope in my signature color.

Still, she could not carelessly entrust her life to me when she had no reason to fully trust me yet, nor could she reveal such an important secret.

‘It feels wrong to just let that go.’

What should I say at a time like this...?

Ah.

“Commander, there’s something I’d like to say before I leave.”

“Yes? Please, go ahead.”

“I will definitely remain on your side, Commander.”

The White Wing commander’s fox ears perked up.

“You recognized me and gave me the valuable opportunity to become a personal squire.”

“...Is that so?”

“Yes. So, this is a little embarrassing, but I wanted to thank you.”

The important part was that I would remain on the White Wing commander’s side.

The words I added afterward did not mean much. They were only there to round it out.

“...”

In any case, my sincerity must have reached her. As I had said before, the White Wing commander could sense a person’s emotions and desires.

I hoped my words would offer even a little comfort.

“Um... my temporary disciple?”

“Yes, Commander.”

“I’ve felt this for a while now...”

The White Wing commander smiled awkwardly. Even that was lovely.

“I’m grateful that you said you’re on my side, but that doesn’t mean you should look at me in that sort of way, alright?”

“Pardon?”

My heart sank. Why would she say that?

“Ah...”

I quickly figured it out. There was only one reason.

‘Fuck... Is this because she sensed what I felt in the original story?’

The memory and impression of thinking, ‘Agh, fox beastwoman big sis,’ in the original still lingered within me.

What was I supposed to do? It was beyond my control.

“Th-that is...”

Lying when I had been so obviously caught would be useless. I had to think of how to defend myself instead.

Did she find my flustered appearance amusing?

The White Wing commander gently raised a clenched fist to her mouth and stifled a chuckle before speaking softly.

“It’s alright, my temporary disciple. You needn’t worry about it. You should go train now. The branch chief will guide you.”

“Yes...!”

Phew, she really was such an understanding older woman. Was this what maturity looked like?

Then again, she must have received affection from plenty of men before. A little attraction from me would hardly affect her.

‘If anything, the fact that she brought it up might mean she views me favorably.’

Let’s take it positively.

Still, I could not help feeling uncomfortable.

Wanting to escape the awkward atmosphere as soon as possible, I stood up, saluted, and promptly carried out the White Wing commander’s order.

* * *

Silence settled over the sealed training hall.

Lucia Silverbane, commander of the White Wing Knight Order, turned her gaze toward the box.

A crack had formed in the curse placed upon the silver bracer.

It was the result of the aura produced by Ron Hazely, a knight school cadet who had come to experience being a personal squire.

“Haah...”

A trembling sigh she had barely held back flowed out.

A thread of hope had begun to appear in the path ahead, which had been nothing but suffocating darkness, in the future she had given up on.

That did not mean she could make the careless choice of entrusting her life to Ron’s signature color. For now, this was the best she could do.

Still, she liked Ron’s character itself.

“I will definitely remain on your side, Commander.”

She had understood the meaning behind Ron’s words.

He must have grasped some part of Lucia’s unspoken circumstances.

“He’s thoughtful, too...”

At the end, Lucia had deliberately mentioned the “sort of way” Ron had been looking at her, something she had sensed from him for a while.

Part of it had been a joke, but she had also wanted to see whether Ron would preserve his paltry pride by lying, even in an embarrassing situation.

Yet even then, Ron had not tried to dress himself up with a lie.

It was a rather trustworthy attitude.

“Th-that is...”

Ron’s flustered reaction suddenly filled Lucia’s mind.

His voice and the emotions she had felt from him were so amusing that Lucia gently raised her clenched fist to her mouth and smiled quietly.

“Hehe, how cute...”

For the first time in a very long while, she found herself wishing she could see someone’s face.

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