WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons ◈
Chapter 30: personal squire - Interlude
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White Wing Knight Order, Campbell Branch.
“Is your conversation over?”
“Yes.”
As I stepped out of the closed training hall, Cain, the intimidating-looking branch chief, greeted me.
He held an open romance novel in one hand. Its title was You, Like a Wolf, and Me.
I deliberately pretended not to see it. I had felt the same way when I saw it in the original story, but it just did not suit him at all.
The branch chief placed a bookmark in the book, closed it, and tucked it into his clothes.
“Let’s go.”
The branch chief walked ahead, and I followed after him. As I did, I looked down at my right hand and thought.
‘A signature color that destroys demonic energy...’
Was this the manifestation of my inner self?
Well, wiping out demonkin was also the path to preventing bad endings. It made sense.
My hand curled into a fist, and a smile crept onto my lips.
‘...Who am I?’
A Sword Expert, an aura awakener, and the owner of a signature color.
...Heh.
“Why are you smiling?”
“Ah... It’s nothing.”
The branch chief turned around and looked at me suspiciously. I had not even made a sound. How did he know I was smiling?
I was walking along, flustered, when someone called out.
“Hey, friend!”
Having apparently just finished morning roll call, a navy-haired man with a sly-looking face approached me warmly.
I stopped walking.
“Senior Simon?”
It was Simon Hasfield, the opponent I had sparred with yesterday.
Simon, the branch chief, and I exchanged salutes.
The branch chief waved a hand, allowing me to speak with Simon.
Simon had his bangs down, making him look completely different from the serious impression he had given with his hair slicked back during our spar.
“Are you feeling alright?”
“Yes, I’m perfectly fine.”
“Man, that’s a relief! I was so shocked when they carried you away yesterday!”
“Excuse me, but... is your current appearance some sort of role-playing?”
“Hm?”
“You look very different from how you did during the spar.”
“Ah.”
I simply could not reconcile this version of him with the cool-headed person who had fought me.
Simon seemed to understand what I meant, and his eyes curved even further.
“There’s the fact that I have to be serious during a spar, but... to put it bluntly, I like you.”
“...”
“That’s all.”
This senior...
‘He understands the romance of it!’
The cliché of fighting and then becoming friends? I welcomed that with open arms.
Simon patted my shoulder.
“Friend! Take good care of yourself. We’ve got to give it our all while there’s still time, right!?”
“Yes!”
“Good! Let’s give it our all!”
“Yes! Let’s go!”
“That’s right, let’s go!”
The branch chief frowned silently, looking at Simon and me as if we were strange people.
...
“Please teach me.”
I sparred with the White Wing members one after another.
Unlike the first spar, most of them faced me at a level closer to an instructional match.
It was obvious that they intended to teach me at their commander’s request.
I tried to engrave every moment clearly into my memory.
Elise Lorendia watched the White Wing members’ swordsmanship and methods of using aura, then trained by skillfully imitating them.
Elise and I also tested what we had learned together.
And unlike the original story, one major change had occurred.
“Raging Thunder Sword... It seems like a fitting name. If someone has created their own sword style in the first place, they’re free to name it whatever they wish.”
Lucia Silverbane, commander of the White Wing Knight Order.
In the original story, she should have left long ago. Yet she delayed her schedule and remained at the Campbell Branch to teach me one-on-one.
She taught me her own insights and movements regarding how I should use my aura and handle my techniques.
Thanks to that, Raging Thunder Sword gradually gained a foundation as a sword style.
And so, the three-day personal squire experience ended, and the fourth morning arrived.
“You both worked hard until the very last day.”
As soon as morning roll call ended, the White Wing commander summoned Elise and me to her office. It was time for our final interview.
We sat on separate sofas with teacups before us. Steam rose from the cups.
“Cadet Elise, I’m sorry. I ended up focusing far too much on Cadet Ron.”
“Not at all. I understood your intentions, Commander. And I learned plenty just by watching the seniors.”
Elise replied with a bright smile.
“Cadet Elise is so talented that I’m sure you’ll do well at anything. Please feel free to ask me whenever you have a question.”
“Thank you.”
“And Cadet Ron...”
The White Wing commander looked at me with a gentle smile.
“Would you be willing to report your progress to me regularly from now on?”
“Yes...? Ah.”
I had given a much too casual reply out of surprise. But the White Wing commander did not seem to mind.
Elise glanced at me curiously. She must have found it strange too.
“What form should those progress reports take?”
“Hmm, letters would be best. Please send them directly to me. If you have questions or other matters to discuss, you may write about those in the letter as well. I’ll reply, too.”
“...?”
An awkward atmosphere settled over the room.
How should I put this...?
‘Is this the kind of privilege where I can send a direct letter to a commander at the brigadier-general level...?’
If someone at the knight school bullied me, did that mean I could slip something like, “Commander Big Sis, please beat this asshole up, sob sob,” into a letter?
‘Terrifying...’
That was a truly powerful connection.
Of course, I had no intention of relying on the White Wing commander through such childish means.
‘Well, she definitely wants me to send letters because of my signature color.’
If I were the White Wing commander, I would also be curious about my growth every time. I had unexpectedly become her lifeline.
At the same time, she probably could not put pressure on me and keep me under her protection, so this was likely as far as she intended to go.
“Yes! I’ll write them sincerely and send them to you!”
“Hehe, thank you.”
The White Wing commander held a lightly clenched fist before her mouth and smiled softly.
“...?”
At that moment, I felt a ticklish sensation on the back of my hand. Was it an insect?
I lowered my gaze and realized Elise was gently rubbing the back of my hand with her supple index finger.
‘What is she doing...?’
The White Wing commander had probably noticed, but she seemed willing to overlook even one of Elise’s strange antics.
As I sat there flustered by myself, Elise’s intention soon became clear.
‘Letters?’
Elise’s finger was writing on the back of my hand.
‘Love... let... ter... huh...?’
A love letter, huh?
I narrowed my eyes and shot Elise a sidelong glare.
‘No, you little...’
Do you think of nothing but teasing me whenever you get the chance...?
Ignoring my dissatisfied look, Elise simply watched the White Wing commander calmly as if nothing had happened.
...
The front gate of the White Wing Knight Order’s Campbell Branch.
A magic carriage was waiting.
After Elise and I thanked and said farewell to the White Wing members, we arrived before the carriage.
The White Wing commander, her secretary, and the branch chief came to see us off.
The members looked surprised that the White Wing commander was seeing us off. Since she would be leaving soon to catch up on her delayed schedule, even her clothes were neatly arranged.
It was proof that she was busy herself. That made me feel rather burdened.
It felt like the breakfast I had eaten had not digested properly...
And on top of that.
Rustle, rustle.
“Um, Commander...?”
Without saying a word, the White Wing commander adjusted my innocent clothes.
Meaningful looks poured in from all around us.
No matter how I looked at it, it was an action that showed affection for someone. It was like a mother sending her son away on a long journey.
“Take care of yourself, my temporary disciple.”
The White Wing commander leaned close to me and offered a kind smile as she said goodbye.
Well, good was good.
Should I make my final farewell warm as well?
“Yes. Thank you for teaching me, Master.”
“...”
Weren’t we in this together now? Surely she could accept a greeting this presumptuous.
The White Wing commander parted her lips slightly for a moment before smiling with satisfaction.
“I should be thanking you. It was nice meeting you. See you again.”
“Yes!”
Just as when we arrived, Elise and I boarded the carriage with Simon and the solemn female member, then headed for the knight school.
The White Wing commander gently waved at us as we departed.
* * *
After the carriage left, Lucia Silverbane, commander of the White Wing Knight Order, spoke.
“Branch Chief Cain.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Inform Griffin Knight School that they are to regularly provide me with information about Elise Lorendia and Ron Hazely’s studies. Also, if either of them encounters a problem, they are to report it to me regardless of procedure. Understood?”
“Yes, understood.”
It was the first time Lucia had shown such favoritism toward anyone, so the branch chief was inwardly surprised.
But he soon understood.
There could be many reasons, but they were cadets she had chosen. It was only natural that she would grow fond of them.
Still.
‘Those two... They’ll be lovers by the time I see them next.’
The branch chief rubbed his nose and silently smiled as he recalled Elise feeding Ron slices of apple.
“Commander, I believe it is about time to leave for headquarters.”
“Yes, let’s go at once.”
Lucia nodded at her short-haired secretary’s words. It was time to deal with the schedule she had postponed to teach Ron.
They began walking.
* * *
Inside the smoothly moving magic carriage, I stared at the grain fields outside the window and fell into thought.
‘There was no demonkin attack.’
I did not know whether it was because the White Wing commander had guarded the Campbell Branch to the end, whether things were always destined to turn out this way once Orankel was killed, or for some other reason.
But the personal squire experience with the White Wing Knight Order ended without a demonkin attack, just like the stories of Elwi’s first and second playthroughs.
‘Violet must have had a hard time.’
When I got back, I would buy some treats and spend time with her. I wanted to see Violet soon.
My gaze drifted toward Elise. She was sitting beside the solemn female member and looking out the window.
‘Either way, I’m glad everything ended well.’
The main reason I had come for this personal squire experience had been to protect Elise, after all.
‘That doesn’t mean I can relax yet, though.’
I recalled the original story’s third-playthrough route.
After Elise joined forces with the White Wing Knight Order to defeat the demonkin Orankel, she had been unable to participate in the personal squire experiences of other knight orders because she had to cooperate with the investigation.
But now, she had completed her first experience without any issues.
Cadets could participate in up to three personal squire experiences. According to Elise’s plan, she still had two knight orders left to visit.
In other words.
‘Chapter 1, Act 7 isn’t over yet.’
There was no guarantee the story would proceed like the original, so it was too early to let my guard down.
‘...Still.’
Sunlight from the window fell across Elise’s face. Her magenta hair fluttered lightly in the breeze flowing inside.
Maybe she was lost in thought. Looking at her face without a trace of mischief, I felt as though I might lose myself.
‘She really is pretty...’
So this was what it meant to be the protagonist.
It really was impressive.
“?”
At that moment, Elise glanced toward me with her turquoise eyes. Our gazes immediately met. She seemed to have noticed my stare with her aura sense.
As I swallowed a startled breath, Elise gave me her usual mischievous smile.
Normally, she would have teased me immediately, but the White Wing members were accompanying us, so she did not seem inclined to bring it up.
Feeling terribly embarrassed, I quickly turned back toward the window.
“...”
“...”
I discreetly glanced toward Elise again. As if she had been waiting, she smiled brightly, and our eyes met once more.
I had only looked at her for a moment. How long was she going to keep staring at me? It was making me uncomfortable.
It seemed that something had changed in her heart at the White Wing Knight Order’s Campbell Branch... But all I could do was wonder what it was.
‘It’s probably nothing.’
I decided not to attach any special meaning to it.
Elise was naturally mischievous and sociable. Wouldn’t reading too much into it only tire me out?
Once we returned to the knight school, we would go back to how things had been before.
We would occasionally meet at the training grounds and exchange a few words, but otherwise, we would not even speak as if we had nothing to do with each other.
I thought that and dismissed it lightly.
...Before long, I realized that thought had been mistaken.
“Ron, good morning~”
The next day, in a first-year tactical studies classroom at Griffin Knight School.
Under the astonished gazes of the first-year cadets, Elise sat naturally in the seat to my right, smiling brightly.
As befitted the class idol, she radiated a halo bright enough to light up the classroom as usual.
Her lovely smile was directed solely at me, so radiant that I could almost see flowers blooming all around her.
Violet Blackgarden, seated on my other side, looked flustered, while Turak, seated beside her, voiced his confusion with a “Hmm?”
Lara Twislope, who had accompanied Elise, let out a startled, “Uh...!?”
“...Huh?”
Her blatant attempt to close the distance left me completely at a loss for words.
Footnotes:
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