WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons ◈
Chapter 34: Break - Interlude
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“What a mess.”
The cliffside of Tilloden Rocky Mountain had been completely ravaged.
The trees and brush had all been swept away.
“Looks like the rocky mountain has gone bald.”
“Hmm... Not a bad joke.”
Simon, the blue-haired White Wing Knight, made the remark casually. Cain, the Campbell Branch Chief of the White Wing Knight Order, responded without much emotion.
The Campbell Branch of the White Wing Knight Order and the Torgon Branch of the Red Wing Knight Order had launched a joint investigation.
Elise Lorendia and Lara Twislope, cadets taking part in the personal squire experience program, had also joined them after being nearby along the trade route.
Elise claimed that a Swordmaster who had fought here had saved her. She was involved in the incident.
‘Even after someone of that caliber fought here, the damage is only this much.’
It would not have been surprising if the entire area had been destroyed, not just the mountain.
The unidentified Swordmaster seemed to have deliberately minimized the damage.
On top of that, they had blatantly concealed their identity. Every trace had been erased almost obsessively.
As Cain surveyed the scene, he suddenly looked up at the sky and scoffed.
‘This is absurd. An unidentified Swordmaster who inherited a Swordmaster’s legacy...’
Cain had identified the silver-gray blade wind. It was the power of Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak, the beloved sword of the wandering knight Sylvia.
Before dying, Sylvia had planted Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak in the Sword Grave.
Yet one day, the sword had been stolen by Demonkin.
Of course, Demonkin could not have properly wielded its power.
Before dying, Sylvia had sealed Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak’s power.
A vow completed through death. Whether a Swordmaster or an archmage, no matter how powerful they were, no one could use Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak’s power unless Sylvia allowed it.
Yet the unidentified Swordmaster wielded that power as though carrying on Sylvia’s legacy.
Setting aside how they had acquired Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak.
‘Who are they...?’
All kinds of questions swirled through Cain’s mind.
However, he stopped thinking about it there.
Information about the new Swordmaster had already spread throughout the Imperial Five Wings. Headquarters would investigate personally.
Soon, Cain turned toward Elise. She was staring into empty space with a serious expression.
“It’s unfortunate that we’re meeting again like this.”
“For the Empire.”
When Cain approached and spoke to her, Elise gave a salute.
He stood beside her with his arms crossed and watched the knights search the scene.
“You must not feel at ease either. An unknown Swordmaster is lingering around you, and you don’t even know whether they’re on your side.”
“They are on my side.”
“Hmm?”
Cain turned to Elise with a puzzled look.
“Why do you think that?”
“Because they’ve protected me several times.”
Certainty filled Elise’s turquoise eyes.
“...?”
Nearby, a Red Wing Knight overheard Elise’s words and looked at her suspiciously.
‘She clearly didn’t seem certain they were on her side before.’
It felt strange.
When the knight had stopped Elise in the carriage by saying she could not guarantee the unidentified Swordmaster was on their side, she had clearly accepted that.
“I see...”
Cain, on the other hand, did not say much.
No facts had been confirmed yet. He did not want to argue over Elise’s way of thinking.
Meanwhile, Elise was still staring into empty space. More precisely, at the Scenario Note.
‘Its capabilities have improved.’
This was the first time something like this had happened.
The Scenario Note had begun recording some traits of the person who changed fate, along with their reasons for acting.
‘Someone outside fate... And they acted for me...’
The uncertain information had become certain. That Swordmaster was on her side.
But what did it mean to be someone outside fate? Did it mean the Swordmaster was a transcendent being who had surpassed the laws of the world?
What exactly did that Swordmaster know, and why were they helping her?
Too many questions swirled in Elise’s mind. Suddenly, the life faded from her turquoise eyes.
Cain glanced at Elise.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Just... I was thinking that I’m still very weak.”
“...”
She could not seek out the unknown person who had helped her because it was too dangerous.
She had missed that precious opportunity.
She could not even properly investigate the questions surrounding them.
Elise... felt powerless.
* * *
‘I’ve grasped the essence of the sword technique...!’
A few days after defeating Demonkin Ulz, the sun was beginning to set.
Griffin Knight School.
I headed toward Training Ground Seven with light steps. I’d been in a good mood these past few days.
After using Raging Thunder Sword in my Swordmaster state, I had figured out how to use it effectively.
Using Raging Thunder Sword normally put a strain on my body, but if I adjusted its power, I could train without getting hurt.
‘I should practice again today.’
The end of the first semester of my first year was approaching, along with Chapter 1, Act 8 of For Elise, the Final Exam arc.
An achievement that awarded physical experience points was waiting there. I needed to get results somehow.
In the meantime, Raging Thunder Sword had become a new trump card.
‘Elise’s situation should probably be fine for a while too.’
The Exchange Realm Society, one of the main enemy factions in For Elise, had missed this opportunity. Now, the Imperial Five Wings were keeping watch over Elise as well.
Naturally, Griffin Knight School would pay even more attention to Elise. The Exchange Realm Society would probably lie low for a while.
That did not mean I could relax.
‘I should keep an eye on the Imperial Five Wings and the knight school too...’
Creak.
After arriving at Training Ground Seven while lost in thought...
Whoosh!
“Hm?”
A female cadet training alone caught my eye. She was swinging a heavy mock sword covered in magitech weights, practically a massive hunk of iron.
Her magenta hair, tied into a ponytail, swayed with her movements.
She must have trained all day without putting much mana into physical enhancement. Unlike her usual self, her face was drenched in sweat.
“Oh?”
Elise Lorendia noticed me, stopped her sword, and caught her breath.
“Hi, Ron. You came late.”
Elise welcomed me with a bright smile.
“I came right after finishing my work. I got here pretty early.”
“I wanted you to come earlier.”
“Were you waiting for me?”
“Yeah.”
Huh?
“Why?”
“Just... No particular reason. I thought we could train together.”
“Hmm...”
I got the feeling right away.
‘She has something on her mind.’
Who was I? A veteran player of For Elise.
Whenever Elise pushed herself too hard, swinging her sword all day, it meant she had worries she could not talk about.
‘Of course, I can’t be completely certain.’
It would be good if that was not the case.
Still, I should look out for her.
She was the protagonist, the key hero who would save the world, and the future strongest person in the world.
I picked up a mock sword, tapped it against my shoulder, and walked toward Elise.
“You just got back from the Red Wing Order today, right?”
“Yeah. I just finished the squire experience program.”
“So? Are you going to try out what you learned there with me?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, really?”
“Didn’t you say that when we were with the White Wing Order?”
Elise grinned as she removed the weights from her mock sword.
“From now on, let’s keep practicing whatever we learn together. Hmm? Thinking about it again, that sounds like a confession. Oh my, how exciting.”
Elise placed one hand on her cheek and beamed.
“Don’t exaggerate... I never said we should always be together.”
“Hehe.”
God, she was teasing me again.
“So? Are we doing this or not?”
“Of course we are.”
Why would I turn down this chance?
Whoosh!
I rushed at Elise and swung my mock sword. She smiled and easily dodged.
Clang!
Clang!
For a while, we exchanged sword techniques, our mock swords clashing.
Elise was not using mana aside from physical enhancement, so neither was I.
Of course, Elise’s physical abilities were far beyond mine, so she pushed me back. Still, she did not intentionally target my openings.
She seemed to want our swords to clash for as long as possible.
Clang!
Whoosh!
Eventually, Elise and I clashed our mock swords, then pushed each other away and created some distance.
“Ron, I’m bored. Want to make a bet?”
“You’re not about to say that if I land even one hit, you’ll grant me any wish, right?”
“Wow, Ron. Are you a mind reader?”
“Ugh, don’t. Don’t. Even without a bet like that, I’m already trying like crazy to land a hit on you.”
“Do you really think you can land a hit on me? You failed all semester.”
“The semester isn’t over yet, you brat...”
I sighed.
“Ha, whatever. Fine. Then I’ll just tell you my wish.”
“Hmm, now I’m curious. Tell me. What do you want from me, Ron?”
I took my stance again and spoke.
“Something like... I want you to stay safe and alive.”
“Hm...?”
Perhaps my answer had surprised her. Elise tilted her head slightly in confusion.
“You said you got caught up in dangerous incidents several times. Including this time.”
“Yeah, I did. You heard about it?”
“The school was making a fuss too. So I hope you keep staying safe.”
“...Why?”
Elise asked with a perfunctory smile. It was an expression she often wore when she wanted to hide serious emotions.
‘Because I need to survive too if you do.’
...Obviously, I could not say that.
“Isn’t that obvious? That way, I can keep squeezing everything I can out of you and get stronger off your talent.”
“Wow... That gave me chills! Because it was so cheesy! Ron, you’re more coy than I thought.”
Elise snickered as if she were surprised. Her smile gradually softened.
She closed her eyes and reflected on my words.
“As long as I stay safe... Hmm, you’re right... I think I was worrying over something really pointless.”
“Hm? You had something on your mind?”
“Yeah, but after talking to you, it all feels meaningless.”
“What were you thinking about?”
“That Ron might like me.”
“Wow, that was some impressive bullshit.”
“Woof.”
Elise made a cute puppy sound and rushed at me. Her expression looked much lighter.
‘Looks like she feels better.’
I was just keeping Elise company.
And getting some training in while I was at it.
Clang!!
‘What the hell!?’
Huh?
That last strike felt like it had some emotion behind it...?
...
Elise gulped down water from her canteen.
Droplets ran down her smooth cheeks, gathered at the tip of her chin, then fell.
I stared at her while wiping away my sweat with a towel.
Then Elise looked toward me, narrowing her eyes meaningfully. She held out the canteen she had been drinking from.
“Ron, want some?”
“Out of nowhere?”
“You looked like you wanted it. Were you staring at me because you were thirsty?”
“I was just looking. Also, that would be an indirect kiss. You were going to tease me as soon as I drank from it, right?”
“Ah, you caught me.”
I glared at the giggling Elise.
“Still, don’t worry. More precisely, I was going to tease you before you drank.”
“You were going to tease me either way...”
Elise closed her eyes and spoke shamelessly.
“Ahh, what a shame. If I’d said, ‘That would be an indirect kiss,’ right as Ron tried to drink without realizing anything, you would’ve choked and panicked. It would’ve been so funny. What a shame~”
“That is incredibly specific... Is teasing me all you think about?”
“Hehe.”
Elise turned toward me with a bright smile and sat down.
Had she really planned out that much just to tease me? I could not let my guard down for even a moment.
‘Though she does seem more extreme than usual today.’
Elise always wore a mask of pretense.
The greater the emotions she needed to hide, the larger that pretense became.
Others might not notice, but as a veteran player of For Elise, I could tell if I watched closely.
Well, I understood. The Elise I knew was that kind of person.
It was one reason why I cared about Elise but still could not fully trust her.
Still, I could not help worrying about her.
I hung the towel around my neck and sat beside Elise. She drank from her canteen again before speaking.
“You should sit farther away. I smell really sweaty right now.”
“Hm? I don’t mind.”
“Oh? Really?”
“You said your body was a little different because of a fairy’s power, right? Maybe that’s why it doesn’t smell much like sweat. It actually smells kind of nice... Ah, my sweat is probably the problem. Are you okay with it?”
“Hmmm~?”
As if she had caught another chance to tease me, Elise narrowed her eyes and smiled mischievously.
What was that? Why was she making me nervous?
“What is there to worry about? Everyone trains here while drenched in sweat all the time. I don’t particularly care about your sweat smell either, Ron.”
“If you don’t mind, that’s good...”
“More importantly, Ron, you like my scent?”
A chill ran through me. It felt like a dagger had flown into my chest.
This feeling was definitely...
‘What kind of prank has she planned now...?’
“I suppose it makes sense for Ron~”
“No... How did the conversation get there?”
“You were always looking at me lecherously whenever you had the chance.”
“What kind of misunderstanding is that? Our eyes just happened to meet. I’ve never had any improper thoughts about you.”
I answered bluntly.
Well... That was not a lie, aside from when I played the original game.
“Is that so~? Ron has definitely looked at me the same way as the people who told me I was pretty~”
“...”
‘She noticed a long time ago and didn’t say anything...’
My eyebrow twitched.
I finally understood why Elise had looked at me as if she wanted to tease me at any moment when we returned to the knight school in the White Wing carriage.
I had absentmindedly thought Elise was very pretty then. It seemed Elise had noticed my feelings too.
“Aren’t you embarrassed? Talking about sweat smells and all that. Normally, people would be embarrassed about that.”
“Ah, changing the subject.”
“Ugh, please...”
“Then should I let you smell it?”
“Hm?”
Elise brushed her hair aside and tilted her head, fully exposing her pale nape.
“Up close.”
A playful curve formed on her lips.
‘She has really made up her mind...’
Was she acting like this because she felt better after I helped her mood?
Was the level of her teasing not much higher than usual?
‘If I were my usual self here...’
I would have told her to stop talking nonsense and avoided her.
But could Elise, who drew up elaborate plans for a single prank, have failed to predict that?
‘No way.’
Elise would have already anticipated my pattern and planned how to tease me.
But what if I actually tried to smell Elise’s nape?
‘She’d be the one flustered.’
Right. I could not keep getting played forever.
This time, I would fluster her.
“Yeah... Now that it’s come to this, I am a little curious. What it would smell like up close.”
“Hm?”
“Even when other cadets are exhausted enough to be sweating buckets, you barely sweat. You don’t tire easily. Thinking about it, this is a precious opportunity.”
“Hm...? Really?”
Elise’s eyes trembled slightly.
‘Huh? Is she actually flustered...?’
Something felt suspicious, but I decided to take it as a positive sign.
Maybe I could finally land a hit on Elise this time. I would not back down.
“Ron, you’re really going to smell it...?”
“Yeah. Then...”
I slowly leaned my head toward Elise’s nape.
Close enough that my breath touched her neck. Elise’s body trembled.
Just as I was about to breathe in...
Click!
“Elise, are you here...?”
“...”
“...”
Creak.
The head I had been leaning toward Elise’s nape turned toward the entrance like a broken machine.
Then I met the eyes of Lara Twislope, a female cadet with pale blue hair tied into low twin-tails.
Silence followed for a moment...
Lara sucked in a startled breath, and her face turned bright red.
“Ron Hazely, Elise! Y-You two...! What shameless thing are you doing here...!?”
Lara pointed at us in outrage. Her voice trembled.
I blankly turned back toward Elise.
By then, she had narrowed her eyes and was giggling.
It was almost as if I could hear Elise’s lively voice saying, ‘Caught you~?’
She must have sensed Lara approaching in advance with aura sense. This prank had targeted both Lara and me.
What kind of two-birds-with-one-stone prank was this?
Elise brushed her hair behind her ear again from right beside me, smiled, and whispered softly.
“You’re bold, Ron.”
“You...”
Bleh.
Elise stuck out her crimson tongue playfully.
At that moment, I realized it. I should never get cheeky with Elise, even as a joke. In the end, I could not find anything to say.
Afterward, Elise explained things to Lara so the misunderstanding would not deepen.
“Today was really fun~ Thanks, Ron!”
“Yeah, and thanks for giving me trauma.”
“Pfft!”
Elise left with Lara. The entire time, Lara glared at me suspiciously. What are you looking at?
Before leaving Training Ground Seven, Elise looked back one more time and waved. I waved back and watched her go.
Silence soon returned to the training ground.
‘Well... Anyway, is this a good thing?’
Elise’s unknown worries seemed to have eased. She even seemed to be in a better mood.
Her mental health affected the bad endings, so I needed to pay attention to it.
‘Still...’
What had happened earlier kept filling my mind. I scratched my cheek.
‘Is it because of the fairy Vermea’s power...?’
It was the first time I had smelled sweat with a floral scent... Along with the scent of her skin. It felt dreamlike and unreal...
Slap!
I smacked both cheeks and pushed those thoughts away.
‘Ugh... I’ve only collected more useless memories.’
I began focusing on my training again.
Footnotes:
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