WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons ◈
Chapter 55: Spoiler
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“Ugh... Huh?”
Early in the morning, pale-blue hair was sprawled in every direction.
Lara Twisloff, who had been tossing and turning in bed, slowly opened her eyes.
‘I’m pretty sure I fell asleep while sitting up...’
When she turned her head, she saw Elise asleep in a chair beside her.
Why was she sitting in a chair? Lara sat up, puzzled.
“?”
Then she saw the sight before her and blanked out for a moment.
At the foot of her bed, a light-brown-haired man was sleeping sideways in an uncomfortable position.
It was Ron Hazely.
“...!”
The last trace of sleep vanished from her at once.
Startled, Lara yanked the blanket up to her neck and pressed herself against the headboard as if trying to escape.
“H-Hazely...!?”
“Mm...?”
Ron woke at Lara’s presence.
He looked at Lara’s horrified face, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and smiled.
“Sleep well? Ah, it’s an honor to see Lara’s face the moment I wake up...!”
“What happened? Why am I in your bed...!?”
“No, it’s nothing. You fell asleep in the chair, so I put you on the bed. There wasn’t any room on the other beds, so I slept here.”
“Mm...”
Lara looked around. The cadets were asleep, each occupying a bed.
Unable to say anything, Lara moved away from the headboard and awkwardly fiddled with the hem of her clothes.
“Lara, thanks for yesterday.”
“For what?”
“For everything. You were seriously overwhelming and awesome... Whew. You even took care of me.”
Ron could not thank her enough.
If Lara had not stepped in, there was no telling how much the damage would have spread or how much longer he would have been delayed.
“...Ugh.”
Ron had just risen from the same bed as her, smiling brightly as he offered earnest praise and thanks.
Lara felt her face heat up without realizing it.
Avoiding Ron’s eyes, Lara turned her head to the side. Then she answered in a voice that sounded brusque, yet carried a faint shyness.
“...Good. At least you know.”
For some reason, she became annoyed. Narrowing her eyes and pursing her lips, Lara muttered with a pout.
“Arrogant Ron Hazely...”
Why was he making her feel so embarrassed for no reason?
“No, why...?”
Ron could not understand Lara’s sudden change in attitude.
……
“The unidentified Swordmaster is highly likely to be affiliated with Griffin Knight Academy.”
The city of Oldern was in the midst of assessing the damage, clearing up, and making repairs.
The monsters’ corpses had disappeared along with the Gate, but the damage they had caused to the city could not be undone.
Griffin Knight Academy had dispatched its academy knight order to investigate the incident. The White Wing knights assigned to the academy had accompanied them as well.
The underground waterway, the retention basin.
It was where the Gate Break had occurred and where the unidentified Swordmaster was presumed to have fought.
A White Wing knight cast soundproofing magic before speaking to the commander of the academy knight order.
“Hasn’t there been talk at the knight academy as well?”
“Such speculation is going around, but there is no proof at all.”
If a Swordmaster had been hiding their identity while affiliated with the knight academy, there should have been signs.
At the very least, even a Swordmaster could not have avoided mana measurements.
Yet there was no one at the knight academy with mana at the level of a Swordmaster.
“Of course, since we are dealing with a Swordmaster, perhaps they concealed their identity through methods beyond common sense. But we can be certain of nothing. The only thing that seems likely is...”
The commander of the academy knight order continued.
“...that the Swordmaster may be on our side.”
The White Wing knight silently looked over the traces of battle remaining in the retention basin.
The pillars bore deep gouges as though swords had been embedded in them, while the ground and walls were cracked.
They had searched the surrounding area thoroughly as well.
Yet there was not a single clue connected to the Swordmaster, to an almost unnatural degree.
It seemed the Swordmaster had erased their traces as usual.
“Still, a Swordmaster is a Swordmaster. They are no different from a walking natural disaster. We may not be able to realistically control them, but we must find them somehow and at least receive their oath.”
Only the Holy Nation, backed by the authority of the chief god, bore the duty of receiving a Swordmaster’s oath.
A Swordmaster was an existence too great for the world to bear.
Unless their convictions, values, attitude toward life, and mission were made perfectly clear before the god, the world had no choice but to fear them.
Even if they had saved people countless times, a Swordmaster could change their mind at any moment and wipe out even nations as easily as one might crush insects.
“The Imperial Family, the Imperial Five Wings, and the Holy Nation are all pursuing that Swordmaster. They are respecting the boundaries so as not to disrupt the knight academy’s educational system, but those boundaries may soon be crossed.”
“We are prepared for that as well. Which is why we are grateful to the White Wing Commander.”
Lucia Silverbane, commander of the White Wing Knight Order, had quietly been shielding the knight academy from outside pressure so its curriculum would not be disrupted.
She held such immense power that even the hardliners could not actively press their views in the face of Lucia’s firm resolve.
However.
“That has its limits. This incident will only make the uproar worse.”
The movements of a Swordmaster whose purpose and identity were unknown were terror itself.
“There will likely be changes soon. Those above will not simply stand by and watch.”
* * *
The situation had been settled for the time being.
The cadets who had fought the monsters in Oldern were awarded merit points. Violet and I received them as well.
Elise and Lara, in particular, received a huge number of merit points in recognition of their outstanding contributions.
Even after deciding which knight order they would join after graduation, merit points would affect their future treatment, so the more they earned, the better.
‘There’s no need to worry about the underground waterway.’
When Violet and I escaped, she had erased every trace, including my bloodstains, hairs, and footprints, with magic.
And we decided to keep Violet’s fight against the Demonkin a secret.
The moment that story came out, there was a high risk we would have to explain troublesome matters, including the Swordmaster’s involvement.
Since magical beasts with freezing abilities had appeared in the Dungeon then, Violet’s frostbite could be explained that way.
One day after the situation had ended, in a secluded corner of Griffin Knight academy.
“Violet, would you please call me Roronoa Ron?”
“What does that mean...?”
I spoke to Violet while recalling the Three-Sword Style swordsman from a manga in my previous life. Violet smiled awkwardly as she asked.
We were sitting on a bench, and Violet had cast soundproofing magic around us.
‘From now on, I am Three-Sword Style Ron Hazely.’
After all, I possessed no fewer than three fine swords.
If I held two in my hands and clenched the last one in my mouth, I would become a true Three-Sword Style Swordmaster.
‘Ah, just imagining it...’
...What a pinnacle of inefficiency.
What reason was there to distribute mana among three swords at once, then use incredible jaw strength to hold and swing one of them?
Romance was only romance.
“I was just kidding.”
I shrugged.
“Anyway, please do what I asked earlier.”
“Ah, yes... Then...”
Since I had acquired the Ice-Fang Dragon trait after becoming the owner of the Ice-Jade Sword Kshalion, I might have awakened a new elemental attribute.
That was why I had asked Violet to check my attributes again.
I took off my uniform jacket.
“Hazely, wait a moment...!”
“Hm?”
Violet suddenly flushed deeply and urgently stopped me, waving both hands.
“Um, I need to prepare myself first...! Hoo...”
Violet placed a hand over her large chest and took a deep breath.
Well, she probably was not used to seeing a man’s body yet.
Deciding to be considerate of Violet, I turned my back to her and waited.
“Are you okay now?”
“Yes, sorry...”
“What are you apologizing for, you punk?”
Rustle, rustle.
I took off my entire top, exposing my bare upper body.
All the wounds I had received in Oldern had healed thanks to healing magic.
‘...Why is she so quiet?’
I turned my head back. Violet was staring at me with hazy eyes, her mouth slightly open.
“Violet?”
When our eyes met, Violet flinched and lowered her head.
“Ah, ah...! Aren’t you cold!? Should I cast some magic to block the wind!?”
Had her voice risen too much...?
Whatever. She seemed embarrassed, so I would not make a big deal of it.
“I’m fine with this much.”
The autumn wind was only refreshing.
“Hazely, compared to the first semester...”
“Heheh, my body got better, right?”
“Ah, th-that’s not what I meant! I didn’t have any strange intentions! It’s just that your growth was noticeable, or that it seemed like a very positive result...! Anyway, please don’t take it the wrong way...!”
“Huh? Yeah... I wasn’t taking it the wrong way...?”
That was an awfully dramatic explanation. It was confusing.
“Hoo, then... I’ll begin...!”
“Yeah, please.”
I did not know why she sounded so resolute, but anyway.
Violet’s warm palm rested on my back.
A faint stream of mana flowed into me through her hand, and I felt it scan through various parts of my body.
“Hazely.”
“Yeah.”
“There is something I considered asking you...”
“Ask me anything.”
For Violet, whom I treasured like crazy, I was willing to answer any question.
“Will things really be okay like this? We don’t know when another Demonkin might come...”
Right. Of course she would be worried.
An executive of the fallen Demon King Army had appeared at an unexpected time.
And there had not been enough time to interrogate the last Demonkin.
“For now, I think things will be fine for a while. The remaining living executives of the Demon King Army should be sealed away.”
“Pardon?”
Still, since I could not be sure how things would unfold, it was right to remain vigilant.
“Um... Hazely, you really do seem to know a great deal.”
Violet spoke in a meaningful tone.
“I suppose I do. Ah, come to think of it, information might count as repayment too. You’ve helped me a lot.”
There was very little I could offer in return to a young noblewoman of a prestigious magic family.
Besides, Violet was a trustworthy companion, so it would be better to share important information with her.
“Repayment? That’s not necessary...! But what sort of information?”
“Anything. If there’s something you’re curious about, ask me, Violet. I’ll answer.”
Violet fell silent for a moment as if considering it, then spoke in a serious voice.
“Um, I don’t know if this will be a problem, but I asked that white Demonkin before. I asked whether they couldn’t cooperate with humanity if the Demonkin were in trouble. But they said they couldn’t.”
Ah, so they had talked about that before I arrived.
“They said that if I became their king, I would learn everything. Things about the Demonkin, and even things about Dungeons...”
Violet placed a hand on my shoulder and continued flowing mana into me.
“Ah, that.”
I wondered what it was.
What, those Demonkin would not even reveal that information to the person they wanted to make their king?
“The Demonkin are simply beings who crossed over from another realm. Their homeland is being destroyed, so they were trying to consume this world. They wanted to make this place their world.”
“...Pardon?”
I casually revealed a secret of the world that would only be exposed near the latter half of the original story. It was a kind of spoiler.
“And depending on their methods and beliefs for achieving that goal, they split into factions.”
One was the Exchange Realm Society, a faction that had freely gathered under the goal of using the god’s power to turn this world into theirs.
The fairy’s power Elise possessed was both the greatest threat to the Exchange Realm Society’s methods and the best tool for them to use.
Then there was the Demon King Army, which sought to establish a king, reorganize the order, and militarily swallow this world.
Their desire for Violet, a suitable vessel for a Demon King, fit their purpose.
“Um, Hazely...?”
“Yeah?”
Violet’s voice trembled behind me.
At some point, the hand she had placed on my shoulder was trembling too.
I turned around. Violet’s face had gone pale, and her pink eyes were shaking.
“You just told me something incredibly important... right?”
“Well, you said you were curious.”
“No, um, I mean... I was wondering if this was really okay...”
“Hmm... Is that so?”
Had I revealed something from the latter part of the scenario too casually?
Well, what did it matter? I had basically only said, “Demonkin equal invaders.”
Could this much not be considered part of the plot, even if it were a movie?
“Then should I tell you about Dungeons later?”
“N-No...! I didn’t mean that I didn’t want to hear it...!”
“You want to hear it? If you promise to keep it secret, I can tell you.”
“...Yes.”
Violet answered with tense eyes.
“The detailed explanation will be a headache, and it’ll be difficult to accept right away, so we can discuss that later...”
I turned to face forward again.
“For now, a Dungeon is a section of the other realm where the Demonkin lived that has been connected to this world.”
“The other realm...”
“Some Demonkin with certain authorities can turn territories they designate into Dungeons. You can think of them as the strong ones. If a Demonkin creates a Gate leading to a Dungeon, that’s where it goes.”
“Ah...”
Perhaps because I had given such a clear answer, Violet let out a soft groan.
“Did I just hear the answer to one of the world’s greatest mysteries...?”
“Most people probably had a rough idea, right? It’s obvious.”
“That was only a hypothesis. Nothing had been confirmed...”
Come to think of it, there was a stark difference between a hypothesis and fact.
“Hazely...”
“Yeah?”
When I turned back again, Violet was looking down in a daze.
Tears had gathered around her eyes.
“What was I agonizing over all this time, worrying about that question by myself...?”
Uh, well...
...Should I have let her learn it through an adventure?
It felt like I had spoiled a movie for someone who was about to buy a ticket while excitedly wondering what it would be about.
I was not sure whether I should feel sorry, but I somehow did.
“Anyway, that’s how it is.”
“...Thank you for telling me, Hazely. It helped me organize my thoughts.”
Violet composed herself, smiled, and thanked me.
Well, she did seem a little relieved.
“Then that’s good. More importantly, what about my attributes?”
“Ah...! I checked. Just as you said, you’ve awakened an ice attribute too!”
‘Good.’
What a score.
Originally, the Ice-Jade Sword Kshalion was a weapon that could not be acquired in the original story.
Whether it would unlock an elemental attribute like the Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak had still been uncertain, but as expected.
“Hazely, then now...”
“Yeah, I’m already prepared...!”
Was it time to experience hell...?
The most effective way to awaken elemental mana.
It was time to get fried by elemental magic.
‘Still, it can’t be as bad as getting burned, right?’
That had been truly awful. I never wanted to experience it again.
“Yes...!”
Afterward, Violet brought a healer, like last time.
They had confirmed that she would use elemental magic at an appropriate level this time as well.
“Here I go, Hazely!”
“Come on, give me all you have!”
I would endure anything to grow stronger.
Violet pointed her staff at me and circulated mana.
Then freezing air burst fiercely from the tip of her staff and swallowed me.
Crack-crackle!
Whoooooosh!
At that moment, I realized it.
Ah, I had underestimated this.
‘Aaaaaagh!’
Feeling a pain that filled my bones with frost, I could only scream inwardly.
...It was autumn.
* * *
The principal’s office at Griffin Knight Academy.
Sunlight streamed through the window and filled the office.
Gray-streaked hair. Deep nasolabial lines.
Olivia, the dignified elderly principal, quietly stared at an envelope stamped with the seal of the Round Table Council before carefully taking out its contents.
‘The Round Table Council...’
It was an official directive containing the council’s decision.
To Imperial knights, it held authority and binding force second only to an imperial decree.
Principal Olivia read its contents.
The central matter was that Lucia Silverbane, commander of the White Wing Knight Order, would soon be staying at Griffin Knight Academy.
The public reason was that, as a master, she would train her personal squire.
Her secret mission was to pursue the unidentified Swordmaster and confront them if necessary.
...It seemed she had stepped in personally to minimize the Imperial Family’s and the Holy Nation’s interference with the knight academy. Even that would only be temporary.
In any case, considering both the stated purpose and the danger of the situation, there could be no one more suitable than the White Wing Commander for this mission.
Elise, who had become the Demonkin’s target, had chosen the White Wing Commander as her master, and the unidentified Swordmaster was presumed to be moving around Elise.
“Seriously...”
The principal was far from pleased at the possibility of interference in the academy’s internal affairs, but she had no grounds to refuse.
If anything, having the White Wing Commander as the other party, someone who respected the knight academy’s system, might be better.
Fwoosh.
The principal burned the official directive away with flame magic. It had instructed her to destroy it immediately after reading.
“Reynald.”
“Yes, Principal.”
Secretary Reynald responded politely.
“Please prepare a good room soon.”
“Yes, understood.”
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