Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight - Chapter 35

Chapter 35 – Sometimes, Running Away in Embarrassment Doesn’t Help – 2

—–CROW—–

Commonly known as the Saintess Route.

It was actually a term he popularized in the community.

His life’s achievements consisted of playing <Knight Heart Trilogy> and this.

It was a rather plain term. If she were a main heroine, it would have had a prettier official name.

But she didn’t have one. Their Saintess.

There were three conditions to unlock it.

First, don’t disrupt the game’s main pairings. In <Knight Heart>, this was automatically achieved by playing the game normally.

“Why did you call us, Licht?”

“Kainel, Ariel. Could you come over here for a moment?”

“Okay, Helmet guy!”

In the original game, it was Dennis, and in the sequel, it was these two.

He was organizing his thoughts while looking at the blond and red-haired couple. Preparations were needed to align the Grand Route with the Saintess Route.

Now, he also had to incorporate the Crown Prince comrade route.

Second, don’t follow the NTR or harem routes. This condition was added in <Knight Heart>.

Because of the developer’s peculiar preferences, their Saintess suffered.

This condition was the reason he initially avoided Lupus.

“Licht, what are you doing?”

“I have a good idea, Mardol.”

Finally, this was something almost no one besides him had achieved.

‘Don’t switch healers until you clear the game.’

This was why most players derailed from the Saintess Route. While her healing prayer was effective in the early game…

A small heal wouldn’t be effective on characters strong enough to defeat Demon Lords. That’s why he had learned skills from other classes to compensate for the lack of healing.

It was said that if you switched healers even once, you couldn’t see the nameless Saintess Route.

[What? There’s a cutscene like this?]

[Is it a hidden route? I’ve never seen this dialogue before?]

[Does the Saintess really become a heroine? There were a lot of hints…]

He didn’t know at first since he had never done it. He was surprised to see numerous questions in the community. They asked how he managed to defeat the Demon Lords with such an underpowered healer.

He thought they simply lacked effort. If they didn’t get hit, there was no need for her healing.

‘Ultimately, it’s a skill-based game.’

He was famous in the community for either overwhelming opponents with control and specs or memorizing strategies and patterns to defeat Demon Lords.

[Pure Love Black Knight: Before you read the guide, take a look at our Platinum Wolf!]

He was most annoyed by the reactions when he first posted a guide for Magic Hat’s first phase.

[A build using an unpopular character… I’ll do it differently.]

[Newbies, don’t be fooled…! Run away!!!]

[Why is this a guide? The video shows you just dodging everything?!]

[As expected of a ^concubine^… Look how useless she is in the strategy.]

└[Pure Love Black Knight: Where do you live?]

└[Besides, how can she be a Saintess if she can’t even use divine power properly? She heals less than the blond guy.]

└[Pure Love Black Knight: Give me your address right now!!]

Honestly, it was because their Saintess was cute. He was only guilty of trying to attract attention by including her illustrations in his Demon Lord strategy guides.

He mainly used two techniques in his Demon Lord strategies.

“Would you two be interested in learning a combination skill?”

NPC ultimate skills and combination skills.

“Combination skill…? Kainel and I?”

“Licht, what are you thinking?”

“I have an idea. A moment of inspiration, you could say.”

In Kainel and Ariel’s case, using their ultimate skills simultaneously created a combination skill.

‘I avoided teaching them magic because I was worried it would disrupt the Grand Route.’

He couldn’t interfere with what could be considered their love confession magic. It was also a technique he often saw in the game.

He drew his sword and sketched on the ground.

Since they weren’t ready to learn ultimate skills yet, he would use a simple, new combination skill to raise flags and Love meter simultaneously.

“…Detonate this?”

“Correct, Mardol. As expected, you’re sharp.”

“Three-dimensional magic circle. Application.”

The glass knight commented with interest on what he had drawn. Did she have good eyesight? She immediately understood the circle divided by a diagonal line.

“Cast the fireworks magic multiple times like a three-dimensional magic circle to condense it, and then Kainel detonates it with Shine Strike.”

It was a strategy he came up with thanks to something Ariel had said in the club room. It would be somewhat effective even against water, their elemental weakness.

“Is there an advantage to this, Licht?”

“It combines light and fire attributes. Moreover, since it’s a chain explosion of overlapping magic, its destructive power is greater than ordinary magic.”

“Hmm… So Kainel can detonate it like a time bomb, with flexible timing?”

The red-haired elf pulled her hat down and seemed to be pondering. As she said, three-dimensional magic circles were dangerous and could injure the caster if mishandled.

“Correct, Ariel. And it can effectively deal with multiple targets.”

“But it’s too dangerous, Helmet guy… Unless you’re a water attribute user like Professor Dennis…”

“You two want to hunt strong and numerous monsters, right?”

“We did say that…”

It was especially unstable when layering fire attributes. So, he came up with a good solution.

“Cast the magic while making physical contact with Kainel. That should be fine.”

“What? Licht?”

“Eek!! Licht, what are you talking about?!”

He had learned this from the glass knight. Borrowing another person’s magic circuits would solve this problem. The light attribute would coat the fire attribute like a layer of protection, reducing the risk.

“Should I demonstrate? Mardol. Is that okay?”

Ariel had dropped his honorific again. She must have been quite surprised. He nodded at Mardol. A demonstration was necessary to dispel their doubts.

“Yes, Licht.”

The glass helmet nodded, and the knight in shining armor took his hand. She really liked interlocking fingers, both then and now.

“I can use magic with this method.”

Her grip was strong. Ease up a bit, Your Highness.

“What? You can use magic…?”

“Then that’s good… No, what does that have to do with anything right now, Licht!”

Kainel looked at him strangely, and Ariel cried out in embarrassment.

“Merak.”

As soon as he finished the chant, a transparent, bubble-like sphere of light floated into the air. This should give them a clue.

“Huh…? This is different from a normal Merak, isn’t it, Licht?”

“…Ah, I’ve read about it in books. It’s rare to see it in practice.”

Normally, Merak was a simple light orb spell. The bubble-like casting was likely due to Mardol’s influence. That’s when he realized.

She manipulated steel, an earth attribute, and used it like glass.

“As you can see, individual attributes are unique and difficult to change. That’s why it’s overlaid.”

The protagonist truly had cheat-like abilities. Dennis also transmuted water into alcohol and used it instantly.

Would it be easier to identify the Saintess later by finding someone with a light attribute?

He frowned at the sudden idea.

“Would you like to try? In a backhug position.”

He decided to add a layer of difficulty, unlike with Mardol. This was perfect for raising the childhood friends’ Love meter. Embarrassment was often helpful.

“…Huh? What? Are you serious?”

“Licht, do we really have to?! Why do I have to backhug Kai?!”

The red-haired mage blushed. Ariel glanced at Kainel and exclaimed. She was indeed a tsundere.

“Absolutely not! No way─!!”

“…Isn’t there another way?”

The oblivious blond lion tried to back out. He needed to pressure them more. He spoke, hoping Mardol would agree with him.

“Mardol, don’t you think a backhug would be better?”

“…Yes. Right.”

As expected, Lupus at this point was intelligent. He knew what was up. Licht chuckled inside his helmet.

“You can separate as soon as the three-dimensional magic circle is cast. But until then, try to keep your hearts close to increase stability.”

It was true. After all, the source of mana was the heart. That’s why the games were titled <Knight Heart> and <Knight Heart>.

“…Eek, Helmet guy… You’re right, but…”

“Ariel, let’s just try it once.”

The closer they were, the lower the risk of explosion. It was quite a romantic setting. There was even a player who drew a sword from their heart.

“If you… ask me so nicely… I can’t refuse… Kai…”

“…”

She yelled when he suggested it, but she listened when Kainel did.

He finally succeeded. A smile crept onto his face. It would be great if they could do this on their own. He was glad he was wearing a helmet.

“Ariel, are you… uncomfortable?”

Kainel gently embraced Ariel from behind.

As expected of the Hero of Light. He was careful not to touch anything inappropriate and only hugged her lightly.

“Yes… Kai… It’s okay…”

Ariel would probably like it even more this way. Her face and neck were so red they were almost indistinguishable from her hair color.

“Then, try casting the three-dimensional magic in multiple layers. But be careful, as it could explode, so use only weak spells.”

He opened and closed his palm as a signal. Mardol was watching with her arms crossed.

“Licht, why?”

He saw golden eyes within the helmet. The knight in heavy armor sounded like she was speaking from inside a cave.

…She wouldn’t ask him for a backhug to teach him magic, would she?

A chilling sensation ran down his spine. He felt threatened again. He just wanted to see the Saintess’s happy ending; he wasn’t interested in drifting.

“Fireworks.”

“Bright Flare.”

“Sparkle.”

Ariel began chanting. Three weak spells in total. Fortunately, even if they exploded, it would only be loud and not dangerous.

“Good. Compress it to the size of a marble. Kainel, get closer.”

He instructed the red-haired mage while checking the slowly rotating three-dimensional magic circle.

“Ariel. Be careful.”

“…Thanks for your concern, Kai.”

She lowered her head and leaned into her childhood friend’s embrace. With a crackling sound, something like a ball of fire began to converge into a single point.

“Good. Throw it forward when I give the signal.”

“And I slash it with Shine Strike, right?”

“That’s right, Kainel.”

He was a quick learner. As expected of the Hero of Light. Even if something went wrong, he could slash it with Void Slash. He held up three fingers.

“Throw it on three. One.”

Kainel, now standing beside Ariel, nodded at her. He held his holy sword and focused on the marble-sized flame in her palm.

“Two.”

“You can do it, Ariel. Don’t worry.”

“Really? Kai… I’m scared I’ll hurt you like last time…”

The reason he suggested this method was because he knew Ariel had accidentally burned Kainel’s hair while practicing fire magic when they were young.

“It’s okay. This hairstyle is much cooler, isn’t it? It’s better this way.”

“…Thank you, Kai.”

It was from the setting book. It was a good thing he had written it down in his notebook. Who could memorize all that?

Being afraid of fire magic wasn’t good. While it was resolved in <Knight Heart>, it wasn’t now.

“Three! Throw it!!”

He shouted. Leaving the magic colliding for too long made it prone to exploding.

“Shine Strike.”

He had focused on speed for this situation. Area-of-effect attacks were resolved by combination skills with Ariel like this.

—*Boom*!!

The condensed magic circles were sliced by the blade of light, causing a chain explosion.

A gust of wind swept through from the aftermath of the combined attack, and the trees caught fire. He would have to extinguish the flames with Void Slash. Extinguishing it wasn’t the problem; it was something else.

“Eek!”

Ariel, seemingly surprised by the wider-than-expected range, stumbled on the shaking ground.

She lost her balance and fell. Kainel, trying to steady her, fell with her.

“Ariel, are you okay?!”

“Y-yes… Kai… I’m okay…”

Kainel shielded the mage beneath him, his arm supporting him like in a kabedon pose.

Their faces were so close their noses almost touched.

He could practically hear their pounding hearts.

“…K-Kai…”

“Ariel? Are you hurt? Are you okay?!”

As expected of a romantic fantasy academy setting. He hoped their Love meter would skyrocket. The oblivious blond lion was saying strange things despite the crimson-faced cat beneath him.

Ah, they weren’t dating yet. Was the goal to reach 50%?

“I need you to… move so I can… get up…”

“Ah. Sorry.”

He was clueless. He had meticulously supervised them to prevent injuries. He felt a bit offended.

“That was… stronger than I thought…”

Ariel got up, dusting off the dirt from her hair, and…

“I’m glad you’re not hurt…”

…the hero, finally realizing how close they were, blushed.

They seemed oblivious to the small forest fire caused by their combined attack, coughing awkwardly while maintaining a slight distance.

There were dead Horn Bears and Armored Bees right there. Look ahead. Dumbfounded, he put his hand on his forehead, and a familiar status window appeared.

[Kainel♡Ariel 29% ‘NEW!’]

It was certainly increasing slowly. With Nex, it started at 50%. How long would he have to repeat this? He pondered for a moment.

‘Well, I don’t mind.’

He didn’t like forced love confessions or contrived plot devices to start relationships. A sense of satisfaction made him smile.

“…Strange.”

As he nodded slightly, the glass knight looked at him strangely.

He looked at Mardol, his black helm reflected in her shining armor.

‘Ah, perhaps.’

At that moment, a pang of realization struck him. He had to protect the Saintess’s love line like this too.

It wasn’t over just because they got together.

He assumed the main pairing of this game was the Crown Prince.

“…”