I Became The Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight - Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – The Yellow Dog Next Door and the Red Cat.

A bonfire blazed, and two men stood facing each other.

“First of all, let me tell you, I’m not stupid.”

“I believe you.”

“…Why did you do that?”

“What do you mean?”

“To Ariel, I mean.”

His expression was more serious than ever.

As expected of someone who’s afraid of drifting apart from his childhood friend. He’s incredibly oblivious to his own feelings, though.

This was a huge improvement.

“Are you referring to that lovely elf girl?”

“Looking back, what you did this morning was an act, right? Otherwise, the situation doesn’t make sense.”

“Go on.”

“Your words and actions were directed more at me than at Ariel.”

Ugh, busted.

“No one would do something like that otherwise.  How you handled the carriage was impressive… and you even accepted the expensive candy.  Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

I did think you wouldn’t notice.

My mistake.

Does this guy’s perceptiveness increase only when it comes to Ariel? I need to revise my assessment. I sheathed my sword as if I didn’t know anything.

“Anyway, thank you. I’ll definitely repay this debt.”

Did I hear that right?  This is the starting line for Kainel’s companion route.

The wariness in the Hero’s face softened.

“I haven’t done anything deserving of thanks.”

“Even if I’m an oblivious idiot, I could see you were trying to get Ariel and me together.  And thanks to you, Ariel calmed down.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

“Did we look that frustrating to you? Is that why you did that?”

“…”

What should I do here? The line came out, but

seeing his indecisive personality, a conventional strategy would be difficult.

In that case…

“I did it because it reminded me of someone I know.”

I’ll go with twisting the choices.

You need to put in this much effort to increase your chances of succeeding in love.

—–CROW—–

‘He’s a strange person.’

That was Kainel’s assessment of Licht after observing him.

He used cheesy lines like a playboy, colluded with the coachman to push him and Ariel together,

and even helped him by giving him candy. Now he’s even taking the first watch so they can sleep together?

Except for the beginning, he hasn’t even glanced at his childhood friend.

This clearly wasn’t him trying to get with Ariel.

His current way of speaking was probably his real one.  He sounded awkward, like he was acting before.

‘Was I wrong?’

He had been running away from his feelings.  He had always thought that this was the best way, even if the growing lies hurt her.

The Black Knight in front of him might have done all that intentionally to correct that.

He also told them not to have a lovers’ quarrel at the stables.

With his suspicions somewhat cleared, the Hero listened to Licht’s story.

“Someone you know? Is this a story about a friend?”

“Do you think it’s better to confess and regret it later, Kainel?”

“Hmm… I don’t know.”

He crossed his legs.

“They say you can’t even remain friends after breaking up.”

“That’s usually the case.  It’s rare otherwise.”

“How many years have you and Ariel known each other?”

The bonfire reflected in the Black Knight’s eyes.

That sight gave him a strange feeling.

“…About ten years.”

Kainel ruffled his hair.  He felt like Licht was talking about his own situation indirectly.  In a way that even an oblivious idiot like him could understand.

He had a hunch.

“One is a friend who’s worse than oblivious, and the other is bad at expressing their feelings.”

“I see.”

“He says he’s afraid.  Afraid of ruining their friendship.  So he won’t confess.”

“That’s my story.”

As soon as he heard that, the Black Knight shrugged.

“Well, they say it’s hard to tell if it’s really friendship or love.  Because they’ve been friends for so long.”

“No, I don’t think that’s the case for me.”

“Why?”

“…”

The black helmet stared at the Hero.

As if waiting for an answer.

“Because I like Ariel too.  There’s no mistaking it.”

A clear leading question.

The blond-haired Hero confessed his true feelings to Licht.  Honestly, he couldn’t lie at this point. He swallowed his pride.

“You’re quite honest. Good.”

“If I didn’t answer, you’d do something else with Ariel tomorrow.  Give me a break.  I’m going to have a heart attack.”

“You caught me?  That’s a shame. Hahaha!”

A hearty laugh he’d never heard before.

Was this his real personality?  I don’t know what he’s thinking, and he does strange things, but he really did want to get Ariel and me together.

“Do you know how embarrassing it is to get relationship advice from a stranger?”

“Then can I approach Ariel?”

“No way. Don’t even think about it.”

“You say that, but…”

The face hidden behind the helmet was surely wearing a sly smile. The thought made him chuckle.

“I’ll call you Licht. We’re the same age, right?”

“Yes, we are.”

“I thought you were some shady older guy because you spoke so formally.”

“Doesn’t this make me seem less scary?”

“I’m not scared. Here.”

When Kainel offered Licht a handshake, a small chuckle escaped him as he took his hand.

“I feel so much better now.  It would have been a disaster if you were a real rival.”

“Ariel is very pretty, isn’t she?”

“Honestly, I was surprised when I saw her today. What if guys swarm her at the academy?”

“You just have to be by her side, Kainel.”

“Right, I’ll have to do that from now on.”

Stretching, the two talked by the bonfire.

Licht said he did all that because he saw they liked each other and were going to the academy, and Kainel believed him.

Honestly, he had heard a lot of people asking why they weren’t dating, and their parents knew each other.

Then, a question crossed the Hero’s mind.

“Oh, but… Licht, do you have someone you like?”

A sudden thought.

The knight’s movements stopped awkwardly. Like a puppet with its strings cut.

He had an unexpectedly clumsy side. Kainel felt like he had found something.

“It’s… one-sided… but… yes…”

“Oh… Who is she? It’s not Ariel, is it?”

“Of course not.  A woman with beautiful white hair.”

Hearing that, the Hero’s suspicion completely disappeared. Ariel had red hair.

The jealousy that had been constricting his heart melted away like snow.

“So, do your best.  If you don’t want to suffer like me.”

“So it was your story after all, Licht.”

“Think what you will.”

“You’re really bad at lying… Huh?”

The holy sword at his waist began to tremble.

The bushes rustled. A large figure started running towards them from afar.

The sound of wind being cut.

“Grrrr…”

The threat of an enraged beast. Did Licht know this would happen and take the first watch?

—–CROW—–

Where did things go wrong?

‘This isn’t the one we’re supposed to meet here…’

A 5-star monster. A Shadow Wolf was targeting the two of them.

Behind them were the tents where the others were sleeping.  Because of its habit of hiding in the shadows, they would be attacked if they went to wake them.

“All the carriages are gone! How are we going to get to the academy now?”

He remembered what Ariel had said at the stables.  That they couldn’t leave because there were no carriages.

If I weren’t here…

‘We’re screwed. This is my fault, isn’t it?’

A chilling realization washed over me.

They were originally supposed to arrive at the academy via warp.

Sighing, I felt my deduction solidify. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have encountered this uninvited guest.

Facing the giant black wolf, which looked to be about 5 meters tall,

I drew my sword.  A sword to protect the love of two childhood friends.

The steel, which I nicknamed the Pure Love Injector (Physical), gleamed in my eyes.

The beast took a deep breath.

“Cover your ears!”

“Huh? Okay!”

AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO──!!!

The roar pattern. I had to interrupt it at the beginning to create an opening for attack.

“Use the Holy Sword, Kainel!”

“How do you know about that…!”

“If you’re going to protect her, do it properly!”

If Ariel dies here, you’ll go down the corruption route. Love line?  There’s none in that direction.  We have to finish this quickly.

If the bonfire goes out, I don’t know what will happen.

“Let there be light.”

Light gathered on the blade of the Holy Sword, illuminating the night. In the slightly brightened view, the wolf faltered, sensing the change.

“Aim for the eyes.  That’s its weak point.”

“Are you sure?”

His expression was filled with determination.

The wolf suddenly charged.  Towards the bonfire.

“Not so fast.”

Moonlight glinted off my sword as I slashed, intercepting the Shadow Wolf’s path. Dust flew.

“Grrrr…”

A gash appeared on the ground. Black blood splattered on my helmet. The wounded wolf immediately tried to bite me.  A blind spot I couldn’t defend against. But—

“Are you late?”

“Nope.”

Kainel charged, aiming precisely at its left eye.  At that flash-like speed, blood spurted from the wolf’s eye like a fountain.

An opening appeared.

“Yelp! Yelp!”

Kainel and I pressed our attack, not missing the opportunity.  Two swordsmen, thrusting precisely into its sides.  Seeing that, the wolf threw itself into the shadows.

As its form disappeared like smoke, Kainel started looking around.

“It’ll come from behind! Get ready!”

“Behind?!”

Wolves instinctively move against the wind. To hide their scent, to avoid being detected by their prey.

Thanks to my instructions, his anxiety subsided.

GRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOWL──!!!

Like a leaping dolphin, a wolf appeared from behind our shadows.  It then soared into the air, its mouth wide open towards the ground, as if to swallow it whole.

“Aim for the eyes!”

“I know!”

Kainel and I coordinated our attack.  Simultaneously, we slashed at its eyes, precisely cutting through the beast’s pupils.

The symmetrical trajectories of our two swords.

The wolf’s left and right eyes were split in half at the same time.

The [Shadow Wolf] was made of only shadows and blood, except for its eyes.

So, if you just destroyed the eyeballs, only the skin remained.

With a thud, a large mass of black fur fell to the ground.  This was worth quite a bit.

“Licht… who are you?! Why are you as strong as me!?”

The Hero’s face was filled with shock.  He hadn’t seen anyone with the same achievements as him since being chosen by the Holy Sword.  He turned pale, looking back and forth between me and the Shadow Wolf.

Well, what should I say to become famous?

“Pure Love Black Knight.”

“I am the man who will become the Pure Love Black Knight of the Academy.”

These words were the most fitting right now.

That was my nickname in the game.

Because I had to protect love for the happiness of the Nameless Saint.

—–CROW—–