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Chapter 4 Part 11
Translator : PolterGlast
Proofreader : John4891
Arcazam
at midnight.
Nozomu
was brought to Shīna's room in the women's dormitory.
Although
it was unavoidable, it was bad to bring a male student into a girls' dormitory
at such a time.
She
brought Nozomu in while watching her surroundings like a sneaky thief, and it
was fortunate that she could enter her room without being found by anyone.
She
put Nozomu inside her room and made him sit on her chair. She immediately brought
water and treatment tools and began treating him.
Nozomu
was being treated by her and he didn’t seem to resist like he did when he met
her on the road.
Time
went by silently, and in the room, only the sound of Shīna moving her hands and
the sound of the healing instruments were faintly heard in the dimly lit room.
"Fuuh.
The wound isn't as deep as I expected. It seems that the blood has stopped, so
disinfection is all that is needed."
Shīna,
who was looking at Nozomu's wounds, said so. Most of his injuries were due to
self-harm during the release of Ability Suppression. There were some wounds
that he got when he was hit by the Triclops, but thanks to the potion, his life
wasn’t in danger, and the wounds themselves were already closed at that time.
"...You!
If you have a potion, please drink it properly! It may be
life-threatening!!"
"…………A……"
Actually,
the potion that Nozomu had was only a little, but there was still a surplus. He
just completely forgot to drink it.
"...S-Sorry..."
"...Haa...Did
you want to die? If so, why don't you go to the depths of the forest alone?
You'll die as soon as you get there."
Shīna's
tone was getting harsher, but it was reasonable. We could say that her
evaluation of Nozomu was the worst. She had previously thought it was an
emergency, but she knew that Nozomu was in better condition than she expected
and wasn't seriously injured, so her tone and attitude returned to normal.
"You,
why are you wandering around in such a place at such a time and suffering such
an injury? Moreover, you’re full of mud. Isn't it strange? "
Her
doubts were justified. Even if we thought about it normally, Nozomu’s
appearance up to that point could be mistaken for a suspicious person.
His
whole body was covered with blood and mud. A tottering and unconscious gait. It
wouldn’t be strange if he was reported to the military police.
“………………I
was inside the forest…………”
"Inside
the forest? Who were you partying with?"
“………………I'm
not teamed up with anyone…………I'm alone…………”
"Haa?!
Alone?! Are you stupid!? What were you thinking!!"
Shīna
began to get angry with her face lighting up bright red. At the same time, she
was amazed at Nozomu, who was in the forest alone. From the perspective of not
only her but also the people in this city, Nozomu was insane since he entered
the forest alone.
The
people of this city knew the demon beasts, who lurked in the forest, were real
threats.
The
history of this Arcazam City was short.
This
city was originally a wilderness. It was a land where demon beasts had lived
for a long time.
Since
rivers flowed nearby and water could be replenished, this land was chosen as
the place to create the city due to the influence of each country, and it had
only been 10 years since people settled here.
If
they stepped away from the city and walked along the road, there was a good
chance that they would encounter a demon beast, albeit weak.
There
was also quite a distance from other cities, so when going from Arcazam to
other cities, it was common to use horse-drawn carriages, and there were not
many people walking.
Every
year, many people were killed by demon beast attacks while actually moving on
foot.
What's
more, the demon beasts that attacked in the forest weren’t always alone.
Even
veteran adventurers formed parties just in case, but Nozomu didn't even do
that.
Because
of that Shīna yelled at him.
"Good
grief! Don’t you know how dangerous it is to enter the forest alone with your
10th class ability!"
(Could
it be that he really tried to kill himself………………I shouldn't have helped
him…………)
She
said so and began to put away the treatment tools roughly, but she was knitting
her eyebrows and her expression was somewhat sad.
*knock,
knock, knock*
At
that time, they heard a knock on the door of the room.
"Shīna!
I'm sorry, it's already late at night, but I need to talk a little. Is it okay
if we talk right now?"
From
the other side of the door, they could hear the voice of an unknown woman.
The
moment she heard the voice, a cold sweat spilled over Shīna's forehead, and she
looked toward the door as if she had been snapped.
"Mi-Mimuru?!"
Shīna
made a panicked voice.
Based
on the name and her behavior, it was probably her friend. Nozomu thought so, but
Shīna suddenly rushed towards Nozomu.
She
took Nozomu's hand and opened the closet in the corner of the room, and forced
Nozomu into it.
"Uwa~!"
Nozomu
messed up the clothes inside the closet. The scent of the sun wafted through
his nose, and his voice leaked out due to the sudden occurrence.
"??Shīna?
What's wrong?"
"!!So,
sorry, Mimuru. I'm coming!"
Shīna's
friend asked from the other side of the door suspiciously whether she heard
Nozomu's groaning, and Shīna smoothed it over in a hurry.
She
hurriedly pushed Nozomu into the closet, and she hit Nozomu with a
bloodlust-filled gaze.
Her
gaze clearly said, "If you make a noise, I'll kill you!!!", and
Nozomu was completely frozen.
She
glanced at Nozomu's appearance and closed the closet door. It reminded him of
the bloodlust that seems to have oozed out of the giant he had defeated
earlier.
Nozomu
had no choice but to be petrified in total darkness.
After
a few moments, Nozomu realized that his current situation was bad.
It
was midnight now. If there was a man in a woman's room at this time, it would
be bad for both of them. No, in this case, Nozomu would be the only one.
Even
though he was brought in, in this situation no one would believe it even if he
told them the truth. What would everyone do if they thought he had sneaked into
the girls' dormitory?
".........Please...ru...."
"Yeah...,
…………is it………………"
A
voice came from the other side of the closet door. She seemed to be talking to
her friend.
"It………………"
"Actually…………………”
"Mimuru.
I.........uwa...............Triclops too..."
Triclopes.
The moment that word was heard. Nozomu's body trembled surprisedly.
At
that time, his body hit the inner wall of the closet. *clatter!!*
There
was a loud noise.
"Eh…………?"
"It,
it's nothing ………….Ma-Maybe……………………"
In
a hurry, Nozomu held his breath and extinguished his presence.
After
a while, maybe their conversation was over. Her footsteps came in front of the
closet.
“………………..You
can come out already”
With
that said, her face, which he saw after the door opened, was harsher than
before he was pushed into the closet.
===============================
Shīna's
POV
I
pushed him into the closet and opened the door of the room.
Behind
the door stood my friend, Mimuru. She was a Wildcat girl with cat-like ears and
a tail, and she was the same 3rd year and 2nd class student as me.
When
I was in the first year, we started talking when we were next to each other in
the same class, and we were also next to each other in the same class in the
2nd and 3rd year. It could be said that we are in an inseparable relationship.
"I'm
sorry, Mimuru. I made you wait."
"Hmm,
that's fine, but...what happened? It’s kind of strange for you to come here at
this time."
She
asked while tilting her head cutely. But I was surprised by her question.
"Eh~!
Is that so? I don't think that's the case..."
"Hmm.
It looks like the room is normal, but...it's just, I feel something is
strange."
Mimuru
looked into the room, narrowing the vertically opened pupils that were peculiar
to the Wildcats tribe. She might’ve noticed it if she examined the room with
her excellent sense of a beastman.
"A-Anyway,
what are you here for?"
With
that in mind, I immediately tried to distract her by listening to the matter.
"Ah,
that's right. Actually, We’re going to the forest next time. It seems that Tom
has something to do there, but it's okay, right?!"
Tom
was a second-class student like me and he was Mimuru's lover. They seemed to
have been together even before they came to this school, and he was a petite
boy with a thin body line, but he was good at magic and alchemy.
As
we could see, he wasn’t very good at fighting, but he had excellent results in
research and experiments.
"Hey,
Mimuru. What is he going to do?"
"Actually,
it seems that Tom has a plant that he needs for the experiment, but he just ran
out of it. That's why he wants to go to the forest for harvesting, but he seems
to have to do some special processing immediately after harvesting that plant.
"
Indeed,
if special processing was required, he would need us to go with him.
However,
I thought that it was a bad idea to go into the forest in its current
situation.
When
I thought about something, anger sprang up inside my heart.
I
was thinking about the person who was just pushed into the closet.
A
big idiot who entered the forest alone. He just wanted to commit suicide. Even
veteran adventurers needed a party and didn't do something like that!!
His
reckless act made me even angrier.
I
hated people who threw their own lives away.
My
childhood scene slightly floated across my head where anger arose.
The
beginning of everything that led me to this place.
"??Shīna.
What's wrong?"
"!It's
nothing, Mimuru"
My
best friend's words brought me back to reality. The scene that faintly floated
crossed my mind disappeared,
I
responded to my friend while thinking about how to make sure the contents of
the closet remained unnoticed.
"...Mimuru,
I don't think we should go into the forest too much for now. There was a story
in the guild that they saw Triclops. Recently, the spirits of the forest are
strangely noisy...."
*clatter!!*
"!!"
At
that time, a loud noise was heard from the closet. Cold sweat flowed on my
back.
"Huh?
What was that sound?"
"It-It
was nothing. Maybe it was a rat. I've seen it a lot lately."
Her
consciousness had turned towards my room again.
I
half-forced her consciousness to return to our conversation of going to the
forest by bringing up the continuation of her previous story.
I
managed to gloss it over.
What
are you doing!! Don't you know what would happen if someone saw you in this
place!!!!!
"Well,
Tom isn't good at fighting, but that doesn't mean he can't fight, right? It's
okay because he has a lot of useful tools for it! He can use magic, and we're
also with him. Even if it's a Triclops, it’ll be alright. The Knights are
already moving, and even if we're in the forest, it's not that deep. We'll be
back in less than half a day."
According
to the story I heard from Mimuru, the plant he was looking for was a kind of
moss, and it seemed that it grew only on a specific tree. The tree also grew in
the forest relatively close to the city.
I
was still a bit reluctant, but I was also worried about my friends. It would be
alright if it was close to the city.
"...I
got it, Mimuru. Please tell him that too."
"Yup!
Thank you, Shīna !! Then, good night!"
After
telling Mimuru that I agreed, she returned to her room with a happy face.
After
seeing her disappear across the hallway, I returned to my room and opened the
closet.
“………..You
can come out now”
Then,
he came out of the closet creepingly, but it was unavoidable that my gaze had
become even more glaring.
“………………………”
“………………………”
The
room was filled with an awkward atmosphere.
Well,
it couldn’t be helped. What would have happened if I had been caught...
I
might be considered to have brought a heartless man, and it went without saying
what would happen to Nozomu, whose status at the school was originally at the
bottom.
==========================================
“…………So,
how long do you intend to stay in this room?”
"Ah!!"
Nozomu
was taken aback by Shīna's words and raised his face. He realized that his
injury had been treated and there was no reason for him to stay here.
"S-Sorry.
I'll be leaving soon..."
"...If
so, be quick. That doesn't mean that someone won't come again, and if you are
found, I'll get involved. "
She
was completely back to her usual attitude.
She
was originally unhappy with Nozomu. She didn’t know what happened to him, but
because he was alone in the forest, she assumed that Nozomu's injury was his
own fault.
"And
also, isn't it nice that you can recklessly enter the forest alone now. If you
don't know your limits, you won't be able to survive the next time you enter.
"
“…………………………”
Shīna
bit in a provoking tone because she didn’t know much about Nozomu. Nozomu
didn't answer anything and just turned his face down.
He
was exhausted both mentally and physically, and he didn't have the energy to
retort her words.
Without
saying anything, Nozomu touched the door of the room.
But
the moment he heard the following words, Nozomu's head seemed to boil in an
instant.
"More
importantly. No one is willing to help you because you abandoned Lisa."
"!!!!!!"
He
couldn't say anything because of his disgust towards himself, who ran away by
exerting power so easily, but the moment he heard her words, he grabbed Shīna's
collar.
"Wha!!
What are you doing..............."
Shīna
got angry as he grabbed her collar, but after that, she couldn't say anything.
“……………………….”
“……………………….”
The
two faced each other.
Nozomu,
who was extremely enraged, stared at her with bloodlust, albeit for a moment.
Nozomu's
face was distorted by anger. The elf girl was dumbfounded by his bare emotions.
The
incredibly intense bloodlust that was suddenly scattered, albeit for a short
time, completely eliminated the surrounding sounds, giving the illusion that
time had stopped for a moment.
"!!!…………Sorry………………"
Realizing
what he had done, Nozomu immediately released the collar he was holding, but
the heavy atmosphere got heavier and neither of them could look at each other.
Nozomu
turned his back and walked straight toward the door.
“…………Treatment
……Thank you……”
Nozomu
disappears beyond the door.
"What
on earth…………is going on…………"
Shīna
asked while muttering in the room. Her question was blocked by the closed door,
and it simply scattered without reaching anyone but herself.
Just
before Nozomu disappeared beyond the door, she heard his murderous voice
directed at her.
“……….I
didn't do that …………”
=======================================
In
the depths of the forest, where the corpses of Triclopes and Cyclopes were
scattered, there were shadows swarming the corpses.
It
was the demon beasts who were attracted to the smell of blood. They were
eagerly devouring the corpses in front of them.
A
Wild Dog bloodied its face by thrusting its neck into the belly of a giant and
eating the internal organs.
Demon
beasts with wings pecked the scattered internal organs.
A
group of goblins slammed their club against a corpse, cut its meat with their
crude knife, and ate it.
The
meat of the giants, which were more than 10 bodies, was a treat that they never
thought of, and they devoured the meat as they wished.
A
feast of blood and meat was held in a section of the forest.
The
scent made the demon beasts' enthusiasm more lively. Perhaps it was too lively,
there was a fight for the best meat in front of them in several places.
However,
the atmosphere suddenly changed.
The
enthusiasm that filled this place dissipated in an instant, and the strong
smell of death overflowed.
The
smell of death wrapped around the lively demon beasts and made them feel as if
they had come to another place.
Those
who were smacking their lips at the blood and flesh in front of them, those who
were fighting for meat with all their might, those who were already satisfied
and those watching the hustle and bustle in front of them. Everyone was staring
at a point where something was located.
There
were four legs that looked like they were bathed in black mud. The body was
unable to melt into the darkness of the night, but beyond that darkness,
countless red-black eyes could be seen.
There
were no pupils in its eyes. A red-black light was shining from the darkness
that split in the shape of its eyes.
At
the next moment, the demon beasts were covered in darkness, and all that
remained was the sound of chewing.
