Chapter 4 Part 3
Translator : PolterGlast
Proofreader : John4891
Iris'
POV
After
parting ways with Nozomu and the others, we were heading to our classroom, the
1st class. Next to me, my best friend talked to me as if she was betrayed.
"Ai~~.
Why didn't you help me~~"
In
front of me, my best friend criticized me with tears in her eyes for not
helping her. Well, it couldn’t be helped. I won’t always be there to protect
her. By the way, when I couldn't help her in the past, Tima's magic, which ran
wildly from mental strain, had blown away opposing parties.
"Well,
everyone was there at that time. And it was Mars who helped Tima with all his
might, right? You’re also feeling really happy aren’t you?"
I
gave a mean reply. I was sure my face also had a mean smile. Tima, who was the
person in question, said, "Ermm, that is.........uu," and looked down
with a bright red face.
I
still thought that Tima was cute, and I honestly envy her.
Perhaps
because I've been trying to protect Somia since I was little, my language was
manly and a little rough. Regardless of my appearance, I had no inner
femininity. I was no match for my best friend, who was bashful in front of me,
and it was the same for Somia, who was adorable like an angel.
(Would
he also...like a woman like Tima more?)
I
remembered "him" who parted ways earlier. Recalling that he was
hiding something, my chest felt stuffy.
(Good
grief, why didn't he tell me at all...)
*grumble
grumble grumble*
An
indescribable discomfort swirled in my chest. Perhaps because I remembered that
he was hiding something, my facial expression had unknowingly become stiff.
"Ai,
calm down. I also got angry at that time, but because Nozomu-kun is that kind
of person, and since he thought that we might’ve felt furious because of it, it
can't be helped that he tried to hide it, right? "
"...I
know..."
Although
it made sense, my mood wasn’t going to get any better. Because of an irritation
that I couldn't understand myself, my steps toward the classroom naturally
became quick and rough.
"Yo.
Irisdina"
"...Kevin?"
I
was suddenly called out in the hallway in front of the classroom by a male
student. He had a sturdy body which was quite tall in stature. His well-trained
muscles pushed the uniform tightly, but there was no excess flesh.
The
most distinctive feature was that his head and waist had ears and a tail, which
was proof that he was a beastman.
Kevin
Ardinal.
One
of the few students who belonged to the first class of the first year and who
had also reached rank A.
He
was a silver wolf beastman and overwhelmed his opponent with his outstanding
fighting sense and physical capabilities.
Originally,
the Silver Wolf tribe had the highest physical ability among the beastmen, but
his fighting sense was particularly high among them. In close combat at school,
no enemy could match him except the S-rank Jihad Raundel.
"I
heard about yesterday. I heard you were with the ‘bottom’ somewhere. I'm
curious, such a useless thing would be nothing more than a waste of time
wouldn’t it?."
".........No
matter what you think of him, I have nothing to say. I wonder, how can rubbish
come out of your mouth so easily."
Kevin's
words and actions were so rude that my expression becomes even more stiff.
However,
Kevin ignored my feelings and approached me. Considering that he was a man, he
was tall, so he bent down, bringing his face closer.
"He~,
even your angry face is still beautiful. I received a request for subjugation
in the forest today. How about you lend me a hand? It would be very helpful if
you were there."
"...Sorry,
I have something else to do today. Ask someone else."
I
dismissed Kevin, who was too impolite, and inconsiderate. I passed by him and
entered the classroom. Certainly, dangerous beasts should be subdued if
necessary, and by doing so keep the beasts away from the settlements and towns.
It could also be seen that unnecessary battles could be avoided. As a result,
the damage to civilians would be reduced.
At
least I didn’t want to fight with someone like Kevin, whose speech and conduct
didn’t even try to hide the fact that he held contempt toward another person. I
absolutely didn’t want to leave my back to such a person.
At
the very least, the person I could trust my back to must be a reliable partner
in various aspects such as spirit and ability. Otherwise, there was a good
chance of falling into the worst-case scenario.
(Leave
my back to...is it? Can I have such a partner someday?)
To
entrust your back in a battle meant to entrust your own life and also to taking
care of the other person's life.
(I
wonder...what about Nozomu?)
I
remembered a boy with a katana.
He
was the first person to come up when I thought about the person who would watch
my back.
The
boy I'm most interested in right now.
A
male student, who had been insulted and treated as the worst human being.
I
still didn’t know what went on in his head or how he gained that strength.
Considering
what he did the day after the Rugato incident, I somewhat expected something to
happen, but since then he hasn't seemed to open himself up.
I
knew it couldn't be helped. He had no one that he could talk to, and I didn’t
want to force him to tell me.
(However,
if he protects my back...and if I also protect his...)
Protect
each other. Back-to-back on the battlefield where life can be lost. We would be
connected with each other by unwavering trust. We’d overcome the difficulties
in front of us, and even if we die, we share the same experiences until our
last moment.
If
I could have such a relationship with him for even a moment at the end, no matter
how………….
(...Wha-What
was I thinking about.........)
My
face naturally turned red and my body became hot. A small and light *badump,
badump* began to scream behind my chest which pushed up my white uniform. I
naturally put the hand that was connected to his on that day's date on my
chest.
"Hmm?"
I
suddenly felt a gaze, when I looked at the side, a red-haired female student
was looking at me.
"She
is……"
When
the female student who was looking at me met my eyes, she quickly averted her
gaze, took out the textbooks from her bag, and started preparing for the
lesson.
========================================
The
infirmary at lunch break.
Here,
Nozomu and Mars were waiting for Irisdina and others.
Because
Irisdina came to the 10th classroom and made a fuss before, it was decided that
from now on they would have lunch here where there were only a few people.
"Iris
and the others are a little late."
"...That's
right. Even though half of the lunch break is already over, they’re still not
here. What happened?"
"...Maybe
the teacher asked them for something. Those two are thought of highly by the
teachers."
"Well,
it's not impossible...but I wonder, if we wait any longer, it’ll be too late to
each lunch. Shall we eat first?"
"Well,
that's right. Time is limited, and I think it can't be helped."
"Yeah~.
Both Irisdina-san and Tima-san are good girls, who people can rely on, so the
teachers will just rely on them completely~~. In the past, when I used to be
their homeroom teacher and took a break due to illness, they were temporarily
in charge of the first class~, and they helped with various things~. "
"Anri.
No matter how capable those two honor students are, don’t rely too much on
them."
"It's
alright~. I'm also a teacher~~. That much is fine~~"
"...I
hope so."
(Is
it really alright?)
Even
though Anri-sensei said it would be alright, Norn-sensei was quite worried on
the inside.
Anri-sensei
and Norn-sensei were also in the infirmary. The two best friends often ate
lunch there. Both of them were having mainly lunch boxes, and sometimes they
exchanged side dishes.
Anri-sensei,
who was sitting while crossing her legs on a bed in the infirmary, spoke to
Nozomu as she remembered something, saying "Ah."
"By
the way, Nozomu-kun~~. It seems that you weren't able to concentrate so much in
the morning lesson~~ Is something wrong~~?"
"Eh"
With
Anri's words, Norn joined the conversation with a slightly surprised
look.
"It's
unusual. Nozomu-kun didn’t concentrate in class, and Mars doesn't know
either..."
"Wait
a minute!"
"What
does that mean! "
"Norn
~~, that's not true. Mars-kun listens to my class these days~~ "
"Is
that so!?...I'm sorry, Mars-kun. I just said rude things based on my
preconceptions."
"N-No.
It's alright since you apologized..."
Norn
probably thought she was a little overboard. She bowed and apologized to Mars.
It
was no wonder that Mars, who had recently begun to listen to classes seriously,
rebuked Norns' words.
Anri
followed up quickly that Norn was wrong, so Mars didn't speak up anymore.
Well,
it had only been a few days since Mars started taking classes seriously, so it
may have been unavoidable if she hadn’t realized Mars' change in attitude
during class.
Norn-sensei,
who apologized to Mars, was now looking at Nozomu. Nozomu put his hand on his
chin and made a little thoughtful gesture, after which he slowly opened his
mouth.
"Well,
I have a little thought...Norn-sensei, do you know about a student named Feo
Rishitza?"
"Feo
Rishitza? Ah, I know. He's a boy in the same year as Nozomu."
Feo
Rishitza
A
male student who belonged to the second class of the third year and was a Fox
Tribe boy.
The
Fox Tribe was one of the beastmen's races, literally a race with a fox-like
tail and ears.
Unlike
other beastmans, they didn’t have a large community and lived in small family
units throughout the continent.
They
seemed to be a race with strong individualism, which seemed to lead to not
having a large community.
As
an individual, Feo Rishitza seemed to have a free-spirited personality, and he
skipped classes sometimes.
However,
his grades seem to be quite excellent, as could be seen from the fact that he
belonged to the second class.
His
rank in the school was C. He could handle both the written test and the
practical test evenly, and there were no subjects that he could be considered
lacking in.
"Erm,
can that student use the talisman technique?"
"Talisman
technique? You've heard about unusual techniques again. I don't know if he can
use it or not, but the Fox Tribe is a race that lives all over the continent,
albeit in small numbers. It wouldn't be strange if they knew about the talisman
technique in one form or another, but ... "
When
he listened to Norns' words, the sense of familiarity he felt became clearer.
Feo's gaze was exactly the same as the gaze Nozomu felt behind the school
building.
(As
I thought. It was probably Feo who was looking into me at that time...But why
does he need to do that? When I was looking into what happened behind the
school building, I didn't feel hostility from the direction of the line of
sight. I didn't even feel any hostility aimed at me based on Feo’s appearance
today.)
What
Nozomu felt from his gaze was not hatred or maliciousness, but a peeping gaze.
In
the forest where the monsters lived, Nozomu repeatedly trained until he was
half dead (forcibly) against the monsters who lived there. He had been exposed
to many hostilities in the school without allies. He had a fairly keen sense of
such gazes.
If
Feo had been hostile towards him, Nozomu would have noticed his gaze earlier at
the back of the school building.
(But
there is no evidence. It's over if I showed this talisman and he said,
"I'm not involved"...)
"Haa
........."
Although
the criminal had been guessed, there was no definitive proof, and Nozomu had no
choice but to breathe out a sigh.
=========================================
Iris'
POV
Go
back in time in the 1st classroom, which had just started its lunch
break.
Here,
I, Irisdina, and my best friend Tima had just finished our morning lessons and
were packing up our textbooks and other tools.
Since
we had promised to eat in the infirmary Nozomu and others this morning, we
tried to leave the classroom with a lunch box after cleaning up, but a female
student stopped us.
"Do
you have a little time, Irisdina-san?"
(Ah)
The
one who called out was the red-haired female student who was watching us in the
classroom in the morning. We knew her very well.
When
she came to our side, she started talking with a serious look.
"Lisa,
what is it?"
".........I
have something I want to ask, so is it okay if I use some of your time?"
Lisa
Hounds.
She
was his former lover and childhood friend.
The
woman he liked the most.
One
of the people I was most interested in was standing there.
