Surprisee,
I want to say thank you for your continued support
Especially for my patrons
This is a bonus chapter, enjoy
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Chapter 4 Part 5
Translator : PolterGlast
Proofreader : John4891
There
is a profession called adventurer.
On
the Arcmeal Continent where demons prowled, it was extremely dangerous for
ordinary people to enter the territory of demon beasts. Only those who wanted
to commit suicide or those who were unable to enter the city tavelled to such
places.
However,
there were certainly precious untouched materials and minerals in those
demon-infested lands.
Adventurers
were those who challenged such dangers with their lives on the line, and they
held a certain position in this continent which a knight couldn’t.
The
adventurer's guild was the place where they gathered. Adventurers bought and
sold various things and came to look for requests.
The
same was true in the Arcazam Guild, but you could see young boys and girls
among the adventurers. They were students of Solminati Academy, and they too
were gathering here in search of commissions that were submitted at the guild.
In
such a guild, there was a young man who was learning on a wall and looked
around. He was a beastman with golden ears and a tail and in the uniform of
Solminati Academy. He was the second-class Feo Rishitza of the third year.
(Hmm~,
it looks like that Nozomu isn't here~)
He
was looking for Nozomu Bountis, a male student of the same year who had
recently piqued his interest.
Feo
heard that Nozomu was sometimes asked to do miscellaneous tasks for the guild.
After
school today, he saw Irisdina and her friends leaving school near the main
gate, but Nozomu wasn't there, and he guessed he was probably looking for a
request in the guild, but he wasn't.
(Hmm~.
Where is he...)
As
Feo was pondering Nozomu's whereabouts, a sudden voice called him.
"Yoo.
Fox guy. You're going to sell your charm to another guy today?"
The
one who spoke to him was one of the students who reached rank A in the third
year. Kevin Ardinal. Feo sighed with his inner heart.
(Haa,
this annoying guy~)
The
Fox Tribe, which was Feo’s tribe, was very cautious and rarely forgave others
except for relatives.
They
were also known to be surprisingly capricious. Their obsession with what they
were interested in was fierce, but they would barely listen if something was
boring.
If
that were the only thing, they would be isolated from other communities;
however, they were very good at bargaining and merchandising.
Even
if they were initially estranged, they were able to adjust themselves by
sensing others’ emotions, conducting skillful negotiations, and doing various
activities dexterously.
Feo
was no different. Even in practical lessons, he wasn’t ever in a specific party
and moved around from party to party.
However,
the way the Fox Tribe roamed around while adapting to their surroundings seemed
to Kevin, the Silver Wolf Tribe, as if they were charm sellers.
The
Silver Wolf Tribe was a race that took pride in its strength, trained every
day, and controlled their own community with that strength.
Kevin,
the same silver wolf, also took pride in his strength.
He
was obsessed with Irisdina because of her strength and pride.
For
him, Feo’s ideals and way of life just couldn’t be acknowledged.
"You
always partied with different people. Is it interesting doing nothing
today?"
"Who
cares. And also, today I was going to refrain from being invited. "
"Hmm?
What does that mean?"
When
Kevin said so, Feo pointed to a spot in the building.
There
was a bulletin board with various requests written on it. Every part of the
board was covered with commissions, and something big was written in the
center.
"What
is it...Triclopes!"
"That's
right. I heard that an adventurer's party saw them in the depths of the forest
yesterday, so it seems that a notice was hung there to make sure people are
aware."
Triclopes
were three-eyed giants, a higher ranking species than the one-eyed giants, the
Cyclopes, and were a size larger compared to the Cyclopes.
As
a demon beast, it was said to have a threat level next to the highest rank
Lóng(1), and it was a dangerous demon beast classified as rank A.
It
had extraordinary strength, and it had enough power to easily pull out a tree
from its roots. The muscles that covered their whole body were harder than
steel, and ordinary attacks could barely scratch them.
It
was a demon beast that was extremely dangerous to challenge in close combat,
and it was said that the standard procedure was to kill it with long-range
magic attacks. This was because their muscles were weak against fire magic and
lightning magic. This way, it was possible to kill them before they approached.
However,
that was not the only danger the demon beast posed. The most alarming thing was
an extraordinary ability that both Triclopses and Cyclopes had, which was
called the "Demon Eye of Madness".
Their
extraordinary ability caused their instinct to increase dramatically and
doubled the strength of their whole body.
When
activated, their eyes turned red, and the muscles of their whole body enlarged.
This
was the most dangerous situation. If the power of the giants, which already had
extraordinary strength, was doubled, no average adventurer could compete.
Furthermore,
doubling the muscle strength meant doubling the defensive power of the giants
as well as doubling the agility.
"Well,
that's why, and it seems that the Silver Rainbow Chivalric Order is also on a
business trip."
Silver
Rainbow Chivalric Order
It
was a knight order being stationed in Arcazam. In addition, it was a group made
from collecting selected elite knights from each country.
This
knight order was based on the knight order dispatched by the Kingdom of Forsina
10 years ago and absorbed the armed forces of each country while fighting
against the invading demon beasts. It was reborn as a knight order to which
humans from many different countries belonged, and the establishment of the
knight order brought together the armed forces of each country, playing a major
role in repelling the demon beasts.
After
that, the Silver Rainbow Chivalric Order was maintained, assuming that there
would be another major invasion.
Currently,
their size had been reduced compared to the time of the Great Invasion, but the
quality of the human resources that made up the knight order had been further
improved, and literally, only “Mighty Men of Valor” were allowed to join.
For
humans who aimed to become knights, it was the knight order that they admired,
and it was also the strongest knight order in a sense.
Jihad
Roundel, a swordsman who belonged to the school, had been transferred from this
knight order. He taught at Solminati Academy and was the chief advisor of
combat techniques in training the younger generation.
"Well,
it's okay. Looks like it's in the depths of the forest, so if we don't go too
far, it’ll be alright."
Kevin
said so and left the guild with his party.
Feo
soon lost interest in Kevin and started thinking about Nozomu again.
"Where
is he now?"
The
most interesting male student right now. The person that the black-haired
princess cared about. In the hustle and bustle of adventurers, Feo's cheeks,
which were always smiling, were slightly raised.
========================================
Nozomu
was walking through the city when Feo was in the guild with Kevin. He was on
his way to the woods to train himself in Shino's hut.
In
that place, even if the Ability Suppression was released, there was no fear of
being noticed by people because the surrounding area was only forest. For
Nozomu, who was afraid of many conspiracies emerging when his concealment of
dragonslayer power was noticed, training there was indispensable.
Nozomu
was absorbed in his own thoughts as he walked around the city.
However,
the more he thought about it, the more anxiety he couldn't express.
Nozomu
was thinking about the rumors that had made him isolated from his surroundings.
In
the past, Nozomu turned away from everything at the school, but now he was
gradually able to look around himself by making promises with Shino and
interacting with Irisdina and the others.
However,
because he could see the surroundings, he had come to feel a sense of discomfort
that he hadn’t felt until now.
It
was something he never noticed when he was in his shell...no, he consciously
tried to not notice it, and Nozomu was afraid that something inside of him
would be fatally destroyed if he knew about it.
That
morning in the past, Nozomu was meeting with Lisa in front of the main gate of
the school. But when she appeared, she suddenly slapped Nozomu's cheek.
Lisa
unilaterally said goodbye to Nozomu, who was dumbfounded because he couldn't
understand the reason. With her eyes full of cold hatred and disgust, she left.
She disappeared into the school building without looking back.
Then
everything around Nozomu had changed.
His
classmates no longer dealt with Nozomu and he was completely isolated.
As
a person who hurt Lisa, who was popular with both men and women, Nozomu was
mentally and physically punished by students, both senior and junior, and as a
result, his dreams and hopes were completely destroyed.
However,
when he thought about it now, it was too unnatural when the rumor came up.
Lisa
was certainly a celebrity. As a result, the rate at which the rumors spread
itself was understandable, but what was strange was that Lisa believed in
Nozomu's affair.
Initially,
other students believed the rumors because Lisa didn’t deny Nozomu's affair.
However,
in the first place, Nozomu himself wasn’t cheating. Nozomu and Lisa were
childhood friends and from the same hometown.
In
order for her to believe in Nozomu's affair, it needed enough evidence and a
person who could infuse it.
Also,
the person who could do that had to have a strong relationship with Lisa to
make her believe it.
And
at that time, there was only one person in this school.
(…………No
way……Is it him?)
Ken
Notis’ name floated across Nozomu' head. He was another childhood friend from
the same hometown.
It
was true that he met the conditions that Nozomu had in mind.
In
their relationship with Lisa, there was only Ken that she trusted as much as
Nozomu at that time.
(~Huh!
So that's why...If he spread the rumor, he’d be able to date her after that...)
He
shook his head to clear these thoughts, but Nozomu already had the reason in
mind.
"If
Ken was really the culprit, he wouldn't change his way of speaking to deceive
Nozomu in the first place."
(…………No
way, is it to monitor me?)
Because
of the rumor, the person, who felt the most uncomfortable and was struggling to
solve the problem, was Nozomu, who was dumped by Lisa.
That
was why Ken blocked Nozomu's movement and didn't change his attitude towards
Nozomu so that Nozomu wouldn't feel uncomfortable with him.
At
that time, Nozomu, who was completely isolated from the surroundings, was
desperately looking for a place to escape.
There
was an escape place called Shino's training outside the school.
When
human beings were pushed to the limit of their minds, and as they continued to
face pain, they would walk the easier path, manage to protect their minds.
Ken
was so immersed in Nozomu, who was desperately trying to protect himself, so
Ken didn’t change his attitude to watch Nozomu so that Nozomu wouldn't try to
dispel the rumors.
At
this point, Nozomu couldn’t run away anymore. At least he had promised Shino
that "even if he ran away, he will not look away from the fact that he ran
away."
(.........I
have no choice.....but to check it...)
"Yaa,
Nozomu. What are you doing in a place like this?"
At
that time, there was a voice talking to Nozomu coming from the side.
The
voice of the person he was thinking about right now.
The
voice of a childhood friend that he trusted and believed in from an early age.
"...Ken"
Ken
Notis.
A
handsome man with fluttering blonde hair stood there.
"What
are you doing in a place like this?"
Ken
talks to Nozomu with a smile. As far as Nozomu could see from the side, he
couldn't be seen as a person who was tricking Nozomu.
"N-No.
It's just ..."
Nozomu
suddenly felt upset.
It
looked like Lisa wasn’t around. He seemed to be alone.
“…………Ken,
I want to talk a little bit, is that okay?”
"?I've
promised to meet Lisa after this, but I can spare a little time.……What is
it?"
"It's
hard to talk about here. Follow me..."
Nozomu
turned his back on Ken and began to walk. The destination was the outer edge of
the city.
The
place where he was training with Mars and others recently wasn’t good because
there was a possibility that he might cross paths with them, so Nozomu headed
to a place different from that place.
Ken
also followed Nozomu without saying anything.
(Ken,
it's not the case, right?…………)
Nozomu
kept walking while praying this about Ken in his heart.
=========================================
"So,
what do you want to talk about?"
Ken
asked Nozomu.
The
two were facing each other at the outer edge.
The
sunset illuminated the sky red and also dyed the two figures red.
The
sun's rays setting on the horizon extended the shadows of Nozomu and Ken for a
long time, reflecting the two facing each other on the dimly lit field.
"Ken...when
rumors about me and Lisa spread inside the school. Why didn't you change?"
"…………Eh?"
Nozomu
hesitated for a moment, but he then decided not to mind Ken, and asked his own
question.
"The
content of the rumor was that I had an affair. I haven't done any of that, but
Lisa didn't doubt I had an affair."
Nozomu
didn't want to believe it inwardly, he couldn't help but make sure.
(That's
not the case.)
(It's
my misunderstanding.)
While
wishing so inside his heart, Nozomu's mouth continued to spit out his
suspicions that had been held in until now.
"Thinking
about it now, it was just too weird. In order for Lisa to believe in my affair
at that time, she needs to have a good basis for it, and a person who can make
Lisa believe it. "
Nozomu
diverted his gaze for a moment, but when he looked at Ken again.
".........And
you are the only one who can do that."
"What
are you talking about! If so, didn't my manner of speech towards you never
change!?"
Ken
rushed to Nozomu as if it was "Upsetting" for him. But Nozomu kept
spinning his words regardless.
"...Yeah,
I don't want to believe it either...But I can explain it enough. What you were
most worried about after spreading the rumor was that I'd dispel the rumor
myself. It would have been possible to get rid of the rumors by pressing Lisa
for an answer if the days hadn't passed yet. Anyway, now the rumors are
completely settled. That's why you prepared a place for me, who was desperately
trying to escape from reality. An escape place in the form of you who treated
me with the usual attitude ... "
He
finally said it. Nozomu waited for Ken's answers with a tense look.
A
few seconds passed after Nozomu finished spinning his words. But for him, it
felt like a few hours.
For
Nozom, it was the longest time he had ever felt. His heart was pounding and
making noise behind his ears.
And
Ken opened his mouth. The words he spun after that were exactly what Nozomu had
expected.
".........What
the? Did I get caught?..."
"...Then
Ken. As I thought, you are ..."
"Ah,
I made that rumor."
Ken
said that the rumor was spread by himself. His face was ugly and distorted,
unlike anything Nozomu had ever seen.
Translation
notes
The
“Lóng” is a Chinese Dragon
