Chapter 5 Part 6
Translator : PolterGlast
Proofreader : John4891
Nozomu's
POV
"Yo,
Nozomu. Can you give me a little of your time?"
He,
Feo Rishitza, told me so with ease as if asking a friend for a little errand.
"You……"
I
was staring at Feo with eyes full of suspicion. Even though he had a seemingly
gentle expression and a well-organized sweet face, I was familiar with his
facial expressions and felt uncomfortable.
His pupils were as thin as
a thread, but I felt his gaze penetrate me from the depths of his eyes, and I
couldn't help but feel suspicious of it.
His
gaze was the same as the one I felt at that time. The same gaze I felt after I
was called to the back of the school building by my classmates, and the one I
felt in front of the main gate earlier.
Perhaps
Iris and the others were also surprised by the sudden arrival of a guest, their
eyes completely glued to Feo.
"Ah
~. Is he your acquaintance?"
"Yup,
Somicchi. He is our classmate. He doesn't belong to a fixed party because he
always loitering around, but he's a pretty capable guy... I don't know why he
is here tho... "
Somia-chan,
who didn't know about Feo, asked, and Mimuru answered her question, but I still
couldn't take my eyes off Feo.
"...
What do you want?"
I
asked Feo why he came here, but what was happening behind the school building
and the gaze I felt at that time naturally made my voice became intimidating.
"Why
so stiff~."
"..."
Feo
spoke to me casually.
It
was a voice that slipped right into people's hearts, but that voice further
fuels my vigilance.
"...Haa,
somehow you're so wary of me, but... why?"
Feo
muttered in a quiet voice, it seemed like he genuinely didn't understand why I
am so vigilant. His gestures and facial expressions didn't seem like acting.
"What's
wrong, Feo-kun?"
"Did
you wander and end up in this place?"
Not
knowing the reason, Tom and Mimuru openly asked Feo about their questions. Good
grief, they weren't cautious at all.
By
the way, they were the same second-class students as Feo …….
"I
told you. I need something with Nozomu."
While
answered the question, Feo started to move towards me. He walk slowly but
firmly.
Only
the sound of sizzling was heard in my ears, caused by Feo trampling
on the soil and grass, and everyone naturally closed their mouths.
"Well,
I have a business with him in this place, that is ..."
Eventually,
when the distance between Feo and me only a few
meters left…….
"!!"
I
suddenly felt chills run on my back, so I jumped back with all my might.
The
next moment, I could feel a sudden gust of wind. Feo's sling bag swung up
overhead, passing through in front of me.
I
was surprised at the sudden event, but immediately pulled out my katana and
prepared for the pursuit.
"Oh,
so you can avoid it"
Feo
dexterously returned the sling bag he was swinging and he returned to his
original standing position. However, he chased no further and stood there with
the same laid-back attitude as before.
"Wait
a minute! Feo! What are you going to do!!"
"That's
right! What are you doing attacking all of a sudden!!"
Iris
and Shīna shouted at Feo who suddenly attacked, but Feo didn't lose his
expression.
Instead,
He didn't even bother to look at Iris and Shīna, who were shouting at him.
"Hey,
Nozomu. Would you like to duel with me?"
"...?"
"You!
What did you say after you suddenly attacked him!!"
I
couldn't measure Feo's way of thinking because of his sudden proposal, but
maybe Mars was enraged by Feo's words, Mars thrust the greatsword in his hand
towards Feo.
However,
Feo didn't seem to be interested in Mars either. He didn't even look at him and
kept his eyes on Nozomu.
"Come,
let's do it~. Nozomu~"
"Hey!
Cut the crap..."
Mars
tried to drew closer as if he had no intention of listening to Feo, but Feo
swiped Mars' greatsword with a wrapping he had in his hand and it warps into
Mars's bosom with such a flowing motion.
"Hotto~"
"Wha
!?"
The
next moment, Mars was thrown to the ground. Before I knew it, Feo had a stick…
no, a staff in his hand, and it was stuck to
Mars' face.
Everyone
who was there was at a loss for words and was fascinated.
Feo's
sling bag was thrown away, swept away by the wind, and fell to the ground.
"...You, f.."
"Could
you be quiet for a second? I'm still talking to Nozomu now."
Mars
tried to use abusive language, but Feo told Mars in a compelling manner.
"...
Shall we stop him?"
"Yeah.
He is a frivolous person on a daily basis and he is hard to grasp, but I can't
overlook this anymore."
"...Ehh?
I understand if it's the black-haired princess, but why Shīna too?"
Perhaps because the current Feo cannot be
overlooked anymore, Iris and Shīna tried to pull out their
specialized weapons and stop Feo. The two's voices when calling Feo were
different from usual, it had changed to something more intimidating.
However,
Feo in question didn't seem to be nervous even if he was intimidated by them.
From
the fact that he was able to seize Mars, it was clear that Feo had one of the
best abilities in the school, however, I couldn't feel any passion peculiar to
such a strong person from the current him.
However,
it stimulated my vigilance even more.
His
combat ability and lack of passion didn't match. It seemed he had some
self-control, and that was enough to hide his own abilities. Clearly, he is a
dangerous opponent.
Several
demon beasts completely hid their fangs, leaving their opponent unprepared, and
attacked at that gap. And most of the time, such fangs were aimed when they
could surely kill the opponent.
The
current Feo was like a snake hiding and waiting for its prey.
"...That's
natural. If a classmate suddenly makes such a violence, he must be stopped!"
"...something
is different from the usual Shīna..."
Feo
tilted his head, perhaps he had doubts about Shīna's unusual behavior. However,
he decided to contain himself and put the question aside for now while saying,
"Well, it doesn't matter for now!"
"Hmm~.
Apart from Shīna, it seems interesting to have a fight with the black-haired
princess~. However, I don't have time to argue, so I beg your pardon."
While
saying so, Feo grabbed Mars' neck and waist, suddenly his magic power raged
from within his body. He lifted Mars' body without difficulty and threw Mars
towards Irisdina and Shīna.
"Uo~o
!!"
"Wha
!!"
Irisdina
and Shīna caught Mars' body that was thrown, but in the meantime, Feo reached
for his pocket and took out a piece of paper, and poured his magical power into
it. That is a specially processed paper that
is usually used in eastern magic, the *Talisman Technique*.
Feo
sent his magical power into the talisman and hit it to the ground. A line of
light appeared and ran along the earth's surface.
The
line of light extended and surrounded Iris, Shīna, and the others in a
hexagonal shape, and a wall of light rose like a castle wall along the line of
light.
"This
is, barrier magic !?"
"Sorry~.
But I don't want to be disturbed. Can you guys just stay still in there?"
Iris
was surprised.
Everyone
other than me was completely isolated by Feo's magic barrier and trapped within
it.
However,
no matter how he tried to trap them using a magic barrier, Iris, Tima, and the
others definitely had the ability as first-class magic casters.
In
fact, Tima immediately tried to destroy the magic barrier that trapped them.
"Anyway,
let's destroy this barrier ..."
Magical
power raged from Tima's body. A torrent-like magical power gathered on her
wand, and a storm of magical power blew inside the narrow barrier.
"Uwa~!"
"Hi~yaa!"
"Wait,
Tima-san! Think about the place!"
Due
to the strong wind caused by the high magical power, everyone squinted their
eyes, raised their arms, and hid their faces with it.
Anyway,
it's not important, but I didn't see the girls holding down their skirts.
Eventually,
the raging magical power gathered at the tip of Tima's wand, and she thrust the
wand to the ground. Then, the earth's surface suddenly rose and floated, it
changed shape and turned into a huge rock spear.
The
size of the huge rock spear was so huge that even if 10 adults gathered and
tried to lift it, it couldn't be lifted. The tip of the huge rock spear was
aimed at the barrier in front of her.
*Sharp
Rock Dance*
Similar
to the magic *Icicle Dance* that Iris used when she had a mock battle with me,
it is magic that formed a rock like a spear and shoot it towards the opponent.
However,
the size of the rock spear created was huger compared to Iris's icicle. Tima's
magic is incomparable even to Iris's magic. That alone showed the qualities of
her magic.
The
moment Tima swung her wand, the huge rock spear accelerated at once and crashed
into the barrier Feo had set up. Feo's magic barrier shattered in front of
Tima's rock spear...
"What
the ..."
The
barrier that should have been destroyed was immediately regenerated and
restored.
"Wow
~, I was surprised. As expected from the Four-Scale Concerto, your legendary
level magical power is not just for show ... Without this, My magic barrier
would have been blown away in one shot ..."
Feo
took out a magic stone. The magic stone had two talismans attached to it, and
the talismans had incomprehensible characters written on it. If I take a closer
look, one of them seems to be the same one that Feo used to create the magic
barrier earlier.
"That
is……"
"Hmm?
Oh, this? This is a handmade magic tool I bought in the city, it is made by
putting talismans on the magic stone. The talisman attached to it would suck
the magical power out of the magic stone. As long as the magical power of the
magic stone continues to be sucked in, magic will be generated repeatedly. However,
once activated, it will not stop until it runs out of magical power. Besides,
for practical use, the magic stones are disposable and they are expensive…
Thanks to that, my wallet is quite empty
now…”
Feo
dropped his shoulders as if feeling miserable.
The
magic stone he brought out continued to emit a faint light, and I could see
that the magic barrier was shining in sync with that light, so what Feo said
might be true.
It
is necessary to continue pouring magical power in order to maintain the magic
barrier, and once the magic barrier is destroyed, it will be regenerated. The
only way for Irisdina and the others to escape was to destroy Feo's magic tool
or to wait for the magical power to run out.
I
don't know what Feo was thinking, but he said he wanted to fight me.
I
don't know why Feo is so curious about me, but it is a fact that he is
interested in me. This might be a good opportunity to find out.
"Well,
I have nothing to lose, so let's do it!"
I
was wondering what to do, but Feo put the magic tool in his pocket and happily
held the staff in his hand without worrying about my opinion.
However,
even though I took out my katana, I still didn't take up a fighting stance.
"...Hmm?
You don't want to?"
"Why
did you do something so strange? It's not normal to suddenly force someone to a
duel..."
While
tilting his head, Feo asked me because he doubted me never taking a fighting
stance.
"Hmm
... alright then"
Although
I haven't taken a fighting stance yet, my alarm bell continued to ring. However,
in order to confirm Feo's aim, I decided to accept his duel request.
"...To
be honest, I also have something to ask you."
"Hee?
What is it?"
"You
instigated my classmates to call me behind the school building, right?"
"......Why
do you think so?"
Feo
answered my question with a slight pause.
I
felt his gaze that was looking at me shaken slightly.
"...
I know what others think of me in the school. Most of them show only negative
emotions towards me."
Thus,
I am familiar with how I am viewed at the school.
Except
for a few people, such as Anri-sensei, Iris, Shīna, and their friends who are
usually in contact with me.
"But
I can't feel those negative emotions from your gaze."
That's
why it's rare to feel someone's gaze other than negative emotions. And most
importantly, the gaze I feel from Feo now is the same as I felt at that time.
"...And
your gaze is the same gaze I felt behind the school building back then."
At
that time, the talisman used for the
long-distance vision technique was found at the end of the gaze. And there were
only a few Talisman Technique users in this Solminati Academy.
"The
person peeking at me at that time is the same Talisman Technique user as you.
If so, then..."
Of
course, what I said was just circumstantial evidence. As long as it's not solid
physical evidence, I have no way of overturning it if he doesn't admit it.
"Hee,
I was surprised. So you noticed..."
However,
the fox-tailed boy in front of me admitted it with a happy face. He was like a
mischievous kid who had been found out.
Feo
didn't reveal his smile that often.
His
eyes were wide open and his slit pupils were shining brightly, and his mouth
was smiling. A feeling of intimidation that I had never felt before rose
rapidly, and I unconsciously prepared for my fighting stance and wielded my
katana.
"This
is more than I expected. I didn't think you were aware of that ... Then, let's
do it!"
To
be honest, I don't know why he is so curious about me, but Feo's eyes aren't
normal right now. It was like a hungry dog that had been abandoned for a long
time. Looking at how he challenged me forcefully despite the presence of my
friends, even if I avoided today's fight, there was a possibility that he would
use other means. So, rejecting him here is definitely not a solution.
Then
there is no choice but to fight him and find out the reason.
As
far as I can see, he can defeat Mars easily. Even if that is due to Mars
underestimated him, it is clear that Feo has the ability of the upper-grade
students. He is not someone who I can manage half-heartedly.
I
sent Qi throughout my body and held my katana in the "Seigan no
Kamae" Stance.
*Ba-dump*
"
!! "
My
vision was dyed red for a moment.
The
nightmare I had just seen this morning and the tragedy I had caused resurfaced
in my mind, and a feeling of nausea ran down the back of my throat.
"Then!
Let's go Nozomu!"
However,
Feo would not wait. With Feo approaching in front of me, I forcefully swallowed
the nausea and ran towards him.
