Chapter 5 Part 9
Translator : PolterGlast
Proofreader : John4891
“………
U~a!”
Early
morning in Solminati Academy Boys' Dormitory.
The
owner of this room, who was usually woken up by the rising sun shining through
the window, woke up from another nightmare.
His
complexion was pale like a sick person, and his clothes were drenched in greasy
sweat all over his body, which clung to his body.
"Ugh~!!"
He,
Nozomu Bountis, rushed to the washroom while holding his mouth from the feeling
of nausea and the unpleasant feeling of the sticky shirt caused by the
nightmare he had just seen, washing his face with cold water.
"...
Fuh~"
He
removed the clothes that were clinging to his body and wiped his body with a
wet towel. His complexion was getting better.
However,
there were clear dark circles under his eyes, and anyone could tell that he was
restless.
(...
Recently, the intervals between one nightmare and another keep getting shorter)
Nozomu
thought about the nightmare while holding his head down, which was throbbing
and aching due to lack of sleep.
Usually,
he had the bloody red dream about once a week, but recently the interval had
become shorter and clearer, and it surely eroded and exhausted Nozomu's mind
and body.
(What
should I do? If this continues ....)
Nozomu's
heart grew impatient.
(Should
I tell Iris and the others about me being a dragonslayer? But …)
Talking
to Iris and the others might’ve eased his anxiety a bit.
What
came back to Nozomu's mind was the scene where he slaughtered the Cyclopses in
the forest.
At
that time, Nozomu was definitely swallowed up by his anger, but he still used
the dragonslayer's power of his own accord.
The
anger, resentment, and hatred, which he had tried not to notice, certainly
existed.
He
was willing to slaughter his enemies just to vent.
"!!"
Because
he remembered that, Nozomu became hesitant to tell Iris and the others about
his dragonslayer power.
He
had too much power within him. He had been shown what would’ve happened if the
powers, which spiraled out of control, had been turned towards his friends.
In
addition, the fear that they might reject him if they found out what he was
doing in the forest weighed on him.
Tiamat
kept running wild inside of him, and he kept running away from it. The fear of
rejection was intricately intertwined, and the exhausted Nozomu couldn't do
anything anymore.
Still,
Nozomu wore his uniform, and while he was holding his bag, he left the room and
headed for school.
Even
if there was anxiety or fear, he could forget his fears only when he was with
them.
(In
the end, I'm still running away)
So
Nozomu went to school.
Even
if he realized he was still running away.
==================================
Nozomu
saw Irisdina and the others on their way to school. They were all already
gathered.
(Fu~u
...)
"Good
morning, everyone"
Nozomu
greeted them after exhaling to regulate his breathing so as not to make them
realize his anxiety.
"G-good
morning ..."
"Yeaa"
"Good
morning, Nozomu-kun"
"Yo,
Nozomu!"
"Good
morning. Nozomu-kun"
They
confirmed the appearance of Nozomu who greeted them, but among them, Irisdina,
Mars, and Tima's replies were somewhat awkward.
Nozomu
became anxious about whether they noticed his anxiety.
"Ah.
Nozomu-san, good morning!"
Somia
replied with a cheerful greeting while Nozomu was anxious.
As
far as Nozomu could see, she didn't seem to doubt his attitude, so he felt a
little relieved and greeted her back.
"Good
morning, Somia-chan. By the way ... What's wrong with everyone?"
"Mars-san
and Tima-san have been like this since we met here today. And Ane-sama is …
we~ll, I think she's okay."
Nozomu,
who wondered what Somia's ambiguous answer meant, turned his gaze to
Irisdina.
"Iris,
are you alright? It looks like something is different than usual ..."
"A-aa.
I'm okay. My physical condition is good and nothing is wrong. Yup."
Nozomu
called out to Irisdina, but she said "no problem".
She
certainly didn't look pale, and her feet weren't tottering.
"...
Is that so? Mars and Time seem a bit strange. Is there something wrong?"
"No,
it's okay"
"Y-Yup.
There's nothing wrong with my body."
Nozomu
was worried about the two strange vibes and asked what happened, but Mars and
Tima just insisted that "nothing was wrong".
"Hey,
Nozomu. Do you have a little time? It's about yesterday."
"What?
All of a sudden?"
When
Nozomu was wondering what happened, he was suddenly approached by Feo.
Even
though a strange atmosphere had enveloped Nozomu and his friends since morning,
the fox-tailed boy ignored the strange atmosphere with his cheerful smile.
Nozomu
was often swayed by Feo and got into a lot of trouble because of him, but his
carefree and self-paced demeanor blew away the strange atmosphere of the place,
so he came at the perfect time as a rescue ship.
"Yesterday,
we decided to team up for special training, right? Can I also participate in
your training? There are only a few more days until the special training
begins, so I want us to match each other's fighting styles."
Nozomu
nodded to Feo's proposal.
Of
course, as long as they worked together, they needed to know each other's
strengths and weaknesses.
"...That's
true. It is indeed necessary. Is everyone okay with that?"
"That's
fine with me. I didn't know Feo could be so strong until Nozomu and Feo fought,
so I need to train with him to reaffirm my comrades' abilities."
Shīna,
who was also in the same party, accepted Feo's participation in their training.
Nozomu
looked around at the others, and they all nodded uniformly and no one objected.
"Alright!
It's decided then. Everyone, please treat me well."
Feo,
who was satisfied with their answer, once again greeted everyone who was there.
"By
including Feo, the middle side will be more solid. In other words, I can devote
myself as the rearguard. Tom and Mimuru can also devote themselves to their
respective roles."
"About
that, sorry Shīna. On the second day, we're going to team up with other
students."
"Eh~!?"
Shīna
was talking about the formation with Feo joining them, but she was taken back
by Mimuru's sudden remark.
When
Shīna turned her gaze towards Tom, he silently nodded, perhaps he agreed with
Mimuru's opinion on this matter.
"We
can team up with students of other classes, right? In terms of gaining various
experience on this occasion, shouldn't we try to team up with different
people?"
Mimuru's
words made Shīna remember her goal.
Initially,
she started training with Nozomu and his friends because she wanted to overcome
her party's weakness by gaining experience through training with different
kinds of people.
With
that in mind, Mimuru's judgment was correct and very useful in terms of gaining
the necessary experience.
"That's
true. It's definitely better to do as Mimuru said. I completely forgot about it
..."
Reaffirming
her aim, Shīna immediately reformed the formation in her head.
"Then,
I'd like to ask Mars and the others too, could you team up with us on the
second day?"
"Huh?
Me?"
"Eh?
Me too?"
"Yes.
Is that all right?"
"Let
me see ……"
The
two, who received Mimuru's gaze, seemed to think a little.
However,
Tima seemed to be more concerned about Irisdina, and Tima seemed to be staring
at her.
Tima
usually teamed up with Irisdina, so she seemed made an attempt at hear the
opinion of her usual partner.
"Umm.
That's ... right. Yup. I think it's alright."
Pushed
by Tima's gaze, Irisdina glanced at Nozomu. It seemed like she wanted to say
something to him.
However,
in the end, she couldn't say anything to Nozomu, and she decided to cooperate
with Mimuru and the others.
"Ha~a,
Ane-sama. It can't be helped then ..."
Somia
dropped her shoulders because of her sister's behavior, but she looked at
Nozomu and seemed to have decided something.
"E?
Um ... Somia-chan, do you need something?"
Somia
gazed intensely at Nozomu, and Nozomu asked her what was wrong.
Everyone
around her fell silent, and before they knew it, they were paying attention to
the little 11-year-old girl.
"Nozomu-san.
It might be rude of me to say this so suddenly, but can you give me some of
your time after school today?"
"Umm,
today? As I said before, special training is just around the corner, so we're
all thinking about preparing for it today ..."
It
was difficult because Nozomu had a busy schedule, but Somia still looked
straight at Nozomu.
Nozomu
didn't know what Somia was thinking, but he knew she didn't want to back down.
"Umm
……"
"Somia,
Nozomu-kun already has plans ..."
"Is
that so? Nozomu-san"
"Somia
…… "
Nozomu
thought about what to do.
Irisdina,
who saw the situation, tried to pull Somia down, but Somia still refused to
back down.
While
the atmosphere of the two sisters was gradually becoming heavier, it was Feo
who opened his mouth.
"Hmm.
Somicchi's errands seem quite important. It's only for today, so isn't that
fine, Nozomu?”
He
told Nozomu to go with her for today.
"Eh?"
"Wait
a minute, Feo. You asked him to go with her, but I find that a little
irresponsible on your part."
Shīna
complained about Feo's decision.
Since
she was a serious person, she had to do as much as she could to train together,
but Feo now suddenly asked Nozomu to throw away the promised training.
"Now,
now. Shīna also saw Somicchi's eyes just now, right? At least she herself
understands what she is saying is unreasonable. In addition, she seems to need
to go out with Nozomu by all means."
Shīna
pressed Feo for an answer. Feo explained as he tried to calm her down.
"That
was ... I understand ..."
Shīna's
mouth shut due to Feo's words.
She
also knew from Somia's previous appearance that Somia was serious, so she
couldn't pursue it any further.
Feo
nodded and faced Somia once again.
"That's
the case, Somicchi. The others and I are fine with it, so you can take Nozomu
with you for today."
"O-Oi,
Feo."
"Thank
you very much! Nozomu-san, is it okay!?"
"...
I understand. It's fine. So what's your business, Somia-chan?"
Nozomu
was confused, but he agreed to go out after school while giving Somia a bitter
smile. Somia looked at him with sparkling eyes.
Nozomu
tried to hear her out; However, Somia's next words took him by surprise, like
throwing a huge bomb at him.
"Please
date me after school today!!"
Somia's
words seemed to freeze time for everyone who was there.
Nozomu
and his friends had stunned faces, but as they gradually understood the words
that came into their ears, their faces changed to astonishing colors.
"""Ha?
E? Eeh ~~~ !!"""
And
thus, their loud screams resounded.
While
bathing in the morning sun, the birds in the trees by the roadside took off all
at once.
