Chapter 5 Part 22
Translator : PolterGlast
An Undead
Dragon suddenly appeared during special training.
Because
of this, the special training was canceled and a thorough investigation had to
be carried out.
The
students immediately returned to Arcazam. They were disbanded as soon as they
arrived at the school and were confirmed to be safe.
Jihad
was in charge of the investigation on the field, so Irisdina and the others
were dismissed by their substitute teacher, then they immediately headed to the
10th classroom.
However,
there were neither Nozomu nor Mars in the 10th classroom, and when they ask Jin
and his friends, it seems that the two of them disappeared as soon as they
arrived at school.
"Everyone,
did you find where Nozomu and Mars are!?"
Irisdina
and the others gathered in front of the main gate after searching around the
school for a while. Maybe because they were running around in such a big
school, everyone was gasping for air.
"Haa,
haa. They're not at the training ground... How about you, Ai?"
"My
side isn't good either. According to Anri-sensei, he was here when we arrived
at Arcazam, but when I tried to ask the students in his class, he wasn't around
anymore..."
After
visiting the 10th classroom looking for the two, Irisdina visited the teacher's
office. She tried to hear about Nozomu from Anri, but she wasn't in the
teacher's office either.
Later,
when she met Anri who was in the school building. Turns out Anri was also
looking for the missing Nozomu and Mars. According to Anri's story, they
already disappeared even when she took the class rolls in the 10th classroom.
"That
means most likely the two of them aren't in the school anymore..."
"That's
true, but where are they then..."
Feo
muttered while looking out of the school, and Tom also agreed with Feo's
opinion.
"It
can't be helped. I think we have no choice but to find a place where the two of
them are likely to go."
Mimuru
suggested going out to the city and looking for them.
At
that time, there was a figure calling from Ecross school building.
"Ane-sama!"
"Somia!?"
It
was Somia. She rushed to Irisdina while attracting onlookers' eyes and jumped
into her chest.
"Why
are you here ..."
Irisdina
was confused by the appearance of Somia clinging to her body with all her
might. Despite being confused about what happened, she gently hugged her
beloved sister.
"U-umm...
I heard that Ane-sama and the others were injured in the fight against a Dragon
during the training ... so I was worried ..."
Somia
spoke with a stuttering voice and tears in her eyes. Apparently, Somia was
worried about her sister's safety.
She
was quite anxious when she heard that Irisdina had fought a Dragon and she was
injured.
They
are sisters who are tied by deep bonds. Somia, who heard that Irisdina was
attacked by a Dragon, was frightened because she thought that she might lose
her sister. Just like Irisdina who was swallowed up by despair when she was
about to lose her sister.
"It's
alright now. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere ..."
"Fue,
hick! Egu ..."
Somia
was desperately trying not to cry, but seeing her sister's safety might have
broken her tension. Tears spilled from her eyes.
As
Irisdina rubbed Somia's back to comfort her sister, Somia slowly regained her
composure.
As
Somia finished crying and slowly let go of her embrace, Shīna asked Irisdina.
“Hey, Irisdina-san. I want to ask you a little,
it's about the things Mars-kun said, what does that mean?”
"...
What do you mean?"
Seemed
like, Irisdina didn't understand what Shīna meant.
"Wasn't
Mars-kun said something like this, "You could defeat the dragon if you
were serious". What does he mean by that? I know Nozomu is strong, but I
don't think he could easily defeat a dragon. Somehow ... is there something we
don't know? "
"That
is……"
Irisdina
hesitated to answer Shīna's question.
Shīna
and her friends did not know that Nozomu could release his Ability Suppression,
nor did they know about the extraordinary power that Nozomu exerted at that
time. And recently, Nozomu's behavior has changed compared to before.
(But…
it's the same with us… we don't know much about that power he has. That
extraordinary power… it's too powerful if it is just a mere release of
suppressed power ... )
He
described his power as the release of his Ability Suppression.
However,
if the originally suppressed power was released, it would be strange if Nozomu,
who was good at controlling power, was drained of so much power. His way of
fighting didn't rely on power but made full use of his good control and
excellent swordsmanship to get maximum effect with minimum power. His
appearance when he released his Ability Suppression was contrary to that.
"Irisdina-san...
I wonder if you can tell me?"
Shīna
stared at Irisdina. Her intentions were so strong that Irisdina immediately
noticed that Shīna was unwilling to back down.
"......Ane-sama."
Irisdina's
ears could hear Somia's small voice but contained a strong will. Her best
friend, Tima, also looked at Irisdina with the same eyes as Shīna. Irisdina,
who received their gazes, looked up at the western sky. The red-dyed sun was
setting on the horizon.
Nozomu
and Mars are somewhere in this city. What are they doing now...?
With
that thought, she started to think about what happened on her sister's
birthday. It's certainly not easy to talk about the secret agreement with the Waziart
Family.
However,
the view of the city, which was dyed in twilight and began to be enveloped in
darkness, fueled Irisdina's impatience.
If
this continued, she couldn't talk about anything… Irisdina thought she had to
do something. Otherwise, nothing will change. Between Nozomu and Mars... and
them...
Irisdina
nodded as if she had made up her mind, and she faced Shīna straight.
"We
knew it when Somia celebrated her 11th birthday ..."
While
taking Shīna's gaze head-on, the black-haired princess started to talk about
the beginning she knew about him.
=====================================
In
the forest where special training was held. After the special training was
canceled, Jihad was investigating the cause of a dragon's sudden appearance
along with the Arkazam Guards and the dispatched investigators. When they
investigated the inside of the hole where the dragon had appeared, there was
empty space in it, and dragon bones were scattered here and there.
"In
other words, there's a dragon's lair underneath. Is that right,
Torgrain-dono?..."
Jihad's
calm voice echoed. In front of him was a hole where the Undead Dragon appeared.
A man in his mid-20s in a white coat came to report. He came along with his
escorts who were knights of the Silver Rainbow Knight Order.
"Yes.
I've examined the dragon remains in this hole. From the state of the scattered
bones, they have died around 10 years ago. Moreover, most of the bones found
are young dragons right before becoming adult dragons."
A
young man named Torgrain answered Jihad's questions with humility.
The
gentle eyes that could be seen behind the glasses exuded intelligence. He also
had a delicate physique, and of course, he was not one to make a living from
fighting.
In
fact, he was a researcher at the Gloaurum Institute who was convened to
investigate this matter.
The
Groaurum Institute is a comprehensive research institute built within Arcazam.
The
facilities of this research institute were built in parallel with the Solminati
Academy, and researchers gathered from every country conducted various research
day and night at the facility.
The
results obtained from the research were announced to each country once a year
and were useful in many areas such as agricultural land development, city
infrastructure, equipment development, countermeasures against monsters, and
preparation for a major invasion that might occur again in the future.
In
addition, several researchers at the Gloaurum Institute gave lectures at the
Solminati Academy which was also actively developing human resources.
"10
years... in other words, it happened before Arcazam was built..."
"Yes.
The exit was blocked with rocks and dirt, so the exit was probably collapsed
for some reason we don't know. The young dragons that couldn't be fed due to being
trapped were killed by cannibalism. In the end, there was only one left.
Although it was dormant due to lack of food, it probably died debilitatingly.
"
"Then
it became undead ..."
Arcazam,
which was built after the great invasion 10 years ago, is a very young city. No
wonder some people even lived here before Arcazam was founded.
Of
course, the surrounding area was investigated even before the construction of
the city, but at that time the entrance to the dragon lair was blocked, and the
surviving dragons were either dormant or had already become undead.
"Torgrain-dono,
what about the Undead Dragon that attacked the students?"
"Nothing
in particular. There was nothing special other than being undead."
Jihad
exhaled as if he was relieved by Torgrain's words.
The
escort knights stared at him with puzzled expressions.
Jihad
looked up at the sky with his hands on his beard. Even though he was within a
dim forest, he had far less visibility than before he started his
investigation. Perhaps the day is getting dark.
"...
Alright. We will conduct a detailed investigation later, but it's almost dark,
so we are going back to Arcazam for today. Prepare for withdrawal ... "
"Alright."
"Understood."
After
instructing Torgrain and his men to prepare for withdrawal, Jihad looked down
at the large hole in the ground. Beyond the hole, deep darkness looked back at
his face.
In
the report, no demon beast-like creatures could be found in the depths of the
hole.
He
simply stared at the inside of the supposedly empty hole, watching the
investigators and knights went up to the ground one after another.
=======================================
Arcazam
commercial district after the sun set in the west and starlight filling the
sky. As usual, the lights never went out even at night, and the voices of
people passing over the stone pavement illuminated by street lamps resounded.
At
Ushitotei, an inn as well as a bar in the corner of the commercial district, a
young man was drinking sake in desperation.
The
young man, Mars Dickens, arranged the countless sake bottles on the table and
increased to the number of empty bottles one after another.
He
was quite frustrated, giving off an atmosphere that seemed like he would
explode just by touching him. Because of the intimidation he gave, all the
customers who just walked into the shop today had to return their heels and
leave immediately.
"Glug,
glug ... haa ..."
Mars
poured the sake into the glass and drank it all at once. He didn't care about
the deserted state of the store.
Along
with a burning sensation in his throat, the sake fell into his stomach, and
Mars' head became hazy and vague each time he drank.
However,
no matter how much he drank, Nozomu still flashed through his mind.
Nozomu's
appearance in mock battles at the end of the second year. Called him to the
outskirts of the city and challenged him to a battle. After that brought him to
Ushitotei and mocked each other on the way home. Always training together at
the outskirts after they start talking to each other. His figure overwhelmed
the S-class vampire, Rugato, in a battle. All of that shone so brightly, but
the anger that burned his body did not subside.
(That
guy! Why didn't he take it seriously! With his abilities, it would have been
easy for him to defeat it! ))
However,
the more he felt irritated at Nozomu who didn't do his best, the more Mars felt
something different from anger welling up inside of him.
To
deceive his own feelings, Mars drank sake once more.
At
that time, Ena who couldn't stand seeing Mars' behavior, complained to Mars
with an angry expression.
"Onīchan,
please stop. If you drink in this place like this. All the customers will be
going away!"
"Shut
up..."
Ignoring
Ena's complaint, Mars tried to pour more sake into the empty glass, but Ena
reached out from the side and took the sake bottle and glass away from him.
"...
Give it back."
"No.
Onīchan today is just being a nuisance."
Ena
refused Mars' request. In addition, Hannah at the counter went along with Ena.
"That's
right, Mars. There's no more sake in the store for you to drink!
"Tch
..."
Mars
who was drunk, glared at Ena and Hannah while clicking his tongue. But then,
Dell, who was cleaning the floor, called his name.
"……Mars"
"...What's
wrong? Oi! What are you doing!"
Suddenly,
Mars was grabbed by Dell. He desperately resisted it, but Mars' resistance was
no big deal to Dell's sturdy arm.
"I
don't know what happened, but you can't do anything with such a hot head. Cool
your head in the night breeze for a while."
"Wha!
Uo!"
Dell
dragged the resisting Mars to the store entrance and threw him down the main
street.
While
the thrown Mars groaned, the owner of the Ushitotei quickly changed the
"Open" tag hanging on the entrance to "In Preparation" and
closed the door to lock it.
"Haa,
we're in trouble because of onīchan, aren't we?..."
"There's
nothing we can do about the store today. The customers are completely gone ...
"
A
sigh escaped from Ena and Hannah's mouths.
Inside
the store, there was the sound of Mars hitting the door violently. However, he
realized that he couldn't enter, so he left. After a while, the hitting sound
on the door stopped.
"But...
I wonder what happened to onīchan. He hasn't been like that lately..."
"That's
true. He hasn't gone berserk or gone wild since he met Nozomu-kun..."
While
saying so, Ena and Hannah recalled Mars' behavior which had started to change
recently.
After
meeting Nozomu, Mars no longer rampaged as he used to be. Certainly, he still
looked scary to everyone in the shopping district, and although he used his
brute force to get rid of the bad drunkards who visited the store, he didn't
bother other stores.
However,
Mars' behavior since he came back today was the same as him when he was still
rough.
Ena's
gaze glanced at the locked entrance while cleaning the table where Mars was,
wondering what was going on at school.
Dell's
big hand gently rested on Ena's shoulder.
"Don't
worry. He may be like that now, but if he calms down, he will come back. At
that time, we should give him a scolding or two."
"Father……"
A
warm hand rested on Ena's shoulder. The warmth she felt from those hands.
Perhaps she was comforted by the warmth, Ena's expression that had sunk
gradually recovered.
"That's
right. He made Ena sad, so I have something to settle with him."
Hannah
puffed out her chest with a smirk to reassure her daughter.
Ena's
tension was loosened due to Hannah's smile, and Ena smiled back at her and gave
a small nod.
At
that moment, the entrance door was lightly knocked.
"Yes,
who is it?"
Mars
seemed to have left earlier, so Ena wondered if a guest had arrived, and when
she opened the door, there was a brown-haired girl who was out of breath.
"Ti,
Tima-san ..."
"Haa,
haa ... I'm sorry for visiting this late at night! Mars-kun, is he back
yet!?"
Perhaps
she was in a hurry, Tima's white skin was burning red, and white steam was
rising from her body. She turned her glance at Ena, while still breathing
roughly on the chilly spring night.
"Onīchan
had been drinking sake in the store a while ago, but he was kicked out by
father just now ..."
When
Tima heard her words, Tima dropped her shoulders.
At
first, Tima tried to ask Ena about Mars, but when she felt Ena's innocent
atmosphere, she didn't open her mouth.
"U-ummm...
Onīchan's behavior has been weird ever since he came back. Certainly, onīchan
hasn't done anything bad recently, but today he was drinking sake at the
store... What happened?"
"Um,
that is ..."
“…………”
Tima
opened her eyes wide upon hearing Ena's words. Ena was convinced that Tima knew
something was going on, so Ena looked at Tima with her piercing gaze.
Tima
tried to avert her eyes, but her eyes met Hannah's and Dell's eyes.
The
two of them also looked straight at Tima, and Tima knew they were worried about
Mars.
"U-umm
... Actually ..."
The
moment Tima was pushed by their strong gazes. She thought she needed to find
the whereabouts of Mars anyway, so she started talking about what happened at
school.
===================================
"Haa,
haa ... uph~!"
Mars,
who had been kicked out of the store, walked through the back streets of the
commercial district with an unsteady gait while being drunk.
Unlike
the main street, which was neatly cleaned and illuminated by the lights, this
place was dimly lit with dust scattered around. However, the dimness was
reassuring for the current Mars. At least he didn't have to be seen by others
like this.
"Ugh~
... Kuh~"
He
supported his staggering body with his hands on the wall.
Nozomu's
appearance still crossed his mind. However, perhaps because he stopped drinking
the sake that had dulled his mind, his feelings and thoughts were a little
calmer than when he was at Ushitotei.
It
was certain that Mars' irritation for Nozomu, who didn't fight seriously even
though his comrades were going through a crisis, burned in his chest.
However,
at the same time, Mars also remembered that Nozomu's behavior had become
strange recently.
Nozomu
had been depressed for quite some time, but despite experiencing some problems,
he desperately tried to hide it.
Mars'
hand was reflected in his blurred field of view. It was the right hand he used
to hit Nozomu out of anger today.
(Damn
it ... why... I wonder why he couldn't trust us that much ...)
However,
his reasoning, which slightly returned, was immediately swallowed up by anger.
Nozomu
was just looked down without replying. Nozomu's appearance at that time
reminded him of the time Nozomu was despised and bullied, and his anger turned
his vision bright red.
But
at the same time, Mars also felt a pang of fierce guilt for some reason.
Mars
gradually quickened his pace, all the while feeling the agony of his anger
towards Nozomu and the guilt he didn't even know the reason for. At that time,
Mars heard people making noises in his ears.
"No,
please stop!"
"You
came to a place like this late at night alone. Isn't that why you wanted to
play, right?"
"How
about playing with us? Until morning, of course!"
He
heard the voice of a woman asking for help and the voices of vulgar men. As
Mars walked towards the source of the voices with a hazy mind, he immediately
saw young men of the same age as him hanging out in the back alley. The young
men surrounded a woman and argued.
What
they did was picking up a woman on the street, but it was too one-sided and
lacked consideration. The woman clearly didn't like it, and she desperately
shook her hands as she tried to escape from the approaching men. The
surrounding men were bad and assholes in terms of appearance and behavior, but
Mars found faces he was familiar with.
"...
You guys, what the hell are you doing?"
Mars'
eyes were glued on the two men closest to the woman amidst the bad guys. They
were the 10-class students who used to be Mars' entourage.
"Oh?
... What is it? Mars?"
"You
can see for yourself, right? We're playing."
"P-please
let me go!"
One
of them grabbed the woman's arm. The woman desperately tried to shake it off,
but her opponent was a student of the Solminati Academy. Albeit in the 10th
class, the power of an ordinary woman couldn't even affect him.
On
the other hand, the men became even more excited to see a woman desperately
rejecting them but she couldn't. They jeered at the woman while trying to touch
her breasts and buttocks.
"Hyuuu~~.
She has a pretty good body! This is a hit."
"Oh!
I thought we could enjoy it for the first time in a long time. Hey, never let
her go."
"S-st-stop..."
Perhaps
her fear towards the men who continued to be excited had finally exceeded the
limit, the woman fell and sat on the ground.
"Isn't
it alright? It's your first time in this city, right? So why don't we make some
good memories together while we're here..."
Their
words didn't consider the woman's feelings at all. Another man surrounding her
tried to touch the woman's clothes. However, the next moment, Mars' former entourage
was punched and flew through the air.
"Mars!
Damn you! What the hell are you doing!"
It
was Mars who punch him. The former entourage falls to the ground while
involving the other men.
"You
guys are noisy. I'm frustrated right now. What you guys doing in front of me
makes me even more frustrated..."
All
the men became furious in an instant when they saw their comrades being beaten.
However, Mars glared at them without moving.
In
such a situation, the one who came forward was Mars' other former entourage who
should have known Mars' abilities more than anyone else.
"Hee~...
you want to fight me?"
"Hey!
What are you talking about? We won't lose to you whose fangs are completely
ripped out and become tame!"
Mars
smirked. What swirled inside his chest was the urge to release his frustration
and the joy of finding a place to vent it.
“…………”
"Generally
speaking, it was since you hanging out with that lowest ..."
The
moment the former entourage mentioned Nozomu, Mars exploded and immediately hit
the former entourage.
It
signaled the start of the brawl. For a while, punching and kicking sounds, and
swearing voices continued to echo in the back alley.
===============================
"-Ugh! Those
bastards ..."
Mars, who had a fierce
brawl with his former entourages, did not return to the main street but sat
down in the back alley with his back on the wall of a house. His beaten face
swelled red in several places, and when he touched it, he felt a tingling
sensation.
The brawl itself ended
after both sides hit each other for a while and then the woman who fled in that
gap called the military police.
Maybe it was
unpleasant to be taken by the military police, the men immediately stopped the
fight and ran away in a hurry.
Mars was drunk and
couldn't use his martial arts. So he couldn't put up a meaningful fight against
as many as 10 opponents.
As a result, he only
receiving hits repeatedly, causing scratches around his face, and it was still
throbbing and painful.
(... what am I
doing...)
Mars ridiculed himself
when he remembered having a fight with his former entourages. From someone
else's point of view, Mars seemed to be helping the woman, but in truth, he
didn't care about the woman. However, he just wanted a place to vent his anger.
Anything was fine as long as he could release his frustration. It was such an
uncool thing to do.
(…………)
Mars' head had cooled
down due to the rampage. But instead, he felt guilty for punching Nozomu and
guilty for hitting his friend in a fit of anger.
However, the anger
that continued to smolder in his heart never disappeared. The fire of
"anger" had actually been in his heart for a long time.
Mars has had strong
physical strength since he was a child and has formed a habit of acting
violently. The reason he rampaged was the anger that always arose in his heart.
Even though he
realized that strong anger was constantly rising within him, his young heart
was unable to contain the anger.
Even now, the anger
inside him was trying to rage with guilt. Mars clenched his fists and gritted
his teeth to resist it.
(Damn it ... why am I
always like this ...)
Mars felt angry
towards himself for not being able to control his own "anger". Every
feeling he felt would turn into anger and continue to erode his heart.
(Perhaps she is also
disgusted... seeing these bad habits of mine and the pathetic me earlier...)
Tima's face appeared
in his mind.
She taught him magic,
accompanied him in his selfishness, and she wasn't the type to abuse her own
powers.
At first, Mars thought
Tima was a sloppy and pathetic person, but she was actually a strong and
surprisingly dependable girl even in an emergency.
But Mars disappointed
her.
He disregarded her
advice and used the unstable combination technique, putting all of his
companions in a pinch and imposing an unnecessary burden on them. At that time,
the reason why Nozomu and the others were in trouble was that Mars couldn't
control his technique.
He didn't want to
admit and correct his mistakes so he blamed everything on Nozomu.
(Really… I'm so
pathetic…)
A dry laugh escaped
from Mars' mouth. At that moment, Mars felt the presence of someone running
towards him.
"Haa, haa, haa...
I found you. Mars-kun."
His name was called by
someone. When Mars raised his face, there was the face of the girl he had just
thought of.
He didn't understand
why she was smiling at him in relief, even though she should have been mad at
him.
Tima walked towards
Mars and sat next to him.
“…………”
“…………”
Mars and Tima were
silent to each other. Only the hustle and bustle of the main street echoed in
the dimly lit back alley.
The two were silent
for a while, but Tima nodded as if she had decided something, and slowly
started to speak.
"Mars-kun. I've
heard, about Mars-kun and Ena-san's real parents..."
"~! Where did you
hear that story from!!"
Mars reflexively
shouted and questioned Tima. The only one who should know about that story is
his family.
"...After school,
when I went to Ushitotei looking for Mars-kun, Hannah-san who heard the
situation spoke to me..."
"... Tch!"
After Tima visited
Ushitotei to look for Mars and told Hannah and the others about his situation
at school, they looked down with serious expressions. Ena clung to Hannah as if
she was afraid of something.
After that, Dell
exhaled and started talking slowly about Mars and Ena's past.
Hannah and Dell are
not Mars and Ena's real parents.
Mars and Ena's mother
died from a pandemic when Mars was young.
Then, after losing his
wife, their depressed father begins to drown in alcohol and women. And he gradually
stopped returning home.
Their father gradually
disappeared for a day or two. When he came home, he did not see them and locked
himself in his room.
Mars and Ena, who were
still young, desperately called their father outside the room, but the father who
came out of the room did not speak kindly to them and used violence instead.
Their fathers did not
stop using violence even if they begged him to stop. Mars and Ena, who were
still children, had no choice but to endure the violence from their father.
When such days
continued for about a year, their father finally stopped coming back. According
to the stories they heard, he fled to another city with a woman he met at a
bar.
After that, the
relatives discussed what to do with the two who had lost their parents, but
what happened was not a discussion, but throwing responsibilities at each
other.
At that time, there
were still various anxieties due to the lingering effects of the great
invasion. All the relatives only think of protecting their own home. They threw
cursing words at each other in front of the eyes of the brother and sister
huddled together on the edge of the room.
It was at that time.
The fire of anger lit up in Mars' chest. He shouted at them and told them to be
quiet as he held Ena.
However, at that
moment, there was a woman who suddenly shouted and interrupted the conversation
between the disputing relatives.
She was an aunt in the
neighborhood who befriended Mars' parents when they were alive, and she
cherished the two of them very dearly.
She spoke to Mars and
Ena, who were clinging to each other, and to relatives who didn't even see the
two of them. She said, "I will adopt them", and took their hands and
went to her own home.
Her husband was
initially surprised when he saw his wife suddenly bring two children back. They
were originally a couple who were not blessed with children. Her husband also
nodded without saying anything when he heard the situation and agreed to adopt
the two of them.
It was Hannah and her
husband, Dell, who brought Mars and Ena back to their home.
When she heard this
story. Tima opened her eyes wide in surprise.
It was true that Ena
and Hannah often angered Mars, but that was probably due to their very close
family ties, and Tima also felt that their entire family trusted each other
internally. In fact, she heard that Mars never brought his entourage to
Ushitotei.
However, although his
current family believed in each other, Mars still couldn't control his anger
until now.
After hearing Hannah's
story, Tima knew. It was a kind of self-defense.
The trauma he
experienced when he was a child. It was his act of desperation due to the fact
that he was abandoned by his relatives and the unreasonable violence he
received when he was a child.
"...I want to be
strong... I want to be strong enough to overwhelm such unreasonableness. In my
heart, I thought that if only I had the same strength as Nozomu or you..."
That was the real
reason why he continued to seek power. And he was jealous of those who had the
power.
"I thought if you
taught me magic I would be able to grasp that power, but that was my
misunderstanding... In the end, I couldn't even control my anger."
“…………”
Tima just sat next to
Mars listening to him talking to himself while hanging his head down.
"...Such a pitiful
story, huh? I drowned in my own anger, and what I did was the same as that damn
man..."
"...Mars-kun"
Mars' regrets and
confessions. The days when he couldn't contain the anger raging in his heart,
his jealousy towards his friends, and his confession of the mistakes he made.
His thoughts started to overflow and never stopped, and it was the first time
for Mars to reveal what was on his mind to others.
"It's the same...
What I did to Nozomu today. I was overwhelmed and proud to be able to use that
technique. Back then, if I had left it to Shīna and the others, this probably
wouldn't have happened... In the end, I just... "
Mars gritted his teeth
and blood dripped from his clenched fists.
Tima gently put her
hand on top of Mars's hand.
“…………”
"Tima?"
Mars tilted his head,
probably wondering about Tima's actions. Tima clasped Mars' hand and once again
opened her mouth while looking straight at him.
"I know.
Actually, Mars-kun is very kind. Everyone knows. Ai, Nozomu-kun, Somia-chan,
even Shīna-san too..."
Tima spoke the words
slowly so she could convey them to him.
"Mars-kun, you
know... When we fought against Rugato-san before, this hand protected me... and
this hand also helped my best friend."
Tima's hands were a
little cold. However, for some reason, her hands felt warm for Mars. It was
able to melt the frozen ice and unravel Mars' solid heart.
"What Mars-kun
did might be a little wrong, but we can still fix it. Since you're not alone,
Nozomu-kun and we are still here for you, right?"
Hearing Tima's words,
Mars raised his face with a surprised expression.
The time with his real
father, who is now gone, could no longer be brought forward. Ever since his
father ran away, Mars really had nowhere to vent his anger in his heart.
However, if it's with
Nozomu, he can still make it in time. Since Nozomu should still be in the city,
Mars wanted to meet his friend once again.
"... Can I make
it in time?"
His inner anxiety did
not go away, so Mars asked Tima to make sure, and Tima answered in a firm tone.
"You'll make it
in time. Yup, let's make it in time. You'll meet Nozomu again and say it
properly this time. "You! What are you hiding from us!" let's tell
him that."
"Haha... Are you
trying to imitate me?"
Perhaps Mars found it
a bit funny when Tima imitated his tone, a natural smile appearing on his face.
Mars closed his eyes again and took a deep breath to organize his thoughts.
Mars took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly as if he was dispelling his
anger. Exhaling and opening his eyes as if he had made up his mind, and he
stood up vigorously.
"...That's right.
I have to meet him again and apologize. "Don't hide anything from
us!", I have to say that to him."
A fearless smile
appeared on Mars' face. It was his usual expression.
A smile also appeared
on Tima's face when she saw Mars' expression. The same thing they were thinking
about,
(Meet Nozomu, bow down
and apologize to him, then ask Nozomu to tell us what he's hiding.)
"Then, for the
time being, we have to find where that Nozomu guy is ..."
"That's right. Ai
and the others are still looking around the city, so we ... aw~!"
Once they decided what
they were going to do, the two of them tried to find Nozomu in a hurry.
However, Tima's face
was distorted when she tried to stand up, and her body staggered.
In a hurry, Mars
supported her body. Mars' eyes caught the sight of Tima's ankle which was
swollen red.
"You ... that
ankle."
Mars looked at Tima's
ankle with a surprised expression.
The next moment, his
expression turned harsh. He realized that her wound was due to him pushing her
when he hit Nozomu.
"Eh!? Ah! I-it's
okay. It hurt a while ago, but now I don't feel much pain anymore..."
Tima panicked when
Mars saw the wound on her ankle. She tried to gloss it over, but Mars yelled at
Tima.
"Idiot! Of
course, it's not okay! It's getting worse!"
"Eh~! Wait!
Mars-kun!?"
Mars put his hands on
her shoulders and legs. He picked her up and hugged her. He immediately started
running. His destination was Ushitotei.
His head was full of
the thought that he needed to take care of her right away, and he didn't notice
Tima's face turning bright red due to the way he carried her which was princess
carry.
"Anyway! Let's go
to my house and treat you right away!"
"E~, ah! Wait,
wait!... Kyaa!"
Mars ran across the
city at night while listening to Tima's screams.
By the way, after
arriving at Ushitotei and treating Tima, he was scolded by Hannah and Ena, and
they also questioned them about the princess carry, and both of them made their
faces turn bright red.