Chapter 6 Part 6
Translator : PolterGlast
At
the Gloaurum Institute that exists in Arcazam, a variety of research is
conducted day and night.
The
institute itself was built adjacent to the west side of Solminati Academy, on
the opposite side of Ecross school, which is affiliated with Solminati Academy.
In
one section of the institute, Torgrain, a staff member, and Tom, a student of
Solminati Academy, were busy.
The
two of them first met in a class at the academy. Tom was originally an
excellent student in alchemy. In the alchemy class, he was actively asking
questions to Torgrain.
Tom
and Torgrain, who are both quiet by nature, hit it off and Tom began to visit
Torgrain from time to time to talk about various things and help him with his
research as his assistant.
This
time, Tom and Torgrain were working on creating a magic formation for
experiments.
The
magic formation was drawn in the center of a large laboratory that could fit an
entire classroom. Eight magic stones were placed in circles around the magic
formation.
From
the magic formation, several lines were drawn in various dyes, extending to a
crystal ball placed at a distance.
"Sensei,
is this the right formation?"
"Yes,
I leave it to you."
Tom
drew more magic formation on the magic stones placed around him. Mimuru watched
him as she dawdled on the desk recording the results of his experiments.
"Hey
Tom, what do you use that for?
"Hmm,
this? It's used to stabilize the magic flowing through the magic
formation."
"Hee~"
Mimuru
replied casually, but there was a smile on her face. It was because her lover,
who was absorbed in his work in front of her, had his eyes shining.
Tom
is always shy and timid, but when he's working on his alchemy, he's really
lively. It made her happy to see him like that.
"It
can't be helped", she thought. But Mimuru couldn't stop her mouth from
loosening.
Without
noticing Mimuru's appearance, Tom continued to draw the magic formation under
Torgrain's instruction.
The
magic stones placed around him were to make up for the lack of magic power. The
magic formation was huge and complex. It must be difficult for a single
person's magical power to activate such a huge magic formation.
There
was no doubt that the experiment they conducted was going to be a very large
one.
"Sensei,
what exactly is this magic formation used for?"
"Hmmm.
Since you're helping me, I don't feel comfortable hiding it from you,
but..."
Tom
tried to ask Torgrain about the purpose of this magic formation, but Torgrain's
reply was still not good.
It's
reasonable. No matter how good a student is helping him, but he can't let his
research be known. Naturally, the number of people who can enter this institute
is limited.
No
matter how promising Tom is, Torgrain can't simply tell Tom, who is only an
assistant in the institute, about the important research.
Certainly,
Tom is supposed to be Torgrain's assistant in the institute, but the scope of
research he can be involved in is limited. In addition, Mimuru, who had nothing
to do with the research, was here now.
The
reason for this was because Mimuru insisted on going with Tom, and despite with
a bitter smile, Torgrain agreed.
As
a matter of fact, the only reason she is here is because of Torgrain's good
intentions.
"I'm
sorry, I asked such a strange question."
"No,
I would be
grateful if you could say that."
Looking
at Torgrain who was hesitant, Tom thought it was bad to force him, so he pulled
back. In front of Tom's line of sight, Torgrain had an apologetic expression on
his face. To be honest, Tom was the one who asked him, so there was no need for
him to feel bad.
The
magic formation on the ground was not finished yet, and the important parts
were not drawn, but from Tom's point of view, it was apparently meant to
interfere with the object placed in the center.
It
was unusual to see such a huge object, but in the world of alchemy, where the
nature of various objects and forces are understood, recombined, and created,
it was not particularly unusual. There is no doubt that the key is the magic
stones placed around it, and the rest of the formation that will be drawn in
the center.
"Hmmm~.
I don't understand at all..."
Mimuru,
who was watching from the side, had no idea what was going on. In the past, she
was not good at using her head in magic or tactics, so she had no idea how the formation
in front of her would work.
"Mimuru,
please don't carelessly touch anything around you."
"Gosh~.
There's no way I would do such a thing~."
"You
said that, but... didn't you once spill my reagent and ruin my lab materials?
If I hadn't done it right at that time, the reagent would have reacted with the
material and caused something terrible to happen..."
"A-hahaha
..."
At
that time, Mimuru had carelessly spilled a magic stone powder and a fire
lizard's tail. When the magic stones were broken, the magic power stored inside
them dissipates, but by following a special process, the magic power stored
inside them can be preserved and turned into powder.
However,
by following a special process, it can be made into powder while retaining the
stored magic power. It can be used to improve the flow of magic power when used
as a dye for drawing magic formation and can be applied to various magic tools,
but because of its increased efficiency in reacting with magic power, it also
has the tendency to release the contained magic power all at once in a short
period of time if handled poorly.
The
tail of the fire lizard was the tail of a demon beast, and it reacted to
magical power to produce flames.
Fortunately,
at this time, the spilled magic powder and the fire lizard's tail didn't react,
so it didn't become a catastrophe, but if it was handled poorly then.......
Mimuru,
with a pale expression, dripped cold sweat. At that moment, her hand on the
desk bumped into something.
When
Mimuru picked it up, she saw that it was a framed portrait.
A
fragile-looking young girl was smiling in the photo.
"Who
is this……?"
As
Mimuru leaned her head, wondering who it was, Torgrain, who had been drawing
the magic formation, let out a small voice. The door of the laboratory opened and
someone was entering the room.
"Torgrain-dono,
regarding the upcoming experiment ......, hmmm, you are..."
"I-it's
bad, ......."
It
was Jihad who entered the laboratory. It seemed that he had something to do
with Torgrain, but he frowned when he saw Tom and Mimuru in the lab.
"Torgrain-dono.
I thought you shouldn't be inviting your students here..."
"Ji-Jihad-sensei.
I'm Torgrain-sensei's assistant..."
When
Jihad heard Tom's explanation, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
Normally, he would not have thought that a student, would be working as an
assistant to a researcher at this school.
"But
she's not, is she? Torgrain-dono?...."
Jihad's
eyes widened, but he quickly turned his attention to Mimuru. In fact, she was
not supposed to be in this room, and Torgrain had no choice but to bow deeply
and apologize.
"I-I'm
sorry..."
"There
are some things that are extremely difficult to handle in this laboratory. If
you are not careful, Torgrain-dono will be the first one to bear the
responsibility. You have to be aware of that."
She
is certainly not an assistant. It is true that she is Tom's girlfriend, but as
Jihad said, one's should keep their private and public life separate.
And
if anything goes wrong, she and Torgrain will be on the hook.
Tom
bowed his head apologetically. Mimuru was also depressed and kept his ears
down.
"Well
now, Torgrain-dono, let's talk about that matter..."
After
firmly reminding Mimuru and the others, Jihad seemed to finally get down to the
main subject. However, he glanced at Tom and Mimuru who were still in the
laboratory, as if he was worried about them, and then looked at Torgrain.
"Tom,
I think you've done enough for today."
Torgrain,
who understood Jihad's intentions, urged Tom and Mimuru to leave for today.
"I
understand. I think we'll leave for today. Mimuru, let's go."
"U-um.
Excuse me."
The
two of them cleaned up their luggage in a hurry and quickly left the
laboratory. After they had disappeared behind the door, Torgrain bowed to Jihad
again.
"Jihad-dono,
I'm really sorry for what happened today."
"No,
it's alright. The important thing is that they don't seem to know about it, so
let's not pursue it this time. In the first place, I'm not the manager of this
facility either. However, please be careful in the future. If something were to
happen, not only you, but they will also have to take responsibility."
Torgrain
nodded firmly at Jihad's words.
The
reason why Jihad acted like that was because he was worried about Tom, Mimuru,
and Torgrain. Even for him, he didn't want to ruin the future of his precious
students.
"But
we can't really say they are irrelevant in this matter..."
"Yeah,
I've seen that report. I knew they were the ones who killed the demon
beast..."
Jihad
nodded his head at Torgrain's words.
Seeing
this, Torgrain made a surprised expression.
"Let's
get back to the main subject. When will that experiment be ready?"
"Since
Tom helped me with it, the difficult part is pretty much done. Now we just need
to complete the formation in the center and we can start the experiment at any
time. ......"
Torgrain
reported to Jihad and looked puzzled at Jihad's atmosphere.
Jihad
muttered, "I see", and closed his eyes for a moment to think. A few
seconds of silence enveloped Torgrain in a heavy atmosphere.
Eventually,
Jihad let out a big breath and slowly opened his mouth.
"Alright.
The experiment will be carried out tonight as planned. Get ready."
Jihad's
words echoed in the inorganic laboratory. A plain and clear command. But the
words were filled with an unparalleled sense of tension.
=====================================
Nozomu and the others
walked deeper and deeper into the forest. Irisdina knew the exact location of
their destination, so she led the way, with Nozomu and Feo following behind.
The sun was still in
the sky, but it was dim in the forest. Even so, the sun was shining warmly
through the trees, and the sunlight shining through the transparent leaves was
slightly illuminating the dim forest.
As Nozomu and the
others walked through the forest, their ears were filled with the sound of
birds singing through the thick branches. Even though this was a forest
inhabited by demon beasts, the birds and other small animals seemed to be
enjoying their lives.
Nozomu and the others
carefully walked forward, listening for signs of their surroundings.
When Nozomu looked
around to see how far they had walked, Irisdina, who had been leading the way,
looked back at him.
"Nozomu, is your
body really alright ......?"
"Hm?"
"No, it's just...
you looked a little in pain this morning...."
Irisdina looked at
Nozomu in a slightly worried manner. She was probably worried that Nozomu had
been exhausted by Tiamat's dream this morning.
"Y-yeah. I'm
fine. I'm a little tired from all the staring I've been getting due to the
result of special training, but my body is fine and my mind is not having
any problems. So I won't slow you down."
"That's not what
I'm worried about..."
Irisdina was simply
concerned about Nozomu. He tended to keep things that were hard for him to
handle to himself.
Maybe the series of
events with Lisa and Ken caused him to do so. Or was it just his nature?
He's not like that
anymore after telling Irisdina and the others everything, but still, she was
worried about him.
Irisdina gazed into
Nozomu's eyes.
As if trying to peer
into the depths of his mind, the beauty reminiscent of a master craftsman's
sculpture quickly approached him.
Her skin is as clean
as fresh snow without a single blemish. Her eyes that reminisce the color of obsidian
were shaking with anxiety.
"... Are you sure
you're okay?"
Irisdina's voiced her
thoughts as if to confirm. Nozomu nodded slowly as if to calm his own rapidly
beating heart.
"I'll be fine.
I'll tell you if it gets bad."
"Please make sure
you do. You've been pushing yourself too hard."
Irisdina added that he had been pushing himself since the Undead Dragon. As for Nozomu, he could only
smile and scratch his head.
"By the way, you
weren't with Somia this morning. What's wrong? She's always coming with
you..."
"Ah, Somia came
to school early this morning. Somia has been very motivated lately. She went to
see Ecross's teacher and asked to teach her."
Upon hearing that
story, Nozomu seemed to be impressed.
Somia was only eleven
years old, and she was probably in the prime of her life, and she probably
still had a lot of things she wanted to try.
She is always as
bright as the sun. Nozomu was impressed with her attitude of sincerely aiming
for her goal. However, he was worried that she might be overwhelmed since she
seemed to have had some trouble with her sister at one point.
"Well, maybe
Somia has something to aim for..."
Irisdina was looking
at Nozomu with some kind of meaningful smile on her face. Not knowing what she
meant, Nozomu just tilted his head.
"Speaking of
which, Nozomu, you were getting tangled up with a strange guy at the guild a
while back.
At that time, Feo, who
was walking next to him, spoke to him.
"Yeah, you mean
that student named Eldor, right?"
"Yes, that's him.
I've heard that he's one of the best in his year. I've heard rumors that he has
a crush on the black-haired princess and has even confessed to her recently."
"Hee ..."
Nozomu glanced
sideways in Irisdina's direction. The expression on her face was not the same
as when she was worried about Nozomu earlier but had returned to her usual
dignified expression.
According to Feo,
Eldor was one of the most talented freshmen who had entered the school this
year.
His father had served
in the military, and he had learned swordsmanship from him, and he excelled at
using a sword and shield to defend himself.
On his first day at
the academy, he fell in love with Irisdina at first sight and confessed his
feelings for her, but was rejected.
However, it seemed
that he hadn't given up on her yet, as he continued to make a move at her.
"What a bland
response."
"What else do you
expect me to do..."
"Well, I think
you should say, "Why are you messing with my girl?""
"Feo-kun, are you
here to help? Or are you here to get in the way?"
Feo grinned and was
about to put his arm around Nozomu's shoulders, but just as he was about to do
so, the black-haired girl interrupted him.
When he turned to look
at her, Irisdina's eyes narrowed and her mouth raised.
At first glance, she
looked like she was smiling, but her body was filled with deadly energy.
Nozomu, who is more
sensitive to killing intent than most people, couldn't stop sweating. He could
even see his master holding a katana behind Irisdina while smiling with an
eerie smile.
Naturally, Feo, the
one who had instigated the incident, was in a panic and answered to defend
himself in a hurry.
"O-of course, I'm
here to help! See, here you go!"
In a panic, Feo pulled
something out of his pocket. There were three iron rod-like objects strapped to
a belt-like band.
"Feo, that's
..."
"This is throwing
daggers for Nozomu. Nozomu doesn't like to carry anything bulky, so there are
about three of them."
What Feo brought with
him was throwing daggers for Nozomu. They were small enough to carry easily,
and there were not many of them.
Nozomu took the belt
that Feo had thrown to him. He took out one of the three throwing daggers and
held it in his hand.
"It fits better
than I expected..."
"Of course, since
I picked it out myself."
Nozomu was impressed
with Feo's discernment in choosing a throwing dagger that would fit his hand
better than he expected.
Well, Nozomu himself
thought that he was not yet at the stage where he could use his throwing skills
in actual combat. So he wasn't sure if he would use the throwing dagger for
this request.
Feo would be able to
throw the throwing dagger accurately in any situation, but Nozomu was not at
that stage yet. He would only be able to throw accurately if he was in a
protected position and not exposed to any kind of attack.
He felt bad for Feo
who had prepared the throwing dagger for him, but even if he was lucky enough
to be in such a situation, Nozomu was not willing to rely on this technique
that he was not familiar with.
Feo was so excited as
if to say, "What do you think?". But Irisdina's cold gaze pierced
through Feo, who was on the verge of getting carried away.
"It looks like
you really did come to help. But if you mess around again, I'll sew your mouth
shut, okay?"
"Yes, I'm sorry.
I'll behave..."
Irisdina glanced at
the rapier she had on the scabbard and directed a terrifying gaze toward Feo.
Feo, who was exposed to such an atmosphere, immediately flattened his ears,
dropped his tail weakly, and shrugged his shoulders in submission to Irisdina.
Nozomu chuckled at the sight of the two of them and tied the belt containing
the throwing daggers that Feo brought to his waist.
"Well, Feo, now
that you seem to have understood, let's go with caution. I think we're getting
close to our destination."
According to
Irisdina's explanation at the guild, the request was to kill the orcs that had
recently taken up residence in the forest or to drive them back to the depths
of the forest.
The request came from
the hunters who were hunting in the forest. It seemed that some herd of Orcs
that used to live deep in the forest had come to live near the city.
Orcs are demon beasts
that belong to rank C. Basically, they are larger than humans and use primitive
weapons such as clubs.
It's not as powerful
as a Cyclops or Triclops, and it doesn't have any powerful abilities, so it's
not as threatening as the giants Nozomu fought before.
"Iris, these
orcs, have they settled around here?"
"Yes, it used to
be a goblin village, but now it seems to have become their home."
Irisdina answered
Nozomu's question while pointing to the depths of the forest.
"Hmm. Have the
goblins become the dinner of the pig-nosed demons?..."
It was true that
goblins were numerous, but they were not much of a threat if they were on their
own. If they fought against the orcs in large enough numbers, the orcs would be
able to defeat them without the goblins being able to put up much resistance.
In fact, it was not uncommon for goblin settlements to be attacked by other
demon beasts.
But Irisdina shook her
head at Feo's words.
"No, according to
the hunters, the goblins in that village were defeated before the orcs arrived.
It seems that the Orcs took advantage of the fact that the house was vacant and
took up residence."
"Hee......
Eh?"
A goblin settlement
that had recently been wiped out. Something stuck in Nozomu's mind.
"The goblins had
disappeared, so the hunters had gone to check on the village, but the place was
a mess, like after a storm."
"There was such a
powerful demon beast? Isn't that a little dangerous?"
"I checked with
the guild about the area, but they said that there were no traces of demon
beasts in the area. Judging from the fact that orcs are still living there, the
demon beast must have left the area."
Certainly, if such a
powerful demon beast was still in the vicinity, there was no way the orcs would
continue to live there. In addition, there was a possibility that the hunters
who made this request to the guild may have been harmed or witnessed it, but no
such information had come in.
"Well, it's not
that there isn't any danger, so I thought I'd ask Nozomu, who is familiar with
the forest, to go with me."
However, that
information was not everything. There may be things that were not yet known.
There might be some uncertainty, so the person Irisdina could rely on the most
was Nozomu.
Irisdina glanced
sideways at Nozomu. It was hard to tell in the dimly lit forest, but her cheeks
looked a little red.
“…………”
But Nozomu was silent,
with a complicated expression on his face. He put his hand over his mouth, his
gaze drifting in the air as he mumbled something.
"No... no
way"
"Nozomu? What's
wrong?"
"N-no, maybe the
reason why those Orcs settled near the city is ......"
Irisdina tilted her
head at Nozomu's strange behavior. Feo, who was standing next to him, was also
staring at him with a strange look in his eyes.
What came to Nozomu's
mind was the life-threatening escape he did from that black demon beast.
Running around in the forest, utilizing traps, and .......
"……ah"
Nozomu felt as if he
had a glimpse of the reason why this request had been made to the guild. As he
managed to calm his agitation and was about to break the things that had
crossed his mind, his eyes were met with a strange sight that was rarely seen
in the forest.
"Nozomu?"
"No, look at
that..."
Irisdina and Feo
turned their eyes to where Nozomu was pointing.
The three of them
looked at the sight of two legs growing out of a bush on the ground. In addition,
the person behind the bushes was doing something, and the two legs sticking out
of the bushes were moving steadily. Nozomu and the others' eyes were shocked at
the strange sight.
"Ehh? It's
strange ... I'm sure it was here..."
A familiar voice could
be heard by Nozomu's ears.
Wondering what on
earth this person was doing here, Nozomu approached the leg growing out of the
bushes and called out to it.
"...... What are
you doing, old man?"
"Fuoooooo!"
The gray-haired old
man jumped out of the bushes, startled by Nozomu's voice. Nozomu was taken
aback by the momentum and reflexively retreated.
"What the hell,
brat? What are you doing in such a place!?"
"That's my line.
Why is there an old man in the forest?"
An old man alone in
the forest. Certainly, it looked suspicious.
"W-what the hell,
it's not your business. Why do I need to tell such a boy about what I
did.....?"
"Old man, why are
you in such a place?"
"I've lost
something very important! and I've come looking for it!"
Zonne suddenly smiled
when Irisdina called out to him. As usual, he changes his attitude 180 degrees
depending on whether he is talking to a man or a woman. Nozomu was beginning to
feel more of a headache than anger at Zonne's lustful behavior as usual.
However, he quickly
changed his mind, it would be useless to say anything to Zonne, so he concluded
that he should whether just hit him and stop him.
"Something
important, what is it?"
"Well, it's
something I had ordered from a merchant, but on the way to the city, goblins
attacked and stole the cargo."
The goblins ......
were probably the goblins that had previously inhabited the settlement, Nozomu
thought. The goblins sometimes stole livestock in the villages and used their
small stature to their advantage.
The goblins were not
very strong on their own, and when they hunted their prey in groups, it was
usually against weaker opponents than themselves, or those who were acting
alone, or those who were injured and had fallen out of the pack.
Perhaps the merchant
who was attacked had not hired an escort or formed a caravan.
"But, old man,
going into the forest is far too dangerous and reckless."
"Oh~. Are you
worried about me, young lady? How kind of you to worry about me, unlike that
rude little boy over there."
Due to Zonne's words,
bulging veins appeared on Nozomu's forehead.
He impulsively reached
for the hilt of his katana, but he slowly let go of it while ruminating in his
mind, "Calm down, calm down."
"But, old man
Zonne. Didn't you ask the guild for help?
"Yes, I did. But
it hasn't made any progress. Then I'd better look for it myself."
"You're a
reckless, old man..."
It can be imagined how
important it must be if he went that far, but even thinking about it again,
what he did was a reckless action. Sighs came out out of Nozomu and Irisdina's
mouths.
As Nozomu slumped his
shoulders and Irisdina looked up at the sky with her hand on her forehead, Feo,
who was talking to Zonne, turned to Nozomu and Irisdina.
"So, what are we
going to do?"
"Our destination,
the Orc den, is near. It would be dangerous to leave such an old man
here."
Feo asked them what
they should do with this old man. Irisdina told him that their destination was
near. This meant that they could encounter orcs at any moment.
To be honest, this was
not a place where an old man should be walking around alone. Irisdina thought
they should send him back to the city.
"Well, ......,
even though he is such a lustful person, has no sense of reason, an
"instinct-first" person who feeds his restraint and self-control to
pigs for fertilizer, an old man who misunderstood and proclaims he's popular
but he has never had a woman next to him..."
"B-brat..."
Nozomu also thought
that it would be dangerous to leave Zonne in this place. In addition, he took
the opportunity to get even with Zonne for his previous behavior. This time,
bulging veins appeared on Zonne's forehead.
As he watched Zonne at
the edge of his field of vision, Nozomu shrugged his shoulders while thinking,
"you're the first to behave like that in the first place".
"Irisdina is
right, we can't just leave him here. This forest is still dangerous."
"You're right. It
would be better to go back to the city."
This old man was
certainly a person who would not die even if they tried to kill him, but he was
a civilian.
In the end, Nozomu and
the others came to the conclusion that they couldn't leave such a person in the
vicinity of a den of demon beasts.
They decided to take
Zonne with them and return to the city. However, Zonne looked uncomfortable, as
if he was worried about what he was looking for.
"But, I'm still
looking for something......."
"If you want, old
man. We'll look for whatever you're looking for in the forest while we work on
our request, so you can leave it to us for today."
"Really? I'm
sorry, but I'm counting on you. Oh! That means I can take the young lady to the
city! Young lady, I'd like to thank you for letting me take you out on a date
on our way to the city..."
Perhaps because his
search for something important had been put to the side, Zonne immediately
asked Irisdina out.
"Sorry, but I
already have an appointment today."
However, Irisdina was
still able to cut his next words off with a single sentence. She said she had
an appointment while gazing at the boy with a katana at his waist.
"Grrrr... So it's
you again, brat..."
The image that came to
the old man's mind was that of Nozomu, who was being led by the hand of the
beautiful black-haired princess. The scene of their date when Zonne had met the
two of them a while ago came back to his mind. With his jealousy on full
display, Zonne glared at Nozomu with bloodshot eyes as if to curse him to
death.
"I knew it. We
need someone to watch this old man......"
For Nozomu, the old
man named Zonne was the one he never knew what he would do if left alone.
As a result of
demonstrating his useless charisma in a strip game at a certain inn. Indeed, he
was able to quickly solve a girl's problem by fortune-telling, but still, he
tried to make a move on her too at that time.
He was someone who
needed to be monitored, or perhaps it was better to hand him over to the
military police.
Thus, Nozomu and the
others decided to take Zonne back to the city and started to head back towards
the way they came from.
"Hmm?"
However, at that
moment, Nozomu felt something strange in the forest. The chirping of the birds
had ceased, and the atmosphere felt strangely sticky and heavy. Feo, who was
standing next to him, was also twitching his ears as if sensed something with
his keen beastly senses.
"This is……"
One second later,
Irisdina also sensed the strange feeling in the forest and put her hand on the
rapier at her waist. In the silence of the forest, Nozomu and his friends were
concentrating all their attention on the surroundings. They kept an eye out
between the dimly lit trees, felt the sticky atmosphere against their skin with
their hair, and listened to the sound of the branches swaying in the wind.
"Kyaaa!"
In the silence that
even made his ears ring, Nozomu heard someone screaming in the distance.
"~! Old man!
Don't move and stay where you are!"
The next moment,
Nozomu ran toward the voice. Irisdina and Feo followed Nozomu. They moved their
feet as fast as they could, weaving their way through the trees and thick
grasses.
From the depths of the
dimly lit forest, the sounds of battle mixed with the scraping sound of the
grass and bush.
The sounds of clashing
metal, magic explosions, and roars that seemed to belong to demon beasts.
Eventually, Nozomu and
the others saw the sun's rays leaking through the grass. The sounds that had
been so distant and inaudible gradually became clearer.
"Hurry up.......
If we stay like this......."
"I know......!
But ......"
Nozomu could hear
someone's voice mixed with the sound of sword fighting and magic explosions,
but he couldn't hear it clearly.
But from what he
heard, the situation was not good.
Nozomu glanced at Irisdina
and Feo, they nodded as if they knew what Nozomu was going to say.
The distance to the
battlefield is not far. He thought that time was more important than conserving
his energy, so he released the Qi in his body and sent it into his legs.
Irisdina prepared a
technique with immediate deployment, and Feo also quickly activated a technique
using a talisman.
The three of them
accelerated by strengthening their bodies to increase their leg strength.
Nozomu started to be
left behind due to his Ability Suppression, but he signals with his hand to the
two ahead of him to go.
Irisdina and Feo saw
him and accelerated further. As they plowed through the bushes, they put more
magic power into their legs and accelerated.
Irisdina and Feo were
ahead of Nozomu. Eventually, a light leaked from a gap in the trees, and their
vision opened up with a light that spread out before them for a moment.
What they saw was the
scene of the junior students they had met just before entering the forest being
hunted down by the Orcs.
Eldor, the student who
had invited Irisdina before, stood in front of the orcs, and the girls who had
been with him fell behind him.
The spearman boy tried
to heal them, but with the Orc right in front of him, he couldn't concentrate
on healing them.
Eldor, standing in
front of the Orcs, seemed to be completely overwhelmed, his sword and shield
trembling. The Orc standing in front of him swung his club down.
Eldor raised his
shield to block the club, but he was too weak to resist. The force of the club
pushed him to his knees.
The orc went straight
for Eldor, crushing him. Eldor's face distorted in fear before the pressure
that was applied through the creaking shield.
"Feo-kun!"
"I know!"
Irisdina pulled out
the rapier at her waist, and Feo pulled out a talisman from his pocket.
Darkness and lightning
manifested along with the increasing magic power. Even with the assistance of
abilities and talismans, the fact that they were able to create a magic
formation in a matter of seconds spoke clearly about their abilities.
The darkness and
lightning turned into a magic bullet, along with the sound of lightning, it
flew towards the ugly orcs.
Intruders suddenly
appeared. The Orcs, who snorted and glanced at Irisdina and Feo, were surprised
by the sudden increase in magic power and immediately tried to intercept them.
Several orcs were
standing in front of Irisdina and Feo, but Irisdina's magic attacked them.
The magic bullets that
hit them explode and lightning burns their bodies.
However, the vitality
of the orcs was also quite strong. The magic bullets gouged their flesh, and
the lightning burned their skin, but they had not been fatally injured.
However, it didn't
matter. This magic was originally intended only to distract the orcs and make
them look away from the junior students.
With the momentum of
their rush through the forest, Irisdina and Feo jumped into the midst of the
orcs and brought them into close-quarters combat.
"Ooo!"
As the Orcs' attention
turned to Irisdina and Feo, the force on Eldor's shield weakened.
In the meantime, Eldor
put all his Qi into his legs. The Orcs retreated in the face of the increased
pressure of the opponent. In that gap, Eldor pushed them back at once.
"Aaa!"
Along with his scream,
Eldor swung his sword into his opponent.
The Orcs were shaken
by the fierce counterattack of their pathetic prey, which until a moment ago
was supposed to be their dinner for the day, and they had to go on the
defensive.
In the meantime, the
spearman began to heal the girls who had collapsed.
While checking the
juniors to regain their posture, Feo and Irisdina continued to handle the
remaining Orcs' attacks, weaving in and out of the wave of attacks to
accurately counterattack.
There was only one orc
that was fighting with the junior students. In addition, they were upset that
Irisdina and Feo had suddenly arrived as reinforcements, and were being pushed
back by the juniors.
Irisdina slashed at
the belly of the Orc with her rapier and Feo swung the staff right between the
eyebrows, reducing the number of orcs one by one.
"Take this!"
"Bugyaaau~u!"
Eldor's sword gouged
deep into the flesh of the orc's leg. The orc who was dealing with him
involuntarily fell to his knees.
This will be no
problem. Just as Irisdina and Feo were thinking so, multiple shadows appeared
from the bushes.
"Wha~!"
Irisdina's shocked
voice leaked out of her mouth.
What appeared was a
group of orcs with ugly faces. It was probably the companion of the Orcs she
was dealing with right now.
"Bururururu!
Buoooo!"
Seeing their comrades
slashed and kneeling, the newly appeared Orcs scream in anger.
"Ugh~!!"
The roar that shook
the trees caused Eldor to shrivel up and groan involuntarily. The next moment,
the kneeling orc swung the club with one hand. The club swung with such force
struck Eldor's sword and flicked it away.
"Uwa~!"
Eldor was hit with
such force that he involuntarily fell on his butt.
It was a furious Orc
that came into his eyes as he frowned in pain.
Its anger at being
wounded by the prey that was only meant to be hunted by it was emanating from
its body like an aura.
"Hii!"
"That's not
good!"
"Kuh~! Eldor-kun,
quickly run away!"
Irisdina desperately
called out to him, but he was unable to move with his face distorted in fear.
In order to provide
some support, she tried to release a magic bullet with immediate deployment,
but the Orcs she was dealing with swung their clubs at her.
Irisdina somehow
managed to dodge the rain of clubs, but her magic bullet was interrupted and
missed its target by a wide margin.
"Kuh~!"
Frustration leaked
from her lips, but Irisdina still tried to help somehow.
But the Orcs
understood her intentions, and the Orcs that appeared as reinforcements came
towards Irisdina and Feo.
Irisdina and Feo were
unable to help as they were attacked by a wave of Orcs.
Eldor's will to fight
back, which had been temporarily overwhelmed by the fear of death, was
completely gone.
The fear that had
overtaken his mind once again bound his body and mind, and he was completely
unable to resist.
The orc had already
raised its club in its hand to crush its hateful prey.
If it were to swing
down the club now, Eldor would leave this world in less than a second.
I'm not going to make
it.
Irisdina's face was
dyed with regret.
But at that moment,
her eyes caught a shadow leaping out from behind a bush.
When she saw the
figure sprinting like the wind, what came to her face was not astonishment or
resignation, but a smile of relief.
In the next moment,
the arm of the orc, who had tried to smash Eldor, flew through the air.