Early Release !!
=======================
Chapter 6 Part 20
Translator : PolterGlast
It
all started in the commercial district at night, filled with lights.
After
the sun had set and darkness had enveloped Arcazam, this commercial district
was the only place where the lights shone brightly, the streets were crowded
with people, and the hustle and bustle did not stop.
At
night, traveling merchants and adventurers would come here to buy alcohol, and
the incident took place in a place that looked different from daytime.
According
to the testimonies of the people who were there, it all started with a trivial
quarrel at the beginning.
"I'll
bet such a pampered boy will be running away in a blink of an eye when he has
to fight a demon beast."
A
group of what appeared to be adventurers sneered at a boy wearing the uniform
of Solminati Academy. The five or so adventurers in the group chimed in with a
few mocking words for the student.
According
to the story, they were D to E rank adventurers.
For
them, Solminati Academy graduates, who would be chosen as executives in their
countries upon graduation and who would quickly make a name for themselves as
adventurers, must have been an eyesore.
However,
what they were saying was just nonsense that those who had enrolled in
Solminati Academy did not need to hear.
It
wasn't easy to graduate from Solminati Academy. The school attracted many
talented students, so it was relatively easy to get in, but less than 10% of
the students could grow to be able to actually play an active role on the front
lines.
In
short, what these adventurers were saying was nothing more than mere jealousy.
"Hmph……"
The
student responded to the adventurers' comment with a sneering smile.
It
was obvious that he was trying to provoke them, but there was no way that the
inexperienced adventurers, who were drunk and easily offended, would put up
with such an expression.
In
an instant, the adventurers' blood rushed to their heads and they attacked the
student while throwing abusive words.
The
inside of the tavern was immediately filled with shouting and noises, and a
huge brawl broke out with chairs, food on plates, bottles, and cups flying
around.
The
shopkeeper panicked and called for help from the military police who were
patrolling the area, but when they arrived, they found the adventurers already
knocked down and crawling on the ground.
Some
of the crouching adventurers had their legs and hands twisted in strange
directions, and their groans of pain echoed horribly in the tavern.
The
military police officers immediately
tried to capture the adventurers and the student who had caused the commotion,
but the student resisted, wondering why he had to be caught.
He
threw a nearby chair at them, silencing one of them. While the military police officers were faltered, he fled.
The
military police officers immediately
pursued the student, but as he fled, the student knocked down the military
police officers one by one
and disappeared.
An
assault by a student of the Solminati Academy. As a result, nearly 10 people,
including military police officers,
were injured.
Some
of those who were beaten down suffered serious injuries, including broken
bones, and the fact that the military police, who were responsible for
maintaining public order, were beaten down caused a huge stir that spread
throughout Arcazam.
The
military police put their prestige on the line and conducted an investigation,
and the next morning a Solminati student was captured.
It
was Nozomu Bountis, a student belonging to the 10th class of the 3rd year.
=============================
"What
the hell is going on here!?"
Mars'
angry voice echoed in front of the main gate of Solminati Academy.
The
students around him were looking at him with wide eyes, wondering what was
going on, but Mars was so angry that he didn't care about their gazes.
Early
in the morning, the military police officers
suddenly barged into the student
dormitory.
Before
the students could understand what had happened, the military police had
captured Nozomu and taken him away.
Naturally,
that fact spread quickly throughout the dormitory, and when he arrived at
school, it already spread throughout the school.
When
he arrived at school, Mars wondered why there was no sign of Nozomu, and when
he questioned Feo, who also lived in the dormitory, he heard the story of
Nozomu being suddenly detained.
"I
don't know what's going on! There is too little information, and I can't
swallow the situation!"
"Ma-Mars,
calm down ..."
Mars
grabbed Feo. Tima was frightened and put her hand on Mars to calm him down.
"Ah
... S-sorry."
"Yeah,
don't worry about it."
Perhaps
because the touch of Tima's hand, which was as thin and cold as white
porcelain, was able to cool his head a little, Mars gave a stern expression and
withdrew his hand from Feo's collar.
Mars
had an apologetic expression on his face, but Feo waved his hand in a
reassuring manner as if to say don't worry about it.
"...
So, what's this all about? I would've never been able to figure out the details
of what's going on because the stories that have been spreading around the
school are all different."
Mars
and the others nodded at Shīna's words, who put her hand over her mouth while
in thought.
The
story of Nozomu being detained by the military police for causing an assault
has been the subject of much speculation, and to be honest, the whole story was
hardly clear.
The
only thing that was common among the stories was that Nozomu was the one who
had caused an assault in the commercial district last night.
"By
the way, I heard that the military police came to the girls' dormitory last
night. They seemed to be asking something to the head of the dormitory who was
still awake...'
"Certainly,
there were more military police around the store than ever before."
"I
heard that a story about a Solminati Academy student causing a violent incident
has spread throughout the city. I heard it when I was coming to school."
Shīna
added what she heard to Mimuru and Mars, who muttered as they remembered what
happened last night.
Elves,
who can hear small sounds in the forest, also have excellent senses such as
hearing. She must have overheard the townfolks who were glancing at the
students from the side on their way to school, whispering so that the students
would not hear them.
Considering
the fact that the incident took place in a busy commercial district, it was
understandable that the story spread so quickly.
However,
Mars and the others couldn't swallow such a story.
Although
she had been silent since a while ago, Irisdina also had a stern expression on
her face, as if she has bitten down on a bitter worm.
Her
hands were clenched tightly together. Her clenched hands seemed to speak of her
indignation.
"...
If such a story is spreading throughout the city, then perhaps the teachers
have already heard about it."
"Yeah,
I'm pretty sure about that."
"Then,
let's start from there."
With
her long black hair fluttering in the air, Irisdina turned on her heel and
walked towards the school building.
Unlike
her usually graceful steps, her gait was rough as if to express her anger.
===============================
An
assault by an Arcazam student. Moreover, the perpetrator is a student who has
recently begun to attract attention at the school, and he has even beaten up
the military police.
Jihad,
who had received the report, sat at his desk in his office, where silence
reigned while staring at a letter from Mauzu, the Arcazam's guard captain.
Beside
him, Inda-sensei and Anri-sensei could be seen. They were probably summoned
because of this case.
Inda,
who was sitting beside Jihad, was also looking at the report on the desk with
suspicion and confusion in her eyes.
"What
is going on here?"
Inda's
voice echoed through the office as if to express her agitation.
Even
for Jihad, this incident was unbelievable.
Although
he hadn't spent much time with Nozomu Bountis, the swordsmanship he had seen in
the combat training had been straightforward and without hesitation.
If
he were to say that only based on his swordsman's instincts, it didn't feel too
convincing.
However,
if Jihad were to consider the surprise of the people around him when they first
saw Nozomu's katana technique and Qi technique in the combat training, he could
conclude that Nozomu had never used any of his techniques in his school life.
The reason for this, was probably due to his temperament that didn't like to
show off his power to others.
Considering
that, it was hard to accept that Nozomu had been provoked by adventurers, had
gotten into a fight, and had beaten up military police officers who had
intervened to stop him.
"I
don't know either. But based on the reports and sketches of the culprit,
there's no denying that the culprit in this case is Nozomu Bountis. But……"
Jihad
once again looked at the report from Mauzu, the captain of the guard. He knew
Mauzu's character from their previous mission together to defeat the Cyclopses.
He
was a solid, serious, and polite man, and there was no way he would give him a
haphazard report.
The
carefully prepared report was accompanied by a sketch made from interviews with
military police officers
and residents, and the picture was very similar to Nozomu's face.
"I'm
sure~. The criminal isn't Nozomu-kun~."
Anri,
who had been watching Jihad speaking beside her, confidently declared that
Nozomu was not the culprit.
Jihad
looked at her as if to ask, "Why is that?"
"That
is because....~"
Just
as Anri was about to answer Jihad's silent question, the door to the office
suddenly opened and seven students came in all at once. Leading the way was
Irisdina with her stern expression.
"Excuse
me"
"Irisdina-san?
Even Shīna-san and the others too..."
Inda's
eyes widened when Irisdina and the others suddenly entered the room without
knocking, but she quickly returned to her normal sharp expression and tried to
tell them to go out.
"We're
in the middle of an important conversation. If you need us, you can reach us
later......."
This
time, even the military police officers
have been seriously injured, and to be honest, the situation has grown beyond
the scope of what the school can handle alone.
In
order to avoid unnecessary confusion, they need to deal with this matter
quickly and appropriately. Of course, this includes not only expelling the
culprit from school but also bringing him to justice as a criminal.
"It's
about that important conversation. We are convinced that the culprit is not
Nozomu."
"What
is your basis for saying that?"
Irisdina
said so with confidence.
She
had heard the truth about Nozomu's rumor. She already had a rough idea of what
had happened.
However,
Irisdina and the others needed more information in order to get solid evidence.
"To
find out for sure, we need to know more about what had happened. Also, we want
you to listen to what we have to say."
"It's
a good idea~. I think what Irisdina and the others are trying to talk about is
the same as mine~"
Anri
also agreed with Irisdina's words.
She
was also one of those who had heard the truth about the rumors that had
circulated in the school from Nozomu. So they were thinking the same thing.
"...
Okay. Let's talk from the beginning of things."
"......
Alright. Let's start with how it all began."
Jihad
slowly told them about the details of the assault that had occurred last night
in the commercial district.
Irisdina
and the others listened carefully to Jihad's words, making sure not to miss a
single word, but also worrying about the well-being of their friends who were
not here at the moment.
================================
Because
of the assault incident that Nozomu Bountis had committed in the commercial
district at night, the school was in turmoil all day long.
Especially
in the third year, where Nozomu's reputation was split into two, there was a
lot of speculation going on in various classes.
However,
there were two main trends.
One
was that he had grown arrogant because of Jihad-sensei's approval, and the
other was that this was a misconception that had nothing to do with the case.
Even
in the classroom of the 1st class in the 3rd year, many speculations were
flying around with these two assumptions as the main axis.
In
such a classroom, Camilla sat in her seat, ignoring the noise around her, and
stared at her palms.
Her
painful hands wrapped in bandages were reflected in her hollow eyes.
She
was confronted with the fact that what she had believed until now to be the
truth was completely fake, and all the words she had been directing at Nozomu
bounced back and pierced deeply into Camilla's heart.
"Camilla, that
hand ... are you okay?"
Lisa, who was sitting
beside Camilla, called out to her with a worried look on her face.
Camilla looked up at
Lisa who has a bad complexion. Her face was pale and there were dark circles
under her eyes. Her normally shiny crimson hair was now seemed fading.
She was worn out from
all the glances and rumors that had been directed at her recently.
She probably didn't
get much sleep last night either.
And now this. It was
obvious that Lisa's mind would be further burdened.
"I, I got a little burned while I was
cooking. Don't worry, I've given it enough treatment."
She was grateful to
Lisa for worrying about her, even though Lisa herself was in a bad state, but
the kindness Lisa was showing her made Camilla's heart ache even more.
She knew that she had
been responsible for putting Lisa in such a bad situation.
However, despite being
tormented by regret and guilt, Camilla was unable to tell Lisa about this fact.
(Nozomu didn't betray
Lisa. The one who betrayed her was .......)
For some reason, every
time the words rose to her throat, they were suppressed and only colorless air
was pushed out of her lungs.
Each time, a feeling
of guilt swelled inside of Camilla's heart.
"So, what's
exactly happened this morning?"
"Well, perhaps
Nozomu got carried away and did something stupid, wasn't it?"
Such self-convenience
speculations of her classmates flooded into Camilla's ears like a murky stream.
No detailed
information about this early morning incident had been made public, and there
was no announcement from the school. There was a lot of speculation flying
around, but Camilla was sure that what she had just heard was complete
nonsense.
In the first place,
Nozomu wasn't guilty. It was Lisa's other childhood friend who had framed him,
and now that she realized the truth, Camilla couldn't think of anyone other
than Ken Notis who wanted to get rid of Nozomu as the real perpetrator.
"Lisa ..."
“…………”
Lisa must have heard
the speculations of her classmates earlier, but she remained silent and said
nothing.
However, despite her
expressionless face, tears were accumulated in her eyes and she was trembling.
She wondered why she
had such an expression on her face and what she could do to stop her from
looking like that.
The sight of her best
friend, who had saved her life, in such a state of exhaustion only stirred her
impatience further.
As they faced each
other in silence, a shadow walked up to them.
"What were you
two talking about?"
Ken approached Lisa
and Camilla while smiling as usual.
He didn't seem to be
surprised that Nozomu was detained as the perpetrator. But it seemed Camilla
hated his voice just now.
"By the way, I
heard that Nozomu did something again. I guess he got carried away because he
did a little better."
"~ !?"
Camilla instantly
became agitated at the words Ken had let out.
(What are you talking
about! You are the one who lied about everything, deceived the person you
wanted to protect, and kept her away from happiness!)
However, her anger
immediately became a sharp arrowhead that pierced her own heart. Camilla
gritted her teeth to endure the pain and crouched down, trying not to show her
facial expression.
"Camilla. Are you
sure you're okay...?"
"Camilla's been
looking a little under the weather since yesterday."
The rising remorse and
the raging resentment were chipping away at Camilla's heart like a tidal wave.
And then a chill came
over Camilla's whole body, like blood flowing out of a wound.
Ken took a glance at
Camilla, who didn't say anything. He scooped up his shining blond hair and
smiled with satisfaction.
"Well,
fortunately, now that Nozomu made a fool of himself, those who were protecting
him will realize that Lisa is right."
Ken acted as if he
didn't have anything to worry about anymore, but Lisa's complexion was still
not good.
"I wonder, what
will happen to Nozomu?"
"I'm pretty sure
he'll be expelled. But it's okay, isn't it? He hasn't been around us for the
past two years, so it's okay if he's not around anymore. Even if he's not here,
we can still help you. Since you have us as your friends…”
"~ !?"
Ken turned his gaze to
Camilla, who was still facing her head down.
The moment she heard
Ken's words, Camilla's swirling emotions exploded like a raging volcano.
After kicking her
chair away, Camilla ran out of the classroom.
She couldn't stand it
anymore. If she had stayed in that place, she would have been crushed by the
remorse and helplessness she felt.
"Camilla !?"
"H-hey! What are
you doing? Go back to class!"
The panicked voices of
Lisa and the teacher who had come to class could be heard behind her, but
Camilla did not stop. There was no way she could stop.
She just kept running
until she got out of the school building and reached the central park, where
she fell to her knees on the grass.
"~hick
~uuu~u~uuu!"
While recalling the
figure of the person she had wronged in her mind, Camilla broke down in tears,
stifling her voice in a corner of the central park where there were few people.
Her cries sounded as
if she was begging for forgiveness, but there was no one there to answer her.
The sound of the wind
drowned out her crying voice in a corner of the park.
Eventually, Camilla,
who slowly got up, did not return to the school, and she disappeared into the
hustle and bustle of the city.
She was exhausted, her
gait was unsteady, and her eyes were somewhat hollow.
=======================================
That day, Nozomu woke
up to the rattling noises and the presence of many people approaching.
He noticed that the
dormitory was filled with a dangerous atmosphere. Wondering what was going on,
Nozomu reached for his beloved katana, which he kept nearby at all times, and
looked around to see what was going on.
He heard the sound of
metal clattering from downstairs and the sound of multiple footsteps.
Eventually, the
clattering sound stopped in front of his room, and he stared at the door,
trying to figure out what was going on inside.
The tension in the air
made him wonder if a suspicious person tried to enter the room, so he reached
for the hilt of his katana.
However, the next
thing Nozomu saw was a group of military police breaking the door and stepping
into the room.
"There he is!
There is no doubt it's him!"
"All right, get
him!"
The people he thought
were intruders were actually military police officers who were supposed to be
maintaining public order, and for some reason, they wanted to capture him.
Surprised and
initially wondering if he should intercept the intruders, Nozomu's reaction was
completely delayed.
A military police officer
leaped on Nozomu without saying a word. Without understanding why, he was
captured by the military police, taken away, and locked up in a cold,
iron-barred prison.
Now, after being
detained for several hours, Nozomu was being interrogated directly by the
captain of the guard, Mauzu.
In the dimly lit
interrogation room, Nozomu and Mauzu were facing each other. The man's face in
front of Nozomu was expressionless as if he was hiding his inner anger,
although he was a mature man, about the same age as Jihad, and seemed calm and
polite.
The occasional
thumping sound of the desk echoed in the silent room as if he was in a bad
mood.
Mauzu slowly opened
his mouth. He was staring at Nozomu and asked him a question.
"So, I'll ask you
once again. What exactly were you doing yesterday?"
"As I've told you
many times, I fell ill and fell asleep in my dorm room."
Such exchanges had
been repeated so many times in this interrogation room today that it made no
sense to count.
"In other words,
you were alone, right?."
He asked to confirm,
but behind his words, he was sure that the culprit was Nozomu.
"I'm
innocent"
Nozomu wouldn't back
down and insisted on his innocence even as he met Mauzu's stern gaze and the
intimidation from his well-toned body.
But no one can testify
to Nozomu's innocence.
"But no one can
testify to your innocence, and the military police officers and the people who
were near the scene have seen your face. Are you sure you're telling the
truth?"
However, Mauzu put
Nozomu's claim aside and glared at him with squinted eyes.
Mauzu had no intention
of overlooking the criminal who hurt his important friends and subordinates,
and there were military police who actually saw the criminal's face at the
scene.
The criminal's escape
route had also been identified to some extent through testimonies, and they
have also obtained the testimony of a resident who saw a student enter the male
dormitory of Solminati Academy late at night.
No matter how much
Nozomu insisted he did not do it, Mauzu and the others have already gathered
enough evidence.
However, Nozomu had no
intention of going along with such a false accusation which he had no
recollection of ever doing it.
He stuck his chest out
to repel Mauzu's glare.
Mauzu frowned for a
moment as Nozomu stared back at him.
Mauzu, whose companion
had been hurt by the criminal's assault, showed a slight hint of discomfort,
but he immediately took a deep breath to regain his temper.
"... If that's
the way you're going to behave, I don't blame you."
He put together the
records he had been working on and called the military police officers who were
standing guard outside the room.
He decided that there
was no point in listening to Nozomu any longer, and decided to keep him in jail
until he could be dealt with by the appropriate law.
A military police officer
came into the interrogation room. The police officer took Nozomu by the arm and
pulled him up from the chair, holding him tightly by his sides, and pulled him
toward the door leading out of the room.
"Either way, I've
already reported this to the school. You'll probably be expelled anyway."
"... Have you
ever heard of [Reflective Water Surface of the Heart Mask]?"
The words that Nozomu
had spoken as he left echoed in Mauzu's ears.
But before Mauzu could
say anything back to Nozomu, Nozomu's figure disappeared behind the door.
=================================
After being taken
away, Nozomu was once again pushed into a prison cell surrounded by iron bars
and stone walls, where he was under surveillance of the military police who
were watching him closely.
As he sat there on the
cold stone floor, Nozomu thought about the person who must have caused all this
incident. It was undoubtedly "him".
Although the
underclassmen have been less negative towards him lately, many of his
classmates still don't have a good feeling about him.
No, their jealousy and
anger might have been coming from unseen sources when his abilities were being
reevaluated and he was being recognized by Jihad.
However, Nozomu could
only think of one person who would try to eliminate him this far.
"Ken ..."
He mentioned the name
of his former best friend.
The person who had brought
him down, even though they had sworn to protect the same person.
Perhaps Ken was trying
to force Nozomu to drop out of the school by falsely accusing him in order to
get rid of him completely.
Nozomu's fists
clenched tightly.
He was so angry that
his gut felt like it was about to boil over.
*Ba-dump*
"~ !"
At that moment,
Nozomu's heart pulsated violently.
At the same time,
hatred slowly seeped out from deep inside his chest.
*Gurururu... *
Along with a roar that
echoed through the abyss, a fierce pain shot through Nozomu's head.
His breathing becomes
ragged and sweat drips down like a waterfall.
"~uugh !!"
Nozomu crouched on the
stone floor and clutched his chest tightly, desperately resisting the hatred
that was trying to overwhelm his reason.
His heart that had
been beating wildly slowly regained its composure, and the resentment that had
been seeping out began to disappear.
What remained was a
strange, sad sense of desolation.
Perhaps it was the
remains of his friendship with Ken.
The fact that Ken had
acted this way again meant that he was probably planning to do the same thing
again and again.
There was no way he
could allow that to happen. Nozomu wondered if there was any way he could prove
his innocence. The only way to do that would be to prove that Nozomu couldn't
be at the scene when the incident occurred.
"Fuh~ ..."
He closed his eyes and
took a deep breath to change his mind about the past.
Considering what Mauzu
had said during the interrogation, Ken had probably been using the [Reflective
Water Surface of the Heart Mask] all the way back to the dormitory.
In that case, the only
way to overturn it would be to prove Nozomu's alibi, but since he was asleep in
his room in the dorm when the incident occurred and no one visited him, it
would be impossible to prove his alibi.
To be honest, Nozomu
couldn't prove his innocence by himself, and there was no way to find someone
who could do it for him while he was in prison.
"I'm at a loss
..."
It would have been
preferable to contact his friends and ask them to help him, but there was no
way to contact them from the prison.
All of Nozomu's tools
and weapons have been confiscated, and since the prison was built underground,
there was only one way in and one way out, which was the stairs leading to the
surface.
In addition, the
entrance and exit were guarded by military police.
Even if he tried to
break out of the prison by force, it would not be good to release his Ability
Suppression in such a city, and he would be sentenced to death immediately.
However, Nozomu who had never escaped from prison before, could do nothing but
break the prison by force.
He didn't have any
choice but to be trapped in this prison for a while.
An imperfect jailbreak
would be a bad move, and if he did it, it would give Ken the opportunity to
eliminate him in the name of "catching a criminal".
In the worst case,
breaking out of prison would be his last resort, and now was not the time to
rush things.
However, there was
still a lot to think about.
As Nozomu groaned and
pondered, a military police officer came down to the basement with a displeased
expression on his face and approached the cell where Nozomu was being held.
"Oi, you have a
visitor."
"Visitor? Who
...... Iris and the others?"
The officer frowned at
the tone of Nozomu's voice as his energy returned.
The officer's blunt
attitude was probably because he thought Nozomu had hurt his comrades, but
Nozomu thought he might be able to get some information out of this.
While he was thinking
so, the next thing the officer said made him wonder even more.
"It's your
girlfriend. Good grief, why to such a bastard ..."
"... Eh? girlfriend?"
That was all the
officer said to Nozomu, and he returned to his office furiously. Nozomu, on the
other hand, was dumbfounded, not understanding a word the officer said to him.
The current Nozomu did
not have a girlfriend.
(Who in the world was
he talking about?)
As if in response to
Nozomu's question, he heard the sound of someone's footsteps coming from the
stairs the officer had just come down from.
In the dungeon, light
shining through the gaps of the iron bars hid the figure of the approaching
shadow like a curtain.
When the curtain of
light illuminated the approaching shadow, Nozomu's eyes widened in surprise.
"Nozomu, are you
alright?"
"Camilla
...?"
It was a former friend
who had always hated Nozomu as if he were an enemy. Camilla, Lisa's best
friend, was standing there with a somewhat hollow expression on her face.
