Chapter 7 Part 2
Translator : PolterGlast
Lisa
had visited Nozomu's hospital room earlier than Irisdina and the others had
arrived.
Like
Irisdina and the others, Lisa was also one of the people who asked for
permission to be allowed to look after Nozomu.
She
was holding a tub of water and a clean white towel in her hands.
Crimson
hair reminiscence of the twilight sky, and curvy and slim body.
Lisa's
face couldn't be seen as she was facing her head down, but her beautiful little
face could be seen reflected in the water of the tub in her hand.
However,
the reflection of Lisa's face on the swaying water surface was cloudy like a
dark cloud covering the sky.
With
a sorrowful expression on her face, the red-haired girl stood in front of
Nozomu's hospital room.
Lisa,
standing in front of the thick, hard wooden door, slowly extended her hand to
the doorknob.
But
just as her hand was about to touch the doorknob, her body suddenly shivered.
Her
mouth was clenched and her cheeks were stiff. For a few moments, complete
silence reigned in the almost motionless hallway.
A
moment of stagnation. But Lisa made up her mind and slowly reached for the
doorknob.
As
her outstretched right hand slowly exerted its strength, the creaking sound of
the door echoed through the hallway.
What
she could see through the gap was a simple room with white walls. A young man
was lying on the bed set up there.
Lisa
put the water bucket on the table and began to take out a change of sheets from
the shelf beside her.
Her
job, like Irisdina's, was to change the sheets on Nozomu's bed.
After
taking out the new sheets, Lisa walked over to Nozomu's bed and reached for the
blanket that was covering him.
"~!
..."
However,
the moment her outstretched hand touched the blanket, she pulled her hand back.
With
him in front of her, Lisa's outstretched hand hangs down helplessly.
Nozomu
Bountis.
A
childhood friend who used to chase the same dreams as her, and her ex-lover who
kept on inflicting deep wounds on her during their escape.
Nozomu's
sleeping face was as motionless as a stone statue, and only the slight rise and
fall of his chest showed that he was still breathing.
Lisa
stood still, forgetting her work for a moment.
At
that moment, the door to the hospital room was rattled and opened.
Turning
around, Lisa's eyes widened when she saw the girls who had opened the door, and
then she lowered her head slightly.
Irisdina
Francilt and Shīna Uriel.
In
a sense, they were the people she least wanted to face right now.
Their
eyes widened and they fell silent. As if to interrupt them, the female doctor stepped
forward.
"I'm
going to start the medical examination. You have properly prepared it, right?
... eh, you haven't? ... I'm in trouble if you don't do this properly..."
"I-I'm
sorry ...!"
After
the doctor warned her, Lisa immediately lowered her head and tried to change
the sheets of the bed where Nozomu was sleeping.
But
the moment Lisa reached for Nozomu's bedsheets, her body stiffened like a
stone.
"~!"
Her
outstretched hand trembled.
Lisa's
breathing became ragged all at once, and sweat broke out like a waterfall from
her forehead. Her obvious agitation and hesitation to touch Nozomu were
apparent.
"...
Irisdina-kun, Shīna-kun. I'm sorry, but you'll have to take her place. Lisa-kun, please help me prepare this."
"B-but
..."
"It's
impossible for you who have trouble touching him. Please just help me with this
one."
Lisa's
shoulders slumped due to the doctor's strong words, and she backed down.
Irisdina and Shīna started to change the sheets for Nozom's bed in her stead.
Lisa
finally realized the mistake she had made.
Blamed
by guilt and regret, she came forward to take care of the unconscious Nozomu.
However,
the distance that had opened up between them over the past two years was too
great. She hesitated to even touch his unconscious body.
Irisdina
and Shīna took one glance at Lisa as she looked down, but they immediately
started to do what they were asked to do.
They
quickly changed Nozomu's sheets and massaged his body.
They
moved Nozomu's stretched joints and muscles, though only slightly.
The
idea was to keep Nozomu's bedridden muscles from weakening and to keep his
circulatory system functioning.
As
they continued to massage Nozomu, Lisa was staring at them.
"Come
on, hurry up."
"Y-yes!"
However,
she was soon warned by the female doctor.
While
Irisdina and Shīna worked quickly to change the sheets on Nozomu's bed, Lisa
laid out the cleaned medical instruments on the disinfected board while
glancing at them.
"Let's
get started then. I'll examine his condition, you guys just do the same as usual."
"I
understand"
"Y-yes
..."
After
the sheets were changed and the massage finished, the doctor began to examine
Nozomu. Irisdina, Lisa, and Shīna began to take care of the other minor chores.
But
they were still concerned about Nozomu. While they were working, they kept
glancing at the doctor.
At
that time, Lisa and Irisdina's gazes crossed.
"A……"
“…………”
It
was Lisa who turned her eyes away.
As
she awkwardly looked away, at the end of Lisa's gaze was a boy lying on the
bed.
Irisdina
was just staring at her.
The
black-haired girl's expression was like a Noh mask. However, contrary to her
expressionless face, the depths of her jet-black eyes were swaying.
=================================
After Nozomu's medical
examination was over, Irisdina, Lisa, and Shīna were quickly expelled from the
medical facility.
They were told to
return to the school as soon as they were done with their business.
the three of them
reached the main gate of the Gloaurum Institute and walked towards the school
in silence.
"Lisa, are you
done taking care of Nozomu?"
Just as the three of
them were passing through the main gate, someone approached Lisa.
A female student
carrying a simple staff and wearing the uniform of Solminati Academy. Camilla,
Lisa's best friend, was waiting for her at the main gate.
"Y-yeah. It was
said that his body was fine ..."
"T-then, did
Nozomu wake up?"
Lisa fell silent after
replying to Camilla's question. Camilla did not pursue the matter any further,
as if she had sensed Nozomu's condition from her reply alone.
"Well, I'm sure
he'll be alright! He's got a lot of guts, so I'm sure he'll wake up soon with
his expression telling us like it's nothing!"
Camilla tried to
comfort Lisa as much as she could, but Lisa could only respond to her words in
a sullen voice.
Camilla was at a loss
for words as Lisa was depressed beyond belief. Unexpectedly, Shīna approached
the two of them.
"... Are you
okay? You had a pretty deep cut on your leg at that time."
"W-well ... The
wound itself has closed up, but it still feels a little uncomfortable ...
"
Camilla, who was
suddenly approached by Shīna, spoke back in confusion.
During the previous
incident, Camilla suffered a deep wound on her right calf due to Ken's
[Icecicle Dance].
Thanks to the quick
treatment she received, the wound itself were already gone, but she still felt
as if it was filled with lead.
However, Camilla was
more worried about her best friend in front of her.
Unlike Camilla and
Shīna, who exchanged a few stuttered words, Irisdina and Lisa didn't say a word
to each other.
Irisdina stared
forward, harboring a glint in her jet-black eyes, while Lisa looked down and
cowered.
The space of silence
that lay between the two of them created an even heavier atmosphere.
The people in the city
were starting to wake up, and the number of people walking down the street
gradually increased. And as they approached the school, they began to see a few
students dressed in the uniform of Solminati Academy.
"Hey, that person
is ..."
It was when they were
close to the central park that they heard voices.
When Camilla glanced
around, she saw three students who seemed to be underclassmen looking at
Camilla and the others.
No, to be precise, it
was Lisa who was at the end of the underclassmen's gaze. An unpleasant
premonition crept into Camilla's chest.
"Oh, she's the
girlfriend of the senior who attacked the Ecross students, isn't she?"
A casual comment from
the underclassmen. It grabbed Lisa's heart.
The blood drained from
Lisa's face, which had been facing down.
"Why did he do
that?"
"Who knows ...
but I'm sure it's not a good thing. That senior attacked a girl about ten years
old."
"Ugh! The worst
..."
It was difficult to
completely cover up the incident that Ken had caused since there had been
victims before.
For this reason, the
school announced the details of the incident in a way that blurred the truth to
some extent.
The love triangle
between Nozomu Bountis, Ken Notis, and Lisa Hounds became complicated,
resulting in Ken's running amok.
Ken used the ability
called [Reflective Water Surface of the Heart Mask] to impersonate Nozomu,
falsely accusing him and attempting to remove him from the school.
However, Nozomu, the
school, and the military police all worked together to take down Ken, the
criminal.
As a result, Ken was
immediately expelled from the school for causing the incident. He was now sent
to jail as a criminal.
In addition, Nozomu
had to recuperate in the hospital after being counterattacked when subduing the
violent Ken.
This was what the
teachers explained to the students.
The teachers explained
to the students that Ken had misused his abilities, that the school would be
more strict about the use of abilities in the future, and that the penalties
would be more severe.
"Isn't that
senior also involved in various crimes? I've heard something about that
..."
"Eh,
seriously?"
One of the
underclassmen pointed at Lisa and voiced her suspicion.
As a matter of fact,
ever since Ken, the culprit, had been expelled from school, all interest and
dislike about his case had been directed towards Lisa.
In addition, the story
was constantly changing with various speculations.
Ken and Lisa were
accomplices to bring down Nozomu. Ken went out of control as Lisa tried to
switch back to Nozomu.
"Is that true? If
so, why is she still in this school? I don't even really understand why there's
Irisdina-senpai next to her ..."
"Idiot, it's to
keep an eye on her, isn't it? It's Irisdina-senpai we're talking about. She
probably volunteered to watch over her to make sure she doesn't do anything
bad."
Gossip with no proof
or evidence. However, what Lisa going through now was like a reenactment of the
scene when Nozomu fell to the bottom two years ago.
All the malice she had
directed at Nozomu came back to her.
Not only the words of
disgust, but even the words of curiosity were enough to dig into her now
weakened heart.
But what pierced her
chest more deeply than anything else was .......
"Speaking of
which, what happened to Ken-senpai?"
"I heard that he
was expelled from school on the very same day the incident happened ..."
"But in the end,
Nozomu-senpai continues to go through hard times because of Lisa-senpai,
right?"
She was confronted
with the fact that she was the one who kept making Nozomu unhappy.
"~! ... Sorry
Camilla, I'm going ahead."
"Ah! Lisa
!?"
While biting her lip
so hard that it almost bled, Lisa tried to walk quickly to the school. Camilla
hurriedly followed after Lisa.
Irisdina and Shīna
were watching their backs with complicated expressions on their faces.
After the previous
incident, the information about the Abyss Grief and the fact that Nozomu was a
Dragon Slayer was thoroughly hidden.
In particular, only
Irisdina and the others, Jihad, and Inda, who were present at the scene and did
not lose consciousness, still knew that Nozomu was a Dragon Slayer.
Yes, neither Lisa nor
Camilla knew that Nozomu was a Dragon Slayer.
Because of that, it
was easy to understand how Irisdina and Shīna had indescribable feelings
towards her.
In the past, Irisdina
and the others had been angry due to the unreasonable treatment Nozomu had
received.
Neither Iris nor
Sheena had been able to sort out their feelings for Lisa. And also their
feelings for Nozomu.
Now that he had fallen
asleep, something unspeakable was swelling rapidly in the depths of their
hearts.
===============================
Lisa left that place
as if she was running away. However, the gazes and voices from the people
around her did not cease.
It was the time of the
day when students were arriving at school, and the central park was filled with
students on their way to the school.
"Oh, look, it's
her..."
"I didn't know
she was still here. I thought she had left school..."
Under such circumstances,
Lisa's figure stood out too much.
She was originally as
good-looking as Irisdina, and moreover, she was one of the only five A-rankers
in the third year.
However, because the
incident happened at the same time as the credibility of the rumors that Ken
originally spread was fading, resulting in the attention of those around her
being turned towards her all at once.
"That incident
was caused by that guy named Ken, wasn't it? So I thought she didn't know
anything about it."
"Eh? I heard they
were accomplices..."
"Idiot, if that
was the case she would have been expelled, right? I heard that guy, Ken, went
out of control when the red-haired princess tried to return to her former
lover? "
Because of the high
regard in which they were originally held, the backlash became even more
significant.
It had been almost two
weeks since Ken's case became public.
The many stares that
Lisa received from those around her were almost always tinged with disgust.
"Aaa ..."
With a dry,
self-deprecating smile, Lisa hugged herself.
It was cold.
The isolation and
loneliness, as if she was left alone in the snowy mountains, and the stares and
words of those around her pierced her heart as arrows of cold ice.
The world turned
upside down.
Of course, some look
at her sympathetically. But they were few in numbers and were painted over by
other voices.
Pressed by
self-deprecating thoughts and a desire to slit her own wrists, Lisa was
oblivious to their sympathetic glances.
Unable to escape from
her own failure to trust Nozomu, she just kept falling.
Trying to protect her
heart from being constricted and crushed, Lisa unconsciously paralyzed her own
emotions.
Her body turned cold
as ice, and before she knew it, a Noh mask covered her face.
However, a small light
remained deep in her heart.
(Lisa, I'm sorry ...)
A voice as calm as a
bell echoed in her mind.
In her mind, she could
see Nozomu smiling somewhat apologetically as he held her hand.
(I thought what I did
was the best for you, but I ran away and didn't want to face you. I thought
that if I continued to train diligently, you would someday believe that the
rumors were not true. It was stupid, wasn't it? I want you to see me even
though I ran away and wouldn't face you...)
He could have taken
his hatred out on Lisa. He had every right to do so.
But he was simply
concerned for Lisa's wellbeing. The heat from Nozomu's hand shone brightly deep
inside Lisa's chest.
"Nozomu ..."
Lisa clutched her
chest as if clinging to that little bit of light. Didn't want to let that heat
escape. Didn't want to forget his face.
But when she thought
of Nozomu's face, she always saw them next to him.
Irisdina and Shīna.
They were now Nozomu's friends, leaning next to Nozomu as if to support him.
Looking at their
figures, Lisa couldn't help but feel dark emotions welling up inside her.
Even though she knew
that there was no more place for her next to Nozomu and that she was no longer
qualified for it.
"I'm
filthy..."
And each time she
became aware of her dark feelings, her guilt toward Nozomu deepened.
Jealousy, remorse, and
self-deprecation. Lost in a loop with no way out, her mind spun around, and she
fell into a trap.
But even so, Nozomu's
figure that flashed in her mind was the only support she could find.
=====================================
Mars and the others
were passing through the central park, heading for the main gate of the school
after they were separated from Irisdina and Shīna.
The six of them,
including Mars, walked side by side along the tree-lined street in the central
park.
The trees lined up in
the park were lush and green, and the light of the morning sun shone through
the gaps between the branches and leaves.
"I was wondering
if Nozomu would wake up today."
"Who knows ... No
one knows exactly when he's going to wake up ..."
While listening to
Mars, Tom suddenly reached for his bag.
"I did some
research at the library, and I believe I saw a story about a missing person who
was found in the snowy mountains after a month's missing and came back to
life."
Tom took out a small
stack of papers and ran his eyes over them as he flipped through them.
From the looks of it,
he too had been doing a lot of research on Nozomu's condition.
According to Tom,
there had been other cases of people who had fallen into the same kind of
long-term sleep as Nozomu was now.
"Did it really
happen?"
"As far as I
know, there have been several cases. There are about 10 other cases that were
caused by magic. But I can't say for sure because the situation is different
with Nozomu-kun..."
There were several
cases of long-term sleep caused by magic and other means, but it seemed that
such a situation had rarely occurred under natural conditions.
In the case of
long-term sleep caused by magic, there had been cases of people sleeping as
long as Nozomu, but even so, there were limitations due to the weakening of
nutrition, hydration, and the circulatory systems of the internal organs and
blood.
"It might be a
different story if it could stop people's time, but we don't have that kind of
magic. In any case, there is a limit to what we can do ..."
Time could not be
controlled by the current knowledge of magic.
There had been cases
where magic had put people into long-term sleep, so there was a certain amount
of treatment available for nursing the bedridden Nozomu.
However, since it was
not a fundamental solution, it was only temporary.
"Did anyone who
survived have any permanent side effects?"
Mars put his hand on
his chin and asked Tom a question.
The sound of Tom
flipping through the papers could be heard again as he looked at his notes
again.
"Umm ... when it
was discovered, the internal organs had almost stopped functioning, but they
seem to have recovered later."
"In that case,
will Nozomu be alright then?"
"I can't be so
sure. Originally, the human body was not designed to be used for hibernation,
and in Nozomu's case, there are many other special factors ..."
Feo, who folded his
hands behind his head and looked up at the sky, let out with a sigh after hearing
Tom's story.
"A Dragon Slayer
... No, I have a feeling that something happened to Nozomu himself ..."
Wrinkles appeared on
Tom's forehead when he heard Feo's words.
Tom didn't have many
confirmed cases of this particular case, and he was not a specialist in medical
matters.
"Did Tom ask
Norn-sensei anything about Nozomu's condition? She's also a professional in the
medical field, right?"
Indeed, as the
school's infirmary doctor, Norn was medically educated.
Feo and the others
raised their expectations that perhaps they were not aware of something. But
Tom turned his eyes down and slowly shook his head.
"Honestly, sensei
can't make a judgment either ... Nozomu's body itself is healthy, so I think
it's due to mental factors, but it's unknown if it's the effect of that demon
beast or because of "that" inside him..."
Apparently, Norn, too,
was unable to make a judgment about Nozomu's condition.
Everyone present there
understood that the burden that the incident caused to Nozomu's mind was not
light.
He had to face head-on
the fateful relationship with a former childhood friend that had tormented him
for more than two years, plus the intrusion of Abyss Grief and the release of
Tiamat's power.
To put it bluntly,
there were too many factors and it was hard to make a judgment.
Somia, who had been
looking down with a sad expression, looked up at Tom and the others with a
sullen face.
"Can't we do
something about it? Maybe if we use contract magic that Shīna-san can use
then…”
"I'm sorry to say
this Somicchi. But Shīna said that Nozomu's mind and path are not well
connected. Even when they are connected, they are blurry and we can't see
inside clearly… It's like there's a net laid in front of us.”
"I-I see……"
Somia looked even more
depressed after hearing Mimuru's words.
Even Shīna, who
excelled at contract magic and was far more sensitive than the average human,
was unable to grasp Nozomu's condition.
It was then that Tima
raised her voice as if she had just remembered something.
"H-hey. I wonder
if that old man would know anything about this?"
"Old man ... Oh!
That fortune-telling ero geezer !?"
At Tima's words, Feo
shouted and clapped his hands.
Zonne is an old man
who makes his living as a fortune teller in the commercial district, and he is
a perverted old man who has been spreading his lust on women all over the place
for years.
The old man had caused
a lot of problems whenever he appeared in front of Nozomu and the others, but
the appearance of the old man that night was far different from the usual him
that Mars and the others had seen so far.
"The old man at
that time wasn't flirtatious at all..."
"Yes. I couldn't
believe what I was seeing. His technique was something I'd never seen before,
and he was handling more magic power than me as easily as if he were using
scissors to cut paper..."
Zonne, who intervened
when Lisa was swallowed by the Abyss Grief that had assimilated Ken, easily
overpowered Jihad and the others who tried to question him with complex magic
they had never seen before.
A mandala pattern of
magic circles, layered on top of each other. No one had ever seen such magic
here in Arcazam.
Even though he used
extremely powerful magic, the old man's atmosphere showed no signs of
difficulty at all.
He was able to defeat
one of the continent's foremost heroes single-handedly, and his attitude showed
that he didn't find it strange.
Mars and the others
felt an inexpressible sense of intimidation from his playful tone of voice at
that time.
"I haven't heard
of the old man being seen in the commercial district after that incident. Maybe
that Jihad guy has noticed it by now..."
Jihad also witnessed
the mysterious magic that Zonne cast on the day of the incident. Naturally, he
must have already tracked his whereabouts.
However, Mars and the
others had never heard of Zonne being caught.
If Jihad had captured
Zonne, then there might have been some progress in Nozomu's condition.
However, the old man
who had made such a strong impression on those around him had vanished into
thin air, like a haze.
Witnessing once again
the situation with no clear future, Mars and the others naturally began to talk
less.
At that moment, a
figure suddenly popped out from the side.
"Oopsie."
"~ !?"
Thud!
Along with that sound,
the shoulder of Mars who was walking in front, was bumped by something.
Mars, who was
originally well built, only staggered a little, but the shadow that bumped him
fell down flashy.
There was a person who
wore a robe that completely enveloped his body, even though it was already
close to summer.
The hood that the
person wore was too deep to see the face, but from the white and slender
jawline, thin hands that peek out from the cloak, she appeared to be a woman.
Tima rushed to the
fallen person with a panicked look on her face.
"S-sorry. Are you
all right?"
"What a poor
lady. This guy got distracted even though it's still noon."
"Oi, what do you
mean, you bastard ..."
“…………”
Mars glared at Feo,
who suddenly started teasing him.
Seeing Mars and Feo,
who suddenly start to joke around, Tima dropped her shoulders and lets out a
sigh.
"Look here,
Mars-kun ..."
"Y-yeah, right.
Sorry, are you okay?"
Tima's voice brought
him back to reality, and Mars reached out to the fallen hooded figure.
The face of the
person, who had been looking down, rose slightly.
At that moment, the
hood fell off.
"~ !?"
"Wow ..."
At that moment, the
eyes of Mars and the others widened.
A silver world like a
snowfield spread out before their eyes. Somia let out an unintentional cry of
admiration.
Her hair and skin were
pure white, reminiscent of fresh snow. Cobalt blue eyes as round as jewels.
She would be about 14
or 15 years old. At first glance, she was a beautiful, sculpture-like girl.
However, a tuft of
hair hanging down from her right side was wrapped with a pretty ribbon of light
red, which gave her a somewhat childish impression in contrast to her sharp
good looks.
"What the~. A beautiful
girl~. You have some business to attend to at the academy?"
“…………”
Perhaps excited by the
unexpected encounter, Feo sniffed and spoke to the girl.
However, the
white-haired girl did not change her expression at all, and without speaking,
she brushed off Mars' outstretched hand, stood up, turned on her heel, and
left.
"... Well, she's
gone."
"What a cold
person she was."
Somia looked at the
girl who walked away without saying a word and voiced her disappointment.
Feo, on the other
hand, was looking bored and mouth agape, perhaps because he had gone to the
trouble of talking to her but had not received a response.
"That's true. It
was kind of boring because there was no reaction. It should be time for her to
say, "rude!". And isn't this the part where she knocks Mars-kun down?
Or Feo, who teased her up out of the blue."
"Mimuru ..."
Perhaps because she
behaved like Feo in the way he reacted to interesting things, Mimuru leaked a
somewhat nonsensical remark.
Tom, who was standing
next to her, was amazed and couldn't make a single comment.
"But she sure was
so beautiful!"
"Is that so? But
aside from her appearance, her attitude is a bit ..."
Somia's eyes genuinely
sparkled due to the beauty of that girl.
Surely her looks would
be as good as Irisdina's or Shīna's.
But as far as Mars was
concerned, he didn't want to engage with a woman with such a bad attitude.
It was indeed Mars'
fault for not looking ahead carefully, but it was the same for the girl.
With an unsettled
feeling in his heart, Mars watched the girl's back as she walked away.
At that moment,
Mimuru, who had been watching Mars with a sideways glance, grinned.
"Huh? Could it
be, Mars-kun likes a girl like that on the outside, but not on the inside?
"I never said
something like that!"
Mimuru's outrageous
remarks, which were suddenly directed at him, caused Mars to unintentionally
release denials without a pause.
For Mars, it was no
joke. Although she was definitely a pretty girl on the outside, being around a
girl with such a bad attitude would cause an unpleasant feeling in his stomach.
However, the fact that
his denials were louder than she expected gave Mimuru a chance to take
advantage of it.
"The way you deny
it is suspicious~~"
With a grin, Mimuru
smiled evilly. Her eyes sparkled as if she had found a perfect opportunity.
Incidentally, there
was no elf girl who usually stopped her mischiefs on a regular basis.
By the time Mars
thought it was bad, it was already too late, and a sad voice could be heard
coming from next to him.
"Mars-kun
..."
Tima was standing next
to Mars, looking up at him with tears welling up in her eyes.
Originally, Tima
looked slender and fragile, but now she looked so fragile that she could be
blown away by a gust of wind. At the same time, it aroused a fierce desire to
protect her, but at this moment, Mars was completely cornered.
"Wait a minute!
It's a misunderstanding!"
His voice was louder
than expected. This further aggravated the unnecessary doubts that had arisen
in Tima's chest.
"A~a~. Poor
Tima-san~. Even though she helped Mars-kun with his training and all."
There was one bad cat
who was gleefully stirring up the situation. She drove a wedge precisely
between Mars' words, who tried to somehow clear up the misunderstanding.
"Mimuru, you
bastard..."
"Oops, scary,
scary. I'll go first then~~"
Mimuru, who sensed
Mars' fighting spirit, ran away at once. In addition, she was escaping while
holding Tom, her lover, firmly by her side.
The way she stirred up
the situation and then fled was aptly described as a little devil.
But of course, Mars
had no intention of letting Mimuru go.
No matter how agile a
Wildcat was, she still had Tom by her side. Mars' feet could easily catch up to
her.
With that in mind,
Mars put all his strength into his legs and tried to run at once. But ...
"... Mars-kun, do
you like that kind of girl?"
"N-no, no way
..."
However, as he was about
to step forward, Tima's voice again stopped him. Tears filled her eyes and
seemed ready to spill.
Mars, who had always
been clumsy and a poor talker, stuttered, not knowing what to say.
"U,uu……"
(What should I do?)
Mars' eyes swam here
and there.
Tima is a modest and
innocent girl, both inside and outside.
Mars, on the other
hand, is a big man in uniform. Although he has become more mature recently, he
was originally a well-known delinquent in the commercial district and still
gives the impression of being unapproachable to others.
Since they were such a
combination, the current situation was likely to be taken as a situation where
Mars made Tima cry.
"Wha~, Tima-san
seems to be crying ..."
"I wonder what
that man did to her..."
Or rather, it was already
on the verge of becoming so. Some of the students on their way to school were
watching them from afar, wondering what was going on.
He had to clear up
this misunderstanding as soon as possible.
With such a
determination, Mars opened his mouth to clear up Tima's misunderstanding.
However, his words
were drowned out by Feo's deliberately loud voice.
"Well then Mars!
We're going to school first! Come, Somia-chan too!"
"Eh !? B-but
Tima-chan is..."
Mars, who had been
interrupted three times in a row, glared at Feo resentfully.
Feo gave an amused
glance at Mars and then pushed the worried Somia back toward the school.
"It's okay, it's
okay! That was a kind of communication. Don't worry about it, no problem! And
if you don't hurry, you'll be late for school."
"W-wait, Feo-san
!? Don't push me~!"
"Come, come,
come!"
Before Mars had time
to yell out a cursing word, Feo had fled like a rabbit, taking Somia with him.
What was left was
Mars, who had no one left to take the brunt of his anger, and the school's best
mage, who looked as if she was about to burst into tears.
"Wha~! It's a
misunderstanding! You know that right?!"
"A-As I thought,
Mars-kun prefers girl with long hair… I guess you don't really like short
ones..."
Originally, Tima had a
personality that tended to get stuck in negative thoughts.
Mars was flustered and
Tima was depressed and almost shutting herself in her own shell.
They could hear some
kind of implication in each other's words, but both of them were now completely
lacking in calmness and didn't seem to realize it.
Mars desperately tried
to clear up the misunderstanding, but between the many times Mimuru and Feo had
interrupted his attempts at persuasion, Tima's suspicions were no longer easily
resolved.
Thus, Mars had to
struggle to clear Tima's misunderstanding until just before the morning
assembly bell rang.
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