Chapter 7 Part 16
Translator : PolterGlast
As
the red sunset began to fade into the shadows of the forest, people were
hurrying home after a day's work in the commercial district of Arcazam.
In
the crowd of people, there were Lisa and Camilla.
The
two continued to walk through the chaotic streets, aiming for their own
destination.
Eventually,
they stopped in front of a store.
The
stall was crammed with all sorts of goods, both old and new, from the East and
West. It was a fortune teller's shop run by an old man who called himself
Zonne.
The
commercial district was supposed to be a crowded place. However, for some
reason, the area in front of the stall was deserted, not a single cat was to be
seen.
"So,
are you sure you want to go in?"
“…………”
Lisa
swallows her spit due to Camilla's question who was asking to confirm her
suspicions.
Since
Nozomu woke up, Lisa had not been able to talk to him at all. Partly because
Nozomu was extremely busy, but also because Lisa was reluctant with the idea of
meeting him.
On
the day Nozomu woke up, Lisa clearly sensed the depth of the bond between
Nozomu and Irisdina and the others.
Clenching
her lips tightly to suppress her squirming heart, Lisa looked up at Zonne's
stall.
According
to Camilla, the old man was not only ridiculously powerful, but he also seemed
to know quite a lot about Nozomu.
"I
understand your desire to know more about Nozomu's power, but wouldn't it be
better if we could talk to him first? Looks like we still have a chance, and we
just need to be patient for a week, okay?"
As
Camilla said, according to Norn-sensei, they will get a chance to talk to
Nozomu if they wait.
Frankly,
there was no need for them to meet with that old man.
But
Lisa remained silent and continued to walk forward. Part of it was her own
impatience, but most of all, Lisa wanted to be sure of something.
"That's
not an answer!"
At
that moment, Lisa and Camilla's ears heard a loud yell.
Lisa
and Camilla were involuntarily shocked due to the yells that suddenly echoed
through the stall.
When
they peeked behind the stall to see what was going on, they saw an old man with
white hair sitting on a chair with a silver-haired girl rushing towards him.
"Why
are you doing this? Why are you telling me not to touch it?!"
The
white-haired old man, Zonne, did not respond to the girl's questioning at all
but instead meditated with his arms crossed and smoked a cigarette.
The
girl's face grew even fiercer at Zonne's complete refusal to answer.
Faced
with such an atmosphere, Lisa and Camilla involuntarily hide behind the
curtains.
"W-,
what happened?"
"Looks
like they had a fight..."
They
didn't know who the girl was or what was going on, but they could sense the
strange atmosphere.
Lisa
and Camilla quietly held their breath. Zonne, who was silent, slowly raised his
face.
"I
told you, Azel. I told you to leave it alone ..."
His
voice was so dignified and heavy that it was hard to believe that he was the
same pervy old man who sexually harassed Lisa. His voice was so quiet that it
could have been missed, but it had such a powerful tone that even Lisa and
Camilla who were peeking from the side could not help but gasp.
"There
is no way we can just leave it there! If we are not careful, this whole land
will be burned to ashes!"
Zonne's
words could be called a warning. However, the silver-haired girl called Azel
raised her voice in a rough tone as if to deny Zonne's words outright.
"That's
not all! If it were resurrected, there is no doubt that it will once again turn
its fangs against its own people!"
If
it were resurrected, turn its fangs against its own people. Words that Lisa and
Camilla could not understand at all.
But
in Lisa's mind, she had a vague feeling that they were referring to Nozomu.
"But
there are signs. Signs that it can dispel all the darkness in the land. We
can't seal the boy up without knowing what he's going to do. Besides, you know
that we are not yet prepared enough to get involved in this matter..."
"What
are you talking about! That guy is an enemy! And now that she's out of the
seal, the dragon veins have become unstable! The effect is..."
The
word "boy" was uttered by Zonne. That was the word that Zonne had
used to refer to Nozomu when he first came into contact with Lisa.
However,
more than that, Azel's words stuck in Lisa's mind.
The
existence that had escaped from the seal. That was their enemy, and Nozomu was
deeply involved. Lisa intuitively understood this.
"What
in the world is Nozomu involved in?"
Lisa
unintentionally leaned forward. At that moment, her elbow pushed a bronze
statue near the curtain that she wasn't sure what it was there for.
"Ah!"
With
a clanking sound, the bronze statue rolled on the ground.
Hearing
this sound, Azel, who had been standing close to Zonne, turned around in an
instant.
"Human!?
How did you get here despite the barrier..."
"U-,
umm ... pardon me. It looks like you are in the middle of something..."
"~
!?"
Azel,
who had frozen with a look of surprise, unexpectedly raised her right hand.
A
light bullet appeared in her right hand. Seeing the magic bullet that contained
clear hostility, Lisa and Camilla involuntarily braced themselves.
"Azel,
will you stop?"
However,
the light bullet created by Azel was never released. Zonne snapped his fingers,
and Azel's light bullets quickly dissipated like mist.
"Grandfather!"
"The
conclusion remains the same. You stay out of this. That is an order."
Turning
to Zonne, Azel raised her voice as if to denounce him. Zonne, however, cut off
Azel's protests in a matter-of-fact tone.
Azel's
face contorted and she clenched her teeth in frustration before turning on her
heel and running out of the store.
Zonne
watched her back as he exhaled a sigh and turned to Lisa and the Camilla.
"I'm
sorry, ladies, for making a scene. I'll make sure she gets an earful later.
“…………”
Lisa
and Camilla remained silent, staring at Zonne. The look in their eyes carried
various colors of suspicion.
"It's
all right. I know exactly where she is and what she is doing. Well, sit
down."
Prompted
by Zonne, Lisa slowly took her seat facing Zonne.
Camilla,
perhaps wary of Zonne, stood behind Lisa and gave Zonne a stern look.
"So,
if you ladies are here, does that mean you want to ask me about the boy?"
"......"
"Lisa
..."
Camilla
was looking at Lisa's back with some implied look.
She
was probably saying, "Is it really okay to hear about Nozomu's secret
here?".
Camilla
thought that Nozomu's secret would be something they couldn't even imagine.
That
was why she also thought that if they were to truly confront Nozomu, they
should hear it from Nozomu himself.
Despite
noticing Camilla's gaze, Lisa didn't look back but continued to face Zonne
straight on.
Then
Lisa opened her mouth.
"Oldman,
you know about Nozomu, don't you?"
"...I
certainly know him quite well. Without a doubt, I know about the source of his
power and his own power more than he does."
Lisa's
question was to confirm her answer. Zonne also answered in a light tone, as if
making small talk, while playing with a cigarette in his hand.
However,
there was tension between the two. It was as if no one could interrupt them. So
much so that Camilla, who was about to interject Lisa, involuntarily went
silent.
"Are
you Nozomu's enemy?"
"I
can be an enemy or an ally. It depends on the boy."
Lisa's
eyes gradually became more serious as she continued to ask questions, and she
began to feel tense and intimidated as if her skin was being pricked.
The
tension that had been building up in the room grew even stronger, and before
Camilla could do anything but watch from the sidelines, a large bead of sweat
had formed on her forehead.
They
couldn't judge the old man whether he was friend or foe. His strength was
probably so great that even Lisa and Camilla could not win against him.
Even
in the face of such an unknown and powerful man, Lisa showed no signs of
hesitation and continued the conversation.
"Jihad-sensei
as well?"
"As
for him, he is on the boy's side for now. But that also depends on the
situation. Whichever path the boy takes, it won't be a picnic anymore. It's
still all right now, but that boy has already made himself too conspicuous in
many ways."
Although
it was still calm now, he would eventually be caught up in the chaos of this
continent.
Zonne
didn't even lie about that, but straightly stated the position that Nozomu had
been placed in.
"……Is
that so."
“………”
Both
were silent. The atmosphere was quiet and still in the stall, and only the
smoke from the smoldering cigarette flowed silently through the space.
Eventually,
Lisa took a deep breath, as if to calm herself.
Zonne
and Camilla both braced themselves due to her gesture. It was as if the time to
ask about Nozomu's secret had finally come.
"Come
to think of it, you're a fortune-teller, right?"
However,
what came out of Lisa's mouth was something the two did not expect.
Both
Zonne and Camilla froze as if they had been hit by a peashooter.
"Ha?
Well, yes I am, but ......"
Zonne,
who had been preparing himself for it, was so taken aback that he let slip a
few words that sounded like a pause.
"Then,
can you tell me one thing?"
"...
Haa?"
"Wha,
Lisa! Eeh !?"
Camilla
and Zonne were puzzled by her sudden words and actions.
Leaving
the two perplexed, Lisa began to talk about her fortune-telling.
While
the slightly lukewarm air filled the room, for some reason, Lisa was the only
one with serious eyes waiting for the result of her fortune-telling.
===================================
Zonne
let out a small sigh as he watched Lisa and Camilla's backs disappear into the
darkness of the night.
"In
the end, that young lady didn't ask me anything ......."
In
the end, Lisa never asked Zonne about Nozomu's secret.
She
just did her own brief fortune-telling and made a little small talk, and that
was the end of it.
As
for Zonne, who had been thinking about this and that, he remained distracted
from beginning to end.
Was
it really unnecessary to ask about the boy's secret? Zonne had asked her such a
question, but Lisa answered clearly with a self-mocking smile on her lips.
(I
am not even qualified to ask about Nozomu's secret right now. I will get to
know it if I can get him to tell me his secret when I face him myself.)
She
muttered, "I still can't catch up with Irisdina and the others", with
a sad expression on her face.
She
couldn't bring herself to ask about Nozomu's secret now. She just wanted to get
a glimpse of what was going on around him.
That
was Lisa's answer.
Perhaps
she wanted to see where she stood one more time before confronting Nozomu.
Zonne
once again watched Lisa's back as she walked away.
When
he first saw her, she was so weak that she could have fallen if pushed. Now,
however, her back was surprisingly beautiful.
"I'm
really surprised at how much the young lady has changed just because the boy is
safe. It's all thanks to that boy ..."
Perhaps
...... no, definitely.
People
can walk in the dark with the help of a little light.
"I
am a little jealous, even though I am an old man."
While
feeling slight jealousy toward the boy who could be such a little light, a
gentle smile appeared on Zonne's mouth.
"We
are not qualified to be involved, but it's time for us to make up our minds
......."
It's
about time. The boy's abilities were beginning to awaken and Tiamat was getting
impatient.
The
recent incident had dispelled one of his concerns. Only one thing left.
If
it could be solved, at that time, surely ......
"For
now, let's try to persuade my grumpy granddaughter."
After
reaffirming what he needed to do, Zonne turned on his heel and began walking in
the opposite direction of Lisa and Camilla.
The
smile on his face was still there.
====================================
A
silver-haired girl stood alone on the outer edge of Arcazam, where the starry
sky glittered.
The
cold night air combined with the light from the stars made for a fantastic
sight, but the girl gave off a dark atmosphere that made her difficult to
approach even from the side.
Azel's
palms were clenched tightly and she bit her lip so hard it looked like it was
going to bleed.
As
she gazed at Arcazam illuminated by the starlight, she remembered the exchange
she had just had with her grandfather.
"~!"
Azel
glared at the cityscape spread out before her while distorting her
un-human-like appearance in frustration.
"I
can't let that abomination of a dragon go unchecked..."
What
came to her mind was a dragon that once engulfed this continent in flames. The
existence that said to have slaughtered all of its own kind and went to great
lengths to destroy them.
That
person had told her to stay out of it, but there was no way she could leave
such an existence untouched.
"If
that person won't move, then I will just finish it off by myself."
With
this renewed determination, she took something out of her pocket.
She
pulled out a crystal the size of her fist. Azel looked at the crystal and
smiled gently.
The
cloudy crystal emitted a warm glow, and upon closer inspection, one could see
that there was a shiny ornament embedded within it.
The
moment she saw the crystal, Azel's cheeks suddenly relaxed.
Her
face was calm and peaceful, unlike the one she had been wearing a moment
before. She clutched the crystal tightly as if in prayer.
"Father,
please don't worry. I will end this for sure."
Azel
put it away in her pocket. She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving her
own claw marks in the palm of her hand.
===============================
A
room in a mansion built in a corner of the administrative district. The light
from the candle and fireplace in the dimly lit room illuminated two figures.
One
was a bewitching woman wearing a mourning dress. The other one was a hooded
figure kneeling at her feet.
"So
what were the results of your investigation?"
The
bewitching woman, Mekria, prompted her only remaining subordinate, who
fearfully took a sheaf of papers from his pocket and presented them to Mekria.
"H-,
here it is ..."
Quickly
scanning the documents handed to her, Mekria immediately put the report
together, lit it with a candle, and tossed it into the fireplace.
"...... This is the extent of it? You can
find out this stuff with a little research around him. Do not disappoint
me."
Mekria
looked down at her subordinate with a disappointed gaze and let out a sigh as
if to say she was dismayed.
What
was written in the handed-out documents were the details of the combat training
at the martial arts garden and Nozomu's past, such as his hometown or how he
came to be in Arcazam. None of the information was of any importance.
Indeed,
the only subordinate left in the city was the man who lowered his head in front
of her. It may be true that they were short-handed, but they still could have
done a little more research.
Under
Mekria's piercing gaze, her subordinate took another bundle of documents from
his pocket with a panicked look on his face.
"I-,
I'm sorry! But there are still other documents ......."
Mekria's
eyes narrowed as she looked over the document handed to her again.
What
was written there was an incident that occurred a few months ago at the
Francilt Mansion, in which a magical tool had gone out of control.
The
entire mansion was surrounded by barriers, and the servants and others in the
house were found unconscious.
There
were no deaths and only a few of them injured, but the student in question was
involved with someone who was inside the mansion.
As
a result of his investigation, he came across information that the Francilt
Household had been in contact with strange foreign powers in recent days.
And
that their contacts were related to the Dizzard Empire, with which diplomatic relations
had not yet been established.
"I
see, this may indeed be good information. However, it might be difficult to
just use this information to drag down Victor and the others."
"W-,
what do you mean?"
It
was information that could be used to disrupt the Francilt Hosehold's position,
depending on how it was used.
However,
Mekria's reaction was not as positive as her subordinate thought.
When
her subordinate asked her what she meant, Mekria quietly got up from her seat,
took out a palm-sized piece of paper from a cupboard, and handed it over to her
subordinate.
"The
other day, I received this document from our home country."
A
small piece of paper, probably delivered by carrier pigeon.
However,
the contents of the paper were not something that her subordinate would have
believed.
"S-,
such a thing ..."
"The
content is surprising, but considering the future and the great invasion, it is
not hard to understand that the intention is to secure as much strength as
possible. Besides, since His Majesty has given his approval, if we denounce
Victor for this matter, there is a possibility that the blame will rather be
pointed at us."
The
subordinate was silenced by Mekria's words.
The
letter was about the establishment of limited diplomatic relations between Forsina
and the Dizzard Empire. The letter stated that the Francilt Household was
negotiating in secret for this purpose.
There
was no mention of the content of the negotiations, but if the contents of this
letter were true, it would mean that His Majesty approved of the actions of the
Francylt Household. To refute that decision would be to go against His
Majesty's will.
"You
should continue your investigation. Don't be distracted ..."
"Yes,
I understand."
Mekria
urged her subordinate and looked out the window.
The
presence of her subordinate disappeared.
"That's
about as far as it goes .... Anyway, what should I do with this
information?"
Currently,
the Dizzard Empire did not interact with other countries. The reason for the
country's founding and its overwhelming military might had caused other
countries to have a kind of contradictory feeling of admiration and threat.
Once
again, Mekria looked at the letter that was sent to her.
The
establishment of diplomatic relations between the Francilt Household and the
Dizzard Empire, which His Majesty was trying to do in secret.
It
was unclear what form of diplomacy would be conducted, but considering the
reason for the founding of the empire, a hasty establishment of diplomatic
relations will only cause unease among the people.
That
was why the negotiations this time around would really only be small-scale
exchanges. It will take several years, maybe even decades, to establish full
diplomatic relations.
However,
it would not be a bad thing if this negotiation could lead to even slight
progress in the relationship between the two countries.
"It's
not a bad thing, but as far as the Fabran Household is concerned, it's probably
not an interesting one."
The
Francilt and Fabran.
Both
had major positions in the country of Forsina, but the two families often
clashed in political circles, perhaps because the heads of the two families
shared opposing views.
Egrod
Fabran, head of the Fabran Household, would be against this matter. He was very
conservative and would not approve of diplomatic relations with the Dizzard
Empire, which was made up of races that have been branded as heretics.
However,
as long as His Majesty was involved, he simply couldn't voice his condemnation
loudly enough.
In
fact, Egrod's context in the letter conveying this fact was one of
dissatisfaction regarding these negotiations.
"There
is no reason to waste it. Let us take advantage of this opportunity."
As
for Mekria, she had no intention of backing down here.
She
had done a great deal for the Fabran. And some of her actions were tacitly
approved by the head of the family.
"From
what we've gathered, the details of the negotiations aren't easy to figure out.
If we can't use Fabran's pawns, we'll have to ask the Corpse Raven for
help..."
While
muttering so, Mekria reached into her pocket.
The
one that came out was a red-eyed raven.
The
inorganic red eyes gleamed, and the jet-black raven opened its beak as if
begging for food.
"Can
you hear me?"
Mekria
spoke to a raven with its mouth wide open, as if she were talking to someone
beyond it.
