Chapter 7 Part 17
Translator : PolterGlast
Arcmel
Continent, Cremazone Empire.
A
man was in a tavern in a certain town in this country.
He
was dressed in black-feathered clothes. He was drinking alone at the edge of
the tavern.
"Kuu~!
As I thought, a drink after work is so exceptional, isn't it~?"
A
man in black with a big smile on his face, drinking from a bottle of sake.
His
light tone contrasted with the gloomy clothes he was wearing.
It
was not unusual for cheerful voices to echo in a tavern. But for some reason,
the only voice coming from this tavern was that of this black-feathered man.
That
was expected. Every single person in the tavern was lying on the floor.
There
were about ten of them. The red liquid flowing from their bodies clearly showed
that the lives of the dozen or so had already been taken.
"Everyone
seems to be in a hurry, but you need to take your time. Calm down and take a
rest... Oh, you've taken a rest now!"
All
of the fallen people were dressed in ordinary clothing, but everyone who saw
them could tell that had well-trained bodies.
The
tavern was filled with a strange atmosphere. There was no doubt that something
was going on here.
At
that moment, the door creaked open and a well-dressed man entered.
The
man took one glance at the corpses lying on the floor and the black-feathered
man drinking happily in a pool of blood and squinted his eyebrows
uncomfortably.
"Looks
like it's done."
"Yes,
yes, it's done~! Even so, you're making your underlings work this hard to clean
up the pests, and do you even work as an executive~?'
"That's
why I hired you. I have nothing else to say. Take out that
"thing"."
They
were secret agents who had infiltrated the Cremazone Empire.
The
man in black took out a sealed book from his pocket and tossed it to the
client.
The
client, not seeming to be particularly concerned, took the book, put it in his
pocket, took out a sack in exchange, and tossed it to the black-feathered man.
When
the black-feathered man received the sack, he heard a heavy clatter. From the
mouth of the bag, a colorful jewel peeked out.
Looking
at the jewel, the black-feathered man smiled broadly and waved to his client.
"Thank
you every time~. I look forward to working with you in the future~."
"I
don't want anything to do with you. The corpse hunter "Corpse
Raven"."
The
client glanced at the Corpse Raven who smiled while surrounded by corpses,
looked utterly disgusted, and left the tavern early.
"Eh?
He hates me again. Even though I did my job well~~."
With
a look of deep confusion on his face, the man called "Corpse Raven"
lowered his hand.
The
request he received was to eliminate secret agents and recover a sealed book.
The client had confirmed that he had not seen the contents of the sealed book.
"Well,
I don't mind! Make a mess by cleaning the pests ... That's why I can't stop
being a mercenary! Now, let's see what the next job is ..."
At
that moment, a jet-black bird entered the room noiselessly through the window,
which reeked of death.
Just
like the blood-stained floor of the tavern, the eerie bird with crimson glowing
eyes perched on the table where the Corpse Raven was and opened its mouth with
a snap.
(Can
you hear me?)
"Gosh,
that voice is older sister Mekria, isn't it? What do you want, I wonder~?"
Mekria's
voice, who was supposed to be in Arcazam, echoed from the mouth of the raven.
The
Corpse Raven responded with an aloof tone, not questioning the fact that he
could hear Mekria's voice, who should be far away.
“Corpse
Raven, you have no reason to call me older sister. More importantly, I need to
talk to you."
On
the other hand, Mekria spoke plainly, as if she had no intention of making
unnecessary conversation. However, at the edges of her tone, there was a hint
of discomfort that she could not hide.
Did
he sense a hidden danger in her tone, or was he simply uninterested? The Corpse
Raven immediately returned to the main subject.
"Oya
oya~, what in the world does such a lady need to talk to a vagabond such as
myself about?"
Surrounded
by crimson and jet black, with the smell of iron drifting in the air, Mekria continued
to talk to the Corpse Raven.
An
eerie man and a raven talking in a room full of corpses. Combined with the
man's clothes, it was an eerie scene that seemed out of this world.
For
a few moments, a suspicious conversation was going on, unfolding amidst the
crimson devastation.
"Since
you already understand the story. Then, I entrust it to you."
"Yes~,
yes~. Leave it to me~."
Mekria's
talk lasted only a few minutes, a very short time.
After
the call, the raven closes its mouth and disappeared again through the window
into the dark night.
Without
glancing at the raven, the man called the Corpse Raven slurped down his drink
again, and thought about Mekria's proposal.
"Alright,
what kind of person is this guy, I wonder~~?"
Despite
his question, his face shone like a child who found a new toy.
However,
due to the pitiful state of the room, combined with his tall and thin body, it
was too much of a disaster.
The
Corpse Raven gulped the rest of his drink, rose from his seat, and walked to
the door.
"Either
way, it's going to be a lot of fun."
With
his mouth smiling, Corpse Raven left the blood-soaked tavern.
While
giving off an inevitable smell of death on his back.
================================
As
the sun was slanting to the west past mid-south, Nozomu was walking alone in
the corridor of Solminati Academy.
Around
him, students were walking back to their classrooms after the last class of the
day, and when they spotted Nozomu, they pointed at him and began whispering to
each other.
"Look,
look, there's Nozomu-senpai."
"Hey,
come on, go talk to him. You said you wanted to talk to him about a class you
were planning to take."
"Eh!?
B-, but wouldn't that bother him?"
The
abusive words that could be heard before were almost nonexistent anymore.
Instead, somewhat frivolous voices could be heard.
Nozomu
was smiling at the 180-degree change in his environment, but he also had a
somewhat vacant expression on his face.
It
had been a week since his conversation with Victor. Nozomu was still unable to
provide answers to questions regarding his future and returned to his hectic
daily routine.
His
training with Jihad was getting harder and harder day by day, and he continued
to devote himself to his training and studies from early morning to late at night,
but on the other hand, his relationship with Lisa had not progressed at all due
to his daily busy schedule.
While
feeling a little impatient with his relationship with Lisa, Nozomu also began
to feel an indescribable feeling in the depth of his chest.
Ever
since he heard Victor's words, something had been swirling in the back of his
mind.
Victor's
words were true.
He
had somehow put his purpose of "supporting Lisa's dream" as an excuse
before he knew it, and he continued to face his own escape. That was what
Nozomu had been doing. But at the same time, it still tied Nozomu to the past.
Perhaps
somewhere in his mind, he understood this. However, Nozomu could not see a
concrete vision of his own future.
"What
should I do, I wonder……"
These
words naturally leaked out of Nozomu's mouth.
He
was thinking about Lisa, about himself from today on, and about Tiamat, whom he
had taken in. Things that should have been visible until recently suddenly
seemed hazy.
Before
he knew it, Nozomu was so lost in his own thoughts that he couldn't hear the
voices around him. Perhaps that's why Nozomu didn't notice the familiar
presence approaching from behind.
"Nozomu,
what's wrong?"
When
his name was called, Nozomu turned around to see Irisdina, Tima, Shīna, and the
others standing there with textbooks and stationery in their hands.
Seeing
Irisdina and Shīna from the first and second classes together, it seemed that
they were returning from a joint class.
"Everyone
.... When did you get behind me?"
"We've
been here since a few minutes ago. It wasn't like you, Nozomu. How could you
not notice it until a large group of people came so close to you?"
Nozomu
had a bitter expression due to Irisdina's words.
They
could see that he was in deep thought and wasn't aware of their presence until
they were close enough when he could normally detect them.
"Are
you having trouble thinking about something?"
"Yeah,
just a little bit ......."
Irisdina
came to look into Nozomu's face as if to check on him.
A
beautiful face approaching in front of him. Nozomu felt embarrassed and
awkward, so he quickly pulled away from her.
Irisdina
frowned for a moment as if hurt by Nozomu's gesture and then looked at Nozomu
with a strangely serious gaze.
"Did
my father say anything to you?"
"Eh?"
"You
have been acting somewhat strange since then..."
Nozomu's
eyes widened at these words. It wasn't that he was hiding it, but he hadn't
told anyone about his conversation with Victor.
"Umm
... I'm worried about that. My father may look like that, but he has a soft spot
for me and Somia. As the head of the Francilt Household, he is by no means
putting on air and capricious. He can be ruthless as the head of the family if
necessary, and I think he probably knew about Nozomu quite deeply
beforehand..."
"That's
...~!?"
Nozomu,
who could not say that Victor was even known him being a Dragon Slayer, had no
choice but to keep quiet.
At
that time, Nozomu noticed a piercing gaze staring at his back.
He
turned around and followed the line of sight, a silver-haired beastman was glaring
at him from the end of the corridor.
"That
guy is ..."
A
silver-haired beastman he recognized. It was Kevin Ardinal, the man who had
been so involved with him during the special general training.
"Tch~!
……"
When
he realized that Nozomu had noticed his gaze, his mouth distorted and he turned
on his heel to leave.
Nozomu
felt a strange sense of déjà vu in his expression.
"...
Nozomu? What's wrong?"
Irisdina
spoke to Nozomu, who was staring off into the distance, with a dubious look on
her face. The expression on her face was even more anxious than before.
"Nozomu-kun,
..."
This
time, Shīna, who was standing behind Irisdina, was about to say something, but
before she could say anything, a person appeared and spoke to Nozomu.
"Nozomu-kun,
there you are."
It
was Norn-sensei, the infirmary nurse, who approached him.
She
lightly waved her hand and broke into the indescribably delicate atmosphere
without fear.
"Norn-sensei,
is something wrong?"
"No,
I just need your help with something. Do you have time after this?"
"Well,
I've got a training session with Jihad-sensei..."
"I
heard that Jihad-dono has a full day of work today. So, I don't think there
will be a problem. All I need is for you to pick up some medicine from the
store."
Currently,
Nozomu trained with Jihad after school almost every day, but today, apparently,
Jihad had something to do.
However,
the school was not yet over. If he was going to accept Norn's request, he had
to talk to his homeroom teacher, Anri-sensei.
And
Nozomu was concerned about Irisdina and the others who were staring at his face
next to him.
"Of
course, since it's a formal request, you'll pay for it, right?"
"No,
you don't have to worry about the price or anything of the sort..."
When
Nozomu glanced sideways at Irisdina, she gave a small nod and turned on her
heel, waving her hand to encourage Nozomu. She apparently told him not to worry
about them.
Norn
watched the backs of Irisdina and the others as they walked away with an
apologetic expression on her face.
"I'm
sorry to interrupt your conversation. It's a rather urgent matter. The people
who will help me are already at the back gate, so I need you to go there right
away. I'll make sure I talk to Anri, Irisdina, and the others in your
stead."
"...
I understand. I'll help you."
Nozomu
tilted his head at the somewhat forceful tone, which was not normally typical
of Norn, but he couldn't refuse now, could he? While thinking so, Nozomu and
Norn headed for the back gate.
"I'm
really sorry. The merchant would normally have brought them to the school, but
apparently, the wagon was destroyed in an accident. It's quite a lot, so I've
asked for help from others besides Nozomu-kun."
As
he exited the school building and made his way through the path leading to the
back gate, Nozomu asked Norn for the details of what he had been asked to do.
It
seemed that the supplies for the infirmary were running out, but the items they
ordered had not yet arrived.
She
wanted to go and pick it up herself, but the number of students with minor
injuries had increased due to the recent increase in the number of joint
classes, and Norn was unable to leave the infirmary for a long time.
So
instead, she asked Nozomu to pick up the supplies she ordered.
Nozomu
had no reason to refuse a request from someone who always looked after him. He
nodded his head in lighthearted approval, but .....
"I
understand, so who is the person that will help you out together with me ...
?"
Nozomu's
thoughts turned white the moment he saw the person waiting for him at the back
gate.
Long
crimson hair. Her eyes, which had been glancing around nervously, caught sight
of Nozomu, and they widened like a full moon, followed by her mouth which was
clenching tightly.
"Lisa
..."
Her
name leaked out from his mouth.
Perhaps
it was because Nozomu had made his voice louder than expected, Lisa reacted to
Nozomu's words and her shoulders shook.
"She's
here to help. I've told her where the store is, so please take care of the
rest."
"Eh~
!? Wait ..."
Without
a satisfactory explanation, Norn quickly returned to the school building,
leaving behind Nozomu, who had stiffened up due to the unexpected situation,
and Lisa, who was still casting her eyes down.