Chapter 8 Part 3
Translator : PolterGlast
Shina was at her desk
in her room, staring at the crystal in her hand.
The light from the
lamp on the table illuminated a crystal with gold ornament inside it.
Mikael. The soul of an
old white dragon who came to this place to seal Tiamat.
Shina closed her eyes
and began to pour her magic power into the crystal.
"Answer me. What
are you going to do with him now?..."
Shina connected the
path to Mikael and spoke to the crystal.
However, Mikael still
didn't say anything, only reflecting back the dim light of the lamp in silence.
Shina continued to
connect the path for a while.
Mikael didn't seem to
respond to Shina's voice as usual.
However, she felt that
Mikael was somehow different from two weeks ago.
It was as if ripples
were rising on the surface of the water.
It was as if a slight
breeze had calmed the darkness, where abyss and stagnation drifted.
"Perhaps, you
lost your way?"
(…………)
Shina increased her
magic power in an attempt to make further contact with Mikael's spirit, which
remained silent.
However, before her
spirit could connect any deeper with Mikael, Mimuru suddenly jumped from behind
her.
"Shina, what are
you doing !?"
"Kyaa~!"
The sudden shock on
her back caused the Mikael in Shina's hand to slip out of her hand. As the
crystal almost hit the floor, Shina hurriedly reached out to catch it.
Fortunately, the crystal did not hit the floor and settled firmly in Shina's
hand.
"Mimuru, that was
dangerous..."
Shina exhaled in
relief, but then turned around with squinted eyes to blame Mimuru for suddenly
bumping into her.
However, Shina's eyes
widened involuntarily when she saw Mimuru's appearance.
"W-, what are you
wearing?"
"Hmm? It's my new
underwear. Does it look good?
Mimuru put her hands
on her hips and posed in a glamorous pose.
However, the underwear
she was wearing had such a small amount of fabric that it was doubtful whether
it functioned as underwear.
Her breasts and groin
were only modestly hidden, and it seemed as if something that should not be
visible could be seen at the slightest moment.
Shina felt a headache
and pressed her temples due to her best friend's too daring attire.
"It's more like a
rip-off than looking good on you. Why did you choose to wear those
stringy-looking underwear again?"
"Of course, it's
for Tom! If I approach him with this, he'll, knock-, me-, down, nyan~...!"
Apparently, she had
bought this string-like underwear with the intention of seducing Tom.
Shina felt a strange
sense of cunning in the way Mimuru went out of her way to tell her something like
that.
"Given Tom's
personality, I think he's going to pull back instead... Aren't you
embarrassed?"
"What are you
talking about? Women must be courageous! It's not my style to walk three steps
behind my husband!"
Mimuru proudly
declared so, but Shina, who had been thinking seriously earlier, couldn't keep
up with her at the moment.
The fact that Mimuru
was only wearing underwear was also a factor that dampened Shina's spirits.
In addition, she
called Tom her husband even though they were not yet married, but Shina didn't
pursue it any further.
"Is that so?
Anyway, if you're going to get close to Tom, try not to bother him too
much."
While sighing, Shina
left Mimuru alone and tried to talk to Mikael again.
As usual, there was no
response from Mikael, but she still continued to connect the path with the
crystal.
On the other hand,
Mimuru's mouth twitched in frustration at the sight of Shina's flippant
behavior.
The next moment,
however, she smiled and leaned in from behind her.
"Shina, too. You
could make Nozomu's heart throb if you wanted to, couldn't you? You have such a
beautiful body. You should make better use of it."
"Wha~! What are
you doing!"
While hugging Shina
from behind, Mimuru slipped her hands under Shina's armpits and wrapped them
around her breasts as if to lift them up.
"H~mm, it's a
little modest, but the shape is perfect. And, as a bonus..."
"Hya~! H-, hey!
Stop it!"
In addition, Mimuru
began caressing Shina's breasts with her hands.
Shina's body trembled
as if an electric current had run through it.
"Excellent
sensitivity. I can't stop myself from playing with it."
Mimuru, who was in a
good mood, put her hands inside Shina's shirt and began to caress her body
directly.
"Ah~! Nn~! Hey,
s-, stop, it ..."
Shina started to get
angry at this.
However, Just as Shina
was about to raise her hand to smack Mimuru...
"Imagine it,
Shina, if these hands were Nozomu-kun's..."
"Fuwa~!"
However, the moment
Mimuru muttered Nozomu's name in Shina's ear, her entire body bounced as if struck
by lightning.
Then, as if her
strength had been drained from her body for a moment, her whole body stiffened
like a stone, and she began to tremble more violently than before.
Mimuru's hands, which
were squeezing Shina's breasts, felt a glamorous tremor in Shina's body which
was clearly different from the angry tremor she had just experienced earlier.
"Nnn~!
~~~~~!"
Every time Mimuru's
hands moved, Shina's mouth let out a charming, inexpressible moan.
Looking closely, Shina's
long, distinctive ears were stained bright red, and a powerful scent began to
waft from her white neck.
She was clearly
experiencing pleasure.
Still, Shina was
writhing between the pleasure and shame running through her body, biting her
lips and desperately trying to stifle her voice.
"Oh no. This elf
is super cute..."
Mimuru was just going
to tease her at first, but a strange switch flipped inside her.
Just when Mimuru, who
seemed to be excited, was about to knock Shina down, the windowpane was knocked
and rattled open.
"I'm sorry for
coming so late at night. Miss, I need to talk to you about something...
fuo~!"
"Eh?"
It was Zonne who
peeked out of the window.
The Wildcat girl and
the old man were speechless, stiffening involuntarily at the unexpected
situation.
Seen from the side,
Shina and Mimuru were female students who were having fun doing something in
their room. As for Zonne, he was a suspicious person who had trespassed into
the girls' dormitory.
After a moment of
silence passed between them...
"Ve~ry ~~ Good
!!"
"Divine
punishment!"
"It figu~
gaaah~!"
Mimuru leaped at Zonne
in her underwear, and her fist gouged deeply into Zonne's stomach.
Zonne's body crumpled
forward, over the window frame, and fell like a corpse to the floor of the room.
"Good grief, what
an insane lustful dragon to barge into a woman's room on a night like
this..."
Mimuru angrily crossed
her arms, but the only clothes she was wearing right now were her underwear.
Moreover, because she
was also driven by her lust just a moment ago, so she has no power of
persuasion.
"Shina, the evil
has been destroyed... Eh? Why are you clenching your fists?"
And, of course, she
would reap what she sowed.
Shina's hand was
raised and swung out with a force that could not be imagined from her slender
appearance.
And, of course, the
bill for her deeds would come home to her.
"Mimuru ... you
fooooool~!"
"Gaaah~!"
Shina's hand struck
Mimuru's cheek, and with a sound, *Smack!*, that resonated to the core,
Mimuru's body flew out of the window with a clean three-and-a-half-turn twist.
After forcibly dumping
Mimuru out the window, Shina snapped the open window shut and roughly closed
the curtains.
Shina, who had been
huffing and puffing and breathing wildly, turned her attention to Zonne, who
had collapsed to the floor.
"So, what can I
do for you?"
"N, no, it's
just... I have business with you and Mikael...."
While wincing in agony
from the dull pain in his abdomen, Zonne looked up only to see a furious elf
girl with a rage seeping from her entire body.
Behind the elf's eyes
was a blizzard, so cold that even Abyss Grief would be scared to death.
"The fact that
you are here at this hour means that your business is very important, doesn't
it?"
"Y, yes..."
"I understand.
Please sit down and wait while I prepare some tea."
Shina turned on her
heel and began to prepare the tea.
Her back was radiating
a silent pressure, "Don't pursue any further!".
Zonne, who was not
daring enough to mess with Shina, sat quietly in a nearby chair and waited for
her to finish making the tea.
After a few minutes,
Zonne slowly sipped the tea she handed him and began to briefly state his
business.
"Could you leave
Mikael with the boy for a while?"
"With
Nozomu-kun?"
Nozomu and Mikael. The
mention of both of their names caused Shina to look at Zonne suspiciously.
"The boy is now
gradually in sync with Tiamat, and he's beginning to get a glimpse of her past.
Also, he seems to be curious about Tiamat's past. I could tell him, but it
would be best to hear it from Mikael himself…”
Apparently, Zonne was
thinking of having Mikael tell Nozomu directly from his mouth about Tiamat's
past.
Upon hearing Zonne's
words, Shina's expression clouded over like a rainy sky.
"He's
still..."
"I see……"
Mikael was still
silent.
When Zonne heard of
this, he also let out a disappointed sigh.
"I thought that
now that he's seen that boy trying to overcome his anger and hatred, things
might be a little different..."
Mikael had been with
Nozomu and the others due to his responsibility for Azel's outburst and the
sealing of Tiamat.
But for Zonne, he
probably hoped that by seeing the actions of Nozomu and the others now, Mikael,
who had been bound by despair and resignation, would change, even if only a
little.
"But I feel that
Mikael-dono seems a bit lost. Though, that's just my subjective view..."
"I see..."
Zonne smiled a
complicated smile, a mixture of joy and sorrow.
To Shina, his face
looked even weaker than the years he had accumulated.
"Has Nozomu-kun's
training been going well?"
This time Shina asked
a question to the old man. The content of the question was about the progress
of Nozomu's training.
She was concerned
about Nozomu, who had been visibly worn out since he began training.
"The training
itself is not good, but it is not bad either. The problem is the boy's
impatience. You know that, don't you, miss?"
Nozomu imposed on
himself a rigorous training regimen. Knowing the reason, Shina nodded to
Zonne's words.
"The power of
dragons is the power of spirits. However, even though that brat has become a
Dragon Slayer, he shows no signs of being able to sense spirits. No matter how
I look at him, he really is just a human. Even I can't say that he has complete
control over his power either. He might be able to contain it, but he's not in
a state to control it."
A Dragon Slayer who
had taken in the power of a dragon should be able to communicate with spirits
to varying degrees.
However, despite being
a Dragon Slayer, Nozomu remained a human being to this day.
He was able to contain
Tiamat's power, but he was not able to control it completely.
Unique skill and
spirit magic. Neither can be learned overnight.
Shina fully understood
Nozomu's frustration that he still had to do something about it.
"So his problems
are the control of his unique skill and the inability to sense the
spirits?"
"If we can solve
either of them, he might make a breakthrough..."
In response to Zonne's
words, Shina put her hand over her mouth as if in thought.
As a human, Nozomu had
difficulty even sensing the spirits that exist around him. However, he had used
Tiamat's power he had taken in. In fact, Shina had seen Nozomu use Tiamat's
elements several times.
Then, naturally, she
could see what Nozomu lacked.
"Mmm... Maybe
Nozomu-kun can also... But..."
Shina was thinking
with a somewhat puzzled expression on her face.
Zonne watched in
silence.
"...... I
understand. Old man, can you leave the matter of spirit magic to me?"
"Hmm, looks like
you have an idea. I have a good guess as to what you're trying to do, but I
think you're better suited for the job than I am. I'll be counting on you
then."
Zonne's eyes narrowed
for a moment at Shina's words, but his expression immediately changed as if he had
realized something.
Zonne stood up, opened
the window, and put his feet on the edge of the window.
"U-, umm. About
Mikael-dono..."
"You can give it
directly to that brat. I'll give him a day off from his training tomorrow, so
if you intend to do something to him, you may do it then."
At that moment, for
some reason, Shina's cheeks turned vermillion.
Zonne smiled at
Shina's appearance.
"Ah, by the way,
Miss, regarding the matter of spirit magic, perhaps..."
"I know. There's
no other way. B-, but……"
When Zonne looked
back, he saw that Shina had her arms crossed. Then she put her hand over her
mouth and was mumbling something while immersed in her own thoughts.
What on earth had she
come up with?
Her cheeks were even
redder than when she was being teased by Mimuru, and she looked like a boiled
octopus.
"Good grief. I'm
so jealous of that brat."
Zonne slumped his
shoulders as if he was amazed by Shina, who did not seem to notice his call and
disappeared straight out the window.
All that was left was
a single cute elf writhing in shame.
By the way, the
wildcat girl who was dumped outside the window was left unconscious from the
impact of the fall and ended up being left there until morning.
====================================
An administrative district
was established in the northern part of Arcazam.
Inside a special room
for dignitaries of various countries, the atmosphere was as gloomy as the
bottom of a swamp.
There was no sign of
people at all in this place where the night had fallen.
In the darkness, two
figures were facing each other.
"So, have you
decided to call the head of the household?"
"Yes. I have
found out the details of the "fire" that the Francilt Household is
holding. We've been on the back foot ever since the Starlight destroyed our
forces, but now that we have more information, it's time to make our
move."
Mekria and the Corpse
Raven.
The combination of a
bewitching beauty and a skinny man who reeked of death was still eerie even in
the dark of night.
"For that reason,
you have to send a letter to "that country". Since it's a serious
matter, isn't it~? That's why, the head of the household needs to know about
this, right?"
"I don't see why
not. If he could deal a blow to the head of the Francilt Household, I'm sure he
would be willing to go along with it, even if he feels indignant about
it.."
"The head of the
household seems to have hated the old man for a long time~. It's as if his
loved ones were taken away from him. So, how do you plan to break their
stronghold?"
He asked with a smirk
and an unpleasant smile on his face
"For now, let's
just play one of our hands."
"Just one? Isn't
it a bad idea to take it easy on him?"
"This is to check
whether Victor has any countermeasures or not. Besides, if we play our cards
poorly, we'll be the ones out of breath."
While she says she
will move, Mekria makes it clear that she will only use a cautious approach.
This is because she
recognizes Victor as a clear threat.
He had a tendency to
go wild when it came to his family members, but he was not putting on air when
it came to the fact that he was involved in the founding of the Solminati
Academy.
"Leaving that
aside, what about "him" ?"
The topic then shifted
to a young man who was now the focus of Victor's attention.
Nozomu Bountis.
A swordsman who is now
beginning to attract attention from various countries after his epic battle
against Jihad Raundel at the martial arts garden.
But what was truly
remarkable about this young man was that he was the first "Dragon
Slayer" to appear in several hundred years.
"As usual, he
went to the forest with the old white dragon for the past two weeks. It's
difficult to keep an eye on him for a long time, though, because the old man is
always by his side~."
After discovering that
he was a Dragon Slayer, Mekria had ordered the Corpse Raven to keep an eye on
Nozomu Bountis.
"He's been
amazing lately~. He has improved the control limit time of that power by ten
seconds. Moreover, he still seems to be dissatisfied with it. Maybe he's a
dragon in disguise... "
The Corpse Raven
smiled and talked about how Nozomu was being mentored by the mighty White
Dragon.
Mekria's eyes widened
involuntarily when she saw his happy smile.
"You seem to be
interested in him."
"At least, more
than Mecria-chan~."
"Keep it within
the range that it doesn't affect our plans. He is the key. This is an
opportunity that has finally come to us. You do understand that, don't
you?..."
"I know. You
don't have to look scary like that~."
Mekria gave a strong
questioning gaze to Corpse Raven who was waving his hand.
"I'm not sure
about that. You always lose control whenever you're interested in
something."
"Good grief.
You've known me for a long time, but why don't you trust me~. But you know,
that's the way I am. I can't change that, can I~?"
"I heard you took
the liberty of disposing of non-targets at your last job, even though you
didn't need to."
"I thought it was
going to be fun, but to be honest, I was disappointed. They broke down
easily."
Mekria sighed at the
sight of Corpse Raven.
"You'll get your
chance soon. Until then, be patient."
"Yes, yes~. I
know~."
Whether she believed
the Corpse Raven's words or whether she realized that there was no point in
saying anything further, Mekria turned on her heel and left the room.
The Raven watched her
back as she disappeared through the door, then he rolled back the curtains
beside him and opened the closed window with all his might.
A cold winter wind
rushed into the room through the window.
Feeling the wind hit
his entire body, he raised his hands. His black-winged costume fluttered in the
breeze.
"Yes, I
know..."
A voice that made
anyone who heard it feel heavy, different from the playful and light tone he
usually used.
The Corpse Raven
rushed out of the window as it was, and disappeared into the darkness of the
new moon.
