Chapter 8 Part 15
Translator : PolterGlast
The Opening Festival.
It is both the open
campus of Solminati Academy and a popular event for the students.
The school opens its
doors to the public during the daytime, and a variety of people from inside and
outside the school come to visit.
The students were also
more determined than usual to use this opportunity to show off their abilities
in their classes.
At each of the
training grounds set up in the school, a total of about 50 students were
gathered in groups, and joint classes were open to the public.
Since it was in the
midst of the opening festival, there were not only ordinary visitors but also
well-dressed dignitaries in the vicinity of the training grounds.
The spectators pointed
and sometimes cheered as they watched the students in their training, which
they could not usually see.
At other training
grounds adjacent to the center, several groups were also training under the
same attentive gaze of the visitors.
In one of such
training grounds. Among the students from three different years participating
in the training, there was one who stood out from the crowd.
Her name is Lisa
Hounds.
She is a red-haired
girl who is a top-class student among the third-year students, and is skilled
in the use of twin swords and flame magic with outstanding power.
She is currently
engaged in combat training against five students from the third year.
"Te~i!"
"Fuh~!"
"Uwa!"
Lisa easily brushed
aside a student's long sword that was slashing at her from the side with the
sword in her right hand.
The sword strike was so
powerful that it was unimaginable from her slender, feminine arm.
Her physical ability,
drastically enhanced by the [Niveei's Magic Manipulation] ability, gives her
the physical strength of a Cyclops.
However, her opponents
did not just end up being defeated.
As soon as Lisa swung
her saber, the student who had been waiting behind her fired dozens of magic
bullets at her.
The number of magic
bullets was too many for a single person to defend against. However, Lisa held
up the dagger in her left hand and created a huge fireball. She then launched
it at the oncoming swarm of magic bullets.
The fireball exploded,
swallowing the numerous magic bullets that were coming toward it. The released
shock waves blew away the students who had been standing behind it.
The students who were
flung through the air were slammed to the ground a few seconds later and let
out a cry of anguish.
It was too one-sided a
development.
It was not that the
third-year students were weak.
They had trained at
the academy and were among the top scorers during the special general training.
However, because this
girl's ability was so outstanding, they were unable to subdue her at all.
"What's the
matter? Is it over already?"
Lisa's mouth was full
of a smile as she played with the twin swords she held in her hands.
When the incident of
Ken's assault became public, she was so tormented by her own guilt and mistakes
that she was as worn out as a withered tree.
Lisa had lost sight of
herself for a while, but now she no longer showed the slightest sign of
weakness.
She was like a young
bud that had just sprouted, full of life and vigor.
"U-, uu……"
On the other hand, the
students who had been Lisa's opponents all looked impatient. The difference in
ability was so great that they were discouraged.
"If you're going
to be discouraged by this, you're not going to make it down the road."
"Lisa, you're
overdoing it. Everyone is completely overwhelmed."
Camilla, who had been
standing behind Lisa, was sighing.
Camilla had been
standing by to protect her partner's back, ready to cast a spell at any time,
but she had nothing to do as Lisa showed an overwhelming amount of energy and
laid waste to her opponents.
"Even if it's
just combat training, it doesn't mean we should go easy on them. The real battle
will be more than this."
"But it's still
too much. Even if it's the day of the opening festival, it's still too much to
go all out from the beginning using [Niveei's Magic Manipulation] ......."
To begin with, Lisa's
physical and magical capabilities were sufficient to maintain her superiority
over several students of higher ranks.
On the other hand,
[Niveei's Magic Manipulation], which multiplies the efficiency of magic, has
restrictions on the number of times it can be used and the duration of its cooldown
time, and is originally intended to be used when the right time comes.
Therefore, until now,
Lisa's basic tactic has been to use her superior capabilities to maintain her
superiority, seizing an opportunity to use [Niveei's Magic Manipulation], and
then laying waste to her opponents in one fell swoop with a powerful offensive
attack.
Now, however, she did
not consider her own remaining strength or what would come later, and she was
going all out to take down her opponent from the very beginning.
Camilla knew that Lisa
had made up with Nozomu and was working hard on her studies and training with a
fresh start, but she was also becoming a little worried about her.
"It doesn't
matter whether it's an opening festival or not. I just want to thoroughly push
my limits while I still can. If I don't do it now, while I can still fail, it
will be an absolute waste."
On the other hand,
Lisa, who was bitterly disappointed, dismissed Camilla's concerns in a light
tone.
For that matter, she
wanted to push her own limits as much as possible while she was still able to.
For this reason, she was giving it her all, no matter what kind of training or
combat training she was engaged in.
Especially, Lisa
focused on the training of her ability, [Niveei's Magic Manipulation].
[Niveei's Magic
Manipulation], depending on how it was used, had the potential to deal a
sufficient blow to an opponent of higher rank.
This could be seen
from the fact that [Niveei's Magic Manipulation] served as the final blow to
stop Nozomu, who had gone out of control during the incident involving the
attack by Azel.
And because she saw
the possibility that she could become even stronger, Lisa was actively using
this [Niveei's Magic Manipulation] to train herself once again.
Sometimes she failed,
sometimes she ran out of magic power, and sometimes she fainted from the
backlash, but even so, she did not try to stop. Even if she fainted, she could
receive adequate treatment in the academy.
An environment where
she could try again, even if she failed, was invaluable. And now that she was
in an environment where failure was allowed, it was only natural that she would
be more determined.
"I don't want to
have any more regrets, so I'm going to run past the limits of what I can do now
with all my might. That's the adventure I'm going through right now."
More than anything,
what was inspiring Lisa was the reminder that she did not want to repeat the
two years she had spent standing still in her escape.
She also did not want
to waste Nozomu's feelings, who had shown her the way, swallowing his
bitterness and hatred to the very end.
In order to do so, she
determined to once again strengthen her "core". With this goal in
mind, she swung the twin swords in her hands.
The passion that
drives her today is her passion.
A smile spread across
Lisa's face as she spoke of her desire to push herself to her limits, and there
was not a hint of the depression that had once been in her face.
Her smile was as
bright and cheerful as a sunny sky, and not only Camilla, but also the
disheartened students of the third year, as well as the visitors to the
training grounds, couldn't help but admire her smile.
"So, who's
next?"
"Then, how about
us?"
Third-party voices
echoed through the training grounds.
A girl from the
Wildcat Race, belonging to the second class, answered Lisa's words, who had
changed her bright smile into a challenging one.
Next to her, there was
also an elf with a mysterious expression on her face.
"Mimuru-san, and
Shina-san..."
"I don't doubt
Red-Haired Princess's ability, but if you're not careful, you'll get a smack in
the face, you know."
"There's no way
I'd let my guard down, is there? Rather, there's no shortage of them."
"That's the way
it should be!"
Mimuru smiled warily
at Lisa while spinning her dagger.
At the same time, Lisa
also raised her twin swords as if to respond to Mimuru's wariness.
The instructor in
charge of the training raised his hand, signaling the start of the battle.
"Fuh~!"
Mimuru took the
initiative.
She quickly
strengthened her body with Qi and activated her instantaneous movement. Using
the agility unique to beastmen as a weapon, she tried to close the gap between
herself and Lisa at once.
However, Lisa also
reacted swiftly.
She raised her left
hand which was holding the saber, completed her chanting, and created a
fireball. Then, she shot out the fireball toward Mimuru, who was coming at her
like a leopard.
The fireball that was
released accurately caught Mimuru.
Furthermore, Lisa used
[Niveei's Magic Manipulation]. The fireball, which was only the size of the
palm of her hand, swelled up to the size of her head at once.
Mimuru, on the other
hand, pushed forward without paying any attention to the approaching fireball.
The fact that Lisa was
using [Niveei's Magic Manipulation] would make the fireball's power powerful
enough, but Mimuru understood that this level of power would be handled without
any problem by her best friend who was standing behind her.
"Shina, I leave
it to you!"
As if in response to
Mimuru's shout, Shina, who had been standing behind her, shot an arrow filled
with magic power.
The arrow flew through
the air, leaving a trail of blue magic light in its wake, and pierced the
center of the fireball that was approaching Mimuru.
Mimuru knew better
than anyone how good Shina was with a bow. The power of the arrow, strengthened
by magic power, has the power to penetrate even a steel shield.
No matter how much the
fireball's power was doubled by [Niveei's Magic Manipulation], it was still
possible to unilaterally shatter the fireball that was just a feint ...... at
least, it was supposed to be that way.
"Eh?"
"What?"
The arrow that pierced
the fireball burned up in a flash like a withered grass, and the fireball hit
Mimuru, who was advancing straight toward it, and then exploded.
"Ukyaaa~!"
Mimuru screamed as she
was hit by the hot air released at close range.
The fire that soared
up further caught fire on her hair, causing it to burst into flames. Shina,
Lisa, and Camilla all rushed over and began hitting Mimuru's hair to douse the
fire.
Fortunately, the fire
that had caught in her hair was quickly extinguished, but Mimuru's hair turned
into a mess like roasted chestnuts.
"Ueee~, my
hair~..."
"U-, umm, I'm
sorry. I think I made a slight mistake.."
Camilla performed
healing magic on Mimuru, who was lamenting over her hair that had partially
turned to ashes.
As expected, the
burned hair that had turned to ashes could not be restored, but the burns on
Mimuru's face soon disappeared without a trace.
It was fortunate that
the fireball was only a feint, even though it had been enhanced in power.
"What's the hell
just happened~? Didn't you say that with your bow, such magic won't be a
problem at all~!"
"That's right.
Her aim was accurate and the arrow was aimed firmly at the center of my
fireball... Are you not feeling well?"
"Umm……"
Mimuru, feeling
depressed about her charred hair, voiced her doubts, while Lisa raised a
question.
Shina, on the other
hand, seemed to be at a loss for words and glanced at them, her gaze swimming
in the air.
Shina's eyes drifted
in the air, a gesture that clearly indicated she was in a state of disbelief.
"Now that you
mention it, I smelled blood on Shina's body the other day... Ah, I know~!"
"Uu……"
Mimuru hit her hand as
if she had an idea.
Shina's body trembled.
If this fun-loving
Mimuru were to know that she had signed a blood covenant with Nozomu, she would
happily spread the information all over the school.
If this were to
happen, of course, Nozomu would hear about it too.
Shina, who did not
want Nozomu to know the meaning of the blood covenant ritual, was in a very bad
situation.
"Shina, why
didn't you tell me about this? If I had known, I wouldn't have forced you to do
this..."
However, contrary to
Shina's concern, Mimuru put her hands on both of Shina's shoulders with a
serious expression on her face.
Shina gulped ...... at
the gentle atmosphere of concern from her best friend, which was a hundred and
eighty degrees different from her usual goofy character.
"You were having
a girl's day, weren't you!?"
"Wrong!"
"Gyaa~!"
Then, she screamed
without a pause.
When Mimuru raised her
voice, Shina spontaneously raised her hand and smacked Mimuru on the head. It
was inevitable.
Shina herself was
troubled with a sense of guilt and remorse toward Nozomu, and when she was hit
with such an outrageous remark, one or two hands were bound to come out.
"I thought it was
..."
"No, you're
wrong! How could you assume so!? I mean, never talk about such things out
loud!"
Shina and Mimuru were
attracting quite a few stares, but some of the stares were not only from
students but also from the visitors.
Some of them were
whispering and chuckling.
Shina's face was
stained with embarrassment when she noticed the stares around her.
It was only natural
that she would be the center of attention if she talked about something
peculiar to girls in the presence of such a group of school students.
"Ugh, I can't
believe I'm being stared at like this..."
"By the way,
Shina's loud voice is also the cause of the stares ...... ada-da-da!"
"S-h-u-t,
u-p!"
Shina gently pinched
Mimuru's ear, her white, fair skin turning bright red with embarrassment.
As Mimuru said,
Shina's yelling was also a factor that drew attention from the surroundings,
but it made her feel even more embarrassed.
"Even though it's
the day of the opening festival, it's still pretty lively."
"Mimuru is
causing too much trouble for her. Good grief, what a troublemaker."
"I don't know. I
think they make a good partner for each other."
Camilla, who had been
standing back and watching Mimuru and Shina, smiled in amusement.
Shina, noticing
Mimuru's innocent expression, said "Hmph!" in exasperation, and put
more pressure on the finger that was pinching Mimuru's ear before finally
releasing her.
Mimuru's ears were
painfully swollen, and she was rubbing her pinched ears with teary eyes.
Nevertheless, Shina
herself was not pleased with Camilla's words.
Mimuru, on the other
hand, pouted as if to say, "You don't have to go this far!"
Yet, there was not a
hint of the gloomy atmosphere that lingered between the two of them.
Camilla's smile
deepened at the somewhat friendly atmosphere.
"Hey, don't you
think so too, Lisa?"
"...Eh,
what?"
Camilla asked Lisa
whether she agreed, but Lisa was somewhat absent-minded, staring at the
training ground next door.
"Lisa, what's
wro~ ... Oh~, I see."
"W-, what is
it..."
Beyond her line of
sight, there was a figure of Nozomu in combat training in the training ground
next door.
More than a dozen
students were clashing their wooden swords in a melee training exercise.
Among them, Nozomu's
presence was exceptional.
There were five
students surrounding him. Strangely enough, the number of students surrounding
him was the same as that of Lisa's opponent earlier.
Nozomu handled all of
the slashes that these five students threw at him.
There was no delay in
his movements, and he continued to draw fluid slashes as he became one with the
wooden katana he carried in his hand.
He deflected a frontal
attack to the side and struck another attack that was coming from the side with
the wooden sword he had just parried.
He then quickly moved
behind the opponent in front of him and used his Qi-jutsu [Cannon] to blow them
both away.
He also intercepted
the other three, who had leaped at him as if to surround him, by utilizing the
recoil of the shockwave he had released, and quickly turned himself around to
intercept them.
With the wooden katana
that he had swung, he cut down all of the wooden swords that were being
simultaneously swung down at him.
The sight of this made
not only the students he was fighting, but also the spectators, who were
watching from afar, involuntarily froze in their seats.
"What a
nonsensical thing he did as usual... Just how dense was his Qi-blade? How could
he cut his opponents' swords with just a wooden katana as if he were using an
iron sword?"
"He's
fundamentally destroying the meaning of the wooden katana~."
Camilla and Mimuru let
out a voice of admiration and dismay.
Lisa, on the other
hand, stared at Nozomu with a mysterious expression on her face.
"Hmm? What's
wrong, Lisa? You're looking at him with such an expression on your face."
"Um, well, I kind
of have a weird feeling about it..."
With crisp words, Lisa
put her hand over her mouth and shut up.
However, Mimuru, who
had no idea of what Lisa felt was wrong about Nozomu, tilted her head.
"Weird? Well,
sure, Nozomu's swordsmanship is kind of weird."
"I don't mean it
like that, I just have this kind of uneasy feeling about it ... How do you feel
about it, Shina-san?"
Unable to express the
feeling of discomfort that was tugging at the depths of her heart, Lisa
unintentionally called out to Shina, who was standing by her side.
Shina, however, did
not hear Lisa's words and kept staring at her hand.
Her slender white
fingers were covered with a single lumpy reddish-black pressure ulcer. It was a
scar that had formed when she and Nozomu had exchanged a blood covenant the
other day.
"...
Shina-san?"
"... Eh? W-, what
is it?"
"What's wrong
Shina, you're kind of staring at your hand in a daze... Did you hurt your
hand?"
"N, no, it's
nothing. More importantly, what's wrong?"
Mimuru, who had
noticed the scar, leaned closer to Shina, but the elf girl, seemingly agitated,
put her hands behind her back and responded with an astonished look on her
face.
"What's wrong?
Did you hurt your finger?"
"Y-, yeah. I had
a little bit of a snag in my finger from the jagged arrow during the combat
training earlier..."
"But you already
have the pressure ulcer even before the combat training, don't you?"
"W-, well, umm
..."
*Stareee----*
Mimuru stared at Shina
with her face so close that she could almost hear the sound of an onomatopoeic
noise.
Shina involuntarily
backed away as she was met with a probing and intense gaze.
"W-, what is
it?..."
"As I thought,
you have been acting strange since last night. Shina, you would usually come to
me with an iron claw to crush my skull, but you only pinched my ear just now.
Come to think of it, the last time we stayed at Irisdina's mansion, I smelled
blood on your body when you came back to your room late at night."
Mimuru clapped her
hands as if she had just remembered something.
"I see. So that's
it. Sorry, Shina. That makes you physically uncomfortable, doesn't it?"
"Wha~. What's
wrong with you all of a sudden?"
"Is your body
okay? Has the bleeding stopped? Do you have trouble walking? Sorry I pushed you
too hard."
"You're being so
nice all of a sudden, it's weird. Are you sure you're not making another weird
misunderstanding?"
"Today we're
going to eat red rice!"
"Red rice? What's
that?"
"In the East,
they dye rice, a type of grain, red and eat it on celebratory occasions. I
don't know anything about rice, but you can substitute flour for the grain,
right?
"Celebration of
what?"
"Of course, Shina
and Nozomu-kun committed adultery ...... ada-da-da!"
"W-e, d-i-d,
n-o-t, d-o, t-h-a-t!"
"Shina, my-, my
ears. They are going to be torn to shreds~!"
Shina twisted the cat
beastman's ears as hard as she could with the intention of tearing them off, after
she once again made an outrageous remark.
However, Shina's face
couldn't have been more vermilion as she pinched her best friend's ear.
She was even more
embarrassed than before because she had made a contract with Nozomu that was
more intimate than a physical relationship, if not more so.
"By the way, what
do you use for dyeing?"
Lisa murmured so as
she watched the exchange between these two best friends.
In response to Lisa's
question, Mimuru dexterously let her gaze wander in the air while her ears were
being pinched.
"... Chili
pepper?"
"Are you really
going to eat something that looks like a punishment for a celebration?"
"Well, umm
..."
Apparently, Mimuru was
also not familiar with the culture regarding red rice in the East.
Shina looked at Mimuru
in dismay, wondering if she had said such a random thing without knowing much
about it.
At that moment, an
ashen-haired female student approached from the edge of the training ground.
"Everyone, there
you are."
"Ah, Irisdina.
Were you also having combat training?"
"Yeah, with
students from the fourth grade. What about Nozomu?....."
Irisdina had just
participated in the same training as Lisa and the others.
Her hair had turned
gray due to excessive use of magic power, and at one time she did not participate
much in practical exercises such as these combat training due to concerns about
her health.
However, today was the
opening day of the festival, so she participated in the practical exercise
class.
"I was fighting
against five opponents just now. Now I'm up against the other five."
"I see……"
Beyond her line of
sight, she saw Nozomu slashing through his opponent's weapons, just as he had
done earlier.
Apparently, with
[Phantom] still enveloping his katana, he leaped towards his remaining
opponent.
In response to the
unexpected sight of a wooden katana capable of cutting like iron, Nozomu's
opponents were being overwhelmed left and right. Without being able to control
the situation, they were one-sidedly overwhelmed.
Moreover, Nozomu
hardly showed any signs of being exhausted.
He kept activating his
[Phantom] on his katana and strengthened his body only to the minimum.
By showing the
unexpected, he incited agitation and swept everything away before his opponents
could regain their composure.
Moreover, he carefully
maneuvered his opponent's position to create a one-on-one situation at all
times.
Although it may be
partly due to the fact that they were caught up in a strategy that could be
called a model for actual combat, it was a scene that made the spectators feel
sorry for the students who were forced to deal with such a non-standard
opponent.
"As we knew,
Nozomu is getting quite a lot of attention."
"Hmm?"
To Mimuru, who tilted
her head, Irisdina pointed to a section of the training ground with her chin.
There were
well-dressed dignitaries from various countries.
The dignitaries were
observing Nozomu's every move as he stood there with a lingering impression
while having small conversations with their attendants.
The people observing
Nozomu were dressed in a variety of different outfits, from a man wearing a
cape-like headdress to a female knight in valiant knightly armor, and even a
beast in a tuxedo and tie. It could be said that Nozomu had attracted the
attention of so many people, regardless of country or race.
"From the looks
of it, there are people related to the Adventurers' Guild, people from the
Imperial Knights of Cremazzone, merchants affiliated with the Sumahya Union,
and many others."
"Uwa ... It would
be a pain in the ass to deal with that many scouts..."
"Mimuru, you
don't need to put it like that. It's necessary for Nozomu. Besides, the scouts
are here for him. There aren't that many people for Mimuru to deal with this
time."
Shina complained to
Mimuru, who was hanging her head down with a frown on her face.
"I know. That
being said, what about you, Shina?"
"I am, umm
..."
"What's
wrong?"
When Shina's gaze
landed on one of the dignitaries, her expression somehow turned cloudy.
Mimuru and the others,
who were standing beside her, followed Shina's gaze to see what she had seen,
and there they saw a pair of suspicious-looking men completely concealed by
hoods and coats.
"Who are those
suspicious people?..."
"Probably one of
the elven elders and his companion."
"What? Are they
after you, Shina?"
"Maybe"
Due to their rather
reclusive nature, elves rarely associate with other races.
There were also few
stories of elves being seen in Arcazam, and naturally, there was no record of
them participating in this opening festival.
"Shina, you don't
look so happy?"
"Well, umm, now
is a bit..."
Shina's expression
remained cloudy even though she had seen a relative for the first time in a
long time.
Shina had fallen
silent as if she had something difficult to say, and Lisa and the others were
unable to say anything.
As if to change the
subject, Irisdina opened her mouth.
"By the way,
Shina-kun and Mimuru-kun seemed to be making a fuss earlier, did something
happens?
"Un, actually, it
was about Shina's marriage..."
"...
Marriage?"
Irisdina's voice was
tinged with doubt.
Her graceful eyes were
naturally dilated, and her tone was somewhat questioning.
"No, it's wrong!
Mimuru, please, stop it already!"
"Eeh? I don't
think it's wrong tho~~"
Naturally, Shina and
Irisdina's gazes intersected.
Both of them were
carrying a sense of guilt toward each other through a certain person. They
naturally looked away from each other, perhaps feeling an inexpressible
awkwardness.
Mimuru and the others
who were watching Irisdina and Shina on their side could only tilt their heads.
