Chapter 8 Part 19
Translator : PolterGlast
Leaving Nozomu, Shina
approached her target in a straight line.
One was an aged,
elderly elf related to her by blood. The other was a young elf with an
appearance resembling that of an idol and golden hair.
"It's been a
while, Shina."
"Yes it is, Triforium-sama."
"Don't be such a
stranger. I'm practically your parent."
Triforium Root
An old elf who is
Shina's great-grandfather.
He is one of the
elders who govern the elven refugee village and is in a high enough position to
participate in this opening festival.
He is the only
remaining blood relative and guardian of Shina, who has lost all close
relatives.
“Rauls-sama, it’s been a while.”
"Yeah, it's been
a while.”
Rauls Forium.
A young elf who came
to Arcazam as Triforium's attendant.
Of course, he is also
an influential person who participated in the opening festival.
His position is that
of a negotiator between the elves and other races.
For the elves who have
been forced to live in other lands after being driven from their homeland by
the Great Invasion, negotiations with other races are essential, and for that
reason, this young elf has a very important role to play.
"It's a little
noisy in here. Let's go outside."
After Triforium told
them so, he turned away and began to walk away without waiting for Shina and
Rauls to respond.
Rauls and Shina
followed him in silence.
The three of them left
the venue and turned their steps toward the garden of the reception facility.
The garden was
illuminated by the moonlight, the magic lamps were lit for illumination, and
the quiet breeze made the hustle and bustle of the party venue echo faintly.
"That dress suits
you very well."
"Thank you. This
dress was a gift from my friend's father, and I am sure my friend would be
delighted to hear it."
Rauls expressed his
compliments with a sweet voice and a smile that could melt one's heart.
Shina, however, curtly
returned a polite bow but did not change her expression even a twitch.
Shina's curt response
made Rauls smile wryly.
"The same as
usual, huh? I'm your fiancée, you know ......"
In fact, Rauls is one
of the prospective fiancées addressed to Shina.
For the elves, whose
entire race has been in decline since the Great Invasion, it was imperative to
nurture the next generation.
"Rauls-sama, you
are indeed one of my prospective fiancées, but it has not yet been made
official. Besides, I have not yet made my decision on my future husband."
In response to Shina's
curt reply, Rauls raised his hands with a look of disappointment. It seems that
he is used to this kind of attitude from Shina.
The one who frowned at
Shina's attitude was Triforium.
"Shina, I will
say it once again. Return to the village of your brethren."
"I must decline.
I have my own business to do."
Having originally
opposed Shina's coming to Arcazam, Triforium's tone of voice toward her was
rather stiff.
On the other hand,
Shina had also anticipated her great-grandfather's words, and she immediately
expressed her refusal.
Hearing Shina's
response, Triforium showed an expression that could be taken as either
exasperation or frustration.
"You're still
saying that? What can you do on your own!?"
"I am not alone.
I have friends I can trust and rely on."
"Friend? Trust?
Are they of another race?"
"Yes"
"You're believing
another race whose words are deceitful and whose smile hides a dark scheme
behind it? That's ridiculous."
Triforium dismissed
Shina's words.
Triforium's belief was
that, from the elves' point of view, other races that can only communicate
through the roundabout way of words and cannot understand each other are not
worthy of trust.
"Triforium-sama,
they are a race that has difficulty living with spirits. It is
understandable."
Rauls, standing next
to Triforium, offered his advice, but his words were tinged with a sense of bias
toward the human race.
The reason why elves
are so stubborn toward other races is due in large part to the presence of
spirits, beings who understand each other even without exchanging words.
Since they were raised
in an environment where such a being has been by their side since they were
young, other races that can only use the roundabout way of words and cannot
fully communicate with each other will seem inferior.
Moreover, if they had
experienced being deceived by conspiracies, they would have an even stronger
view of this.
"But isn't that
way of thinking the very reason why we have lost our home?"
“…………”
Triforium fell silent
upon hearing Shina's words, which could be seen as a counter-attack.
She is right, because
objectively speaking, that idea is one of the reasons why the elves lost their
homeland.
They could not believe
in another race, and when they were invaded by the demon beasts, they refused
help from anyone other than themselves until the very end. As a result, they
were put in a worse predicament than ever immediately after losing their
homeland.
Precisely because
Triforium, too, knew how it ended, which was why he looked as if he was biting
down on a bitter bug.
"Okay, both of
you, just calm down for a minute."
Rauls intervened
between the two, who were beginning to radiate a dangerous atmosphere.
"Triforium-sama,
you know she won't listen to you when you put it like this, don't you? Shina,
you too, you need to calm down. I know what Elder said sounds harsh, but it's
out of concern for you."
In response to Rauls'
words, Shina and Triforium awkwardly averted their gazes.
Both of them, however,
seemed to have no intention of changing their opinions, and their mouths were
turned back into a straight line.
Seeing Shina and
Triforium like this, Rauls shrugged his shoulders as if to say that he had no
choice. Apparently, it was not the first or second time he had stepped in
between them like this.
However, Rauls quickly
put on a serious expression and turned to face Shina.
"But I agree with
Triforium-sama. You shouldn't be in this city right now."
In response to these
words, Shina's eyebrows, which had been tense, furrowed even more.
"That's not true.
I even got my contract with the spirits back..."
"That's a lie,
isn't it? No, maybe you really did get it back, but at least the current you
can't make a contract with the spirits, can you?"
"... What are you
trying to say?"
"It's no use
trying to deceive me. Rather, you are weaker than you were before you came to
this city. That's the reason why you
couldn't even manage to deflect that level of fireball in today's combat
training."
“…………”
Hearing Rauls' words,
Shina stiffened for a moment as if she had been shot through the heart.
As he said, it was now
difficult for Shina to even cast her own magic, let alone make a spirit
contract.
"The reason why
Triforium-sama allowed you to go to Arcazam despite his inner objection was
because you were able to defend yourself reasonably well with just that magic
power alone. But what on earth can you do in such a state where you cannot even
exert that magic power?"
“…………”
"Is that young
man the reason?"
"~ !?"
Having caught her off
guard, Shina's face, which was as white as a snow, turned completely pale.
The cause of Shina's
poor condition. It was because of the blood covenant ritual between her and
Nozomu.
Nozomu's unique
ability, the [Soul-Sealing Chains].
A powerful ability
that could seal even Tiamat, even Shina's soul, which was connected through the
blood covenant ritual, had been affected and her ability had been
significantly reduced.
"I knew it. And
by the looks of it, it looks like you've even gone so far as to perform a blood
covenant ritual."
"...... What did
you say!?"
"I felt it
earlier when you were talking to that boy. I felt a strong contract between the
two of you."
Rauls' ongoing words
drive Shina even further into a corner.
Rauls is also
extremely talented, as he is the only person who can serve as a negotiator with
many different races.
With his eyes, he was
able to see the strong contract between Shina and Nozomu.
"What a
thoughtless thing to do....... An elf and a human race, two different races,
and on top of that, a blood covenant ritual ......."
"Shina! Are you
willing to devote your life to such a human being!?"
Perhaps feeling a bit
overwhelmed by Shina's actions, Rauls put his hand on his forehead and looked
up to the sky.
On the other hand,
Triforium was already losing his composure, drawing closer and throwing spits
at Shina.
"... My
intentions remain the same."
Shina, having been
exposed to all the facts she did not want to be found out, turned her head down
and said only one sentence of rejection, as if she was trying to keep her
resolve firm.
Seeing Shina like
this, Rauls let out a sigh of regret, and turned to Triforium.
"Triforium-sama,
let's back down for today. It seems that whatever we say to her now will be of
no use."
"Don't screw with
me! How can I leave such an important matter as it is!"
Does he think that his
blood relatives have been humiliated?
Triforium was so
enraged that if push came to shove, he was likely to direct his anger toward
the original culprit, Nozomu.
In the face of such an
elder, Rauls maintains his composure and states in a matter-of-fact tone.
"This is Arcazam.
It is unwise for the elves to harm him who is under its protection."
From the perspective
of the elven race as a whole, causing a disturbance in Arcazam would do a lot
of trouble, and nothing good would come out of it.
For Rauls, who was in
charge of negotiations with other races, harming Nozomu, the main cause of the
trouble, was not an option.
However, for
Triforium, it was a matter of his great-grandchildren. In his current state of
boiling head, Rauls' arguments alone would not be effective.
"Even if we force
her to come back here, she won't be convinced either way. Besides, Sheena
herself can't continue to stay in this school in such a weakened state. Let's
be quiet and wait for her to give up."
That was why he tried
to persuade him by bringing up Shina's current situation into the conversation.
Shina's abilities had
been greatly reduced, and it would be almost impossible for her to remain at
the Solminati Academy.
Perhaps convinced by
Rauls' words, Triforium reluctantly turned on his heel with a grim expression on
his face. As if he had nothing more to say.
Shina's expression was
bleak and she looked as if she might collapse at any moment.
"Shina. I
understand how you are willing to give up your dreams and make the blood
covenant. I, too, believe that friendship with other races is necessary for the
future of the elves. But we elves are already on the brink in terms of numbers.
We should have refrained from making careless actions."
The number of elves
had been severely reduced due to the Great Invasion, and the number of adults
needed to sustain the race had been considerably reduced.
If for some reason the
population were to decline again, even the minimum viable population to sustain
the race would be in jeopardy.
This was the result of
the negative effects of their long life span, which made it difficult for the
next generation of individuals to be born.
If the number of elves
were to continue to decline at this rate, the elven race would disappear from
the face of the planet. This situation was a reality that was not too distant
for the elves.
Another major factor
in the fluctuation of a race's population is environmental change.
For the current elves,
the villages in which they are taking refuge are not a comfortable environment
to live in. In order to maintain the population and increase the number of the
next generation of elves, it is necessary to reclaim their homeland forest, and
for this purpose, cooperation with other races is indispensable.
Naturally, Shina
understood this reality.
Shina's dream of reclaiming
her homeland was not only about revenge for her family, but also because of
this environmental change and the problem of the minimum viable population.
"I came to this
city despite the objections of those around me, and I thought you would understand
..."
To reclaim her
homeland.
For Shina, who had
been harboring this wish for a long time and kept pushing forward, Rauls' words
pierced deep into her heart.
Because she was faced
with the reality that her dreams had been closed off.
==========================
Even after Triforium
and Rauls had left, Shina still stood alone in the garden of the reception
facility.
Shina was then
confronted with another problem.
"Shina, what does
that mean?"
A dress-wearing Mimuru
appeared in front of Shina.
Shina's expression
turned flustered due to the unexpected appearance of someone she had not
expected.
“Mimuru, why are you here…”
"You went out
into the garden with an unusual atmosphere, so I followed you... So, what does
that mean?"
A moment of silence
passed between Shina and Mimuru.
"It's
noth-..."
"How could it be
nothing? By the way, I was listening to everything you said."
"~ !"
Shina was speechless
at the revelation of a fact which she had been hiding from the others.
While biting her pale
lips, she clenched her hands which were wrapped in blue silk gloves.
"I thought you
were in a bad shape during today's combat training, but I didn't expect that
you couldn't even use your magic power at all…”
She had noticed that
Shina seemed to be in bad shape, but she probably never imagined in her wildest
dreams that she was in such a bad state.
With a confused
expression on her face, Mimuru put her hand on her forehead and looked up to
the sky.
"And the cause of
the problem is Nozomu... Does he know?"
"... He doesn't
know."
Upon hearing these
words, Mimuru silently turned on her heel.
Shina, who felt a
strange sense of intimidation on Mimuru's back as she stepped toward the
reception facility, tried to hold her best friend back with a frightened voice.
"... Wait, what
are you going to do?"
"Isn't it
obvious? I have to tell Nozomu about your condition. I don't know much about
spirit contracts, but it's definitely no good if things go on like this."
"~, No! Don't do
that!"
The moment she heard
Mimuru's words, Shina was struck by a sense of fear that welled up like an
eruption.
She immediately rushed
toward Mimuru and grabbed her hand to stop her.
"No? Why
not?"
Shina's eyes wavered
as Mimuru looked back at her with a reproachful gaze.
"Right now he's
got his hands full with Tiamat. We can't put any more burdens on him..."
"Is that why you
want me to keep my mouth shut? Shina, you've got to be kidding!"
Mimuru's outrage shook
Shina's wavering heart.
For Mimuru, who was
honest and straightforward in expressing her affection to her beloved person,
Shina's behavior was absolutely unacceptable.
"... You like
Nozomu, don't you?"
"L-, like, you
say..."
"You think I
don't know that? Isn't that why Shina, who is a hard-headed elf, even went so far
as to make a blood covenant ritual with him, because you wanted to help
him?"
A feeling of love that
has been in her heart for some time, that has grown and that she has only just
become aware of.
Shina's best friend
easily saw through and expressed the feelings, which she had been trying
desperately to hide.
However, for Mimuru,
the feelings of her best friend, who was not used to being in love, were too
easy to understand.
She has been in love
with Tom, her childhood friend, for a long time.
Looking at this point
alone, Mimuru has a hundred times more experience than Shina.
“I can totally
understand the feeling of wanting to help the person you love. But you can't do
it like this. If you keep silent about this, Shina, you will definitely regret
it."
This was why she
couldn't let her best friend's mistake go on like this.
Because Mimuru
believed that she would regret the consequences of pushing her feelings away,
no matter what the consequences might be.
Even so, Shina did not
want to let go of Mimuru's hand.
Mimuru, who was
getting impatient, tried to force Shina's hand away from hers.
“Shina, enough of this
......"
"No, even so, I
don't want you to tell him."
Mimuru's hand, which
had been putting all her strength into it, now stiffened.
It was a weak plea
that was hard to believe coming from her best friend, who was usually stubborn
and scolded her for misbehaving as if she were the committee president.
Mimuru looked back and
saw Shina staring at her with tears welling up in her eyes as if she were
clinging to her.
"If he were to
find out about this ritual, it would drive Nozomu-kun even further into a
corner. It's just that he has turned his blade on us twice, making him so
impatient..."
Mimuru, who had spent
a fair amount of time with them at the academy, could sense the frustration
that Nozomu was having these days. She also knew about his reckless training.
He had directly asked
the Lord of the White Dragon to become his apprentice, and from early in the
morning, his whole body was filled with intense fatigue and the scent of
Nozomu's own blood.
At the same time, she
could imagine Shina's bad premonition.
The mention of
"destroying Shina's dream" would be like a powerful drug for Nozomu,
who was now in a state of frustration.
Especially for that
kind-hearted young man.
If Nozomu were to be
possessed by Tiamat once again, she would not know whether or not she could
bring him back this time.
"Don't worry,
I'll be fine..."
Shina smiled, pushing
away all her dreams and her own love for him.
Mimuru could only bite
her lip in front of the forced, crumpled mask of a smile.
==================================
On the other hand, at
the reception facility, Nozomu was confronted by a certain person.
"Nice to meet you
... or not. Nozomu-dono."
A lady whom he met
once before with Irisdina.
She was dressed in a
navy blue dress with a wide back opening, and her silky purple hair, gently
waving, created the most bewitching atmosphere.
Once one met her, she
was unforgettably beautiful. At the same time, however, her smiling, beautiful
countenance harbored an icy coldness.
"You are..."
"I'm Mekria. It's
been a while. Shall we have a brief conversation?"
She pointed to the
stairs leading to the salon located on the second floor.
Nozomu gulped as he
was met with a spine-chilling gaze.
