Chapter 8 Part 28
Translator : PolterGlast
The morning classes
were over. In the third year, first class. At the edge of the classroom, a
voice filled with quiet sorrow, sadness, and exasperation drifted by.
"Ai, what do you
mean?'"
In the classroom,
which was supposed to be a temporary relaxing period after being released from
the tension of class, only that one corner of the room was filled with a cold,
bottom-chilling atmosphere.
The voice belonged to
Tima Lime.
Her usual gentle and
calm atmosphere had disappeared, and her eyes were filled with a fierce anger.
"Like I said, I'm
going to be busy for a while."
Irisdina replied
coldly, yet a tingling heat was felt in the pit of Tima's stomach.
Irisdina tone of voice
was devoid of any emotion.
The cold expression on
her best friend's face made Tima feel as if she were looking at an intricate
doll, and the sense of helplessness caused even more heat to erupt from the pit
of her stomach.
Meanwhile, Irisdina,
the person in question, brushed aside her best friend's anger like a gentle
breeze and turned away, ready to leave the classroom.
"~! Ai,
wait!"
"I'm sorry, but I
have something I have to do. I don't have time to be stuck with you. Well
then..."
Without waiting for
Tima's reply, Irisdina left the classroom.
She never returned to
the classroom that day.
==================================
After school, Nozomu
was visiting the craftsmen's district with Anri.
In return for his help
in organizing the opening festival and assisting Ecross' class, he was promised
a place where he could rent a furnace to make a bell for Irisdina.
But Nozomu's
expression was not good as he walked through the craftsmen's district.
(Just forget about
it.)
The words that
Irisdina had clearly thrust into him were repeatedly passing through his mind.
Anri, wondering about the frowning Nozomu, looked into his face.
"Nozomu-kun,
what's wrong~?"
"Actually, Iris
told me that she didn't want the bell anymore..."
Nozomu hesitated for a
moment in response to Anri's question, but then he honestly told her what had
happened.
At the opening
festival, Irisdina had requested a bell from him, but now she had told him she
didn't want it any more. She told him that she would keep her distance from him
from now on.
In fact, Irisdina did
not make any contact with Nozomu except during their way to school, and when he
went to check on her at lunchtime, she had already disappeared from the
classrooms.
When he talked to
Tima, who was in the same classroom, he found that she had left the classroom
as soon as the morning classes ended.
Tima also had tried to
talk to her, but Irisdina did not seem to listen to her at all.
Remembering what had
happened, Nozomu's hearts began to ache.
"~..."
"Then, do you
want to stop?"
Concerned about Nozomu's
frown, Anri peeked into his face.
Her questioning caused
Nozomu to momentarily fall silent.
"......"
The pain running
through his chest further aggravated the frustration that Nozomu had been
feeling.
Irisdina is not the
only problem he is dealing with at the moment.
The fact that he shows
no signs of being able to control his own unique abilities. More than anything
else, the fact that he went out of control in a fit of rage and turned his
blade against the people he cared about has been eroding Nozomu's mind.
"... No, I'll
make it. Even though Iris said she didn't want it, I still want to make it and
give it to her."
However, despite being
consumed by painful frustration, Nozomu clearly stated that he would make the
bell he promised.
Indeed, Irisdina said
she did not want it, but Nozomu still wanted to make the bell.
This is Nozomu's
stubbornness, selfishness, and pride. Once he made a promise, he wanted to be
able to fulfill that promise.
Certainly, he was saddened
by the rejection and felt a sense of tightness in his chest.
However, even Nozomu
is not the same person who used to keep running away. Even he, who is not very
sensible, understands that the reason Irisdina rejected him so much was because
she did not want to get him involved in her problems.
That was why Nozomu
was determined that he could not be swayed now.
(If you want to give a
woman some peace of mind, give her some leeway.)
In the corner of his
mind, he remembered the noblewoman who had taught him how to dance and how to
be a gentleman.
Nozomu and Irisdina,
both of them were under pressure from each other's ordeal, and Nozomu was now
trying desperately to keep up the pretense that he couldn't be swayed.
(Anri-sensei doesn't
seem to be blaming me...)
Nozomu looked back at
Anri's face, smiling with all the strength he could muster.
As a school teacher,
Anri might be able to warn him. Nozomu thought so at first.
Anri was aware of the
Francilt family's situation and of Nozomu's position in the school. As a
classroom teacher, there was no way he did not know about it.
Naturally, Jihad would
have told her to keep Nozomu away from the Francylt family.
However, Anri did not
even warn Nozomu, but instead offered to help him make the bell.
Jihad must not think
well of Anri's actions.
That made Nozomu feel
bad, but at the same time, he couldn't have been more grateful.
"Un~, good boy,
good boy~"
Anri showed not a
hair's breadth of pain or heartache, on the contrary, she began patting
Nozomu's head as if she were complimenting a younger brother who is much
younger than she is.
Nozomu was surprised
by her unexpected reaction, but he involuntarily turned his head away in
embarrassment.
"Anri-sensei,
please stop."
"Good boy, good
boy~~~"
"Haa..."
Nozomu tried to escape
from Anri's hands by moving his body, but Anri's hands were attached like
suckers of an octopus and would not leave Nozomu's head.
Nozomu, embarrassed
with the situation, asked Anri to stop, but the repetitive patting and stroking
did not seem to be ending.
The warm and gentle
gaze of the people around him was making Nozomu feel uncomfortable, but he
decided to let Anri pet him for a while.
"Nozomu-kun, how
was the opening festival~?"
"I was so
bewildered because it was all new to me. I was just honestly being dragged
through the stream ... But I didn't expect the Waziart family to show up. And
..."
"I'm not talking
about that one, I'm talking about the many people from outside of the school
that you were able to meet and talk to~. Nozomu-kun, you are already in the
third year~, have you found anything about your future~, about what you want to
do~, or anything~?"
After the stroking was
over, Anri asked him about his thoughts on the opening festival.
Surprisingly, what
Anri was concerned about was not the issue regarding his power as a Dragon
Slayer or the problems between the Francilt and Waziarlt families, but purely
about Nozomu's future.
"... As usual,
I'm not really sure. I have resolved my dispute with Lisa, so if you ask me what
I want to do in the future, I honestly can't think of anything yet. I have been
approached by people from various countries, but I have no desire to serve in
any country or anyone ..."
Nozomu may have moved
on from the past, but he still has not figured out what he would like to do in
the future.
The current situation
with Tiamat and other problems piling up is making it difficult for him to
think about his future.
"Why did you
decide to become a teacher, Anri-sensei?"
Nozomu suddenly asked
Anri why she was teaching at Soluminati Academy.
It would be hard to
imagine from her usual silly behavior, but she is a capable A-ranked teacher.
If she had looked for
another path, she would have had plenty of options.
"Hmm~, after all,
when I see a child working hard, I feel like I want to do something for him or
her."
In response to
Nozomu's abrupt question, Anri began to speak eloquently, while placing her
index finger on her cheek in a cute manner.
She thought that
becoming a teacher was the best way to support kids who are doing their best.
"You know~, for
me~, instead of fighting monsters~, I like to see everyone sparkling~. It's as
if they're stars, twinkling."
"I see,
twinkling, huh?"
Anri puffed out her
chest as hard as she could while spreading her hands wide.
Passersby were looking
at Anri, who was spreading her hands, as if they were looking at something
strange.
Some of the men were
glued to her ample breasts, which were pushed up against her coat.
But Anri didn't seem
to mind all of the stares. It was as if she herself was shining.
No matter how much
embarrassment or shame she may have felt, the way she acted in accordance with
her own feelings was very attractive, even to Nozomu.
"But my parents
were against it~. They would say, 'what were you thinking~? There's no way a
woman can do it alone~.' Something like that~"
"Is that
so?"
“Yeah. But I told them
I had enough of it and ran out."
Nozomu was a little
surprised to hear Anri say it in such a casual manner, but she let out a wry
smile, as if she were an innocent girl.
Perhaps she also came
from a very wealthy family.
While Nozomu was
thinking about this, Anri came close to him again.
"Hey, Nozomu-kun.
Would you like to try to become a teacher here at the academy?"
"… Eh?"
Nozomu was at a loss
for words at Anri's sudden suggestion.
"I'm not sure if
there is anyone else besides you in this school who has mastered the katana
technique~. Nozomu-kun is a master of Mikagura-style~, and I would like to see
you stay at the academy~."
Indeed, Nozomu's skill
with the katana is something the academy would like to have at its fingertips.
There are hardly any
people in the school who have mastered the Eastern martial arts.
Moreover, because of
his circumstances, he has mastered the art of breaking out of a crisis with a
small amount of Qi.
If he can successfully
train his fighting techniques and pass them on to others, he will be a very
powerful force in the fight against demonic beasts.
However, due to his
training method, which literally means to engrave the techniques into his body,
Nozomu is not very good at teaching others, but this will naturally improve as
he gains more experience.
In fact, Henri had
heard that the students in the first year that Nozomu taught had begun to show
remarkable improvement in their physical training.
Education is something
that is planned and implemented over a span of several years or even a decade
or more.
From this point of
view, Anri was confident that Nozomu's talent as an educator was not so bad.
"… Sorry."
"It's okay~. I
think it's best for you to do what you want to do~."
However, Nozomu's
response to Anri's words was not a good one. She herself understood that Nozomu
had not yet come up with an answer for his future.
The situation
surrounding him was too complicated and unpredictable.
"Nozomu-kun, when
push comes to shove, I think you should be free to do as you wish~."
"But I still have
a lot to deal with ..."
Remembering his own
situation, Nozomu's expression turned cloudy.
The powerful power
that he had come to hold inside of him, his own personal growth that had yet to
occur, the surveillance of the dragon race, the unsettling circumstances around
him, and the rejection of the people he cared about.
Nozomu felt helplessly
confined by the sense of being left behind in his fast-changing surroundings.
"I honestly did
not anticipate the burden that is pressing down on both of your shoulders. As a
teacher, there is not much I can teach you..."
A shadow fell for a
moment over Anri's cheerful expression.
Even her usually
languid speech was cut off in a somewhat sad tone.
She is a teacher who
really cares about her students. At the same time, she is also saddened by
Nozomu's current situation.
He has struggled
desperately and stood up, but now he is faced with even greater difficulties.
The sudden change in
the reactions of the people around him, leaving him behind, was like a muddy
river that had gained momentum after a long rainfall, and was about to swallow
him up.
On top of that, Anri
is truly helpless when it comes to the matter of Tiamat. She is not able to
teach him the arts of the spirits, and many of his problems are impossible for
her, a mere teacher, to solve.
"Even so, I can
tell you this: The important thing is not what you should do, but what you want
to do."
So, at the very least,
she gently cupped Nozomu's cheek with her hand and told her student not to lose
sight of his own will.
Nozomu's eyes widen at
Anri's sudden action.
What does Nozomu
really want? Even Anri doesn't know.
However, it is because
of his strong feelings that this boy stood up for one of his childhood friends,
enduring life-threatening training and mindless abuse. That is an undeniable
fact.
"Perhaps,
Nozomu-kun already has the answer, and that's why you stayed in this school and
trained so hard. It's just that right now, it's a little difficult to see the
answer..."
When Anri removed her
hand from Nozomu's cheek, she tapped him on the chest, gently, as if to indicate
that the answer was already there.
The beautiful woman
then turned away, sprinkled with the scent of sweet honey, and began to lead
the way.
"Let's go,
Nozomu-kun. To do what you want to do right now."
Looking back at her,
her usual innocent expression was gone, and she was smiling in a more mature
and charming way than ever.
===================================
The place Nozomu was
brought to by Anri was a single blacksmith shop located on a small street in
the commercial district.
From the back of the
workshop, which doubled as a store, could be heard the sound of metal being
struck.
The door to the store
was left open, perhaps to let the heat from the furnace in the workshop escape,
and the hot, sweat-soaked air stung his skin.
"Is this the
place?"
"Yes, it's the
store I've been visiting since I was a student~! Wandall-sa~~n, are you
there~~?"
As if visiting a
neighbor's relative's house, Anri strided into the store.
Nozomu also followed
her for the time being, but the moment he went through the open door, a voice
cursing as if thunder had struck at close range jumped into his ears.
"You idiot! You
broke it again!"
"I-, I'm
sorry~~!"
The volume of the
voice was so loud that Nozomu involuntarily grimaced and covered his ears.
He looked in the
direction of the angry voice and saw a small dwarf with a rich dark brown
beard, wearing an apron and holding a forge hammer in one hand, his face
flushed with anger.
Dwarf.
A type of demi-human
who is skilled in handling metal and lives mainly in caves.
They were forced to
leave their homeland, the Underground Kingdom, during the Great Invasion, and
are now part of the Sumahya Union.
But what surprised
Nozomu more than anything else was a red-haired girl who was bowing before the
dwarf in question.
"... Lisa?"
"No-,
Nozomu!"
It was Lisa, Nozomu's
childhood friend, who was bowing her head in front of the dwarf.
When she saw Nozomu
enter the store with Anri, she stood up in a panic and patted her skirt,
knocking off the soot that was on it.
"Gosh, I've been
caught in a weird moment ..."
Blushing, Lisa's eyes
swam with embarrassment.
On the other hand, the
dwarf who had been scolding her stared at Lisa with a scowl as he suddenly
stood up and adjusted his appearance.
