This chapter was brought to you by the collaboration between PolterGlast and Saekano Translations.
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Volume 1 Chapter 3.3
Old Wound that Hurts Part 3
Translator : PolterGlast
In a dark corner of a
garden, a girl around ten years old stood with her hands raised over her head. She
was dressed in light, modest clothing. A candlestick was placed on the floor,
and a book that looked like a grimoire was laid open beside it.
"The sun's
brilliance that illuminates the earth lies in my hands..."
A girl with jet-black
hair that seemed to melt in the dark night quietly chanted a spell with beads
of sweat on her forehead.
Then a small ball of
light appeared in the girl's hand.
The girl used [Light
Ball], a magic that illuminates the surroundings with small balls of light.
However, the ball of
light produced by the girl was as small as the tip of her thumb, and the light
intensity was unstable, flickering like the light of a firefly.
"Hmm~… mmm~… Ah!”
About ten seconds
after the magic was activated, the ball of light disappeared.
"It's not working
out as well as my sister. I wonder what's gone wrong with me..."
While tilting her
head, the dark-haired young girl began to glance down at the grimoire spread
out at her feet. It was Somia, an Ecross student whom Nozomu had met today in
the central park.
As Somia scanned the
contents of the grimoire by relying on the small light from the candlestick, a
dignified voice called out to her from behind.
"Somia, you're so
diligent."
It was Irisdina, the
owner of the mansion, who called out to her.
When Somia saw
Irisdina, who had called her name, she smiled and rushed to her sister's side.
Somia's real name was
Somiliana Francilt. She is the second daughter of the current head of the
Francilt household and Irisdina's sister.
Irisdina, like Somia,
had now changed into her regular indoor clothes, and the dignified atmosphere
she had at school was nowhere to be seen and she was visibly more relaxed.
"What’s wrong? Is
there any magic that you can't quite understand?"
"Yes, this one..."
Irisdina browsed
through the grimoire Somia offered her.
"Oh, [Light Ball]
magic, huh? It’s a bit tricky when infusing magic power into it."
[Light Ball] is light attribute
magic.
The currently
confirmed magic is classified into six attributes: four attributes of earth,
water, fire, and wind, and two attributes of light and darkness.
The speed and
proficiency of learning each attribute of magic depends on the talent of the
individual itself, but basically, the lower the level of difficulty, the less
it depends on personal talents.
Irisdina's specialty
is the dark attribute, but if the magic is at the [Light Ball] level, it
wouldn't be a problem for Irisdina to cast it.
Hoping to be of help
to her sister, Irisdina raised her right palm and quickly cast a spell to
produce a ball of light. The produced ball of light emitted a dazzling light
and the light was stable.
Somia let out a voice
of admiration upon seeing the perfect [Light Ball] magic, which was completely
different from her own.
"Fuwaa~…"
"Just like the
chant pacing that must be carefully maintained, this magic must be infused with
enough magic power when cast. And then you can gradually decrease it until you
reach the suitable intensity. Once you reach the suitable intensity, you must
maintain the flow of magic power to keep it from disappearing."
"Yes!”
With a quick response,
Somia returned to her self-practice.
Like before, she
raised her palm, focused her concentration, and chanted. As she used the magic
of [Light Ball] several times in this fashion, Somia, who was practicing her
magic under her sister's guidance, suddenly smiled.
"Ehehehe...”
"You seem happy,
Somia. Did something good happen to you lately?"
"Ah, yes! I made
a new friend."
Irisdina looked a
little surprised upon hearing Somia's words.
Somia, just like
Irisdina, is a member of high nobility, but due to her birth and upbringing,
she is more sensitive to malice than others.
Somia had a bright and
cheerful personality, but she never approached anyone who harbored ill intentions
toward her or the people around her.
Irisdina was therefore
intrigued by the person who had become her sister's friend.
"Hee, what's that
person like?"
Prompted by her
sister, Somia recalled the moment she met Nozomu.
Somia's first
impression of Nozomu was that he looked lonely. And he seemed to be overly
cautious and didn't want to get involved with others. But at the same time, she
had an intuition that he was a very kind person.
(Otherwise, he
wouldn't have helped me when I was in trouble...)
Somia said so to
herself as she caressed her bracelet, which was now back on her arm.
"He looked so
lonely, but he was a very kind person. When Kuro-chan took away the bracelet
that Ane-sama gave me and hid in a tree where I couldn't reach, he climbed the
tree to get it back for me."
"I see..."
Irisdina, on the other
hand, was looking at Somia with adoration, who happily held up the bracelet she
had gotten back.
"What about you Ane-sama?
How are things going at the academy?"
"Well, I myself
have gotten acquainted with someone interesting recently."
"What kind of
person?"
Unaware that they were
both thinking about the same person, Irisdina also talked about Nozomu. The
first thing she recalled was their encounter in the Spasim forest.
A very refined blade
of Qi. Seeing his precision in making such an amazing blade in less than half a
second, Irisdina was intrigued by it.
The second time was in
the neighboring training ground during today's practical lesson.
From the way he was
watching the combat training she had in class, Irisdina tried waving at him,
but unfortunately, he didn't notice her.
(Now that I think
about it, he looked rather depressed. I wonder if it was because Lisa-kun was
there...)
"I don't really
know what his personality is like ... To be honest. I hardly ever talk to
him."
"It's unusual for
Ane-sama to be interested in someone she haven't talked to much..."
"That's true.
Even I, too, am a little surprised. Well, he left me quite an impact when we
first met."
Irisdina then started
talking about what happened in the Spasim forest.
She was in the middle
of carrying out an investigation request from the Adventurer Guild when she was
caught off guard by a demonic beast and was saved by a male student.
"The male student
cut down the Mad Bear that had attacked suddenly with a blade of Qi in less
than half a second. The precision of his Qi-jutsu is probably better than
anyone else I know. Magic and Qi-jutsu may be different, but I don't think I
can make a Qi blade as good as his..."
The person
who was said to be a failure showed a Qi blade that seemed to be of the highest
caliber. Due to this gap, Irisdina found herself even more interested in him.
"What an amazing
person!"
Her sister's very
unusual behavior also piqued Somia's interest in that person. However, she
didn't realize that the person her sister was referring to was the
"kind-hearted Onīsan" she met today.
"I know, right?
Well, it's getting late. How about we call it a night and get some sleep."
"Eh~! But, Ane-sama,
I want to hear more about that person."
"No. It's already
past your bedtime. You need to rest so you can grow well."
"Muuu~. Ane-sama
is treating me like a child again."
Irisdina smiled at her
younger sister who was complaining. Somia was at an age where she wanted to
grow taller in so many ways, and seeing her younger sister who seemed to act
like her age was the greatest comfort and joy to her.
"Besides, I don't
know him well enough either. Well then, how about this? Next time I have a
chance to know more about this person, we'll talk about it again next
time."
"Muu~~.
Fine..."
Encouraged by her
sister's words, Somia quickly returned to her room.
Irisdina watched her
sister's back with deep emotion.
(You're still so small
after all.)
In fact, Somia was
smaller than other children her age. This was largely due to the fact that
Somia was born prematurely.
(Mother...)
The image of her
mother, who died when she was a child, came back to Irisdina's mind. Irisdina's
mother, who had been a sickly woman, had died when she gave birth to Somia.
That was when Irisdina had just turned six years old. Somia, born prematurely,
was told that she wouldn't live long. Because of that, there were times when
Irisdina was so heartbroken.
Miraculously, however,
Somia survived.
With her tiny little body,
she fought against death the best she could, overcame it day after day. This
sight inspired Irisdina. She felt the life of her late mother in her sister's
pursuit of life.
It was then that
Irisdina decided to protect her sister and take over as head of the Francilt
household, which she did with great difficulty.
She took up a sword
that no noble daughter would ever wield, learned about noble duties, and
disciplined herself. Thus, she discovered that she had the talent and she began
to accumulate achievements in the school.
In fact, she was fully
capable of using both sword and magic, and she maintained the top overall grade
in Solminati Academy.
Top rank in the
continent's most prestigious academy. In other words, she was very close to
being at the top of the continent in the same age group as her.
She realized she
became who she was today because of the hard work she had put in since she was
a child.
"That's why I
want to know..."
She was curious about
Nozomu Bountis because of her own experience having worked hard beyond her age.
The blade of Qi he produced showed a glimpse of the hard work he had put in.
"He's supposed to
be a despicable man who betrayed his lover and childhood friend who supported
him so much. However, he doesn't seem to be that kind of person to me..."
Most of the rumors
about him that she heard from Tima were in the form of hearsay, and she
couldn't find anyone who had actually seen him cheating with another woman.
However, it was said
that many people witnessed the sudden rift between the two, who had been on
very good terms with each other, and Lisa Hounds one-sidedly distancing herself
from him and assuming a cold attitude toward him.
"Circumstantial
evidence alone suggests that the rumors are true..."
Just what Tima said
was not enough to come to a conclusion.
Irisdina took a break
from her unanswerable thoughts.
"I wonder what
kind of effort he put in before he could produce such a blade..."
The sustained effort
generated great empathy and resonance with those who had similar experiences
and that empathy was a great force that quickly shortened the distance between
two strangers.
Now that she was aware
of the roots of her own interest and sympathized with the efforts that she and
Nozomu Bountis were putting in, Irisdina's desire to "get to know
him" began to grow rapidly.
And that opportunity
came sooner than she expected.
◆
