This chapter was brought to you by the collaboration between PolterGlast and Saekano Translations.
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Volume 2
Chapter 3.1
The Fairy Who
Lost Her Wings Part 1
Translator : PolterGlast
After class the day
after helping with Irisdina's and Tima's request, Nozomu visited the library.
His reason was simply
to review the lessons he had taken today and to prepare for tomorrow's class.
The library at
Solminati Academy is located a short distance away from the main school
building. Near this library is one of the continent's leading research
institutions, the Gloaurum Institution, which also serves as an archive of
important documents.
Formerly, during the
time that Nozomu was training with Shino, he studied either in his room in the
dormitory or in Shino's hut. In terms of ratio, the majority of his time was
spent in Shino's hut.
However, even so,
Nozomu still used the library whenever possible.
In order to keep up
with the lessons at school, there were limits to what he could do with just his
basic comprehension skills. Therefore, it was natural for him to try to make
use of the wisdom of his predecessors in the form of books.
"Iris, do you
have any books on how to operate a magic circle that might be helpful?"
"Yes, I think I
found something in Klauben's book that might be helpful. It should be on the
shelf over there."
By the way, Irisdina,
Tima, and Mars were also at the desk where Nozomu was sitting.
They were also
students studying hard and often used this library.
Though it was a bit
surprising to see Mars studying in the library, it seemed that he had his own
reasons after witnessing the battles between Nozomu and Rugato at the end of
the second year.
He had also begun to
actively train and study magic as well as Qi-jutsu.
"Ugh~, the
interrelationship between the attributes? The influence of topography and
geological conditions on magic? What kind of code is this?"
"Mars, that's the
stuff you were supposed to be studying in second grade, remember?"
Nevertheless, from the
looks of the situation, Mars was not doing well in his studies.
Mars' grades were the
opposite of Nozomu's, with a sharp difference between practical skills and
classroom studies. While his practical skills were rated very high, his
classroom studies were always just barely above the failing mark.
"Mars, how could
you use magic when you didn't even study it?"
"Well, it's
because of my [Abilitiy]. When it comes to the wind attribute magic, I could
somehow manage to use it even if it was not great."
"You could
somehow manage it, huh? ......"
Certainly, Mars is an
extremely rare person who could handle both Qi-jutsu and magic to an advanced
level.
Nevertheless, the fact
that he claimed that he was able to use magic somehow made Nozomu, who could
not use magic, look at him with a cold stare.
"You know, just
because you can somehow manage doesn't mean you don't have to study, no?"
On the other hand,
Tima, who has been struggling with her powerful magic power, seemed to have
some thoughts about Mars' words.
"I know. That's
why I'm studying it all over again."
"But why bother
learning about magic now?"
"Well, there was
also the incident with that old vampire ......"
Until now, Mars had
used only Qi-jutsu when he fought, whether in the classes or in any other
situation.
This was partly
because of his own temperament, in which Qi-jutsu suited him better than magic,
but it would be more accurate to say that there was no opponent who could push
Mars into a corner.
Conversely, there was
still room for him to grow.
It was only natural
that Mars, who was confronted with his own inexperience in the battle against
Rugato, would try to learn magic in reflection of his own potential.
"Ah, right. If
you are not good at learning magic, why don't you ask Tima to teach you?"
"...... Eh?"
"......
Wha?"
Tima and Mars were
taken aback by Irisdina's sudden suggestion.
"Tima was
originally an Ecross student, so her knowledge about magic is quite good. Isn't
she the right person for the job?"
"Huh? Tima-san is
originally from Ecross?"
"Is that
true?"
"U-, un. I came
to this town when I was about seven years old. It was when I found out to have
a talent for magic......"
"Seven years old,
that's roughly ten years ago...... -wait a minute."
Ten years ago. It was
right around the time that Arcazam and the educational institutions associated
with it were established.
The calculations
proceeded in Nozomu's and Mars' minds, and a single answer was derived.
"Are you, like, a
first-generation Ecross student?"
"U-,
un......"
Ecross is a subsidiary
of the Solminati Academy, which Somia also attends, but at the same time, it
gathers children with special talents from all over the continent and provides
them with special education for gifted children.
In other words, Tima
is one of the students who have studied modern magicology the longest, not only
in this city but also on this continent.
"See, she's the
right person for the job, right?"
While Irisdina proudly
referred to Tima, the person in question shrank back like a scared cat.
Certainly, considering
Tima's background, there is no one more suited to teach him magic.
"But are you okay
with that?"
"U-, un. But I've
never taught anyone before, so I don't know if I'll be able to do it
well......"
"That's not true.
You're there for me from time to time, remember?"
Irisdina supported
Tima, who seemed to be lacking in self-confidence.
The very fact that she
could teach the top student in the school year was enough to confirm that her
knowledge was genuine.
"......
please."
"Ah, Un!"
Tima accepted Mars'
request with a big smile on her face, which was rather bold and not something
one would expect from someone who was accepting a favor.
After getting Tima's
approval, Mars flipped through his textbook to see what questions he wanted to
ask.
Irisdina, watching the
two of them with an amused expression, approached Tima without being noticed by
Mars, and began whispering something in her ear.
The next moment,
Tima's cheeks turned bright red.
"Well, first of
all, please tell me about this......"
"H-, hya! Umm,
ummm......"
Seeing Tima's sudden
fluster, Nozomu guessed that Irisdina must have said something strange again,
but Mars, who did not catch on, just tilted his head.
"Hey, are you all
right? You don't have to worry about it if you don't want to."
"I-, I don't mind
at all! I'm totally fine!"
"O-, oh ......
Then, please."
Pressured by Tima's
sudden loud voice, Mars presented his textbook to her.
"Tima, you should
be quiet in the library~~"
"Ugh! U~~, u~~, u～～～～."
Meanwhile, Irisdina,
the main culprit of the situation, started teasing Tima again with a smile on
her face.
"I knew it,
Tima's cute after all. Now then, shall I get back to my studies?"
"...... I'm going
to go look for some reference material, but Iris, if you keep doing something
like that, I think you're going to get hurt someday."
Irisdina, after
teasing her best friend for a while, casually returned to her study, and Nozomu
let out a sigh and got up from his seat.
"Ah right,
Nozomu, have you given any thought about what you're going to do from now
on?"
"...... You see,
I'm thinking of showing up at the Adventurers' Guild again."
"I
see......"
Nozomu who stood up
from his seat, hesitated for a moment before responding to Irisdina's words
from behind his back, and then went straight to the bookshelf where the
reference materials were placed.
Irisdina stared at
Nozomu's back with a sideways glance.
Her eyes, without her
noticing, were filled with a quiet heat that she had never felt before.
◆
"Let's see... The
Complete Catalogue of Military Magic, and then, the Introduction to Klauben
Military Warfare, and then......."
After parting from
Irisdina and the others, Nozomu went to check the countless bookshelves lined
up to find the book he was looking for.
Arcazam's library has
two types of bookshelves, open and closed, and Nozomu is currently in the open
bookshelf section. This library also contains research materials from the
Gloaurum institution, which are located in the closed-case section. To enter
the closed section, one must pass through a special passageway, and of course,
permission is required to enter and leave this section, as well as to borrow
the materials.
Having obtained the
desired book for the time being, Nozomu sat down at an empty desk and began to
read.
The students around
him were sparse, everyone concentrating on their own assignments, and all he
could hear was the sound of pages being turned and pens being run through the
pages.
The silence was both
gratifying and a little painful at the same time for Nozomu.
What bothered Nozomu
was Irisdina's earlier words, "have you given any thought about what
you're going to do from now on?". Along with her words, his master's words
also come back to mind.
(Shisho told me it was
okay to run away. But maybe the very fact that I am studying like this is also
a way of moving forward......)
What popped into
Nozomu's mind was his childhood friend and girlfriend who had left him.
He still could not
understand why she had suddenly rejected him, even though she had been
supporting him through his poor grades ever since he came to this school.
At the same time,
however, Nozomu couldn't help but feel a heavy, indescribable feeling in the
pit of his stomach, as if he had swallowed lead.
(But, Is that really
the case? Because I still haven't quite figured out the important thing......)
Nozomu himself did not
want to remember those days, and since he had been devoting his body and mind
to training with Shino for so long, he did not think much about it anymore.
It was a form of
escapism that he himself had turned away from, but at the same time, now that
he was aware of his own escapism, he could no longer turn away from it.
(Certainly, by the
time Lisa dumped me, I was starting to see her less and less......)
At the time the
[Ability Suppression] manifested, Nozomu increased the amount of training he
did by any means.
Naturally, from that
time on, Nozomu had fewer opportunities to talk with Lisa.
However, no matter how
much he thought back on it, he could not understand why she had turned him away
so coldly.
And now that he became
aware of his own escapism, he found it frustrating that he had to stand still.
He was aware of his
own escapism but was unable to come up with an answer as to what he should do
about it.
(This one is back to
normal as well......)
Looking down at his
right hand, he squinted his eyes and saw the invisible chains that wrapped
around his body .......
It was proof of his
[Ability Suppression], and at the same time, a lifeline that contained the
giant dragon he had taken in.
Although it has been
ripped off several times before, it has since reappeared and keeps binding
Nozomu's body.
(Iris and the others
don't seem to be asking for more details about this power yet, but ......)
Nozomu hesitated while
remembering the conversation at yesterday's launch.
Should I tell them
about it? Wouldn't it be better if I didn't have to tell them about it?
Anxieties and negative
thoughts welled up within him.
But at the same time,
the desire to tell them also welled up.
Conflicting emotions
became mixed up, swirling around and making countless reasons pop up in his
mind.
"Haa~, this is no
good......"
Having lost his
concentration significantly, Nozomu decided to stop his search for books and
take a break, as he could not find the desired book on the shelves nearby.
The library
anticipated a large number of students coming to the library and had prepared a
place where they could eat and drink.
He thought about
inviting Irisdina and the others to join him for now, and just as Nozomu was
about to go back, a book caught his eye.
[Spirit Magic and the
Races that Received its Blessing]
It was a book about
spirits and elves.
Upon closer look,
there were many books about spirits on the shelves placed there.
(This is......)
Nozomu slowly picked
up the book and flipped through its contents.
[Spirits are beings
that have come to have a will, as the source elements that flow in the earth's
dragon veins come together. Therefore, they are able to take in not only the
source elements but also Qi and magic power as their own food.]
[Spirits can be
largely classified into three categories: micro spirits, lesser spirits, and
greater spirits. Among these, most of the spirits that people have seen are the
micro spirits, followed by the lesser spirits.]
[The most famous of
the greater spirits are the spirits of the Great Tree in the Nebula Forest, and
this class of spirits is powerful enough to have a significant impact on a
country.]
The book began with
basic knowledge about spirits and their relationship with other races.
[Sometimes spirits
make contracts with mortals on a whim. They feed on the Qi, magic power, and
source elements of the mortals, and lend their strength to the mortals with
whom they have made a contract.]
[Among them, the
affinity between elves and spirits in particular overwhelms the other races.
Contracting with spirits is as common to them as a bird flying in the sky, and
powerful elves are even able to contract with lesser spirits.]
[Conversely, with a
few exceptions, the human races have little affinity with spirits. Their low
affinity can be said to be less than that of insects. No, it would be
disrespectful to insects, considering that some insects are even inhabited with
spirits.]
What can I say? He is
a very loose-tongued author. However, as for Nozomu, the phrase "with a
few exceptions" was very worrisome. This is because he himself is a human
being who has unwillingly been inhabited by an extraordinary spirit.
In fact, after his
battle against Rugato, in which he freed himself from the [Ability
Suppression], he was subjected to Tiamat's interference in the form of dreams,
and the existence of this giant dragon cast a large shadow over Nozomu's mind.
(Perhaps there is some
clue about Tiamat or the Dragon Slayer ......)
Nozomu took a deep
breath and proceeded to read the next page.
Both Tiamat and the
Dragon Slayer are now of legendary existence, and Nozomu only has a general
knowledge of them.
Therefore, he could
not stop himself from having faint expectations.
[The most famous
exception would be the usurper known as the Dragon Slayer. A human being who
has taken in a spirit of immense power called a Dragon. I will describe about
Dragons and Dragon Slayers in another book, but to keep it simple, they are a
troublesome and disastrous existence.]
Disastrous existence.
Nozomu's heart thumped loudly upon reading those words. It seemed that the
author of this book had also researched Dragon Slayer.
However, the book that
Nozomu picked up did not contain any further information that he was looking
for.
"The
Usurper....... The author of the book is Grisden Harantido. Are there any
continuations here?"
There might be a book
on the shelves that contained information about Dragon Slayers. Nozomu looked
through the books on the shelf with faint hope. However, contrary to Nozomu's
expectations, Grisden's book was not on the shelf.
At that moment, Nozomu
heard a strange noise.
"Hmm? What is
this noise?"
The bustling noise drifted
in on a slight breeze from the back of the spacious library.
The other students
were unaware of it, but Nozomu's hearing, trained in the Spasim forest, caught
the noises streaming from the passageway leading to the closed shelf section of
the library.
"I told you, it's
an accusation. I have no idea about that."
"I wonder. You're
an elf, after all. So we will never know what kind of dirty tricks you are up
to."
Judging by the way the
conversation was going, it was anything but calm.
Nozomu approached the
source of the voices and quietly peeked behind the shadows of the passageway to
see three female beastman students surrounding a blue-haired elf with a book in
her arms.
Furthermore, there was
one student, far away from the three of them, who was gathering a
greenish-colored magic power in her hands.
It was definitely
magic. Considering that it was difficult to discern their voices despite the
close distance, it could be assumed that they were probably using wind magic to
obstruct the sounds. Moreover, one of the beastmen surrounding the elf is the
female student who belonged to Kevin's party yesterday and the one who reported
their request to the guild.
"That is
Shina-san. Also, those beastmen, they are from yesterday ...... and that one, I
believe her name was Karanti, wasn't it?"
Karanti is a wolf
beastman, as far as he could see. Pale gray ears and a tail sprouted from her
head and skirt. Judging by the blue nameplate on her chest, she is in the
second class.
She is about the same
height as Shina, but her beastman's physique is quite something, contrary to
her appearance. At the very least, she would be able to crush an apple with her
bare hands with ease.
"What should I
do? ...... They're asking for trouble when they're using magic here."
Naturally, the use of
magic or Qi-jutsu is prohibited in the library, where valuable documents are
stored.
While Nozomu was
hesitating about what to do in this situation, Shina and Karanti continued to
argue.
"Step aside. You
are in my way."
"If we were going
to step aside, we wouldn't have done this in the first place. Oh, it's no use
calling Mimuru, the catmen, for help. She's with her lover right now."
With anger in her
eyes, Karanti twisted Shina's arm. Shina frowned due to the pain running up her
arm, and the books she was holding were scattered on the floor with a rustling
sound.
"~, let go of
me!"
"You can just
shake it off by force. Or why don't you call on some of your spirit friends to
help you? Though, as a failure of an elf, I doubt you'd be able to."
(A failure, she
says......)
"Shut
up......"
The color of
threatening anger flashed in Shina's eyes.
Despite her clearly
deranged behavior, Karanti showed no signs of being intimidated by Shina's
anger, but rather began to emanate an even greater rage.
"I'll say it as
many times as I have to. You are a failure as an elf. You have lost the
blessing of the spirits and have been abandoned."
(Lost the blessing of
the spirits?)
Nozomu was surprised,
but kept listening attentively.
"Or should I call
you a coward? You, who ignored our warnings, were easily defeated by the
demonic beasts, and then fled on your own, abandoning your own families who
were trying to protect their homeland."
" ~!"
Blue magic power began
to overflow from Shina's body, perhaps because her emotions had been shaken out
of her.
This is bad. There is
no telling what will happen to her if she gets into a fight in the library. It
would be fine if it was only a suspension, but in some cases, the student would
be expelled from school, or worse, sent to jail.
No one involved would
be treated well. The moment he realized this, Nozomu reflexively raised his
voice.
"E-, excuse me!
Is there anyone here ――!?"
Inevitably, he
resorted to using such tactics.
Loud voices in a quiet
library would stand out. No doubt people would come rushing to him soon.
"H-, hey,
Karanti, this is not good."
"Tha guy, isn't
he the bottom feeder who parasitized the black-haired princess!? How come I
didn't notice him at all!?"
However, this made
Karanti and the others aware of Nozomu's presence. Even though their voices
were silenced by the wind magic, the soundproofing was not perfect.
Knowing that the
library staff would be rushing to the scene, Karanti and the others would have
no time to get involved with Shina any further. And in fact, the situation
turned out just as Nozomu wanted.
"Tch, it can't be
helped. We're done here."
As they were shaken by
the unexpected situation, Karanti glared at Nozomu in frustration and gave
instructions to her dismayed friends.
After receiving
instructions, they acted swiftly. As soon as the wind spell was dispelled, they
made use of their inherent agility and headed in the direction of the open
shelf section of the library where Nozomu was.
"You better
remember this, you bottom feeder."
While the others fled
at full speed, only Karanti cursed at Nozomu as they passed each other.
Apparently, she was quite upset that she was being interrupted.
But she quickly took
her gaze away from Nozomu, stopped for a moment, and once again glared at
Shina, who remained still in the passageway.
"Because of you,
elves, we wolves have lost many of our families. I will never acknowledge you
being here."
Leaving a final,
squeezed-out resentment, Karanti sped away this time.
After making sure the
girls disappeared behind the bookshelves, Nozomu timidly stepped out from
behind the passageway and appeared in front of Shina.
"Umm, ...... are
you alright?"
"......
yeah."
Seeing Nozomu's figure,
Shina's eyes widened in surprise for a moment.
Meanwhile, Nozomu, who
was also present in the unpleasant situation, was not sure what to say, so he
remained silent. While he was doing so, the library staff arrived.
"What's the
matter?"
"Well, umm, actually......"
Nozomu tried to
explain to the library staff, who looked at him suspiciously, but before he
could explain, two figures appeared from the open shelf section.
"You're taking
too long Shina, are you not done ye- ...... eh, what's wrong?"
"Did something
happen?"
The two who called out
to her were Tom and Mimuru, who happened to fight alongside Nozomu and the
others the other day when they fought the demonic beasts on the highway.
They looked over at
Shina, Nozomu, and the library staff, and tilted their heads.
"...... it's
nothing. I just dropped off a few borrowed books. I borrowed them from the
closed shelves, he was a little startled and made a noise."
"Eh?"
"I'm sorry, this
particular book was one of the ones I dropped off......"
I don't see any
scratches on it, so it shouldn't be a problem. But be careful. Everything in
here is valuable."
"Yes, I am
sorry."
While Nozomu was
stunned, Shina, who was supposed to be the victim, put the situation behind her
as if nothing had happened.
As the library staff
left, Shina let out a big breath of relief and handed the books she was
carrying to Tom.
"Tom, is this the
book you were looking for?"
"Oh, yes, thank
you!"
"Shina, what
happened?"
"I just had a
little playtime with energetic dogs."
Energetic dogs.
Mimuru, who has known Shina for a while, could guess from that alone and
frowned grimly.
Tom, who had received
the books, also looked at Shina with concern.
On the other hand, the
elf girl, who was the center of it all, looked back at Nozomu, trying her best
to avoid noticing the worried gazes that were being directed at her.
"And, I'd like to
thank you as well. Thank you, but, just so you know, I don't need your
help."
"Oh ......."
"Tom, Mimuru,
let's go."
You have nothing to do
with this. It was as if Shina told him so, and Nozomu had nothing more to say
to her.
"Ah, right. Your
name is Nozomu, right? Do you have some free time now?"
However, Mimuru, who
was watching next to her, easily broke through such a heavy atmosphere.
"Ha?"
She looked into
Nozomu's face with curiosity and smiled meaningfully.
"Come hang out
with us for a bit. Come on, it's okay! We won't eat you."
"No, but
......"
"You don't have
to worry about that 'tsun-tsun' elf.
Come on, let's go! Tom, you're okay with it, too, right?"
"It's fine. I was
just gonna take a quick break myself."
"Whoa, wait a
minute!"
Leaving the dismayed
Shina aside, the cat-beastman, full of energy, took Nozomu and Shina's hands
and began to walk away.
Nozomu was taken
along, bemused by this action, and the elf girl sighed as if she had given up.
◆
