This chapter was brought to you by the collaboration between PolterGlast and Saekano Translations.
---------------------------------------------
Volume 2
Chapter 4.2
Those Who Once
Fled, Those Who Still Struggling Part 2
Translator : PolterGlast
After finishing his
report regarding the sightings of the demonic beasts, Nozomu left the guild and
headed toward the library.
His objective was to
find Grisden Harantide's book about spirits, which he had found the other day.
However, the sun had
already begun to tilt to the west when Nozomu made his way to the library due
to the request he had received at the guild.
Walking through the
library, which was beginning to turn vermilion, he ran his eyes over the
bookshelves, searching for the book he was looking for.
However, the book was
not there. Wondering if it was on another shelf, he was about to move away. It
was then that he was called out by a voice.
"Huh? Nozomu-kun,
have you been in the library again?"
It was Tom Dale who
called out to him. He had an armful of books piled high.
"Y-, yeah. I'm
just doing some research."
"What are you
looking for?"
"Well, I'm
looking for Grisden Harantide's book ......."
"Grisden? Ah, I
know those ones, but that's unusual. What are you researching on?"
Tom, who had placed
the books he was carrying on a desk close at hand, asked Nozomu again.
"It's about
spirits, wait- ....... What do you mean by unusual?"
"Well, Grisden
Harantide was an alchemist and a researcher who studied spirits, but
apparently, he was a rather peculiar person. His books are quite famous
though......"
Apparently, Grisden
Harantide was an alchemist and researcher, just like Tom.
"That's right. If
you're interested, I know someone who knows a lot about Grisden's research.
Shall I introduce him to you?"
"Really? But is
that okay?"
"Yes. You helped
Shina the other day when she got tangled up with Karanti, right? Come, follow
me."
Tom urged Nozomu to
follow him as he picked up the books he had placed on the desk.
Following Tom's
urging, Nozomu followed him, and together they quickly made their way out of
the library and down a passage in the back of the building.
A passage that even
Nozomu, who has lived in Arcazam for a little over two years, had never seen
before. As Nozomu looked doubtful, Tom, sensing his puzzled look, turned
around.
"This is a
passageway that connects the library to the Gloaurum Institution. Whenever I
need to borrow materials from the library for research or other purposes, I
always use this passage."
"Hee ......
-wait, the Gloaurum Institution? Am I allowed to even go there?"
"The institute is
divided into a number of blocks according to the level of secrecy, and the
lowest level is safe to visit. Besides, the results of research conducted at
the Gloaurum Institution would be disclosed regardless of the country."
Before long, they
arrived at their destination.
A white building surrounded
by a five-meter wall. It is the research facility of the Gloaurum Institution.
The area of the site
is almost the same as that of the Solminati Academy. It is a scale rarely seen
on the continent.
The Gloaurum
Institution is a highly reputable research institution.
Its achievements are
also remarkable, systematizing magic and Qi-jutsu techniques that were
scattered all over the continent, and contributing greatly to the technological
development of the entire continent.
There is no back
entrance to the research facility. After walking around the front gate along
the outer wall, he was taken to the reception desk.
After Tom had a brief
exchange with the receptionist, Nozomu was handed a list of outside visitors
from the receptionist, a list used to keep track of those entering and leaving
the facility.
Of course, no one can
enter the facility without filling in their name.
When Nozomu filled in
his name on the list for the time being, he was given a plate indicating that
he was an outside visitor.
A cord was attached to
the plate so that it could be hung from the neck.
Nozomu looked at the
back of the plate and saw two magic circles engraved on it.
"A magic circle
for identification and for noise. And is this Mithril?"
"Yes, an alarm
system made of mithril, which easily channels and stores magic power. It is a
part of it. Make sure you wear it properly. If you try to remove it, it will
set off the alarm."
While nodding to Tom's
advice, Nozomu followed him into the Gloaurum Institution's facility.
On both sides of a
pure white stone corridor with no superfluous ornamentation, massive
black-painted doors stood side by side. It seemed to be a place where the
latest research regarding magic was being conducted, and it exuded a more
sophisticated atmosphere in a different sense than the facilities at the
Solminati Academy.
Nevertheless, Nozomu
did not go around the vast research facility and arrived at his destination
shortly after.
"Where are
we?"
Nozomu was led to a
wooden door, slightly different in color from modern research facilities. A
plate on the door reads, [Torgrein's Laboratory].
"The laboratory
of my mentor, Torgrein Harantide."
"Harantide?"
"That's right.
Sorry, Nozomu-kun. I have my hands full. Can you open the door?"
"Ah,
sure......."
Just as Nozomu put his
hand on the doorknob, a faint voice came from behind the door.
"As I thought,
not working, huh?"
"Yes, the spirits
did not answer my call......"
A familiar, soothing
voice. However, the tone of the voice was somehow tinged with discouragement
and disappointment.
"This
voice......"
Nozomu's hand that was
reaching for the doorknob suddenly stopped. Spirits, calls, not answering.
Those words hinted that the person behind the door was the elf girl he knew.
"Hey Shina, you
can't even sense it?"
"Yes......"
From behind the door,
he could hear not only Shina's voice, but Mimuru's as well.
"Nozomu, is
something wrong?"
"Oh, no, it's
nothing."
Perhaps Tom did not
hear their voices, he tilted his head behind Nozomu and implicitly urged him to
open the door as soon as possible.
Nozomu made up his
mind and opened the door. With a rattling sound, all eyes in the room turned to
Nozomu and Tom.
"Ah......."
Upon seeing Nozomu's
figure, Shina's gaze tinged with surprise, which was followed by a look of
dislike.
Why does she hate me
so much? The question that has been nagging at him since he met her began to
swell.
It might be true that
Nozomu has been the target of abuse from some heartless students, but the
majority of the students looked at him with indifference.
Most of the time,
those who made fun of him, like those in the tenth class, did so to make
themselves feel superior, and only a few students, such as Lisa or Camilla,
would look at him with such apparent dislike as Shina did.
And Nozomu had never
met Shina until recently.
"Sensei, I
brought the books you asked for! Oh, Shina is here too."
While Nozomu and Shina
were facing each other, Tom came into the lab carrying the books.
"Yeah, just leave
them there. Anyway, Tom-kun, who's that person over there?"
Tom's voice was
answered by a man in his mid-thirties wearing a white coat.
Although tall, he had
a thin body frame. He had a pipe in his mouth and was puffing smoke, blowing it
into the light as it rose.
He looked to be in his
thirties, but he had a younger appearance than one might expect, so young that
he appeared to be in his late twenties to some people.
"He is an
acquaintance of mine. He has some questions he wants to ask Sensei regarding
Sensei's great-grandfather."
"Hello, my name
is Nozomu Bountis."
"Nice to meet
you, my name is Torgrein Harantide. I am conducting research on alchemy here.
Oh, sorry for the smoke. I was just burning some reagents to see how the
spirits would react".
The man in white
extinguished the incense he was burning and began to put away his pipe. His
clattering hands were somewhat dangerous.
"When you say
'Great-grandfather', do you mean Grandpa Grisden?"
"Y-, yes. I heard
that he had been researching spirits, so I was looking for his
books......"
After clapping his
hands and finishing putting away his instruments, Torgrein once again asked
Nozomu what he wanted to ask him about.
"There are a few
books written by my great-grandfather, but to be honest, very few of them
remain."
"Is that
so?"
"Yeah, it has
been quite a long time since he wrote them after all. I don't think there are
any books of my great-grandfather's left, except for the ones in the
library."
Nozomu's shoulders
slumped in disappointment.
"I'm sorry I
couldn't help you."
"It's okay, thank
you very much. By the way, what were you doing earlier?"
"Oh, this smoke
is made by drying and burning a kind of grass called spirit grass. This grass
is favored by spirits, and it reacts to the source elements in the air, in
other words, it reacts to the movement of the spirits......"
At that moment,
Torgrein's gaze turned to Shina, who was standing next to him.
"Ah, right, if
you want to talk about spirits, you can ask her-......."
"Excuse me,
Torgrein-sensei, I just remembered something I have to do, may I be excused for
the rest of the day?"
Before Torgrein could
finish his sentence, Shina cut him off. The tone in her voice was still one of
strong rejection.
On the other hand,
Torgrein, who had been cut off, looked at Nozomu with a somewhat helpless
expression on his face and said he was sorry.
"Ah, it's all
right. Sorry, Shina-kun, for not being able to help you."
"No, I appreciate
your help, sensei. I'll see you later......"
Shina bowed her head
and walked out of the laboratory without looking back. An awkward atmosphere
filled Torgrein's lab.
"Did something
happen between you and her?"
"N-, no. I have
no clue what's going on myself......"
Indeed, it was
understandable, since Nozomu had nothing to do with her. However, it was also
true that Nozomu was somehow bothered by it.
"Umm, I heard
that Shina-san can't use spirit magic......."
"It's true. She
has lost the ability to communicate with spirits, the power that makes an elf
an elf."
"I
see......"
Upon hearing
Torgrein's words of affirmation, Nozomu's face took on an indescribable
expression.
Nozomu, too, was a
person whose potential had been closed off in a way that he had no control over.
"She lost her
ability 20 years ago. It was during the Great Invasion."
Nozomu was surprised
for a moment upon hearing the word "twenty years", but then he
recalled that elves have a long lifespan of several hundred years compared to
humans. From their perspective, 20 years is only a few years in terms of the
human experience.
"She lived in
Nebula Forest, and survived after her homeland was destroyed by demonic
beasts."
"It seems that
Shina lost her family there as well."
Nozomu's expression
sank in response to Tom's words. But as if to ease Nozomu's sadness, Mimuru
smiled.
"It's not an
unusual thing, you know. Everyone who survived that time experienced the loss
of a member of their family. Even Tom lost his brother as well......"
Tom nodded his head in
agreement with Mimuru.
The Sumahya Union was
originally a gathering and restructuring of countries that had collapsed due to
the Great Invasion. Hence, almost everyone has been affected, in one way or
another, by the Great Invasion.
"I am one of them
as well. Nozomu-kun, what about your family?"
"My hometown
wasn't attacked by the Great Invasion, so I don't think anyone died
there."
"I see, that's
very good of you......."
Apparently Torgrein,
too, was from the Union and had been a victim of the disaster twenty years ago.
His words of relief,
while pushing aside his own mixed emotions, pierced Nozomu's heart.
"Couldn't the
other elves restore her ability to sense spirits?"
"Well, about
that. When she released her magic power to make a contract, for some reason,
the spirits around her seemed to run away in fear, and the other elves who
tried to bridge the gap were also puzzled by it."
Torgrein let out a
heavy sigh as he spoke so.
"If only one of
the High Elves had survived, I might have been able to figure out the
cause......"
The damage Elves
suffered in the Great Invasion was severe. The fall of the Nebula Forest caused
them to lose much of the knowledge and experience they had accumulated over the
years.
"Right now she
can't even sense the presence of the micro spirits around her. There is no
guarantee that even at this academy she will be able to regain her
abilities."
"Even so, Shina
still came to this city to grasp that straw."
The Nebula Forest
borders the northern boundary of the Sumahya Union from the southern to the
central part of the continent through a buffer zone. In terms of its location
relative to Arcazam, it is just across the land of the Cremazzone Empire.
"After that,
Shina lived in an elven refugee village until she came to Arcazam. But it must
have been very hard for her. After all, talking to spirits is as normal as
breathing for elves."
Shina has lost not
only her family but also her connection with spirits. Her situation was similar
to that of Nozomu, who had lost all the people he trusted and the emotional
support he had because of the manifestation of his [Ability Suppression].
"Shina's power is
gone now, but I heard that before, her power was sufficient to make her a High
Elf candidate."
A High Elf is an elf
who has made a contract with the spirit that resides in the great tree at the
center of the Nebula Forest.
There are only about a
dozen or so of them in a single era, and they are the ones who can directly use
the power of the "Spirit of the Great Tree", which is the core of the
Nebula Forest.
Their ability to sense
the spirits is unmatched by other elves, and in the past, a few high elves who
have contracted with the spirits of the Great Tree have been able to defeat the
armies of major powers with only a few people. The High Elves, who have
contracted with the spirits of the Great Tree, are truly the spiritual pillars
of the Elves.
"And her older
sister, who died during the Great Invasion, was also a High Elf."
When Nozomu learned of
Shina's situation, he felt a heaviness in the back of his throat, as if he had
swallowed lead.
"So, the reason
she came to this city was- ......"
"To regain her
connection with the spirits. And to reclaim her homeland, the Nebula Forest.
The recapture during Operation Fructus has also been halted right at her
hometown."
The forests of the
elves, which once boasted an iron-clad defense, have become a breeding ground
for demonic beasts.
Operation Fructus has
been postponed indefinitely due to the exhaustion of many countries, but
another factor that has contributed to the prolonged stagnation of the
situation is the fact that the dense forest, which is constantly shrouded in
fog, is clearly unsuitable for the deployment of a large-scale military
operation.
"Nebula Forest
was originally the land of the elves, and the fact that they still haven't been
able to take it back has made them even more vulnerable."
"Even though it
was not the fault of the elves alone......"
Certainly, the elves'
initial response during the Great Invasion was not a complimentary one.
However, the invasion
of the demonic beasts had begun even before the fall of the elven forest. It is
not a problem that can be imposed on the elves alone, nor should it be.
In response to
Nozomu's words, Torgrein made a complicated expression on his face, and then he
slowly took out the pipe he had just been using earlier.
He took out the spirit
grass, which had already burnt out, and instead put a cigarette in the pipe's
mouth and lit it.
The aroma of sweet
purple smoke filled the laboratory.
"Well, yes. And
not all the people within the Union are blaming the elves. But people are weak.
Some of them need to vent their feelings of frustration and stagnation on
someone else."
Especially those who
have not yet regained their homelands. ...... Torgrein said so and puffed on
his pipe again.
Nozomu naturally bit
his lip with an uncomfortable expression on his face.
(Tom said that for
elves, making a contract with spirits is as natural as breathing.)
For an elf to lose her
spirit magic is equivalent to a bird falling to the bottom of the water.
At that moment, his
eyes suddenly caught sight of Mimuru and Tom.
"Come to think of
it, how did you two come to be friends with her?"
How did Tom and Mimuru
become friends with Shina, the elf? In response to the frank question, Tom's
downcast expression turned into a wry smile and he pointed to Mimuru.
"Oh, that's
because Mimuru was messing with Shina right after she enrolled."
"Messing with
Shina, you say......."
Yeah, she wasn't
exactly bullying Shina like Karanti and the others did though. Rather, she was
pestering her to take classes with her and to go out on the town with her.
Well, half-forcibly."
Tom let out a chuckle
as he recalled those days.
Tom's words made
Nozomu involuntarily turn her attention to Mimuru, who was sitting in a nearby
chair.
"Because, at that
time, Shina was wearing a tense, sullen expression on her face at all times.
She was able to enroll in such a wonderful school, so I thought she should have
enjoyed her time in it."
Mimuru leaned back
against the chair and swayed her body.
"Umm, you mean,
like, to make yourself feel better at first?"
"Yes, that's
right. Well, being an elf, she's still a little uptight, but lately, she's been
reacting in a funny way whenever I tease her~~.
Tom let out a sigh as
Mimuru grinned and smiled mischievously.
"Mimuru, please
keep it in moderation. Just the other day, you got scolded for putting
unnecessary things in Shina's bag at school, remember?"
"Unnecessary
things?"
"Yes, instead of
a textbook, she put in a romance novel. Of course, it had a lot of sexual
scenes and illustrations."
"It's not a
romance novel then, it's an erotic one......"
"Then Shina
turned all red and pulled my ear, you know? Isn't that terrible?"
"No, it's you
who's terrible. At least I know she's the victim here......"
As Nozomu made a
retort to the nonsensical words and actions that came out of Mimuru's mouth one
after another, Tom was shrugging his shoulders with a bitter smile on his face,
as if it couldn't be helped.
It was the same when
they met at the library the other day, but it seemed that the most important
reason for this catfolk girl's behavior was whether or not it would amuse her.
"Well, this is
what Mimuru is like. For better or worse, she is self-centered or rather
egocentric ....... I guess I find her attractive because she's so open and
honest."
"Attractive? Tom,
did you just call me attractive!? Hi~yahhou~~!"
"I guess you
didn't hear the first half of the sentence, ......... -wait, don't cling on to
me!"
Mimuru leaped up from
the chair she was sitting in and pushed Tom down to the floor.
Embracing his head as
hard as she could, she rubbed her cheeks against him and further entwined her
legs with his. Her brownish-tiger patterned tail was wagging.
Perhaps Mimuru was so
aroused that her face was turning vermilion and beginning to exude an alluring
charm.
"Good grief,
Mimuru-kun, you are the same as always."
As expected, Torgrein,
perhaps troubled that they were going to make out in the lab, stood up and then
pulled Mimuru away from Tom with a wry smile on his face.
Tom patted his chest
with a relieved expression, while Mimuru's mouth twitched in dissatisfaction.
On the other hand,
Nozomu, after finding out about Shina's situation, looked sideways at the door
of the lab she had left to.
Mimuru smiled
meaningfully at him.
"Are you worried
about Shina?"
"Eh?"
"Well, it's
understandable~~. Being an elf, Shina's appearance is quite attractive, isn't
it?~~. How could one not be concerned when it comes to a beautiful girl in
distress?~~. Or perhaps there's another reason why you're concerned about
her?"
Mimuru spoke in a
teasing tone. But the glint in her eye shone piercingly.
"That's
......"
Why do I worry about
Shina? Nozomu could not answer that question well.
He was surprised at
Mimuru's sudden sharp gaze on him, but that alone was not enough to make him
falter.
However, an
indescribable feeling was swirling in the depths of his chest.
Mimuru, on the other
hand, retracted her piercing gaze upon seeing Nozomu go silent, and this time,
her mouth relaxed into a quiet smile.
"Shina has such a
personality, you see. She wouldn't want anyone to feel sorry for her."
(I'm sure she
does......)
Judging from that
attitude of hers, it was natural to understand that she did not want sympathy.
At the same time,
while Nozomu admired Shina's way of being, he guessed that she might be pushing
herself too hard at some point. He had been running away from reality by
engrossing himself in training, so his hunch was even stronger.
"...... Thank you
very much. I will take my leave then."
Nozomu bowed and left
Torgrein's laboratory.
Tom and Mimuru watched
Nozomu's back with curiosity.
◆
