This chapter was brought to you by the collaboration between PolterGlast and Saekano Translations.
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Volume 2
Chapter 4.3
Those Who Once
Fled, Those Who Still Struggling Part 3
Translator : PolterGlast
After leaving the
Gloaurum Institution, Nozomu headed directly back to his dormitory.
The sun had completely
set and it was getting dark.
Nozomu was still
pondering over Mimuru's words as he walked along the road to the dormitory.
Why was he so
concerned about Shina Juliel?
Certainly, her
situation, as actually told to him by Tom and the others, would be something
that would invite sympathy from a normal person.
But if one were to ask
whether Nozomu himself felt sympathy for her, it would not be the case.
To begin with, she
clearly harbored a distaste for Nozomu and avoided him. It would be difficult
to feel sympathy for such a person.
However, he suddenly
became concerned about her.
"Phew, It's no
use worrying about it, though."
Just as he was about
to take a deep breath to refresh his mind, Nozomu's eyes caught sight of a
flickering blue light.
"......What's
that?"
A pale light peeked
through a gap in the dense trees in the central park. The light, which was
obviously not artificial, was fluctuating like a flickering flame.
"I wonder what it
might be......"
Nozomu was lured by
the pale light and turned his attention to the central park.
The dense trees area,
where dusk had spread out, was already enveloped in the darkness of the night.
In the darkness,
Nozomu saw it.
"This
is......."
Shina Juliel, the
blue-haired elf, was standing there with blue-colored mana rising from her
entire body. The light that Nozomu saw was the mana that she emitted.
Her white face peeking
out from the shadow of her long hair, which was flickering with magic power,
was covered with beads of sweat.
"Everyone, answer
me......."
From the way Shina
called out to someone other than herself and from the conversation in
Torgrein's laboratory earlier, Nozomu guessed that she was about to use spirit
magic.
The scene when they
fought Tiamat came back to Nozomu's mind.
That time, the giant
dragon with its countless spirits created a swarm of light bullets that covered
the sky.
However, despite her
call, there was no change around her as she raged with magic power.
Eventually, perhaps
reaching her limit, the magic she was releasing disappeared, and Shina hung her
head with her hands on her knees as she gasped roughly for air.
"~, once
again!"
She wiped away the
sweat and began to release her magic power once more.
However, the spirit
still did not seem to respond to Shina's voice. Even so, she refused to stop.
She kept calling out
to the spirit over and over again. Even if she got no response.
Even from a distance,
from Nozomu's point of view, it was simultaneously heartbreaking and painful.
And then, at the same
time, he realized.
Despite being scorned
as a "dead leaf ear", she kept on making endless efforts to regain
her hometown.
Even though people
around her say it was futile, she refused to stop, and that figure reminded him
of the same person he once was.
It was a kind of
kinship. She was being shackled in a way she did not want to be, and the way
she was scorned by those around her was a reflection of himself.
However, there was a
definite difference between Nozomu and her. Because he was aware of his
kinship, Nozomu also noticed a clear difference between her and himself.
(Ah, I see ....... She
hasn't broken yet......)
Her eyes held strong
willpower in them as she breathed out roughly and called out to the spirits
while gasping for air under the burden of the magic power she was unleashing.
Her heart is not
broken yet. She did not use her training as a means of escape, as Nozomu did.
Nozomu found it
precious and enviable at the same time.
(...... It would be
rude to peek any further.)
Nozomu turned on his
heel and slowly walked away so that Shina would not notice. While stifling the
bitter emotions swirling deep in his heart.
◆
The next day, Nozomu
visited the Adventurers' Guild, curious about Garm's appearance near the city.
The guild was still filled with the bustle of students, but behind the bustle,
there was a tense atmosphere.
He knew the reason
why. The other day, traces of a demonic beast were found near the outer wall of
the eastern part of Arcazam.
It was a particularly
powerful individual among the magic stone bearers. And this time, they were
dealing with Direwolves. Since these demonic beasts act in packs, it would be
necessary to have a large number of adventurers in order to defeat them.
When he scanned the
lobby and checked the nameplates of the students at the reception desk, he saw
that most of them were high-ranking students. When a high-ranked demonic beast
is confirmed in the vicinity of Arcazam, students of C rank or lower will not
be able to receive requests in the forest. Therefore, the students who visit
the Adventurers' Guild tend to be high ranks themselves.
Also, among the
students, there were school teachers who did not usually visit the guild, and
they were followed by several teams of students.
The teams were
qualified to take on the most difficult requests but were still inexperienced.
Many of them were students who were younger than Nozomu.
There were currently
two or three teachers in the guild, much fewer than the students, but they,
too, were highly ranked and experienced.
Therefore, when a
high-ranking demonic beast like this one is confirmed, they sometimes lead and
guide a team of students who have little experience with such requests yet but
have high potential, considering the difficulty and importance of the request.
"Excuse
me......."
"Yes, oh, you are
......."
In the meantime,
Nozomu went to the reception desk and found the receptionist who had attended
to him yesterday.
When she confirmed
that the visitor was Nozomu, she let out a somewhat tired sigh.
"U-, um, you look
tired, what happened?......"
"No, it's
nothing. Also, I have a nomination request for you."
"...... Eh?"
A nomination request.
As the name suggests, it is a request in which the client nominates a specific
person.
It would not be done
without the client's trust, and at the same time, it was recognized by the
guild as proof that he/she was an exceptional asset. Naturally, neither the
receptionist nor Nozomu expected such a request.
"U-, um ......
why me?"
"I don't know.
Certainly, you were in a party together with that Irisdina Francilt......."
The receptionist,
stifling a sigh that was about to leak out, held out the request form to
Nozomu. Nozomu's eyes widened involuntarily when she saw the client's name.
"Is this from
Mena-san?"
Mena Manat. It was the
middle-aged maid he met the other day at Francilt's mansion.
The request was to
escort Somia.
"Ya, Nozomu, I
see that you have decided to come to the guild."
He suddenly heard a
familiar voice and turned around to see a fully armed Irisdina standing there
with a smile on her face. Behind her were Tima and Mars, who were also fully
equipped.
"Iris, Mars and
Tima as well. Were you guys summoned to do the subjugation request, by any
chance?"
"Yeah, we got the
call. And we asked Mars to go with us."
When Nozomu glanced at
Mars behind her, he gave a small nod in response to Nozomu's question.
"Thanks to my
rank, I can join them. You too, hurry up, show your strength, and raise your
rank."
"If possible, I
was hoping you could lend me your strength as well......."
Irisdina's expression
was clouded with regret.
"My
apologies......."
"Don't worry
about it. It seems you've got a lot on your plate as well."
Unlike Mars, Nozomu's
current rank is D. He is not qualified to participate in this subjugation
request.
A pang of pain ached
deep in his chest. Having realized his escapism, the thought in itself weighed
heavily on Nozomu's mind now.
"More
importantly, ....... Even though you've started calling me by my nickname, it
looks like you still maintain your formal way of speaking."
"Well, that's
......"
Perhaps noticing
Nozomu's expression, Irisdina smiled at him in a slightly mischievous manner
and closed their distance as if she was about to lean on him.
It was the same kind
of situation he had experienced on a previous date. However, whether Nozomu
himself would get used to it after having experienced it once is not a
certainty.
Regardless of his own
intentions, heat rose to his face, just as it had at that time.
At the same time, the
gazes of the surrounding people began to gather on Nozomu at once. Until now,
they had been gazes of suspicion, but this time, due to the close distance
between him and Irisdina, a large number of rather unfriendly killing stares
were directed at him.
With a chill running
down his spine and the burning heat on his face, Nozomu's face repeatedly
flashed red and blue like a flashlight.
"Would you please
step away for a bit?"
"I'll only do so
if you fix your way of speaking to me."
What more unreasonable
demands can you ask of me, young lady!? Nozomu, inwardly screaming, gathered
all his strength and spoke quietly.
"Will you move
aside?"
"Good."
Irisdina pulled
herself away from him. Nozomu plopped down on the counter, seemingly out of
breath.
The receptionist, who
had been watching the situation from the side, turned her coldest gaze yet on
Nozomu.
"Haa-haa ......
you did this again, Iris. Can you please not do this to me?"
"Fufu, teasing
you is just as fun as teasing Tima. I just can't help it."
"M-, me?"
Tima, whose name was suddenly
brought up, opened her eyes wide.
"Oh, by the way,
Tima. Did something happen between you and Mars-kun recently?"
"W-, what are you
talking about?"
Perhaps the target
shifted from Nozomu to Tima, Irisdina now began to close the distance toward Tima.
Nozomu, on the other
hand, took advantage of the situation to fade away. He tried to be as invisible
as possible so that he would not become a target again.
"Hmm, I felt like
you two were kind of close today......"
"I-, it's just
your imagination."
"Is that so?
Although you deny it, your words don't seem to be very convincing, do
they?"
Irisdina's pursuit
continued, whether she was aware of Nozomu's attempts to hide or not.
"B-, by the way,
Ai. What's with that hair clip? I've never seen you wearing a hair clip like
that before."
But Tima, not to be
outdone, began a counterattack.
"Hm? Oh, do you
mean this? Nozomu gave it to me as a present. Fufu, it suits me, don't you
think?"
"Eh, Nozomu-kun
gave it? Eh, for you, Ai? E-, ehh?"
"So, about Tima
and Mars-kun-......"
"Haa, it doesn't
matter, does it? We're about to take a request, so don't make a fuss about
something strange."
"Mmph......."
"Ha~! T-, that's
right. We are going into the forest after this, so Ai, you should be a little
more cautious too."
Perhaps growing tired
of Irisdina's persistent behavior, Mars reminded her in a somewhat harsh tone
of voice. Tima, who had been struggling with Irisdina's unexpected attack, took
advantage of the unforeseen help.
"...... Well,
that's fine. I guess we still have to look for that demonic beast first
later."
"Speaking of
which, Nozomu, what kind of request did you receive?"
"Well, I got a
nomination request, but......"
While at a loss for
words, Nozomu showed Irisdina the request form he was carrying.
"Hoo, let's see
...... eh?"
The expression on
Irisdina's face changed to one of utter disbelief when she saw the request
form. Judging from her expression, she apparently did not know that Mena had
made a request to Nozomu, either.
Moreover, the request
was for the protection of her most cherished sister. No wonder she was
perplexed.
"Mena Manat? Who
is she?"
On the other hand,
Mars, who was peeking at Nozomu's request form next to him as well as Irisdina,
asked Nozomu with his hand on his chin.
"She is the new
maid who came to Francit's mansion. She came to Arcazam at the behest of Iris's
father......"
"Is this
nomination request also related to that incident?"
"I'm not sure,
but......"
Mars implied that it
was about the Waziart family matter, but unfortunately, Nozomu did not
understand why Mena had nominated Nozomu for the request.
"...... I think,
that's not the case. Well, certainly there may be some possibility that might
be the case, but if anything, it might be because Mena herself is interested in
Nozomu."
She frowned while
covering her mouth with her slender fingers. And then a troubled expression
appeared on her face.
"Eh? Why?"
"Mena is my
mentor in swordsmanship. She is one of the best swordsmen in our country."
"......Why would someone
like that become a maid?"
Irisdina's words were
met with a doubtful response from Mars.
As one of the best
swordsmen in the Kingdom of Forsina, she must be a very capable swordsman.
However, even though Irisdina had assured him that Mena was a skilled
swordsman, at the very least, Mars thought that she might not be suitable to be
a maid.
"She was
originally a well-known knight, but I heard that a lot of things happened to
her in the past. And she was friends with my father and mother, and because of
that she's been serving the Francilt family......"
Meanwhile, Irisdina
also glanced at Nozomu with a bitter expression on her face.
"However, as a
swordsman, she is an honest person, for better or for worse. Once she learned
of Nozomu's swordsmanship, it would be impossible for her not to be interested
in him as a fellow swordsman."
Nozomu felt a cold
sweat running down his spine again as he met her somewhat penetrating gaze.
"Nozomu, you
should be careful. She couldn't hold herself back."
Couldn't hold back?
What in the world is she going to do to me? Anxieties suddenly flashed through
Nozomu's mind.
Irisdina, on the other
hand, smiled a meaningful smile and turned her back on Nozomu, ignoring his
questioning gaze.
"Well then,
Nozomu, be careful out there."
"A-, Ai? W-, wait
a minute!"
"O-, oi-oi,
what's going on?"
Irisdina was heading
out of the guild, while Tima and Mars chased after her in a hurry.
Nozomu, who was left
behind, was bewildered and worried, alternately staring at the request form in
his hand and at his friends as they left.
"...... Eh? What,
what do I have to be careful of?"
The other party was a
maid who worked for a major noble family. Yet, from what he had just heard, it
was to be expected that she would have considerable power among the servants of
the Francilt family.
"J-, just to be
clear, I'm the one who's being asked to do this, so it's all good, right? Yep,
maybe ......."
Deciding to head to
the Francilt mansion for the time being, Nozomu put the request form he was
carrying in his pocket.
"Garm, huh? I
believe Iris and the others would have no problem with it......"
Garm is certainly a
formidable demonic beast that could be considered a serious threat. It could
destroy a village in a single night.
It was impossible not
to be worried about it. Still, there was nothing that Nozomu could do now.
Right now, he was not qualified to go with Irisdina and the others.
They had already
departed, and the other high-ranked students had most likely gone to the Spasim
Forest as well, leaving the halls of the Adventurers' Guild almost completely
deserted.
Nozomu couldn't help
but let out a sigh upon seeing the empty hall.
"Hah, I know
there's no point in worrying about it, but ......"
Nozomu's gaze turned
to the door of the hall where Arisdina and the others had left.
He understood that he
was left behind all by himself in this way as a result of his own repeated
escapism. Nevertheless, having regained the warmth of having a companion once
again, the loneliness and frustration swirling deep in his chest would not
disappear.
At the same time, the
swirling loneliness and frustration, along with a sense of heaviness, became
dissatisfaction that almost came out of his mouth.
And then, he began to
feel disgusted with himself for harboring such dissatisfaction.
"Truly, I'm such
a-......"
Such a hopeless guy.
As quickly as he could, Nozomu swallowed the frustration that was about to rise
to his throat.
No matter how pathetic
he felt, he knew he must not say it out loud.
However, the more he
tried to shake it off, the more the frustration and loneliness in his chest
gradually grew without him realizing it.
(For now, let's focus
on what's in front of me......)
Nozomu took a deep
breath as if to refresh his mind, and left the guild to fulfill the request he
had received.
◆
After parting with
Nozomu, Irisdina and the others went on their way to the south gate.
This is because the
Adventurers' Guild is located in the commercial district, which is on the south
side of Arcazam, so this is the closest place from which they can head to the
Spasim Forest.
In fact, around them
were several parties of high-ranked students who had also received the special
subjugation request.
"So what are we
gonna do? From what I have heard, our opponent this time is Garm. It's highly
intelligent, and even if it doesn't have a magic stone, it's a demon wolf that
could use magic from birth. How troublesome. Seems like he is the leader of the
Direwolves......"
"If it were just
Garm alone, I'm confident that I could take him on by myself. The only problem
here is the packs. It seems that the last time we fought, it was just one of
the packs that Garm had."
A pack of wolves is
basically composed of individuals who are blood-related to each other. When the
pack grows too large, some individuals leave the pack and create new packs.
However, a powerful
leader may have several packs under his/her control that are newly created from
his/her own offspring.
One could surmise that
this time the demonic beasts were one of those.
"That means we
need another group to cooperate with us......"
"The vanguard can
be handled by me and Mars, so what we need will be the mid-guard and the rear
guard. If we are thinking of looking for a group, a scout who is familiar with
the forest would be preferable."
Whereupon Irisdina let
out a small sigh.
"When I think
about it, it would have been nice to have Nozomu's cooperation here. However,
we cannot rely on him this time. Then ......"
Irisdina's eyes turned
to one of the parties gathered at the south gate.
Tima and Mars also
followed her gaze and let out an unintentional gasp.
"Hello, would you
like to work together with us?"
The people Irisdina
called out to were the blue-haired elf and the catfolk girl.
"Oh? Isn't this
the black-haired princess? Are you sure you are okay with us?"
"Yes, from the way
I see it, you're a scout, and Shina, you know a lot about the forest, too,
don't you?"
Even though at first
Mimuru was surprised when she was spoken to, in the end, she smiled with joy.
"By the way,
where is Tom-kun?"
"Tom is staying
in town for his research, you see. Besides, the objective this time is to
subjugate demonic beasts, not to collect materials or anything of the
sort......"
According to Mimuru,
Tom himself is not good at fighting, so only the two of them came together this
time.
Mimuru's ears drooped
down, perhaps because she felt lonely remembering the lover she had left behind
in town.
On the other hand,
Shina, after confirming Irisdina's figure, began to look around restlessly, as
if looking for someone.
"Where's
he?"
"He? ...... Do you
mean Nozomu? His rank is insufficient, so he couldn't accept this
request."
"I see
......."
Irisdina was puzzled
by the somewhat relieved expression on Shina's face.
Although it was not an
obvious bad emotion such as disgust, it was a somewhat negative feeling with a
hint of uneasiness.
"Did something
happen between you and him?"
The confusion that
welled up within her led Irisdina to inadvertently ask if something had
happened between Shina and Nozomu.
"Well,
actually......."
"Nothing
serious."
Shina interrupted
Mimuru who was about to answer Irisdina's question. There was a stronger sense
of evasion in her eyes than before.
Don't touch. In the
face of Shina's silent protest, Irisdina realized that she could not continue
this conversation.
"Shina, calm
down."
"So, where do we
start looking?"
Ignoring Mimuru's
attempts to calm her down, Shina turned the conversation to discussing the
subjugation.
"...... It seems
that the footprints were found near the outer wall on the east side of the
city. Should we start searching through the forest from there?"
"Alright. Mimuru,
are you okay with that?"
"Well, why not?
Let's go then."
With no choice but to
change the subject, a course of action was presented. Although there was no
particular difference in opinion and both parties were now in agreement,
however, another tension was felt between the two parties as they were about to
embark on a request to subjugate the demonic beast.
◆
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