Volume 3 Chapter 4.4
Ripples of Impending Danger Part 4
Translator : PolterGlast
As the sun rose toward
midday, Jihad was looking over the exercise area from the west gate of the
city.
The training area was
covered with forest, so he could not see the situation directly, but he could
not sense any sense of disturbance.
Looking down, he could
see teachers busily working at the headquarters.
At a simple clinic
next to the headquarters, a team of medics, including Norn Alteina, is treating
injured students, but there are no reports of any deaths or serious injuries
that require urgent attention.
"There are no
problems so far......"
He looked around for a
moment and muttered so to himself.
Eventually, Jihad
realized that he was unusually nervous, and then let his mouth relax.
Abyss Grief. The
appearance of an unidentified demonic beast, which was said to be involved in
the great invasion, was on his mind.
(Even though it has
already been defeated, it is better that we remain vigilant......)
"Jihad-sensei.
Half of today's exercise time is over, so I've come to give you the status
report."
Interrupting his
thoughts, Inda, who was holding a report in one hand, called out to him.
Hearing the words of
his confidant from behind his back, Jihad took a deep breath and turned to face
her.
"I see...... so
how is the situation going?"
"Currently, the
number of parties that are still partaking in the exercise is only one-fifth of
the total. Also, there are several parties that are able to defeat the special
targets."
Inda turned her
slanted eyes to the report in her hand and read out the outline. Jihad took the
report in her hand and read it over as well.
"I see...... I
thought even if they are first-class, their experience won't be able to keep up
with their abilities and it wouldn't be strange if they were defeated ......
but it seems they are growing properly."
A pure compliment.
Even though they have the same A rank, there is a clear difference in
experience between the teacher and the student. No matter how capable they may
be, that difference in experience could not have been easily overturned.
However, there are
reports of parties of lower ranks defeating special targets.
That alone is enough
to confirm the growth of the students. And among the lower-ranked parties that
had defeated the special target, there is one that particularly caught Jihad's
attention.
"Nozomu Bountis
and Mars Dickens, huh......."
Their names sounded
familiar. Mars Dickens is a student who was considered to be highly competent
but with a bad behavior problem.
The other one, Nozomu
Bountis, is the student who encountered Abyss Grief along with Shina Juliel,
Kevin Ardinal, and others.
He is the first person
to be able to release ability suppression, and his combat ability when released
is reported to be capable of overwhelming the Abyss Grief.
"Inda-sensei. Did
he release his ability suppression?"
"No, he seems to
have defeated Anri-sensei without releasing it. To be honest, I find that hard
to believe......"
"I have known
Anri-sensei's personality since she was a student at this school. She is a
person of character who puts her students above everything else, but she would
never cut corners......"
Although he seems to
be a student who is not well-liked at the school, there are reports coming in
that he does not have such a twisted personality.
(I had expected that
he would have a certain amount of competence as well. But looking at these
results, it seems that he is competent enough not only in individual combat but
also in party battles......)
Jihad smiled
meaningfully at the student who looked promising for the first time in a long
time and shifted his eyes to his assistant in front of him again.
Upon closer look, her
eyes were wavering, and a hint of agitation was showing through them in response
to this report.
"Inda-sensei,
about Nozomu Bountis and his team defeating a special target. Looks like you
still can't believe it, huh?"
"Y-yes ......
-ah, no ......."
Perhaps she was
ashamed of herself for being so shallow and not fully grasping the capabilities
of Nozomu Bountis.
She is a competent and
strict teacher. Otherwise, she wouldn't be a first class homeroom teacher in
her late 20's. But at the same time, she is also very strict on herself.
"You don't have
to worry about it. Just a while ago I was also laughing at my own
immaturity."
"Ha?"
"Fufu, shall we
head back then?"
Inda was taken aback
by Jihad's words, in which he called himself immature. Seeing her unusual
expression, Jihad let out a chuckle and headed back to the headquarters.
(Nozomu Bountis,
huh......)
A student who was
considered a failure since the beginning of the school is getting back on his
feet and becoming stronger.
His figure will have
an impact on many people. Both to the students and to the teachers.
He could not help but
hope that it would be for the better.
At that moment, a
strong wind blew.
"......Hmm."
A gust of wind blew
through the warm spring weather. Something seemed to be mixed in with it, but
that strange discomfort quickly dissolved into the air of the exercise site and
was no longer recognizable.
(......I hope there's
nothing going wrong.)
Like paint falling on
clear water, the foreign air spread out in ripples.
A faint sense of
uneasiness was rising in Jihad's heart.
◆
"Sei~!"
"~ !"
Irisdina's jet-black
hair fluttered as she unleashed a slash that bounced off the weapon of a male
student who was facing her, and a magic bullet fired at close range struck him
in the abdomen.
After confirming that
the pendant of the fallen male student had turned red, she exhaled and sheathed
her rapier.
Around them, six other
students were lying on the ground. All of their pendants glowed red, signaling
that they had been disqualified.
"......Looks like
it's over."
"Yeah, it was
pretty tough actually ...... Are you guys alright?"
"Y-yes......
somehow ......."
After Tima, who was
standing behind her, called out to her, Irisdina approached each of the
students she had defeated.
It was just like them
to perform a simple recovery spell on those who were injured.
After finishing their
treatment, they handed their pendants to Irisdina and returned to the
headquarters.
After seeing them off,
Irisdina exhaled heavily and looked up at the overgrown trees.
Her expression was
somehow tinged with melancholy. Although the sight was quite captivating,
especially considering her elegant and refined appearance, Tima, who was
looking at her best friend with a sideways glance, sensed Irisdina's uneasiness
mixed in with her gestures.
"Ai, you're still
thinking about Nozomu-kun, aren't you?"
"...... What are
you talking about?"
"I can tell even
if you try to hide it. Every time you see Nozomu-kun getting along with
Shina-san, you will always be in a bad mood."
Irisdina couldn't help
but make a sour face in response to her best friend's observation.
"No need to worry
about me. What about you, Tima?"
"......Yeah. I'm
kind of at a loss to understand what Mars-kun is thinking, too."
Tima and Mars have
been training magic together, but lately, he has been training more and more
recklessly, and the two have started to drift away from each other.
Whenever he did
something reckless, Tima would warn him, but he would say he understood and
would not change his ways. The pain in her chest made her let out a small sigh.
"I wonder Why he
wants to be so strong ....... Even though there's nothing good about being
strong......"
"Tima......."
"Sorry, I just
remembered something unpleasant......"
Tima's family could
not stay in one place because of her strong magic power, and she had to move
from one place to another before coming to Arcazam.
Because of the trouble
she has caused her family and the suffering she has endured, Tima has no sense
of pride or superiority in her power. Rather, she has feelings akin to disgust.
She is in Arcazam only
because she is training her magic and does not want anyone else to be hurt by
her power anymore. Irisdina is aware of her best friend's situation.
That is also why Tima
feels angry at Mars for his relentless pursuit of power and at herself for not
being able to stop him.
"......Somehow,
we're both kind of pathetic, huh?"
A rift has developed
between friends. The distance between them is slowly widening, as pent-up
emotions mix together.
The scenes of the past
few days came back to Irisdina's mind.
The way he talked with
Shina Juliel and her contracted spirits in a casual manner, and the expression
on his face as he happily went on a date with her little sister. It inevitably
stirred her heart.
(Why do I behave like
that to him? ......)
Regret cast a shadow
over Irisdina's heart.
She is a quick-witted
girl by nature. She knew that Shina Juliel had lost her ability to contract
with spirits.
And considering that
she had recently regained that power, it was easy to imagine that Nozomu had
provided some help to Shina when she had lost her powers.
Undoubtedly, he helped
the elf girl out of pure goodwill.
That is exactly why he
was even willing to put his life on the line.
(Come to think of it,
he is someone who could truly become serious when it came to helping someone
else......)
The charm of Nozomu
Bountis can be understood after having actually been helped by him.
Become serious for
someone else's sake. That temperament was dazzling to Irisdina.
I want to know
more about him, I want to watch him more closely. Such feelings began
to occupy her mind without her noticing it.
Perhaps that is why.
Because she could perceive deeper circumstances, her heart was violently
shaken, and for some reason, she was angry with him.
It was definitely a
feeling of "anger" stemming from "jealousy".
Actually, she wanted
to have a different conversation with him. She wanted to share more and more of
their time together.
Even though she wanted
to get to know Nozomu in her heart, she couldn't take the initiative.
"~......"
A squeezing pain ran
deep in her chest.
Indescribable anxiety
welled up and covered her mind.
Her thoughts continue
to spin around and around in circles. She shook her head to reset it, but it
only made her glossy black hair flutter and did not calm her mind at all.
On the contrary, the
momentum of the whirling thoughts increased rapidly. Warmth and coldness,
comfort and anxiety, so many conflicting emotions come to the surface, and her
mind becomes disoriented.
It is not surprising.
This is the first time in her life that she has ever felt these emotions after
all.
"...... Ai, after
this exercise is over, I'm going to have a talk with Mars-kun."
"Eh?"
"About why does
he want to be so strong....... He may not answer me...... but if I don't do
that, then there's nothing I can do to help him."
"Yeah, that's
true ....... Yup, that's absolutely true ......."
That was the conclusion
that Tima came up with because she wanted to do something about this situation.
At the same time, the
words of her best friend bring light to Irisdina, who was lost in a maze of
thoughts.
Yes, nothing will get
better if one doesn't make a move.
If she wants someone
to share their feelings with her, she must open her heart to them first.
(Let's ask him once
again. About what happened. About why does he make such a sad face again......)
He saved my sister,
who was dearer to me than life itself. He gave me the hope to live.
(That's why, this time
...... I will...)
Just as Irisdina made
up her mind, the bushes behind them rustled.
"~ !"
She reacted quickly to
the sound coming from her back. At the same time as drawing her rapier, she
simultaneously activated a strengthening magic.
Immediately after, a
shadow jumped out and slashed at her.
"It's
blocked!"
"Kuh, Lisa-kun,
huh!?"
A saber and a rapier
clashed with a high-pitched sound. It was Lisa who ambushed Irisdina.
The two sides glared
at each other at close range, but when Lisa realized that her surprise attack
had failed, she immediately leaped backward to gain some distance.
Immediately after,
multiple ice spears flew from the bushes from which Lisa had leaped.
"I knew it, you
had other companions with you ......!"
"Ai, let's
go!"
Irisdina nodded and
replied without looking back to her best friend's voice that came from behind
her.
Right after that, a
torrent of magic power erupted behind Irisdina. Tima's enormous magic power was
instantly converted into flames, and the swirling winds that converged further
gathered the heat and formed a huge fireball.
[Disaster of the
Damned]
Using multiple
intermediate-level magics; converts one's own magic power into flames,
manipulates the wind to accelerate the combustion, and then concentrates it
into a single fire.
This is an advanced
magic that manipulates multiple attributes, and combined with Tima's enormous
magic power, it exhibits extraordinary power.
The fireball passed by
Irisdina, vaporizing the ice spear that was approaching her in an instant, and
flew in a straight line toward the bushes.
"Oopsie!"
"Whoa!"
Just as Ken and
Camilla, who had been hiding, rush out of the bushes, the [Disaster of the
Damned] landed.
The raging firestorm
instantly incinerated the trees in a radius of 20 mel.
"As expected of
Irisdina-san and Tima-san. Looks like it won't be easy to defeat them."
"............"
Irisdina casts a sharp
glance at Lisa, who seemed to be in a relaxed atmosphere.
In her mind, she
remembered how Nozomu and Lisa behaved during their joint class.
"Just the right
time...... I had a question I wanted to ask you guys......."
"~ !"
Aiming her piercing
eyes toward Lisa, Irisdina accelerated in an instant, closing in on her.
Lisa reflexively swung
her saber down at the incoming thrust. A metallic clang echoed, shaking their
eardrums.
Perhaps startled by
Irisdina's full power from the very first move, Lisa, who is supposed to be
superior in physical ability, fell back slightly. As if to fill the gap,
Irisdina stepped in further.
"Guh~...... What
a surprise, that you, who are always so composed, would attack me with such
ferocity!"
The figure of Lisa
facing her head on made Irisdina's chest burn with a searing heat.
To cover up the heat,
she thrust out her rapier whilst firing magic bullets with all her might.
"Your movements
are more monotonous than usual. And I can clearly see the trajectory of your
magic bullets!"
However, Lisa repelled
all the oncoming thrusts and magic bullets and launched a counterattack. Her
twin blades clashed with the rapier, and with a deafening metallic sound, the
red and black magic power scattered as a residue.
"Looks like you
are getting fired up as well. Just as I was wondering what kind of conversation
you had with him......!"
The words that were
directed at her made Lisa frown.
"Hee ....... I've
been thinking about this for a while now, why do you care so much about
Nozomu?"
"You met him,
didn't you? You talked to him, didn't you? What did you say to him?......"
"~......!?"
Lisa's eyes widened
involuntarily, apparently overwhelmed by Irisdina's voice that seemed to stifle
anger. Immediately afterward, a vague sense of discomfort surged up from deep
within her chest.
What emerged in her
mind was the dimly lit forest and the face of Nozomu, who was shedding tears in
anger.
(What is this
scene?......)
A scene she did not
know, his anger she had never seen before. And then, a sorrowful cry that
resounded in her ears.
Her breathing becomes
shallow. The discomfort that had been rising inside her turned into disgust,
and her heart was stirred by a sense of anxiety and foreboding that her footing
was about to crumble. In order to shake it off, Lisa raised her voice.
"~, I don't
know....... Why should I care about that guy now!? Even though he betrayed me,
he's still talking about things that are convenient for him!"
"What exactly do
you expect him to do!"
But Lisa's words
struck a nerve for Irisdina. The dark-haired girl, revealing the anger she had
been suppressing, pushed Lisa forcefully as if slamming her with her fury.
"He was your
childhood friend, wasn't he!? He was your boyfriend, wasn't he!?"
"It has nothing
to do with ...... you!"
"It does! He's
my-......!"
Trying to shake off
the discomfort rising inside her, Lisa also swung her twin blades while raising
her voice.
The thin blades and
rapier clashed again and again, creating a continuous clanging sound in Spasim
Forest.
However, a blade of
ice intervened between Lisa and Irisdina. The Serpentine Sword, writhing like a
snake, lashed out to separate the two, and Irisdina quickly leaped backward to
keep her distance.
"Lisa, stand
back."
"Ken, but
......"
"Just do it, I'll
deal with her."
Ignoring Lisa's words,
Ken pounced toward Irisdina.
"You said too
much. Even though you don't know anything about it."
"Kuh!"
The Serpentine Sword
lunged at her abdomen, slithering like a serpent.
Irisdina repelled the
approaching blade of ice with her rapier, which she swiped horizontally, and
fired a magic bullet as a counterattack.
"As expected of
the top overall student of our school year. But that's all there is to it. You
can't even compare to me, the chosen one!"
However, her magic
bullet dissolved in mid-air and fizzled out.
(What was that? It's
as if my magic power dissipated on its own......)
"I won't give you
time to think!"
"Kuh!"
Ken's Serpentine Sword
closed in again on Irisdina, who was in a state of shock.
"Ai!"
Just before Ken's blade
reached Irisdina, Tima's magic was activated.
A huge mass of flames
exploded between them, covering the area with a shockwave and flames.
◆
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