Volume 3 Chapter 2.1
Smoldering Fire Part 1
Translator : PolterGlast
The head of the
Solminati Academy, Jihad, is a busy man.
Although most of his
work could be simplified, there was still a lot of information that he had to
look over.
"I see, the
Silver Rainbow Knights will be going into the southeastern part of the Spasim
Forest ......."
"Yes, it seems
that their purpose is to regularly subjugate demonic beasts. Just in case we
were notified of this as well."
While eating a late
meal of sandwiches prepared for him, he skimmed through the documents given to
him by his confidant, Inda.
"What unit is
it?"
"The Fifth Unit.
Also, regarding Nozomu Bountis......"
"Ah, it seems
that he sensed the starlight's tail. And It looks like it's safe to lower our
vigilance."
"Any new
information?"
"An old
acquaintance of mine who knew him told me a few more details."
You did mention it
before. Who is it?"
"It's Mena
Manat."
'
Inda seemed a little
surprised when she heard Mena's name.
"The Knight of
Crucifixion, huh? She is now here in Arcazam?"
Knight of Crucifixion.
That was Mena Manat's nickname twenty years ago.
At that time, during
the Great Invasion, she belonged to the army sent by the Kingdom of Forsina to
defeat demonic beasts, and she killed many demonic beasts with her outstanding
skills.
It was during this
time that she became acquainted with Jihad, and the two had fought together on
many battlefields.
"Yeah, apparently
she was sent by the head of the Francilt family, whom she serves, to guard his
daughter. She is staying in this city because of that one incident."
There were chaotic
times in those days in many ways, and naturally, they were struck by various
hardships.
Perhaps because they
had overcome such times together, Jihad himself regarded Mena with respect.
"So she has been
interacting with Nozomu Bountis. And according to what I've heard, he's not a
schemer, at least not in the sense that he's capable of scheming."
"I've done my
investigation since the Abyss Grief incident as well. There are some rumors
about him that are a little ...... unfavorable."
"Fumu, I'm aware
of that too. However, it is not within our jurisdiction to evaluate the
friendship between students, and we are not sure if it is true or not."
On this continent, one
is considered an adult at the age of 15. Therefore, the school would not
interfere with the relationship between students, aside from academic
performance. Whether or not students can handle interpersonal relationships
without any problems is also judged by the school as part of their ability. As
long as it is not disruptive to the order of the school, the school will
basically leave it alone.
"And one more
thing. I heard that he has Ability Suppression, and although there is a
difference between wielding a katana and a sword, his swordsmanship
is-......"
Knock, knock, knock.
In the middle of the conversation, a knock was heard on the door of the office.
Jihad urged that
person to enter, and the door opened to reveal a tall, slender man dressed in
well-tailored clothing.
A badge in the shape
of a six-pointed star gleamed on the man's chest.
"Jihad-dono, may
I have a word with you?"
"Karvis-dono. You
have come at last."
Jihad and the slender
man smiled at each other and shook each other's hands.
Karvis Spartim Pruma.
He is a former
nobleman of the Cremazzone Empire and is now one of the councilors leading the
management of this Arcazam.
Moreover, he is a
multi-talented and busy man who also works as a branch manager of the Adventurers'
Guild, Arcazam Branch.
He is also an
influential figure in the city, serving as a link between the council and the
academy.
Formerly, he served
the emperor at the imperial court and was the head of the court magician who
provided advice and other services to the emperor. He was also the person who
advised the emperor to dispatch an army to counter the invasion of demonic
beasts at the time of the Great Invasion.
Although the emperor
agreed to dispatch a military force to defeat the demonic beasts, the empire,
which had its own underlying conflicts, took a long time to organize the army
and ended up having its own territory invaded by the demonic beasts.
As a result, he, who
was in charge of organizing the military force to defeat the demonic beasts,
was forced to resign from his position as a court magician and was subsequently
dispatched to Arcazam.
"It's about the
Abyss Grief."
"Did you figure
something out?"
"I have the
details here."
Karvis took out a
bundle of documents from a bag in his hand and handed it to Jihad.
It was a report
regarding the investigation conducted on the location of Abyss Greif's death.
"As a result of
our investigation, we did find a disintegrated corpse, but only a black stain
on the soil and some bones and other parts of the corpse. Magic, Qi, source
elements. No response to any of them."
"That means all
that remains is the Abyss Grief's magic stone, huh......"
"The Gloaurum
Institute is currently investigating that as well. The director, Maruzen, is in
charge of the investigation."
Maruzen, like Karvis,
is also from the Cremazzone Empire. He is currently the director of the
Gloaurum Institution and is the person who compiled the various magic
techniques that had been scattered throughout the continent.
The chanting and
formation methods of magic taught in Arcazam were created by him, and he is
regarded as one of the most important figures in the world because of his
achievements.
"And as for the
Silver Rainbow Knights......"
"I just received
that report from Inda-sensei."
The Silver Rainbow
Knight Order was founded after the Great Invasion by gathering the strongest
individuals from various countries. In the past, Jihad also belonged to it, and
it is a single organization with the largest number of S-ranks.
The total number of
members in a unit is around 50. Although it is small in scale, it is in fact
the strongest knight order on the Arkmel Continent in terms of the skill level
of its members alone.
"On that side, I
have some corrections to make to the information. It is not only about thinning
out the demonic beasts. They say it also includes the search for other Abyss
Griefs that may still be out there."
"I see ......
that it is indeed an urgent matter."
"The fifth unit
will be in charge of the search. The 1st - 3rd units are deployed to the
Sumahya Union and the demonic beasts' domain."
"And the
4th?"
"They are on the
lookout for the [The Six Bad Omens] in the Delta Zone. There was a sighting of
a [Hungry Ranbow-Colored Spider]."
[The Six Bad Omens]
Among the demonic
beasts that caused significant damage during the Great Invasion, there are
currently six demonic beasts that have not yet been subjugated.
All of them are
powerful, and it is said that even those who have reached S-rank cannot defeat
them alone. Most of them are said to be hiding in the disputed territories
known as the Delta Zone and in the Central Mountain Range, which is strictly
inaccessible to humans.
"Understood.
Thank you for going out of your way to inform me of this, Karvis-dono."
"Don't sweat it,
I just wanted to see you for the first time in a long time. I heard that you
are going to hold a Special Comprehensive Training soon. Jihad-dono, from your
point of view, how are the students going to fare this year?"
"Let's see. I
think there are a lot of promising students. Irisdina Francilt. Tima Lime.
Kevin Ardinal......."
"Lisa Hounds and
Ken Notice. As for me, those two are of interest to me as well."
"And then there's
Shina Juliel, who has regained her ability to contract with the spirits."
As Jihad and Karvis
folded their fingers while mentioning the names of some rank-A students they
were paying attention to, Inda also joined in to add a few names.
"Oh, I heard
about her. The elf girl who fought that Abyss Grief. When I think of my
hometown, the Nebula Forest, somehow I- ...... *cough-cough*!"
Karvis, who had a
cheerful smile on his face that contradicted his pale complexion, suddenly
began to cough.
"Are you all
right?"
"*Cough-cough*,
hmmm! My apologies, I got overexcited. My body is not particularly fit to begin
with....... Anyway, that's all I have to say. Now then, good luck with the
Special Comprehensive Training."
Karvis, who was bent
over, holding his mouth with the hem of his clothes, calmed down after a while
and slowly raised himself up.
He then bowed politely
to Jihad and Inda, and quietly left the office.
◆
A holiday on a sunny
day in late autumn. Nozomu was waiting for Somia in the central park a little
earlier than the appointed time.
Although Somia is a
young lady of a rather high status, Arcazam is a free city where the status of
one's country of origin is not relevant, and he thought it would be no problem
to accompany her on a little outing.
However, he soon found
out that he was completely wrong.
(Stare～～～～)
An intense gaze was
directed at him from a distant grassy area.
He knew who it was. It
was Irisdina Francilt, the older sister of his date partner this time.
There were several
other presences in the shadows of the grass. They were probably Tima and Mars,
who were forcibly dragged along by Irisdina.
"......Well, I
can understand Iris's feelings. I would be worried if I heard that my only
precious sister was going on a date with a guy, even if I knew the person she
was going on with."
It had been a long
time since he had gone out to play like this.
When he was dating
Lisa, he wanted to catch up with his two excellent childhood friends, so he
spent his days training hard.
Aside from when he was
back in his hometown, he rarely had such an opportunity after coming to this
academy.
*Sting.......*
The pain running
through his chest caused him to involuntarily look into the distance.
Indescribable negative
feelings. The image of his girlfriend, who did not believe in him, came back to
his mind, and his hand, which had been lowered without effort, naturally
clenched tightly.
Since realizing his
own escapism, Nozomu has occasionally felt a sense of hopelessness, emptiness,
and anger toward reality.
"Nozomu-sa~n!
Sorry to keep you waiting!"
While Nozomu was lost
in thought, Somia came running with a loud voice from the street leading to the
administrative district.
She was wearing a
beautiful white one-piece dress with frills and freshly polished shoes. On her
head, she wore a hat with a pretty ribbon to protect her from the sun, and her
glossy black hair was fluttering in the wind.
"Haa-haa, sorry.
Did I keep you waiting?"
"Nope.
I also just came here a few minutes ago. You came in a hurry, huh? I don't
think you need to be in such a hurry though......"
Nozomu gently wiped
her sweat with a handkerchief he had taken out.
"T-thank you very
much. But if I were to be late, that would shorten the time we could be together, wouldn't it?"
"......Well,
that's true. Shall we go then?"
"Yes!"
Somia's slightly
puffed face turned into a beaming smile, and she jumped into Nozomu's arms and
began to pull him along with her. She must be looking forward to the date.
Seeing her like this,
the gloomy feelings Nozomu had felt earlier disappeared, and his cheeks
naturally relaxed.
Although he was
concerned about the presence behind him, he wanted to make the girl next to him
happy as much as he could.
With this in mind,
Nozomu ignored the needle-like gaze directed at him and headed into town with
Somia.
◆
Irisdina, who had been
following Somia all the way from the mansion, was staring intently at the two
as they headed toward the commercial district. Behind her, Tima, who was
involved, tugged at her best friend's clothes.
"Hey Ai, let's
stop......"
"............"
"No use. She's
not listening to you."
"Au~......."
Hearing Mars' point,
who was beside her, Tima slumped her shoulders without any effort.
While they were
conversing so, Irisdina, on the other hand, kept staring at Nozomu and Somia in
the distance.
"Somia, I think
it's still too early for you to go on a date with someone of the opposite
sex!"
"I'm not saying
that Nozomu is a bad person, and I don't think there would be any problem with
dating him, but I'm can't absolutely sure about that as well, and also, you two
are way too close, you need to get further away from each other......"
Irisdina's mood
plummeted as she watched her sister being wiped off her sweat by Nozomu.
"So, what are we
gonna do about this? I want to go continue my training, you know......"
"I-I'll be in
trouble! Please help me stop Ai. I can't do this on my own!"
"Even If you say
that ...... can we really stop her?"
Tima could not answer
Mars' question. The current Irisdina is out of control in a lot of ways.
Even if they were to
use force, would they be able to stop this "siscon"?
To be honest, Tima had
no confidence at all.
"Ah!"
While Tima was in
agony, Irisdina let out a small scream.
When she looked beyond
Irisdina's line of sight, she could see Somia embracing Nozomu's arm.
(Whoa, Somia-chan, you
are so bold......)
Somia pulled Nozomu's
arm and disappeared into the crowd.
"Let's go after
them!"
"Eh? Ai, wait!
Mars-kun, let's go!"
"Wha, don't pull
my a~rm. O-oi!"
Tima pulled Mars' arm
so as not to be left behind by Irisdina, who started chasing after Nozomu and
Somia. And so began the chase by the curious trio.
◆
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