Volume 4
Final Chapter Part 2
With the Remaining Embers in One's
Heart Part 2
Translator : PolterGlast
After witnessing Ken's
sealing, Nozomu invited Lisa to join him for a walk. After walking around the
central park, they sat down on a park bench. Then they gazed at the chalk-white
school building of Solminati Academy in silence. It was Nozomu who opened his
mouth first.
"Umm,
sorry."
"It's not
something Nozomu should apologize for, is it? Besides, it was I......"
These words also made
Lisa's face cloud over.
Even though she was
deceived by Ken's scheming, it was undoubtedly she who hurled abusive slurs at
Nozomu.
And her words were the
decisive factor in plummeting his position at the academy to the bottom of the
barrel.
"Umm, I should be
the one to apologize. I have been saying horrible words to you......"
Turning to Nozomu,
Lisa bowed deeply. She herself never intended to be forgiven. Still, she felt
she had to apologize properly here.
"No, I should
have confronted you and Ken in the first place. The only reason I didn't was
because I ran away from you both."
Nozomu looked at her
as she lowered her head and slowly stated his true feelings.
His words were colored
by regret. Indeed, Nozomu was rejected by Lisa. On top of being deceived by
Ken's scheme, he was also impatient with his own ability, which was not growing
at all at the time.
However, Nozomu was
also responsible for the situation getting so complicated.
He thought that if he
became stronger, it would be for Lisa's sake. He had never faced them, escaping
under the delusion that they would understand him. This was definitely Nozomu's
mistake.
"In the end, we
were saying that we were doing it for each other's sake, but we were not truly
thinking about each other's feelings. We imagined our own convenient stories
and kept turning our backs on each other because it didn't work out. That's why,
I should apologize as well."
Once again, Nozomu
turned toward Lisa and bowed deeply.
And then both of them
raised their heads at the same time, and smiled at each other.
"Fufu~, we're
doing something weird, aren't we?"
"Haha, you could
say that again. If people saw us sitting on a park bench in the afternoon with
our heads bowed to each other, they would tilt their heads and wonder what we
were doing."
They smiled and
chuckled at each other for a while. The stagnation that had settled in the
depths of their hearts over the past two years began to wash away. It has been
a long time since they laughed from the bottom of their hearts.
Although they both
said they were doing it for the other, their relationship was distorted in that
they were still dependent on each other. The rusty cogs in their relationship
have finally begun to turn.
"What are you
going to do from here on out, Lisa?"
Nozomu asked after
they had laughed for a while.
In response, Lisa
looked upward to the sky and closed her eyes, as if to check something in her
heart.
Then she smiled,
turned to Nozomu, and slowly opened her mouth.
"I don't know.
I've always wanted to be an adventurer like my father, but I've come to think
that there's more to it than that, and I still want to study many things here,
besides......."
After hanging up her
words without finishing them, Lisa quickly closed the distance between herself
and Nozomu. Her moist eyes were staring at him from close range, and she looked
as if she was about to cry.
"Hey.
Nozomu....... If I decide to leave the academy, would you come with me?"
A confirming plea. She
knew she wasn't qualified to ask this, but she couldn't help but confirm it.
Her eyes, moist as
rubies in the rain, and her mouth trembling, spoke eloquently of her feelings.
Nozomu closed his eyes
as if to confirm his own feelings as Lisa stared at him.
Then he slowly opened
his eyes and faced Lisa's wish.......
"I'm sorry, but I
can't fulfill my promise to you right now."
He flatly rejected it.
"I see. I thought
so......"
As if she had known it
was coming, Lisa pulled herself away from Nozomu.
Nozomu bit his lip as
she moved away with a lonely expression on her face.
"Sorry. I
couldn't keep my promise."
"No, that's not
true. Nozomu, you did keep your promise to me. You supported me so that I could
face my dream properly."
I couldn't keep my
promise. Although Nozomu said so, Lisa smiled gently, but clearly denied what
he said. Nozomu had fulfilled his promise.
It may have taken some
time. Still, it was definitely thanks to Nozomu that Lisa was able to wake up
after running away and averting her eyes.
Lisa is truly glad
that she fell in love with such a man.
The result may not be
a happy ending. However, for Lisa, this feeling was a gift from the love of her
life, more important than anything else.
"I have a soft
spot for you, Nozomu. I invited you to this academy, probably because I was
worried. Life as an adventurer is fraught with danger. I thought that you might
suddenly disappear, so I invited you to this academy......"
If all she wanted was
to become an adventurer, there was no need for her to go all the way to the
Solminati Academy. She could have joined a guild or other organization near her
hometown and started as an adventurer from there.
The reason she did not
do so was because of her own fears.
But now, she felt that
it was no good to keep dwelling on her regrets and being frightened by her
fears.
"That's why, I
need to move on from you too."
With that, she rose to
her feet and stood before Nozomu.
"Nozomu, can I
borrow that katana?"
What in the world is
she planning to do with it?
Nozomu tilted his
head, but her straight gaze prompted him to remove his treasured katana from
the sword belt at his waist and hand it over to her.
Lisa drew the [Mumei]
blade she received. The chain-shaped patterns shine in the sunlight.
She then held it in a
reverse grip, and slowly placed the blade against her own hair, which was tied
up in a bundle.
"Ah......."
With a light slashing
sound, the blade was swung and her long crimson hair was sliced off.
Lisa shook her head
while Nozomu was surprised. Her shoulder-length short hair bounced around
cheerfully.
"Un, I feel
refreshed!"
She sheathed the
katana and handed it back to Nozomu, smiling as radiantly as a clear sky.
It was the same smile
that Nozomu had seen when he first fell in love with her as a young boy.
"Short hair suits
you too."
"Really?
Thanks!"
The last remaining
lump in their chests melted away.
While Nozomu was
relieved that they had truly settled their old scores, Lisa stretched out her
arms widely, “Nn~~~!".
"Are you heading
back?"
"Yeah. I guess
this is where I say goodbye. There's one more person I have to face, after
all."
"Hmm...... I
see.”
"You also still
have things to do, don't you, Nozomu?"
"You can
tell?"
"How many years
do you think we've been together? I can tell that much right away."
Nozomu nodded at
Lisa's point. Apparently, his childhood friend in front of him could see right
through what he was thinking. Nozomu returned a wry smile to Lisa, who smiled
sadly, and slowly got up from the bench.
"Well, see you
around......."
"Un,
goodbye......."
He gave a small nod to
Lisa who waved him goodbye, turned around, and walked toward the park's exit.
Lisa watched his back
and let out a big sigh as if expressing all her feelings.
"In two years,
we've grown so far apart..."
Reaching out towards
his shrinking back, Lisa couldn't help but mutter these words.
"But that's okay.
Let's start over again. starting now..."
With that thought in
mind, Lisa turned away from Nozomu and began to walk. In front of her stood a
girl with hair of mixed gray and pale red, standing with an anxious expression.
"Lisa... umm, I..."
Seeing her cousin's
still tense expression, Lisa naturally took a deep breath and gulped hard.
(Do your best...)
A voice that seemed to
push her back echoed in the back of her ears, and she couldn't help but look
back.
Nozomu's back was no
longer visible. But somehow, her heart felt lighter.
Their paths will part
here.
But that was okay.
Deep in her heart, she still had the feelings that her beloved had left her.
With those feelings in
her heart, she would try again. She wanted to become strong enough to stand
beside that person.
"Sorry to keep
you waiting, Camila. Shall we walk together?"
With one last hot drop
spilling from her eyes, the red-haired girl took a new step forward.
†
After parting with
Lisa, Nozomu headed straight for the Francilt mansion.
However, just as he
exited the central park, a voice came to his ears like a distant echo.
[Looks like you've
managed to clear up a lot of things.]
It was Zonne's voice,
drifting into his ear. Perhaps he was using his power as a dragon to deliver
his voice, as there was no sign of the old man in the vicinity. He probably
knew that everything was over and decided to contact him. Nozomu's forehead
broke out in cold sweat.
[You have shown me
your potential. Seeing that you're still alive, there seems to be hope for
you.]
While holding back a
shiver from the cold sweat, Nozomu listened intently to Sonne's words.
[Also, that katana you
are carrying. It is beginning to have a will of its own. It seems to have the
ability to absorb and seal the power of the spirits. If you use it wisely, you
might be able to reduce the burden from Tiamat.]
Nozomu reflexively
reached for the [Mumei] at his waist and gently touched the hilt. An
indescribable warmth welled up from deep within his chest.
[But it's still
extremely dangerous. As I said before, know your limits. If you don't want to
endanger your friends, don't use her power again. Never again...]
With those words,
Zonne's presence faded into the distance.
Whether he had decided
that there was no need to intervene here or if he had other intentions was
unclear, but at least he seemed to have given Nozomu a reprieve. Nozomu let out
a sigh, releasing his tension, and finally continued on his way.
Arriving at the
Francilt mansion, the sweat had dried, and the remnants of his tension had
faded. At the main gate, he was granted immediate entry by the mansion's maid.
Recalling how he'd been treated as a complete stranger on his first visit, he
couldn't help but let out a wry smile.
Passing the side of
the mansion, he headed towards the garden, where he found Irisdina standing
alone. When their eyes met, she looked a little surprised.
"Nozomu...... why
are you here?"
"Here......."
Saying this, Nozomu
pulled out a small hair ornament from his pocket.
It was the one he'd
given her when they had walked through the city together. Seeing this, her eyes
widen even more.
"You came to my
hospital room, right?"
"Well, yeah. I
must have left it where I dropped it and then just forgot about it..."
Her response was
hesitant and vague.
He gently placed the
hair ornament on the palm of her hand, which she helplessly held out to him.
Irisdina stared at it
with unfocused eyes, feeling how heavy it was.
"I said goodbye
to Lisa... I finally managed to say it."
Nozomu's face, though
tinged with sadness, held a sense of relief after settling his complicated
relationship with Lisa.
"Is that
so..."
"Thank you,
Iris."
"Why are you
thanking me?"
"Because if it
weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to properly say goodbye to
Lisa."
Recalling the strange
series of events that had brought them together, Irisdina chuckled.
"The first time
we had lunch together, I seem to have asked some pretty rude questions, huh..."
"It's fine.
Thinking about it now, you were the first person to do so. To someone with
nothing but a bad reputation, you asked me directly and without prejudice. If
you hadn't, I might have continued to be stuck in my own mistakes, even while
being aware of them."
Indeed, thanks to his
master, Nozomu was able to become aware of his own escapism. But that was all
his master could do. It was undoubtedly Irisdina who had pushed him to truly
face his past.
"...That's why,
I'll say it as many times I can. Truly, thank you."
His repeated words of
gratitude seemed to dissolve the stagnation in Irisdina's heart, and the weight
in her palm began to lighten. Instead, her cheeks were rapidly heating up.
"N-Nozomu, can
you help wear this hair ornament on me?"
"Eh?"
As if to hide her
blushing cheeks, Irisdina placed the hair ornament in Nozomu's hand and took a
half step closer. Her heart pounded in her chest.
Looking up, she saw
surprise and a similar blush on his face. She couldn't take her eyes away from
him.
He picked up the hair
ornament and his fingers brushed against her glossy hair. A sweet numbness
spread through her body.
Then, with a pleasant
click, the hair ornament was returned to where it belonged.
(Ah, I really
do love him after all...)
Irisdina was also
forced to be aware of her feelings at this point.
But at the same time,
she couldn't put those feelings into words.
A small lump remained
deep in her heart. She didn't have the courage to expose it yet.
(But, for now,
it's okay...)
Right now, she just
wanted to be filled with this comfort.
"Nozomu, if you
don't mind. Why don't you enjoy your time here? Everyone is here too."
"Oh, with
pleasure."
Side by side, they
walked back to join the others.
A surge of joy welled
up within her, every time their shoulders brushed against each other.
There were still some
feelings she hadn't conveyed to him yet.
But for now, she was
simply happy that he was alive and by her side.
‡
一A lone raven was looking down on a city built in a sea
of trees.
一It has a pair of crimson eyes and an eerie aura.
Contrary to the eerie
and unnerving color of its eyes, one can certainly see a glint of intelligence
behind them.
The raven focused its
eyes on a section of the city. There, it saw the figure of a Dragon Slayer
returning to his companions.
Its temporary master
has completed his role. With his death, this raven's mission had also come to
an end.
Yet, another mission
awaited. With a loud caw, the crow took flight, heading south.
End of Final Chapter
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