Volume 2
Chapter 8
A while after Nozomu and Mars parted ways with Irisdina and her group, the two of them arrived at the Ox Head Inn...
"What in the
world are you doing, Onii-chan!!"
At the Ox Head Inn,
Mars was being lectured by Ena. Ena, noticing Mars's foul mood upon his return,
had confronted both Mars and Nozomu, and it turned out that he had glared at
Tima, which was the cause.
"Why do you
always have to pick a fight with people, Onii-chan!!"
"………………Shut up!
And why the hell are you making such a fuss! It's none of your business!!"
"What are you
saying! What if this causes trouble for Hanna-san and the others again!"
"…………Uh…………"
The argument between
the two intensified, and Nozomu was already out of the loop.
"Don't worry
about it. This is just everyday life for those two."
"Hanna-san."
Hanna, the landlady of
the Ox Head Inn, placed a plate of light food and a glass of milk in front of
Nozomu, saying this as if she didn't mind the commotion at all.
"For those two,
this much fighting is like foreplay. They'll be back to normal by tomorrow, so
it's a waste of time to worry about it."
Looking around, none
of the several customers in the shop tried to stop the two from arguing. They
just wore wry smiles.
Apparently, this was a
common sight at this inn.
"Why do you
always do such unnecessary things, Onii-chan! Could it be that you've fallen
for that Tima-san!? Trying to get her attention by being mean, how childish can
you be!!"
"There's no way
I'm thinking that! Don't just make up my feelings on your own!!"
The great verbal
battle that erupted in the small inn intensified even further, and Nozomu could
no longer do anything about it.
The inn's windowpanes
rattled from the sheer volume, and ripples formed in the milk in Nozomu's
glass. Frankly speaking, it was so noisy that you could easily believe if
someone said that magical beasts were fighting.
(But the customers
aren't fazed at all…………just how much is this normal?)
Even in this state,
the surrounding customers' demeanor didn't change. Considering that the
military police hadn't rushed over despite this much noise, it seemed that even
they were well aware of this sibling quarrel.
The surprising thing
was whether it was the local residents who could remain calm amidst such a din,
or the siblings who had made such a scene seem "normal"…………
Crash!!!
Just as Nozomu was
looking around in amazement, a sudden loud sound echoed from the direction of
the arguing siblings.
(Wh-what the heck!!)
Nozomu hurriedly looked
towards the source of the sound and saw Ena holding up a chair from the counter
and slamming it onto the floor.
"Y-you! What are
you doing all of a sudden!!"
"I've realized
that there's no point in saying anything to Onii-chan anymore! Since it's come
to this, I'll have to make you understand by force!! Prepare yourself!!"
Ena gripped the legs
of the chair with both hands, taking a stance with a blue vein throbbing on her
forehead. Her stance looked strangely practiced.
"Teyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Ena swung the chair
down towards Mars's head. Mars hurriedly dodged the descending chair, but
perhaps because he had suddenly been about to have a chair slammed into his
head, his face was strangely strained.
"Y-you trying to
kill me!! If I had been a little late, my skull would have been cracked
open!!"
When Nozomu looked at
Mars, who had barely dodged, he could sense an aura of heightened Ki emanating
from him. It seemed he was even using body enhancement.
(…………Wait a minute.
Mars, who used body enhancement, barely dodged? What's going on?)
Nozomu felt a strange
unease and looked at Ena, and he could sense an aura of heightened Ki coming
from her as well. It seemed she was unconsciously using body enhancement.
(…………Huh? I thought I
heard that Ena-chan hadn't had any combat training like body enhancement,
though?)
According to Hanna and
the others, Ena had never learned any combat techniques. Despite this, seeing
her unconsciously using body enhancement suggested that she might possess
considerable talent, just like Mars.
…………Or rather, Nozomu
wanted to tell her not to attack her own family with such enhanced physical
abilities. She's being way too unreserved.
(Even though it's
unconscious, Mars could have really died if he messed up…………)
"Wait a minute!
You're always telling me not to use violence, but you're using it
yourself!!"
(Well... from Mars's
perspective, who almost got killed, that's a valid point…………)
Mars was completely
backing away.
Ena was 14 years old
and not particularly tall. However, the aura she was currently exuding
completely dominated the place. At this rate, Mars might really get killed.
Thinking that was
definitely bad, Nozomu called out to appease Ena.
"W-well,
Ena-chan. I think that's going a bit too far…………"
"Please don't
interfere, Nozomu-san! This is the only way to reform Onii-chan! Maybe the
shock will fix his personality!!"
"No, no, no!
Before that, Mars's head will become useless in a different way! Let's calm
down a little!!"
When Nozomu looked at
Mars while trying to appease Ena, he was shaking his head violently up and
down. He probably realized that Ena's current state was bad.
"No! If I don't
make Onii-chan behave here, I'll definitely regret it later!!"
(No, no, no! You'll
definitely regret it more if you do something!)
Ena was about to
pounce on Mars, and Nozomu tried to stop her by grabbing her from behind, but
he was almost thrown off by Ena's strength, enhanced by body enhancement.
(Woah, she's strong!!)
Nozomu was also using
body enhancement, of course, but Ena's body enhancement, being unconscious, had
absolutely no restraint.
Incidentally, Mars
himself had completely lost his will to fight and was cornered in the corner of
the room.
From the side, it
looked like a wife being subjected to violence by her violent husband, and
their daughter trying to stop it.
Needless to say, the
violent husband was Ena, the wife was Mars, and the daughter trying to stop it
was Nozomu.
The customers who had
been watching the three of them began to laugh loudly.
It was hard to believe
the roles were correct, but it might have been good as a comedy.
However, the people
involved themselves were completely serious………………
In the end, the comedy
ended with Mars taking a blow from Ena's chair. However, because Nozomu somehow
resisted, he didn't die but was knocked unconscious and dragged away to his
room by Hanna.
Ena, who had purged...
no, reformed? Mars, returned to serving customers without any disturbance.
(……Yeah, I should try
not to anger Ena-chan…………)
Through the noble
sacrifice of his friend, Nozomu engraved an unforgettable rule in his heart.
……Although, if you
traced it back to the source, it was still Mars's fault…………
Finally, the commotion
subsided, and Nozomu let out a sigh of relief as he slumped down in his chair.
The earlier uproar
hadn't driven away the customers, on the contrary, it seemed to have attracted
them, and now the shop's seating area was almost full, with only the table
where Nozomu was sitting being empty.
(Seriously, the people
living here are way too energetic...)
Just as Nozomu was
thinking this, the shop door opened, and a new customer entered.
"Ah, welcome!
Welcome to the Ox Head Inn!"
Ena greeted the new
customer with a cheerful voice. You wouldn't think she had been using her Ki
with all her might just a moment ago.
(……Ena-chan is
tough…………)
When Nozomu,
half-impressed, looked at the customer who had entered, his expression froze.
"Hey Ken, is this
the place?"
"Yeah, that's
right. They serve pretty delicious meat dishes."
It was his childhood
friends, Lisa and Ken, who had entered.
"Excuse me, we're
currently full, so would you mind sharing a table?"
"Is that alright,
Lisa?"
"I don't
mind."
"Thank you very
much. Please come this way."
Ena said this and led
the two of them over here. Soon, the two noticed Nozomu and exclaimed in
surprise.
"Huh?
Nozomu?"
"!!"
The moment their gazes
met, Lisa's expression instantly turned sharp.
"…………Hey."
Nozomu managed to
squeeze out a word, but his expression was very stiff.
"Ah, um,
Nozomu-san, do you know them?"
"Y-yeah. We're
childhood friends…………"
"Is that... so?
Um, would you mind if we shared your table…………?"
"Yeah... I don't
mind... but…………"
Ena hesitated at the
tense atmosphere despite them being childhood friends, but since there were no
other seats, Nozomu agreed to share his table.
"Ah, um... is
that alright with you too, sir?"
"I don't
mind..."
"……………It's
fine……………"
Ken answered while
looking at Lisa's expression, and she also agreed.
***
The three of us sat facing
each other at one table. The atmosphere was far from pleasant. Amidst this, I
was recalling our past.
Before things had
turned out this way, the three of us would often go out together, visiting
various places and talking about all sorts of things.
Things about school,
about our families back home. And about our dreams.
Lisa would always say
she wanted to go on adventures. I would say I'd go with Lisa, and Ken would
say, "Well, I guess I'll come along since I have to."
At that time, none of
us doubted that we would always be together, no matter how tough things got.
But we weren't
together anymore. To be precise, only I had been left out.
Even now, I don't
understand why Lisa pushed me away back then.
Lisa's expression was
still stiff, the sunlight-like smile she used to show me was gone, and only a
burning anger remained in the depths of her eyes.
Looking at that face
made me unable to say anything.
"So Nozomu's here
too. Do you come to this place often?"
Ken spoke to me. His
voice didn't have any strange stiffness, and frankly, it was a relief for me,
who didn't know how to interact with Lisa.
I knew it was leading
to an excuse of avoidance, but at least I thought it would be a starting point
for some kind of conversation.
"Well, I've started
coming here recently. My friend's parents run it, and that waitress earlier is
my friend's younger sister."
"Oh. By the way,
I heard the meat dishes here are good, but what do you think?"
I recalled the hole
rabbit steak that Hanna-san had treated me to before. The nicely grilled meat
and the overflowing juices. Yeah, that was delicious.
"Yeah. I think
you can look forward to it."
"Really! That's
great. A friend recommended it as a delicious place, so I came with Lisa to
have a meal, but it looks promising."
"…………I
see……that's good…………"
Ken's words "with
Lisa" caused a sharp pain in my chest. I had been feeling this ever since
Lisa and Ken started dating.
Her walking with Ken.
Her smiling beside
Ken.
And her fighting
back-to-back with Ken.
All of it showed how
much she trusted Ken, and it made me feel even more miserable.
…………And I ran away. To
training. And to the very dream I could no longer fulfill.
I closed my eyes. The
person I cherished came to mind.
……But that person made
me realize.
She risked her own
life to make me realize, "You're running away."
And she taught me...
"If you don't forget that you're running away, that's okay too."
Hearing that, I felt
like I could accept my weak self a little. I still couldn't move forward. But I
decided to face the fact that I was running away.
…………That's why I asked her
again. "Why…………"
"Hey, Lisa. Why
did you dump me?"
"!!!!"
Lisa's eyes widened
greatly, and then she immediately looked down. Her body trembled slightly,
unable to contain her emotions.
"Nozomu,
that's…………"
Ken tried to stop me,
but I ignored his voice. I was dumped by Lisa was also part of the reason I was
running away.
In order to face the
fact that I was running away, I had to properly hear the reason from Lisa.
If I didn't, I might
not be able to move forward when I decided to move forward.
"Hey, why
did—" "...Don't joke with me." Eh?
"Don't joke with
me!!!!!!!!!!"
She raised her voice
and slammed her hand on the table, kicking back her chair as she stood up.
"Now! Why now!!
Don't joke with me!!!!!!!!!!"
Her voice made me
unable to say anything. Her voice was filled with hatred, boiling with anger,
…………and more than anything, it was heartbreaking, as if tearing her own heart
apart.
***
Late at night in
Alcazam Central Park. In the darkness, a single shadow was illuminated by the
moonlight and cast upon the ground.
"Just a little
longer."
The shadow revealed
itself to be an elderly gentleman. Dressed in a black butler's uniform, he
fiddled with something in his white-gloved hands.
"Even though the
master says she has no interest, to think she still orders me to bring it back
without fail..."
While feeling a
contradiction in his master's orders, the elderly gentleman's expression
remained unchanged as he muttered, turned his gaze towards a corner of the
city, and began to walk.
"...I do not
favor overly rough methods, but that depends on the other party. If things go
smoothly..."
The city was swallowed
by darkness and enveloped in silence. With no one moving, only the gears of
fate slowly began to turn...
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