Volume 4
Chapter 11
Midnight in Arcazam. Nozomu was brought by Shina to her room in the girls' dormitory.
Although unavoidable,
it was certainly inappropriate to bring a male student into a girls' dormitory
at such an hour.
She had brought Nozomu
in, sneaking around like a thief, but it was fortunate that she managed to get
him into the room without being discovered.
She led Nozomu into
the room and had him sit on a chair. She then immediately brought water and
medical supplies and began treating him efficiently.
Nozomu submitted to
her treatment, showing no signs of resistance like when they first met on the
street.
Time passed in
silence, and only the sounds of Shina's movements and the medical instruments
echoed in the dimly lit room.
"Phew. The wounds
aren't as deep as I thought. The bleeding seems to have stopped too, so a
disinfectant should be enough."
Shina said this,
looking at Nozomu's wounds. Most of his injuries were self-inflicted from when
he released his ability suppression. There were also wounds from being thrown
by the Triclops, but thanks to potions, his life was not in danger, and those
wounds themselves had already closed.
"…You! If you
have potions, drink them properly! Your life might be at risk!!"
"…………Ah…"
In fact, Nozomu still
had a small amount of potion left. He had completely forgotten about it and
hadn't drunk it.
"…S-sorry…"
"…Haaah… Did you
want to die? Then why don't you go alone deep into the forest? You'll die
quickly, just as you wish."
Shina's tone became
harsh, but it was understandable. Her evaluation of Nozomu could be described
as the worst. Earlier, she thought it was an emergency, but when she realized
Nozomu's condition was better than expected and his injuries weren't serious,
her tone and attitude returned to normal.
"You, why were
you wandering around in a place like that at this hour, and with such injuries?
And covered in mud like that. Isn't that strange, even if you think about it
normally?"
Her question was
reasonable. Normally, Nozomu's appearance from earlier could easily be mistaken
for a suspicious person.
He was covered in
blood and mud from head to toe. His steps were unsteady and tottering. He
looked like someone who could be reported to the military police at any moment.
"…………I was in the
forest…………"
"You were in the
forest? Who were you with?"
"…………I wasn't
with anyone…………I was alone…………"
"Huh?! Alone?!
Are you an idiot?! What were you thinking!!"
Shina looked aghast
and then turned red with anger at Nozomu, who said he had been in the forest
alone. Not only her, but from the perspective of anyone in this town, entering
the forest alone was utterly insane.
The people of this
town knew firsthand the threat of the magical beasts that roamed the forest.
The history of Arcazam
was short.
It was originally a
wilderness, a land where magical beasts had lived since ancient times.
A river flowed nearby,
allowing for water supply, and due to the relations between various countries,
this land was chosen as the site for this city, but only ten years had passed
since people settled here.
If one stepped out of
the city and walked on the main roads, there was a high chance of encountering
magical beasts, even weak ones.
It was also far from
other cities, so it was common to use carriages to travel from Arcazam to other
cities, and few people traveled on foot.
In fact, every year,
several people who traveled on foot were attacked by magical beasts and killed.
Moreover, in the
forest, it wasn't limited to just one magical beast attacking.
Even veteran
adventurers formed parties as a precaution, but Nozomu hadn't even done that.
Perhaps that touched a nerve with her, as Shina raised her voice.
"Good grief!
Don't you even understand how dangerous it is for someone of your 10th-tier
ability to enter the forest alone!"
(To think he was
really suicidal…………It would have been better not to help him…………)
Saying that, she began
to put away the medical supplies with rough movements, but her eyebrows were
furrowed, and her expression somehow showed a sense of resignation.
Knock, knock, knock
At that moment, a
knock was heard at the room's door.
"Shina! Sorry for
the late hour. I need to talk to you for a bit, is now a good time?!"
A woman's voice,
unfamiliar to Nozomu, was heard from beyond the door.
The moment she heard
that voice, cold sweat trickled down Shina's forehead, and she looked at the
door as if startled.
"M-Mimuru?!"
Shina's voice sounded
panicked.
Judging from her name
and demeanor, she was probably Shina's friend. Nozomu was thinking this when
Shina suddenly rushed towards him.
She took Nozomu's
hand, opened the closet in a corner of the room, and forcibly pushed Nozomu
inside.
"Whoa-!"
Nozomu was jostled
among the clothes in the closet. A pleasant scent like sunlight filled his
nose, and he couldn't help but let out a sound at the suddenness of it.
"?? Shina? Is
something wrong?"
"!! S-sorry,
Mimuru. I'm coming out now!"
Perhaps hearing
Nozomu's groan, Shina's friend asked suspiciously from beyond the door, and
Shina quickly tried to compose herself.
Having hurriedly
pushed Nozomu into the closet, she glared at him with tremendous killing
intent.
That gaze eloquently
stated, "If you make a sound, I'll kill you!!!" and Nozomu completely
froze under that gaze.
She glanced at Nozomu,
who was in such a state, and then, after giving him another glare that would
make even the giants he had defeated flee, she closed the closet door.
Nozomu could only
stand dumbfounded in the pitch-black darkness.
A few moments later,
Nozomu realized that his current situation was bad.
It was the middle of
the night. If a man was found in a woman's room at such an hour, it would be
bad for both of them.
No, in this case, the
one in trouble would be Nozomu. Even if he was brought here, he probably
wouldn't be believed even if he told the truth in this situation. What kind of
treatment would he receive if he were thought to have snuck into the girls'
dormitory...?
"…………say, ……ru.
……"
"Mmm… …………ni
ka………………"
Voices could be heard
from beyond the closet door. It seemed she was talking to the friend who had
come to visit.
"That………………"
"Actually…………………"
"Mimuru. I…………
Whoa. ………………Triclops too………"
Triclops. The moment
that word entered his ear. Nozomu's body trembled violently.
At that moment, his
body hit the inner wall of the closet, making a loud thump!! sound.
"Huh…………?"
"N-nothing…………it's.
P-probably…………"
He hurriedly held his
breath and erased his presence.
After a while, the
conversation seemed to end, and her footsteps approached the closet.
"…………You can come
out now."
Saying that, she
opened the door, and the face she showed was even sterner than before she had
pushed him into the closet.
***
I pushed him into the
closet and then opened the door to the room.
Beyond the door was my
friend, Mimuru. A Wildcat Beastman girl with cat-like ears and a tail, and a
student in the same 3rd year, 2nd rank as me.
We started talking
when we were next to each other in our first year, and we've been sitting next
to each other in the same class for the second and third years, so you could
say we're an inseparable pair.
"Sorry, Mimuru.
For keeping you waiting."
"No, it's fine.
But... did something happen? You seemed strange."
She asked, tilting her
head cutely. But I was startled by the question.
"Eh! I-is that
so? I don't think so..."
"Hmmmm. The room
seems normal, but... I feel something strange~."
Mimuru narrowed her
vertically-slit pupils, characteristic of the Wildcat tribe, and peered into
the room. If she investigated with a Beastman's keen senses, she might notice
him.
"B-by the way,
what did you need?"
Thinking that, I
immediately tried to divert her attention by asking about her business.
"Oh, that's
right. Actually, we're going to the forest soon, right? Tom apparently has
something he needs to do then, but it's alright, right!"
Tom was a student in
the same 2nd rank as me and he is Mimuru's boyfriend. It seemed they had been
together since before coming to this academy. He was a small, slender, quiet
boy who excelled in magic and alchemy.
As his appearance
suggested, he wasn't very good at combat, but he was excellent in research and
experiments...
"Hey, Mimuru.
What does he need to do?"
"Actually, Tom
seems to need a certain plant for an experiment, but it was running out. So he
wants to go collect it in the forest, but apparently, that plant needs special
processing right after it's picked."
I see. Indeed, if
special processing was needed, he would need to go along.
However, I thought
that entering the forest right now wasn't a good idea.
When I thought about
that, anger simmered within my heart.
I was thinking about
the person I had just shoved into the closet.
A big idiot who went
into the forest alone. He didn't even form a party, which even veteran
adventurers normally did. It's like he wanted to commit suicide!!
My anger at his
reckless behavior grew even stronger.
I hated people who
threw their lives away.
A faint image of my
childhood flashed through my mind, amidst the rising anger. The beginning of
how I came to be in this place.
"?? Shina. Is
something wrong?"
"! Nothing.
Mimuru."
Her friend's words
brought me back to reality. The faint image in my head vanished, and I dealt
with my friend while trying to somehow prevent her from noticing what was in
the closet.
"…Mimuru, I don't
think we should go into the forest right now. There was also a report at the
guild about a Triclops. And recently, the spirits in the forest have been
strangely agitated—" "THUMP!!"
At that moment, a loud
sound echoed from the closet. Cold sweat ran down my back.
"Huh? What was
that sound?"
"N-nothing. I-I
think it was probably a mouse. They've been appearing a lot lately."
I tried to cover it up
somehow. To her, whose attention had returned to the room, I brought up the
continuation of our earlier conversation to somewhat forcibly redirect her
attention back to the topic of going to the forest.
What the heck are you
doing!? Do you know what would happen if someone saw you in this place!!!
"Well, Tom isn't
good at fighting, but he's not completely incapable, right? Besides, he has
various useful tools, so it'll be fine! He can use magic, and we'll be together
too. The Triclops's matter will be fine too. The Knights are apparently on the
move, and even if we go into the forest, it's not a very deep place. We'll be
back in less than half a day."
According to what
Mimuru told me, the plant they were looking for was a type of moss that only
grew on a specific tree. That tree also grew in a location relatively close to
the city within the forest.
My reluctance hadn't
changed, but I was also worried about my friend. If it was close to the city,
it should be fine.
"…I understand,
Mimuru. Tell him that too."
"Okay! Thank you,
Shina!! Well then, good night!"
When I told Mimuru
that I had agreed, she returned to her room with a happy face.
After confirming that
she had disappeared down the hallway, I returned to my room and opened the
closet.
"…………You can come
out now."
Saying that, he
sluggishly emerged from the closet, but I think it was unavoidable that my gaze
became even more piercing.
***
"……………………"
"……………………"
An awkward atmosphere
filled the room.
Well, it couldn't be
helped. What would have happened if he had been discovered...?
She might have been
thought by insensitive students to have brought a man into her room, and it
goes without saying what would have happened to Nozomu, who was originally at
the bottom of the academy's standings.
"…………So, how long
do you intend to stay in this room?"
"Ah!!"
At Shina's words, Nozomu
gasped and looked up. The treatment for his injuries was already finished, and
he realized that there was no longer any reason for him to be here.
"S-sorry. I'll
leave right away..."
"…Then hurry. You
never know who might come, and if you're found, I'll get dragged into it
too."
Her tone had
completely returned to normal.
She originally didn't
think well of Nozomu. She didn't know what had happened to him, but since he
had entered the forest alone, she had convinced herself that Nozomu's injuries were
his own fault.
"Besides, in your
current state, going into the forest alone is completely reckless. Even if no
one helps you, if you don't even know what level your own abilities are, you
won't be able to survive in future battles."
"………………"
Shina, because she
didn't know Nozomu well, snapped at him in a provocative tone. In response,
Nozomu said nothing, only looking down.
In his current state
of mental and physical exhaustion, he had no energy to say anything to her
words.
Without saying
anything, Nozomu reached for the room door.
But the moment he
heard the next words. Nozomu's head felt as if it had boiled over in an
instant.
"In the first
place. No one will help you because you abandoned Lisa-san."
"!!!!!"
He had been unable to
say anything due to his self-loathing for taking out his anger and running away
with his power, but the moment he heard those words, he grabbed Shina by the
collar.
"Wh-what are you
do...ing…………"
Shina, who had been
angered by being grabbed by the collar, immediately became speechless.
"………………………"
"…………………………"
The two faced each
other.
Nozomu, enraged, had
unleashed his killing intent in earnest, even if only for a moment.
Nozomu's face was
distorted with anger. The elven girl was dumbfounded, being subjected to such
raw emotion all at once.
For a brief moment,
due to the incredibly dense killing intent suddenly unleashed, all sounds in
the surroundings disappeared, and she felt as if time had stopped for a moment.
"!!!
…………Sorry……………"
Realizing what he had
done, Nozomu immediately released his grip on her collar, but the heavy air
became even heavier, and neither could meet the other's gaze.
Nozomu turned his back
and walked towards the door.
"………………Thanks for
the treatment…………"
Nozomu said only that
and disappeared beyond the door.
"Wh-what in the
world…………"
Shina questioned in a
whisper in the room. Her question was blocked by the closed door, scattering
without reaching anyone but her.
In her ears, just
before he disappeared beyond the door, she heard his suppressed voice directed
at her.
…I didn't do such a thing…………
***
Deep in the forest, in
the place where the corpses of Triclops lay scattered, shadows gathered around
them.
They were magical
beasts that had been drawn by the smell of blood. They were frantically
devouring the corpses before them.
Wild Dogs buried their
heads in the giants' bellies, their faces red with blood, eating the internal
organs.
Winged magical beasts
pecked at the scattered internal organs.
Goblins collectively
slammed clubs into the corpses, cut off meat with crude knives, and devoured
it.
The flesh of more than
ten giants was an unexpected feast for them, and they devoured it as they
pleased.
A feast of blood and
flesh was taking place in a corner of the forest.
The magical beasts
were exhilarated by the heat and scent, and the feast grew livelier. Perhaps
they were too caught up in the excitement, as fights broke out in various
places over the best meat.
But suddenly, the
atmosphere changed completely.
The heat that had filled
the place dissipated in an instant, replaced by the dense smell of death.
That smell of death
enveloped the exhilarated magical beasts, making them feel as if they had
arrived in a different place.
Those who had been
savoring the flesh and blood before them, those who had been frantically
fighting over meat, and those who had been contentedly watching the
commotion—all of them stared at a single point.
What was there were
four legs bathed in black sludge. Its body was dissolved in the darkness of the
night and could not be seen, but beyond that darkness, countless reddish-black
eye-like objects were visible.
There were no pupils
in those eyes; reddish-black light emanated from the darkness that had torn
open in the shape of eyes.
The next moment, the
magical beasts' vision was enveloped in darkness, and only the sound of
something chewing remained.
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