Volume 4
Chapter 18
"Haa, haa, haa………… Did I lose them?"
Nozomu, who had left
the black magical beast to the Goblins and fled, finally took a breather after
confirming that there was no one chasing him from behind.
"For now, I guess
I'm safe for a while... but maybe I should take precautions just in case?"
Given the many
unknowns about the enemy magical beast's combat power, it would be best to take
every possible measure.
Thinking this, Nozomu
decided to make a detour before going to Shino's hut.
The sun had already
completely set, and the darkness of night covered the surroundings, but Nozomu
began walking, relying on the faint moonlight and starlight.
***
Shina and the others,
who had been walking through the forest, eventually arrived at Shino's hut.
Mimuru laid Tom on the bed, then took out medicine and medical supplies from
the shelf and began treatment.
She washed the wound,
stitched it up, sprinkled potion, and wrapped a bandage.
Tom was still
breathing heavily, and beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
"………………"
Shina, meanwhile, was
casting healing magic on Tom, but perhaps because she was preoccupied with her
earlier blunder and Nozomu, who had dealt with its aftermath, she was somewhat
distracted and couldn't concentrate on her magic. The healing light overflowing
from her raised hands was also unstable.
"…Shina,
concentrate properly…"
"! S-sorry…"
Mimuru admonished her,
and Shina hurriedly concentrated on her magic. Mimuru, too, was probably preoccupied
with her lover's injuries, as her voice was somewhat stiff and cold. It was
clear that she was also at her limit.
Eventually, the pained
expression on Tom's face, who had been breathing heavily and suffering,
softened.
"…With this, I
think he'll be alright for now…………"
"I see…"
Even though the
treatment was finished, Tom's injuries were deep, and he had lost a lot of
blood. He fell asleep almost as soon as the pain subsided.
After Tom's treatment
was finished, the two sat down to rest but fell silent, unable to talk to each
other.
Shina, perhaps
concerned about her earlier blunder, slumped her shoulders and stared at the
floor, clenching her hands tightly on her knees.
Mimuru also seemed
restless, her hands moving busily, and her gaze never leaving Tom, who was
asleep.
An awkward atmosphere
hung in the room, but there was nothing to dispel it, and only silence
continued.
"…Hey Shina. Why
didn't you try to escape at that time?"
Eventually, Mimuru
broke the silence and questioned Shina about her earlier actions.
"That magical
beast was clearly abnormal, wasn't it? We immediately knew we couldn't handle
such a magical beast, didn't we? Why did you try to do something
reckless?"
"Th-that
is…"
Mimuru questioned
Shina, but her tone was strong, and rather than questioning her, she was
accusing her.
Mimuru's gaze was
filled with intense anger, and Shina, subjected to that gaze, was at a loss for
words.
"If you hadn't
done something reckless and had focused on escaping at that time, Nozomu-kun wouldn't
have had to do something reckless, would he? Tom wouldn't have had to get
injured, would he!"
"…………"
Shina couldn't say
anything to Mimuru's words and looked down.
Considering the
current situation, Mimuru questioning and unilaterally accusing Shina at this
moment was by no means commendable behavior.
Although they had
managed to escape from that black magical beast, they were still in the forest,
and this safety was only temporary after all. That black beast wasn't the only
magical beast in the forest.
If it was just to ask
why Shina hadn't tried to escape, it would be one thing, but unilaterally
blaming her could even lead to a complete breakdown of the party.
However, Mimuru was
also taking out her frustration on Shina, who had ultimately created this
situation, because her lover Tom was seriously injured, and she was mentally
cornered. The fact that they had managed to escape to a safe place made her
strained emotions relax, and Shina looking down without saying anything to her
questions only fueled her anger.
Mimuru's voice,
accusing Shina, gradually grew louder.
"Say…
something!!"
Mimuru grabbed Shina,
but Shina just squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip, saying nothing.
Still, Shina said
nothing, and Mimuru's patience reached its limit.
She raised her hand to
strike Shina. But then a thud was heard from the hut's door.
Tension ran between
the two.
Shina readied her bow,
which was nearby, and Mimuru drew her dagger from her waist.
What flashed through
both their minds was that black magical beast.
With Tom unable to
move and Nozomu not present, it was clear that if they were attacked by that
beast, they would be defeated in an instant.
Mimuru readied her
dagger and cautiously approached the door, while Shina drew her bowstring taut,
ready to fire an arrow at any moment.
The door rattled open,
and there was something humanoid, covered in mud from head to toe.
"!!
Mimuru!!" "Huh?"
Shina called out to
Mimuru and fired the nocked arrow at the humanoid's forehead. The humanoid
seemed to say something, but it was drowned out by Shina's voice, and the two
couldn't hear it.
"Whoa!!"
The humanoid, with a
scream and movements that didn't seem possible for something made of mud,
dodged the approaching arrow. But this time, Mimuru stepped forward and swung
her dagger.
"Haaaaah!!"
"W-wait a
sec..."
The humanoid tried to
say something, but the two didn't notice. The humanoid blocked Mimuru's dagger
with something like a stick, deflecting it.
Mimuru was surprised
that her attack had been parried, but she immediately turned her blade and
tried to slash again.
However, just before
that, the two heard a familiar voice.
"Wait!! Both of
you!!"
The voice stopped the
two.
Looking closely, the
humanoid was a human covered in mud from head to toe, and it was someone the
two knew.
""Nozomu-kun?""
"That's right.
It's me! Why do I have to be attacked by my own allies all of a sudden!!"
Nozomu, who had become
a decoy for the black magical beast to allow the three to escape. He had
desperately run around the forest, barely escaping with his life, so it was
understandable that he would raise his voice and shout.
***
"Sorry,
Nozomu-kun."
"Um… I'm
sorry…"
Mimuru and Shina
slumped their shoulders and apologized. Well, it was understandable that they
would be depressed, having not only failed to thank their savior but also
having pointed weapons at him.
Nozomu himself was
angry at first, but considering his current appearance, he thought it was
unavoidable that they would point weapons at him.
Nozomu had already
washed off all the mud from his body, and the clothes he was wearing were dried
by the fire.
Mimuru asked Nozomu
again.
"…So, Nozomu-kun?
Why were you covered in so much mud?"
"Ah. It was to
prevent that magical beast from chasing me by scent."
Among the magical
beasts that had chased him in the forest, some tracked their prey by scent.
Wild Dogs were a prime example.
To escape such magical
beast tracking, he had entered rivers to wash off his scent and smeared mud all
over his body to prevent his body odor from leaking out.
"…More
importantly, how are Tom's injuries?"
"…He's been
treated and is sleeping now. But I still think we should take him to the city
quickly..."
"…………"
"??"
Nozomu glanced at
Shina, but she remained looking down even as Mimuru answered Nozomu's question.
Mimuru also ignored Shina, deliberately looking away.
"Hey, did
something happen?"
"…What do you
mean?"
"No, I
mean—" "I'll keep watch outside. Call me if anything happens…"
"O-oi…"
He tried to ask the
two, who had a strange atmosphere between them, but Shina didn't answer
Nozomu's attempt to stop her and went outside.
"…What's
wrong?"
"…I don't know.
About Shina..."
Mimuru pouted and
turned away.
Nozomu sighed deeply,
then took a large pot from the kitchen, put it on the fire to boil water, and
began making a simple soup.
"…What are you
doing?"
"I'm making food.
Given the situation, we have to eat when we can, or our bodies won't
last..."
While saying that,
Nozomu efficiently prepared the meal. He shaved dried meat with a knife to make
broth and added potatoes and other ingredients stored in the hut.
Once it boiled, he
tasted it and adjusted the seasoning with rock salt, then poured it into bowls.
"…I can't really
guarantee the taste, but it'll at least warm you up. I saved Tom's portion, so
if he wakes up and can eat, give it to him."
Mimuru accepted the
bowl Nozomu offered, but she looked at the bowl in her hand with a complicated
expression.
"…Are you
alright?"
"Y-yeah, I'm
fine! Don't worry about it... thank you."
Mimuru, who had been
looking dejected, immediately smiled, but it was clear to anyone that she was
forcing it.
Nozomu, seeing her
forced cheerfulness, was about to say something, but then he heard a groan from
Tom, who was sleeping.
"Tom woke up.
I'll take food to Tom, so Nozomu-kun, please take food to Shina. …Probably, if
I take it, I won't be able to hold back and we'll end up fighting…"
She wore a
self-deprecating smile as she said that. Her face was full of regret and
vexation.
Seeing that, Nozomu
couldn't say anything.
"…Understood."
In the end, Nozomu had
no choice but to take the soup to Shina.
***
I sat with my knees
hugged on the roof of the hut.
I said I was keeping
watch, but I couldn't do that at all.
All that filled my
head was frustration and regret.
When my homeland, the
Forest of Foschia, fell during the Great Invasion, I stood frozen, unable to
believe the scene before me. Then, that black magical beast appeared before me.
Its form was different
from the individual that appeared today, but the black sludge covering its
entire body and its countless blood-red eyes were unmistakable.
The sheer horror and
the inescapable presence of death tightened my entire body like iron chains,
and I thought I would be killed by that terror alone.
It was my beloved
parents and older sister who saved me from that.
"Shina,
run."
While my father and
mother fought, my sister turned her back to me, facing the magical beast, and
told me that.
At first, I didn't
understand what my sister was saying, but when I comprehended her words, I
shook my head like a spoiled child, pleading with my sister.
"We can't win if
we fight. Let's escape together."
There was no way they
could possibly win against the black demonic beast, and both my parents and my sister,
who were fighting it, must have known that. Yet, even then, my sister wouldn't
listen to my pleas.
My parents fought
desperately, but they still couldn't win.
My father and mother
were killed, and then it was my sister's and my turn. The creature, stained
crimson with my parents' blood, glanced at me, who was paralyzed with terror,
and grinned.
"Get a hold of
yourself! Shina!!"
The spell that had
bound me so tightly was broken by my sister's reprimand and the pain that shot
through my cheek from her slap.
"Alright, Shina.
I'll say it again. You run away quickly. Don't look back. Just keep running
straight. I'll follow you later."
My sister said that,
but I immediately knew it was impossible. Even so, my sister forced a smile,
not wanting to worry me.
"B-but..."
Ignoring my
indecision, the black magical beast lunged at my sister.
"Kuh!!"
My sister created a
magic barrier and pushed back the magical beast, but the barrier quickly
cracked and didn't seem like it would hold for long.
Even so, I couldn't
decide. Whether to run away alone or to fight alongside my sister.
It was my sister's
shout that moved my indecisive legs.
"Go!
Shina!!"
My sister's gentle
reprimand, devoid of any loud shouting. The moment I heard that, I turned my
back on my sister and ran with all my might.
"Uuuu,
waaaaaaaah…"
My face was a mess of
tears and snot, but I just kept running, leaving behind my most precious
family.
After that, I wandered
the continent with my surviving comrades.
No, rather than
wandering, I was forced to do so because I had no place to belong.
At that time, the
various countries that had suffered the Great Invasion were exhausted and had
no capacity to accept refugees. Some were able to escape to countries that
hadn't been invaded, but they couldn't accommodate all the countless refugees.
We, who weren't
accepted, wandered from place to place, barely managing to stave off hunger in
barren lands.
As I grew up, I
decided to enroll in Solminati Academy.
At that time, I was
helpless. To change my weak past self. And to reclaim my homeland.
And I became stronger.
Of course, I'm not at the top of the grade, and I can't even glimpse true
strength like Jihad-sensei.
Even so, I thought I
had somewhat shaken off my weak self through the rigorous training days here...
I tightened my grip on
my arms, which were wrapped around my knees. I clenched my hands.
Thinking about how
this terrible situation was my fault made me feel like I was going to break.
My emotions were
utterly dejected with frustration and helplessness, but the anger towards
myself continued to swirl intensely deep in my chest.
Anyway, I wanted to be
alone right now. But...
"Good grief, I
wondered where you went since I didn't see you around the hut. So you were here
after all."
I heard the voice of
the person I disliked the most.
***
"U-ugh..."
"Tom? Are you
alright?"
"Mimuru... yeah,
somehow..."
"Thank
goodness..."
Judging from Tom's
condition, he seemed to be doing alright somehow... A sigh of relief escaped my
lips at the thought that at least the worst hadn't happened.
"Can you get up?
There's some soup... can you eat it?"
"…It's a little
tough, but I'll eat it. I think I have to eat, anyway..."
Saying that, I helped
Tom, who was trying to get up, and got him to sit up.
Tom's slender body was
still light. Probably lighter than mine, I guess...
Tom had been small and
bullied since he was little.
At first, I was also
one of the bullies, and at that time, I never thought we would become lovers.
But as we grew up, Tom
and I gradually changed.
Tom remained slender
and small, but he became very smart, studied various things, and learned to do
various things. I had started following him with my eyes without realizing it.
Just before coming to
this academy, I confessed to him when I couldn't stop thinking about him.
I was very
embarrassed, my face turned red enough for me to notice, and I almost ran away,
but at the same time, I was very happy, and that's when I realized my feelings.
"Hot!"
"Oh, sorry!"
Tom had injured his
right arm, so I was feeding him, but it seemed it was a bit hot...
"Phew,
phew..."
As I blew on the
still-hot soup to cool it down, Tom asked me with a somewhat solemn expression.
"…Hey Mimuru. Are
you alright?"
"…What do you
mean?"
"Because you were
fighting with Shina, weren't you?"
"…You can
tell?"
"Yeah. Because,
Mimuru, your thoughts immediately show on your face."
I'm often told that
I'm not suited for negotiations or bargaining.
"…You can't
forgive Shina?"
"…Because."
I met Shina soon after
entering the academy. She was the one who sat next to me in my first class.
At that time, Shina
was even sharper than now, and always had a grim, intense look on her face.
She never slacked off
in classes or practical training, constantly pushing herself to the limit, and
she looked like she could break at any moment.
"…Hey, aren't you
tired, always being so stiff?"
I didn't say that
because I was worried about her. It was simply because I felt like I was
suffocating.
"…It doesn't
matter, does it?"
Shina glanced at me,
then immediately lost interest and returned her gaze to the textbook she was
reading.
Disliking her
attitude, I frowned and took away the textbook she was reading.
Looking back now, it
was childish and embarrassing, but I think Shina was more of a child than I was
at that time.
Surprisingly, Shina
cast a spell at me to get her textbook back.
Ignoring me, who had
been blown away by her magic, Shina picked up the fallen textbook and went back
to reading.
This time, I was truly
enraged. I completely forgot that I was the one who had made the first move. I
lunged at her, and we literally had a catfight, ending up with both of us
getting lectured by the homeroom teacher.
Since then, we clashed
over everything.
In lectures, we would
compete to answer the teacher's questions, but Shina was always superior. Every
time she got the correct answer, I would glare at Shina, who would look at me
with a smug expression, and gnash my teeth.
In practicals, we also
competed on assignments, but my mock battle scores were higher. While tightly
gripping her bow, Shina would always glare at me, who was puffing out my chest
as if to say I had returned the favor.
We were always
clashing like that, but then Tom joined us, and as he started mediating between
Shina and me, we gradually started talking normally.
Before I knew it, we
were eating lunch together, then walking home together, and eventually, even
going on adventures together.
I thought she was my
best friend. I thought she would tell me anything.
We knew nothing about
Shina's past. I could vaguely imagine what had happened, given the events of
ten years ago, but I still thought our two years together wouldn't be defeated
by it.
But Shina wouldn't
talk about anything.
I was angry that Shina
had gone out of control and Tom had gotten injured, but more than anything, it
made me furious that she wouldn't say anything, even though she was clearly
suffering and troubled.
"Because, it's
irritating, isn't it? Both Shina, who says nothing, and us, who can't help
her..."
"Mimuru..."
Tom, too, was at a
loss for words as Mimuru spoke her monologue with a pained expression.
They felt utterly
helpless, deeply disappointed that the strength they had diligently honed
within the academy had utterly failed them.
They, too, painfully realized
their own immaturity.
***
"What are you
doing? In a place like this..."
"Nothing..."
Shina replied, still
looking away from Nozomu's question. She turned her face away, her knees drawn
up to her chest, motionless.
"...Why don't you
eat something for now? I made some simple soup..."
"…………"
Nozomu sat next to
Shina, maintaining a body's length of distance, and offered her a steaming bowl
of soup, but Shina didn't even look at the offered bowl.
"…………"
"…………"
Silence flowed between
the two.
(A-awkward...)
Nozomu felt like he
was suffocating. He was affected by the gloomy atmosphere she exuded, and he
was at a loss for words.
He didn't know Shina's
circumstances. Even if he knew that something had happened between her and that
black magical beast, he knew nothing about her past or the emotional scars she
had sustained at that time.
Therefore, Nozomu
didn't know what to say. So, his action was to encourage her to say something,
but...
"H-hey. Say
something—" "Hey. I wanted to ask you something..."
"Wh-what?"
"Why did you say
you'd stay behind?"
"Eh?"
Nozomu was a little
surprised that she asked him a question, but he answered it without thinking.
"Why, you ask...
Because there was no other way..."
Nozomu explained the
reason he had made that decision at that time.
"At that time,
neither Mimuru nor you were in any condition to fight. Both of you were very
shaken by what happened to Tom, and it would have been impossible to escape
from that magical beast while carrying an injured person in that state. So, we
needed a decoy to buy time. At that time, I was the only one who could do
that..."
It was an undeniable
truth, but that truth was cruel to her in her current state.
She was agitated, but
she fully understood that Tom's injury was due to her own mistake. She wasn't
so foolish as to not understand that. She was also deeply pained by having
injured Tom.
However, she was
currently deeply negative because of her mistake.
She had lived a life
of constant strain, fueled by the helplessness she had felt when she couldn't
do anything in the past. But in the recent battle with the black magical beast,
she was utterly defeated and couldn't do anything, ultimately putting her
comrades in danger. This caused the taut thread she had been holding onto to
snap completely.
"There was no
other way!? I could have stayed behind!! It's my fault, so it makes more sense
for me to stay behind!!"
Nozomu recoiled as she
suddenly raised her voice and pressed him.
"Besides, you're
10th tier, aren't you!? There's no way you could have escaped, no matter how
you look at it!! Why would you do something knowing you'd die!!"
"Whoa,
wait!"
Shina grabbed Nozomu
by the collar. She raised her eyebrows and brought her face so close that he
could feel her breath.
Nozomu instinctively
tried to swat her hands away from her sudden action, but when he noticed the
tears like precious gems welling up in her eyes, he couldn't bring himself to
shake her off.
"Yes! Indeed, you
were different from me, who couldn't do anything! They said you were the
weakest in the grade, but you were actually strong!! But that beast is even
more dangerous. Why are you so reckless!"
What she was saying
was completely incoherent.
She herself had seen
Nozomu fight, even if only briefly, and he had personally made a detailed map
of this forest. Furthermore, considering that he had escaped from that magical
beast, she already knew that Nozomu's abilities were different from what the rumors
said.
However, she saw
Nozomu as overlapping with her older sister, who had risked her life to save
her ten years ago.
It was what you might
call a trauma. The last moments of her beloved older sister.
She, who saw her older
sister's final moments in Nozomu's dangerous act of acting as a decoy all by
himself, was emotionally distraught, even though the rational part of her mind
knew that Nozomu's actions were the best course of action.
"………………"
Nozomu was feeling
quite suffocated because Shina was gripping him so tightly, but more than that,
he was captivated by the girl in front of him.
The elf girl
illuminated by the moonlight was a fantastical sight, like a fairy tale, with
her slender body, long flowing blue hair, tears welling in her eyes, and the
moonlight shimmering in those tears.
But more than that,
the raw passion that she had kept hidden within her captivated Nozomu.
"Why,
why..."
She looked down,
continuing to mutter through her tears. She herself didn't know who those words
were directed at.
***
"…Sorry. I said a
lot of strange things…"
"N-no. It's
alright…"
She continued to cry
for a while, but now she was calm. The two sat again, maintaining a subtle
distance of one body's length.
They faced away from
each other, not looking at each other. They exchanged a word or two, but the
awkwardness quickly made them fall silent.
"…Thank you. For
listening to my complaints without saying anything…"
"Eh?"
A word she let slip,
breaking the silence. Nozomu was bewildered by those words. He didn't know why
she was thanking him.
Nozomu hadn't said
anything to her. She hadn't talked about her past to Nozomu either.
Nozomu knew that Shina
was carrying something she couldn't tell anyone, and that she was suffering
from it but couldn't speak. But he didn't know what to say to her.
What should he do?
That was something Nozomu himself wanted to know.
"It's not like I
did anything..."
"That's not true,
is it? You made us escape from that guy. You cared for our bodies and made us
food. And you listened to my dirty complaints without saying a word."
"…"
Her face, though still
showing fatigue and a hint of sadness, was much better than before.
But Nozomu knew very
well that it was only on the surface.
Although she was
indeed smiling, that smile was the same as the one Nozomu had shown to Irisdina
and the others, a mask worn by someone desperately trying to force back what
they carried within their chest.
At her masked smile,
an inexpressible anxiety welled up in Nozomu, tightening his chest.
"H-hey. When you
were with that magical beast before—" "Thank you. And... I'm sorry.
For saying so many terrible things to you until now."
Nozomu, feeling he had
to say something, tried to start talking, but she preempted him, cutting him
off. Her perfectly refined face bore a smile that looked like she was about to
cry.
"I'll be going
back now. Thank you for the meal..."
She cut him off before
Nozomu could say anything more and went downstairs with the cooled soup.
"!!"
Nozomu unknowingly
clenched his fists tightly.
When he saw her
fabricated smile, Nozomu felt a kind of kinship.
Himself, unable to
tell Irisdina and the others that he was a Dragon Slayer.
Shina, unable to
escape her own past.
Both of them were
caught in a dilemma where they wanted to talk to someone but couldn't, feeling
as if they were falling into a bottomless abyss. But even though they harbored
similar doubts and darkness, their paths didn't cross.
Because neither of
them could take the first step yet.
They were fully
occupied with enduring what they carried, and they had become so accustomed to
bearing it alone that they had forgotten to look beyond their own feet.
Nozomu's premonition
came true in the worst possible way.
The next morning, all
Nozomu and the others found was Shina's empty blanket and a note that read,
"Leave the rest to me, please take care of Mimuru and Tom."
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