Volume 4
Chapter 3
After parting ways with Nozomu and the others, we headed to our classroom, the 3rd-year, 1st-rank class. Beside me, my best friend spoke with an expression as if she had been betrayed.
"Ai~~. Why didn't
you help me~~"
My friend, with teary
eyes, blamed me for not intervening. Well, perhaps it couldn't be helped, as I
often intervened in such situations. By the way, when I couldn't intervene,
Tima's magic, which had gone out of control due to extreme tension, would blow
away the male opponent, but that's irrelevant now.
"Well, everyone
was there at that time. Besides, Mars-kun was the one who tried the hardest for
Tima, wasn't he? I bet Tima was secretly happy about it."
I gave a somewhat mean-spirited
reply. My face was probably wearing a mischievous smile. Tima herself just
said, "Um, that... ahh," and looked down, her face bright red.
I still find this side
of Tima cute, and honestly, I'm envious.
Perhaps because I've
tried to protect Somia since I was little, my own way of speaking is rather
masculine and a bit rough. Regardless of my appearance, my inner femininity is
probably nonexistent. I can't compare to my fidgeting friend in front of me,
nor to the angelic and adorable Somia.
(Would he... prefer a
woman like Tima?)
I recalled
"him" who had just left. Remembering that he was hiding something
still made my chest churn.
(Seriously, why didn't
he tell me...?)
Churning, churning,
churning.
An indescribable
discomfort swirled in my chest. Perhaps because I recalled him hiding
something, my expression unknowingly hardened.
"Ai, calm down. I
got angry too at that time, but Nozomu-kun is a boy, and if he thought his
friends might have a bad experience because of him, it's understandable that it
would be hard for him to say anything."
"…I know
that…"
Even if I say I
understand, in reality, my mood doesn't seem to be improving. From an
irritation I couldn't even understand myself, my steps towards the classroom
naturally became faster and rougher.
In the Hallway
"Yo.
Irisdina."
"…Kevin."
I was suddenly called
out to in the hallway in front of the classroom. The one who called out was a
male student. He had a sturdy physique and was tall, with well-trained muscles
straining his uniform, but without any unnecessary fat.
What was most
distinctive was that he had animal ears and a tail growing from his head and
waist, a sign of a Beastman.
Kevin Ardinal.
A student belonging to
the 1st year, 1st rank, and one of the few students to have reached rank A.
He was a Silver Wolf
Beastman, overwhelming opponents with his exceptional fighting sense and
physical abilities.
The Silver Wolf tribe
originally possessed high physical abilities among Beastmen, but his fighting
sense was particularly high even among them, and he was considered unrivaled in
close-quarters combat at the academy, with the exception of the S-rank Jihad
Roundel.
"I heard about
yesterday. You were apparently with that 'bottom feeder.' You have quite
unusual tastes. Spending time with such a useless person must be nothing but a
waste."
"…………I can't say
anything about what you think of him, but I think it's inappropriate to say
that so casually."
Kevin's incredibly
rude words made my expression harden further.
But Kevin ignored my
feelings completely and approached me. He, a tall man, bent down and brought
his face closer.
"Heh, you still
look pretty when you're angry, don't you? How about it, I received a
subjugation request in the forest today, could you lend me a hand? It would be
a big help if you were there."
"…Sorry, but I
have other things to do today. Ask someone else."
I brushed off Kevin's
rude and inconsiderate offer, then walked past him and entered the classroom.
Certainly, dangerous magical beast subjugation should be done if necessary, and
if it prevents magical beasts from approaching human settlements and cities, it
would avoid unnecessary conflicts for both sides, and as a result, reduce harm
to those who are weak.
However, I, at least,
don't want to fight alongside someone who speaks so casually and disparagingly
of others like Kevin, and entrusting my back to him is absolutely out of the
question.
At least the person I
entrust my back to must be someone I can trust in various aspects, such as
skill and mentality. Otherwise, there's a high possibility of falling into the
worst-case scenario.
(Entrusting my back...
huh. Will I ever find such a person?)
Entrusting one's back
in battle means entrusting one's life, and also taking responsibility for the
other's life.
(What about Nozomu?)
I recalled a boy
carrying an Eastern katana.
When I thought about
someone to entrust my back to, he was the first person who came to mind.
The boy I'm most
curious about right now.
The male student who
has been slandered as the worst kind of person.
He keeps what he
thinks and how he gained his strength a mystery.
Considering his state
when I heard about the Rugato incident the day after, I could guess that
something significant had happened, but since then, he hasn't revealed his
innermost thoughts.
I know it's
unavoidable. Everyone has things they can't talk about, and I myself don't want
to force it out of anyone.
(But, what if he
protected my back...? And if I could protect Nozomu's back too...)
Protecting each other,
being protected by each other. A back-to-back embrace on a battlefield where
lives are scattered. Bound by unshakable trust, overcoming the difficulties
before them. And even if death comes, sharing the same moment until the very
last instant.
If I could have such a
relationship with him until the very last moment, how wonderful would that
be...
(…W-what was I
thinking…………)
My face naturally
turned red, and my body felt hot. A small flame began to beat "thump,
thump" deep within my ample chest, pressing against my white uniform, and
I naturally placed the hand that had held his during our date on my chest.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, I felt a
gaze and looked in that direction, seeing a red-haired female student looking
at me.
"She's..."
The female student who
had been looking at me averted her gaze quickly when our eyes met, then took
out textbooks and other items from her bag and began preparing for class.
***
Lunch Break in the
Infirmary
It was lunchtime in
the infirmary. Nozomu and Mars were waiting for Irisdina and the others there.
Since Irisdina had
caused a big commotion when she came to the 10th-rank classroom before, they
had decided to eat lunch here, where there were fewer people.
"Iris and the
others are a bit late."
"...Yeah. It's
already about halfway through lunch break, what happened?"
"...Maybe a
teacher asked them for something. Those two are highly rated by the teachers
after all."
"Well, it's not
impossible... But it's too late, so maybe we should just eat if they don't come
soon?"
"Yeah, I guess
so. Time is limited, so it can't be helped."
"That's right~.
Irisdina-san and Tima-san are such dependable and good girls, so I tend to rely
on them a lot~. I was in charge of the 1st-rank class when the homeroom teacher
was sick before, and they helped me a lot~."
"Anri. No matter
how good they are, you're not relying on them too much, are you?"
"It's fine~. I'm
a teacher too~. I'm doing things properly~."
"...Then it's
fine (Was it really fine, though?)"
Even though Anri said
it was fine, Norn was quite worried inside.
The infirmary had Anri
and Norn. The two friends often ate lunch there. Both usually brought bentos
and sometimes exchanged side dishes, it seemed.
Anri, sitting on a bed
in the infirmary and swinging her legs, suddenly said "Ah!" as if
remembering something, and spoke to Nozomu.
"Speaking of
which, Nozomu-kun~~. You seemed a bit unfocused this morning~, is something
wrong~~?"
"Eh?"
At Anri Var's words,
Norn also joined the conversation with a slightly surprised expression.
"That's unusual.
For Nozomu-kun to not concentrate in class, I wouldn't be surprised if it were
Mars-kun—" "Wait a minute! What do you mean by that!?"
"Norn~~, that's
not true. Mars-kun has been listening to my classes properly recently~~."
"Is that so!?...
I'm sorry, Mars-kun, I spoke rudely due to my preconceived notions."
"N-no. Since
you're apologizing, then it's fine..."
She must have thought
she had gone a bit too far. Norn properly lowered her head and apologized to
Mars.
It was understandable
that Mars, who had only recently started taking classes seriously, would want
to complain about Norn's comment, but Anri followed up properly, and Norn also
apologized properly, so Mars didn't raise his voice any further.
Well, Mars had only
started taking classes seriously in the past few days, and his previous class
behavior was certainly not good, so it might be understandable.
After apologizing to
Mars, Anri looked at Nozomu. Nozomu put his hand on his chin, thought for a
moment, then slowly opened his mouth.
"Well, I was just
thinking about something... Norn-sensei. Do you know a student named Feo
Lizitsa?"
"Feo Lizitsa? Oh,
I know him. He's a male student in the same year as you, Nozomu-kun."
Feo Lizitsa.
A male student belonging
to the 3rd year, 2nd rank, and a boy of the Fox-tailed tribe.
The Fox-tailed tribe
is one of the Beastman races, literally a race with fox-like tails and ears.
Unlike other Beastman
tribes, they don't have large communities and live in small family units
scattered across the continent.
They seem to be a very
individualistic race, which apparently leads to them not having large
communities.
As for Feo Lizitsa
himself, he seems to have a free-spirited personality and apparently sometimes
skips classes.
However, his grades,
as indicated by his 2nd-rank status, are quite excellent.
His rank at the
academy is C. He can handle both written and practical exams evenly, and he has
no subjects that could be called weaknesses.
"Um, can that
student use talisman arts?"
"Talisman arts?
You're asking about another rare technique. I don't know if he can use it, but
the Fox-tailed tribe, though small in number, lives throughout the continent.
So, it wouldn't be strange for them to know about talisman arts in some form…………"
When he heard Norn's
words, the sense of familiarity Nozomu had felt began to take on a clear shape.
Feo's gaze was exactly the same as the gaze Nozomu had felt behind the school
building.
(Just as I thought. It
was probably Feo who was looking at me then. ...But why would he need to do
that? I didn't feel any hostility from the direction of the gaze when I was
being watched behind the school building, and I still didn't feel any hostility
towards me from Feo's appearance today.)
What Nozomu felt from
his gaze was not hatred or ill will, but a prying gaze.
Nozomu had undergone
repeated (forced) training in the forest where magical beasts lived until he
almost died fighting them, and he had been exposed to much hostility in the
academy, where he had no allies. Therefore, he had a very sharp sense for gazes
directed at him.
If Feo had harbored
hostility towards Nozomu, Nozomu would have noticed his gaze much earlier, back
at the school building.
(Even so, there's no
evidence. Even with this talisman, if he pretends he's unrelated,' it'll all be
over...)
"Haaah…………"
Although he had a
suspect, there was no definitive evidence, and Nozomu could only sigh and hang
his head.
***
Going back a little in
time, in the 1st-rank classroom, just after lunch break began. Here, I,
Irisdina, and my friend, Tima, had just finished our morning classes and were
tidying up our textbooks and other belongings.
We had promised Nozomu
and the others that we would eat in the infirmary in the morning, so after
finishing tidying up, we were about to leave the classroom with our bentos, but
we were stopped by a female student.
"Irisdina-san,
can I have a moment?"
(Ah)
The one who called out
to us was the red-haired female student who had been watching us when we entered
the classroom that morning. Both I and "him" knew her well.
She came up to us and
began to speak with a serious expression.
"Lisa-kun,
huh..."
"…………There's
something I want to ask you, just a moment, can you spare a bit of your
time?"
Lisa Hounds.
His former lover and
childhood friend.
The woman he loved
most.
One of the people I'm
most curious about right now stood there.
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