Volume 4
Chapter 5
An occupation called Adventurer exists.
In this Arcmel
continent, where magical beasts are a threat, it's extremely dangerous for
ordinary people to enter the magical beast territory. Only those with suicidal
tendencies or outlaws who can't enter cities would venture into such places.
However, it's also
true that untouched valuable materials and rare minerals exist within magical
beast territory. Those who risk their lives to challenge these dangerous zones
are Adventurers, and they hold a certain status on this continent in a way
different from Knights.
At the Adventurers'
Guild, where they gather, Adventurers buy and sell various items and look for
requests. This is no different at the Arcazam Guild, but amidst the
Adventurers, young boys and girls can also be seen. They are students of
Solminati Academy, and they too, gather here to look for requests they can
undertake.
In such a Guild, a
young man was leaning against a wall, surveying his surroundings. He was a
Beastman with golden ears and a tail, wearing the Solminati Academy uniform. It
was Feo Lizitsa of the 3rd year, 2nd rank.
(Hmm, it seems Nozomu
isn't here~)
The person he was
searching for was Nozomu Bountis, a male student in the same year, whom he had
recently become interested in. Feo Lizitsa had heard that Nozomu sometimes took
on odd-job requests at this Guild.
After school today, he
had seen Irisdina and the others leaving near the main gate, but Nozomu was
nowhere to be found, so he had guessed that Nozomu was probably here looking
for a request, but it seemed he was wrong.
(Hmm. Where could he
have gone...?)
As Feo Lizitsa
pondered Nozomu's whereabouts, a voice suddenly spoke to him.
"Yo. Fox boy.
Aren't you going to try to curry favor with the others today?"
The one who spoke was
Kevin Ardinal, one of the students in the same year who had reached A-rank. Feo
Lizitsa sighed softly inwardly.
(Haaah, a troublesome
guy has arrived~)
Feo Lizitsa's tribe,
the Fox-tailed tribe, is extremely cautious and rarely opens their hearts to
others, except for close relatives.
They are also
surprisingly whimsical. Their obsession with things that interest them is
immense, but they are quite neglectful of things that don't.
If that were all, they
would be isolated from other communities.
However, they were highly
skilled in negotiation.
Even if they were
initially disliked, they would sensitively perceive others' emotions, conduct
skillful negotiations, and handle various things skillfully, thereby gaining
acceptance.
This was no different
for Feo Lizitsa himself. In practical lessons, he didn't stick to a specific
party but moved from one party to another.
However, the way the
Fox-tailed tribe adapted to their surroundings and moved around from place to
place appeared to Kevin Ardinal of the Silver Wolf tribe as nothing more than
currying favor.
The Silver Wolf tribe
is a race that prides itself on strength, training themselves daily, and
dominating their own communities through that strength.
Kevin Ardinal, also of
the Silver Wolf tribe, likewise valued strength as his pride.
His obsession with
Irisdina was also due to her strength and pride.
For him, Feo Lizitsa's
way of being was unacceptable.
"You always form
parties with different groups, don't you? I see that today you're not doing
anything. Are you plotting something mischievous today?"
"It's fine, isn't
it? Besides, even if I were invited today, I was planning to decline."
"Hm? What do you
mean by that?"
When Kevin said that,
Feo Lizitsa pointed to a certain place.
There was a bulletin
board with various request forms pasted on it. An entire section of the wall
was used as a bulletin board, and something large was written in its center.
"W-what... A
Triclops!"
"Yeah, that's
right. Apparently, an Adventurer party spotted one deep in the forest yesterday.
So, they posted it to spread awareness..."
A Triclops is a
three-eyed giant, a superior species to the one-eyed Cyclops, and significantly
larger in stature compared to a Cyclops.
It is considered to
have the highest level of danger among magical beasts, second only to top-tier
dragons (竜 / Eastern Dragons),
and is a dangerous magical beast classified as Rank A.
It possesses
extraordinary physical strength, capable of easily uprooting trees, and its
body, covered in a muscular armor, is harder than steel, barely flinching from
ordinary attacks.
Engaging it in close
combat is extremely dangerous, and the established strategy is usually to
defeat it with long-range magic power attacks. The effect of muscular armor is
weak against fire and lightning from magic power, making it possible to defeat
it before it gets close.
However, the danger of
this magical beast isn't limited to that. What one should be most vigilant of
is the special ability shared by both Cyclops and Triclops, called "Evil
Eye of the Mad Demon."
This ability makes its
own instincts run wild, doubling its muscle strength.
When activated, its
eyeballs turn red and its entire body's muscles bulge.
This is the most
dangerous state. If the already extraordinary strength of the giant is doubled,
ordinary Adventurers cannot possibly contend with it.
Furthermore, doubling
muscle strength means the giant's defensive power, which originates from its
muscles, also doubles, and its speed, also powered by muscles, doubles as well.
"Well, that's why
the Silver Rainbow Knights are apparently dispatched too."
The Silver Rainbow
Knights.
They are a knight
order permanently stationed in Arcazam, and an elite knight order formed by
hand-picked individuals from various countries.
This knight order originated
ten years ago when a knight order dispatched by the Forsina Kingdom served as
its foundation. As they fought against invading magical beasts, they absorbed
armies from various countries. It was reborn as a knight order composed of
people from many different countries, and its establishment played a large role
in unifying the armies of various countries and repelling magical beasts.
Afterward, the Silver
Rainbow Knights were maintained as they were, anticipating another major
invasion.
Currently, though its
scale has shrunk compared to the time of the great invasion, the quality of the
personnel forming the knight order has been further enhanced. Literally, only
warriors equivalent to a thousand men are allowed to join.
For those aiming to
become knights, it is a knight order they once aspired to, and it is also
practically the strongest knight order.
Jihad Raundel, a
swordsman belonging to the academy, was dispatched from this knight order to
teach at Solminati Academy, serving as the chief advisor for combat techniques
and fostering future generations.
"Well, whatever.
It seems it's deep in the forest, so it should be fine as long as we don't go
too deep."
Saying that, Kevin
left the Guild with his party.
Feo Lizitsa, on his
part, quickly lost interest in Kevin and began thinking about Nozomu.
"I wonder where
he is now~."
The male student who
interested him most right now. The person the black-haired princess cared
about. In the bustling crowd of Adventurers coming and going, Feo Lizitsa's
perpetually smiling face had a slight upward twitch at the corner of his lips.
***
While Feo Lizitsa was
encountering Kevin at the Guild, Nozomu was walking through the city. He was on
his way to the forest to practice independently at Shino's hut.
At that location, even
if he released his ability suppression, only the forest surrounded him, so
there was no fear of being noticed by others. For Nozomu, who feared the
concealment of his dragon-slaying power, and the gaze and numerous conspiracies
that would arise if his power were noticed by others, training at that location
was essential.
Nozomu walked through
the city, engrossed in his own thoughts.
But the more he
thought, the more an indescribable sense of unease welled up within him.
He was thinking about
the rumor that had led to his isolation from those around him.
Previously, Nozomu had
turned a blind eye to everything at the academy, but now, through his promise
to Shino and his interactions with Irisdina and the others, he was gradually
able to pay attention to his surroundings.
However, precisely
because he could now see his surroundings, he had recently begun to feel a
sense of discomfort that he hadn't felt before.
It was something he
would never have noticed when he was withdrawn into his shell... No, it was
something he had unconsciously tried not to notice, fearing that if he knew it,
something within Nozomu would fatally break.
That morning, Nozomu
had been waiting for Lisa at the main gate of the academy. But when she
appeared, she suddenly slapped his cheek.
Nozomu, bewildered and
dumbfounded, watched as Lisa, with eyes filled with cold hatred and disgust,
unilaterally said "goodbye" and walked away. She disappeared into the
school building without looking back, even when Nozomu asked for an
explanation.
After that, everything
around Nozomu changed.
His classmates stopped
interacting with him, and he became completely isolated.
On one side, there was
Lisa, an excellent student, and a promising Adventurer in the making. On the
other, there was Nozomu, an inferior student with poor grades.
As the person who had
hurt Lisa, who was popular with both male and female students, Nozomu received
physical and emotional punishment from students of all grades and genders,
ultimately completely crushing his dreams and hopes.
However, thinking
about it now, the circumstances surrounding the rumor were too unnatural.
Lisa was indeed
famous. Considering that, the speed at which the rumor spread was
understandable. But what was strange was that Lisa believed Nozomu had cheated.
The reason other
students believed the rumor was because Lisa didn't deny Nozomu's infidelity.
However, Nozomu
himself hadn't cheated. And Nozomu and Lisa were childhood friends, and among
the few people from the same hometown.
For her to believe
Nozomu had cheated, there needed to be sufficient evidence, and a person who
could convince her of it.
Furthermore, the
person capable of this had to have a relationship of trust with Lisa that would
make her believe it.
And at that time,
there was only one person in this academy who met those criteria.
(…………Could it be...
him?)
The person who came to
Nozomu's mind was his childhood friend from the same hometown, Ken Notice.
Indeed, he fit the
conditions Nozomu had considered.
In terms of trust with
Lisa, the person she trusted as much as Nozomu at the time was Ken.
(! There's no way...
if he spread that rumor, then he wouldn't continue to associate with me as
usual afterwards—)
Nozomu shook his head
as if to dismiss his own thought, thinking, "If Ken was the culprit, he
wouldn't continue to talk to Nozomu as usual after setting him up." But
even the reason for that had already come to Nozomu's mind.
(…………Could it be, to
keep an eye on me?)
In this rumor, the
person who felt the most discomfort and was most eager to resolve it was Nozomu
himself, the one who was dumped by Lisa.
That's why Ken didn't
change his attitude towards Nozomu, in order to restrict Nozomu's movements and
prevent him from feeling any discomfort.
At that time, Nozomu,
who was completely isolated from his surroundings, was desperately searching
for an escape.
Outside the academy,
there was the escape namely Shino's training, but there was none within the
academy.
When a person's mind
is pushed to its limits and they continue to face painful situations, they take
the easy way out and try to protect their own mind.
Ken took advantage of
Nozomu, who was desperately trying to protect himself, and didn't change his
attitude in order to monitor Nozomu and prevent him from trying to dispel the
rumor.
At this point, Nozomu
couldn't run away. At the very least, he had promised Shino, "Even if I
run, I won't avert my eyes from the fact that I ran." Nozomu couldn't
pretend that the fact he had run away, which he had only now realized, never
happened.
(…………I have to...
confirm it...)
"Hey, Nozomu.
What are you doing here?"
At that moment, a
voice spoke to Nozomu from the side.
The voice of the
person he had just been thinking about.
The voice of a
childhood friend he had trusted and believed in since he was little.
"...Ken."
Ken Notice.
A handsome man with
flowing blond hair stood there.
***
"What are you
doing here?"
Ken spoke to Nozomu
with a smile. From the side, looking at his face, it was impossible to tell
that he was the one who had framed Nozomu.
"N-no. Just a
little..."
Nozomu was flustered
by the sudden encounter.
It seemed Lisa was not
with him. He was alone.
"…………Ken, I have
something to talk to you about, is that okay?"
"? I have plans
to meet Lisa later, but I have a little time. ...What is it?"
"It's hard to
talk here. Come with me..."
Nozomu turned his back
to Ken and started walking. His destination was the outskirts of the city.
He thought the place
where he had recently been training with Mars and the others might lead to an
encounter with them, so Nozomu headed to a different location.
Ken followed Nozomu
without saying anything.
Ken, it's not
you, is it…………
Nozomu continued
walking, praying in his heart to Ken.
***
"So, what is it
you want to talk about?"
Ken asked Nozomu.
The two were facing
each other on the outskirts.
The setting sun
illuminated the sky in crimson, and its light dyed their figures red.
The light of the sun
sinking below the horizon cast long shadows of Nozomu and Ken, reflecting the
two figures facing each other in the dimming field.
"Ken... When the
rumor about me and Lisa spread through the academy. Why didn't you
change?"
"…………Eh?"
Nozomu hesitated for a
moment but then, with resolve, threw his question at Ken.
"The rumor was
that I cheated, but I didn't do anything like that. But Lisa didn't doubt that
I cheated."
Nozomu didn't want to
believe it inwardly, but he couldn't help but confirm.
There's no
way, it must be my imagination.
Even as he wished for
those things in his heart, Nozomu's mouth continued to pour out his long-held
doubts.
"Thinking about
it now, it's too strange. For Lisa at that time to believe I cheated, there
needed to be sufficient grounds for it, and a person who could make Lisa
believe it."
Nozomu averted his
gaze for a moment, but then looked at Ken again and, with determination, opened
his mouth.
"…………And you're
the only one who could have done that."
"What are you
talking about!? If that were true, I wouldn't continue to talk to you as usual,
would I!?"
Ken pressed Nozomu as
if to say, "How could you think that?" But Nozomu continued to speak
regardless.
"...Yeah, I don't
want to believe it either... But you know, that can be explained too. What you
were most concerned about after you spread that rumor was me trying to dispel
it myself. Now that the rumor is completely established, it's different, but at
the stage when only a few days had passed, it might have been possible to
confront Lisa and dispel the rumor. That's why you provided an escape for me,
who was desperately trying to escape from reality. An escape in the form of
you, who treated me with an unchanged attitude..."
Finally finished
speaking, Nozomu waited for Ken's words with a tense expression.
Seconds passed after
Nozomu finished speaking. But to him, it felt like hours.
It was the longest
time Nozomu had ever felt. His heart pounded, making a deafening noise in his
ears.
And then, Ken opened
his mouth. The words that followed were, as Nozomu had expected.
"…………What. You
found out, huh..."
"...Then, Ken. It
was you after all..."
"Yes, I spread
that rumor."
Ken declared that he
was the one who had spread the rumor. His face was twisted into a distorted
expression Nozomu had never seen before.
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