Volume 5
Chapter 3
Shortly before Nozomu
and Mars were to begin their mock battle, a first-tier class was having its
lesson in another training ground. The content was the same: practical training
in the form of mock battles, just like Nozomu's group. However, the atmosphere
among the students gathered in this training ground was different from the
tenth-tier class, enveloped in a tense and edgy silence.
In Solminati, a
meritocratic academy, continuously achieving top grades is by no means easy. If
you let your guard down, rivals will push you down, and the way people look at
those who fall from higher to lower tiers is never kind. They'll be scorned by
former classmates and treated like outcasts in the class they drop into. Many
students who shone in higher classes during their first year but couldn't keep
up with their peers later dropped out of the academy after falling to lower
tiers. This competition and the judgmental eyes of those around them tend to
worsen the higher the class they are in.
Amidst this tension,
Lisa Hounds stared intently at one corner of the training ground.
"…………"
"Lisa? What's
wrong?"
"Ken?"
Lisa reacted to the
voice that called her and turned around. There was Ken Notice, her childhood friend
and classmate.
He looked in the
direction Lisa was staring, with a puzzled expression. There, a long
black-haired girl and a girl with brown hair flowing to her shoulders were
talking while preparing for class.
"Oh, Irisdina-san
and the others? Are you still concerned about your rival, Lisa?"
Lisa and Irisdina were
almost evenly matched in practical skills, and they had clashed many times in
practical lessons, mock battles, and exams, making them rivals.
He thought she might
be concerned about that, but Ken believed Lisa was worried about more than just
her.
"…Or are you
concerned about Nozomu?"
"!?"
The moment she heard
Ken's murmured words, her face was momentarily filled with surprise, but then,
flames of anger quickly ignited in her eyes, and she bit her lip, twisting her
face.
"It's okay. I'm
here. You're not alone."
Ken whispered this
close to Lisa's ear, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close
to his chest.
"…"
Lisa simply leaned
into Ken, silently looking down, but her expression remained stiff.
From behind the two, a
voice that was neither Ken's nor Lisa's echoed.
"Oh, right,
right. You two are quite passionate, aren't you~."
Lisa and Ken turned to
the source of the voice, seeing a girl sighing with her hands raised in
exasperation.
A girl with hazel eyes
and hair of the same color, cut casually to her shoulders. Her features were
quite refined, but her exasperated attitude and expression didn't convey much
femininity.
"Ca-Camila!"
"Hey, Lisa~. It's
fine for you two to flirt, but at least pick a place, okay? Everyone's
watching."
"!?"
At the girl named
Camila's words, Lisa realized where she was and what she was doing, and she
hurriedly pulled away from Ken.
"So, why were you
looking at the Black-Haired Princess? Was there something you were concerned
about... about him, perhaps?"
Camila glanced at
Irisdina and made a gesture as if pondering what Lisa was concerned about, but
she seemed to figure it out quickly and made a bitter face.
"Goodness
gracious! That guy is truly incorrigible! First Lisa, and now he's making a
move on Irisdina-san! Do you have any idea how much Lisa was hurt back
then?"
She was indignant,
fuming with anger.
She had been in the
same class as Lisa since their first year, and she could be called Lisa's best
friend.
As her being in the
1st tier indicated, she was also an excellent student. When Nozomu and Lisa
were dating, she had spoken to Nozomu normally and had even cheered Lisa on.
But when the rumors
about Nozomu spread, she was the first to go and talk to Lisa. After hearing
Lisa's story, she became enraged and punched Nozomu away.
Since then, she, like
Lisa, had come to loathe Nozomu.
"Exactly. Well,
knowing how smart she is, it's just a momentary lapse in judgment. She'll soon
get fed up with Nozomu."
Ken made a harsh
criticism of Nozomu, but Camila tilted her head at his words.
"That's rare. For
you to say that much about him. You usually defend him a little."
As Camila said, Ken
had always maintained his stance of ultimately siding with Lisa on this topic,
but he had somewhat defended Nozomu.
This was because Ken
had led Nozomu to believe he was on his side.
Ken had acted as if he
were Nozomu's ally in order to drive a wedge between Nozomu and Lisa and then
gain control over Nozomu's actions. That's why, even though he ultimately sided
with Lisa, he had taken actions that somewhat defended Nozomu, making sure
there was no contradiction in the attitudes between himself, those around them,
and Nozomu.
However, Ken,
believing he had completely crushed Nozomu, felt there was no longer any need
for this and completely reversed his previous behavior of defending Nozomu.
Like those around them, he began to openly condemn him.
However, the sudden
change in his attitude left a noticeable sense of incongruity in the
surroundings.
And the reason he
provided for this was...
"The other day,
at a certain shop... I think it was Ox Head Inn? I ran into Nozomu by chance
when I went into that shop with Lisa, and at that time, he seriously asked
Lisa, 'Why did you dump me?'"
"…What's that?!
Just how much is that jerk fooling around?!"
Hearing Ken's words,
what came to her mind was the image of her best friend Lisa from the summer of
their first year. Believing that Nozomu had betrayed her, she was simply
huddled in her room, hugging her knees.
Camila was confused
and tried to hear more, but Lisa remained looking down, as if she couldn't see
what was happening around her.
In the end, Lisa
didn't react until Ken came to check on her and spoke.
When Ken spoke to
Lisa, she finally looked up, perhaps because her childhood friend's words
reached her.
Lisa looked dazed, as
if she didn't know why Camila and Ken were there, but then large tears welled
up in her eyes, and she began to sob.
And when the
accumulated tears finally overflowed, she also began to cry loudly as if a dam
had broken.
She continued to cry
for about an hour, but when she finally calmed down, she felt an unprecedented
anger at what was said from her mouth.
"Honestly, after
hearing that, even I was stunned. I used to think Nozomu just had a momentary
lapse, but I really can't defend him anymore."
The reason he began to
condemn Nozomu was when Nozomu had confronted Lisa at the Ox Head Inn before.
From Nozomu's
perspective, it was an action taken to once again face the fact that he had
been running away. However, to someone who believed the rumors, it would seem
like an act of self-righteousness.
"…"
While Camila and Ken
were talking about what happened at the Ox Head Inn, Lisa once again turned her
gaze to Irisdina and the others.
Irisdina was
meticulously inspecting her rapier, her weapon, but noticing Lisa's gaze, she
turned her face towards her.
"…………"
"…………"
Their gazes crossed.
Lisa felt her heart
stir and anger well up, but she suddenly averted her gaze and turned her back.
However, even with her eyes averted, the turmoil in her heart, though lessened,
wouldn't disappear.
***
"Ai, what are you
going to do today?"
Tima spoke to
Irisdina, who was checking her rapier beside her, but she silently continued
her inspection, not responding to Tima's question.
However, although she
seemed to be simply preparing, Tima, who had been her best friend since their
first year, noticed that Irisdina's gaze was directed elsewhere, and that she was
not focused on preparing, but on something else entirely.
"…"
"…Ai."
"Eh? Oh, sorry,
Tima. What is it?"
Tima's eyes met
Irisdina's, who had stopped her work and turned to face her. However, her face
seemed somewhat downcast, perhaps because she was worried about her best
friend.
"Hey, Ai. Are you
still concerned about Lisa-san and the others?"
"…Well,
yeah."
It seemed she was
indeed concerned about Lisa Hounds.
She was almost certain
of what had happened between Nozomu, Lisa, and Ken, but she still couldn't tell
anyone about it.
However, she still
wanted to talk to Lisa again.
She could be the key
figure in their trio's relationship. The woman he loved.
Perhaps he still loved
her. Thinking that, Irisdina felt a tightening sensation deep in her chest.
"…What are you
going to do?"
"To be honest, I
want to talk to her again. And it seems she's also interested in us."
"Eh?"
At those words, Tima
looked in the direction of Irisdina's gaze, and Lisa was looking at them just
as Irisdina was.
The expression on
Lisa's face as she stared at them was unreadable. Not because of the distance,
but because her face was expressionless, making it impossible to know what she
was thinking.
The rumor about Nozomu
that had spread throughout the academy came to mind.
Irisdina had already
realized that the rumor was mistaken, and she desperately wanted to help him.
To her, Nozomu was a
benefactor who had saved her sister's life, and she considered him one of her
irreplaceable people.
Therefore, she
couldn't stand the fact that he was being unfairly condemned in the academy,
and she wanted to do something about it. However, she felt that his reputation,
which had become entrenched over the past two years, was something she couldn't
change alone.
To resolve this, she
thought she needed to know more about the three childhood friends—Nozomu, Lisa,
and Ken—but it wasn't something she could easily ask about.
At first, she intended
to ask Nozomu directly and talked to everyone, including Mars, at the Ox Head
Inn, but Tima cautioned her at that time, saying, "Don't be
impatient."
Perhaps that was
indeed the case.
She understood that it
would be best if Nozomu talked about it himself.
But the impatience in
her heart wouldn't disappear; it only grew day by day. Moreover, she had
inferred what had happened between Nozomu and his childhood friend on her own,
and recently, she had also started to feel a wall between her and Nozomu.
It was obvious to
anyone that he had been forcing himself recently, but he wouldn't talk about
what had happened.
He forcibly suppressed
his feelings deep inside, and in the depths of his heart, he showed them a
fabricated smile without genuinely smiling.
That fake smile
resembled the smiles they had often seen.
People who covered
their true selves with a mask-like smile, and whose hearts were filled with
impure desires, were much like the pests that clung to the great tree that was
the Francilt family, attempting to gorge themselves on its sweet sap.
Of course, she knew
that the thoughts in Nozomu's heart and those of the pests were completely
different, but the smile Nozomu gave without truly smiling, and her own
inferences, further fueled her impatience.
She wanted him to
talk. But he wouldn't.
She wanted him to tell
her. But he wouldn't.
She wanted to know
about him. She wanted him to smile at her with a genuine smile, not a fake one.
And Irisdina, perhaps
unable to control her impatience, blurted out something unimaginable for her
usual self.
"…So, I'm going
to make use of this class a bit."
She declared this
calmly, facing Lisa's gaze directly.
***
When class began,
Irisdina's very first chosen opponent for the mock battle was Lisa.
Basically, just like
other classes, the 1st tier also focused on group combat in their lessons now.
However, the five
members belonging to A-rank had abilities that far surpassed other students, so
they often held mock battles with A-rank individuals added to each party.
But this time,
Irisdina suddenly requested a one-on-one mock battle with Lisa.
At first, Jihad, the
homeroom teacher, also looked puzzled, but as A-rank students were allowed a
certain degree of discretion regarding their training content, he approved her
proposal.
"…………"
"…………"
The black-haired and
red-haired girls faced each other in the center of the training ground, weapons
at the ready. Irisdina stood with her rapier's tip pointed out, while Lisa held
a saber in her right hand and a dagger reversed in her left, crouching low and
bracing herself.
Around them,
classmates gathered in a circle, watching the battle that was about to begin,
and a tense atmosphere hung in the training ground.
Their eyes reflected
their opponent directly, but beyond their opposing figures, the same boy was
reflected.
"Now then…
begin!"
At Jihad's signal to
start, Irisdina moved.
She flashed her
rapier, and her Ability: Instant Activation activated. In that instant, five
black magic bullets were created and sped towards Lisa.
"Hmph!"
Lisa activated a spell
she had chanted beforehand. An invisible barrier was erected in front of her,
blocking Irisdina's magic bullets.
As the black magic
bullets dissipated with explosive popping sounds, Lisa continued to cast
spells.
Magic power enveloped
her body, dramatically increasing her physical abilities.
Lisa charged forward,
protected by a magic barrier and her physical abilities enhanced by an
enhancement spell, rapidly closing the distance with Irisdina.
Her speed was clearly
not one achieved with ordinary physical enhancement. She was simply
demonstrating double the speed Irisdina achieved with her own physical
enhancement.
Irisdina gave up on
intercepting with magic and activated the same magic barrier as Lisa with
Instant Activation. She blocked the charging Lisa.
Their two magic
barriers clashed, and the sound of their magic power colliding crackled.
Eventually, with a shattering sound, the barriers were destroyed, and Lisa
swung the saber in her right hand at Irisdina.
Irisdina activated an
enhancement spell with Instant Activation. She parried Lisa's saber with her
rapier.
Looking at Lisa when
she charged, the blade swung with her extraordinary physical enhancement should
have blown Irisdina away if she took it head-on, but that didn't happen.
In fact, her previous
charge was possible because Lisa's ability was activated.
Ability: Nivea's
Demonic Hand
An ability that
interferes with any magic and doubles its effect.
Lisa doubled the
effect of her own physical enhancement magic with this ability. She had
instantly invaded Irisdina's range.
Lisa's saber was
parried by the rapier, but she tried to slash at Irisdina again.
However, Irisdina's
skill was also exceptional. She aimed for the moment Lisa pulled back her saber
and, using the rapier's lightness, thrust it towards her shoulder.
But Lisa was also an
A-rank student, like Irisdina. She calmly swung her dagger, parried Irisdina's
thrust, and then swung her saber in a horizontal slash towards Irisdina's
torso.
They immediately
entered a fierce exchange of blows.
In a few seconds,
countless flashes of swords gleamed, and the high-pitched sound of metal
clashing echoed.
After clashing for a
while, Irisdina suddenly kicked the ground and retreated.
The next moment,
Lisa's saber swept across the air with full force.
The sweeping saber cut
through the air, and with a roaring sound, it swept the surroundings. Nivea's
Demonic Hand had activated again.
Lisa tried to close
the opened distance again with her doubled physical enhancement magic, but
Irisdina wouldn't easily let her use the same trick twice.
The ground between
Lisa and Irisdina rose up, and a large stone wall appeared.
It was the
earth-element magic "Sand Castle Wall" that Irisdina activated with
Instant Activation.
This magic temporarily
creates a strong wall using the surrounding sand. The created wall boasted
considerable sturdiness, but its effect didn't last long, and it could only be
maintained by continuously pouring magic power into it. It was named Sand
Castle Wall because it would quickly turn back into sand when magic power ran
out.
Irisdina's objective
was to buy time.
Lisa's ability
"Nivea's Demonic Hand" doubled the effect of any magic, but after the
user activated the ability, they would be unable to activate it for a while,
and that duration was proportional to the time the ability was used immediately
before.
In other words, the
more Lisa used Nivea's Demonic Hand, the more disadvantageous the subsequent
development would be for her.
In terms of
versatility, Lisa could not rival Irisdina, who had Instant Activation, no
matter how hard she tried. The instantaneous breakthrough power using Nivea's
Demonic Hand was Lisa's strength and her means to counter Irisdina.
But Lisa also
understood Irisdina's objective. That's why she wouldn't waste time.
Lisa pulled back her
right hand and channeled magic power into her saber. The saber blade glowed
fiery red, and the next moment, the burning flames concentrated on the blade.
What she was
performing was a type of enchantment magic. It wasn't simply enhancing with
magic power or imbuing with a specific element, but attaching an offensive
spell itself to her weapon.
The spell she attached
was an offensive spell called "Explosive Flame Vortex." As its name
suggested, it was an offensive spell that unleashed an explosive burst of
flames that incinerated everything in the surroundings while blowing them away
"Phew~~"
Lisa concentrated the
flames on the blade while exhaling. After confirming that the flames had
settled on the blade, she charged towards the sand wall in front of her.
Using her physical
abilities dramatically enhanced by Nivea's Demonic Hand, she accelerated
instantly and plunged her crimson saber into the sand wall.
The next moment,
flames scattered with a roar, and a large hole opened in the sand wall.
Lisa dashed through
the opened hole and charged at Irisdina.
Irisdina, on the other
hand, this time did not intercept but charged forward just like Lisa.
"!!"
Lisa had not expected
Irisdina to charge at her while she was activating Nivea's Demonic Hand, but
she nevertheless swung her saber in her right hand down at Irisdina.
Irisdina also
enchanted her rapier with an enhancement spell and parried Lisa's slash
head-on.
"Kuh!!"
"Wha!?"
A groan of agony
escaped Irisdina's mouth, but she only moved back slightly and held her ground.
Lisa also let out a
cry of surprise, perhaps not expecting her slash to be blocked head-on.
The reason Irisdina
could block Lisa's slash was due to stacking physical enhancement spells using
Instant Activation.
While Lisa was
breaking through the Sand Castle Wall, Irisdina had repeatedly cast physical
enhancement spells on herself using Instant Activation, temporarily gaining
physical abilities that rivaled Lisa's when Nivea's Demonic Hand was activated.
However, controlling
multiple spells required tremendous concentration, mental strength, and
control. No matter how capable Irisdina was, it was an overwhelming feat.
Unlike Lisa, who only needed to activate Nivea's Demonic Hand, the exhausting
nature of her method caused Irisdina to be slightly pushed back by Lisa during
their clash.
(But even so, I
managed to create a situation where I could face Lisa-kun up close!)
Irisdina had been
trying to find an opportunity to talk to Lisa during the mock battle.
Her suspicion about
Ken and her past interactions with him made her think that if she tried to talk
to Lisa normally, Lisa would either run away or Ken would interfere. Therefore,
she deliberately used the class's mock battle to talk to her then.
"Lisa-kun, do you
really think Nozomu-kun would cheat?"
"W-what?"
Lisa's face showed agitation.
She probably hadn't expected to be asked about that here all of a sudden.
"You should know.
How much effort he puts into things."
Nozomu and Lisa had
spent much longer together than Irisdina and the others. Thinking about that
stung her chest, but she continued speaking regardless.
"I have spent a
short time with him. It's a short time compared to yours, and I don't fully
understand him either."
Irisdina continued to
speak, but Lisa looked down, and her expression became unreadable.
"But he's
definitely not the person you think he is right now! I can say that for
sure!"
Even if it was only a
short time, the impression she had of him from being with him. Irisdina
conveyed that impression to Lisa without any pretense. Since she didn't know
what to say to Lisa, she could only express what she felt.
"…Even you
too—" "…Then why didn't he say anything?" "…Huh?"
Irisdina tried to
continue, but Lisa, who had been looking down, interrupted her words and spoke.
"Then why didn't
he say anything until now? Isn't that proof that he betrayed me… When I thought
I was betrayed and locked myself in my room, only Camila and Ken came to me.
He… didn't come."
At that time, Nozomu
had been training day and night, resisting the activated ability suppression.
He repeatedly trained
alone on the outskirts of the city, and with Ken accompanying him, he repeated
mock battles, falling asleep on the spot afterward.
Since their first
year, Nozomu and Lisa had been separated into different classes due to
differences in their abilities. Nozomu had spent his days training, unaware of
what was happening to Lisa.
During his training in
the outskirts, he asked Ken why Lisa wasn't at school, but Ken insisted that
Lisa was unwell and subtly prevented Nozomu from approaching Lisa.
But Lisa didn't know
any of this.
For her, Nozomu was a
scoundrel who had betrayed her yet never offered any explanation or apology.
Even if Ken continued to secretly manipulate things behind the scenes,
considering that Nozomu had continued to run away from confronting Lisa, Nozomu
was not entirely without blame.
"Why now, after
all this time... don't be ridiculous!!!"
Magic power surged
from Lisa's body. Enraged, she instantly pushed Irisdina and flung her rapier
away.
"Kuh!!"
"Aaaaaahh!!"
Lisa swept her saber
with a returning strike.
But Irisdina couldn't
retreat. She formed a magic bullet with Instant Activation and fired it at Lisa
from close range.
The sweeping saber was
absorbed into Irisdina's abdomen, blowing her away.
Lisa also had no way
to block the magic bullet fired at close range and was blown away in the
opposite direction.
"Gah!!!"
"Guuugh!!"
Of course, the weapons
used were for training and had blunted blades, but the slash enhanced by
Nivea's Demonic Hand was enough to cut through Irisdina's consciousness, and
she felt her consciousness fading.
Just before she lost
consciousness, Irisdina simply felt frustrated that she couldn't do anything
for him, her benefactor. She saw Lisa, who was crying and lying on the ground
just like her, in her distorting vision, and felt something warm trickle down
her cheek.
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