Volume 7
Chapter 17
The Arkmel Continent, the Cremazzone Empire. In a tavern in a certain city in this country, that man was there.
A man wrapped entirely
in an outfit decorated with black feathers. He was alone at the edge of the
tavern, cheerfully tilting his cup.
"Kuu~! A drink
after work is really something special~."
The man in black, who
drank down his liquor with a broad smile.
His lighthearted tone
was in contrast to the gloomy clothes he was wearing.
It was not
particularly strange for a cheerful voice to echo through a tavern. However,
the only voice that could be heard from this tavern was, for some reason, that
of this man with the black feathers.
And for good reason.
Every single person inside the tavern was lying on the floor.
About ten people in
number. The red liquid flowing from their bodies clearly told the story that
the lives of those dozen or so people had already ended.
"By the way,
everyone, you seemed to be in quite a hurry, but haste makes waste, you know?
Calm down, take a break, take a break... oh, you're already resting, huh!?"
All the fallen people
were dressed in ordinary clothes, but anyone could see that they all had
well-trained bodies.
In the tavern,
enveloped in a strange atmosphere. There was no doubt that something had
happened here.
At that moment, the
tavern door creaked open, and a well-dressed man entered.
The man glanced at the
corpses lying on the floor and the man with the black feathers who was
cheerfully drinking in a sea of blood, and then narrowed his eyes in disgust.
"It seems to be
over."
"Yes, yes, it's
over~. By the way, to make a subordinate work this much just for pest control,
and you yourself show up late like a senior executive?~"
"I hired you for
that. There is nothing else to say. Hand over the 'thing'."
They were spies who
had infiltrated the Cremazzone Empire.
The man in black,
saying, "Yes, yes," took out a sealed letter from his pocket and
tossed it to his client.
The client, without
any particular concern, took out the letter, put it in his pocket, and instead
took out a hemp sack and tossed it to the man with the black feathers.
When the man with the
black feathers caught the sack, a heavy, clattering sound echoed. From the
mouth of the sack, colorful jewels were peeking out.
Seeing the jewels, the
man with the black feathers had a broad smile and waved to his client.
"Thanks for your
business~. Let's work together again in the future~."
"I never want to
have anything to do with you again. 'Corpse Crow,' the corpse scavenger."
The client glanced at
the Corpse Crow, who was smiling while surrounded by corpses, put on a look of
utter disgust, and quickly left the tavern.
"Huh? I've been
disliked again. Even though I did my job properly~~."
With an expression of
genuine confusion, the man called Corpse Crow lowered the hand he had been
waving.
The request that
Corpse Crow had received was the elimination of the spies and the recovery of
the secret letter. He hadn't seen the contents of the secret letter, and the
client had also confirmed that.
"Oh well! A big
profit from a mouse hunt... This is why I can't quit the mercenary business!
Now then, what's the next job..."
At that moment, from
the window of the stench-of-death-filled tavern, a jet-black bird flew into the
room without a sound.
The creepy bird, with
eyes that shone crimson just like the blood-stained floor of the tavern, landed
on the table where Corpse Crow was sitting and opened its mouth.
"Can you hear
me?"
"Oh my. Isn't
that voice Mekuria-oneechan? I wonder what do you want~?"
What echoed from the
crow's mouth was the voice of Mekuria, who should be in Arcazam now.
Without even
questioning how he was hearing the voice of Mekuria, who should have been far
away, Corpse Crow responded in a nonchalant tone.
"Corpse Crow, I
have no reason to be called 'sister' by you. More importantly, I have something
to talk to you about."
On the other hand,
Mekuria, perhaps with no intention of making small talk, stated her words
nonchalantly. But at the edge of her tone, an undisguisable displeasure was
seeping out.
Perhaps sensing the
danger hidden in that tone, or perhaps simply not interested, Corpse Crow
immediately returned to the main topic.
"Oh my, what
could that great heroine have to talk to a vagabond like me about?"
Enveloped in crimson
and jet-black, with the smell of iron sand drifting in the air, Mekuria
continued to speak to Corpse Crow.
A creepy man and a
crow, talking in a room full of corpses. Combined with the man's attire, it was
a scene so eerie that it seemed not of this world.
For a while, in the
midst of the crimson tragedy, a suspicious conversation unfolded in whispers.
"You understand
what I've said, right? Well then, I'm counting on you."
"Yes, yes~. Leave
it to me~."
Mekuria's conversation
ended in a very short time, just a few minutes.
The crow that had
finished the call closed its mouth and disappeared into the night sky from the
window again.
Without even glancing
at the departing crow, the man called Corpse Crow, while drinking his liquor
again, was thinking about Mekuria's proposal from just before.
"Now, now. What
in the world is this all about~~."
While voicing his
question, his face was shining as if he were a child who had found a new toy.
However, combined with
the tragic scene in that room and his tall, thin physique, he was far too
sinister.
Corpse Crow drank down
the remaining liquor, stood up from his seat, and walked towards the door,
making a sticky, squelching sound with enjoyment.
"Either way, this
is going to be a lot of fun."
With the corners of
his mouth curled up, Corpse Crow left the blood-stained tavern.
With an unbearable
stench of death drifting from his back.
***
Around the time the
sun had passed its zenith and was tilting to the west, Nozomu was walking alone
down a hallway in Solminati Academy.
Around him, students
who had finished their last class of the day were walking back to their
classrooms, and when they found Nozomu, they would point at him and begin to
whisper.
"Look, look, Nozomu-senpai
is here."
"Hey, why don't
you go talk to him? Didn't you say you wanted to consult him about the class
you were thinking of taking?"
"Eh!? B-But
wouldn't that be a bother?"
The insults that he
had heard before were now almost gone. In their place, he heard somewhat
lighthearted, ticklish voices.
Nozomu, while giving a
wry smile at his completely changed environment, had a somewhat downcast
expression.
A week since his
conversation with Victor. Nozomu was still unable to find an answer for his own
future, and had simply returned to his hectic days, feeling restless and
troubled.
His training with
Jihad was becoming stricter day by day, and although he continued to devote
himself to training and studying from early morning until late at night, on the
other hand, there was no progress in his relationship with Lisa due to his busy
daily life.
While feeling a slight
impatience about his relationship with Lisa, at the same time, Nozomu had begun
to feel an indescribable uneasiness in the depths of his chest.
Since he had heard the
words "you are not looking at the
future" that Victor had pointed out, something was swirling in the
depths of his chest.
Victor's words had hit
the mark.
He had, at some point,
made the purpose of "supporting
Lisa's dream" his excuse, and he had continued to face himself, who
had continued to run away. That was what Nozomu had been doing until now. But
at the same time, it was also still binding Nozomu to the past.
He might have
understood it somewhere in his heart. However, regarding his own future, Nozomu
just couldn't have a concrete vision.
"What should I
do..."
Such words naturally
escaped from Nozomu's mouth.
The matter with Lisa,
his own future, the matter of the Tiamat he had taken in. Things that should
have been visible until just a short while ago now felt as if they were covered
in a haze.
Nozomu was lost in
thought to the point where he couldn't even hear the voices around him. Perhaps
that was why, he was completely unaware of the familiar presence approaching
from behind.
"Nozomu, is
something wrong?"
Called by his name,
Nozomu turned around with a start to see Irisdina, Tima, and Shina standing
there with textbooks and stationery in their hands.
Seeing Irisdina and Shina
from the first and second classes together, it seemed they were on their way
back from a joint class.
"Everyone... When
did you get behind me?"
"Just a little
while ago. That's not like you, Nozomu. To not notice until so many of us got
close."
At Irisdina's words,
Nozomu made a bitter face.
Seeing as he hadn't
noticed them until they were at a distance where he would normally have
definitely sensed their presence, he must have been quite lost in thought.
"Were you
thinking about something?"
"Yeah, just a
little..."
Irisdina leaned in to
peer into Nozomu's face as if to check on his condition.
Her well-featured face
loomed before his very eyes. Nozomu, from an indescribable embarrassment and
awkwardness, couldn't help but move away.
Irisdina, at Nozomu's
gesture, frowned for a moment as if she had been hurt, and then looked at
Nozomu with a strangely serious gaze.
"Did my father
say something to you?"
"Eh?"
"No, you've been
acting a little strange since that time..."
At those words, Nozomu's
eyes widened. It wasn't that he had been hiding it, but he hadn't told anyone
about his conversation with Victor.
"Um... I'm
worried. My father, despite how he looks, has a soft spot for me and Somia, but
he's by no means the head of the Francilt family for nothing.
If it's necessary, as
the head of the family, he can be ruthless, and I think he probably knew quite
a bit about you in advance by investigating..."
Irisdina was looking
at Nozomu with worried eyes, with an anxious expression on her face.
Eyes that were purely
concerned for Nozomu's well-being. His comrades behind him were all, to varying
degrees, directing a gaze of the same color at him.
"That's...!"
Nozomu, who couldn't
possibly say that he was known to be a dragonslayer, had no choice but to
remain silent.
At that moment, Nozomu
noticed a piercing gaze stabbing into his back.
When he turned around
and followed the line of sight, he saw a silver-haired beastman glaring at
Nozomu from the end of the hallway.
"That guy..."
A silver-haired
beastman he recognized. It was Kevin Ardinal, who had been pestering him during
the special comprehensive exercise.
"Tch!..."
When he realized that
Nozomu had noticed his gaze, he twisted his lips and turned on his heel to
leave.
Nozomu felt a strange
sense of deja vu at that expression.
"...Nozomu? Is
something wrong?"
At Nozomu, who was
staring into the distance, Irisdina spoke to him with a suspicious look on her
face. Her expression was now tinged with even more anxiety than before.
"Nozomu-kun, just
a moment..."
Furthermore, this time
Shina, who was waiting behind him, was about to say something, but before she
could, a person appeared and spoke to Nozomu.
"Nozomu-kun, so
you were here."
The one who had called
out was the school nurse, Norn-sensei.
She was lightly waving
her hand and had unhesitatingly cut into the indescribably awkward atmosphere.
"Norn-sensei, is something
wrong?"
"No, I just have
something I need help with. Do you have time after this?"
"Umm, my training
with Jihad-sensei..."
"Jihad-dono has
an all-day job at the council today, I hear. So I don't think there's a
problem. What, I just need you to pick up the medicines for the infirmary from
the shop."
Currently, Nozomu was
training with Jihad almost every day after school, but it seemed Jihad had some
business today.
However, the final
homeroom was not over yet. If he were to accept Norn's request, he would also
have to talk to his homeroom teacher, Anri-sensei.
And Nozomu was also
concerned about Irisdina and the others, who were staring at his face next to
him.
"Of course, it's
an official request, so I'll pay you, you know?"
"No, I don't mind
about the payment or anything..."
When Nozomu peeked at
Irisdina and the others from the side, she gave a small nod and turned on her
heel, waving her hand as if to prompt Nozomu. It seemed she was saying that he
didn't have to worry about them.
Norn was looking at
the backs of the departing Irisdina and the others with an apologetic look on
her face.
"Sorry for
interrupting your conversation. It's a rather urgent matter. The person who
will be helping is already at the back gate, so I'd like you to head there
right away. I'll talk to Irisdina-kun and the others, and Anri properly."
"...Understood.
I'll help."
Nozomu tilted his head
at Norn's somewhat forceful tone, which was uncharacteristic of her, but he
probably couldn't refuse now. Thinking so, Nozomu headed for the back gate with
Norn.
"I'm really
sorry. Originally, a merchant would have delivered them to the academy, but it
seems their carriage broke down in an accident. There's quite a lot, so I've
asked someone else to help besides you, Nozomu-kun."
While passing through
the path that led out of the school building to the back gate, Nozomu heard the
details of the request from Norn.
It seemed the
infirmary was about to run out of supplies, but the ordered items had not yet
arrived.
She wanted to go and
get them, but due to the increasing number of joint classes recently, the
number of people with minor injuries had increased, and it seemed Norn couldn't
leave the infirmary for a long time yet.
So she wanted Nozomu
to go and get the ordered supplies for her instead.
As for Nozomu, there
was no reason to refuse a request from someone who had been taking care of him,
so he agreed with a light heart and nodded, but...
"Understood, so
who is this someone else...?"
The moment he saw the
person waiting at the gate, Nozomu's mind went completely blank.
Long crimson hair. Her
eyes, which had been looking around restlessly with a tense expression, caught
sight of Nozomu, and her pupils widened like a full moon, and then her lips
were tightly bitten.
"Lisa..."
He unintentionally
blurted out her name.
Perhaps because Nozomu
had let out a louder voice than he had intended.
Lisa reacted to
Nozomu's words, and her shoulders trembled with a start.
"She's the oner.
I've told her the location of the shop, so I'll leave the rest to you."
"Eh!? Wait..."
Without a satisfactory
explanation, Norn quickly returned to the school building.
What was left behind
were Nozomu, who had frozen at the unexpected situation, and Lisa, who was
looking down.
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