Volume 7
Chapter 3
Even after the assault incident caused by Ken Notice, classes at the academy were, on the surface, proceeding without a hitch.
The same was true for
the 3rd-grade, 1st-rank classroom to which he had belonged.
Irisdina, having
finished nursing Nozomu, was walking down the hallway leading to her own
classroom.
The morning assembly
must not have started yet. The miscellaneous chatter from within the classroom
was leaking out into the hallway.
Arriving in front of
her classroom, Irisdina took a deep breath before placing her hand on the door.
As the door slid open
with a rattle, the eyes of the entire classroom turned to her at once.
The commotion from
moments before came to a sudden halt, and gazes filled with interest and
curiosity were directed at her all at once.
Completely ignoring
the various gazes from her surroundings, Irisdina sat down at her own desk.
The fact that Irisdina
and the others were nursing the injured Nozomu was not something they had made
public.
However, Nozomu, who
had recently been spending a lot of time with Irisdina and the others, had been
injured in the recent incident and was recuperating in the hospital.
If they were
frequently witnessed arriving at school late, coinciding with that period, and
then leaving immediately after classes, anyone could make a rough guess.
In fact, some students
had directly asked Irisdina if she was visiting Nozomu, and she had not denied
it.
The only things Jihad
had told them to keep quiet about were the fact that Nozomu was a dragonslayer
and anything concerning Abyss Grief.
It was a well-known
fact that Nozomu was hospitalized, so there was no particular need to deny it.
However, this fact
caused quite a stir among the students.
Irisdina was a beautiful
girl, one of the top five in this academy in terms of looks. Also, considering
her abilities, lineage, and future prospects, it was inevitable that she would
become the subject of rumors.
An unattainable
flower, precisely because it is out of reach, attracts people's interest and
attention.
The Black-Haired
Princess has a beloved.
Such rumors had been
circulating here and there due to her recent closeness with Nozomu, but with
her starting to nurse him, the story spread throughout the academy at once.
The fact that rumors
about Lisa Hounds were also surfacing around the same time was a factor that
helped this rumor spread so quickly.
"Hey, do you
think Irisdina-san really... about him?"
"I guess so.
Nozomu and Irisdina-san are kind of a strange combination, aren't they? He
seems to be incredibly strong, but he's not from a special background,
right?"
"But the
Black-Haired Princess has been acting really strange lately. Like she's lost
her composure or something..."
The noisy voices of
her surroundings. But Irisdina's heart was directed at a completely different
place.
From the beginning,
Irisdina was used to the inconsiderate gazes from those around her.
She was a person who
had lived in the narrow, rumor-sensitive world of nobility.
Compared to that
clingy, suffocating, gloomy, and chilly world, she paid no mind to the rumors
of students.
Therefore, what was
dominating her heart now was not such gossip.
What came to mind was
Nozomu, sleeping in an inorganic hospital room. And his childhood friend, who
was nursing him.
"Hey, what do you
think?"
"I guess so...
Kevin..."
"...Haa!?"
"S-Sorry, it's
nothing..."
"Idiot, why did
you ask him..."
"My mouth just
slipped..."
"Hmph..."
As if to ignore the
annoying voices around her, Irisdina turned her gaze out the window.
Summer was already
near.
On the branches of the
trees lining the central park, young birds that had left the nest were resting
their wings.
Outside the window, a
clear, sunny atmosphere prevailed.
However, in complete
contrast to the city brightly illuminated by the sunlight, her mood was
endlessly dark and sunken.
The sight of Nozomu,
not waking up. When she saw that, there was a scene that she couldn't help but
remember.
It was a story from
when Irisdina was young.
Somia didn't remember,
but she remembered her deceased mother well.
A gentle smile and
graceful gestures. She was a kind person who had a charm that captivated anyone
who saw her just by standing there.
Irisdina loved that
mother of hers and was always clinging to her leg, saying "Mother, Mother!"
Sometimes she would
grab the skirt of her dress, or pick flowers from her mother's favorite flower
bed with the intention of giving them as a present, but her kind mother would
just make a troubled face and pat her head, never scolding her offhand.
In return, she was
scolded quite strictly by her father, though.
She remembered. The
memory of being doted on, the memory of being gently comforted when she was
crying.
Irisdina twirled her
own glossy black hair with her fingertips.
This glossy black hair
was also inherited from her mother. It was her pride, and a precious thing that
made her feel a connection to her late mother.
But Irisdina's mother
was by no means a person with a strong constitution.
Her mother, who was
born prematurely, had also suffered a great deal when giving birth to her
eldest daughter.
Such a woman became
pregnant with her second child.
When they found out,
her mother had a broad smile on her face, and Irisdina was also very happy to
have a younger brother or sister.
When it was known that
she was pregnant with Somia, her father assigned one of the best doctors in the
country to her exclusively and made thorough preparations.
Irisdina also knew
that her mother's body was weak, so she thought about doing something, but
there was nothing a six-year-old girl at the time could do.
And her pregnant
mother, with her original frail constitution, began to fall ill frequently.
Her mother's personal
physician also made thorough preparations for improving her diet and for the
birth, and her father also gathered rare medicines that were said to be found
in distant lands.
But despite their
efforts, her mother gradually weakened.
Healing magic could not
be used on her frail mother either.
If it were used, far
from improving her condition, it could use up her remaining strength and lead
to an irreversible situation.
She would get a fever
every few days, and gradually, it became difficult for her to even walk.
As her belly grew
larger, the intervals at which her mother was bedridden became shorter. To
Irisdina, that scene looked as if the newly born life was stealing her mother's
life.
And finally, her
mother became so exhausted that she could no longer get out of bed.
"My lord.
Regarding your wife, it is necessary to prepare for the worst..."
Irisdina happened to
hear the words that her mother's personal physician had said to her father
night after night.
Knowing that her
beloved mother's life was in a critical situation, Irisdina prayed for her
mother's safety every single night.
"Please,
please save my mother!"
At this time, Irisdina
had wished for her mother's life to be saved more than the life that was to be
born.
Rather, she might have
even seen it as a villain who was stealing her mother's life.
"It's
okay, Irisdina... Mother will do her best..."
But her mother was
different.
Her mother, who had
become emaciated and had her cheekbones protruding, looking like a different
person, was stroking her large belly with a broad smile. So preciously, so very
preciously.
"I wonder
if it will be Irisdina's little brother, or a little sister... Fufu! I'm so
excited."
The sight of her
mother smiling lovingly is still clearly burned into Irisdina's mind.
She must have been on
cloud nine, with the life that was receiving her own life and growing in her
belly.
Even though she was as
gaunt as a dried fish, the sight of her mother thinking of her unborn child was
inviolably beautiful.
That was the last
smile Irisdina saw on her mother's face.
The moment her younger
sister let out her first cry, her mother passed away.
The sight of her
mother, lying silently and motionless, is still burned into her retinas.
"Mo-ther...?"
No matter how many
times Irisdina called out, her mother would not answer.
"Mother!
Mother!!"
No matter how loudly
she shouted, how much she shook her, how much she pulled her hand, her cold
mother gave her no reply.
It was truly a corpse.
Irisdina was forced to confront the fact that her mother, who had burned out
all her life, had left this world.
Everyone was at a loss
for words, and her usually taciturn father was sobbing in front of the servants
at this time.
Even to the young
Irisdina, her mother's death was a sharp blade that cut deep into her chest.
A sharp pain ran
through her chest, and the draft that blew in from the wound stole the heat
from Irisdina's heart.
Her heart, her
emotions, were freezing over. Just like her mother's corpse, sleeping before
her.
"Waaaah!
Waaaah!"
At that moment, what
echoed in the room that had sunk into silence was the first cry of her newborn
sister.
The young life that
had been born, fed by her mother's life.
Irisdina, whose head
was full of her mother's death, turned her eyes to her newborn sister for the
first time.
A small, small infant,
laid next to her quietly sleeping mother.
A life as fragile as
glasswork, yet which gave off a strength like the sun, was there.
Gently reaching out,
she touched her sister's forehead.
Warm.
The pulse and heat she
felt in her palm seeped into Irisdina's body.
The face of her
mother, who had been smiling even as she gradually approached death, came to
mind.
At that moment, she
understood with a sudden clarity.
Ah, her mother had
wanted to keep this warmth alive. Even if it meant giving all of her life to
this child...
"Mother..."
Something hot ran down
Irisdina's cheek.
The feeling that her
sister had killed her mother strangely did not arise.
The warmth of her
sister she felt in her palm. It was as if it were her mother's warmth, gently
comforting the young Irisdina.
The wound that had
opened in her chest was being closed by the feelings of her mother, entrusted
to her sister.
At that moment, she
swore in her heart. She will protect her sister in her mother's place.
But now that Nozomu
had fallen asleep, the wound that should have closed was on the verge of
opening again.
"Nozomu..."
Nozomu's name
naturally escaped from the lips of Irisdina, who was looking out the window.
The sight of Nozomu
lying in bed overlapped with her mother's final moments.
Nozomu's sleeping
face, as if he were dead, was inevitably stimulating the wound in her heart.
As if to suppress the
throbbing wound, Irisdina was tightly clenching her chest.
The doctor had said
that there was nothing wrong with Nozomu's body. That his spirit was just
asleep.
But that was no
comfort at all.
The spirit and the
body are closely related.
If the spirit dies,
the body dies too, and vice versa.
What's more, Nozomu
was harboring an incredibly dangerous object in his soul.
What if Nozomu never
woke up... The worst-case scenario that came to mind was inevitably churning
Irisdina's heart.
This was not the first
time she had been seized by this anxiety.
Every time he had
fallen unconscious, Irisdina had glimpsed her mother's death.
Until now, it had been
a few days. But this time, it was far too long.
The growing impatience
and loneliness were inevitably cornering her.
At that moment, in the
corner of Irisdina's vision, was her own reflection in the window glass.
Her, with her red hair
tied back, was looking down as if to hide in the surrounding shadows.
"..."
When she confirmed
that figure, the stabbing pain intensified.
And that pain was
growing stronger. Her feelings for Nozomu were exacerbating that pain.
I want you to
be by my side.
The words she had
directed at him when he was swallowed by Tiamat and went berserk. Her heartfelt
wish was now also accompanied by pain.
Irisdina herself did
not have no thoughts about Lisa Hounds.
But the only one in
this world who could say that to her was him. Nozomu himself, who was still
asleep.
Irisdina gritted her
teeth and suppressed her aimless impatience and feelings.
What she pictured in
her mind was his smile. The heartfelt smile he had shown to his comrades who
had accepted his past.
The first person,
other than her family, for whom she had wished for the smile from the bottom of
her heart. While picturing that person's smile, Irisdina desperately suppressed
the black thoughts swirling in her chest.
Hoping that he would
wake up even one day sooner.
***
While Irisdina was
being tormented by impatience, there was another who was feeling a similar
heartache.
In the classroom of the
3rd-grade, 2nd-rank, the instructor's lecture was
flowing.
"...Therefore.
The deployment of each army during the great invasion was mainly in the form of
each country deploying individually and confronting the invading demonic
beasts. At that time, the biggest problem was the coordination between each
army."
Shina, in the
classroom where the lecture continued, was following the written characters in
her open textbook with her eyes.
But the movement of
her eyes was irregular, and she was somehow not fully concentrating.
Shina's slender
fingers were restlessly tapping the corner of her textbook.
She was usually
serious. With her beauty as an elf, she gave a stiff impression to those who
didn't know her well.
But now, she did not
have her usual rigid expression, but gave a somewhat flighty impression.
Her consciousness was
now directed not at the lecture, but out the window. To the Gloaurum Institute
visible from the window. To a single boy sleeping there.
"Originally, it
was a coalition army that had gathered at the request of the countries that had
been invaded by the demonic beasts, but when multiple armies like this are
integrated, it is often difficult to unify the chain of command..."
Despite being in the
middle of class, Shina concentrated on the magic channel she had previously
connected to Nozomu and tried to make contact with his spirit.
Closing her eyes, she
carefully reeled in the single thread she had stretched within herself.
As she poured her
magic power into it, the single thin thread gradually increased in thickness.
The single thread, due
to the poured magic power, became a thick rope, and then suddenly swelled as if
exploding from the inside.
An expanding vision
and a gently blowing wind.
A single corridor
connecting the spirits of Nozomu and Shina was created, and her consciousness
flew towards Nozomu's spirit.
There was no ground.
In this corridor, unbound by gravity, Shina's spirit could even fly like a
bird.
Feeling the wind
gently caressing her cheek, Shina headed for the depths of the corridor where
Nozomu's spirit was.
However, when her
consciousness was about to reach the boundary with Nozomu's spirit, it
appeared.
"!"
In front of Shina's
eyes, who had been feeling the wind while passing through the magic channel,
multiple chains suddenly appeared.
Like a school of fish
swimming in the sea, the swarm of chains swam through the corridor in every
direction.
A scene like a dream.
But Shina ignored the chains running through the air and pushed her body
forward.
Then, the swarm of
chains in the air suddenly changed direction and attacked Shina.
"Kuh!?"
Shina dodged the swarm
coming from above by twisting her body.
The swarm of chains
pierced through the space where Shina's body had been until a moment ago, and
scattered in all directions while rising again.
The chains, having
broken their formation, now attacked Shina from all directions: up, down, left,
and right.
Shina skillfully
manipulated her body and continued to dodge the countless chains that were
rushing at her.
She increased her
speed to shake off those that were chasing her from behind, and rose to avoid
the chains coming from the left and right.
She dodged the chains
that came from above by twisting her body, and at the same time, she quickly
brushed away the chains that had caught up with her from below with a hand that
had gained momentum from the rotation, so as not to be entangled.
Up and down, right and
left, Shina flew around the corridor of the magic channel, advancing little by
little.
But the further she
went, the more the chains chasing Shina increased in number.
The chains, which had
only been a few at first, exceeded ten, then twenty.
And before she knew
it, over a hundred chains began to chase her around.
"Oh, come on!
You're so persistent!"
Exasperated by the
overly persistent swarm of chains, Shina couldn't help but raise her voice.
But as she spoke, Shina's
concentration, which had been focused, wavered slightly.
As if taking advantage
of that gap, a chain entangled her leg.
"Kyah...!?"
A small scream escaped
Shina's mouth.
The chain that had
entangled Shina's leg pulled her body at once.
The chain pulled Shina
back in the direction she had come from in an instant, and then tossed her body
like a piece of paper trash.
As Shina, who had been
thrown out spinning, somehow regained her posture, a large shadow was blocking
her path before she knew it.
To describe that
existence in one word, it was a "wall of chains" that reached the
heavens.
Countless chains,
continuing as far as the eye could see, gathered together and stood in front of
Shina.
She grabbed one of the
chains and tried to push her way through.
"Ngh! Nnngh~~!!"
She pulled the chain
with all her might.
However, the chain was
probably stretched tighter than she thought, as Shina's thin arms couldn't
budge it.
For a while, Shina had
been fighting with the chain with all her might, but in front of the wall of
chains that showed no sign of coming undone no matter how much she pulled, she
eventually dropped her shoulders heavily.
"As usual, you
won't let me go any further, will you..."
Shina muttered sadly,
while gently placing her hand on the wall of chains in front of her.
Shina had tried to
make contact with his spirit several times until now. But she had always been
blocked by this wall of chains around here.
Her sad voice echoed
in the empty magic channel.
The swarm of silent
chains returned a cold sensation as if in answer to her question.
For a while, Shina had
been hanging her head in front of the wall, but she let out a deep sigh and
peeked at the situation beyond through a gap in the chains.
From beyond the gap, a
light that was flickering like a bonfire was leaking out.
"But you're
there, right?"
Although it was blurry
and she could barely see it, it was a gentle light, as if an infant were
sleeping.
Shina let out a small
sigh and leaned her back against the wall of chains.
"Fine. I'll wait
for you. But I'm going to stay here for a while..."
While surrendering
herself to the chilly sensation coming from her back, Shina closed her eyes for
a while.
His heart, seen
through the gap in the chains.
What she, who had felt
the existence and danger of Tiamat with her soul, feared most was that Nozomu's
spirit would be devoured by that giant dragon.
But Nozomu's spirit
was safe. He was just sleeping.
If she informed her
comrades waiting outside of the fact that she had confirmed this directly, they
would be able to breathe a sigh of relief for the time being.
However, the coldness
she felt from her back inevitably made her feel lonely.
He was right there,
but she couldn't touch him. He wouldn't even look at her. She couldn't even
hear his voice.
Still, his smile...
wouldn't leave her mind.
Even if he wouldn't
answer, she wanted to feel him here forever.
"Ah..."
At that moment, her
best friend's words came back to Shina's mind.
I think you'll
understand if you fall in love with someone, Shina. The feeling of wanting to
be by that person's side forever, of wanting to be wanted by that person.
Ah, I see. Is this the
feeling that Mimuru and Tom are always feeling? Is this the feeling that
Tima-san is always looking at Mars-kun with?
It was the first time Shina
had become aware of her feelings of love. It was the moment she noticed the
small flame shining in the depths of her chest.
At the same time, that
small fire began to slowly burn Shina's heart.
The unreturned reply,
and the frustration of being by his side yet unable to touch his heart.
"What are you
doing? Wake up already..."
The weak whisper in
the silent magic channel eventually turned into a sob.
The wall of chains
that blocked Shina. The sphere of light glittering in its depths.
As for what Nozomu was
doing in there...
"Where... am
I?"
He was staring at the
strange scenery that had spread before his dazed face, muttering a listless
line.
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