Volume 8
Chapter 33
They must have been hiding using spirit magic. Troforium, who had appeared before Shina, sighed at his surprised great-granddaughter.
"I was waiting
for you, obviously. The spirits told me you were coming out of the academy
built by those humans."
"Hey Shina, it's
been a while since the Opening Festival."
Beside Troforium was
Laurus, Shina's fiancé candidate. Laurus raised his hand in a casual greeting,
a brilliant smile on his handsome face that would captivate anyone. His smile,
a perfect fit for the description of an "affable young noble," was
likely a mesmerizing one for women, akin to a drug. Shina, however, merely gave
a small, expressionless nod in response to Laurus's greeting. Laurus, perhaps
used to Shina's invariably salty response, just gave a wry smile.
"My business is
the same as I told you before. We are returning to the village."
"I refuse. I
have..."
Troforium's business
was the same as during the Opening Festival. Shina, too, tried to give the same
answer. However, unlike at the Opening Festival, Troforium cut Shina off before
she could finish.
"That you have
comrades you trust, friends, a partner... I have no intention of listening to
such lies."
"Hey, wait a
minute! What do you mean, lies?!"
Mimuru raised her
voice at Troforium, who had dismissed Shina's words in one fell swoop.
"Our friends, the
spirits, tell us everything. If it is not a lie, let us call it empty words.
You performed the Blood Pact Ritual
without even telling the person in question what it means, and now you can't
even speak of the curse you've received as a result. How can you call him a
partner? Or them friends? Or comrades?"
He was Troforium, an
elf who had lived for a very long time. It was a simple matter for him to speak
to the nearby spirits and have them eavesdrop on Shina. And, with the spirits'
help, Troforium had also seen through the fact that Shina was now unable to
even sense the spirits.
"That's..."
Troforium's words had
accurately pierced the gap in Shina's heart. Struck in that vulnerable spot,
Shina faltered.
"Shina. I am not
blaming you. To become like a foolish human, unable to even sense the
spirits... it is no wonder you are in this state. And it is all that man's
fault, is it not?"
Before his silent
great-granddaughter, Troforium softened his tone somewhat. But his words pushed
all the blame onto Nozomu Bountis. At his words and actions, which reeked of
the elven disdain for humans, and above all, at his attempt to belittle the one
she loved, Shina couldn't help but speak.
"That's not true!
I... I wanted to do it! I want to repay my debt to him, I want to be a strength
for him! I... I don't want him to suffer like that anymore!"
He had been so angry
at himself for hurting them. She had wanted to do something about that. Her
pent-up, depressed feelings. They burst forth all at once, as if reversing,
laying her bare heart open.
Still, this
time, I don't want to have any regrets. Not with my dream, and not with my
love... Well, if it's just too painful to watch, I'll take him without
hesitation, 'kay?
Lisa Hounds's harsh
but kind provocation was pushing her forward.
"I did it because
I want to be by his side forever!"
It was a confession
that sounded almost like a scream. Before her, both Troforium and Laurus's eyes
were wide. Had they not expected such a strong rejection from Shina, or had
they thought her spirit was broken from being unable to even knead her magic
power? Troforium, who had widened his eyes for a moment, immediately narrowed
them and continued to persuade Shina in a heavy tone.
"I will say it
once more. Return to the village. No matter how you exhaust your body and mind,
it will not get through to a human..."
"That's not...
true."
"You are an elf,
and that boy is a human. True, he seems to have a strange Ability, but that
doesn't change anything. He cannot communicate with the spirits as we do, nor
can he live the same span of time. In fact, was that not proven?"
Troforium was also
aware of the fact that Nozomu had been unable to learn spirit magic. An
atmosphere so heavy it felt as if it had physical weight flowed between them.
"He is...
special. More than you can imagine, Troforium-sama..."
"I know. It seems
the King of Spirits is in this land..."
The King of Spirits.
At those words, Shina's eyes widened. Those words were unmistakably referring
to the old white dragon who was training and monitoring Nozomu. But, on
reflection, it was obvious. There was no way Zonne, who was watching Nozomu,
would overlook someone else using spirits to watch him.
"How... do you
know that..."
Facing his dumbfounded
great-granddaughter, Troforium's expression twisted bitterly as he recalled his
contact with Zonne.
***
Troforium had made
contact with Zonne a short while ago, when Nozomu had been asked by Anri to go
help with Ecross's lecture. At that time, Troforium had contracted with a
spirit drifting in the sky and was monitoring Nozomu. Laurus, who was usually by
his side, was not with him. That young elf served as a liaison with other
races; his job was not merely to attend to Troforium. Taking advantage of his
chaperone's absence, Troforium glared at Nozomu through the spirit,
contemplating what he should do to eliminate him from Shina's presence. He
could not overlook the human who was leading his great-granddaughter astray.
However, simply removing him by force was also difficult. Even in his enraged
state, Troforium could sense that this human held a rather important position
at the academy.
"It cannot be
helped. I have no choice but to speak to the boy directly, confront him with
Shina's current state, and order him to leave."
Of course, if Nozomu
did not back down, he was prepared to take more forceful measures. Elven spirit
magic was counted among the most powerful arts on the Arkmel Continent. Troforium
was confident that, using it, he could do whatever he wished with a single
human. He could borrow the power of the spirits to isolate him in another space
and leave him there until he could no longer move from thirst and hunger. He
could drag out his trauma and nightmares, assailing him until his mind broke.
(Shina. I will now
release you from your shackles.)
To Troforium, Shina
was his only remaining family. All his other relatives had died during the
Great Invasion. Therefore, his love for her was extraordinary. Combined with
the elven disdain for other races, the feeling that he must eliminate Nozomu at
all costs dominated his thoughts. And so, driven by his swirling anger, Troforium
was about to give an order to the spirits he controlled, but...
"Ngh!"
A sudden dread washed
over him, and the spirit he had controlled instantly dissipated. The link he
had been connected to was forcibly torn away, and immediately after, the
surrounding scenery turned to gray.
"W-W-Wha..."
Ignoring the panicked Troforium,
he had been thrown into a completely different space. Immediately, an intense
pressure bore down, threatening to crush him.
"A-Guuh...!"
The air was forcibly
expelled from his lungs, and the old elf collapsed to his knees. And before the
crouching elf, that being appeared.
"Y-You are..."
The one who appeared
before him was an old man. But Troforium's eyes clearly perceived this person's
true identity. The one who appeared before the old elf was the old white
dragon, Zonne.
"Withdraw.
You are not permitted to lay a hand on him..."
The dragon who stands
at the pinnacle of spirits. For Troforium, the appearance of a being he could
only call "the summit" left
him utterly speechless. Immediately after, a vision was sent into Troforium's
mind. It was the sight of Nozomu, emitting five-colored elemental essence,
confronting the King of Spirits before him. A scene from his rampage. Troforium
shuddered at the sight of Nozomu, who—despite being weakened by his human
form—was pushing Zonne back. No, it wasn't just Nozomu's strength. What
terrified Troforium the most was the five-colored elemental essence gushing
from the boy's body. Seeing that clearly abnormal elemental essence, there was
no way he could fail to understand just what Nozomu Bountis was.
"I will
say it once more. You are not permitted to lay a hand on him."
Faced with those heavy
words, issued with absolute, coercive force, Troforium could do nothing but
prostrate himself.
***
Recalling his contact
with Zonne, Troforium let out a great sigh, as if to release the tension in his
face.
"Well, it seems
He is also being quite considerate. He made contact through the spirit I had
contracted. I understand that this human is just that special. The King himself
showed me."
"...What did he
say?"
"To withdraw at
once... I was strictly forbidden from making contact. If it is a direct order from
the King of Spirits, it cannot be helped."
"I...
see..."
Troforium had learned
of Nozomu's nature and been warned off by Zonne. If Zonne, the white dragon,
stopped him, he couldn't possibly contact the source of his
great-granddaughter's delusion. Let alone remove him by force. In effect, he
could do nothing about Nozomu, despite the burning resentment he felt.
"That is
precisely why I am telling you, Shina. You should not be here."
Because of these
circumstances, he became even more desperate to pull Shina away from Nozomu.
Letting his uncontrollable emotions and impatience show, he began to rattle off
at Shina, telling her just how dangerous her situation was.
"The conflict
between the Dragon Clan and Tiamat is spoken of even among the elven elders. As
a result of the gruesome war between Tiamat, who tried to destroy everything,
and the Dragon Clan, who tried to stop it, the power of spirits on this
continent was greatly diminished."
While only legends of
the battle between Tiamat and the Dragon Clan remain among humans, the
long-lived elves have kept substantial records. Of course, most of it is only
revealed to those of elder rank. Some of it is truth that is forbidden to be
spoken at all. Troforium remembered the moment Zonne had contacted him. The
moment he'd tried to order the spirits to punish the filthy human leading his
great-granddaughter astray, his entire body had stiffened, and he'd been unable
to move. It was a sensation as if his limbs had been torn off, his body pierced
by icicles. The spirit he had controlled had instantly dissipated, his
connection completely severed. It was exactly the same situation Shina was in
now.
Withdraw. You
are not permitted to lay a hand on him...
The King's command had
echoed in Troforium's ears as he was assaulted by the feeling of being all
alone in the world. For Troforium, who had revered the Great Tree Spirit in his
lost homeland, there was no way he could defy that decree.
"The very shape
of the continent today is a result of the battle between Tiamat and the
dragons. Shina. This is no longer a problem that elves or humans can do
anything about."
"But I can't
abandon him..."
And so, while
maintaining his dignity, Troforium desperately tried to persuade Shina. But
Shina showed no signs of backing down, and the old elf's impatience with his
obstinate great-granddaughter gradually grew.
"You are not
abandoning him. You are withdrawing."
"It's the same
thing!"
"There is nothing
more you can do! Unable to knead magic, your connection to the spirits
lost—what can you do now, in the face of the great calamity that is a 'Dragonslayer'?! Furthermore, that
monster from the Imperial Kingdom is in this city! And she seems awfully
interested in that Dragonslayer!"
The monster from the
Imperial Kingdom. Vitora's presence was another headache for Troforium. She was
approaching Nozomu Bountis, the Dragonslayer,
with an attitude of clear intent, and Troforium's intuition—as one involved
with spirits—was sounding alarms that this would not end simply.
"Please stop
slandering him as a symbol of misfortune! He is my benefactor! He is... the
person I wish with all my heart to be my partner!"
"That is merely
what you have unilaterally decided to believe!"
Faced with the
unreasonable Shina, Troforium finally raised his voice. Troforium, who had
lived an especially long time even among elves, knew the terrifying personal
might of the Dizard Imperial Kingdom's key figures. And he could easily imagine
the result. If those two were to clash, this city would undoubtedly meet its
end at the hands of the Dragonslayer
and the Death-Demon Princess. And
Shina, living in this city, would not be able to escape that calamity if she
stayed.
"If you continue
to involve yourself with that boy, you will be unhappy! I was trampled by magic
beasts, deceived by humans, and lost everything! I cannot possibly allow my
last remaining great-granddaughter to sacrifice herself!"
"I will...
absolutely not go back!"
"Ah, Shina!"
While Troforium had
reached the end of his patience with his obstinate great-granddaughter, there
was no way Shina could accept her great-grandfather's one-sided demands. Shina
turned on her heel and ran. Mimuru frantically chased after her. Left behind, Troforium,
while ashamed of being swept up in his emotions, was troubled by his
great-granddaughter's stubbornness. He pressed his hand to his forehead as if
to wipe away the root of his troubles and hung his head.
"Troforium-sama,
what you just said..."
Just then, Laurus, who
had been waiting beside him, asked, unable to hide his surprise. He, too, had
only just learned that Nozomu was a "Dragonslayer"
and that Zonne had made contact.
"It is true. This
city is too dangerous. And we have no time. We must get Shina out of this city,
no matter what..."
Troforium grit his
back teeth against the rising impatience. Beside him, Laurus put a hand to his
handsome mouth, staring thoughtfully down the alley where she had run off.
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