Chapter 6 Part 4
Translator : PolterGlast
A
class was held immediately after lunch. For students, lectures at this time of
the day were their biggest ordeal.
Their
blood was concentrated in their digestive system to digest the food that had
been pushed into their stomach, and as a result, the blood circulating in their
head was reduced, which made the students sleepy.
Different
from the lessons where they had to move their bodies in the training grounds,
their current lesson was a plain lecture. They had to devote their
concentration to fighting drowsiness rather than the content of the lecture.
No
exception for students who attend lectures in the 10th class classroom. While
holding back the drowsiness that assaulted them, they desperately wrote down
the words on the blackboard that could be seen through the gaps of their
falling eyelids.
"As
you know, spirits sometimes show their very powerful powers. Volcanic
eruptions, sudden earthquakes, extreme droughts, and heavy rains. Some of these
major natural disasters are believed to have been caused by spirits."
Currently,
Torgrain-sensei is in charge of the 10th class lessons. He is an expert in
alchemy and an excellent teacher who is also a researcher at a certain research
institute.
He
is a gentle young man with gentle eyes and rimmed glasses, but he doesn't seem
to be very good at asserting himself.
“Although
spirits possess such great power, they also have some drawbacks. Because they
are hollow and float in the air, they are basically unable to travel long
distances like migratory birds. Spirits can only travel in areas where they can
exist. "
While
saying so, the teacher illustrated the relationship between the spirit and the
land on the blackboard.
"These
are lands with specific environments suitable for spirits, such as forests or
springs. This was why elves had to make contracts with spirits from each land
when they used spirit magic."
Torgrain-sensei
drew a picture of a forest and a haze-like figure of spirits on the blackboard.
He pointed to the spirit and forest that he had drawn with arrow drawing.
"The
land becomes a nursery of spirits, and the increasing number of spirits dyes
the land in the color of the spirits that have taken root. Then, the land will
rejuvenate the spirits. The land coloration and spirit rejuvenation are repeated
in a cycle, and we indirectly receive various benefits from the food and
animals that grow in it. "
After
finishing the drawing, Torgrain-sensei turned around, extended his index
finger, and said in a slightly strong tone, "However!".
"It's
not that there is no way for spirits to move out of their territory. There are
ways such as possessing other creatures or covering their body with something
to maintain their existence. Well, the latter method can only be done by a
spirit with a very strong will. ......"
After
saying so, he put his hand over his mouth as if he was coughing.
"Well
now, I'm in the middle of a lecture, so..."
His
gentle eyes sharpened and locked a target. Holding up the chalk in his hand and
swung his arm at once.
"Agh~!"
The
chalk that the teacher released perfectly struck Nozomu's head. His hair turned
white from the shattered chalk, and he inhaled the flying powder, causing
Nozomu to choke up.
"Are
you awake, Nozomu-kun?"
"Y-yes..."
Torgrain
hurled his words at Nozomu in a slightly stronger tone.
Nozomu
woke up and hurriedly answered.
He
could hear his classmates around him giggling and holding back their laughter.
Nozomu lowered his head, looking slightly embarrassed.
Due
to his Ability Suppression, Nozomu's performance in practical lessons was poor,
and he had to make up the required credits through written exams. He couldn't
afford to doze off in a normal lecture, but he must have been exhausted from
the fight with Tiamat in his dream. Even though his body was asleep, his brain
couldn't rest, so he must have dozed off involuntarily.
After
confirming that Nozomu was awake, Torgrain began to resume his lecture. While
sweeping the chalk powder off his head, Nozomu watched Torgrain standing on the
stage. As he listened to the lecture, Nozomu's mind was filled with the dream
he had just had.
The
dream about what happened a week after the
rematch with the Undead Dragon in the forest.
=======================================
Nozomu Bountis has
been an inferior student since he began enrolling in Solminati Academy.
There are two reasons
why this story has taken hold and why Nozomu continues to be despised by the
other students.
The first is the
effect of ability suppression. The decline in all abilities, including magic
and Qi, was fatal in this highly competitive school. In fact, his grades, which
had dropped to the bottom, were so bad that it was understandable that he was
ridiculed.
The second is due to
the rumor that Nozomu had dumped his childhood friend and girlfriend. Seeing
the way she acted since the rumors started, the people around her thought the
rumors were true, and this would be the decisive factor in Nozomu's reputation.
Irisdina and the
others already understood that this rumor was completely nonsense and had no
basis. However, they had never heard the story directly from Nozomu's mouth.
How did Nozomu end up
like this?
Everyone in the room,
including Irisdina, was curious about it. Irisdina was so frustrated by this
that she even clashed with Lisa Hounds before.
In the past, Nozomu
himself couldn't tell them the truth, but it was also true that Irisdina and
the others couldn't take the step forward to ask him.
But they were going to
put an end to that now. In that forest, when they learned about Nozomu's power,
they declared, "we want to know more about you".
They took action a few
days after Nozom woke up. It was around the time after he managed to get up on
his bed. Irisdina stood in front of Nozomu with a serious expression on her
face.
While surrounded by
the others, including Tima, Mars, and Shīna, who were all looking at Nozomu
with tense expressions on their faces.
"Nozomu, I have
something to ask ..."
"Eh? W-what is
it?"
Nozomu, who had been
propping himself up on the bed, stepped back slightly. It was as if being
pressed by everyone's pressure.
"Umm. The story
about you and Lisa-kun..."
"Ah……"
With a word from
Irisdina, Nozomu understood what they wanted to hear.
He closed his eyes and
exhaled slowly as if preparing himself.
It was a painful past
for Nozomu. His heart ached because he remembered the happy times of the past.
As Nozomu began to
mutter a few words, Irisdina and the others felt as if the air around them had
suddenly gotten heavier.
Nozomu's facial
expression hardly changed. The fact that his expression did not change made it
clear that he was feeling as if his heart was going to be plucked out of his
chest.
Irisdina and the
others also felt a stabbing pain in their hearts, but they waited patiently for
Nozomu's words. Because they really wanted to know about him. They had sworn to
face him properly once again.
"... Alright.
Where should I start from?"
It's the same for
Nozomu. The memories that come to mind are sweet and painful. Nozomu opened his
mouth slowly as if contemplating upon those memories.
"You already know
that Lisa and I used to be lovers, right?
"Yeah……"
"Lisa, Ken, and I
were childhood friends and grew up together in the same village. Lisa is the
only one who came from outside the village. She came to the village with her
mother when she was little."
The first thing Nozomu
began to talk about was how he met Lisa. It was the first time when Lisa spoke
to him.
"The first time
we met was when I was fishing in the river. She called out to me, and when I
turned around, she was there."
Even now, Nozomu still
remembers how his heart was clearly racing back then. The moment when he became
aware of her as a person of the opposite sex was on another occasion, but when
he thought about it, this was the moment when Nozomu started to be interested
in her.
"At that time,
she had just arrived in the village. She was already friends with Ken, but she
didn't seem to have many friends."
Maybe that's why she
approached him, Nozomu added.
It was just a
coincidence that he was there, but at least the time he had spent with her and
Ken was enjoyable for him.
"After that, we
started to play together, and after a lot of things happened, I listened to her
dreams... I wanted to support her dream, so I decided to enroll in this
school."
Even thinking about it
now, what he was doing was reckless. Solminati Academy is one of the best
schools on the continent.
If one's think about
the fact that the school is flooded with applicants from all over the world,
and that it educates talented people like Ecross from a young age, one's can
easily understand how difficult it is to continue their studies and go on to
higher education there.
Fortunately for Lisa
and Ken, their talents blossomed quickly, but this was not the case for Nozomu.
The difference between him and his childhood friends began to show immediately
after enrollment.
"Sure, I thought I would do my best when I came to this school, but my grades didn't improve as I
expected. I couldn't be as strong as Lisa and Ken. But they both trained with
me every day and cheered me up when things didn't go my way. I thought I could
still do it because I have friends who helped me besides Lisa and Ken... "
It was true that life at
the academy had not gone well, and Nozomu's swordsmanship, Qi technique, and
magic had not developed as he had hoped. His physical abilities were a little
better because he had been working hard, but even so, it was not something he
could boast about. In fact, Ken and Lisa, who had strengthened their bodies
with magic, were able to move better than Nozomu.
Still, they hadn't
abandoned Nozomu. They studied together and tried their best to teach Nozomu
how to use magic.
Camilla, who had
become Lisa's friend since she enrolled at the school, also accompanied Nozomu
in his training. She is a girl who often uses abusive language, but she is also
a girl who can be kind to Nozomu, an inferior student.
"I can manage
with this", that's what Nozomu had in mind.
However, .......
"That's when my
ability... Ability Suppression manifested."
The Ability
Suppression that appeared on Nozomu was as if he was put in a deadly cangue.
"I can't move my
body as much as I want to because of Ability Suppression. No matter how much
effort I put into it, I can't push it away. I can't even withstand a blow from
my opponent, and I can't wield my sword anymore. Certainly, I was not good at
magic, but after being suppressed, I can no longer use magic at all.
Nozomu's body became
slower than before. Let alone a normal life, his Ability Suppression became a
huge obstacle when it came to going through battles.
With his limited Qi,
he couldn't fight well. Magic could no longer be cast, no matter how many times
he chanted.
"Even so, I kept
trying to do something about it. At that time, both Ken and Lisa said I could
handle it and went along with my training."
In the beginning when
his Ability Suppression first appeared, his classmates looked at Nozomu with
pity. However, they gradually began to sneak around and talk about Nozomu
behind his back when they saw him repeatedly working out recklessly. To them,
it must have been because Nozomu seemed to be making a futile effort.
Even so, Nozomu didn't
give up, and his childhood friends and Camilla didn't want to give up on him
either.
"But before I
knew it, the rumors had spread and... everything had changed. I guess I don't
need to tell you what the rumors are."
The day when
everything suddenly turned around. Even the last bastion of support for Nozomu
at that time shouted abusive words at Nozomu.
"Everyone was
throwing abusive words at me. Even Lisa hated me. Ken didn't change his
attitude toward me, though..."
Nozomu's heart froze.
He subconsciously stopped moving forward, and instead of fulfilling his
promise, he ran away from his dream instead.
If it weren't for his
master and Anri, Nozomu would have been broken.
But the way Ken didn't
change his attitude was also a significant thing for Nozomu. When he thought
about it now, it was a temporary relief for Nozomu to be able to talk normally
with the man he had shared his childhood with, even if it was only for the
brief time when Lisa wasn't with him.
"But that too was
a lie. It was Ken who made that rumor ..."
However, even that was
within Ken's plan. When Nozom questioned Ken before, he had clearly pointed
that fact to Nozomu.
"Why would he do
that...?"
"... Maybe Ken
did this because I was in the way of realizing Lisa's dream. As far as I'm
concerned, I can't protect myself, and I'd be a liability in Lisa's dream of
wanting an adventure..."
Lisa and Ken were
getting stronger. Meanwhile, Nozomu was left behind in such a situation. In the
end, he would lose everything.
"If I become
stronger, maybe Lisa will turn to me again. With such thoughts, I could enter
the dangerous forest alone and endure Shishō's unreasonable training. In the
end, though, it was also my way of running away..."
Even when he was aware
of that, at that time, he could only struggle in the dark. Nozomu ridiculed
himself for his own escape.
When he looked back at
his past self, he felt really pathetic. It seemed he was no different from a
useless person getting drunk in a bar.
"When I think
about it, maybe Shishō's training was for the best. I was so busy trying to
survive that I didn't have time to think about anything else."
Because he didn't have
time to think about anything else, Nozomu didn't become desperate and didn't
lose his way.
In fact, when he first
met Shino, Nozomu had entered the forest in desperation and was almost killed
by a demon beast.
Even if he hadn't gone
into the forest, if he had stayed in the city, he might have caused some kind
of commotion.
Nozomu smiled as he
remembered the days of training with his master. The days had been both fun and
painful, but perhaps the pain had somewhat overwhelmed him, and a dry laugh
escaped his mouth.
'Why aren't you angry!
This is clearly a betrayal against you!"
Nozomu showed a
self-deprecating and bitter smile. Mars raises his voice at the sight of
Nozomu, who doesn't look angry. Everyone else was also angry at the
unreasonableness directed at Nozomu.
In response to Mars'
words, Nozomu silently shook his head.
"It's not that I
wasn't angry. When Ken told the truth, I was shocked, but then I was enraged
and lashed out at the surroundings. In fact, I released my ability suppression
and annihilated a group of Cyclopses..."
Irisdina and the
others widened their eyes in surprise when it was mentioned that Nozomu had
gone berserk before.
Let alone the dragon
power in his body, normally, Nozomu refrained himself from even using his own
Qi technique,
They were surprised to
learn that he had once wielded his powers in anger.
At that time, he went
out of control and massacred a group of Cyclopses, and as a result, Nozomu had
a very strong sense of fear and anxiety about Tiamat's existence within him.
"I'm angry, you
know. Towards Ken, towards Lisa, and towards myself."
Contrary to his words,
there was a bitter smile on Nozomu's face. It was a relief to know that Nozomu,
who had gone through a lot of trouble, was able to express himself in such a
way, even if only a little.
However, a moment
later, Nozomu's face turned into a sad expression as if he had cut his own
body.
He looked suffocated.
It was as if a foreign object had been forcibly removed from within his chest.
As if forcing himself,
Nozomu slowly spoke his mind.
"But more than
that ... I feel sad."
A heavy silence enveloped
Anri's room. Everyone had the same facial expression as if they had bitten a
bitter worm.
Mars, who was so angry
that he rushed at Nozomu, gritted his teeth with a bad expression on his face.
Irisdina and the
others had no choice but to remain silent in the face of Nozomu's grief.
However, for Nozomu,
despite everyone looking so angry and regretful, inside he felt happy. He could
sense that they were angry for him and that they were thinking of him.
"Thank you,
everyone"
Nozomu tried to lessen their stiffened faces by keeping his voice cheerful as he thanked them for
their kind words.
Nozomu continued
talking while smiling at Irisdina and the others.
"I think Lisa is
the most important thing to Ken. The promise we made together was to protect
Lisa's back."
Certainly, Nozomu at
that time was nothing more than a burden for Lisa.
He vowed to help Lisa,
who dreamed of adventure, but there was nothing more he could do at that time.
"Besides, Ken has
always been in love with Lisa, too. He backed off when Lisa and I started
dating, but I think he's always hated me on the inside. ......"
The promise they made
to Lisa when they were kids and their feelings for her. Nozomu, who is not Ken
himself, has no idea how Ken fell in love with her.
However, when he
declared that he was the one who spread the rumor, Ken said, "I met her
first. I was the one who fell in love with her first!".
Given that, it may
have been inevitable that Nozomu and Ken would collide in the end. It's
difficult to keep a lid on one's own feelings. It's especially difficult for
boys and girls in their sensitive years.
But if he were to be
asked if he didn't do anything wrong himself. Nozomu couldn't say it for sure.
Regardless of the outcome, there was no doubt that both Nozomu and Lisa didn't
want to face each other.
Nozomu used it as an
excuse to run away. And Lisa always turned away by lashing out her hatred at
Nozomu.
"Turns out, we
were never really together..."
This school has always
been a place of dreams, hopes, and such thoughts. But for Nozomu, those things
couldn't be achieved.
Even after all this
time, Nozomu still feels that way.
"And so, ......
what are you going to do, Nozomu? Are you just going to let it be?"
"I don't know,
....... Lisa doesn't know that Ken is the one who started the rumor. Sometimes
I thought it's better for her not to know, but ...... at least I don't want it
to stay this way."
No matter how sad he
was, Nozomu himself didn't think that the three of them should stay like this
forever.
Maybe the current Lisa
and Ken are just running away, just like he did before. Nozomu, who had
realized his own escape and was moving forward with the help of his friends,
somehow felt that way.
"Can you give me
a little more time? I'm trying to figure out how to deal with those two again.
Maybe I'll need to ask everyone for some advice..."
Just as he had faced
Irisdina and the others the other day, he would now have to face Lisa and Ken
again. But Nozomu himself couldn't help but feel uneasy at the bottom of his
heart.
"... I
understand. I'll do my best at that time."
"Yes, I intend to
do the same."
Irisdina and Shīna
look straight at Nozomu. All the other friends around him nodded uniformly and
firmly.
"……Thank you,
everyone"
After hearing
everyone's replies, Nozomu felt a surge of emotion in his chest, and he bowed
his head deeply.
