Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no “Kokoro”-

Chapter 8.15

The Opening Festival.

It is both the open campus of Solminati Academy and a popular event for the students.

The school opens its doors to the public during the daytime, and a variety of people from inside and outside the school come to visit.

The students were also more determined than usual to use this opportunity to show off their abilities in their classes.

At each of the training grounds set up in the school, a total of about 50 students were gathered in groups, and joint classes were open to the public.

Since it was in the midst of the opening festival, there were not only ordinary visitors but also well-dressed dignitaries in the vicinity of the training grounds.

The spectators pointed and sometimes cheered as they watched the students in their training, which they could not usually see.

At other training grounds adjacent to the center, several groups were also training under the same attentive gaze of the visitors.

In one of such training grounds. Among the students from three different years participating in the training, there was one who stood out from the crowd.

Her name is Lisa Hounds.

She is a red-haired girl who is a top-class student among the third-year students, and is skilled in the use of twin swords and flame magic with outstanding power.

She is currently engaged in combat training against five students from the third year.

"Te~i!"

"Fuh~!"

"Uwa!"

Lisa easily brushed aside a student's long sword that was slashing at her from the side with the sword in her right hand.

The sword strike was so powerful that it was unimaginable from her slender, feminine arm.

Her physical ability, drastically enhanced by the [Niveei's Magic Manipulation] ability, gives her the physical strength of a Cyclops.

However, her opponents did not just end up being defeated.

As soon as Lisa swung her saber, the student who had been waiting behind her fired dozens of magic bullets at her.

The number of magic bullets was too many for a single person to defend against. However, Lisa held up the dagger in her left hand and created a huge fireball. She then launched it at the oncoming swarm of magic bullets.

The fireball exploded, swallowing the numerous magic bullets that were coming toward it. The released shock waves blew away the students who had been standing behind it.

The students who were flung through the air were slammed to the ground a few seconds later and let out a cry of anguish.

It was too one-sided a development.

It was not that the third-year students were weak.

They had trained at the academy and were among the top scorers during the special general training.

However, because this girl's ability was so outstanding, they were unable to subdue her at all.

"What's the matter? Is it over already?"

Lisa's mouth was full of a smile as she played with the twin swords she held in her hands.

When the incident of Ken's assault became public, she was so tormented by her own guilt and mistakes that she was as worn out as a withered tree.

Lisa had lost sight of herself for a while, but now she no longer showed the slightest sign of weakness.

She was like a young bud that had just sprouted, full of life and vigor.

"U-, uu……"

On the other hand, the students who had been Lisa's opponents all looked impatient. The difference in ability was so great that they were discouraged.

"If you're going to be discouraged by this, you're not going to make it down the road."

"Lisa, you're overdoing it. Everyone is completely overwhelmed."

Camilla, who had been standing behind Lisa, was sighing.

Camilla had been standing by to protect her partner's back, ready to cast a spell at any time, but she had nothing to do as Lisa showed an overwhelming amount of energy and laid waste to her opponents.

"Even if it's just combat training, it doesn't mean we should go easy on them. The real battle will be more than this."

"But it's still too much. Even if it's the day of the opening festival, it's still too much to go all out from the beginning using [Niveei's Magic Manipulation] ......."

To begin with, Lisa's physical and magical capabilities were sufficient to maintain her superiority over several students of higher ranks.

On the other hand, [Niveei's Magic Manipulation], which multiplies the efficiency of magic, has restrictions on the number of times it can be used and the duration of its cooldown time, and is originally intended to be used when the right time comes.

Therefore, until now, Lisa's basic tactic has been to use her superior capabilities to maintain her superiority, seizing an opportunity to use [Niveei's Magic Manipulation], and then laying waste to her opponents in one fell swoop with a powerful offensive attack.

Now, however, she did not consider her own remaining strength or what would come later, and she was going all out to take down her opponent from the very beginning.

Camilla knew that Lisa had made up with Nozomu and was working hard on her studies and training with a fresh start, but she was also becoming a little worried about her.

"It doesn't matter whether it's an opening festival or not. I just want to thoroughly push my limits while I still can. If I don't do it now, while I can still fail, it will be an absolute waste."

On the other hand, Lisa, who was bitterly disappointed, dismissed Camilla's concerns in a light tone.

For that matter, she wanted to push her own limits as much as possible while she was still able to. For this reason, she was giving it her all, no matter what kind of training or combat training she was engaged in.

Especially, Lisa focused on the training of her ability, [Niveei's Magic Manipulation].

[Niveei's Magic Manipulation], depending on how it was used, had the potential to deal a sufficient blow to an opponent of higher rank.

This could be seen from the fact that [Niveei's Magic Manipulation] served as the final blow to stop Nozomu, who had gone out of control during the incident involving the attack by Azel.

And because she saw the possibility that she could become even stronger, Lisa was actively using this [Niveei's Magic Manipulation] to train herself once again.

Sometimes she failed, sometimes she ran out of magic power, and sometimes she fainted from the backlash, but even so, she did not try to stop. Even if she fainted, she could receive adequate treatment in the academy.

An environment where she could try again, even if she failed, was invaluable. And now that she was in an environment where failure was allowed, it was only natural that she would be more determined.

"I don't want to have any more regrets, so I'm going to run past the limits of what I can do now with all my might. That's the adventure I'm going through right now."

More than anything, what was inspiring Lisa was the reminder that she did not want to repeat the two years she had spent standing still in her escape.

She also did not want to waste Nozomu's feelings, who had shown her the way, swallowing his bitterness and hatred to the very end.

In order to do so, she determined to once again strengthen her "core". With this goal in mind, she swung the twin swords in her hands.

The passion that drives her today is her passion.

A smile spread across Lisa's face as she spoke of her desire to push herself to her limits, and there was not a hint of the depression that had once been in her face.

Her smile was as bright and cheerful as a sunny sky, and not only Camilla, but also the disheartened students of the third year, as well as the visitors to the training grounds, couldn't help but admire her smile.

"So, who's next?"

"Then, how about us?"

Third-party voices echoed through the training grounds.

A girl from the Wildcat Race, belonging to the second class, answered Lisa's words, who had changed her bright smile into a challenging one.

Next to her, there was also an elf with a mysterious expression on her face.

"Mimuru-san, and Shina-san..."

"I don't doubt Red-Haired Princess's ability, but if you're not careful, you'll get a smack in the face, you know."

"There's no way I'd let my guard down, is there? Rather, there's no shortage of them."

"That's the way it should be!"

Mimuru smiled warily at Lisa while spinning her dagger.

At the same time, Lisa also raised her twin swords as if to respond to Mimuru's wariness.

The instructor in charge of the training raised his hand, signaling the start of the battle.

"Fuh~!"

Mimuru took the initiative.

She quickly strengthened her body with Qi and activated her instantaneous movement. Using the agility unique to beastmen as a weapon, she tried to close the gap between herself and Lisa at once.

However, Lisa also reacted swiftly.

She raised her left hand which was holding the saber, completed her chanting, and created a fireball. Then, she shot out the fireball toward Mimuru, who was coming at her like a leopard.

The fireball that was released accurately caught Mimuru.

Furthermore, Lisa used [Niveei's Magic Manipulation]. The fireball, which was only the size of the palm of her hand, swelled up to the size of her head at once.

Mimuru, on the other hand, pushed forward without paying any attention to the approaching fireball.

The fact that Lisa was using [Niveei's Magic Manipulation] would make the fireball's power powerful enough, but Mimuru understood that this level of power would be handled without any problem by her best friend who was standing behind her.

"Shina, I leave it to you!"

As if in response to Mimuru's shout, Shina, who had been standing behind her, shot an arrow filled with magic power.

The arrow flew through the air, leaving a trail of blue magic light in its wake, and pierced the center of the fireball that was approaching Mimuru.

Mimuru knew better than anyone how good Shina was with a bow. The power of the arrow, strengthened by magic power, has the power to penetrate even a steel shield.

No matter how much the fireball's power was doubled by [Niveei's Magic Manipulation], it was still possible to unilaterally shatter the fireball that was just a feint ...... at least, it was supposed to be that way.

"Eh?"

"What?"

The arrow that pierced the fireball burned up in a flash like a withered grass, and the fireball hit Mimuru, who was advancing straight toward it, and then exploded.

"Ukyaaa~!"

Mimuru screamed as she was hit by the hot air released at close range.

The fire that soared up further caught fire on her hair, causing it to burst into flames. Shina, Lisa, and Camilla all rushed over and began hitting Mimuru's hair to douse the fire.

Fortunately, the fire that had caught in her hair was quickly extinguished, but Mimuru's hair turned into a mess like roasted chestnuts.

"Ueee~, my hair~..."

"U-, umm, I'm sorry. I think I made a slight mistake.."

Camilla performed healing magic on Mimuru, who was lamenting over her hair that had partially turned to ashes.

As expected, the burned hair that had turned to ashes could not be restored, but the burns on Mimuru's face soon disappeared without a trace.

It was fortunate that the fireball was only a feint, even though it had been enhanced in power.

"What's the hell just happened~? Didn't you say that with your bow, such magic won't be a problem at all~!"

"That's right. Her aim was accurate and the arrow was aimed firmly at the center of my fireball... Are you not feeling well?"

"Umm……"

Mimuru, feeling depressed about her charred hair, voiced her doubts, while Lisa raised a question.

Shina, on the other hand, seemed to be at a loss for words and glanced at them, her gaze swimming in the air.

Shina's eyes drifted in the air, a gesture that clearly indicated she was in a state of disbelief.

"Now that you mention it, I smelled blood on Shina's body the other day... Ah, I know~!"

"Uu……"

Mimuru hit her hand as if she had an idea.

Shina's body trembled.

If this fun-loving Mimuru were to know that she had signed a blood covenant with Nozomu, she would happily spread the information all over the school.

If this were to happen, of course, Nozomu would hear about it too.

Shina, who did not want Nozomu to know the meaning of the blood covenant ritual, was in a very bad situation.

"Shina, why didn't you tell me about this? If I had known, I wouldn't have forced you to do this..."

However, contrary to Shina's concern, Mimuru put her hands on both of Shina's shoulders with a serious expression on her face.

Shina gulped ...... at the gentle atmosphere of concern from her best friend, which was a hundred and eighty degrees different from her usual goofy character.

"You were having a girl's day, weren't you!?"

"Wrong!"

"Gyaa~!"

Then, she screamed without a pause.

When Mimuru raised her voice, Shina spontaneously raised her hand and smacked Mimuru on the head. It was inevitable.

Shina herself was troubled with a sense of guilt and remorse toward Nozomu, and when she was hit with such an outrageous remark, one or two hands were bound to come out.

"I thought it was ..."

"No, you're wrong! How could you assume so!? I mean, never talk about such things out loud!"

Shina and Mimuru were attracting quite a few stares, but some of the stares were not only from students but also from the visitors.

Some of them were whispering and chuckling.

Shina's face was stained with embarrassment when she noticed the stares around her.

It was only natural that she would be the center of attention if she talked about something peculiar to girls in the presence of such a group of school students.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm being stared at like this..."

"By the way, Shina's loud voice is also the cause of the stares ...... ada-da-da!"

"S-h-u-t, u-p!"

Shina gently pinched Mimuru's ear, her white, fair skin turning bright red with embarrassment.

As Mimuru said, Shina's yelling was also a factor that drew attention from the surroundings, but it made her feel even more embarrassed.

"Even though it's the day of the opening festival, it's still pretty lively."

"Mimuru is causing too much trouble for her. Good grief, what a troublemaker."

"I don't know. I think they make a good partner for each other."

Camilla, who had been standing back and watching Mimuru and Shina, smiled in amusement.

Shina, noticing Mimuru's innocent expression, said "Hmph!" in exasperation, and put more pressure on the finger that was pinching Mimuru's ear before finally releasing her.

Mimuru's ears were painfully swollen, and she was rubbing her pinched ears with teary eyes.

Nevertheless, Shina herself was not pleased with Camilla's words.

Mimuru, on the other hand, pouted as if to say, "You don't have to go this far!"

Yet, there was not a hint of the gloomy atmosphere that lingered between the two of them.

Camilla's smile deepened at the somewhat friendly atmosphere.

"Hey, don't you think so too, Lisa?"

"...Eh, what?"

Camilla asked Lisa whether she agreed, but Lisa was somewhat absent-minded, staring at the training ground next door.

"Lisa, what's wro~ ... Oh~, I see."

"W-, what is it..."

Beyond her line of sight, there was a figure of Nozomu in combat training in the training ground next door.

More than a dozen students were clashing their wooden swords in a melee training exercise.

Among them, Nozomu's presence was exceptional.

There were five students surrounding him. Strangely enough, the number of students surrounding him was the same as that of Lisa's opponent earlier.

Nozomu handled all of the slashes that these five students threw at him.

There was no delay in his movements, and he continued to draw fluid slashes as he became one with the wooden katana he carried in his hand.

He deflected a frontal attack to the side and struck another attack that was coming from the side with the wooden sword he had just parried.

He then quickly moved behind the opponent in front of him and used his Qi-jutsu [Cannon] to blow them both away.

He also intercepted the other three, who had leaped at him as if to surround him, by utilizing the recoil of the shockwave he had released, and quickly turned himself around to intercept them.

With the wooden katana that he had swung, he cut down all of the wooden swords that were being simultaneously swung down at him.

The sight of this made not only the students he was fighting, but also the spectators, who were watching from afar, involuntarily froze in their seats.

"What a nonsensical thing he did as usual... Just how dense was his Qi-blade? How could he cut his opponents' swords with just a wooden katana as if he were using an iron sword?"

"He's fundamentally destroying the meaning of the wooden katana~."

Camilla and Mimuru let out a voice of admiration and dismay.

Lisa, on the other hand, stared at Nozomu with a mysterious expression on her face.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Lisa? You're looking at him with such an expression on your face."

"Um, well, I kind of have a weird feeling about it..."

With crisp words, Lisa put her hand over her mouth and shut up.

However, Mimuru, who had no idea of what Lisa felt was wrong about Nozomu, tilted her head.

"Weird? Well, sure, Nozomu's swordsmanship is kind of weird."

"I don't mean it like that, I just have this kind of uneasy feeling about it ... How do you feel about it, Shina-san?"

Unable to express the feeling of discomfort that was tugging at the depths of her heart, Lisa unintentionally called out to Shina, who was standing by her side.

Shina, however, did not hear Lisa's words and kept staring at her hand.

Her slender white fingers were covered with a single lumpy reddish-black pressure ulcer. It was a scar that had formed when she and Nozomu had exchanged a blood covenant the other day.

"... Shina-san?"

"... Eh? W-, what is it?"

"What's wrong Shina, you're kind of staring at your hand in a daze... Did you hurt your hand?"

"N, no, it's nothing. More importantly, what's wrong?"

Mimuru, who had noticed the scar, leaned closer to Shina, but the elf girl, seemingly agitated, put her hands behind her back and responded with an astonished look on her face.

"What's wrong? Did you hurt your finger?"

"Y-, yeah. I had a little bit of a snag in my finger from the jagged arrow during the combat training earlier..."

"But you already have the pressure ulcer even before the combat training, don't you?"

"W-, well, umm ..."

*Stareee----*

Mimuru stared at Shina with her face so close that she could almost hear the sound of an onomatopoeic noise.

Shina involuntarily backed away as she was met with a probing and intense gaze.

"W-, what is it?..."

"As I thought, you have been acting strange since last night. Shina, you would usually come to me with an iron claw to crush my skull, but you only pinched my ear just now. Come to think of it, the last time we stayed at Irisdina's mansion, I smelled blood on your body when you came back to your room late at night."

Mimuru clapped her hands as if she had just remembered something.

"I see. So that's it. Sorry, Shina. That makes you physically uncomfortable, doesn't it?"

"Wha~. What's wrong with you all of a sudden?"

"Is your body okay? Has the bleeding stopped? Do you have trouble walking? Sorry I pushed you too hard."

"You're being so nice all of a sudden, it's weird. Are you sure you're not making another weird misunderstanding?"

"Today we're going to eat red rice!"

"Red rice? What's that?"

"In the East, they dye rice, a type of grain, red and eat it on celebratory occasions. I don't know anything about rice, but you can substitute flour for the grain, right?

"Celebration of what?"

"Of course, Shina and Nozomu-kun committed adultery ...... ada-da-da!"

"W-e, d-i-d, n-o-t, d-o, t-h-a-t!"

"Shina, my-, my ears. They are going to be torn to shreds~!"

Shina twisted the cat beastman's ears as hard as she could with the intention of tearing them off, after she once again made an outrageous remark.

However, Shina's face couldn't have been more vermilion as she pinched her best friend's ear.

She was even more embarrassed than before because she had made a contract with Nozomu that was more intimate than a physical relationship, if not more so.

"By the way, what do you use for dyeing?"

Lisa murmured so as she watched the exchange between these two best friends.

In response to Lisa's question, Mimuru dexterously let her gaze wander in the air while her ears were being pinched.

"... Chili pepper?"

"Are you really going to eat something that looks like a punishment for a celebration?"

"Well, umm ..."

Apparently, Mimuru was also not familiar with the culture regarding red rice in the East.

Shina looked at Mimuru in dismay, wondering if she had said such a random thing without knowing much about it.

At that moment, an ashen-haired female student approached from the edge of the training ground.

"Everyone, there you are."

"Ah, Irisdina. Were you also having combat training?"

"Yeah, with students from the fourth grade. What about Nozomu?....."

Irisdina had just participated in the same training as Lisa and the others.

Her hair had turned gray due to excessive use of magic power, and at one time she did not participate much in practical exercises such as these combat training due to concerns about her health.

However, today was the opening day of the festival, so she participated in the practical exercise class.

"I was fighting against five opponents just now. Now I'm up against the other five."

"I see……"

Beyond her line of sight, she saw Nozomu slashing through his opponent's weapons, just as he had done earlier.

Apparently, with [Phantom] still enveloping his katana, he leaped towards his remaining opponent.

In response to the unexpected sight of a wooden katana capable of cutting like iron, Nozomu's opponents were being overwhelmed left and right. Without being able to control the situation, they were one-sidedly overwhelmed.

Moreover, Nozomu hardly showed any signs of being exhausted.

He kept activating his [Phantom] on his katana and strengthened his body only to the minimum.

By showing the unexpected, he incited agitation and swept everything away before his opponents could regain their composure.

Moreover, he carefully maneuvered his opponent's position to create a one-on-one situation at all times.

Although it may be partly due to the fact that they were caught up in a strategy that could be called a model for actual combat, it was a scene that made the spectators feel sorry for the students who were forced to deal with such a non-standard opponent.

"As we knew, Nozomu is getting quite a lot of attention."

"Hmm?"

To Mimuru, who tilted her head, Irisdina pointed to a section of the training ground with her chin.

There were well-dressed dignitaries from various countries.

The dignitaries were observing Nozomu's every move as he stood there with a lingering impression while having small conversations with their attendants.

The people observing Nozomu were dressed in a variety of different outfits, from a man wearing a cape-like headdress to a female knight in valiant knightly armor, and even a beast in a tuxedo and tie. It could be said that Nozomu had attracted the attention of so many people, regardless of country or race.

"From the looks of it, there are people related to the Adventurers' Guild, people from the Imperial Knights of Cremazzone, merchants affiliated with the Sumahya Union, and many others."

"Uwa ... It would be a pain in the ass to deal with that many scouts..."

"Mimuru, you don't need to put it like that. It's necessary for Nozomu. Besides, the scouts are here for him. There aren't that many people for Mimuru to deal with this time."

Shina complained to Mimuru, who was hanging her head down with a frown on her face.

"I know. That being said, what about you, Shina?"

"I am, umm ..."

"What's wrong?"

When Shina's gaze landed on one of the dignitaries, her expression somehow turned cloudy.

Mimuru and the others, who were standing beside her, followed Shina's gaze to see what she had seen, and there they saw a pair of suspicious-looking men completely concealed by hoods and coats.

"Who are those suspicious people?..."

"Probably one of the elven elders and his companion."

"What? Are they after you, Shina?"

"Maybe"

Due to their rather reclusive nature, elves rarely associate with other races.

There were also few stories of elves being seen in Arcazam, and naturally, there was no record of them participating in this opening festival.

"Shina, you don't look so happy?"

"Well, umm, now is a bit..."

Shina's expression remained cloudy even though she had seen a relative for the first time in a long time.

Shina had fallen silent as if she had something difficult to say, and Lisa and the others were unable to say anything.

As if to change the subject, Irisdina opened her mouth.

"By the way, Shina-kun and Mimuru-kun seemed to be making a fuss earlier, did something happens?

"Un, actually, it was about Shina's marriage..."

"... Marriage?"

Irisdina's voice was tinged with doubt.

Her graceful eyes were naturally dilated, and her tone was somewhat questioning.

"No, it's wrong! Mimuru, please, stop it already!"

"Eeh? I don't think it's wrong tho~~"

Naturally, Shina and Irisdina's gazes intersected.

Both of them were carrying a sense of guilt toward each other through a certain person. They naturally looked away from each other, perhaps feeling an inexpressible awkwardness.

Mimuru and the others who were watching Irisdina and Shina on their side could only tilt their heads.