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

[Ln] Volume 3: Chapter 1.3

[LN] Volume 3: Chapter 1.3

Volume 3 Chapter 1.3

The Fierce Emotion of Betrayal Part 3

Translator : PolterGlast

There are several training grounds at Solminati Academy. In one of them, all the students of the third year gathered in one place.

Perhaps it was due to the presence of students from classes that do not usually gather together, but the training ground was filled with a heavy atmosphere.

In the midst of it all, there was a towering figure standing on a podium.

Jihad Roundel.

A hero who played an active role in the Great Invasion twenty years ago. He is also the de facto head director of the Solminati Academy.

"As third-graders, you have entered a new phase of your education. Until now, the difference in ability between rank and class has been a major value for you, but there is only a limited number of things that one individual is capable of doing alone. Therefore, you must be able to utilize your diverse abilities, personalities, and values."

The Special Comprehensive Exercise is different from anything the students have experienced in the past. The second day in particular is based on the premise of teaming up with other ranks, so there are more points awarded for forming a party based on differences in ranks.

"I hope that through this training you will reach a higher level and save this continent from the threat of demonic beasts."

As Jihad finished his speech, Inda Metis, who had been standing behind him, stepped forward.

She is the homeroom teacher for the first and second classes, and also acts as Jihad's assistant.

"We will now begin the joint class for all classes of the third grade. Until the end of the class, each of you should go find the people you are interested in. For safety reasons, if you wish to engage in a combat training, please use the weapons we have prepared for you."

After the supplementary explanation, all the students in the training ground began to move at once.

"Oi, you there, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Say, would you like to pair up with me?"

"Hey, hey. Can I join your team?"

"What can you do?"

"A little bit of support magic, a little knowledge about potions, and then ......."

Both upper and lower class students are desperately searching for party members.

There are many ways to find potential teammates. Sometimes they decide simply by talking to each other, and other times after a brief simulated battle. They are desperate because it directly affects their grades.

On the other hand, Nozomu was left alone without being approached by anyone.

It is not surprising. From their perspective, the lowest-ranked student with Ability Suppression is nothing more than a hindrance to them.

Mars, for his part, stood still without making any effort to approach the people around him.

"What about us, Mars? Shouldn't we go as well?"

"Why do I have to team up with people I don't give a shit about? I don't care if I don't get any extra points."

"But that would put us at a disadvantage during the training."

"What's the problem? We could just defeat them all by ourselves."

As if refusing to talk any further, Mars folded his arms, closed his eyes, and fell silent.

As usual, he has a strong tendency to be a loner and is avoided by the other students, but to Nozomu's eyes, he seems somewhat restless.

(Did something happen? Somehow, he seems strangely irritated ......)

While Nozomu was a little worried about Marus' words and actions, a slow-paced voice called out to him from the side.

"Nozomu-ku~~n? Have you found someone to team up with~~?"

"Anri-sensei. No, not yet ......"

Anri Var is the homeroom teacher for the tenth class of the third grade to which Nozomu belongs.

She is apparently making the rounds to see how the students in her class are doing.

She slumped her shoulders in disappointment that Nozomu and Mars had no one to team up with yet, but immediately her face brightened up.

"I see ....... But if it's the current Nozomu-kun, you'll be fine! I'm sure you'll get to the top!"

"It would be nice if that were to happen. Ah, right, Anri-sensei. I need to talk to you about something ......"

Nozomu told Anri about the stares he felt earlier this morning while training on the outer edge of the city and about the residual magic power.

"Hmm~~. I can't tell from just hearing about it, but if you're concerned about it, Nozomu-kun, I'll look into it~~"

"Thank you very much."

"Don't mind it. It is a teacher's duty to relieve students' anxiety~~. Well then, do your best~~!"

After finishing the conversation, Anri smiled and waved her hand as she headed off toward the other students.

"Yo, Nozomu. Who did you team up with?"

After Nozomu saw Anri off, this time a silver-haired demihuman spoke to him in a bold tone of voice.

Kevin Ardinal. A demihuman belonging to the Silver Wolves Race, he is one of the few A-ranked and talented individuals among the third graders.

He fought together with Nozomu and Shina against Abyss Grief. For this reason, he has a keen interest in Nozomu and has come all the way from the place where the first class is gathered to see how he is doing.

"Kevin ...... No, I haven't found anyone yet."

"That's surprising. What about Shina?"

Upon hearing Kevin's words, Nozomu turned to a section of the training ground.

There, surrounded by many students, were Shina and Razward. Mimuru and Tom, who are always with her, are also by her side.

Shina is the only elf in the school. And she is the only one who can make a contract directly with the spirits.

She had regained the ability to contract with spirits after the recent Abyss Grief incident, and everyone seemed to be trying to form a party with her.

Mimuru and Tom seem a little bewildered by the students who have gathered, but Shina, the person who is at the center of all the attention, maintains a blank expression toward the students who have gathered.

Razward, perched on her shoulder, was yawning, seemingly uninterested.

"How do I say this, the number of students there is just amazing ......"

"Well, it's not surprising. She's an A-rank student now, just like me."

"By the way, what are you doing here?"

"Isn't it natural to be curious about what one's rivals are up to? Well, to be frank, I'm not good enough to be your rival though ......"

"Rivals, huh?"

"If I were to take that last battle into consideration, I don't think I could beat you in individual combat. But this time it's a team fight, you see, so I'm looking forward to it."

With a grin and a belligerent expression on his face, Kevin's fighting spirit is on fire.

Nozomu, on the other hand, breaks out in a cold sweat at his words and actions.

Kevin knows that Nozomu can release his Ability Suppression, but he does not know about the source of his power, the Dragon King of Destruction. As for Nozomu, who is keeping Tiamat a secret, he was not comfortable with the idea that his secret might be revealed even in the slightest.

"M-, more importantly. Looks like you've already decided on the members for your team."

"Hmm? Yeah. They're the usual guys. It's a little too late for us to be teaming up with another group."

Behind him are about 20 students, half of whom are of other classes. All of them were those who regularly teamed up with Kevin in the Adventurers' Guild to carry out requests.

Kevin himself is highly skilled and talented as an individual, but at the same time, he is the leader of the largest party in the third grade. Also, unlike the other students, there is a well-balanced mix of students from other classes in his party.

When members of Kevin's party make eye contact with Nozomu, they wave lightly or smile at him. They, too, had fought the Abyss Grief, but were wounded in the battle and were saved by Nozomu.

Perhaps because of this, they do not have the same contempt for Nozomu as the other students. In fact, they seem to see him as a fellow comrade.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

At that moment, a girl from the wolf race, who was standing behind Kevin, came up to Nozomu's ear with a serious look on her face.

She is Karanti. She is the second-in-command of Kevin's party.

"What am I doing, you say? I'm looking for a team member ......"

"Then get on with it and team up with that elf already. It seems like they want to team up with you, too ......"

Karanti used to harbor animosity toward Shina.

This was due to the behavior of the elves who did not heed their advice during the Great Invasion, but now that she had been saved by Shina in the Abyss Grief incident, she seemed to have lost that animosity.

Prompted by Karanti, who whispered so in his ear, Nozomu turned his eyes toward Shina once more, and for some reason, his eyes met with the elf girl's eyes.

When Shina noticed that Nozomu was looking at her, she gave him a soft smile in return.

"See? ......"

"Even if you say so ......."

"Tch, what a spineless guy ......."

She spat at the indecisive Nozomu, then quickly backed away and went back to stand next to Kevin again.

"Oi, is something wrong?"

"No, Leader. It's nothing."

Kevin shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile at the nonchalant face of his second-in-command and turned to face Nozomu once again.

"Nozomu, what about Irisdina? You used to be in a party with her, right?"

"Well, that's ......."

Nozomu now turned his attention to the first class. Ahead of his gaze, he could see Irisdina and Tima.

As expected, they too were surrounded by students from other classes. Irisdina was ranked first in overall performance for the school year. Tima, too, had the strongest magic power of all time and was being sought after by many.

At that moment, the dark-haired girl's eyes caught Nozomu's. Their gazes met. Then, Irisdina's cheeks puffed up in a sulky manner, and she turned away pouting.

"What happened? Did you two get into a fight?"

With a meaningful smile, Kevin embraced Nozomu's shoulders and leaned in close to his face.

"N-, no, it's not like that...... at least that's what I think."

"Hmmm~~. Well, you should hurry up and make up your mind. Women don't like to be kept waiting."

"There's no such thing between me and her ......"

Although Nozomu has come to know about Irisdina's family situation, it doesn't mean that Irisdina and Nozomu have a special relationship.

For instance, if Arcazam had not been a city where people were free of any status in their home country, it would have been impossible for them to even see each other, let alone talk to each other in the first place. The difference in status between them is that great.

*Creak.......*

Nozomu's mouth involuntarily contorted as a lump formed deep in his chest.

"...... Well, at least I don't think you and Irisdina are a bad match. That's what I think."

Kevin, perhaps because he himself has a fiance?e, is strangely precise in his advice.

Nozomu is impressed by Kevin's seeming familiarity with women, but he only gives a curt, half-hearted response.

He himself appreciates the advice, but he doesn't have time to listen to it attentively at the moment.

Nozomu averts his gaze from Irisdina to the side.

An eye-catching red-haired female student is talking with a student from another class.

Lisa Hounds.

Nozomu's ex-girlfriend. His desire to support her dream was what brought Nozomu to the Solminati Academy and what kept him going.

However, she dumped him for the unjustifiable reason that he was a cheater, and since then, the whole school has been looking at him with a cold shoulder.

A powerful declaration slammed at her from the front. Lisa's eyes, which had been filled with hatred, were momentarily shaken. Camilla, who was standing by her side, also froze, her eyes wide open at Nozomu's unprecedentedly firm attitude.

"~, how dare you say such words after all this time!"

After a moment of silence, Lisa's face turned bright red.

Trembling with anger, she unleashed her magic power in a fit of rage and blasted away at Nozomu. The saber left Nozomu's hand, and fresh blood flew through the air.

Lisa also drew her other saber and crossed it in a crisscrossing motion while glaring at Nozomu.

The magic power in response to the fury raged and began to glow scarlet as it poured into her weapons.

The students around her all simultaneously moved away from the powerful magic power that was suddenly unleashed.

"Wait, Lisa!"

While Camilla screamed in impatience, the magic power poured out in anger turned into flames in the blink of an eye and converged in a whirlpool.

[Peacock Flame Vortex]

An intermediate-level magic that hurls a whirlpool of flames. However, it was enhanced by Lisa's ability, [Enchantment of Nivea], and it produced a power comparable to that of high-level magic.

"Lisa, don't. That magic is way too much for non-combat training."

"Ken, but!"

"It's okay, leave it to me."

But then Ken intervened.

While Lisa's voice filled with anger, Ken calmly admonished her and then turned his attention to Nozomu.

"Nozomu, are you still going to lie like this? How pathetic are you going to be?"

"Lie, huh? I wonder which one of us is telling lies?"

Nozomu's gaze shifted from Lisa to Ken as well.

*Chichichi* ...... sparks flew between them. Both moved at the same time.

"~ !"

Ken's palm strike was unleashed. The blow, which has been trained regardless of the use of magic power, was aimed at the center axis of Nozomu's body and approached like a gust of wind.

"............"

However, as soon as Nozomu's body seemed to sway slightly, it began to flow sideways, as if deviating from the trajectory of the palm strike.

Ken's eyes widened as he saw the movement, which was so natural that he could not even feel any incongruity, just like flowing water.

"~ !?"

Nozomu, who had dodged the palm strike, grabbed Ken's outstretched right arm with his left hand and pulled his body closer to Ken's. He then inserted his right elbow into his opponent's side, and while controlling his center of gravity, he tripped his opponent's leg.

Ken's body rose into the air.

"Damn you! ......"

Nozomu was about to throw Ken down by pulling his left hand, but Ken fiercely unleashed his magic power and forcefully freed his grabbed right arm. He then held the back of Nozomu's head with his left hand and tried to knock him to the ground.

"~ !"

Nozomu, on the contrary, dropped his own body and used the rebound from the ground to leap. He moved away in time.

"Reinforcement magic? Is there a magic formation engraved inside your clothes?"

Ken, on the other hand, also landed with one knee on the ground. Quietly getting up and glaring at Nozomu.

"O-, oi. What just happened?"

"I think I saw that bottom-feeder almost threw Ken to the ground- ......"

The unrest around them grew even louder.

Nozomu was originally known as a student who could not fight well due to his [Ability Suppression]. However, he was almost throwing a student from the highest class of the school to the ground, albeit that student had been caught off-guard. Since the surrounding students had only known Nozomu in the past, a time when he had turned away even from his own escapism, it was not surprising that they were so shocked.

The air between Nozomu and Ken became so tense that it seemed as if it would tear apart at any moment.

But then someone unexpected intervened.

"Stop right there. If you're going to have a combat training, you'd better arrange it properly."

A quiet yet dignified voice. Nozomu turned around to see a large man in silver and white armor.

It was the school's highest director, Jihad Roundel, who had just been giving an instructional speech in front of the entire student body.

"...... No, that's fine. I'm sorry, I caused a scene."

Jihad's appearance made Nozomu lose his heightened fighting spirit, and he turned on his heel.

As he left, he turned to look at his ex-girlfriend and her friends. Lisa gasped at Nozomu's quiet but direct gaze, and Camilla, too, looked somewhat taken aback.

As for Ken, he glared at Nozomu with icy eyes.

Nozomu glanced once more at Lisa and at the object inserted in her pocket, and then quietly left.

After he left, Lisa was surprised at how intensely agitated she felt.

The words and eyes that were directed straight at her. Her heart, which should have been tinged with anger for the past two years, shook violently with confusion.

Why? What's going on? ......

While Lisa was still in a state of emotional confusion, Ken and Camilla came up to her and asked,

"Lisa, are you okay?"

"Eh, uh, yeah. .......'

"Who does he think he is, to say such a selfish thing in a place like this!?"

Their words reminded Lisa of her own anger.

(That's right, what are you trying by telling me this now? Even though it was you who betrayed me ......)

Lisa still vividly remembered the despair and anger she felt at that time.

Hoping to help him, she asked Camilla to come with her to the library late at night to do some research, and on the way back home. She found him walking with a woman she didn't know.

He was walking with a petite woman who looked different from her, somewhat timid and mature, and she was holding his arm, smiling at him, and kissing him.

She couldn't believe it. She did not want to believe it.

What are you doing? Are you betraying me even though I trusted you?

When Lisa stormed up to him and started yelling so, he said to her coldly,

[I'm sorry, but I don't think I need you anymore......]

The next moment, Lisa's eyes turned red as she was confronted with the reality of what had happened.

He had abandoned her. The most important promise.

He had betrayed her. In the worst possible way.

Therefore, Lisa thoroughly dismissed and abandoned Nozomu.

He was no longer the person she had been attracted to. He is a bastard who tramples on people's feelings in the worst possible way.

"...... You don't have to worry about what he said. In the end, it's nothing but a douchebag's nonsense."

"Come on, Lisa, let's go."

"Un ......."

Prompted by Camilla, Lisa began to walk away, trying to change places.

Lisa turned around and caught sight of Nozomu's back as he walked away.

She told herself once again, "He's an asshole. That's how it should be".

But every time she thought about it, the look in Nozomu's eyes that she had just seen gnawed at her heart.

Why were his eyes so straightforward and unchanging?

Just as she thought to that point, the scene of the betrayal played out like a flashback.

The cold stare and words directed at her. Lisa shook her head and brushed away the doubts that had been floating around in the back of her mind, along with the searing memory of the betrayal.

(It can't be. That must have been some kind of mistake ......)

At that moment, a slight feeling of discomfort ran through her chest. When she put her hand on her chest, she felt something square on it.

"Lisa, what's wrong?"

"This is ......."

What was inside was a sealed letter. When she opened it, she saw a sentence that read, "I would like to talk to you about something that happened two years ago". The only other information written on the letter was the time and place.

However, Lisa recognized the words. It was Nozomu's handwriting. Her heart beat faster than ever.

Beside her, Ken was looking down at Nozomu's letter with a stern gaze that could not have been more severe.

?

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