RYUU KUSARI NO ORI -KOKORO NO UCHI NO 'KOKORO'-

by Legrev

Solminati Academy is a gathering place for youngsters with dreams, hopes, ambitions, and various thoughts. There was a boy here who entered the school to support his beloved’s dream. However, the boy’s ability, which he had only thought of, did not improve, he was laughed at by the people around him, he had no friends, his lover was separated from him, and his steps stopped. Howeve

29. 8,21 - 8,25

Chapter 8.21

"Hey Nozomu, you're finally here."

Irisdina, dressed in a pure white dress and silver ornaments, greeted Nozomu with a smile.

"Well, umm... perhaps... Did I make you wait?"

"Yeah, you made me wait. I was just thinking that the party was going to end with me having no one to dance with."

Irisdina said these words, but there would be countless men who would try to ask her, a noble and elegant young lady, to dance.

But the reason why Irisdina said that the party would end without her having a dance partner was because she had decided to have only one dance partner for today.

"Umm, well, I mean... Iris seemed to be busy greeting people with Victor-san, so I thought it would be better to wait until things had settled down..."

On the other hand, the naive Nozomu was oblivious to Irisdina's hidden confession.

A small pang of jealousy flared up in Irisdina's heart upon hearing Nozomu's response.

"Honestly, you're being troublesome. If you had spoken to me, it would have been settled right away, but you're having so much fun with Shina-kun instead..."

"Eh?..."

She became a little annoyed.

Prompted by the little jealousy, Irisdina recounted the time when Nozomu and Shina were chatting.

Frankly, for Irisdina, it was true that she was feeling mushy when she saw Nozomu and Shina talking happily.

(I wanted to chat with you too!)

Remembering the time when she felt excluded from them, she deliberately put on a slightly grumpy expression.

"Isn't it unfair? To leave me alone and have a nice chat just the two of you..."

"No, that was..."

Looking at Irisdina's grumpy expression, Nozomu looked troubled.

Although it was true that he had enjoyed talking with Shina, it was also true that he had left Irisdina out.

Besides, even though he was not used to the party and was getting confused, he couldn't deny that he was feeling a little self-conscious about Irisdina, who was behaving like a perfect young lady.

"Iris, I'm so-..."

"Fufu~, sorry. I'm just joking."

Iriscina's grumpy expression changed and a joyful smile appeared on her face.

Nozomu finally realized that he was being made fun of by the look on her face, as if to say, "I got you!"

"Iris..."

As she gazed at Nozomu, who sighed and dropped his shoulders, Irisdina was pleased with a satisfied feeling and a sense of accomplishment at having the gaze of the person she loved directed at her.

"You looked like you had a hard time. You were surrounded by quite a number of people."

"Yeah, I honestly had no idea what to do."

"You were like a duckling trying to swim for the first time. If I recall it again ... fufufu~."

Even though she was so busy greeting the guests that she could not speak to him herself, Irisdina also saw that Nozomu was surrounded by dignitaries and was moving right and left.

If one had to sum up the situation at that time, it could be described as a comedy of great actors.

Irisdina, perhaps remembering the confused Nozomu surrounded by dignitaries, smiled once again.

"Kh~, pfft~..."

The sight of Nozomu, who had been flustered, must have really hit the spot. Irisdina was holding her stomach to keep the laughter from getting too loud.

She looked just like a normal girl of her age, no matter how one looked at her. It was very unusual to see her usual ladylike demeanor completely subdued. On the other hand, Nozomu, who kept being laughed at, was somewhat troubled.

"You don't have to laugh that hard, do you?"

"Isn't it fine? You already had fun with Shina-kun, didn't you? Then let me at least have this little bit of fun with you.

"Does that mean you're going to keep making fun of me?"

"That's what I was talking about."

"..."

Please spare me already.

With such silent protest in his gaze, Nozomu looked at Irisdina, but she turned back into a mischievous little girl and replied with a cute, pouty smile.

Once this happened, there was nothing Nozomu could do about it.

With a sigh of resignation and dismay, he slumped his shoulders once again. Irisdina was looking at Nozomu with her hand over her mouth, looking truly happy.

"That dress is different from the last one, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I had it tailored to match my current hair. It's totally different from the home party we had before. So, what do you think?"

Irisdina swiftly spread her arms open for Nozomu to see.

Her pure white dress was woven of smooth silk, and her skin was fair and fresh. Her gentle smile, combined with the silver ornaments, shined like a lunar goddess floating in the night sky.

"What I'm going to say may sounds generic, but it does suit you well. You looks very different from what I've seen of you so far, it's just like ..."

"Like what?"

"N, no, umm ..."

Realizing the line he was about to say, Nozomu fell silent.

"What is it? Why are you going silent?"

Irisdina, on the other hand, approached him without hesitation, as if she was curious about what Nozomu was about to say.

An elegant and beautiful face. Coupled with her jet-black eyes, in contrast to her pure white hair, making Nozomu involuntarily blush and flinch.

Irisdina, in the meantime, could easily see through Nozomu's feelings from his reaction.

Irisdina, elated by the fact that the man she loved was admiring her, smiled mischievously at him and closed the distance between them.

"Come on, tell me. What do you think of, Nozomu?"

(I want him to see more of myself. I want him to feel more of myself.)

Irisdina, driven by such maidenly feelings, pressed even closer to him, but then...

"You look just like the goddess of the moon. You're so, so beautiful ..."

"...……"

She was intercepted by a straightforward counter of Nozomu.

Irisdina's sense of embarrassment jumped up at once at Nozomu's words, which were more straightforward and sincere than she had anticipated.

"Why are you turning away?"

With her white skin dyed vermillion and her hands cupped together as if to cover herself, Irisdina turned her back to Nozomu.

She was clearly embarrassed.

Her cheeks, which peeked out from her long white hair that flowed freely from her shoulders, couldn't have turned any redder.

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"Iris, are you embarrassed?"

"...-not embarrassed."

Cute.

Nozomu felt a little bit of a pang in his heart as he recalled the exchange he had had with Shina not so long ago.

"Even though you told me to say it yourself..."

(I want to tease her some more.)

Prompted by the sense of amusement that welled up in his heart, coupled with the fact that Irisdina had made fun of him earlier, Nozomu couldn't help but get carried away.

"If I said I wasn't embarrassed, then I wasn't!"

"Uwa!"

Irisdina's fierce counterattack.

She quickly grabbed Nozomu's cheek with her right hand and pinched it rather seriously.

"I-, Iris, ouch~, ouch~."

"Gosh~!"

Irisdina dexterously reached out and pinched Nozomu's cheek with one of her two folded hands.

As expected of an aristocratic daughter, her elegant gestures remained in places, but of course, the other party participants were able to see this romantic drama, which changed offensively and defensively like a metronome...

"Iris-, Iris~."

"What!"

"They're watching."

"……Eh?"

Being told by Nozomu, Irisdina finally understood how much she had stood out from the crowd.

Looking around as prompted, she saw that the dignitaries attending the party were frozen with expressions on their faces as if they had seen something impossible.

The noble daughters who had been paying attention to Nozomu dropped the fan they were holding in their hands, and their mouths fell open in disbelief.

"~~~!"

Driven by a sense of embarrassment that had reached its peak, Irisdina twisted Nozomu's pinched cheek with all her might.

She then shook off the hand that was pinching him.

A shriek resounded along with the sound of the pinch.

"Higyaaa~!"

Nozomu writhed in agony due to the intense pain in his cheek, and Irisdina turned away from him while gracefully folding her arms.

Perhaps he thought he had indeed teased her a bit too much.

Nozomu apologized to Irisdina while holding his reddened cheeks.

"Sorry, Sorry. That was my bad."

However, the princess looked exceedingly dissatisfied, her cheeks puffed out in a childish manner.

Although he had a slight feeling of regret that he had gone too far, the sight of Irisdina sulking reminded Nozomu of her younger sister, Somia.

"But I guess you are sisters after all. You look a lot like Somia-chan."

"……Fuh~."

"It's true that you're not just pretty, you're beautiful, too. And that you look like a goddess."

"... Is that true?"

"I can't lie about something like this..."

Her dignified appearance was beautiful, but her childlike appearance was also adorable.

Nozomu, who truly believed this, spoke her mind straightforwardly.

Nozomu was only able to do so much.

Nozomu has never been a good talker and wasn't very good at flattery.

He did not have good communication skills.

(Be relaxed.)

That was the advice given to him earlier by Madam Parline, not to make the people he cared about feel insecure.

Based on that advice, Nozomu thought that he would have more relaxed to speak his mind straight out of his mouth rather than to make poor attempts to mend the situation.

But for Irisdina, Nozomu's honest and sincere words were sweeter than the ten thousand compliments she had received in the social world, and they were magic words that made her heart skip a beat.

"...I see. Fufu~."

Her heart, which had been full of dissatisfaction, was instantly filled with joy.

Before she knew it, the gazes of those around her were no longer bothering her at all.

Although Irisdina was surprised at her own heart, which was changing in the blink of an eye, she was delighted by the joy that surpassed her surprise.

At that moment, a particularly solemn music started.

Upon a closer look, one could see that many of the men and women who had gathered at the party had begun to join hands and gather in the center of the main hall.

The dancing had begun.

"Oh, it's starting."

"Ah……"

Irisdina turned around and grinned challengingly.

"Nozomu. Are you ready?"

"Umm……"

Ehem, ehem!* Nozomu also turned to face Irisdina, as he cleared his throat.

Remembering the practice they had done a few days earlier at the Francilte mansion, he put one hand on his chest and gently offered his hand to her.

"Lady, would you like to dance with me?"

"Yes, with pleasure..."

With her voice full of joy, Irisdina gracefully placed her hand on top of Nozomu's, who was a little trembling with nervousness.

Then, the two moved onto the dance hall in a fluid motion.

Irisdina's pure white dress fluttered as they began to dance accompanied by the magnificent music.

Nozomu's and Irisdina's bodies, which were leaning against each other, drew beautiful curves as they naturally moved their feet in time with each other.

The two dancers, guided by each other's hands, performed breathtaking dance moves in time with the music.

"What the..."

"No way..."

It was a basic dance routine, but the way they performed it was perhaps more impressive than expected, and the dignitaries and ladies who were watching them let out gasps of admiration.

Aside from Irisdina, a noblewoman, the fact that Nozomu, a commoner, was able to perform such a brilliant move was something they had not expected.

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Nozomu, who was originally well-versed in the martial arts, had a straight back and beautiful posture.

In addition, the two of them were in perfect sync with each other, and their movements were full of a sense of unity.

While the crowd was gaping at them, Nozomu and Irisdina had already lost sight of the presence of the dignitaries.

All they could see was their partners.

They continued to move their body in response to the heat from their overlapping hands and the feelings that welled up in their chests.

After a few twists and turns, they switched bodies and turned back to face each other, and then Nozomu raised his hand, and as if prompted by his hand, Irisdina made a single turn.

Nozomu and Irisdina then let go of each other's hands at the same time as they were flowing to the side, and they both did a circular turn.

Nozomu and Irisdina were smiling as they faced each other again and took each other's hands once more.

"Come to think of it, you said you would return the favor."

While dancing, Irisdina abruptly told Nozomu such a statement.

Nozomu looked surprised for a moment but immediately replied with a smile.

"... Alright. What do you want me to do?"

Irisdina said that he should pay her back for what he owed her, but when she thought about what she would ask him to do, she was at a loss for the right words to say.

What passed in her mind for a moment was a fellow student who was also attracted to Nozomu. It was the image of Shina in her azure dress.

Irisdina knew the significance of the blood covenant ritual that Shina had performed on Nozomu. She also had an idea of the effect the ritual would have on her.

And after seeing Shina's clearly sluggish performance in today's combat training, she was almost certain of this premonition.

At the same time, this meant that Shina had decided to sacrifice her own dreams in order to help Nozomu.

Such earnestness on Shina's part cast a shadow over Irisdina's heart.

"... Iris?"

Nozomu worriedly called out to Irisdina, whose expression was overshadowed by a gloomy look on her face.

The man whom she loved staring at her from up close. Just by that, Irisdina's heart pounded and throbbed, and at the same time, a tightening sadness overcame her.

The desire to be 'closer to him' and the guilt of 'being the only one' were in conflict and stirred Irisdina's heart again with a dull ache

Even so, she could not let Nozomu know her true feelings. She did not want him to know.

While trying to hold back the tears that were about to overflow and trying to mend her expression, Irisdina opened her mouth.

"A bell. I want a bell, a bell that Nozomu made..."

"A bell that I made?"

"You gave it to Somia, didn't you? Isn't it strange that I can't have one as well?"

What Irisdina wanted was a homemade bell that Nozomu had gifted to her sister on her sister's birthday.

It was an ordinary bell, neither expensive nor beautifully decorated in any way.

But Irisdina remembered it.

She remembered that when her sister looked at the bell that Nozomu had given her, she seemed to remember the sender of the bell with a very happy expression on her face.

She also remembered how she envied her sister so much for receiving such a gift.

"Okay, I'll be sure to make one for you."

"Great. It's a promise, okay?"

"Of course."

As Irisdina smiled back at Nozomu, who had agreed to her request, she felt the pain in her chest grow duller.

At the same time, Nozomu's presence became very distant.

"This is fine. This is more than enough. I am not as honest as Somia, nor as pure as Shina. Even so, this much is acceptable, right? ..."

Irisdina froze her own heart, telling herself that she should not be the one standing beside Nozomu.

Still, Irisdina kept on smiling, as she was used to mending her facial expressions.

No matter who looked at her smile, it seemed as if she was genuinely pleased with the gift that Nozomu would give her.

"... Iris, why are you making such a face?"

"... Eh?"

However, her mask was easily shattered by a single word from Nozomu.

"Somehow, you look like you're about to cry..."

(What was Nozomu saying? There is no way I look like I'm about to cry.)

She told herself so, but the look in Nozomu's eyes as she gazed into them could not have been more sorrowful.

"……"

"What's wrong-... ~!?"

The surprise of her fake smile being seen through, and the heat that rose from the joy of her true self being seen.

On the other hand, the fear of not wanting the person she loved to see through her petty feelings stirred violently in Irisdina's heart.

"I'm okay..."

"There's no way you're okay..."

The sublime, lively music that had resounded earlier had somehow changed to a flowing, calming rhythm.

While swaying her body attuned to the calm music, Irisdina quickly leaned in close to Nozomu and buried her face in his chest.

"I-, I'm okay. So, for now, just dance with me like this without saying anything ... please."

Irisdina, tormented by a sense of defeat and guilt, could only sob and hide from her surroundings as she endured the pain in her chest.

Nozomu, on the other hand, could only accept Irisdina's clinging to him, as he seemed to have no idea what was going on.

Silence filled the air around them.

Nozomu had no idea what was going on in Irisdina's mind.

Even so, he couldn't just leave her like this.

He did not want her to look so sad. With such a thought in his mind, Nozomu tried to open his mouth.

"Iris, I … ~!?"

At that moment, a fierce chill ran down Nozomu's spine.

A presence that surpassed even that white dragon, Azel, and was more monstrous than any presence he had ever felt before.

A chilly presence, as if thrown into an ice field, was approaching right around the corner.

Nozomu's gaze turned to the entrance of the party hall.

"Nozomu?"

Irisdina, noticing something wrong with Nozomu, looked doubtful and followed Nozomu's gaze.

Before they knew it, the music that had been playing had stopped, and all the people at the party were transfixed by a presence.

"Ah, my apologies. I didn't mean to startle you."

A beautiful, silver-haired woman in a crimson dress appeared.

While exuding a majestic presence and icy beauty, her silky silver hair shone like diamond dust in the light of the magic lamps.

"Greetings. I am Vitora Rutarak Daat Waziart. I am one of the feudal lords of the Dizzard Empire."

With a beautiful voice that could not help but attract all living things and crimson eyes reminiscent of blood, glaring at all those before her, the vampire princess announced her name.

Chapter 8.22

Vitora Rutarak Daat Waziart.

She is the current head of the Waziart household, a prominent family in the Dizzard Empire.

At her side stands Rugato, who once faced Nozomu and Irisdina.

DIzzard Empire, which has been hidden away in the extreme cold of the northern regions, has never appeared on the public stage until now.

But now, such a country's leading figure has suddenly paid a visit to Arcazam.

Having finally swallowed this fact, the dignitaries of the other countries began to clamor and make a lot of noise.

Meanwhile, Nozomu and Irisdina were speechless and stiffened.

Nozomu, in particular, was greatly surprised, as he had thought that the disturbances between Waziart and Francilt had been settled already.

"My apologies for joining the party on such short notice. Well, you don't have to worry about me. I won't mind you guys either."

Speaking towards the surrounding dignitaries with a line that could be either an acknowledgment or a provocation, Vitora proceeded to step forward.

Her gaze fell on the plain swordsman who had just been dancing.

The sound of Vitora's footsteps echoing on the marble floor was unpleasantly loud to Nozomu's ears.

"Is it you, the one who defeated Rugato? I believe it was ... Nozomu Bountis, was it?"

"… Yes."

The moment she confirmed Nozomu's existence, Vitora's expressionless mouth lifted up in amusement.

The sharp canine teeth, characteristic of vampires, peeking out of Vitora's mouth, further aroused Nozomu's wariness.

Nozomu pulled Irisdina's hand and tried to hide her behind him.

The target during that last incident of the secret agreement was a direct descendant of the Francilt household.

Then it would not be surprising if Irisdina was the next target instead of Somia.

However, Irisdina gently held Nozomu's hand, which was trying to get her to move back, and separated herself from him, then turned to face Vitora.

"Dear head of the Waziart household, how may I help you?"

"Hm? Who are you?"

Vitora's eyes, which had once again returned to a blank expression, looked at Irisdina with a sideways glance.

"I am Irisdina Francilt, the next head of the Francilt family."

"Ah, you are of that household. I see, so it was you."

A question mark popped into Nozomu's head when Vitora said that she had just noticed and still with a blank expression on her face.

If she was dissatisfied with the settlement of past secret agreements and came here to protest, or perhaps to retaliate, it was unnatural that she did not even know Irisdina's face.

(Could it be that they are not here for Iris and the other? If so, what on earth did this head of the family come to Arcazam for?)

While thinking about the questions that came to his mind, Nozomu glanced at Rugato, who was standing behind her.

The old vampire butler bowed reverently when he noticed Nozomu's gaze.

A butler who could simultaneously control ten magics and attempted to take Somia's soul with the vast experience and unusual abilities of the long-lived species.

Even the four of them, Irisdina, Mars, and Tima, were overwhelmed by him, and Nozomu was finally able to defeat him by bringing out Tiamat's power.

Considering that the head of the Waziart family, including the old butler, visited Arcazam in person, there was no way that the Francilt family was not involved.

"What... I came to this city because I had some business to attend to, and I just dropped by because I was a little curious about this party."

On the other hand, the head of the family, who was the subject behind the incident, answered Irisdina's question in a matter-of-fact manner.

Her tone of voice was completely devoid of any emotion.

Although she said she was interested in the party, it was clear that she did not mean what she said.

"Master, the other party has come to see you."

"Oh, are they here already?"

"Vitora-dono, I apologize for keeping you waiting."

It was Victor who came to intervene.

With Mena standing behind him, he faced Vitora and bowed with a calm expression on his face.

"Don't sweat it. I just arrived myself."

Irisdina, facing her father, who was facing Vitora with a calm expression on his face, called out to him, filled with doubts.

"Father, what's going on?"

"I am the one who has invited the leading figures of the Dizzard Empire to this party. I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to have a word with them."

Irisdina's eyes were tinged with shock when she learned that it was her father who had invited Vitora to the party.

Irisdina gave a questioning look to Mena, who was standing behind Victor, but Mena's expression remained unchanged.

Irisdina turned her gaze to Victor again, but he didn't seem to be concerned about it, as if this was a predetermined course of action for him.

"Well, that's the way it is. We may get along in the future. So, why don't we get to know each other's faces first?"

Vitora, who opened her mouth in the form of taking advantage of Victor's insistence, replied to Irisdina in an indifferent manner.

"Then, let me show you around. Please come this way... Irisdina, I'm going to be a little busy. Don't worry about us, enjoy the party."

"... No, father, I'm going with you. Nozomu, I'm sorry. The dance ends here."

"I'll go with you."

"No, I don't think we can go that far."

Irisdina softly and firmly rejected Nozomu's words, and glanced at the surrounding participants of the party.

Irisdina's look made Nozomu understand what she was trying to say.

At the moment, there were many dignitaries from various countries gathered at this guest facility.

If they were to cause a commotion like the one at the Francilte mansion before, it would surely involve the other guests present here.

Even for the Waziart family, it would be unthinkable to cause such an incident at this place.

"Nozomu, please stay here. I don't know what Father and that woman are thinking, but if Nozomu, who is getting a lot of attention right now, goes with them, there might be some people who will make even stranger assumptions."

Irisdina told him not to worry, but Nozomu could not nod his head to her words.

Vitora, who now has a cold, blank expression on her face, was clearly smiling at Nozomu earlier, a smile filled with emotion, and it stuck in his mind.

More than anything, Nozomu was more worried about the fact that Irisdina was near the head of the family that had tried to take Somia's soul away.

"But you are going to go with the people who are connected to that household ..."

"It's all right. I'm just going to follow them around a bit. Besides, ..."

Irisdina again turned her gaze to a corner of the hall.

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There was Jihad walking toward them, carrying the giant sword "Jaw Drop" on his back.

"Pardon me for interrupting."

"... Hou~, you're quite good. What's your name?"

"Jihad Raundel. I am in charge of security for this venue. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Death Demon Princess."

Jihad bowed to Vitora, who looked at him again with eyes filled with joy.

"Please allow me to join you. You are the first foreign visitor to our city. As a representative of this school, it would be impolite if I did not show you around."

"Jihad-dono, that's not going to happen. However, I appreciate your concern."

Jihad offered to accompany them as their guide, whereas Victor spoke to him in a reserved manner.

However, there was a hint of mutual understanding in their words.

Had Jihad heard from Victor in advance?

But whatever their true intentions were, it was clear that Jihad's presence here was an obvious deterrent.

Jihad, carrying his beloved Mithril armor and a giant sword, was in a condition ready for battle, despite the calmness in his voice.

"Hm, you seem to be very wary of me. Rest assured, I will not be a fool to wield my power against a mere mortal.

"…………"

On the other hand, Vitora, who was being watched closely, was saying in a lighthearted tone, "There is nothing to worry about", and was stuffing her cheeks with cheese on a nearby table.

No matter how strong Jihad might be, the other party was a being that could be compared to a natural disaster.

From the point of view of the vampire princess, even Jihad was not enough of a threat.

This situation truly represented that fact, and perhaps understanding this fact, Jihad's mouth was clenched tight as well.

"Besides, it's time for our family to start looking outside of our territory. That is why, although it is sudden, I have been invited to participate in this event through an introduction by the Francilt family."

Vitora turned her back toward Jihad, who was wary of her, and seemed to look completely unperturbed and relaxed.

Her words about being introduced by the Francilt family caused all the surrounding eyes to turn to Vitor at once.

The numerous gazes contain a mixture of surprise and suspicion, but Victor smiled and did not seem to lose his composure.

While Victor continued to show his unchanged attitude toward Vitora, Irisdina's face was distorted as if she was biting a bitter bug.

It was clear from her expression that she had heard nothing from Victor.

But she could not question her father here and now. For there were numerous dignitaries around her who were similarly intrigued by the situation.

Irisdina, for the time being, spoke to Nozomu, who was standing by her side as if to protect her.

"Nozomu, you should return to the party ..."

Nozomu is at a critical turning point right now.

Irisdina herself did not fully understand what was going on, but she felt that it was not a good idea to keep Nozomu by her side at the moment.

Fortunately, the surrounding eyes were on Vitora.

Irisdina tried to tell Nozomu to leave during this time, but ...

"Oh right, since we're here, why don't we have some of the students come along too? I'd love to talk to some of the students from this academy."

Before Irisdina could even speak to him, Vitora beat her to it.

Vitora's words carried obvious curiosity, and the eyes of the surrounding people turned to Nozomu.

Nozomu, too, met Vitola's gaze head-on, as if he was not about to back down.

"... Yeah, that's okay."

"Okay, then, let's go."

At this moment, the fact that Nozomu was even being noticed by that Death Demon Princess was made known.

It would now be impossible for Nozomu to hide.

Behind Nozomu's shadow, Irisdina bit her lip as she distorted her expression.

With Victor in the lead, the group went around greeting people.

However, even after Victor's introduction, Vitora only replied with a curt "Oh," or "I see", and showed no interest in paying attention to them.

The dignitaries who were introduced to Vitora also had sweat beading on their faces and just lowered their heads.

It was not surprising.

The presence of Vitora was one thing, but the presence of Jihad, who was ready to fight, and Rugato, who was waiting in the shadows to keep him in check, made the atmosphere in this group even tenser.

In such a small space, the most powerful people on the continent were gathered and vigilant. It was like a dragon, a gryphon, and a chimera were facing each other.

If there were the slightest spark of fire, there would surely be an explosion.

In the midst of such an active volcano on the verge of erupting, Vitora was the only one who seemed to be relaxed.

"Fumu~, this sure is delicious. It's much better than the ones made in my own territory."

Vitora, who seemed to like the cheese that was served as part of the dish, was again admiring it as she picked a piece of it from the plate on the table.

She rolled it around in her mouth as if savoring each bite, and then slurped it down with a glass of wine in her hand.

Meanwhile, Nozomu was amazed at the way Vitora was tasting the cheese.

"Is it strange? For me, a vampire, to taste wine and things made by human hands?"

"N-, no, umm..."

Vitora, noticing Nozomu's gaze, turned to look at him with a smile.

Her eyes were not as emotionless as they had been earlier when she had been introduced to the dignitaries by Victor, and they were clearly tinged with interest.

"Just because we're vampires doesn't mean we drink only blood all the time. Our needs remain the same, and we do need other foods to sustain our lives."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Nonetheless, blood is still the most delicious thing for us. We all have different tastes, but sometimes we are so addicted to blood that some of our people even commit acts of violence."

While saying so, Vitora drank the remaining wine in her glass.

The sight of the crimson liquid, reminiscent of blood, running down her thin lips and disappearing was so glamorous that one could not help but let out a gasp.

"Blood is an inseparable part of our lives. I myself am concerned about the blood I drink."

"Hou~, I am somewhat curious to know what the princess's preferences are."

Vitora's smile deepened as she answered Jihad's question from the side.

"It's simple. It's the blood of those who seek victory without wavering. It's the blood of those who struggle toward victory, even if they lose their limbs, even if they crawl on the ground, even if all hope is taken away from them."

As she answered, Vitola's eyes, which had been fixed on Nozomu, instantly squinted.

The next moment, a gust of wind blew across Nozomu's cheeks.

"Eh……"

The pain running down his cheek made Nozomu involuntarily let out a gasp.

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Wondering what was going on, Nozomu put his hand on his aching cheek, and felt a sticky, slippery sensation spreading across his palm.

At the same time, an irony, rusty scent wafted into his nose.

When he looked down at the hand that he used to wipe his cheek, he saw that there was a sticky patch of blood on it.

When Nozomu turned his gaze back to Vitora, he saw that her pure white fingernails were also covered in Nozomu's blood.

Vitora looked at Nozomu's blood on her nails with a look of ecstasy on her face.

"So this is your blood. I see, you are young, and the color is very vivid."

Nozomu's entire body broke out in a cold sweat.

As soon as Vitora showed up at this venue, Nozomu's body had entered a state of alertness.

Even if he was unaware of it, the hellish training he received from his master and the experience he gained from overcoming numerous training courses made him able to respond to even the surprise attack of a top-class assassin on an subconscious level.

Despite this, Nozomu was unable to respond to Vitora's casual swing of her arm toward him.

Before Nozomu could react and move his body, Vitora's claw, already lightly swung, sliced through Nozomu's cheek.

This was proof that there was a disparity in ability between the two, to the extent that there was no room for personal skill to intervene.

In fact, even Jihad, who was aware of this fact, was wide-eyed in astonishment.

Irisdina, who had been standing by Nozomu's side and watching what was going on, spoke up.

"Vitora-dono, doing such a thing in this place is……"

"It is all right, isn't it? I'm not even killing him."

"He's... not your blood bag."

Though quiet, Irisdina's tone of voice was filled with clear anger.

In response to Irisdina's protest, Vitora finally turned her gaze on her.

The gaze of a powerful person, equal in power to a disaster, was directed at a single girl.

Even so, Irisdina directed her expressionless indignation at Vitora, who had wounded Nozomu and was now entranced by his blood.

"What, you're angry? Hm, I thought he was into Francilt, but was it the other way around?"

"~ !?"

Perhaps amused by Irisdina's attitude, Vitora released some inciting words.

Irisdina was about to become even more agitated by those words, but it was Victor who warned her.

"Irisdina, stand down."

"Father ..."

"Stand down."

"…… Pardon me."

After being warned by her father, Irisdina bit her lip in frustration, then bowed and stepped back.

Confirming that his daughter had stepped back, Victor once again bowed toward Vitora.

"I apologize about my daughter."

"It's fine. After all, I was the one who interrupted their precious time together. I have the capacity to let this level of rudeness slide."

Having lost interest in Irisdina, who backed down after being warned, Vitora once again looked at Nozomu's blood on her fingernails and slowly took a mouthful of it.

She spread it on her tongue as if she were tasting candy and tasted it with great care.

Eventually, with a smacking lips sound, the white porcelain finger was pulled out of her mouth.

Her expression was happy but somewhat unsatisfied.

"It's not bad, but ... you seem a bit lost, don't you?"

"…………"

"I see, now it's not the right time ... Rugato, let's go home."

"As you wish."

Vitora turned on her heel and began to walk away, as if she had no more business here.

The dignitaries in front of her opened the way as if the tide was receding.

Vitora, who had been walking along the open path, suddenly looked back as if she had just remembered something.

"Oh right, Francilt. I will send an envoy later. We shall discuss the terms of our agreement regarding our territory."

"Yes. I look forward to it."

"Agreement?"

The word "agreement" stuck in Nozomu's mind.

Hearing this word, the dignitaries were all buzzing.

With surprised expressions on their faces, the dignitaries whispered something to their attendants, and the attendants left the venue immediately after hearing what was being said.

While Nozomu was puzzled by the scene, Vitora and Rugato had disappeared from the venue.

"Jihad-dono. Thank you."

Viktor lowered his head to Jihad.

Jihad nodded and accepted Victor's sincere gratitude, but his hardened expression remained unchanged.

"Victor-dono, as the representative of Solminati, I find this matter extremely regrettable. From now on, the Academy will have nothing to do with this matter."

"I understand. Let's go, Irisdina."

"…… Yes."

Irisdina followed Victor as he turned on his heel and walked away.

She glanced back at Nozomu with a dark expression on her face, but quickly returned her gaze and walked away.

Her expression was grave, completely different from the cheerful one she had shown earlier.

Nozomu's fist clenched tightly as he looked away from Irisdina.

At that moment, Jihad suddenly said something to Nozomu.

"Nozomu-kun. Keep your distance from her for a while."

"Eh?"

"Don't you see? Vitora's attention was clearly focused only on you. You seem to be of considerable interest to her."

"…………"

Nozomu felt it too.

It was always only Nozomu, not the Francilts or Jihad that Vitora treated with genuine interest.

The fact that she was willing to lick Nozomu's blood in such a public and visible place showed that her interest in Nozomu was extraordinary in comparison to others.

Nozomu was in a state of extreme tension, but at the same time he was perplexed by the friction between Waziart household and Francilt household, which he thought was over, and by Jihad's bitter words toward Victor.

"Let's move to a different place. Come."

Jihad, who had been observing Nozomu, urged him to follow him and left the venue.

Nozomu looked for a moment in the direction Irisdina and the others had left, but then tightened his expression and followed Jihad's lead.

Chapter 8.23

Unlike the glamorous and bustling reception hall, the school building was quiet at night.

Jihad guided Nozomu to his office in the school.

Jihad turned on the room's magic light and urged Nozomu to sit on the sofa. They took their seats facing each other.

"I think we're good here."

"So, what do you mean by not getting involved with Iris?"

In response to Nozomu's question, Jihad poured water from the jug in his hand into a glass and gulped it down in one gulp.

Jihad opened his mouth slowly as he looked down at the empty glass he had just drank.

"First of all, let me tell you what Victor-dono told me regarding this matter. According to him, a representative of the Waziart family will be visiting the academy at this party. Also, they would like to hold a meeting here in Arcazam to discuss the soon-to-be concluded agreement between Forsina and the Dizzard Empire."

Victor told Jihad that once the agreement had been concluded at the meeting, the agreement would become effective and diplomatic relations between the two countries would be established.

"Regarding this matter, Arcazam's council has given its approval. There is no doubt that Arcazam's position is ideal for the first agreement with the Dizzard Empire, which until now has not established diplomatic relations with any country."

At the same time, if things went well, it would be possible to bring information, human resources, and technology from the Dizard Empire to Arcazam.

Not only that, but Dizzard Empire's side could also establish a precedent of negotiations and consultations with other countries, which would facilitate the numerous inter-state negotiations that would take place in the future.

Nozomu also understood what Jihad meant and nodded quietly.

"We believe that the reason the head of the Waziart family, a prominent figure in the Dizzard Empire, attended this party was to make this agreement known. That was probably done in consideration of the national security of Forsina Kingdom, the benefits to Dizzard Empire, and the impact on the various countries. The party was originally intended to be a meeting place for the students of Solminati Academy and the dignitaries of various countries, but under certain circumstances, such as in this case, some consideration was given."

Originally, the main purpose of the party was to build bridges between participating students and various countries, but as long as dignitaries from other countries gather, it was inevitable that situations such as negotiations and discussions between countries would occur there.

For this reason, Arcazam also took into consideration the tacit understanding to a certain extent, and did not condemn the event.

Although Vitora's participation was quite unexpected even for the school, the participation of Waziart family in the party itself was not a problem.

"But if there is a possibility of danger to the school's students, it would be a different story. Especially in the case of an important student like you, who is in potential danger from the vampire princess ..."

Originally, when Victor told the school that a representative of the Waziart household would be coming to Arcazam, the school had planned to have Jihad attend the meeting.

When it came to dealing with such a powerful person from a foreign country, there was no one but Jihad who was qualified for the job.

However, as it turned out, even Jihad was no match for them. This made it impossible for the school to keep the Waziart household in check by force, in case of emergency.

Furthermore, what the school did not expect was that the head of Waziart household had a peculiar interest in a certain person.

Moreover, the school had to be wary of this particular person, a student to whom the school had given a great deal of attention.

"Regarding this agreement, the academy is not aware of the backstory of the Francilt and Waziart households, but we do have some idea of Victor-dono's thoughts regarding the purpose of the agreement."

The purpose of the agreement was to ensure the national security of the Forsina Kingdom.

Jihad understood that it was a move to keep its powerful neighboring country, the Cremazzone Empire, in check.

And his thinking was almost the same as Victor's aim.

"The problem is that Victor-dono may have been using you from the beginning to bring the Waziart household into the public eye."

"…… What do you mean?"

"That vampire princess is not even showing interest in the person with whom she is making the agreement, Victor-dono. It is not difficult to imagine who would want to establish this agreement."

It was the Francilt family, not the Waziart family, that wanted to establish the agreement.

And Jihad believed that Victor himself also understood that Vitora was not interested in him.

"I don't know to what extent, but at least in my opinion, it is by no means unlikely that he used you to gain the interest of the Waziart family."

Whether Viktor might have used the enormous bait called Nozomu to draw the Waziart household into negotiations was a concern that came to the surface of Jihad's mind.

"This event is held for the future of the students, and although there may be some political bargaining, the way Victor used you as a pretext and gave you away as a prize is unacceptable. In fact, there is still a great deal of commotion in the venue."

Regardless of Victor's true intentions, Jihad could not tolerate any behavior that would cause harm to the students.

From the school's point of view, it would be a natural decision.

Especially in the case of a particularly sensitive student like Nozomu, who could be both peculiar and dangerous.

Therefore, Jihad clearly stated to Nozomu:

"You are a student of Solminati."

Behind those words, he clearly meant, "You are not to be involved in this agreement at all."

And once again, the academy had made it clear that they would not be involved in any way with the Francilt family, even if they did not say so.

"... Iris, too-."

"But before that, she is the next head of the Francilt family. The premise is different."

Nozomu stated that Irisdina was also a student like him, but his words were easily denied by Jihad.

Irisdina Francilt is the next head of the Francylt household of Forsina, one of the biggest contributors to the current turmoil.

Hence, Irisdina's duties as a head of the family come with her obligations as a landlord.

On the other hand, Nozomu's position is that of a commoner student, regardless of his ability.

Even if he possessed some kind of extraordinary power, he would have no political influence or responsibility at this point.

"Your true identity has not been made public, but if it were known, who knows where it would affect you? Moreover, you have no control over that power yet."

Moreover, Nozomu's control of his power was still unstable.

Rather, the very fact that he is "hiding" such power could lead not only to a political bomb, but also to a real disaster.

"It is too dangerous for you to be involved with the Waziart household right now. Both for you and for your friends."

"……"

He wanted to be of help. No matter how much he thought and wished so, the reality was like a chain, entangling Nozomu's legs.

Understanding the problems he now faced and Irisdina's current situation, Nozomu clenched his fists and bit his lip in frustration.

"I don't want you to misunderstand me, I am not abandoning them. The fact that Victor invited the Waziart family to this city and made it known to the public means that the terms of the agreement have almost been agreed upon. I can only assume that they are at least talking about making it public."

Seeing Nozomu's condition, Jihad continued his words slowly, perhaps with the intention of comforting him

"Until the agreement is made official, it's better for her and for you to maintain some distance. Do you understand?"

"…………"

Nozomu clenched his fists as if to stifle the sense of frustration and helplessness spreading deep in his chest.

As if to show his frustration, blood dripped from his palm, carving red spots on the white marble floor.

While Nozomu was in the midst of meeting with Jihad, Irisdina was silently questioning her own father in the carriage on the way home.

In the rattling carriage, Irisdina's stern gaze was fixed on Victor.

Viktor, on the other hand, was looking out the window as if he didn't give a damn about such a look from his daughter.

"Father, what does this mean?"

In response to Irisdina's question, which could be called impolite, Victor glanced at her, exhaled deeply once, and opened his mouth.

"First of all, the secret agreement that our ancestors had made with the Waziart family has been annulled due to the loss of the written contract between the two families. However, the fact that the Francilt family had a secret agreement in the past does not disappear, and above all, if we unilaterally break the contract, there will still be friction between us and the Waziart family."

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"Is this some kind of an agreement to dissolve that, and then hide it from the public? What are the details?"

"I will not go into the details, but I will say that it is a restricted trade agreement. We will pay all the necessary costs for the implementation of the agreement. That is the terms of the agreement."

Irisdina nodded in understanding upon hearing Victor's words.

From the point of view of the Waziart family, the Francilt family is a family of wrongdoers who had reneged on a past agreement.

Regardless of the fact that Irisdina and Victor were unaware of the existence of the secret agreement, it was a family matter and had nothing to do with the Waziart family.

That was why, in order to wash away that stigma, they had to present and hand over something more than what corresponded to it.

For this reason, Victor had promised the Waziart family that he would provide them with a great deal of financial resources.

"The purpose of this agreement is not only to hide the secret agreement, but also to bring the Waziart family and the Dizzard Empire into the public eye and to strengthen the national security of our country and, by extension, of the continent. I have already spoken to the king about this agreement."

For the current Francilt family, the past secret agreements are a deadly poison, but that poison can also be a medicine when used in the right way.

If it was about compensation for unilaterally breaking the past secret agreements, money might seem to be an easier option, but once a great deal of money was involved, it would be impossible to deceive the eyes of the public.

If this were to happen, the secret agreements that the Francilt family had made would also come to light.

To prevent such a reeking mess from spreading uncontrolled, a suitable cover story could be put together by involving those with whom one shared an interest and shared a common secret.

And the fewer and more powerful the parties to be involved, the better.

In this sense, Victor's persuasion of his country's king to bring him in was undoubtedly the best move he could have made.

The problem was that the Waziart family is a vampire and has had conflicting relations with the human race in the past, but this too could be minimized by limiting the places, people, and goods with which they trade.

Furthermore, if the Francilts were to provide all of their assets, it would make them look good, and to a certain extent, it would keep the pursuit of those from other families who were unaware of the situation to a minimum.

Of course, Irisdina understood this as well. She would also make the same choice if she could.

"I understand your reasons for fulfilling the agreement. But I don't think that's the only reason ..."

What Irisdina was concerned about was whether Nozomu would be included in their "offer" to the Waziart family.

At the moment, Nozomu is a student at the Solminati Academy and has no direct relationship with the Francilt family or the Forsina Kingdom externally.

However, such things were irrelevant in the world of politics.

There were plenty of excuses to be made, and plenty of ways to get things done.

And Irisdina knew that her father, too, would use devious means if he had to.

In fact, Victor responded to the great invasion ten years ago by using such means.

"Whichever path we take, we have no choice but to press our way through. We have to rinse out the wrongdoings caused by our ancestors..."

"So you would even use your benefactors for that purpose?"

Irisdina let out a groan as she bit her lip tightly...

A burning rage welled up and burned deep in her chest.

What Victor was doing was a very natural thing for a politician to do.

If the agreement with the Dizzard Empire further strengthened the national security of Forsina, and if many other countries followed suit and established relations with the Empire, it would be a trump card against the demon beasts' invasion that might occur again, and it would contribute to the stability of the continent.

In the long run, it would be a good thing, an agreement that would benefit the Francilt family, Forsina, and the Dizzard Empire. To put it bluntly, it seemed almost perfect.

But there was no such thing as perfect politics. Behind the pleasant words and results, there would always be someone else's invisible sweat and blood.

And this "someone" is likely to be a figure that Irisdina will not be able to ignore.

For Irisdina, this was something unacceptable.

"Irisdina, protecting something also means not protecting the other thing at the same time. You know that, don't you?"

Perhaps reading his daughter's fury, Victor's gaze and words were directed at Irisdina, not as a father, but as a politician.

His sharp, piercing, rock-like eyes and heavy voice rapidly pulled the spirit of the next head of the Francilt family out of Irisdina and rapidly cooled her agitated emotions.

And Irisdina, whose raging emotions were rapidly cooled, was forced to understand even more deeply the situation in which they were now placed.

Now that things had grown so serious, the Francilt family had to make this agreement at any cost if they wanted to survive.

If they failed, the Francilt family would face retribution from the Waziart family and lose the king's trust.

And they would fall in the blink of an eye.

Even if they could survive as nobles, at the very least, the families that Irisdina held dear would surely be ruined.

Victor would be held responsible and imprisoned, and Irisdina and her family would be forced to leave under the influence of their political opponents and relatives who would try to evade their responsibility.

The consequences after that would be beyond imagination.

Therefore, in order for the Francilt family to survive, this agreement had to be concluded at all costs.

"But things were more complicated than I thought."

And the brilliant mind of Irisdina, as the next head of the Francilt family, had incisively raised the offer of Nozomu Bountis to Vitora as one of the most viable options.

"~ ..."

At the same time, a sense of disgust, as if a centipede were crawling all over her body, and a chill, as if she had been left under a winter sky, enveloped Irisdina.

Irisdina hugged herself to endure the biting chill and disgust.

Victor's eyes were cold, which was unimaginable from his usual childlike nature.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"…………"

"Then we're done talking."

Before she knew it, the carriage had already arrived at the gate of the Francilt mansion.

The maid who had come to meet them reverently opened the carriage door, and Victor disappeared into the mansion with Mena, without even looking back at his daughter.

For a moment, Irisdina sat stunned on the seat of the carriage, but eventually she got out of the carriage in a groggy manner.

Her complexion had turned so pale that it was recognizable even in the dark of night.

"Ane-sama……"

"Somia..."

Upon hearing the word "Ane-sama", Irisdina raised her eyes and saw Somia coming out of the mansion and walking right in front of her.

Somia was the intended target of the secret agreement.

Perhaps she had been told about the matter beforehand, but her expression was tinged with anxiety and concern, and her eyes were brimming with tears.

"Ane-sama, u-, um… are you okay…?"

Irisdina's intelligent younger sister, although she already understood the situation she was in, was concerned about her sister's haggard condition.

Seeing her healthy and lovely appearance, Irisdina forced herself to put a lid on the disgust that welled up in her, and mobilized all the muscles in her face to smile.

"It's all right. Don't worry."

"But ... about Nozomu-san..."

Irisdina smiled to reassure her sister, but Somia's expression did not clear up at all. As if that wasn't enough, Irisdina reached for Somia's head.

"It's okay. I will never let anyone touch either him or Somia."

Perhaps, wanting to reassure her little sister, Irisdina kept stroking her beloved sister's head slowly, putting her feelings into it as best she could.

"It's alright, it'll be alright..."

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She kept saying so, as if telling herself, over and over again...

After returning to his room in the mansion, Victor went to the liquor cabinet at the end of the room and quickly took out a bottle of liquor, opened the cork, and slurped it down in one gulp.

What he gulped down was the distilled liquor that Madam Parline liked to drink.

The strong, burning sensation of the liquor burning his throat almost made Victor choke, but he forced himself to gulp it down, as if he were trying to swallow down the discomfort that was rising up from his stomach.

In the blink of an eye, more than half of the bottle's remaining liquor had disappeared into Victor's gut.

"~ ... Damn it!"

Even after drinking the entire contents of the bottle, Victor's frustration did not disappear.

As if to dispel his unquenchable discomfort, he threw the empty bottle in his hand against the wall.

The bottle smashed against the marble wall and shattered with a hard, crashing sound.

Not paying attention to the scattered pieces of the bottle, Victor grabbed another bottle of liquor from the liquor cabinet. A bottle of liquor was far too little to relieve his current frustration.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door.

Victor replies in a rough tone, "come in", and the door opened to reveal Mena.

"Viktor-sama."

"... Mena. How is Somia doing?"

"Miss Somiriana is refusing to leave her room along with Miss Irisdina."

"I see. Somia should take a break from school for a while. At least until this matter is over ..."

Opening the lid of the bottle in his hand, Victor gulped down another bottle of liquor.

The second bottle Victor picked up was a fermented liquor made from grain that had come from the East.

The price alone of this expensive gem is even more expensive than the distilled liquor, but Victor gulped down almost half of it in one gulp.

At the sight of her Master, Mena frowned for a moment, but she kept a composed and unaffected demeanor.

"What about Miss Irisdina?"

"Irisdina will be attending the school as usual, because we need her to get in touch with that brat."

Victor believed that the school had already warned Nozomu to stay away from the Francilt family.

And, in fact, as Victor thought, Jihad had advised Nozomu to do so.

Contrary to Jihad's concerns, however, Victor did not use Nozomu for political purposes.

It would be too risky, politically and technically.

However, the situation was already imminent.

Considering all the circumstances, the Francilt family had to take all possible measures.

Perhaps a little less irritated after gulping down a large amount of liquor all at once, Victor began to drink the other half by taking small sips of the remaining contents.

For a moment, a silence passed between Victor and Mena.

"Was that so unexpected?"

It was Mena who broke the silence.

In her tone of voice, which sounded like she was confirming something, one could sense a certain conviction in it.

"About what?"

"For the head of the Waziart household visited us in person. That has never happened before."

"Well, yeah..."

Vitora's sudden visit was unexpected, even for Victor.

The head of the Waziart family didn't even show up at the previous negotiations, let alone at the apology meeting Victor went to in person.

Of course, Victor had heard from Irisdina that Rugato had told her that Vitora was not interested in the secret agreement, but this was not sufficient to make a conclusion.

At first, Victor thought that Rugato's words were a message that he was not interested in listening to what they had to say, but after persistent negotiations, he realized that Vitora was not at all interested in the Francilt family or the past secret agreements.

If Vitora had been so determined to fulfill the past secret agreements, she would have come to Arcazam long ago to reap Somia's soul, without regard to the eyes of those around her.

She is a monster with that kind of audacity and the power to push through her arrogance.

"Damn, I didn't expect the consequences of cleaning up after the foolish people of the past to be so messy ..."

Victor's prediction was decisively off the mark because of the sudden change of heart of the head of the Waziart family.

The name of Nozomu had never been mentioned in the negotiation process up to this point, nor had it ever been mentioned by the Waziart family.

Negotiations were going well, and for Victor, it was more difficult to negotiate with his own family's relatives and with the various parties involved.

This was partly because Rugato was trying to smooth things over for his own master and people, who were not interested in the Francilt family or the secret agreement.

In other words, Victor did not even need to use Nozomu politically in the first place.

"Sir, who in the world leaked Nozomu-sama's identity to the Waziart family?"

"Given the timing, the most suspicious person is Egrod. If he doesn't know about the existence of the beings keeping an eye on Nozomu Bountis or the fact that he is currently unable to control his powers, then it is quite possible."

Although it was possible that it was the chairman of Arcazam who had heard about his true identity with him, in the first place, Egrod's underlings were also residing in this city.

As for Jihad, he believed that it was almost certainly Egrod who leaked Nozomu's identity to the Waziart family, and that Mekria, his close aide, was involved in the matter.

"Sir, is there any chance that Zonne-dono will make a move on this matter?…"

"I doubt it. That old man is a dragon, and this is only a matter between human races."

Zonne is currently teaching Nozomu as a Dragon Slayer, but his position is that of a mentor, but at the same time, he is a guardian of Tiamat.

His position is both delicate and peculiar. He is monitoring Tiamat, while at the same time teaching Nozomu.

However, he is only cooperating with them as a dragon race.

Naturally, there is no reason for him to cooperate with the human race, and he would not try to interfere.

"Besides, Zonne-dono is testing that brat. He won't intervene unless it's really the worst-case scenario."

And for Zonne, the crisis of the Francilt family was not a matter for him to meddle in.

He only intervened in Azel's case because Tiamat was about to be resurrected by the intervention of the Dragon Race.

More importantly for Viktor, the current situation put the Francilt family in a state of isolation.

With just a single prediction gone awry, the situation was quickly being driven into a dead-end situation.

(It's lucky that we are not being removed from Arcazam, but we can no longer get the school to cooperate with us...)

Jihad told Victor, "I can't help you any more", but he did not say, "Get out of Arcazam."

He kept the school neutral, but left the Francilt and Waziart families open to negotiation.

Victor understood that this was the best compromise Jihad could make.

(So the rest is up to me…)

Once again, Victor made up his mind and took out an envelope from the drawer of his office desk in a firm, steady manner, despite his heartbeat and intense heat caused by the rapid consumption of alcohol.

White, lavishly decorated, and bearing the seal of the Francilt family, it was used by the head of the Francilt family to personally announce his intentions.

"... Mena, I have something to entrust you with."

"Are you sure? If I were to hand over this letter, I'm afraid the ladies would resent you for it..."

Victor handed an envelope to Mena, who, perhaps sensing the contents of the envelope, asked her master with a slight furrow of her brow.

"Of course, I'm prepared for that. I will not change what I will do. I will definitely protect them."

As Victor made his declaration seriously yet forcefully, Mena sensed her master's determination and bowed her head deeply.

Chapter 8.24

A day after the opening festival.

Classes at Solminati Academy were cancelled, and Nozomu was alone in the craftsmen's district.

His motive was to make a bell to be presented to Irisdina.

The bell he had previously given to Somia was made using the furnace in Shino's hut, Nozomu's master, but unfortunately, the entire hut had been completely destroyed in a previous battle with the mechanical dragon.

Therefore, Nozomu was thus looking for a store that might lend him their furnace, but...

"Ha? Let you use the furnace? You've got to be kidding me!"

"I'll think about it after you do three years as an anvil cleaner."

This was how he had been turned down right away.

It was inevitable. Craftsmen tend to be stubborn because they would never compromise on their work.

In particular, the craftsmen in Arcazam were generally skilled.

They were so confident and dedicated to their work that there was no way they would accept Nozomu's proposal to allow him to use their furnace.

After being kicked out of the thirteenth blacksmith shop, Nozomu returned to the main street of the craftsmen's district and began looking for the next store.

While walking along the main street, he could hear the sounds of hammering and shouting coming from all over the place.

Nozomu could almost hear his master's voice scolding him, and his mouth relaxed as he recalled his own master amongst the shouts of abuse.

However, there was no way he could just sit back and relax. Fortunately, he had managed to prepare the materials, so he had just to find a place where he could borrow a furnace.

"I wonder if Iris going to be okay..."

The head of the Waziart family suddenly approached him at the party during the opening festival. Vitora had shown a clear interest in Nozomu.

Furthermore, the Francilts have begun to close the distance between them and the Waziart family.

Knowing about the secret agreement that once caused quite the uproar, Nozomu's heart grew uneasy.

"I think I should ask Mena-san about it..."

Nozomu was tempted to to do such a thing, but at the same time he knew it was impossible, so he shook his head and shook off the thought that had popped into his head.

Nozomu was just being warned by Jihad to stay away from the Francilt family.

This was due to the relationship between Nozomu and Irisdina, as well as Nozomu's own problems with Tiamat.

The worst-case scenario that Jihad feared was that the Waziart family would go out of control as a result of the Nozomu's involvement and that Tiamat would be resurrected resulting in the destruction of Arcazam.

Nozomu himself could understand Jihad's concern, as he has had two previous out-of-control experiences.

Currently, he has repeatedly trained to control Tiamat's power with Zonne, the White Dragon's guardian, but he has only been able to extend the time in which he could release his power to around 20 seconds.

And the surroundings of those whom Nozomu wanted to help were already beginning to be filled with a disturbing sense of uneasiness and tension.

Nozomu's frustration was fueled by his own slow growth in response to the rapidly changing situation around him.

"For now, let's just focus on fulfilling my promise..."

Shaking off the thoughts that were about to get into his head, Nozomu took a deep breath, trying to concentrate on making the bell he had promised to Irisdina.

The design was already in his mind.

One of the materials was a bit rare, but not impossible to find, and he had already obtained it and placed it in the pouch on his hip.

All that remained was to find a furnace to melt the essential material.

The question is whether there is a blacksmith who is willing to lend a furnace to Nozomu, who is an inexperienced blacksmith.

As Nozomu looked around for a new place to search, he heard a somewhat slow and languid voice.

"Nozomu-ku~~n!"

"Anri-sensei?"

He looked in the direction of the voice and saw Anri, dressed in neat, well-tailored clothes.

She was dressed nicely, and it seemed that she was still at work.

However, her workplace is the school. Normally, she would never leave the school.

"What're you doing in a place like this, sensei?

"Of course, it's for my job~. You know, like returning the things used at the opening festival~"

"... I see."

According to Anri, many of the costumes, tables, plates, and other furnishings rented by the students were borrowed for a fee from stores that own many of these things.

Since parties as large as the opening festival do not happen very often, it is cheaper for the school to rent them than to buy them.

However, the furnishings used were all of high value, so in order to prevent loss or theft, Anri, a regular staff member of the school, was responsible for returning the furnishings.

"Why are you here, Nozomu-kun~?"

"Umm, actually..."

When he told Anri that he had been looking for a store with a furnace that he could use to make the bell that Irisdina had asked him to make, but had been turned down right away everywhere, she nodded as if she understood.

"I see~. And you still haven't found the essential furnace yet~"

"Yes, I wonder what should I do?"

In response to Nozomu's question, Anri tilted her head and put her hand on her cheek and began to think.

Perhaps attracted by her beauty, which reminds one of an innocent lady, and her somewhat childish gestures, people passing by on the street glanced at Anri with sideways glances.

As Nozomu was thinking that Anri was still a charming woman who could attract men without realizing it, Anri clapped her hands in front of her ample bosom, as if she had just come up with an idea.

"Then, shall I do something about it?"

"Is that okay?"

"Yes, leave it to me~"

No matter where the place was, if he could use a furnace, Nozomu would be very grateful.

Nozomu bowed to Anri and said, "thank you for your help".

"In return, I need your help with something~."

"Is it carrying a load?"

In exchange for showing him where he could use the furnace, Anri had something to ask of Nozomu.

Considering that Anri had returned the borrowed items from the opening festival, Nozomu wondered if Anri wanted Nozomu to help carry the borrowed items, but Anri shook her head in denial at Nozomu's words.

"I'm done returning borrowed items, so no~. For the time being, come with me~."

Anri casually took Nozomu's hand and began to walk away.

The gazes of the men around them turned murderous toward Nozomu, who was having a conversation with a strikingly beautiful young woman.

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(Lately, I've been getting a lot of murderous intent and hostility directed at me...)

With a wry smile on his face over his own situation, which he was beginning to get used to, Nozomu left the craftsmen's district, still being pulled along by Anri's hand.

Anri brought Nozomu to a school building adjacent to Solminati Academy.

Although much smaller in scale than the Solminati Academy, the school building itself was still quite large, with two three-story school buildings built in a north-south alignment.

The building was a school affiliated with Solminati Academy, which Somia attended.

"Is this Ecross?"

Ecross.

A school affiliated with Solminati Academy, where Irisdina's younger sister, Somia, attends.

It is a school for gifted children gathered from all over the continent to provide them with education from an early age.

Naturally, Nozomu has never set foot in this school building.

The main gate is guarded day and night, and the school is surrounded by high walls with detection magic.

The only gate into Ecross is the main gate, and only students, teachers, and others involved in the administration of Solminati Academy and Ecross are allowed to pass through the main gate.

"You know~. The teacher who teaches here said that she really wants you to come, Nozomu-kun~."

While saying so, Anri confidently pulled Nozomu by the hand and passed through the main gate of the Ecross school building.

It was natural that Anri, a teacher at Solminati Academy, could pass through the main gate of Ecross, but she seemed to visit Ecross quite frequently as she waved her hand to the gatekeeper in a light manner as she passed through the main gate and the gatekeeper waved back with a wry smile.

On the other hand, Nozomu could not help but be bothered by the fact that Anri was still holding his hand.

"Umm, Anri-sensei, your hand..."

"Hmm? What is it~~?"

"... No, it's nothing."

It was embarrassing for Nozomu to have his hand held by an older, beautiful teacher, but even if he wanted to let go, Anri's strength was stronger than he expected.

He wanted to ask Anri to let go of his hand, but Anri's big smile made it difficult for him to do so.

However, the figures of Nozomu and Anri were too conspicuous in Ecross.

Moreover, Anri was casually approached by staff and teachers who passed by her from time to time, as if she knew many people in Ecross.

At the same time, the eyes of those who greeted her turned to Nozomu, who was holding hands with Anri, and for some reason the way they looked at her, as if they were grinning, stirred Nozomu's sense of embarrassment even more.

The hostility of the men was not the same as when they were walking around town, but for Nozomu, the embarrassment was many times worse.

"Anri-sensei, why me? I don't know the reason."

"Now, now~. Just come with me~."

Anri kept walking, dodging Nozomu's question, which was an attempt to disguise his embarrassment.

Anri led us to an outdoor training area adjacent to the Ecross school building.

The size was a bit smaller than the training grounds at Solminati Academy.

However, compared to the training grounds in the academy, the training area was quite impressive, as it was surrounded by a simple, but efficient, magic barrier like the one in the martial arts garden.

At the edge of the training area, about 30 boys and girls of about 10 years old were sitting in a row.

In front of the children stood a bestial woman, who appeared to be their homeroom teacher, and a man and woman whom Nozomu also knew well.

"...Huh? Mars and Tima-san?"

"Ah……"

"Oh~?"

Mars and Tima, noticing Nozomu's figure, look surprised.

"Why is Nozomu here?"

"You guys too. Why are both of you in Ecross?"

"I'm Tima's assistant. She seems to have some acquaintances in Ecross."

"I was in Ecross for a short time before I came to the academy. I'm helping them with their lectures on how to deal with magic."

According to Tima's story, she had been enrolled in Ecross for a few months as a candidate for special admission before entering the Solminati Academy.

She originally came to Arcazam because of her high magic power, but at first she could not control her magic power well enough, so she was learning the basics of magic control here in Ecross.

"Why are you here, Nozomu-kun?"

"Because Anri-sensei asked me to come …"

Nozomu looked at Anri, who was talking with a woman of the rabbit-eared race, whom he believed to be a teacher in Ecross, and the person who had brought him to this place.

The woman of the rabbit-eared race was around thirty to forty years old.

She was a mature-looking woman with a face that was less conspicuous and ears reminiscent of rabbits wrapped in dark brown fur.

The Rabbit-eared race is a race of beastmen who are unusually skilled in brainwork among beastmen, who tend to have a rather strong brain disposition.

They are also timid by nature, and are thoroughly averse to conflict, running away as soon as they are confronted with a fight.

However, because of their cowardice, they were quick to evacuate during the Great Invasion, and as a result, quite a large number of the rabbit-eared race were able to escape unharmed.

"Um... I'm sorry. I'm Veri. I am a graduate of Solminati Academy and a teacher in Ecross. I'll get right to it, would you mind helping me with my class?"

Veri's tone of voice was humble even to Nozomu, who was younger than her and was only a student, in contrast to her mature appearance.

Nozomu was also unsure of the proper approach to be taken towards his senior, and a woman of such caliber.

"Umm, how do you know Anri-sensei?"

"She is my junior."

"In other words, you're Anri-sensei's senior?"

"Y-, yes..."

According to Veri, as a first-year student at Solminati Academy, she was admitted to the academy from the Sumahya Union.

According to her story, she entered the school when she was in her late 20s. She said that she could not suppress her curiosity about the existence of this city where people and technology gather from all over the continent.

She gave up her previous job as a researcher in the Sumahya Union and came to Arcazam.

In spite of her quiet personality, her energy is extraordinary.

Regardless of her outward appearance and personality, it seems that this woman is also an acquaintance of Anri's.

"Veri-senpai taught magic to Tima-san when she came to Ecross, and now she's in charge of Somia-chan's class~~."

"... Eh? Is that true!?"

"Y-, yes. However, the only thing I taught Tima-san was the basics of magic control. Even in this class, they are all such promising kids that I'm not sure if I'm the right person to be in charge of them..."

Despite being shy and reserved, according to Anri, Veri's natural intellectual capacity and curiosity have given her a broad knowledge of a wide variety of subjects.

Naturally, she has a solid foundation in basic knowledge, and she has been providing her knowledge to promising children here in Ecross.

"Umm, where is Somia-chan?..."

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"She is absent. We've heard she's not feeling well..."

Nozomu glanced at the students in Veri's class, but she was right, Somia was not among them.

Veri seemed to be a little hesitant to say anything, and Nozomu felt the anxiety he had been harboring inside getting bigger.

The meeting between the Waziart and Francilt families is the hottest topic of conversation here in Arcazam right now.

As for Nozomu, who may have been a part of the topic, even if unofficially, he could not stop thinking about Irisdina and Somia, who were in the middle of it all.

The bell he intended to give to Irisdina. Nozomu naturally put his hand on the pouch that contained the materials for the bell.

"I'd like to ask you a favor..."

Veri's words drew Nozomu's consciousness, which had been focused on the Francilt family, back.

The reason why Nozomu came here was because Anri asked him to come.

In return, they seemed to be willing to help him make the bell for Irisdina, so there was no reason for Nozomu to refuse.

"Ah, right. Although you say so, what do you actually want me to do?..."

"Nozomu-san, you are a master of the Mikagura style of the East, aren't you? In this class, I would like you to demonstrate it to us."

"Demonstration?"

"Yes. We are not familiar with the Eastern katana techniques, so we would like you to show us your skills in front of the children, as a way of broadening their knowledge and insight."

The absorbing capability of a young child is remarkable.

There is no doubt that the knowledge, practices, and habits absorbed at this age will directly affect the child's future.

That is why Veri wanted for the children to perceive more experience and knowledge, and to have a broader perspective.

"Well, if it's just to show them ..."

"Great! Then let's get started!"

With a happy smile on her face, Veri spun around and looked right back at her students.

Then, finally, Nozomu turned to face the children too.

Nozomu felt a twinge of embarrassment at the thirty pairs of eyes that were suddenly directed at him.

"Everyone, I am here with someone who is going to participate in our class today and show us a very unique technique. He is a senior student. He is Nozomu Bountis, a third-year student at Solminati Academy."

"H-, hello."

"Everyone. Please say hello~"

"" Nice to meet you ""

"Nozomu-san is a master of the Mikagura-style katana technique, which is a revered and respected technique in the East. You all already know of his abilities, don't you?"

The Ecross students had previously watched the combat training that Nozomu had performed with Jihad at the martial arts garden.

Therefore, they responded in a cheerful voice to Veri's question.

"In today's class, we will first study this Mikagura-style katana technique with Nozomu-san. Doesn't it sound great~?"

"" Yes~~ ""

"Then, Nozomu-san, please..."

"... Eh, I thought it was just a demonstration!?"

Being suddenly made to stand in front of the students and asked to give a lecture, Nozomu involuntarily raised his voice as if to confirm what she had said.

Nozomu, who has never been good at teaching, was a little troubled by this turn of events.

"Before you demonstrate, please give us a brief introduction to the Mikagura-style. Don't worry, a brief explanation will do."

According to Veri, a brief introduction was enough.

Hearing those words, Nozomu changed his mind.

"Umm. I'm... no, that's not it. The Mikagura-style I use is a katana technique originally derived from the sacred rituals of the East. It has been refined in the harsh and rugged eastern lands, with the aim of taking on and surviving against both humans and beasts alike."

First, Nozomu began with a brief introduction to the art of katana technique in the Mikagura-style.

He wondered if he had used too many difficult words. Nozomu felt uneasy, but the children did not seem to mind.

The children, though young, were promising prodigies, having been admitted to Ecross.

"The weapons we use are forged weapons called katanas. It is a weapon specialized for slashing and thrusting, characterized by its gentle curves and the ripples that appear on the blade during the forging process."

Nozomu pulled out the [Mumei] from his waist and held it with both hands to support the handle and the pommel, then showed it to the children.

In front of the katana, the children, especially the boys, seemed to be quite interested and their eyes lit up at once.

"The Mikagura-style fundamentally does not use shields. If you are facing a powerful demon beast, a half-hearted defense is meaningless. The majority of the techniques used are techniques capable of inflicting fatal wounds, such as one-point penetration and internal destruction, even against demon beasts, which have a much stronger killing power and a life force that is much higher than that of humans."

While nodding his head at the sparkling gazes of the children, who were strangely interested in him, Nozomu proceeded on with his explanation.

"At the same time, in terms of defense, this style is more vulnerable than those used by swordsmen on this continent, since many of the techniques emphasize parry and evasion, and there is a wide variety of techniques, so it is a style that is very dependent on the ability and strength of the user."

At this point, Nozomu cut the explanation once and turned his attention to Mars.

"Mars, can you help me?"

"Sure."

Nozomu and Mars moved a little away from the children and faced each other, readying their respective weapons.

Then, just like they always did in their training, they began to clash their blades.

"Fuh~!"

"Zei~!"

Mars' greatsword roared and swung down toward Nozomu.

Nozomu deflected the blade's trajectory by hitting the side of the approaching blade with his katana, and then used the returning momentum to cleave Mars' torso.

Mars also swiftly drew his greatsword back and intercepted it.

The two blades crossed in every direction: a diagonal slash, a reverse cleave, a sweep up, and a thrust.

"Whoa..."

Watching Nozomu's effortless, confident strike against Mars' greatsword, which was overwhelmingly superior in terms of physical strength and power, the children who were watching him let out a gasp of admiration.

This contrast demonstration between the continent's swordsmanship which emphasized brute strength and the East's swordsmanship which emphasized flexibility was a sight to behold.

The children's eyes were glued to the two different techniques unfolding in front of their eyes.

Eventually, the two swordsmen, who had been striking each other with their weapons, stepped forward at the same time, as if to make a sign to the other, and with a single flash of their blades, they crossed their positions to each other.

After switching positions, they slowly retracted their weapons.

"Umm, would this be about right?"

"Yes, thank you very much. Today we have third-year student Nozomu Bountis demonstrating the Eastern katana technique."

"" Thank you very much! ""

"Thank you, Nozomu-san. If you would like to observe the class with Anri-sensei, please do so."

"All right. I guess I'll observe for a bit then."

Nozomu bowed to Veri and stepped back.

Then Tima stood next to Veri, as if replacing Nozomu.

Nozomu decided to watch Ecross' class from a little distance with Mars.

Chapter 8.25

Veri's class had shifted to a purely practical lesson, and both Tima and Veri were giving lectures, in which each of them demonstrated magic.

Nozomu, who had become quite bored, called out to Mars, who was standing next to him.

"Hey, how long have you been coming to this place, Mars?"

"Not long before the opening festival. Around the time you started training with that old man."

"I see..."

It seemed that they started coming to Ecross after Nozomu was trained by Zonne.

Nozomu, too, had been so busy training with Zonne recently that he was completely unaware of the many things that Mars and Tima were doing without his knowing about it.

However, Nozomu felt as if he was seeing an unexpected side of the two of them when he saw them like this.

"It's a little unexpected."

"Hmm? About what?"

"I had never seen Mars here before, and I had never seen Tima-san being so proactive at the academy."

It was surprising that Mars, who was seeking strength and striving to master the art of combining magic and Qi, was devoting his time to something other than training like this, and that Tima was acting like a teacher to the children as well.

In particular, Tima's usual quiet and reserved behavior has completely disappeared, and she was actively giving lectures to the children.

She gave detailed instructions on the techniques to be used and the adjustment of the amount of magic power, and firmly warned the children who showed a bit of adventurous spirit and tried to do something risky.

"Well, she has a younger brother after all. Since they're close in age, it's easier to talk to them."

"You know her quite well..."

In response to Nozomu's words, Mars huffed and fell silent.

He was embarrassed, his cheeks were slightly reddish, and his eyes were a little flustered.

Mars' gaze had always been on Tima, who was in the process of teaching the children, and his mouth was tinged with a somewhat pleasant color.

"You've changed..."

"Huh? You mean her?

"Perhaps because she has been through so much lately, she has stepped up to the challenge with her own strength. And Tima helping out with this class because she herself volunteered to be a part of it."

Nozomu thought that Mars himself had changed, but apparently, Mars thought those words were directed toward Tima.

However, just as Mars was changing, Nozomu felt that Tima, too, was changing as a result of being with Mars.

"Stepped up to the challenge?"

"According to her, she used to dislike her own excessively strong magical power. But now she's glad she has this power..."

"I see..."

In the last less than six months since she began her involvement with Nozomu, Tima has overcome numerous difficulties.

The experience seems to have been enough to change her own mind about her own excessively strong magical powers.

Nozomu glanced over at Mars, who was happily watching Tima and the others.

Perhaps the most significant influence on Tima's change was the presence of Mars.

Their personalities hardly seem to match.

Nevertheless, the distance between the two, which had somehow grown closer, caused Nozomu to be a little surprised, while at the same time making him smile with a joy that welled up in his heart.

As he mulled this over, Nozomu was suddenly called from the side.

"Hey hey, Onii-san. May I have a word?"

When Nozomu looked in the direction of the voice, she saw three girls standing side by side.

Among them, the girl in the middle approached Nozomu.

"Hm? You are..."

Nozomu felt a strange sense of déjà vu as the girl walked up toward him.

While Nozomu was trying to remember where they had met, the girl smiled and spoke to Nozomu.

"It's been a while. Thank you for your help back then."

"Back then, you say..."

"It was when Somia and I were returning home from the library when we were attacked by an assailant."

"Ah, from the incident with Ken. Were you injured?"

The girl was Somia's friend who was involved in Ken's assault case.

Her name is Lansa. She is a classmate of Somia's, and they are such good friends that they study together in the library until late at night.

"Yes! Thanks to Nozomu-onīsan and everyone, I was fine."

With a carefree, bright smile on her face, the girl called Lansa bowed her head to Nozomu.

"Nozomu-onīsan. Since we're able to talk thus, I'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."

"Something you want to ask me? I'm good, but ..., Mars, why do you have such a bad expression on your face?"

"…………"

Nozomu suddenly felt a heavy air coming from next to him, and when he turned his head, he saw that Mars had a face that could not have been more uncomfortable.

"Mars-onīsan, what's wrong? If you make such a sour face, Tima-onēsan will hate you, you know?"

"Shut up, don't talk to me."

"Oi, Mars..."

Nozomu tried to scold Mars for his dismissive behavior toward the younger girl, but Nozomu's words were interrupted by Lansa's voice, who waved her hand in a carefree manner.

"Oh, it's alright Nozomu-onīsan. I know that Mars-onīsan is just embarrassed."

Nozomu was surprised at the girl's boldness in the face of Mars' anger.

Although he had grown quite calm recently, Mars was still quite a troublemaker, just as he appeared to be.

Fights outside of the school were a regular occurrence to him, and as a result, he had been dropped to the 10th class, the lowest class.

Even a young child would have cried out if she were to be confronted by such a former troublemaker.

"So, Nozomu-onīsan. Can I ask you another question?"

"Nozomu, you'd better not."

Mars' words made Nozomu feel strangely uneasy, but he felt bad for the girls younger than him who had taken the trouble to talk to him, so he decided to answer their questions.

"... Well, okay."

"Great! Everyone, he says it's okay!"

With a big smile on her face, Lansa gestured to the two remaining girls in the back, who then approached Nozomu.

"This one is Merry. Over there is Kinea. Onīsan, you're the older brother Somia was talking about, aren't you?"

"Umm, are they all friends of Somia-chan?"

"Yes! That's right! We all study and play together."

It seemed that these two were also very close to Somia.

All three of them were staring at Nozomu with a curious look in their eyes.

However, their gazes were somehow warm and flirtatious, unlike the gazes that Nozomu received when he was showing off his Mikagura-style katana technique earlier.

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As Nozomu tilted his head at the strange curiosity directed at him, Lansa asked him a question that could not have been more straightforward.

"Well then, I want to ask you, Nozomu-onīsan, how far did you go with Somia?

"…… Pardon?"

Unable to understand the meaning of what Lansa was saying, Nozomu couldn't help but respond in a dazed voice.

"That girl, although she talks about onīsan a lot, she never wants to talk about how far things have progressed. I thought this would be a good opportunity for us to hear from you onīsan."

"Um, what are you..."

"So, how far did you go? You had a date, and of course, you kissed her, didn't you? What else? Did you take a bath together or something? Oh, and of course, you can tell us about your relationship with Somia's sister!"

"I didn't! What are you talking about out of the blue?"

No matter how one looked at it, the questions that were being thrown out in rapid succession without a pause were ones that would directly probe into Somia's private life.

Moreover, they were extremely sensitive and if they were to go off the rails for a moment, they would be turned into a dangerous things.

Furthermore, they were even trying to get information about Irisdina.

Nozomu, faced with a storm of unexpected questions, unintentionally raised his voice to deny the questions.

On the other hand, Lansa looked at him with wide eyes and an unbelievable expression on her face.

"Are you sure you haven't? Not even a kiss? Don't tell me you haven't even been on a date?"

Lanza continued asking questions in a voice that changed from a cute, cat-like voice to a heavy, threatening one.

The way she was asking the questions was more like a pestering or a probing, and the oddly elegant way she was doing it made Nozomu answer honestly.

"... No, I did go on a date with her."

"I see, so you did go on a date. Then what about kissing? Of course, onīsan was the one who kissed her, right?"

"…………"

It seemed that when one question was answered, two or three more questions were asked in return.

Nozomu, thinking that he could not afford to be asked any more strange questions, answered Lansa's questions in silence.

However, this girl was also perceptive enough to be called a child prodigy, and she sensed the truth from Nozomu's silence.

"I see, so it was Somia... So, what kind of a situation was it!? On a bench where you two sat together? In front of the mansion, you sent her home to? Or maybe on the bed!?"

"Uwaa~……"

No matter whether he answered or kept silent, the repeated barrage of questions made Nozomu sound annoyed and fed up.

Moreover, the situation in which Nozomu was kissed was mixed up firmly in Lansa's words.

Perhaps it was because of the girl's excessive interest in colorful love, which is typical of girls who have reached puberty, but even so, it was too sharp.

Perhaps it was limited to colorful love, but the way Somia kept giving misleading answers to her friend made Nozomu realize once again that she was also a child prodigy.

And so, at the same time, Nozomu thought. This girl is definitely the same type of person as Feo and Mimuru.

If ignited, she would become passionate and get into trouble, and after going out of control, would continue to involve others.

"It's started. That's why I told you not to do it..."

Mars let out an exasperated voice.

Apparently, he too had been a victim of Lansa's questioning attacks.

Rather, it was because he had been a victim that he had reacted so rejectively toward Lansa.

Nozomu was inwardly troubled by the fact that the bad premonition he had felt before he was asked the question had come true.

"U-, umm... Well, if Somia-chan hasn't said anything, I guess I have nothing to say too."

"Eeh~. I thought you were going to tell me about your relationship with Somia without hesitation~~. Could it be that Nozomu-onīsan is just as much of a coward as Mars-onīsan?"

Nozomu was about to say, "Who's a coward, you bastard!". But Nozomu swallowed the words that rose to his throat with all his might.

It was true that it had taken Nozomu years to repair the relationship with his childhood friend, and he still had no idea what the future held for him, and he was still depressed after the incident with Azel, but for Nozomu, he was dealing with a girl who was younger than him, just like Somia.

Knowing that it would be too immature to get pissed off here, Nozomu mobilized every ounce of pride he had and sewed his mouth shut.

"Who's a coward, you bastard!"

On the other hand, Mars, who was made a target along with Nozomu, was, as expected, uncontrollable.

"Eeh~. I can see that Mars-onīsan likes Tima-onēsan, but you won't even admit it. You won't answer me, no matter how hard I try... As I thought, you're a coward, aren't you?"

"T-, this brat..."

Although he seemed to have grown up and calmed down to a reasonable degree, his agitation tolerance remained low, and Mars was trembling and shaking with anger.

Meanwhile, Nozomu was relieved to see Lansa's eyes shift from him to Mars. He attempted to disappear and fade out of the scene as it was.

Although he claimed to be a close friend, Nozomu may be starting to be influenced by Feo and Mimuru quite a bit, as he did not hesitate to use Mars as bait when the conflict was averted.

Nevertheless, it was impossible for them not to stand out if they were making such a racket in class.

"Mars-kun, Lansa-chan. What are you two doing?"

As expected, Tima, who was helping Veri, scolded Lansa and Mars in a scolding tone.

As Mars said, Tima is not as timid when she is at the academy, perhaps because she is dealing with someone her own brother's age, but she exudes the air of a dependable older sister.

"Ti-, Tima-onēsan. No, it's just..."

"Why am I getting scolded too?"

However, for the current Lansa, Tima may seem like a scary older sister.

Perhaps aware that she was doing something unnecessary in class, Lansa, who was being scolded, shrugged her shoulders and became smaller.

On the other hand, Mars, who had just been taunted, seemed dissatisfied.

"I don't know what Lansa-chan said to you, but Mars-kun, you shouldn't raise your voice like that to a younger girl."

However, Mars' dissatisfaction was silenced by a single statement from Tima. It was certainly immature to raise one's voice against a girl as young as Somia. Mars seemed to be aware of this, too, and honestly bowed his head.

"M-, my bad..."

"And also, Lansa-chan, you're still in a class now. You should go back to where Veri-sensei is."

"Y-, yes!"

"Also, Nozomu-kun is attending this class as a special guest to help us out. I don't know what you told him, but I'm not impressed that you would do something to embarrass him, okay?"

Lanza, who was trying to cover up her awkwardness by replying in a rather energetic manner, was firmly rewarded with an additional preaching session.

Truly, Tima is a dependable older sister now.

"Y-, yes... Nozomu-onīsan, I'm sorry for asking such a strange question."

"Don't worry about it. Though it certainly caught me by surprise."

Lanza bowed his head to Nozomu, despite the look of fear on her face.

As long as she apologized properly, Nozomu wouldn't mind.

Lansa is also a friend of Somia's, and at heart, she is a good and honest girl.

After bowing to Nozomu and Mars, Tima took Lansa and the others and tried to return to Veri.

Not wanting to be a hindrance, Nozomu and Mars also tried to move to the edge of the training area to observe from a little further away.

"U-, umm, Nozomu-onīsan, please wait."

However, Lansa stopped Nozomu as he was about to move.

Leaving her friends to return to class, she rushed to Nozomu again.

"What is it?"

"Umm, just one last thing, may I?"

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Lansa's words seem somewhat hesitant.

Instead of the playful attitude she had shown earlier, her expression somehow reflected a strong shadow of anxiety.

When Nozomu glanced over to check on Tima, she made eye contact with Nozomu and gave a small nod.

Apparently, she now wanted him to answer Lansa's question.

As Nozomu turned to face Lansa once again, she opened her mouth a little, looking a little scared.

"Somia will be able to come tomorrow, right? That girl has been working too hard lately, she just got sick, didn't she?"

What she was worried about was her best friend, Somia.

She must also have heard about the meeting between the Francilt and Waziart households.

And because of the situation the Francilt family was in and the absence of her best friend, she felt the same anxiety as Nozomu.

"... Yeah, don't worry. She'll be here tomorrow."

All Nozomu was able to convey were baseless words that could be described as wishful thinking for Nozomu.

Still, Nozomu smiled encouragingly at Lansa, hoping to ease her anxiety, even if only a little.

"… Thank goodness."

Although Lansa smiled when she heard Nozomu's answer, her expression still had a shadow of uneasiness on it.

From her expression, it was clear that Lansa also understood that Nozomu's answer was unfounded.

She, too, knew the situation that Somia's family was facing, and she must have guessed that it would not be a simple matter.

Even so, the fact that she could push away her anxiety and smile showed that this girl was a good friend, but at the same time, she was still a young and fragile being.

"Nozomu-onīsan. Please take good care of Somia and Somia's sister for me."

"... Yeah, if it's something I can do, I'll do my best."

Nozomu replied to Lansa with the words, "I will do my best." If he could not make any statement about the current situation of Somia and her family, he would at least show his own will as much as he could.

Deep in Nozomu's chest, there was a tingle of anxiety and regret that would never disappear. Even with these feelings, Nozomu's unyielding desire remained unchanged.

Hearing Nozomu's intention, Lansa said nothing and ran off to return to class.

Nozomu could not see Lansa's expression as she turned her back and left, but Tima and Veri, who greeted her, had a definite smile on their lips.

Despite their wishes, however, Somia did not come to Ecross again for the following days.

After Veri's class was over for the day, Nozomu, along with Anri, Mars, and Tima, left Ecross.

They walked through Ecross' main gate and out onto the street facing the central park.

"Anri-sensei, about the furnace..."

"Don't worry, I'll talk it through~"

After assuring Nozomu that Anri would talk it through, she returned to the Ecross school building as if she still had some business to attend to as a teacher.

Nozomu, who saw Anri off as she returned to Ecross, was relieved that he had, for the time being, figured out a way to make the bell.

Nozomu was relieved and was about to return to the dorm when Mars, who was walking next to him, talked to him.

"Well then, Nozomu, I'll see you later."

"Huh? Where are you two going?"

"We still have some business to attend to at the academy regarding Tom's and Mars' magic-Qi combination techniques..."

It seemed that Mars and Tima still had some business to attend to at the school.

"Alright then. I'll see you tomorrow at the school."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

After saying goodbye to Mars, Nozomu walked straight to the city.

"Well then, shall we go?"

After seeing off Nozomu's back as he walked away, Mars went in the opposite direction from Nozomu, toward the school.

Tima was quietly standing next to him.

Mars seemed to be full of energy, and he was quite fired up.

On the other hand, Tima's expression as she watched him was not good.

"Hey, Mars-kun, are you sure you want to do this?

"Yeah. It's about time I took another step forward."

"But……"

Tima's tone was as if to make sure.

Although the two had been training together in the magic-Qi combination technique, the way Tima was worried about Mars was clearly different from usual.

Her expression was somewhat uneasy.

However, Mars' eyes, looking at Tima's expression, were filled with the light of a strong will that would never allow him to back down.

"I can't stop. I can't afford to stop. To catch up with him, I have to keep running."

For Mars, Nozomu is his best friend and rival.

At one time, due to his own lack of experience, he too had failed to control his magic-Qi combination techniques and had gone out of control.

From that experience, he came to understand his immaturity, and he began to have a certain amount of composure when it came to techniques and powers that he could not control, and to take the necessary steps in mastering them.

However, it was also clear that having a certain amount of composure was not enough to move forward.

Although Mars was able to use magic-Qi combination techniques, albeit to a limited extent, with the help of Tom, Tima, and Feo, the range was limited and not enough for Mars.

He could not move forward or overcome the obstacles by simply walking slowly.

He had to make a breakthrough at some point.

The resentment toward his father for leaving him behind and the thirst for power, which had been in his heart when he was a child, still smoldered within Mars.

But more than that, Mars did not want to lose to his best friend.

He clenched his fists as he thought of Nozomu, who was at the mercy of a power greater than that of the magic-Qi combination technique, but was still fighting back.

"Just a little more... Besides, I want to do all I can right now. You know how I feel, don't you?"

"Yes……"

Both Mars and Tima had witnessed the whole events that took place around Nozomu and Irisdina at the opening festival.

Both Mars and Tima had crossed blades with Rugato before, but both of them, being more of outsiders than Nozomu, were unable to do anything at the time of the opening festival.

The Francilt and Waziart households were getting closer, and the vampire princess had an unusual interest in Nozomu.

Mars' feeling, which had recently become more sensitive to the disturbances, told him that their surroundings were once again becoming dicey.

"If I fail, I'll ask for your help again."

"Gosh~. You keep saying things like that..."

Their path was already in sight. All that was needed was one last step.

The final step to jump over the cliff in front of them.

And the courage to take the leap, even though they knew that if they failed, they might fall into the abyss.

On the other hand, Tima let out a sigh of dismay at Mars, who was throwing everything into her hands if he were to fail.

Still, even in the midst of her anxiety, she had also grown to the point where she was able to speak in a casual tone to the opposite sex, something she had been uncomfortable with.

"Let's go."

"… Un."

Mars and Tima nodded as if to confirm each other.

The two shadows lined up on the red colored ground at dusk, as if they were leaning against each other, and drifted off to the school.

:)