[LN] Volume 3: Chapter 1.2
[LN] Volume 3: Chapter 1.2
Translator : PolterGlast
Having finished their early morning training and parted ways with Mena, Nozomu and his friends were on their way to the school.
Summer is around the corner, the sun is gradually getting stronger, and the air is gradually getting warmer.
Many people were heading to their respective workplaces on Arcazam\'s main street, which leads to the central park.
"Whoa, what a beauty ......"
"Beautiful black hair, is she from the academy?"
The people who passed by glanced at Irisdina and the others.
The beautiful girl with lustrous black hair and a dignified appearance still attracts people\'s eyes as ever.
The same is also true for Tima and Somia, who walked next to her. In fact, they are as good-looking as Irisdina. It is not surprising that they would naturally attract the attention of others as they walk the streets.
While watching them from the side, Nozomu\'s attention turned to the letter in his pocket.
(I wrote this letter to give it to them today. I had been running away from it all this time, but I needed it in order to face the past once again. Now I just need to figure out how to give it to them .......)
While thinking about this, Irisdina called out to him from beside him.
"Nozomu, is something wrong?"
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"You seem to be a little tense. Is it that you are not feeling well? Or did you perhaps push yourself a little too hard in the training we just had?"
She tilted her head cutely and asked, and Nozomu couldn\'t help but gasp in response to this. His hand reflexively reached into his pocket where the letter had been.
"No, everything\'s fine. I was just a little nervous thinking about today\'s class."
"Today\'s class...... Ah, that reminds me, we had a joint class before the special comprehensive exercise. Is it that time of year already? ......"
"Yes. That\'s what I mean......"
Nozomu quickly stifled his agitation and looked away.
Special Comprehensive Exercise.
It is a comprehensive training program for the third grade and represents the fact that the classes for the third grade are different from those of the previous grades.
To put it simply, the students are required to form teams and complete assigned tasks in the Spasim Forest.
Since Spasim Forest is a forest infested with demonic beasts, the students are naturally expected to be of a certain level of ability.
The results of the Special Comprehensive Exercise are directly reflected in the results of the team\'s performance. Nozomu could not afford to miss out.
"So, what are you going to do, Nozomu?"
"What do you mean?"
"The team for the special exercise. The special exercise will last for two days. On the first day, we will be paired with the same class, but on the second day, there will be no class restrictions ......"
"For the time being, I think of teaming up with Mars, but ......"
"I see, for the time being, huh? ......"
What makes the Special Comprehensive Exercise different from other classes is that it also takes into consideration the possibility of teaming up with other classes.
Specifically, on the first day, students will be paired with their classmates, and on the second day, they will be paired with other classes.
When Nozomu glanced at Mars, he gave a small nod.
"I\'ll try to find a potential teammate at today\'s all-class joint class. That is, if there is someone who is willing to team up with me ......"
Today\'s joint class is to find a suitable teammate for the special exercise, and all classes will participate in this class.
Most of the students will find a partner here, but unfortunately, both Nozomu and Mars have a lot of bad rumors in the school.
Nozomu is a bottom-feeder and Mars is a violent ruffian. It is obvious that they will have a hard time finding a teammate from another class.
"I see, then-......."
Irisdina, who had looked a little hesitant while staring at Nozomu in distress, opened her mouth.
However, before she could utter a word, a cool chirping cry resounded between the two of them.
[ Chichichichi, chunchun! ]
"Wow, what a pretty-looking little bird!"
A beautiful lapis lazuli-colored little bird appeared and Somia let out an exclamation of admiration.
The long tail feathers, which are two or three times as long as the bird\'s body height, as well as the eye-catching colored body feathers, give the bird a certain air of mystique.
Then, the little bird perched on Nozomu\'s shoulder and began to chirp.
Irisdina and Tima\'s eyes widen as Somia admired the sudden appearance of the lapis lazuli-colored bird. Their surprise is understandable. This little bird has become very famous lately.
"Spirit ......"
"Umm, Razward? Why are you here?"
[ Chichichi...... (Yo, Nozomu. You\'re still making that funny face ...... -right, you can\'t hear my thoughts, huh?) ]
Razward.
He is a contracted lesser spirit to an elf with whom Nozomu became involved a short while ago.
[A~ a~. It\'s been a while since I used my voice, but it\'s still kind of weird.]
Instead of a cool chirp, what coming out of the little bird\'s mouth was a voice that sounded somewhat human, yet still echoed like the sound of the wind in a cave.
Communicating by sending thoughts directly to the soul is not a necessity for ordinary spirits, but Razward had recently gone out of his way to actually make his voice sound like this.
[You are asking why am I here. That is obvious. It\'s because you were on Shi-jou\'s school route.]
As Razward said so, Nozomu and the others looked beyond the gaze that Razward directed to, and saw three students coming toward them.
"Ah, Nozomu-kun, yahhoo――? How have you been?"
The first one to call out to them was a girl from a tribe of beastmen called the Catman.
Her name is Mimuru Midir. She belongs to the second class of the third grade and is quite talented.
"Good morning Mimuru, and good morning to you too, Tom."
"Good morning. I see you\'re with Irisdina-san and the others today."
"Yeah, I had them accompany me for an early morning workout."
After replying to Mimuru, Nozomu then exchanged greetings with a boy of the human race.
Tom Dale. An alchemist who is in the same class as Mimuru and at the same time her lover.
He is full of curiosity and eager to research. He is also an apprentice researcher at the Gloaurum Institute, one of the continent\'s leading research institutes in Arcazam, and has a promising future as a brilliant young man.
And then the last person arrives in front of Nozomu.
A girl with long, fine blue hair reminiscent of the azure sky and long ears peeking out from it.
It was the characteristic of a race called elves, the most loved race by spirits on this continent.
"Good morning, Nozomu-kun."
"G-, good morning ...... Shina-san."
Shina Juliel. The only elf in Arcazam, where the best and most talented people from all over the continent gathered. She and Nozomu had fought together when they were attacked by a dangerous demonic beast called the Abyss Grief.
She walked over to Nozomu with a nonchalant expression and smiled gently at him.
Irisdina and the others were all surprised by her beautiful smile, which was filled with a sense of intimacy.
Elves are by nature impassive and do not open their hearts to other races. This is because they have spent their childhood with spirits and are accustomed to communicating with others through their hearts.
It is quite unusual for such an elf to return a smile, and that is how much trust she has in Nozomu.
Meanwhile, while Irisdina and the others were surprised, Shina saw the spirit perched on Nozomu\'s shoulder and let out a sigh.
"I\'m sorry, it looks like Raz has caused you some trouble."
"No, that\'s not true ......"
[Yeah, right! I haven\'t done anything yet!]
"Does "not yet" mean you\'re going to do something?"
[Why not!? At best, I\'m going to tell him about Shi-jou\'s underwear today in detail so that he might go into heat-...... gue~~!]
In an instant, Shina grabbed Razword by the neck and began to tighten it with a tight grip.
A foul, muffled screech was mixed with a sound like a rag being wrung out.
This spirit, Razward, must have lived for more than a hundred years, but his personality was strangely mundane.
"By the way, the color of Shina\'s underwear today is blu- ...... miyaa~~~!"
Mimuru, who loves all kinds of amusing things, tried to take advantage of the situation, but of course, Shina would never allow it.
Before the most important confidential information could be revealed, the elf girl\'s powerful iron claw struck Mimuru as well.
Shina was originally good at archery and has a strong grip that is hard to believe for a slender elf. Shina even strengthened her body with magic power and dug her fingertips into Mimuru\'s temples.
"Cracking, it\'s cracking! Shina, my head is going to crack~~!"
[So do I! My insides, everything\'s coming out!]
"I think that\'ll be great. Raz, you seem to be a bit tainted with a bad substance and need to be recycled, don\'t you think?"
While one person and one bird were screaming about dying, Nozomu was almost unintentionally getting a dirty imagination when he heard Mimuru\'s words.
"Nozomu-kun, you\'re not thinking anything strange, are you?"
"Y-, yes! Of course not!"
Shina\'s face contorted into a smile, and Nozomu reflexively responded in a formal tone of voice. Naturally, the slightly erotic image that popped into his mind was immediately discarded.
As Nozomu broke out in a cold sweat under Shina\'s intimidating gaze, she eventually let out a sigh and released Mimuru and Razward. One person and one bird, freed from their restraints, fell and slumped on the ground.
"Goof grief, these two ......"
"Ahahaha ...... but you guys seem to be getting along as usual."
"I have to admit, though, reluctantly."
Nozomu and Shina smiled at each other as they looked downward at the prostrate Mimuru and Razward.
A gentle chuckle and a few seconds of silence followed.
In the midst of this peaceful moment, the atmosphere was slightly turned sweet, and Shina\'s cheeks gradually turned red.
"H-, hmmm! Nozomu, you seem to be quite close to Shina and her friends."
"Eh? Is that so?"
As if to break the warm silence, Irisdina called out to Nozomu with a slightly disgruntled look on her face.
Upon hearing her words, Nozomu and Shina quickly looked away from each other.
The reason why Shina, a mysterious but at the same time a rather reclusive elf, has come to trust Nozomu is because of her past and an incident that took place not long ago.
Twenty years ago, during the Great Invasion, she lost her home and family to an attack by an unidentified demonic beast called the Abyss Grief.
Not only that, but due to the trauma, she also lost her ability to contract with spirits, the most important thing for an elf.
Despite her immense grief at the loss of everything, she still came to Arcazam in order to regain her homeland, but in the forest of Spasim, she encountered a being of the identical nature to the demonic beast that robbed her of her homeland. Once again, she experienced the trauma of her past.
However, she managed to overcome her own emotional trauma through her involvement with Nozomu and regained her ability to make contracts with spirits.
And her friend Razword, who had almost perished, was also revived. Together, they were able to defeat the Abyss Grief, a symbol of trauma and an extremely dangerous demonic beast.
Because of this, Shina gained a great deal of trust in Nozomu and began to show a softer side of her personality to him like this.
"Nozomu, I\'ve been wondering, what exactly is going on between you and her?"
Irisdina demanded an explanation, to which Nozomu was at a loss for a response. This is because the school told them to keep quiet about the Abyss Greif case.
"We\'re sorry, Irisdina-san. Neither he nor I can talk about it."
As if to protect Nozomu, who was hesitant to say anything, Shina intervened. The two girls\' gazes crossed.
Irisdina\'s mood plummeted when she saw Shina\'s presence beside Nozomu. Her eyebrows furrowed, and a cold tension began to emerge.
"...... Is that so? Sorry, I was asking something weird."
It was Irisdina who was the first to break the ice. She quietly breathed out and lowered her eyes as if to calm herself down.
"No, I\'m sorry as well. Sorry for interrupting your conversation with him. "Well then, Nozomu-kun, I\'ll see you at the school."
"Y-, yeah. See you ......."
After swallowing Irisdina\'s words, Shina nodded slightly and headed for the school, while dragging along Mimuru and Razward, whom she had KO\'d.
"I-, Iris? Why are you looking at me like that?"
*Stare~~~~.*
Before he knew it, Irisdina was staring at him in a more sullen way than ever before.
Cold sweat broke out on Nozomu\'s face when he saw the intense stares he was getting from her.
"...... Don\'t mind me. Well, then, I\'ll go first."
"Ah, wait up, Ai!?"
"O-, oioi!"
Irisdina put on a pouty face and quickly went on ahead of them.
Tima and Mars hurried after her, while Nozomu was stunned by her sudden change in attitude.
On the other hand, Somia, who was left behind, tilted her head in thought and opened her mouth.
"Nozomu-san, will you go out on a date with me this weekend?"
"Ah, yes ...... Eeh?"
"Great! Then, just before noon, in the central park!"
Somia\'s sudden words made him nod without thinking. Before he had time to confirm it, the girl flashed a smile like the sun and ran off to Ecross.
Nozomu, panicked by the rapidly changing situation, which was shifting as quickly as the spring weather, remained completely rigid until the bell for the morning assembly rang.
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