Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no 'Kokoro'-

[LN] Volume 2: Chapter 1.3

This chapter was brought to you by the collaboration between PolterGlast and Saekano Translations.

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Volume 2 Chapter 1.3

Changes in Everyday Life Part 3

Translator : PolterGlast

While Mars and Tima were distracting the demonic beasts while protecting the wagon, Nozomu and Irisdina launched a surprise attack from the flanks. Both of them strengthened their physical abilities with Qi-jutsu and magic and ran to close the distance at once.

As soon as they leaped out of the bushes, the magic stone bearers noticed Nozomu and Irisdina.

The four Direwolves, except for the leader, intercepted them. The four Direwolves were coming toward them, emitting a glow of magic power from all over their bodies. Their speed was clearly faster than that of ordinary four-legged demonic beasts.

"As expected, they are fast. They have strengthened themselves through magic power, huh? I'll take care of them, so you go on and take care of the leader."

"Leave it to me."

Nozomu, who had stepped forward, sent Qi into the katana he carried at his waist, and as he pushed forward while his left hand still holding the scabbard up, he snipped the koiguchi (scabbard mouth).

At the same time, with his right hand on the hilt, he drew the blade from his waist while pulling the scabbard with his left hand. He swung the blade along the joint of the first Direwolf's jaw as it pounced on him.

*Kyan!*

The blade with an extremely fine Qi-blade severed the jaw joint, and the Direwolf's jaw fell off. The blade also cut the jaw of the other one that had leaped at him with a returning strike.

*Gehyu …… gahyu!*

The second Direwolf was also easily taken down by the mandible in the face of Nozomu's Qi-blade.

The two Direwolf rolled and thrashed on the ground in pain, loss of life, and blood loss.

The wolf-shaped demonic beasts rely on their strong jaws for their means of attack.

Therefore, simply taking away its means of attack could almost completely deprive it of its ability to fight.

However, the opponent was a demonic beast possessing a magic stone so it could use magic. Nozomu, without letting his guard down, swung his katana in a single flash and decapitated the two heads that had lost their jaws.

*Grrrrr! Gyan!*

" ~!"

The third one, which leaped at him without fear, was now being cut down by a vertical slash.

With a Qi-blade that could bisect even a Mad Bear, which boasted a much larger physique than a Direwolf, the body of the third magic stone-bearer, cleanly cut in two, and separated to the left and right while wailing, fell to the ground with a thud.

And then Irisdina unleashed the finishing blow.

She activated her ability [Immediate Deployment]. Without the chanting and magic circle originally required, she deployed magic based on the formulas and imagination generated by her brilliant mind.

What was produced was a huge jet-black spear. The spear, constructed with dense magic power, radiated an oppressive presence that one would not have expected from something that has no weight. Irisdina's limbs, as beautiful as willow trees, moved, and like a battering ram, she launched the magic spear held in her left hand.

"Phew!"

[Intermediate Magic・Javelin of the Abyss]

The spear was launched as if it was being thrown, and it flew toward the Direwolf Leader, making the air tremble.

*Uooooon!*

The Direwolf Leader roared and activated the magic it had been keeping on standby. The magic power released from its mouth collided with the [Javelin of the Abyss].

The [Javelin of the Abyss] which was hurling itself forward while surging with a torrent of magical power, and the storm of magical power that was trying to push it back, were jostling against each other.

However, the fierce opposition was shattered by a meteor-like light shot from the side of the spear.

*Gyan!*

*Gggh……!*

A single arrow flew in the air, emitting a blue magical light.

It was the arrow that Shina Juliel had prepared before Nozomu and Irisdina launched their surprise attack.

The arrow, flying through the air as if it had a will of its own, pierced the scattering Direwolves one after another and charged toward the Direwolf Leader.

"~ !?"

There was no way for the Direwolf Leader, who was in a state of confrontation with Irisdina's magic, to evade it.

The blue arrow blew the Direwolf Leader's head away, and the [Javelin of the Abyss] which no longer had any opposition to hold it back, blew away the remaining torso.

*Ku~uuuu……*

The last remaining Direwolves possessing magic stones turned on their heels and fled into the forest, horrified that their brethren had been killed in such a short period of time.

Irisdina and Nozomu exhaled to make sure each other was safe now that the threat was over.

"Phew!"

"Are you all right, Irisdina-san?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you for clearing out the way. It's amazing how you can accurately slash off the jaws of two magic stone bearers and generate that level of Qi-blade in an instant."

Since Nozomu had been treated as someone who was not part of the school until recently, he felt his cheeks heat up involuntarily in response to Irisdina's honest praise and smile.

"N-, no, Irisdina-san, you are also amazing. Although it was due to your ability, it was amazing that you could instantly activate such magic."

"Fufu~, it's because I've been training for it. As for me, I'm interested in the power you showed at the mansion, you know......."

"Pardon me?"

While Nozomu, who didn't catch the latter part, looked doubtful, Irisdina deepened the smile on her mouth, as if to cover it up.

"No, it's nothing. Anyway, let's go join Tima and the others."

The two of them sheathed their weapons and headed toward Mars and the others who were holding back the demonic beasts.

"Mars, good job."

"Yeah."

"Tima, are you all right?"

"Uuu~, my butt hurts......"

Nozomu lightly raised his hand to make sure he was safe, and Irisdina moved closer to her best friend.

Unlike Mars, who was in a lighthearted mood, Tima was supporting herself with her staff and rubbing her back like an old lady. It was a scene that would ruin such a beautiful girl.

Meanwhile, as Irisdina was making sure that Tima was really okay, the students who had been guarding the caravan earlier called out to her.

"Thank you, Irisdina-san, and everyone as well."

It was the small student, Tom Dale, who spoke to her.

He looked to be in his early teens, but the blue nameplates on his uniform made Nozomu and the others recognize him as a fellow schoolmate of theirs.

Tom wore a cloak large enough to wrap around his petite body, and on the waist of his uniform was a belt with pouches of various sizes attached to it.

If one were to look closely, one would find numerous pockets on the inside of the cloak as well, and a wooden doll with gems woven into it hung on the belt at his waist.

"Don't mind it, we just happened to run into you. You guys are-......."

"Third grade, second class, Tom Dale. This is Mimuru Midir."

"Nice to meet you!"

The cat girl called Mimuru waved to Nozomu and the others and winked at them.

Her whole energetic personality and demeanor showed that she has a rather easygoing nature.

She has two daggers at her waist.

The daggers look like ordinary steel daggers, but the residue of Qi exuding from her body indicates that she is a Qi user, just like Nozomu and Mars.

"Then she is- ......"

"Shina Juliel."

The last person introduced was the elf girl that Nozomu bumped into at the guild branch.

She took a step forward from Tom and Mimuru and said her name in a soft, hushed tone.

"Yes, I know who you are. My name is Irisdina Francilt."

"I'm Tima Lime."

"Yes, I know you two as well."

First Irisdina and Tima introduced themselves to Shina and the others.

Shina also seemed to know their names, but her tone of voice was as indifferent as cold fresh water.

Mars and Nozomu were next, but Mars was looking toward the other direction with his arms crossed, as if he had no intention of introducing himself.

Nozomu scratched his head in a troubled manner at the sight of his friend, but had no choice but to introduce himself.

"Umm, my name is Nozomu Bountis. Over there is Mars."

Shina's gaze turned toward Nozomu. Her eyes, which had originally given the impression of being cold, squinted even further.

Skepticism and a hint of dislike. It was the same expression that Nozomu had seen many times at the school.

Nozomu felt his mood sinking as he squinted a little under the sudden gaze.

"Hee, so it's you......"

On the other hand, Mimuru, whether she was aware of Nozomu's situation or not, leaned forward and looked into Nozomu's face. The suddenness of her action made Nozomu feel uncomfortable.

"Umm......"

"You see, Irisdina-san, why are you teaming up with this guy? He's in the tenth class, isn't he?"

Leaving the bewildered Nozomu aside, Mimuru began to ask Irisdina a blunt question.

"Yeah, but he's strong. You saw it, didn't you?"

"I guess so, but there's a lot more to him than that, isn't there?"

"...... I wonder what are you implying?"

"You see, he betrayed his girlfriend. I believe it was the Red-haired Princess. First class, Lisa Hounds......"

*Creak.......*

Nozomu felt something creaking deep in his chest. Following that, his heart beat faster and his hands began to sweat. He found himself gritting his teeth tightly.

"Mimuru......"

"Hm? Ah! I shouldn't have said that in front of the person himself! Sorry, sorry!"

"...... It's not something you should say regardless of whether you're in front of him or not."

Tom reprimanded Mimuru for her slip of the tongue.

Mimuru, finally realizing that the atmosphere had deteriorated at once, bowed her head repeatedly. It seems that she tends to be very careless and say what she thinks right away.

"Gosh. Nozomu-kun, I'm so sorry. Mimuru was so rude to you."

"...... I don't mind."

Even though he said he didn't mind it, there was a heaviness in Nozomu's tone of voice that he couldn't hide.

The bitterness of being reminded of it cast a shadow over Nozomu's mind like muddy water, as he had only been able to forget his disdainful environment for the past two weeks, thanks to the presence of Irisdina and the others.

"Um, speaking of which, is there any special mechanism behind the arrow that finished off the Direwolf Leader earlier?"

For the time being, Nozomu tried to change the subject by talking to Shina, who remained silent. Although it might seem pathetic, in the past, when Irisdina had asked him about Lisa, he simply left without saying whether or not he wanted to talk about it.

With that in mind, it could be said that the current him was able to swallow his own emotions properly.

"...... Yeah. Tom did some modifications to the arrow feathers and the shaft."

Perhaps sensing Nozomu's state of mind, Shina, too, answered the question, albeit in a rather indifferent tone.

"That was very powerful and well-guided."

"Yes, it's called an engraved arrow. It's Tom's specialty, you know. Wasn't it amazing?"

Irisdina skillfully weaved together Shina's nonchalant response and expanded the subject.

Mimuru, on the other hand, puffed out her chest with a big, happy smile, even though it wasn't about her, while Tom chuckled in embarrassment.

"I haven't done any major work on the formula though. It only changes its trajectory slightly in response to the user's magic power, so if you can't read the wind and the opponent's movements accurately, you won't be able to properly hit the target. Besides, I haven't developed a formula to increase the power of the arrows.

"I see...... So in other words, the power of that arrow is only because it's Shina-kun."

"It was spirit magic, wasn't it? Speaking of elves, they are the most proficient when it comes to spirit magic......"

Perhaps intrigued by Tom's technique, Mars and Irisdina joined in the conversation.

Meanwhile, Nozomu gasped upon hearing the word "spirit magic" mentioned by Mars.

Spirit magic. It refers to the power of spirits, a more fundamental power that is distinct from the magic used by humans.

Elves are also known as the race most favored by the spirits.

They can borrow the power of spirits with only their own magic, without the need to use any rituals or complicated ceremonies.

And spirit magic is the same power used by Tiamat, the giant dragon that Nozomu was absorbed in.

"...... I didn't need to use it."

At the mention of spirit magic, Shina responded nonchalantly with the same cold expression as before.

Originally, elves hardly interact with other races and rarely open up to others.

This is largely due to their ability to communicate with spirits.

The environment in which they are surrounded by beings with whom they can communicate without using words from an early age diminishes the need for language.

In addition, they are a rare species with few relatives, and their community is small.

Inevitably, many elves become closed-minded and tend to use few words when interacting with other races.

Their lack of interaction is sometimes taken as arrogance, which often leads to trouble with other races.

Perhaps Shina Juliel is also one of these typical elves. Let alone Nozomu and Mars, she even maintained her cold attitude toward Irisdina and the others.

"I really appreciate your help. I'm sorry, but I have to report this to the guild. See you later......"

Shina turned her back and was about to leave. Not only Nozomu, but also Irisdina was unable to say anything, but someone unexpectedly came to the rescue. It was Mimuru, who had just made a bunch of inappropriate remarks.

"Ah, what are you princesses going to do after this?"

"By "princesses," do you mean us? Well, we need to report this to the guild as well......"

"Then shall we go together!? Hey, it's okay, right!?"

Mimuru ignored the delicate atmosphere of the place and suggested to Irisdina to go report to the guild together.

"Hmm, what do you think, Nozomu-kun, Mars-kun?"

"I'm fine with it......"

As Nozomu glanced over at Shina, she frowned for a moment but let out a sigh as if she had no choice.

"...... Fine."

"Alright! Let's go then!"

Mimuru raised her hands in joy upon hearing the words of approval.

The elf girl's sighed as if to say, "It can't be helped", and Nozomu could somehow sense the relationship between the two of them.

A beastman girl who was swinging around, and an elf girl who was being swung around. Nozomu saw the relationship between the two as similar to his own relationship with his late master.

(She must be having a hard time......)

"What?......"

"No, it's nothing."

Shina turned her jittery eyes toward Nozomu, who was about to let out a chuckle.

The atmosphere, which had been heavy until a few minutes ago, had somewhat eased.

◆

After defeating the pack of Direwolves, Nozomu and the others returned to Arcazam together with Shina's party, who were escorting the caravan, and went straight to the guild to report their achievements.

After reporting to the guild, the results were assessed and rewards were paid.

Normally, in the Adventurers' Guild, one's evaluation would increase according to one's contribution to the guild, and one would be promoted to a higher rank if one continued to achieve above a certain level.

Adventurers are then able to receive more benefits, better support, and assistance in a variety of ways. The Arcazam branch, on the other hand, holds a special position among the many branches of the Adventurers' Guild. It is organized and managed with a partnership with the Solminati Academy in mind.

The Arcazam branch has few active adventurers. Most of the requests are carried out by students of the Solminati Academy.

"Then, we found a merchant caravan being attacked by a pack of Direwolves, so we worked together with the party that had arrived before us and eliminated the attacking pack."

While listening to Irisdina's report, the receptionist checked the details on the documents in front of her.

Under what circumstances did they confirm the traces of the demonic beasts, track them, come in contact with them, fight against them, and eliminate them?

Irisdina, who was being questioned, answered all the receptionist's questions without hesitation.

"I see. Are you certain?"

"Yes, there is no doubt about it. Here are also the parts that can be used as proof of the demonic beasts we defeated."

Irisdina presented the fangs she had removed from a Direwolf.

The defeated demonic beasts were too many to be put on the wagon because of their large number, so most of them were left at the scene, except for the demonic beast that was possessing a magic stone. Therefore, as proof of defeating them, only the largest canine teeth were removed.

Nevertheless, the bodies of the remaining demonic beasts also need to be disposed of as soon as possible, as they might attract other demonic beasts if left unattended.

"I have confirmed it. We will collect the remaining demonic beasts on the road. I will prepare the reward for the completion of the investigation request immediately. As for the sale of the defeated demonic beasts, I will contact you after the retrieval is done......."

"Understood."

"Lastly, I would like to confirm that the student, Nozomu Bountis, did indeed defeat three magic stone bearers?"

The receptionist's skeptical eyes turned to Nozomu. The other students in the guild who overheard the receptionist's words began to look at Nozomu suspiciously.

"Oi, that bottom-of-the-barrel guy just killed a magic stone-bearer, they said."

"Haa? That's impossible. I'm sure the black-haired princess is mistaken. He's a parasite after all."

The receptionist had already checked Nozomu Bountis's past performance in the reference room while Irisdina and the others were carrying out the request.

The Adventurers' Guild is committed to fair evaluation without regard to race or birth. As such a guild employee, she, too, absolutely does not tolerate unfairness.

At the same time, as a receptionist, she understood that some people would make fraudulent reports.

Therefore, she is suspicious of Nozomu, puzzled by the discrepancy between his performance at the school and the report presented in front of her.

"Yes, there is no doubt about it."

"However, the way he beat them is- ....... I understand. I honestly couldn't believe it, but let's acknowledge it for the time being."

The receptionist had a stern expression on her face, but Irisdina's resolute response made her acknowledge the report albeit with some reluctance. She smoothly ran her pen over the request form and stamped a mark of accomplishment on it.

The request is now complete. All that was left was to take the request form to the exchange counter and she would receive her reward.

However, there was still a tinge of skepticism in the receptionist's gaze.

"However, there are no points awarded to Nozomu Bountis for this request. You know the reason for that, no?"

The receptionist said so in a stern tone of voice to Nozomu as she held out the stamped request form.

Basically, the points for completing a request are distributed fairly according to the rules established by the guild. At the same time, however, the Adventurers' Guild does not allow low-ranked members to parasitize on high-ranked members.

For this reason, there are a number of factors to be judged, such as rank disparity within a party, difficulty level of requests, percentage of requests completed, school performance, etc., and points may be added or subtracted depending on the situation.

The reason for these rules is to prevent those without ability from moving up to higher ranks and, by extension, to prevent the guild's rank system from losing its trustworthiness and credibility.

And in this request, a negative assessment was given to Nozomu, which canceled out all of his evaluation points.

The reason for this is that he has not received any requests from the guild for more than a year and has no achievements or results to compensate for this.

However, the negative assessment due to this gap is only for this one time, and there will be no problem if he receives requests from the guild on a regular basis in the future.

The guild understands that punishing adventurers more than necessary is only detrimental to them.

"...... Yes, I am aware of it."

"Mars Dickens, so do you. We can't give credit to troublemakers, even if they're competent."

"Shut up, you fat ass. Your makeup is cracking under your little wrinkles."

"F-, fat ass, you say!? ......"

The receptionist's forehead was covered in bulging veins in response to Mars' words, which were originally intended to be a jab. A few cosmetic powders flew from her distorted cheeks.

Nozomu covered Mars' mouth in a hurry. She was in her late twenties. It was a complicated age for a woman.

"But, to defeat four magic stone bearers in a single day, as expected of the Black-Haired Princess and the Four Scales Concerto."

"If you were with the ruthless withered leaf ears, you might be getting the opposite result though."

"...... Withered leaf ears?"

Nozomu tilted his head in response to the unfamiliar words he heard.

"~......"

The sound of gasping for air made him look beside him, and he saw Shina with a stiff expression on her face.

The slender hand resting on her other arm was squeezing tightly.

At that moment, the door of the guild hall was opened with a loud bang, and a large group of students entered through the door.

There were about 20 students in all. By their outward appearance, they were students in the second to fourth classes of the third grade.

The sight of so many students from other classes walking together attracted the attention of the guild staff and other students.

Walking at the front of the group was a beastman with silver hair and a silver tail.

His arms, covered with well-trained muscles, extend out from the sleeves of his rolled-up uniform, and his golden eyes were filled with self-confidence.

Even the tips of his silver fur were brimming with vitality, and he clearly exuded a presence that set him apart from the other students in the hall.

And on his chest shone a purple nameplate indicating that he is one of the highest-ranked students in the school year.

Kevin Ardinal.

A male student who belongs to the first class of the third grade. He is a rare race of wolf beastmen called the Silver Wolf, and one of only five students in the third grade who are recognized as worthy of rank A.

"Is that you, Irisdina? Are you here to accept a request?"

"No, we've already done it. Are you guys about to give a report?"

"Yeah. Oi, we've finished the request. Let's proceed with the procedure."

As he called out to Irisdina in a carefree manner, Kevin tossed the request form from his pocket onto the counter where the receptionist was sitting.

"Please your report......."

"Karanti. Explain it to her."

"Understood!"

After leaving the responsibility of reporting to the other students at the party, Kevin turned to Irisdina.

On the other hand, the gray, beast-eared female student entrusted with the report made her way to the reception desk with a determined look on her face.

"So, Irisdina, what kind of request was yours? Well, since we're talking about you, was it to subjugate a designated demonic beast in the Spasim Forest?"

"No, it was to do a patrol along the highway."

"Patrolling the highway, after all this time? You're way too good for that."

Obviously disappointed, Kevin shrugged his shoulders and, squinting his sharp, wolf-like eyes, took a glance at Nozomu and the nameplate he was wearing.

"Nozomu Bountis, so you're that guy, huh? ....... Oi, Irisdina, you are the figurehead of the third grade, aren't you? Then pick the right battlefield and the right men."

Kevin seemed to know about Nozomu, but he immediately lost interest in him, and then he pressed Irisdina in a rather strong tone of voice.

Irisdina, on the other hand, smiled and lightly brushed off Kevin's complaints.

"Of course he is the right one I'm the one who invited him to join me."

"Are you daydreaming or something? ......"

Kevin put his hand on his forehead and looked up to the sky in disbelief.

Knowing Nozomu's reputation, Kevin's reaction was only natural.

Rather, it was good enough that he didn't proceed to spew insults down the line.

"I didn't realize that you also have withered-leaf ears with you......"

However, the moment he saw Shina, who was a short distance away from Irisdina and the others, a color of disdain flashed in Kevin's eyes.

The color of dislike was clearly stronger than that for Nozomu, and Nozomu couldn't help but be taken aback by it.

If he were to look closely, he would see that the other beastmen in Kevin's party were also looking sharply at Shina.

"You are nothing but a conceited, deceitful elf."

"Venomous insects. It's all their fault......"

Kevin's cronies start cursing in a voice that Shina could clearly hear.

(What's with this indignation? This is not normal.)

What in the world could have happened between Shina and them?

Before the question mark in Nozomu's head reached an answer, Kevin, leaving his cronies aside, pressed Irisdina with an even stronger tone of voice while pointing his finger at Shina.

"Irisdina. Did you also team up with this thing?"

"We fought together when we fought off the demonic beasts. So you came here just to insult my companions?"

Irisdina, on the other hand, could not hide her irritation at Kevin and his cronies, who were clearly insulting the people with whom she had fought together.

She glared at Kevin and his cronies with a quiet, yet clear tone of disdain in her voice.

"No...... Just please don't team up with this thing. Elves can't be trusted, and besides, this one is a failure even as an elf."

(Failure?)

"Cut it out. Do you want to cause a ruckus here? If you want me to be aware of my position as the class representative, then you should reflect on your own words and deeds."

"Hmph, I have no intention of denying what I said and did, but if you insist, I'll be going home today. Then, I'll see you later.

After saying so, Kevin took his reward from the student who made the report and left with his party members.

As Kevin and the others disappeared through the hall door, the tense atmosphere in the hall finally relaxed.

However, there was an indescribable, awkward atmosphere between Nozomu and Shina.

"I'm heading home. See you then......"

"Ah......."

After a few seconds of silence, Shina said a few parting words and turned away without making eye contact.

"Shina, wait! I'm sorry, Irisdina-san, see you later......."

"Thank you. You saved us."

Mimuru and Tom rushed after Shina as she left in a hurry.

Nozomu, who did not have a good grasp of the situation, could only watch the blue-haired girl's back as she left while holding an indescribable feeling in his heart.

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