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

Chapter 2.04

Chapter 2 Part 4

Translator : PolterGlast

Proofreader : John4891

"A, Ane-sama!"

Somia rushed to Irisdina, and she warmly caught Somia. Irisdina’s face wore a smile, and it seemed like she wasn’t the dignified girl at school, but more like the kind older sister.

Somia was talking to Irisdina so eagerly, and Iris was smiling as she nodded to Somia’s words one by one, and the people around couldn’t help but smile at the scene before them.

(I see. Irisdina-san is Somia-chan’s older sister)

Certainly, these two were very similar. Their hair color, eyes, facial features, and the atmosphere they had, were all very similar.

(Maybe Irisdina-san and Somia-chan were twins that look like two peas when they were little)

Because the person Somia was waiting for had arrived, Nozomu thought it would be bad to disturb the sisters, so he tried to go home, but Irisdina, who was pulled by Somia, walked here.

"Hello, You took care of my little sister~~"

"Eh, a, aa ........."

Irisdina talked to Nozomu with a smile on her face.

Nozomu was surprised that her face wasn’t distorted with the same disgust other people around always gave.

Above all, her smile was the reason why he got stuck in replying. Even just her appearance was as beautiful as a work of art. If such a girl smiled, then.............

It wasn’t the same lively smile that Lisa once gave him, but Nozomu still couldn’t give a decent reply to such a smile as pure as a clear stream.

"...? Is there something wrong?"

"No, no! It’s nothing!"

When Irisdina talked to the petrified Nozomu again, Nozomu finally replied decently. Most of all, his reply was decent, but the voice itself remained stiff.

"Kusukusu(1), Nozomu-san. You are fascinated by Ai ane-sama’s smile right!?"

(Wa, wait a minute Somia-chan !!)

Nozomu panicked at Somia’s comment.

(It’s true that I was fascinated, but she doesn’t have to say it openly in front of the said person!)

"Fufu, I see. That’s an honor."

Nozomu panicked because Somia said something unnecessary, but Irisdina immediately answered without being agitated.

It seemed like he had been played by the two. Nozomu stared at them with embarrassment. Somia stuck out her tongue to gloss it over, and Irisdina put her hand on her mouth and smiled. Their expressions were so cute that Nozomu forgave them for making fun of him.

(... Beauty is advantageous huh ...)

"By the way, you were in the infirmary for lunch today. Thank you for helping us at the time."

Thinking that Nozomu was more friendly than she thought, Irisdina thanked him for his help during the lunch break.

"No, I just happened to be in the infirmary... and it was Norn-sensei who treated it."

"Still, you brought us the medicine as soon as you found out that the student we brought was injured."

"Well, it’s not good to do nothing ... but, Irisdina-san also brought her to the infirmary even though a student unrelated to you was injured."

"Well yes, I can’t ignore something as long as I notice it. It’s natural to help someone who is injured."

As he thought, she must have a good personality. She helped, if anyone was in trouble even if she wasn’t directly involved. That seemed to be her way.

She said, "I will help if there are people in need", and it didn’t feel pushy or unnatural at all.

(I’m sure she’s a person who would help people naturally.)

Such a girl looked dazzling and shining to Nozomu.

===============================================

Iris’s POV

She was talking to the boy in front of her, but she still didn’t think he was like the person in the rumours.

She had recently heard that someone helped her little sister who got in trouble in the park, but she didn’t think it was him.

The boy and the rumored person, whom her little sister talked happily about, were far apart. The same went for how she felt about him in the infirmary.

Nozomu Bountis.

At least, no one takes his name in a good way. A former lover of my classmate, Lisa Hounds, and a traitor who cheated on her. When I asked his acquaintances and junior school girls, similar stories came up, and most of them were very angry with him.

Lisa did not fall in love for his talent, and she does not tolerate unreasonable violence. She is an attractive woman from my perspective, and she is a good person.

It was in the summer of the first grade that it was rumored that she was abandoned by her lover and childhood friend.

At the time, our school was all over the story, and many students were worried and rushed to her when she was abandoned by her lover.

Everyone who rushed to her was very angry at the boy who had abandoned her, and I heard that he has been bullied since then.

As a woman as well, I also felt angry at the boy who betrayed her, but I thought it was too much when I heard her story.

I see the boy in front of me. He’s an ordinary boy who doesn’t look outstanding and can be found everywhere. He might even be indistinguishable if it’s crowded.

I was a little surprised to see that my little sister was fun of him while smiling, even seeming attached to him.

Though I don’t mean to boast, my household is grand, and it is said to be a so-called famous household. It has served the country for a long time and has served in important positions.

Along with that, it came to have great power, and that power has a strong influence on Solminati.

Many bugs approached such a strong power to suck the sweet nectar.

The bugs naturally targeted us, sisters, the legitimate daughters of the head, and approached us by hiding their polluted hearts with a smile like a "Noh mask".

Perhaps because we’ve been surrounded by such greedy adults since we were children, both my little sister and I became sensitive to the malicious intent within people’s hearts. When we talked to such people, we talked with smiles while putting up large walls in our hearts.

My little sister and I have learned such tactics, but when playing with him, my little sister doesn’t have such a wall, and she exposes her true self as she is. Even if I talk face-to-face like this, there is no sense of caution in my heart.

I don’t think I should say it myself, but my appearance looks pretty good. I don’t like boys of the same age because they tend to look at my chest and butt, at the same time I also feel their gaze of lust.

However, I have no such discomfort around him. I was flustered when my sister pointed him out, but he’s able to make me smile naturally. A mysterious young man. That was the first impression I had of him.

=======================================================

After that, the sun started sinking and the sunset began to illuminate the park, so Nozomu said goodbye to the two and returned to the dormitory.

On the way back, Nozomu was a little happy when he remembered the conversation with Irisdina.

It’d been a long time since he talked naturally with people of the same age like that.

(I don’t think we’ll have a chance to talk anymore, but I hope we can talk again)

As soon as he returned to the dormitory, he prepared and left the dormitory right away. He was heading to Shino’s hut. As tomorrow would be a holiday, Nozomu decided to train at night and stay in Shino’s hut. Shino’s hut was in the forest, so even if he released his suppression, no one would notice it. Whenever Nozomu released his power of the dragon-slayer, he always did it there.

“............?”

Shortly after leaving the dormitory, Nozomu felt a strange gaze. Someone had been following him since he left the dormitory.

Nozomu thought it was someone who didn’t like him at school, but it didn’t seem to be the case, because that person’s gaze wasn’t hostile.

That person was still chasing him even after leaving the city. It looked like there was only one line of sight, so it seems that only one person was following.

"I wonder if I can shake it off if I enter the forest"

However, if he did it poorly, it would be troublesome later, so Nozomu went into the forest as it was and headed for the hut as usual.

He walked through the forest for a while, but when he felt that he couldn’t feel the gaze anymore, he stopped.

"Hmm, it looks like he’s gone, but who was that?"

Nozomu thought about the person who was watching him, but he couldn’t think of anything. Although he could speculate on why that person was so persistent, speculation was not very accurate.

(Maybe, Because I killed a dragon?)

If that was true, it would be bad for Nozomu. He couldn’t predict what each country’s authority would do to him.

(But why didn’t he follow me till the end? I didn’t think he would stop tracking as soon as I enter the forest)

Although he made various guesses himself, the current Nozomu couldn’t give an answer, so he went straight to Shino’s hut.

===============================================

Mars’s POV

"As I thought, he went to the forest"

It was Mars who followed Nozomu. After confronting Nozomu in the forest, he intended to make him talk about various things without being able to escape.

However, when the other party entered the forest, he decided that it was dangerous to enter the forest alone, so he turned back in front of the forest.

"He’s entered the forest, but it’s okay. Fortunately, tomorrow is a holiday. It’s perfect for asking a lot of questions."

Originally, Mars didn’t intend to enter the forest alone where the demon beasts were going rampant.

If he could confirm the fact that Nozomu was in the forest alone this time, he thought that Nozomu should be questioned, but now, he was thinking about other methods. It was a pretty forceful method .....

================================================

Upon arriving at Shino’s hut, Nozomu put his luggage down and cleaned it.

While cleaning, a memorial tablet and a katana placed on the shelf came into Nozomu’s field of vision. It is the katana that Shino used to wield.

After Shino’s death, Nozomu, who was sorting through the deceased’s belongings in the hut, found a will she gave to Nozomu.

It just said, "I will give you my sword."

From the beginning, she intended to convey everything and properly write a will on the verge of her death.

When he saw the will, Nozomu thought that such a straightforward thing seemed to be a very Shishō way.

However, Nozomu hadn’t used the katana yet. There was another katana on his waist, which was Shino’s spare katana, which was put in the storage room.

Nozomu was still running away, and he wasn’t ready to bear the responsibility Shino put in her katana just yet.

However.......

(Shishō ...... I can’t have this katana yet, but I’m sure someday ..................)

After cleaning, Nozomu began practising his sword swings. He immediately took a drawn-sword stance from his natural stance. He drew the katana and attacked in the same stroke. The slash cut through the air. He immediately returned the released blade back while shooting a reverse slash. He performed continuous attacks without killing the momentum of the reverse slash.

Left-side slash, reverse slash, horizontal slash .............

The flow of weight shifted by sliding his feet, the muscles of his trunk operated at the same time to link those slashes without waste.

Nozomu was burying himself further while performing a series of attacks.

Eventually, the sounds around him disappeared, and he altered his slash, wielding his katana completely within his own world.

This time, he activated his physical strengthening and mixed it together with Qi technique. When he sent his Qi into his katana blade and unleashed a slash, a violent shockwave formed. Then he sheathed his katana and switched to physical arts

A straight fist strike, stepping forward followed by an elbow strike, a foot-sweeping strike by lowering the waist and rotating the body, followed by a sheath strike.

The continuous attack from the drawn-sword and the physical technique were linked together, and the dance continued.

Finally, he swung his sword down at once. Nozomu was relentless as the air was torn and the calming breeze shook his hair.

Nozomu corrected his stance and closed his eyes when he put his katana back in the scabbard. From here on, he would die instantly if he wasn’t careful.

Nozomu searched deep within himself again. Eventually, he could see the chains wrapped around his body. These chains were the embodiment of Nozomu’s ability, "Ability Suppression".

From now, he would release Ability Suppression and control the power of dragon slayer.

“............ Fuu ......”

He held his breath and put his hands on the chain.

If his control failed, the King of the Dragon would be released, and at that time, Nozomu would definitely not be forgiven.

However, he couldn’t turn his eyes away. If he left it out of control and it became irreparable, it wouldn’t be enough to regret it for the rest of his life if it reached not only Anri-sensei, Norn-sensei, Irisdina-san, and Somia-chan, but everyone else as well!

Nozomu decided to remove the chain that binded him.

At that moment, the released power filled Nozomu’s body in an instant, overflowing out from the body that wasn’t able to contain all of it.

"Gu, Guuuuu!"

Nozomu clenched his teeth and endured, but too much power caused Nozomu’s spirit to be swept away in a blink of an eye, causing greasy sweat to float on his body.

Excess power could easily destroy the spirit of a tiny human being, but Nozomu’s spirit managed to endure it.

By becoming a dragon slayer and gaining some of Tiamat’s power, Nozomu may have gained some resistance to that power.

However, he still reached his limit. Nozomu desperately resisted, but the pain ended up becoming unbearable, and the chain that bound him wrapped around his body again.

"Ku! Haa ... haa ... haa ... haa ............"

When the Ability Suppression restrained Tiamat’s power, Nozomu collapsed on the spot.

His entire body trembled with greasy sweat from the sudden powerful reaction, and it didn’t seem like it would be settled soon.

"As I thought, no matter how hard I tried, the limit is only about 2 minutes ......... D*mn!"

Nozomu lay on his back as it was.

The result wasn’t good. After all, with the current Nozomu, 2 minutes was the limit, and there was no sign that it could be improved anymore.

Nozomu’s facial expression displayed impatience at his ability to control the power, which had no sign of growth at all.

In the end, the day’s training could not produce any further results, and Nozomu went home the next morning.

When Nozomu arrived in front of his dormitory room, a stranger greeted him.

"Yo, You are so late."

It was Mars who was leaning against the door of Nozomu’s room.

"... Do you need something?"

"Aa, lend me your face for a bit"

Mars told Nozomu in a compelling tone.

"What the hell? I’m on my way home from work so I’m sleepy."

Nozomu lied that he was working until the morning because he couldn’t tell Mars that he was in the forest training the power of the dragon slayer there.

"Hmm, work, are you doing it in the forest?"

I bet you couldn’t get any job because you didn’t have enough rank for it, so...why did you still go to the forest? "

Mars’s words made Nozomu’s consciousness white for a moment.

(How did he know? Maybe what happened yesterday was............)

"Perhaps, the one who followed me yesterday was ..."

"Aa, that was me .... As I thought you noticed me. Well, that’s fine, I have something to ask you. Follow me."

Mars turned his back and started walking. Nozomu had no choice but to follow his back.

Notes:

(1)Kusukusu is a sound effect for giggling