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

[LN] Volume 2: Chapter 1.2

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

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Volume 2 Chapter 1.2

Changes in Everyday Life Part 2

Translator : PolterGlast

The Adventurers' Guild, Arcazam Branch.

Located in the commercial district in the southern part of Arcazam, it is one of the largest of the many buildings in the city.

Inside the five-story concrete building with three underground levels, there are several departments, including a reception office, a dismantling shop, and an appraisal center, where a large number of employees work.

However, students mostly use only the reception office. Hence, the hall on the first floor where the reception office is located is crowded with many students.

Following Irisdina's invitation, Nozomu visited the Adventurers' Guild with Mars, but the hustle and bustle of the guild, which he had not seen in a long time, made him somewhat nervous.

"Oi, there's someone unusual here."

"Why is that guy here?"

"Who knows? Well, we don't have to worry about it. He won't be able to get a decent request anyway."

"Most likely, he's here just to beg some party to give him a piggyback ride. What a parasite."

Among the students who frequented the Adventurers' Guild, there were those who were familiar with Nozomu.

When they saw Nozomu, they would give him a dubious look, followed by ignoring him and walking away as if they had seen nothing. Some of them gave me a distinctly mocking gesture when their gazes met.

Although it was inevitable, Nozomu frowned upon seeing their attitude.

"Tch, what a bunch of noisy bastards ......."

Then, when Mars who was standing next to him glared at them, they quickly began to scurry away.

"Oi, why are you letting them off the hook like that?"

"It's not like we can just punch them in the face, right? ......"

Nozomu sighed in response to Mars, who told him to use force to shut them up.

No matter how much they may have been ridiculing him, it was clear that if they were to hit them, the criticism would be directed at them.

Besides, this time they were planning to form a party with Irisdina and Tima. If they were to cause a commotion, it would inevitably cause trouble for them.

However, even Nozomu couldn't help but feel the pent-up anger building up deep in his heart.

(I used to feel nothing before.)

In the past, he had unconsciously averted his eyes and closed his mind, making it difficult to feel the pain. However, from the moment he became aware of his escapism, Nozomu had become more clearly and sensitively aware of the voices around him.

This was proof that his eyes had gradually begun to see his surroundings, and at the same time, he had begun to face the pain that he had been looking away from.

But while he was aware that the current pain was due to his process to change, he was not yet at peace enough to look at everything in a positive light.

"Hey, sorry to keep you guys waiting."

Just as Nozomu was becoming aware of his anguish, a refreshing voice sounded in his ears.

Immediately after, the anguish that had been swirling in the depths of his chest disappeared like a tide.

Irisdina, a regular visitor to the guild's hall, approached Nozomu.

Beside her, Tima is also present.

The eyes of the surrounding students turned to Irisdina and Tima, and then to Nozomu and Mars whom she had called out to. The stares were exactly the same as those that were directed at them in the classroom at lunchtime earlier in the day. It was a mixture of suspicion, upset, jealousy, and murderous intent.

"N-, no, not really."

"So, what's this request you want us to work on together?"

"I'll tell you at the reception desk. Shall we go then?"

"Alright......."

While Nozomu, who was receiving the most murderous stares, was flustered, Irisdina and the others headed for the reception desk.

Nozomu followed suit, but at that moment he bumped into a shadow that had jumped out from the side of the crowd.

"Whoa there!"

"Kyaa!"

Nozomu quickly grabbed the hand of the shadow that was about to fall. The soft skin typical of women and the slender arm that seemed as if it might break was felt back in the palm of his hand.

"S-, sorry. Are you-...... okay?"

A blue curtain spread out before Nozomu's eyes. The face of a girl on the other side of the curtain made Nozomu's eyes widen involuntarily.

She had long, azure blue, straight hair. Her eyes were tinted the same color as her hair. Her face was surprisingly white and well-shaped.

And the most distinctive feature of all was the long, pointed ears peeking out from her azure hair.

"......Elf?"

Elves.

The highly intellectual races living on the continent of Arkmel are broadly divided into two categories: human and demihuman, and within the demihuman race there are a wide variety of races.

Among them, elves were somewhat unique and mysterious.

They are the only race that can make a direct contract with spirits.

Normally, they would never come out in public and live quietly in the depths of the forest, but they too lost their native forest during the Great Invasion 20 years ago and were thus scattered all over the continent.

Anyone could tell that she is a student of Solminati Academy because she wears the Academy's school uniform.

And Nozomu also remembered her name.

It was because she is the only elf who lives here in Arcazam.

"You are-......"

"...... I'm fine, so let go of me."

"Ah, right."

Upon hearing the elf girl's emotionless words, Nozomu let go of the hand he was holding.

She glanced at Nozomu with cold, emotionless eyes, then turned on her heel and walked away.

"Nozomu-kun, what's wrong?"

"No, I just bumped into someone......"

"Ah, I see, Sina Juliel-kun. I wonder if she has something to do with the guild as well?"

Shina Juliel. That is the name of the only elf in town.

When Nozomu turned around, she had already disappeared into the crowd and was out of sight.

"Nozomu-kun, are you all right?"

"Y-, yeah. I'm fine. Let's go."

After regaining his composure, he headed for the necessary procedures.

The Adventurers' Guild reception desk has a horizontal counter with several receptionists in constant operation.

"I am Irisdina Francilt, third grade, first class. I'm here to accept the request."

Upon arriving at the reception desk, Irisdina removed the nameplate from her chest and handed it to the receptionist, who was dressed in a crisp uniform.

The nameplate is used not only as an identification that she is a student of Solminati Academy, but also as a substitute for a student ID card and, by extension, as a form of identification in the guild.

"Yes, I have confirmed it. Here is the request form for the assigned request. Will the party consist of you and Tima Lime as usual?"

"Two additional members will join the party. Nozomu-kun and Mars-kun."

Prompted by Irisdina, Nozomu and Mars removed their nameplates and handed them to the receptionist.

The moment the receptionist saw the black nameplates indicating that they were of the tenth class, she looked at them with a momentary doubtful expression on her face.

"Are you of the tenth class, with ranks D and B?......"

It is not at all unusual for people of different ranks to form a party, but it is quite rare. Basically, people of the same rank are more likely to form a party. The reason is that they know each other well and have a good understanding of the other's movements and perspectives.

However, she needs to be professional. The receptionist immediately smiled and began the next procedure.

"...... Yes, we have approved it. But it is quite unusual for you to invite others to an assignment request."

"They're people I can rely on after all."

"You can rely on, huh?......"

After receiving the request form from the receptionist, Irisdina returned to Nozomu and the others.

"So what's the request about?"

"The request is to investigate the area near the highway that connects Arcazam with the Vein River. It seems that recently, demonic beasts have been coming down from the depths of the forest."

The Vein River flows from the Spasim Forest to the Forsina Kingdom, and at the same time, it serves as one of the main transportation routes for sending goods to Arcazam.

The safety of the highway connecting the Vein River and Arcazam is something that Arcazam must absolutely maintain, and for this reason, the regular subjugation of demonic beasts is carried out.

"However, the guards and other students are patrolling the highway, aren't they?"

"Yeah, but I've heard that a lot of demonic beasts that seem to possess magic stones have been sighted recently. Perhaps, they are a bit concerned about it."

Magic Stone Bearer.

As the name implies, a magic stone is a stone inside the body of a demonic beast, which gives it special abilities such as magic.

The presence of a magic stone-bearer within a herd of demonic beasts can make the difficulty of a request jump drastically.

It is precisely because of the sightings of these magic stone bearers that Irisdina and her party were entrusted with the request.

"All right. But are you sure you want us to join you?"

As Mars reconfirmed this to Irisdina, she suddenly turned her gaze to Nozomu.

"Nozomu-kun, you are familiar with the Spasim forest, aren't you?"

"Is that true?"

"Well, it's due to my training with my mentor......"

That being said, if it were just along the highway, Nozomu's knowledge wouldn't matter much. Because other students have been around it many times.

"In the first place, if I were to entrust someone with my back, I would rather limit it to people of the academy, and since I have that one incident involving you guys, I think I can trust you."

As if agreeing with Irisdina's words, Tima also nodded her head repeatedly.

After being told this much, there was no reason for Nozomu and Mars to refuse. After the four of them finished their discussions, they left the Adventurers' Guild to complete the request.

The guild's receptionist watched Nozomu and the others as they left, and then looked down at the copy of the request form in her hand.

"Mars Dickens and Nozomu Bountis, huh? ....... Just in case, let's look into them, shall we?"

The school's top students chose unusual students.

The receptionist got up from her seat while muttering to herself and headed for the reference room.

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A short distance away from the reception counter where Nozomu and the others were accepting the request, Shina Juliel, an elf girl, was chatting with a female beastman and a male of the human race.

"Shina, did something happen?"

"It looks like there was a bit of a commotion......"

The female beastman had ears on her head covered in brown-colored fur, and a tail of the same color grew tautly from under the skirt of her uniform.

She was carrying two daggers at her waist and wearing only the bare minimum of leather gear on top of her uniform.

Her skirt revealed her plump thighs, and she was dressed lightly.

Her name is Mimuru Midir. She is a member of a race of beastmen called the Catmen and is a student in the second class of the third grade.

The other one is a male of the human race, who wears a blue nameplate on his chest, indicating that he is in the same third grade, second class as Mimuru and Shina. He is quite short, only as tall as the chest of the girl next to him.

His body is slender, and his large-framed glasses emphasize his fragility.

The boy's name is Tom Dale. He is a student at the Solminati Academy, where he is well-versed in the study of magic and alchemy.

"It was nothing. I just tripped and almost fell."

As she said so, Shina was peeking at the request form that the girl called Mimuru had received, but in her mind, she was still thinking back to the boy she had just encountered.

"Hey, do you know a student in the tenth class with an Eastern saber- ...... katana?"

"Tenth class? I don't know~. Who?"

While saying so, Mimuru leaned on Tom, who was standing next to her.

The way she clung to Tom's arm and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder was clearly too close to be called a friend.

Tom smiled shyly upon seeing Mimuru like this. These two were childhood friends from the Sumahya Union in the southern part of the continent, and at the same time, they were also lovers.

"Maybe it's Nozomu Bountis."

"Eh? Is he famous?"

"Well, I guess he's famous. In a bad way though. You see, I heard that he had a dispute with Lisa Hounds, a first-class student, when he was in his freshman year......"

"A~~ah! I'm sure you've heard the rumors about the time he betrayed his devoted childhood friend, right? I heard he didn't have good grades to begin with but he is still attending the school now."

Mimuru repeatedly nodded her head, her ears and tail wiggling.

The rumor of Nozomu was well-known at that time, so his name was still in the corner of Mimuru's memory.

"Well, it's something like that. So, Shina, is there something wrong with him?"

"No, I was just wondering what kind of person the guy who grabbed my hand was when I tripped and almost fell."

"Hee~, it's unusual for you to be interested in a stranger, but perhaps it's best if you don't."

"It's not like what you think. I was curious because he was carrying an unusual weapon. Anyway, you've done the procedures, haven't you? Let's go."

With a dismissive gesture by waving her hands, Shina and the others also left the Adventurers' Guild. Mimuru followed her, pulling Tom by the arm as they rushed out as well.

"Well then, let's go -------!"

"Wait a minute Mimuru, slow down, slow down a little!"

As Mimuru passed by Shina, dragging Tom along with her, Shina let out a sigh and turned around.

Ahead of her gaze, she remembered the figure of the schoolmate she had just talked about and had bumped into.

"I don't know what it was, that stirring sensation deep within my chest......."

Shina Juliel was doubtful about the sensation, which she had not felt since she came to this Arcazam.

But before she could get an answer, she heard the loud voice of Mimuru, who had run off ahead earlier.

"What are you doing, Shina, hurry up!"

"Yes, I know!"

Called by her friend, the blue-haired girl tossed the question that popped into her head to the corner of her thoughts and went after her.

Their destination was the south gate. The request they received was to patrol the highway.

Coincidentally, this was where Nozomu and his friends, who had bumped into her, had headed earlier.

◆

It has been ten years since the city of Arcazam was built. The road leading to the Vein River has been perfectly maintained, and the regularly lined stone-floored road cuts through the dense green forest in a straight line.

However, one step off the road will lead to an unexplored forest, and since there are no barriers to separate the human world from the monsters and beasts, there are occasional attacks by monsters and beasts.

Therefore, the roads are constantly patrolled by Arcazam guards and students commissioned by the Adventurers' Guild, so powerful monsters rarely appear.

This time, Nozomu and his party began their investigation a little further into the forest than the main road.

"Hmm? This is......"

"What's wrong?"

"Footprints. And there are quite a lot of them."

Hidden by rocks and tree roots, the footprints were hard to see, but they were left in a straight line beneath Nozomu's feet, indicating that four-legged creatures had run through the area. They were not the footprints of herbivorous animals such as deer, but of carnivorous ones such as wolves.

"I see, how many do you think there are?"

"They seem to be moving in a group, so it's hard to accurately estimate, but I'd say at least twenty or more......."

"That's quite a lot ......."

Wolves and Wild Dogs, for example, tend to act in groups of blood relatives, called packs, usually of five to nine individuals.

It is rare for a pack to get so large. Considering the severe competition for survival in the forests, such as securing food and fighting territorial battles with foreign enemies, such a number is reasonable.

"In other words, there is a leader who can maintain that many individuals, huh?......"

"If so, the possibility that it has a magic stone is even higher."

The fact that there is a large number of them means that there would be a prominent leader commanding the pack.

"On top of that, these footprints, somehow, seem to contain residual magic power......."

"Yeah. I certainly can sense it, what about you, Tima?"

"I sense it too. Moreover, there seems to be more than one different magic power......."

Irisdina and the others frowned in response to Tima's words. The possibility that the demonic beast leading this pack is a magic stone bearer has increased even more.

Moreover, if they were to trust Tima's senses, there could be more than one demonic beast that possessed magic stones.

At that moment, Nozomu suddenly raised his head and looked in the opposite direction.

"What's wrong?"

"I hear something......"

Hearing Nozomu's words, Irisdina and the others looked at each other while listening carefully.

However, they heard nothing but the sound of the wind and the rustling of leaves.

But Nozomu's ears heard a faint sound. The roar of a beast, a terrified scream, and the clamor of battle.

"This is...... the sound of a demonic beast attacking someone!"

"O-, oi!"

Irisdina and the others were perplexed, but they followed Nozomu, who started to run.

After running through the forest for a while, they finally heard the roar of the beast echoing in the distance.

"Did it aim for the merchant caravans traveling along the highway, in this direction?"

"Haa haa haa....... Guys, wait~~!"

"Oi, hurry up, you're falling behind!"

"Tima isn't very good with physical exercise. The magic power she possesses is too strong, and strengthening her body is dangerous......."

"Tch, screw it......"

"Kyaa!"

Mars turned his mouth up in annoyance and grabbed Tima by the waist with his left hand and placed her on his shoulder as if he were carrying heavy luggage. Mars' sudden action made Tima flustered.

"Fue, fueee, fueeeeeee!"

"Don't struggle, I also carry a sword, so it's heavy and hard for me to move!"

"I'm not heavy! I'm lighter than a normal person!"

"I never said that you're heavy!"

The clamor was getting closer. And as Nozomu and the others dashed out onto the road, they saw, as they had expected, a group of people being attacked by a wolf-shaped demonic beast.

A horse-drawn carriage with two horses pulling a wagon. In the back of the wagon were merchants and travelers who were riding along with their luggage. Surrounding them were wolf-like demonic beasts.

"Are those, Direwolf!?"

Direwolf. A C-rank demonic beast, higher in rank than the Wild Dog.

It is larger in stature than an ordinary wolf and possesses muscle strength that can easily chew through human bones.

Moreover, like ordinary wolves, they attack their prey in packs, making them dangerous beasts to watch out for in this forest.

There are about 20 of them. However, three students from the Solminati Academy were standing between the carriage and the monsters, blocking the beasts that were about to attack.

One was a female beast with brownish-tiger patterned cat ears and tail. She was carrying a dagger in both hands, her whole body covered with Qi, and she was taunting the attacking Direwolves with her nimble movements.

A golem, which seemed to be made of clay, stood by her side, keeping the Direwolves in check as they tried to attack from her blind spot.

If one were to look closely, one would see a young boy in a Soluminati Academy uniform standing by the wagon, his hand extended out, his magic power surging. Perhaps this boy was the one who controlled the golem.

And a girl with distinctive blue hair was standing at the top of the wagon, holding a bow at the ready.

"That was the elf I met at the Adventurers' Guild......."

Shina Juliel, with her slender body and beautifully poised posture, shot arrows from her bow one after the other. The arrows flew through the air like a rushing wind, hitting the Direwolf's eyeballs and limbs with precision.

"Gyan!" "Gu~oooon!"

The Direwolves that were hit by the arrows screamed and thrashed about in agony.

The other Direwolves in the pack, however, were not intimidated, but rather roared as if their will to fight had been roused.

"They don't seem to back down even after their companions have sustained injuries. This pack is getting pretty fired up."

"Bring it on. Oi, get your spells ready. Separate the wagon from the demonic beasts. Nozomu and Irisdina, you should find the leader of this pack, he's probably nearby."

"E-, eh? Eeee~eh!'

Mars raised his Qi in response to Irisdina's words.

Ignoring the screaming Tima, Mars simultaneously activated his Qi-jutsu and [Flash Step]. He jumped out of the grassy area where Nozomu and the others were and charged toward the wolf pack.

"O soil, mother of the earth, abide! Let me be your sustenance, Fubbh-! My will bhh-...... Kyaaa!"

Tima, who was being carried like a sack, writhed from the vibrations, while the Direwolves, pressured by Mars' assault, opened up the way.

"Oooooohh!"

Mars rushed to the side of the wagon and activated his [Qi-jutsu?Wind Blade]. He held the greatsword in one hand, covered it with a blade of wind, and swung it in a cleave.

The blade of wind gouged out the ground and slammed into the forefront of the encircling Direwolves with a powerful blast of wind and debris.

While the Direwolves were intimidated by it, Mars tossed Tima, which he was carrying, into the air in a violent manner.

"Fueee! Rise forth, Mud Wall!"

While the people present at the side of the wagon were looking up at the tossed Tima in dismay, she invoked the spell she had prepared. The ground around the wagon rose up, and a wall of mud appeared, separating the wagon from the demonic beasts.

What she invoked was a magic called [Soil Manipulation].

As the name implies, this is an elementary magic that manipulates the soil with magical power. However, when used by a caster as powerful as Tima, it can instantly build a wall of soil taller than a horse-drawn carriage.

A wall of soil suddenly appeared. The Direwolves, who had supposedly cornered their prey, but were suddenly blocked by the suddenly appearing barrier, began to turn to the right and left, as if in bewilderment.

"Y-, you guys are......"

Mimuru, the girl from the Catmen race who was on the front line, was surprised when Mars suddenly jumped in.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Uuu~, that was awful......."

On the other hand, Tom, who had been controlling the golem with his magic, was worriedly calling out to Tima, who was thrown and fell on her butt.

Tima looked at Mars resentfully with tears in her eyes, but unfortunately, he did not notice Tima's gaze and kept looking up at the magic-generated mud wall, as if searching for any presence of the outside.

"U-, umm, can I have a moment-......? Whoa!"

Just as Tom was about to call out to the motionless Mars, the mud wall in front of him cracked open upon impact.

On the other side of the collapsed wall stood five Direwolves. From the mouths of the Direwolves, there was a shimmering light that seemed to be the remnants of magic.

"Magic Stone Bearers. And there are five of them......"

One of the characteristics that distinguish demonic beasts possessing magic stones is that they can use magic.

The magic they use varies from individual to individual but is often crude and primitive, such as by releasing magic power.

It seemed that the magic stone bearers of this pack would use their mouths to gather magic power and then shoot it out.

"I see, so that's the leader, huh?......"

Mars' eyes turned to the Direwolf, which had a remarkably large physique among the Magic Stone Bearers.

With its lustrous white fur and sharp, large fangs that could be seen even from a distance, it was clearly recognizable as a special individual.

"Uooooon!"

The White Direwolf's roar echoed through the air. As if encouraged by its roar, the Direwolves under its command, who had been trying to attack the mud wall, rushed toward the hole in the wall at once.

"Well, it sure is convenient having them come from one place!"

Mars braced himself and swung his greatsword. The three leading ones were killed by a single slash.

However, two of them rushed in after them, slipping through the gap between the slashes, and tried to slip past Mars' flank.

"Oopsie!"

"Golem, go!"

Mimuru and Tom's golem blocked their way.

Golem is a puppet controlled by the core magical tool and the magic power of the caster.

The clay golem, which was about one and a half times the size of an adult human, spread out its arms threateningly, and Mimuru moved to cut into the Direwolves' path.

The two that were stopped in their tracks were finished off by Mimuru's dagger and Mars' greatsword, which was cleaved in a return strike.

The pack of Direwolves that was about to follow was now bombarded by multiple arrows fired by Shina.

"Slow!"

She set multiple arrows on the strings and released them all at once.

The arrows rushed toward the Direwolves in a straight line and hit them one after another.

The hit rate was 100 percent.

She was able to focus her line of fire on a specific point, and yet she was still able to fire arrows at an astonishingly high rate and accuracy.

The sight of their comrades being killed in the blink of an eye made the Direwolves stop in their tracks, and then they veered off to the side as if to clear a path again.

Mars, Shina, and the others' eyes squinted upon seeing this action. Their stares were focused on the Direwolf Leader's mouth, where intense magical light was gathering.

The other demonic beasts possessing magic stones were also gathering magic power in their mouths.

Shina once again nocked her arrows and this time began to pour magic power into them. The blue-colored magic energy light poured into the arrows.

However, before the two sides could unleash their attacks, the situation took another major turn. Two shadows came out from the flanks of the Direwolf Leader.

"That person is......."

Shina's eyes focused on the shadows that sprang out.

One of them is Irisdina Francilt, a well-known talented student at the school, who is in a party with Tima Lime. And the other one is a schoolmate she bumped into at the guild branch today.

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