Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no “Kokoro”

Chapter 5 Part 7
Within Feo’s whole body, his magical power intensified. He ran towards Nozomu, took out a single talisman, and poured his magical power into it. After the talisman shone for a moment, it disappeared, and a light wrapped around Feo's body. He used a talisman to activate  body strengthening magic!

"Then, I'll give it a try!"

"!!"

The staff that Feo thrust casually came from in front of Nozomu. No power was wasted, and the thrust was barely visible. Nozomu managed to turn his head to the side and dodge it.

Feo Immediately tried to launch another thrust with his staff, but Nozomu managed to stop it with his katana. However, because Feo's strength was stronger, Nozomu's posture was greatly broken.

"Here's another one!"

After Feo took out another talisman from his pocket and activated it, a large amount of wind was generated in front of him, and it rushed towards Nozomu.

"Guh~!!"

For Nozomu whose posture was broken, there was no room to dodge it, and the rushing mass of wind hit Nozomu's body. Although Nozomu was blown away, he managed to jump back and weaken the impact just before the mass of wind was about to hit his body.

However, perhaps because he wasn't able to use the ukemi due to the sudden impact, a voice of agony leaked out due to the shock and pain as he struck the ground. 

(TL: Ukemi is a technique of falling safely in the form of a back roll).

The moment Nozomu found a moving shadow in his vision while swaying in pain, he rolled away from his spot in a hurry.

As soon as Nozomu left the spot, Feo's staff sank to the ground with a *bam* sound. Had he left a little later, he would have been crushed.

"Not over yet ~"

Feo was pursuing further.

The staff held in both of his hands was swung around with the trunk as the starting point and swung from the top to bottom, left to right. Although it wasn’t as powerful as Mars's greatsword, the staff, which was given sufficient weight and rotational power, had no gaps and was capable of continuous heavy attacks.

"Guh~!!"

Nozomu thought that even if he tried to block it from the front, his katana would only be repelled and overwhelmed, so he continued to fend off Feo's continuous attacks while sliding his legs back like in his previous mock battles with Irisdina.

However, Feo's continuous attacks didn't stop. His barrage of attacks added centrifugal force on the staff he swung, further increasing his momentum as he approached Nozomu.

What's more, it wasn't just the staff that attacked Nozomu.

"Take this!"

"!!"

Feo's fist grazed Nozomu's cheek. In addition, a roundhouse kick was launched at Nozomu's flank, but Nozomu managed to jump backward and dodge the kick.

It looked like he didn’t only use staff attacks. Feo could also punch and kick. In a sense, it was very similar to the katana-jutsu (katana technique) used by Nozomu.

Nozomu's katana technique was a comprehensive combat technique that used not only katana but also scabbard and taijutsu (body technique). It seemed that Feo's swordsmanship also used physical techniques such as fists and kicks.

However, unlike Nozomu, Feo could use talisman techniques. It was clearly different from Nozomu, who relied solely on Qi techniques.

"Next is this!"

" !! "

As their distance widened, Feo took out several talismans and quickly activated his technique.

Three thunderballs appeared in the air and launched towards Nozomu.

They rushed towards Nozomu, their main target, like loyal watchdogs; however, Nozomu immediately left his current spot and jumped to the side with [Instant Move].

"Guh~!!"

The launched thunderballs collided with the ground and scattered lightning bolts to the surroundings. Nozomu was affected by it, and his movements slowed down slightly.

After seeing Nozomu's slow movements, Feo activated the talisman technique again. This time, he made three fireballs and fired them towards Nozomu.

(Damn! As I thought, there’s no chance of winning in a long-distance battle !!)

Feo and Nozomu.

Comparing the disposition of the two, Feo dominated in this long-distance battle.

Three more fireballs approached Nozomu, but he changed [Instant Move] into [Instant Move -Curve Dance-] and after making a 90-degree turn, he stepped towards Feo in an instant.

"Oh~"

Feo made a slightly surprised voice in response to Nozomu who changed the movement direction without decelerating at all.

The flying fireball that was released deviated greatly and flew away.

Feo put his hand in his pocket again.

(Do you think I would let you!)

In order to hinder Feo from using his talisman technique, Nozomu focused his Qi on his legs and increased his speed to close the gap in an instant. But...

"Fu~!"

"Wha!?"

It wasn't a talisman. Instead, Feo took out a knife from his pocket and threw it towards Nozomu.

There was barely anything that could be called a handle. Nozomu, who was the target, deflected it with his katana. Meanwhile, Feo had finished sending his magical power into the talisman that he took out again and threw that talisman towards Nozomu.

"Here, another one~"

The talisman thrown by Feo was activated, and a mass of wind was generated in front of him. It rushed towards Nozomu, affecting the surrounding air, and creating a spiral of wind. It was the same magic Irisdina used before, [Wind Tunnel of the Hungry Beast].

Even so, Nozomu continued moving forward without stopping. Wind spirals approached from the front, trying to tear Nozomu's body apart. Nozomu twisted his body just before the wind spiral hit his body, and he dashed past the side of the wind spiral with [Instant Move -Curve Dance-].

The wind spiral grazed his body and cut his uniform. Blood spurted from Nozomu's shoulder, but he didn't care. He closed the distance and swung his katana towards Feo.

"Uo!"

Feo was taken aback by Nozomu's sudden attack, but he was still able to stop the blow with his staff.

Feo's staff, which was made of metal and could block the fangs of demon beasts, blocked Nozomu's slash without being cut in half.

Previously, Feo threw a knife and magic at Nozomu in quick succession. Feo thought that even though it couldn't bring Nozomu down, it could at least stop him. Feo didn't expect Nozomu to be able to break through both his knife and technique at once.

"Fu~!!"

Nozomu launched a diagonal slash, a reverse slash, and a horizontal slash. It wasn't fast, but he launched a series of solid continuous attacks.

There were no gaps in his attacks. It was a continuous attack that gradually cornered the opponent.

Nozomu couldn't win the fight in one go because he was inferior in terms of physical ability, so he used continuous attacks that could definitely push the opponent against the wall. It could also bring out feelings of frustration and impatience in the opponent.

(Hmm. This swordsmanship. This shouldn't be possible for someone who remains in 10th class.)

"... Uoo!!"

Feo was a little agitated when Nozomu was suddenly closing in, but he soon regained his composure.

While calmly handling Nozomu’s continuous attacks, Feo was impressed by his delicate attacks, but Feo was suddenly surprised by what was coming in front of him and moved backward. What passed in front of Feo was Nozomu's leg, which was swung in the form of a roundhouse kick.

Furthermore, Nozomu stepped forward and swung his katana down at Feo’s right shoulder.

"Wha!"

Although Feo was a little taken aback, he was able to parry Nozomu's attacks with his staff without any problems.

However, for Nozomu, being parried by Feo was still part of his plan.

After he swung his katana, Nozomu rotated his body while pulling his own body towards his katana, and spun sideways while closing the gap with Feo.

As soon as Nozomu spun sideways, he lowered his posture and dashed to the side. Feo lost sight of Nozomu for a moment since Nozomu's movement was performed at a close distance.

"Wha~!?"

Feo, who was flustered because he lost sight of Nozomu for a moment, hurriedly tried to turn towards Nozomu, but Nozomu restrained Feo's staff with his scabbard and temporarily restrained Feo's movement.

"Haa!!"

"Kuh~!!"

Nozomu swung his katana down but Feo was still able to respond to Nozomu's attack. He let go of the staff in his hand in a hurry and escaped from Nozomu's slash by bending his body backward.

Because he realized that he was in a tight spot, Feo jumped back and took out a talisman.

After being activated with magical power, lightning raged indiscriminately between Nozomu and Feo.

It simply turned the magical power sent into it into a certain attribute and spread it all over the place, but Nozomu, who was trying to pursue further, was stopped and the gap widened again.

"It-It was dangerous!"

"Kuh~!!"

However, Feo didn't use another talisman. He just repositioned himself. Silence and tension returned between the two who were far apart.

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

As Nozomu and Feo fought each other, Irisdina and the others had no choice but to restrain themselves and watch the battle between the two from within the barrier Feo had erected.

"What should we do!? Shīna!"

Mimuru raised a frustrated voice.

"I also wanted to ask the same thing, you know!? I didn't know Feo was so strong!"

As of now, Feo had dominated the fight between the two.

Shīna and her friends had witnessed Nozomu's abilities in the incident with the black demon beast. With Nozomu's ability to escape from the demon beast, they thought that Nozomu would be able to fight well against Feo, who Shīna and her friends knew about; however, that was not the case in the current battle.

Of course, various things made Nozomu hesitate, and because of that, he didn't want to use his Qi techniques; however, judging by Shīna's words, Feo seemed to be hiding his abilities from his surroundings.

While Shīna and her friends were in a panic, Irisdina managed to contain her inner impatience within her heart and thought about how to manage the current situation.

Shīna and her friends seemed more flustered than Irisdina and the others. It was because they knew the usual Feo, so the gap they felt about the current him was huge.

"... Tom-kun, it seems like he is in the same class as you guys, but is he someone who would do something like this?"

"N-No. It's true that he always has an easygoing attitude, and since he's such a moody person, he doesn't get along well with Inda-sensei and Shīna, but at the very least, he is not someone who would do something out of the blue like this"

"T-Then ... Why?"

"We don't need to know what his reason is! The first thing we need to do now is to stop that fox guy!!"

Tom answered Irisdina's question, but apparently, Feo wasn't the type of person to suddenly attack like this.

Tima let out a confused voice, but Mars said that the current situation had to be managed. Certainly, their current situation would not improve as it was now.

"... Yeah. I don't know why he’s doing this to Nozomu, but for now, we have to prioritize stopping him."

"... That's true, but what should we do, Ai? Even if I break the barrier with my magic, it will regenerate immediately."

"About that, I think we should destroy or render the magic tool unusable. It seems to be self-made, and judging by its appearance, he was probably rushed making it."

As Irisdina said, the key to this barrier was Feo's magic tool. Moreover, this magic tool was made of a simple magic stone with a talisman attached to it. The magic stone sucked in magical power and the talisman generated barriers. It looked like it wasn’t that durable, and it seemed like the essential talisman could be peeled off with just one's bare hands.

"How about we keep destroying the barrier until the magic stone's magical power runs out?"

"That's fine, but since it's not clear how many times that magic stone can re-generate the barrier, I think it's faster to destroy the magic stone if we want to break the barrier as soon as possible."

Tom proposed a method to destroy the barrier until the magic power of the magic stone was exhausted, but Irisdina decided that it was better to destroy the magic tool instead.

It was true that a lot of magical power was wasted because Feo made it in a hurry, but it seemed that he used a fairly good quality magic stone.

Although it depended on the accuracy of Feo's talisman technique, there was also a lot of uncertainty as the number of times the barrier could be re-generated was unclear.

However, the current problem was that the magic tool was now in Feo's pocket.

"... Everyone, I want you to listen to me for a bit."

With a single sentence from Irisdina, everyone who was there listened to her words.

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

 

When Irisdina and the others were trying to manage the barrier that trapped them, Nozomu and Feo were still glaring at each other and observing each other's movements.

(As long as I can't use any Qi techniques, I shouldn't attack carelessly ... I want to end this fight quickly though ...)

(I’m surprised… I didn't think he could go this far… Isn't he better than me in pure taijutsu?)

Since Nozomu avoided attacking using Qi techniques, he had no choice but to push through with his sword's skill. As he was about to hit Feo's vital point, Nozomu didn't expect Feo to withdraw in the nick of time.

Nozomu was overwhelmingly inferior in physical ability compared to Feo. Although Nozomu was only using taijutsu, the fact that Feo had been cornered was proof that Nozomu outperformed Feo in that aspect. 

"... I am surprised. I didn't think you could go this far. To be honest, I didn't expect this."

Some words of admiration came out from Feo's mouth. To him, Nozomu's skill was amazing.
"... Hey, why are you doing something like this?"

Nozomu once again asked why Feo challenged him.

"... Well~"

"..."

Feo was thinking about something. Nozomu just silently waited for his words.

"Well, yeah, I'll tell you; however, I'll only tell you if you can handle the next one."

After Feo said that, he took out two talismans from his bosom. He sent magical power with all his might and threw the talismans into the air.

The thrown talisman flashed with a crackling noise. It became a flash of dazzling lightning and fell into the staff held by Feo.

The staff he was holding was enveloped by the light, and the lightning that couldn't fit inside the staff ran through the air.

Feo's oppression increased in one go, and Nozomu felt the pressure directly.

"Well, as you can see, this is my decisive skill. If you can block this, I'll talk about anything you want me to ..."

Nozomu squinted his eyes after hearing Feo's declaration. There was a brief silence, but Nozomu responded by sheathing his katana and showing his sword-drawing stance.

"Way to go. That's what I want!!"

Feo smiled heartily because his proposal was accepted. He seemed happy that Nozomu answered him.

Feo started to spin the lightning-clad staff overhead. The staff rotated at high speed. At first, the appearance of the staff was clearly visible, but it gradually disappeared, and eventually, it formed a circle. Simultaneously, the lightning that enveloped the staff gradually gathered at both ends of the staff.

"Here I go ~ Nozomu!"

With his declaration, Feo stepped forward at once.

He twisted his body immensely. The staff, which was spinning overhead, swung along with the momentum towards Nozomu's left side.

Nozomu also tried to take out this katana while moving forward, but at that moment, the lightning that had gathered at the end of Feo's staff exploded and accelerated the speed of the staff all at once.

"Haa!!"

Feo's staff accelerated, gained momentum, and tried to mow Nozomu down; however, Nozomu immediately pulled out his katana with a loud shrieking sound. Nozomu drew his katana, attacking in the same stroke, and hit Feo's mowing down staff from diagonally below.

(If I block it head-on, I will only get crushed easily. Then ...)

The katana and the staff collided. The colliding metal made a sound that hurt one's ear.

Feo and Nozomu who were attacking each other became a tug for a moment, but Feo's strength was superior after all, and the tug broke in the blink of an eye.

However, Nozomu knew that he couldn't win even if he faced Feo head-on. The moment his katana and Feo's staff collided, he suddenly twisted his body greatly while dropping his center of gravity and barely touching the ground.

Then, Feo's attack slid along the curve of the katana, and Nozomu stepped forward again while rotating his body.

Feo's defenseless state was exposed, and Nozomu tried to swing his katana at Feo's right shoulder with rotational momentum.

"I got you!!"

"You're naive, Nozomu!!!"

However, when Feo's words entered his ears, Nozomu doubted the sight before his very eyes.

Lightning revolved behind Feo. The remnants of the talisman technique that Feo had used to accelerate his attack earlier quickly gathered and formed a ball of lightning, and it flew as if tracing the trajectory of Nozomu's attack.

"Wha!?"

Nozomu sent his Qi into his katana and blocked the approaching ball of lightning, but his sword was repelled by the rushing ball of lightning, and he tremendously lost his posture.

"Haaaaa!!"

Naturally, Feo couldn't miss this opportunity. Feo launched his staff from the opposite direction with the lightning still enveloping both ends of his staff.

"Kuh~!!”

Nozomu managed to regain his stance. He tried to jump out of his current spot, but he couldn't make it in time. So he placed the scabbard between his body and the approaching staff.

"Gaha~!!"

However, even if he defended it in time, Nozomu was still blown away.

The impact reached his body and made him suffocate. The moment he was blown into the air, his vision turned white; however, he was somehow still trying to lighten the upcoming impact when he would hit the ground by using a breakfall technique.

Eventually, when he hit the ground, his white vision became blurred, and a feeling of numbness invaded his entire body.

"Guh~, gaha~a ..."

Maybe because he had a wound inside his mouth, the iron taste stimulated his tongue, but Nozomu's consciousness was still there.

( !! )

With his heartbeat going *Bad-dump*, the red scenery spread out in front of him again. A raging impulse came from within, and at the same time, a feeling of nausea rose.

Not only Feo in front of him, but also the scene of Irisdina and the others being killed and torn apart flashed back, and the feeling of nausea increased; however, Nozomu tried to bite his lips and endure it.

Nozomu shook his head to get rid of that scene. The red scenery faded, and somehow he managed to get up with his katana as support. His feet were quivering, but he was able to stand firmly on his feet.

(At least I'm still conscious ... Perhaps, this is thanks to Shishō ...)

Nozomu was speaking nonsense to his master inside his head. Maybe because his consciousness was also paralyzed, he remembered the past. He was somehow forced to fight his master for about an hour in order for him to enquire about something.

"What!!"

However, it was an unexpected event from Feo's perspective. No matter how powerful a person was, they would have to be paralyzed and unable to get up for a while had they hit the ground that hard.

"…… Seriously?"

Feo just stood there without saying a word. At that moment, a roaring sound and the sound of something shattering resounded in the surroundings.

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

 

"Everyone, are you ready?"

Everyone who was there got ready with Irisdina's call.

"Tima, Mars-kun, I'm counting on you"

"Yup"

"I get it"

After Tima intensified her magical power, she started chanting a spell. The magic she used was the same [Sharp Rock Dance] that could pierce through the barrier.

Mars also gathered his Qi into the greatsword, which was his specialized weapon, and enveloped the greatsword’s blades with wind.

As soon as Tima's chant finished, a huge rock spear was created, and when she swung her wand, the rock spear flew straight at the magic barrier, smashed into it, and pierced through the barrier with a thunderous sound.

"W-What happened !?"

However, Feo's magic tool immediately closed the large hole in the barrier. The large hole in the barrier quickly became smaller, but Mars rushed towards the hole before it was completely closed.

"I won't let you!"

Mars thrust the wind-enveloped greatsword into the hole and sent all of his Qi into the greatsword with all his might. Then, the wind, which was enveloping the greatsword, widened the hole in the barrier that was going to close.

"Now!!"

"Nice, Mars-kun!"

Along with Mars' shout, Irisdina activated magic with Immediate Deployment. The magic bullet that formed in the air was launched and attacked Feo through the hole maintained by Mars.

"Kuh~!!"

Irisdina's magic bullet still possessed high magic power and accuracy, and it had considerable power even for beginner magic. Feo spun the staff in his hand and repelled the oncoming magic bullet.

Feo managed to fend off the approaching magic bullet, but Irisdina fired the magic bullets in quick succession. The magic bullets hit Feo accurately without gaps in between, thus stopping Feo's movement completely.

(O-Oh no! If things continue like this, it’ll become be bad!!)

Feo was repelling Iris' magic bullet, but he became impatient for a moment due to his current situation where his movements were stopped before he realized it.

Feo handled the barrage of jet-black magic bullets. However, the moment a flash of light hit him, a tremendous shock ran through his arms, and he dropped the wand he was holding.

"Guh~!"

Several magic bullets hit Feo who had dropped his weapon, but he tried to avoid Irisdina's magic by forcibly moving his body while being hit.

"W-What?!"

When Feo turned his eyes towards the direction of the flash of light to confirm what that flash of light was, there stood Shīna holding a bow.

Actually, the flash of light was Shīna's high-power magic arrow, and Irisdina's magic bullet was only for stalling and hiding Shīna's magic arrow.

However, that was only the beginning. A figure appeared in front of Feo, whose posture was broken due to the magic bullet that was hitting him.

"He~l~l~o, Feo!"

"... Wha, Mimuru!"

It was Mimuru who was right in front of Feo. She passed through the hole in the barrier while Feo's posture was broken by Shīna's magic arrow, and closed in on his blind spot.

When she brandished her knife, it tore through the chest of Feo's uniform, and then she caught the magic stone that fell in midair.

"Sorry~. I'll take this!"

"Ah, Wait, Oi! Thief!"

Ignoring Feo's complaints, Mimuru tore the two talismans attached to the magic stone, and after she tore them apart, she crumpled and threw them away.

The barrier of light that covered Irisdina and the others disappeared after the talisman that maintained the barrier got destroyed.

"T-This is really bad!"

Feo realized his disadvantage because the barrier had disappeared. He immediately decided to escape and started to flee at full speed, but suddenly he floated and lost the sense of the ground beneath his feet.

"…… Eh?"

GHe felt curious, so he looked at his feet; however, there was no ground that should’ve been there. There was only a big hole.

"W-What is this~~ ?!!"

Naturally, he had no way to escape gravity, so he fell into the dark hole with a vain scream.

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

 

"He-Hello~ Everyone, how do you do ..."

Feo's empty greeting echoed in the sunset sky.

Only his head remained above the ground, and the rest of his body was buried in the ground.

"Nice one, Tom. If you weren't there, we might have failed to catch this fox."

"Well, I thought it would be better to catch him. In addition, the magic I used was just a simple one ..."

"I think it was a good decision. I couldn’t make a contract with the spirits at that time ... "

Actually, the pit that appeared at Feo's feet was Tom's magic. Tom predicted that Feo was going to run away, so while everyone was dealing with Feo, Tom chanted, setting up a trap in advance.

It was magic that simply made a hole at one's feet, but it was enough to trap him.

As for Nozomu, Irisdina was casting healing magic on him.

"...Eh? Does Shīna use spirit magic? We're in the same class, but I've never seen you use it?"

"It doesn't matter. More importantly, why are you doing this!"

When Shīna was questioned on why she could use spirit magic, she hurriedly diverted the topic. It seemed that everyone was wondering why Feo challenged Nozomu, and their eyes were focused on Feo, who had only his head above the ground.
Nozomu was also curious about the reason, so he was looking closely at Feo while being healed by healing magic.

"... Well, there's no big reason. I just wanted to know more about Nozomu."

Feo continued to talk about his story.

"Solminati Academy adheres to meritocracy. If you are strong, it will be good, and if you are weak, they won’t even give you a second glance. Such a boring place."

Feo displayed his indignation without holding back. His facial expression showed disgust, and he seemed to be saying what he truly felt.

"Well, at first I was excited and was looking forward to it. It's fun to get stronger. But now I'm tired of it..."

Feo made a shrugging gesture, it couldn't be seen because his body was buried in the ground. However, in the next moment, he looked up at Nozomu with his glittering child-like eyes.

"At that time, you caught my eye! A problem child, *Black-Haired Princess*, and *Four-Scale Concerto*! When I knew that such a gathering was possible, I thought, ‘This must be interesting!!’ Well, I couldn't help myself~ So I just did various things after that~~"

Feo told his story with a happy expression.

"... In other words, you did something like this to satisfy your own curiosity?"

"Well, to be honest, that may be the case ~~"

Feo confirmed Irisdina's question. Because his words caused a headache, Irisdina pressed her temples.

"…… You ……"

"Unbelievable ……"

"Ha, ahahahaha ..."

At this point, Irisdina and Shīna were no longer surprised, and Nozomu just let out a dry laugh.

"Nozomu, why are you laughing! According to his story, the incident behind the school building is his fault!"

"Well, that's true, but I think that would’ve eventually happened someday even if Feo didn't do something about it. Because of this, I never think too much about it."

(It seems that he doesn't know about me being a dragonslayer ...)

Mars complained about Nozomu's flippant attitude. Nozomu expected that Feo would know about him being a dragonslayer, so he was relieved that Feo was just interested in him.

"... Nozomu-kun, what are you going to do? In this case, I think you should decide what to do with him ..."

“Let's see. I have no intention of taking care of him. We had a hard time, but he doesn't seem to have any malicious intent … Well, I think what he did is going too far though…”

"Oh! As expected of Nozomu! A benevolent man sure is different~~!!"

Nozomu wouldn’t “take care” of him. Feo was relieved by the good news, but that didn't mean Nozomu would forgive him for what he had done.

"... Again, what he did was going too far ..."

"... Eh? I have a bad feeling about it ..."

With Nozomu's words, a strange feeling of tension began to float up.

"Oi, everyone !!"

"Nozomu-san! Thank you for waiting!!"

At that time, Mimuru and Somia's voices echoed. Mimuru had a burlap sack in her hands for some reason.

"Hmm? What are those two doing?"

"Well, I have a request for them ..."

Mimuru and Somia rushed to Nozomu and handed him the burlap sack. They could hear a noise from the sack, probably because something was inside it, and it was somehow squirming.

"Nozomu-kun! Is this okay!?"

"Yeah. Thank you, both."

"Ummm ... What are you going to use it for?"

"Hmm? Punishment for the mischievous fox"

Nozomu looked back at Feo and slowly walked towards him. The way Nozomu held the sack for some reason stirred a strange sense of fear, and chills ran down Feo's back.

"... W, w, w-what is it, Nozomu? What's inside that sack?"

"... There are a variety of insects in this forest from edible ones to poisonous ones; however, there are plenty of insects that are quite useful for making medicine. In other words, this is a good time and I thought of providing evidence with a long-awaited approach ... "

"... Ummm, I'm sorry. But, I decli ..."

Without waiting for Feo's answer, Nozomu opened the mouth of the sack and put it on Feo's head. Naturally, countless insects were wriggling inside. Moreover, the mouth of the sack was tied to prevent the insects from escaping to the outside.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaa! Something! There is something! It's pricking, it's slimy, it's sticky, it's crawling ..."

Feo's screams echoed and tore through the sunset sky.

In a pitch-black vision, insects crawled around his face. Just imagining it gave them goosebumps, and in fact, the women were extremely uncomfortable. The faces of Somia and Mimuru, who had collected the nearby insects, were also completely frightened.

"Uwa! Something just wrapped around my neck!! Gya! My ears! Something has entered my ears!! Bu~! My nose. Something crawled into my nose !!"

"Well then, the sun has fallen, so let's go home."

"W-Wha, Nozomu. What about him?"

"Hmm? Isn't it alright to just leave him alone? Regardless of how it looks and how it feels when touched, it doesn't contain any harmful insects. (Though, if it's Shishō, she might have included it...)"

With such reactions from everyone, Nozomu answered Mars's question with a refreshing face. His smile caused a cold sweat to flow down Mars' back, but Mars naturally shrugged it off.

"I-Is that so, then it's fine ... right?"

"It's fine. Just leave him alone. If you're as strong as him, you can try it yourself."

While saying so, Nozomu tried to leave Feo and go home.

Everyone else sent a sympathetic gaze towards Feo, but there was no one brave enough to say anything to Nozomu now, and they started walking toward the city and left the place; however, everyone else except Nozomu looked back several times.

"... You were actually quite angry."

The word Mars muttered was drowned out by the screams from behind, and those words were never heard by Nozomu.

Chapter 5 Part 7

Within Feo’s whole body, his magical power intensified. He ran towards Nozomu, took out a single talisman, and poured his magical power into it. After the talisman shone for a moment, it disappeared, and a light wrapped around Feo's body. He used a talisman to activate  body strengthening magic!

"Then, I'll give it a try!"

"!!"

The staff that Feo thrust casually came from in front of Nozomu. No power was wasted, and the thrust was barely visible. Nozomu managed to turn his head to the side and dodge it.

Feo Immediately tried to launch another thrust with his staff, but Nozomu managed to stop it with his katana. However, because Feo's strength was stronger, Nozomu's posture was greatly broken.

"Here's another one!"

After Feo took out another talisman from his pocket and activated it, a large amount of wind was generated in front of him, and it rushed towards Nozomu.

"Guh~!!"

For Nozomu whose posture was broken, there was no room to dodge it, and the rushing mass of wind hit Nozomu's body. Although Nozomu was blown away, he managed to jump back and weaken the impact just before the mass of wind was about to hit his body.

However, perhaps because he wasn't able to use the ukemi due to the sudden impact, a voice of agony leaked out due to the shock and pain as he struck the ground. 

(TL: Ukemi is a technique of falling safely in the form of a back roll).

The moment Nozomu found a moving shadow in his vision while swaying in pain, he rolled away from his spot in a hurry.

As soon as Nozomu left the spot, Feo's staff sank to the ground with a *bam* sound. Had he left a little later, he would have been crushed.

"Not over yet ~"

Feo was pursuing further.

The staff held in both of his hands was swung around with the trunk as the starting point and swung from the top to bottom, left to right. Although it wasn’t as powerful as Mars's greatsword, the staff, which was given sufficient weight and rotational power, had no gaps and was capable of continuous heavy attacks.

"Guh~!!"

Nozomu thought that even if he tried to block it from the front, his katana would only be repelled and overwhelmed, so he continued to fend off Feo's continuous attacks while sliding his legs back like in his previous mock battles with Irisdina.

However, Feo's continuous attacks didn't stop. His barrage of attacks added centrifugal force on the staff he swung, further increasing his momentum as he approached Nozomu.

What's more, it wasn't just the staff that attacked Nozomu.

"Take this!"

"!!"

Feo's fist grazed Nozomu's cheek. In addition, a roundhouse kick was launched at Nozomu's flank, but Nozomu managed to jump backward and dodge the kick.

It looked like he didn’t only use staff attacks. Feo could also punch and kick. In a sense, it was very similar to the katana-jutsu (katana technique) used by Nozomu.

Nozomu's katana technique was a comprehensive combat technique that used not only katana but also scabbard and taijutsu (body technique). It seemed that Feo's swordsmanship also used physical techniques such as fists and kicks.

However, unlike Nozomu, Feo could use talisman techniques. It was clearly different from Nozomu, who relied solely on Qi techniques.

"Next is this!"

" !! "

As their distance widened, Feo took out several talismans and quickly activated his technique.

Three thunderballs appeared in the air and launched towards Nozomu.

They rushed towards Nozomu, their main target, like loyal watchdogs; however, Nozomu immediately left his current spot and jumped to the side with [Instant Move].

"Guh~!!"

The launched thunderballs collided with the ground and scattered lightning bolts to the surroundings. Nozomu was affected by it, and his movements slowed down slightly.

After seeing Nozomu's slow movements, Feo activated the talisman technique again. This time, he made three fireballs and fired them towards Nozomu.

(Damn! As I thought, there’s no chance of winning in a long-distance battle !!)

Feo and Nozomu.

Comparing the disposition of the two, Feo dominated in this long-distance battle.

Three more fireballs approached Nozomu, but he changed [Instant Move] into [Instant Move -Curve Dance-] and after making a 90-degree turn, he stepped towards Feo in an instant.

"Oh~"

Feo made a slightly surprised voice in response to Nozomu who changed the movement direction without decelerating at all.

The flying fireball that was released deviated greatly and flew away.

Feo put his hand in his pocket again.

(Do you think I would let you!)

In order to hinder Feo from using his talisman technique, Nozomu focused his Qi on his legs and increased his speed to close the gap in an instant. But...

"Fu~!"

"Wha!?"

It wasn't a talisman. Instead, Feo took out a knife from his pocket and threw it towards Nozomu.

There was barely anything that could be called a handle. Nozomu, who was the target, deflected it with his katana. Meanwhile, Feo had finished sending his magical power into the talisman that he took out again and threw that talisman towards Nozomu.

"Here, another one~"

The talisman thrown by Feo was activated, and a mass of wind was generated in front of him. It rushed towards Nozomu, affecting the surrounding air, and creating a spiral of wind. It was the same magic Irisdina used before, [Wind Tunnel of the Hungry Beast].

Even so, Nozomu continued moving forward without stopping. Wind spirals approached from the front, trying to tear Nozomu's body apart. Nozomu twisted his body just before the wind spiral hit his body, and he dashed past the side of the wind spiral with [Instant Move -Curve Dance-].

The wind spiral grazed his body and cut his uniform. Blood spurted from Nozomu's shoulder, but he didn't care. He closed the distance and swung his katana towards Feo.

"Uo!"

Feo was taken aback by Nozomu's sudden attack, but he was still able to stop the blow with his staff.

Feo's staff, which was made of metal and could block the fangs of demon beasts, blocked Nozomu's slash without being cut in half.

Previously, Feo threw a knife and magic at Nozomu in quick succession. Feo thought that even though it couldn't bring Nozomu down, it could at least stop him. Feo didn't expect Nozomu to be able to break through both his knife and technique at once.

"Fu~!!"

Nozomu launched a diagonal slash, a reverse slash, and a horizontal slash. It wasn't fast, but he launched a series of solid continuous attacks.

There were no gaps in his attacks. It was a continuous attack that gradually cornered the opponent.
Nozomu couldn't win the fight in one go because he was inferior in terms of physical ability, so he used continuous attacks that could definitely push the opponent against the wall. It could also bring out feelings of frustration and impatience in the opponent.

(Hmm. This swordsmanship. This shouldn't be possible for someone who remains in 10th class.)

"... Uoo!!"

Feo was a little agitated when Nozomu was suddenly closing in, but he soon regained his composure.

While calmly handling Nozomu’s continuous attacks, Feo was impressed by his delicate attacks, but Feo was suddenly surprised by what was coming in front of him and moved backward. What passed in front of Feo was Nozomu's leg, which was swung in the form of a roundhouse kick.

Furthermore, Nozomu stepped forward and swung his katana down at Feo’s right shoulder.

"Wha!"

Although Feo was a little taken aback, he was able to parry Nozomu's attacks with his staff without any problems.

However, for Nozomu, being parried by Feo was still part of his plan.

After he swung his katana, Nozomu rotated his body while pulling his own body towards his katana, and spun sideways while closing the gap with Feo.

As soon as Nozomu spun sideways, he lowered his posture and dashed to the side. Feo lost sight of Nozomu for a moment since Nozomu's movement was performed at a close distance.

"Wha~!?"

Feo, who was flustered because he lost sight of Nozomu for a moment, hurriedly tried to turn towards Nozomu, but Nozomu restrained Feo's staff with his scabbard and temporarily restrained Feo's movement.

"Haa!!"

"Kuh~!!"

Nozomu swung his katana down but Feo was still able to respond to Nozomu's attack. He let go of the staff in his hand in a hurry and escaped from Nozomu's slash by bending his body backward.

Because he realized that he was in a tight spot, Feo jumped back and took out a talisman.

After being activated with magical power, lightning raged indiscriminately between Nozomu and Feo.

It simply turned the magical power sent into it into a certain attribute and spread it all over the place, but Nozomu, who was trying to pursue further, was stopped and the gap widened again.

"It-It was dangerous!"

"Kuh~!!"

However, Feo didn't use another talisman. He just repositioned himself. Silence and tension returned between the two who were far apart.

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

As Nozomu and Feo fought each other, Irisdina and the others had no choice but to restrain themselves and watch the battle between the two from within the barrier Feo had erected.

"What should we do!? Shīna!"

Mimuru raised a frustrated voice.

"I also wanted to ask the same thing, you know!? I didn't know Feo was so strong!"

As of now, Feo had dominated the fight between the two.

Shīna and her friends had witnessed Nozomu's abilities in the incident with the black demon beast. With Nozomu's ability to escape from the demon beast, they thought that Nozomu would be able to fight well against Feo, who Shīna and her friends knew about; however, that was not the case in the current battle.

Of course, various things made Nozomu hesitate, and because of that, he didn't want to use his Qi techniques; however, judging by Shīna's words, Feo seemed to be hiding his abilities from his surroundings.

While Shīna and her friends were in a panic, Irisdina managed to contain her inner impatience within her heart and thought about how to manage the current situation.

Shīna and her friends seemed more flustered than Irisdina and the others. It was because they knew the usual Feo, so the gap they felt about the current him was huge.

"... Tom-kun, it seems like he is in the same class as you guys, but is he someone who would do something like this?"

"N-No. It's true that he always has an easygoing attitude, and since he's such a moody person, he doesn't get along well with Inda-sensei and Shīna, but at the very least, he is not someone who would do something out of the blue like this"

"T-Then ... Why?"

"We don't need to know what his reason is! The first thing we need to do now is to stop that fox guy!!"

Tom answered Irisdina's question, but apparently, Feo wasn't the type of person to suddenly attack like this.

Tima let out a confused voice, but Mars said that the current situation had to be managed. Certainly, their current situation would not improve as it was now.

"... Yeah. I don't know why he’s doing this to Nozomu, but for now, we have to prioritize stopping him."

"... That's true, but what should we do, Ai? Even if I break the barrier with my magic, it will regenerate immediately."

"About that, I think we should destroy or render the magic tool unusable. It seems to be self-made, and judging by its appearance, he was probably rushed making it."

As Irisdina said, the key to this barrier was Feo's magic tool. Moreover, this magic tool was made of a simple magic stone with a talisman attached to it. The magic stone sucked in magical power and the talisman generated barriers. It looked like it wasn’t that durable, and it seemed like the essential talisman could be peeled off with just one's bare hands.

"How about we keep destroying the barrier until the magic stone's magical power runs out?"

"That's fine, but since it's not clear how many times that magic stone can re-generate the barrier, I think it's faster to destroy the magic stone if we want to break the barrier as soon as possible."

Tom proposed a method to destroy the barrier until the magic power of the magic stone was exhausted, but Irisdina decided that it was better to destroy the magic tool instead.

It was true that a lot of magical power was wasted because Feo made it in a hurry, but it seemed that he used a fairly good quality magic stone.

Although it depended on the accuracy of Feo's talisman technique, there was also a lot of uncertainty as the number of times the barrier could be re-generated was unclear.

However, the current problem was that the magic tool was now in Feo's pocket.

"... Everyone, I want you to listen to me for a bit."

With a single sentence from Irisdina, everyone who was there listened to her words.

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

 

When Irisdina and the others were trying to manage the barrier that trapped them, Nozomu and Feo were still glaring at each other and observing each other's movements.

(As long as I can't use any Qi techniques, I shouldn't attack carelessly ... I want to end this fight quickly though ...)

(I’m surprised… I didn't think he could go this far… Isn't he better than me in pure taijutsu?)

Since Nozomu avoided attacking using Qi techniques, he had no choice but to push through with his sword's skill. As he was about to hit Feo's vital point, Nozomu didn't expect Feo to withdraw in the nick of time.

Nozomu was overwhelmingly inferior in physical ability compared to Feo. Although Nozomu was only using taijutsu, the fact that Feo had been cornered was proof that Nozomu outperformed Feo in that aspect. 

"... I am surprised. I didn't think you could go this far. To be honest, I didn't expect this."

Some words of admiration came out from Feo's mouth. To him, Nozomu's skill was amazing.

"... Hey, why are you doing something like this?"

Nozomu once again asked why Feo challenged him.

"... Well~"

"..."

Feo was thinking about something. Nozomu just silently waited for his words.

"Well, yeah, I'll tell you; however, I'll only tell you if you can handle the next one."

After Feo said that, he took out two talismans from his bosom. He sent magical power with all his might and threw the talismans into the air.

The thrown talisman flashed with a crackling noise. It became a flash of dazzling lightning and fell into the staff held by Feo.

The staff he was holding was enveloped by the light, and the lightning that couldn't fit inside the staff ran through the air.

Feo's oppression increased in one go, and Nozomu felt the pressure directly.

"Well, as you can see, this is my decisive skill. If you can block this, I'll talk about anything you want me to ..."

Nozomu squinted his eyes after hearing Feo's declaration. There was a brief silence, but Nozomu responded by sheathing his katana and showing his sword-drawing stance.

"Way to go. That's what I want!!"

Feo smiled heartily because his proposal was accepted. He seemed happy that Nozomu answered him.

Feo started to spin the lightning-clad staff overhead. The staff rotated at high speed. At first, the appearance of the staff was clearly visible, but it gradually disappeared, and eventually, it formed a circle. Simultaneously, the lightning that enveloped the staff gradually gathered at both ends of the staff.

"Here I go ~ Nozomu!"

With his declaration, Feo stepped forward at once.

He twisted his body immensely. The staff, which was spinning overhead, swung along with the momentum towards Nozomu's left side.

Nozomu also tried to take out this katana while moving forward, but at that moment, the lightning that had gathered at the end of Feo's staff exploded and accelerated the speed of the staff all at once.

"Haa!!"

Feo's staff accelerated, gained momentum, and tried to mow Nozomu down; however, Nozomu immediately pulled out his katana with a loud shrieking sound. Nozomu drew his katana, attacking in the same stroke, and hit Feo's mowing down staff from diagonally below.

(If I block it head-on, I will only get crushed easily. Then ...)

The katana and the staff collided. The colliding metal made a sound that hurt one's ear.

Feo and Nozomu who were attacking each other became a tug for a moment, but Feo's strength was superior after all, and the tug broke in the blink of an eye.

However, Nozomu knew that he couldn't win even if he faced Feo head-on. The moment his katana and Feo's staff collided, he suddenly twisted his body greatly while dropping his center of gravity and barely touching the ground.

Then, Feo's attack slid along the curve of the katana, and Nozomu stepped forward again while rotating his body.

Feo's defenseless state was exposed, and Nozomu tried to swing his katana at Feo's right shoulder with rotational momentum.

"I got you!!"

"You're naive, Nozomu!!!"

However, when Feo's words entered his ears, Nozomu doubted the sight before his very eyes.

Lightning revolved behind Feo. The remnants of the talisman technique that Feo had used to accelerate his attack earlier quickly gathered and formed a ball of lightning, and it flew as if tracing the trajectory of Nozomu's attack.

"Wha!?"

Nozomu sent his Qi into his katana and blocked the approaching ball of lightning, but his sword was repelled by the rushing ball of lightning, and he tremendously lost his posture.

"Haaaaa!!"

Naturally, Feo couldn't miss this opportunity. Feo launched his staff from the opposite direction with the lightning still enveloping both ends of his staff.

"Kuh~!!”

Nozomu managed to regain his stance. He tried to jump out of his current spot, but he couldn't make it in time. So he placed the scabbard between his body and the approaching staff.

"Gaha~!!"

However, even if he defended it in time, Nozomu was still blown away.

The impact reached his body and made him suffocate. The moment he was blown into the air, his vision turned white; however, he was somehow still trying to lighten the upcoming impact when he would hit the ground by using a breakfall technique.

Eventually, when he hit the ground, his white vision became blurred, and a feeling of numbness invaded his entire body.

"Guh~, gaha~a ..."

Maybe because he had a wound inside his mouth, the iron taste stimulated his tongue, but Nozomu's consciousness was still there.

( !! )

With his heartbeat going *Bad-dump*, the red scenery spread out in front of him again. A raging impulse came from within, and at the same time, a feeling of nausea rose.

Not only Feo in front of him, but also the scene of Irisdina and the others being killed and torn apart flashed back, and the feeling of nausea increased; however, Nozomu tried to bite his lips and endure it.

Nozomu shook his head to get rid of that scene. The red scenery faded, and somehow he managed to get up with his katana as support. His feet were quivering, but he was able to stand firmly on his feet.

(At least I'm still conscious ... Perhaps, this is thanks to Shishō ...)

Nozomu was speaking nonsense to his master inside his head. Maybe because his consciousness was also paralyzed, he remembered the past. He was somehow forced to fight his master for about an hour in order for him to enquire about something.

"What!!"

However, it was an unexpected event from Feo's perspective. No matter how powerful a person was, they would have to be paralyzed and unable to get up for a while had they hit the ground that hard.

"…… Seriously?"

Feo just stood there without saying a word. At that moment, a roaring sound and the sound of something shattering resounded in the surroundings.

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

"Everyone, are you ready?"

Everyone who was there got ready with Irisdina's call.

"Tima, Mars-kun, I'm counting on you"

"Yup"

"I get it"

After Tima intensified her magical power, she started chanting a spell. The magic she used was the same [Sharp Rock Dance] that could pierce through the barrier.

Mars also gathered his Qi into the greatsword, which was his specialized weapon, and enveloped the greatsword’s blades with wind.

As soon as Tima's chant finished, a huge rock spear was created, and when she swung her wand, the rock spear flew straight at the magic barrier, smashed into it, and pierced through the barrier with a thunderous sound.

"W-What happened !?"

However, Feo's magic tool immediately closed the large hole in the barrier. The large hole in the barrier quickly became smaller, but Mars rushed towards the hole before it was completely closed.

"I won't let you!"

Mars thrust the wind-enveloped greatsword into the hole and sent all of his Qi into the greatsword with all his might. Then, the wind, which was enveloping the greatsword, widened the hole in the barrier that was going to close.

"Now!!"

"Nice, Mars-kun!"

Along with Mars' shout, Irisdina activated magic with Immediate Deployment. The magic bullet that formed in the air was launched and attacked Feo through the hole maintained by Mars.

"Kuh~!!"

Irisdina's magic bullet still possessed high magic power and accuracy, and it had considerable power even for beginner magic. Feo spun the staff in his hand and repelled the oncoming magic bullet.

Feo managed to fend off the approaching magic bullet, but Irisdina fired the magic bullets in quick succession. The magic bullets hit Feo accurately without gaps in between, thus stopping Feo's movement completely.

(O-Oh no! If things continue like this, it’ll become be bad!!)

Feo was repelling Iris' magic bullet, but he became impatient for a moment due to his current situation where his movements were stopped before he realized it.

Feo handled the barrage of jet-black magic bullets. However, the moment a flash of light hit him, a tremendous shock ran through his arms, and he dropped the wand he was holding.

"Guh~!"

Several magic bullets hit Feo who had dropped his weapon, but he tried to avoid Irisdina's magic by forcibly moving his body while being hit.

"W-What?!"

When Feo turned his eyes towards the direction of the flash of light to confirm what that flash of light was, there stood Shīna holding a bow.

Actually, the flash of light was Shīna's high-power magic arrow, and Irisdina's magic bullet was only for stalling and hiding Shīna's magic arrow.

However, that was only the beginning. A figure appeared in front of Feo, whose posture was broken due to the magic bullet that was hitting him.

"He~l~l~o, Feo!"

"... Wha, Mimuru!"

It was Mimuru who was right in front of Feo. She passed through the hole in the barrier while Feo's posture was broken by Shīna's magic arrow, and closed in on his blind spot.

When she brandished her knife, it tore through the chest of Feo's uniform, and then she caught the magic stone that fell in midair.

"Sorry~. I'll take this!"

"Ah, Wait, Oi! Thief!"

Ignoring Feo's complaints, Mimuru tore the two talismans attached to the magic stone, and after she tore them apart, she crumpled and threw them away.

The barrier of light that covered Irisdina and the others disappeared after the talisman that maintained the barrier got destroyed.

"T-This is really bad!"

Feo realized his disadvantage because the barrier had disappeared. He immediately decided to escape and started to flee at full speed, but suddenly he floated and lost the sense of the ground beneath his feet.

"…… Eh?"

GHe felt curious, so he looked at his feet; however, there was no ground that should’ve been there. There was only a big hole.

"W-What is this~~ ?!!"

Naturally, he had no way to escape gravity, so he fell into the dark hole with a vain scream.

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

 

"He-Hello~ Everyone, how do you do ..."

Feo's empty greeting echoed in the sunset sky.

Only his head remained above the ground, and the rest of his body was buried in the ground.

"Nice one, Tom. If you weren't there, we might have failed to catch this fox."

"Well, I thought it would be better to catch him. In addition, the magic I used was just a simple one ..."

"I think it was a good decision. I couldn’t make a contract with the spirits at that time ... "

Actually, the pit that appeared at Feo's feet was Tom's magic. Tom predicted that Feo was going to run away, so while everyone was dealing with Feo, Tom chanted, setting up a trap in advance.

It was magic that simply made a hole at one's feet, but it was enough to trap him.

As for Nozomu, Irisdina was casting healing magic on him.

"...Eh? Does Shīna use spirit magic? We're in the same class, but I've never seen you use it?"

"It doesn't matter. More importantly, why are you doing this!"

When Shīna was questioned on why she could use spirit magic, she hurriedly diverted the topic. It seemed that everyone was wondering why Feo challenged Nozomu, and their eyes were focused on Feo, who had only his head above the ground.

Nozomu was also curious about the reason, so he was looking closely at Feo while being healed by healing magic.

"... Well, there's no big reason. I just wanted to know more about Nozomu."

Feo continued to talk about his story.

"Solminati Academy adheres to meritocracy. If you are strong, it will be good, and if you are weak, they won’t even give you a second glance. Such a boring place."

Feo displayed his indignation without holding back. His facial expression showed disgust, and he seemed to be saying what he truly felt.

"Well, at first I was excited and was looking forward to it. It's fun to get stronger. But now I'm tired of it..."

Feo made a shrugging gesture, it couldn't be seen because his body was buried in the ground. However, in the next moment, he looked up at Nozomu with his glittering child-like eyes.

"At that time, you caught my eye! A problem child, *Black-Haired Princess*, and *Four-Scale Concerto*! When I knew that such a gathering was possible, I thought, ‘This must be interesting!!’ Well, I couldn't help myself~ So I just did various things after that~~"

Feo told his story with a happy expression.

"... In other words, you did something like this to satisfy your own curiosity?"

"Well, to be honest, that may be the case ~~"

Feo confirmed Irisdina's question. Because his words caused a headache, Irisdina pressed her temples.

"…… You ……"

"Unbelievable ……"

"Ha, ahahahaha ..."

At this point, Irisdina and Shīna were no longer surprised, and Nozomu just let out a dry laugh.

"Nozomu, why are you laughing! According to his story, the incident behind the school building is his fault!"

"Well, that's true, but I think that would’ve eventually happened someday even if Feo didn't do something about it. Because of this, I never think too much about it."

(It seems that he doesn't know about me being a dragonslayer ...)

Mars complained about Nozomu's flippant attitude. Nozomu expected that Feo would know about him being a dragonslayer, so he was relieved that Feo was just interested in him.

"... Nozomu-kun, what are you going to do? In this case, I think you should decide what to do with him ..."

“Let's see. I have no intention of taking care of him. We had a hard time, but he doesn't seem to have any malicious intent … Well, I think what he did is going too far though…”

"Oh! As expected of Nozomu! A benevolent man sure is different~~!!"

Nozomu wouldn’t “take care” of him. Feo was relieved by the good news, but that didn't mean Nozomu would forgive him for what he had done.

"... Again, what he did was going too far ..."

"... Eh? I have a bad feeling about it ..."

With Nozomu's words, a strange feeling of tension began to float up.

"Oi, everyone !!"

"Nozomu-san! Thank you for waiting!!"

At that time, Mimuru and Somia's voices echoed. Mimuru had a burlap sack in her hands for some reason.

"Hmm? What are those two doing?"

"Well, I have a request for them ..."

Mimuru and Somia rushed to Nozomu and handed him the burlap sack. They could hear a noise from the sack, probably because something was inside it, and it was somehow squirming.

"Nozomu-kun! Is this okay!?"

"Yeah. Thank you, both."

"Ummm ... What are you going to use it for?"

"Hmm? Punishment for the mischievous fox"

Nozomu looked back at Feo and slowly walked towards him. The way Nozomu held the sack for some reason stirred a strange sense of fear, and chills ran down Feo's back.

"... W, w, w-what is it, Nozomu? What's inside that sack?"

"... There are a variety of insects in this forest from edible ones to poisonous ones; however, there are plenty of insects that are quite useful for making medicine. In other words, this is a good time and I thought of providing evidence with a long-awaited approach ... "

"... Ummm, I'm sorry. But, I decli ..."

Without waiting for Feo's answer, Nozomu opened the mouth of the sack and put it on Feo's head. Naturally, countless insects were wriggling inside. Moreover, the mouth of the sack was tied to prevent the insects from escaping to the outside.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaa! Something! There is something! It's pricking, it's slimy, it's sticky, it's crawling ..."

Feo's screams echoed and tore through the sunset sky.

In a pitch-black vision, insects crawled around his face. Just imagining it gave them goosebumps, and in fact, the women were extremely uncomfortable. The faces of Somia and Mimuru, who had collected the nearby insects, were also completely frightened.

"Uwa! Something just wrapped around my neck!! Gya! My ears! Something has entered my ears!! Bu~! My nose. Something crawled into my nose !!"

"Well then, the sun has fallen, so let's go home."

"W-Wha, Nozomu. What about him?"

"Hmm? Isn't it alright to just leave him alone? Regardless of how it looks and how it feels when touched, it doesn't contain any harmful insects. (Though, if it's Shishō, she might have included it...)"

With such reactions from everyone, Nozomu answered Mars's question with a refreshing face. His smile caused a cold sweat to flow down Mars' back, but Mars naturally shrugged it off.

"I-Is that so, then it's fine ... right?"

"It's fine. Just leave him alone. If you're as strong as him, you can try it yourself."

While saying so, Nozomu tried to leave Feo and go home.

Everyone else sent a sympathetic gaze towards Feo, but there was no one brave enough to say anything to Nozomu now, and they started walking toward the city and left the place; however, everyone else except Nozomu looked back several times.

"... You were actually quite angry."

The word Mars muttered was drowned out by the screams from behind, and those words were never heard by Nozomu.