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

[LN] Volume 1: Chapter 5.1

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

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Volume 1 Chapter 5.1

With a Legacy in one's Heart Part 1

Translator : PolterGlast

Northern Region. In this land, close to the permafrost, it snows even in spring and is constantly exposed to strong winds. The violent winds become storms, freezing everything in their path. In this land, which has been frozen over for so long, the soil only reveals its face in the summer, making it a land normally unsuitable for people to live in. However, there are those who dare to settle in such a place.

They are the outcasts.

They are those who have been ostracized and persecuted for various reasons.

There is a country where such people live in this northern region.

Dizard Empire.

An isolated country that has no diplomatic relations with any country on the continent.

In one of the territories of such an empire, a castle made up of innumerable icicles stood isolated.

A section of the castle was covered in ice. An old gentleman wearing a monocle walks down the cold, deserted, and vacant corridor of the castle.

Ahead of him stands a large door.

The old gentleman slowly opens the door, which is too huge for one person to open, and bows deeply.

"My Lord, this is Rugato. I have something I'd like you to hear ......"

"Oh, what is it?"

Beyond where he bowed his head, there lay a throne that gave off an eerie atmosphere.

The throne was placed with his back to the old gentleman, and it was impossible to see what kind of person was sitting on it.

However, in his response to the old gentleman, who introduced himself as Rugato, there was a seductive voice that could captivate all who heard it, as well as a coldness like a snowstorm that enveloped the castle.

"The time for the fulfillment of the contract made by your predecessor is drawing near."

"Ah, the contract Father made, huh? What kind of contract is it?"

"It is a contract with a certain landlord in the southern country. It is almost time to collect the goods that we lent them to help with their endeavors. How would you like to proceed?"

A white, slender arm peeked out from the edge of the throne.

In this hand, a wine glass filled with red liquid was held aloft.

"I leave it to you. Get it done as quickly as you can. If there are any obstacles, you may eliminate them."

Swaying the wineglass and toying with the liquid that had been poured into it, the tone of her voice showed no interest in Rugato's topic of conversation at all.

The way she didn't even confirm what kind of item it was that had to be retrieved spoke volumes about the indolence of this old gentleman's master.

"Are you sure? Given the state of our country ......"

"No problem. Our emperor may be a little troubled, but it does not matter. We are not going against his will. Besides, I hear that the Geryunus family will be coming soon. We must make preparations to welcome them, don't you think?"

Sensing his Lord's intention behind those words to hurry up and go, Rugato made no further comments to his Lord, but instead placed his hands on his chest and bowed his head deeply.

"I understand. I will go retrieve it right away."

"Yeah, go ahead."

The old gentleman turned his back and left the room without saying anything further to the Lord, who urged him to leave the room while waving her hand.

As he closed the door behind him, the old gentleman's body slowly began to blur into a black shadow.

Soon, the black shadows burst in all directions.

Countless bits of the shadow scattered and became a swarm of bats, flying along the corridor, making a shrill screeching sound.

The countless bats eventually flew out of the nearest window and vanished into the sky through the blizzard.

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It has been a week since Nozomu and Shino parted ways. Nozomu had to take three supplementary exams due to the severity of his injuries, but he managed to overcome the end-of-year exams and was promoted to third grade.

His third year at Arcazam was about to begin.

At the main gate of the school, Nozomu was thinking about many things, including Lisa and his parting with his master.

He might run away again, or he might remain standing still.

But he decided he was done with turning away from the fact that he had run away.

With his master's teachings and a renewed determination in his heart, he entered the gates of the Solminati Academy.

"But I am surprised that I was able to advance to the next grade."

Tapping his finger on the black nameplate that still sat on his chest, Nozomu once again recalled the results of the supplementary examinations.

The total number of subjects on the supplementary examinations was definitely the highest in the school's history, and Nozomu was once again placed in the 10th class, the lowest class in the academy. He was also the lowest-ranked student in his class.

Because of his injuries, his practical examinations, including the supplementary examinations, were catastrophic, and he had to desperately pass the written examinations in order to advance to the next grade.

Naturally, he had anticipated that he would be treated as a failure in the class he was about to enter.

However, Nozomu was not saddened by the fact that he was being treated as a failure, in fact, he was even a little relieved.

(But maybe it's better to keep it that way for now. That Dragonslayer's power is too strong for the current me to handle.)

The battle with Shino forced Nozomu to release his [Ability Suppression].

The released power drastically enhanced Nozomu's abilities, but overly powerful force enhanced all kinds of techniques so much that even a mere fist strike, not to mention the originally deadly Qi-jutsu, could no longer be used in the school's combat trainings.

"It's usable, just punching a rock can shatter it into a tiny piece. Besides, there's also that guy ......"

Nozomu tested his power by removing his chains deep in the woods several times after his battle with Shino.

But every time, Tiamat within him was trying to break free of his restraints, rampaging through Nozomu's body, devouring him from the inside out.

Perhaps because he was able to face his own escapism in the battle with his master, or perhaps because he had succeeded in absorbing Tiamat's power, even if only partially, in the spiritual world, he was not immediately devoured.

Even so, two minutes was the maximum. That was the feeling he had when he actually unleashed it.

Even those two minutes were spent by Nozomu desperately trying to contain his power. If he had used his power without thinking, he was sure that his spirit would have been crushed by the force or his body would have collapsed within a dozen seconds.

"Anyway, I have to think about what I'm going to do from now on."

He had not had a chance to see Lisa since his advancement to the next grade.

Partly because they were originally of different ranks, and partly because Nozomu had too much going on at the end of a busy school year.

But if they were to meet face to face, it would be easy to imagine that she would either ignore him as she had done before or be hostile to him.

The thought of that scenario brought an indescribable feeling of unpleasantness to the pit of Nozomu's chest.

(Again, I'm thinking of running away ......)

Nozomu still had a fear of being rejected.

But now he had become more aware of his own desire to escape.

What Shino risked his life to tell him has indeed sprouted a small bud inside him and begun to take root.

As Nozomu opened the door to his third-grade, tenth-class classroom, his classmates, upon seeing him, gave him displeased expressions.

"What the hell is he still doing here?"

"Because of him, we're treated like we're on the same level as that thing. Give me a break, will you?"

"That's for sure. Besides, he's had to take three supplementary exams, you know. He should at least consider his own capabilities."

Words of ridicule were bombarded upon him. They looked at him with contempt and disgust, as if tempted to hurt others because of the sense of stagnation they felt from not being rewarded for their efforts.

Nozomu ignored their words and went to the seat assigned to him. The brand-new desk he was supposed to use for the year already had a few cuts on it.

Nozomu turned his eyes once more to his classmates, who were now looking at him with contempt. His eyes had a strong light in them, a light that had not been there before.

The classmates' eyes widened in surprise at Nozomu's strong gaze.

However, he, who had strengthened his body with Qi-jutsu, fully demonstrated his superior physical strength and tried to push back his attackers without taking a step backward.

"~ !"

While Mars was parrying the attacks of the opposing vanguards, Nozomu went on the offensive. He and Mars teamed up and circled around to attack the two who had stopped moving. But before they could engage, a gust of wind blew past them.

"Mu ......"

A single blade of wind passed in front of Nozomu's eyes. Looking in the direction of the blade of wind, Nozomu saw a dagger-wielding female student chanting a magic spell.

"Obey my will and manifest, blade of wind!"

The blade of wind, activated again, struck Nozomu, splitting him and Mars apart. It seemed that the opponents were planning to separate Mars from Nozomu and the others and destroy each of them individually.

Considering that Mars was indeed the most capable fighter in this party, it would be strategically necessary to draw him away.

Then, another swordsman slashed at Nozomu from the flank after he was pulled away.

A lingering glow of magical power rose from his body, indicating that this male student, too, was using strengthening magic on himself.

"I got you!"

Nozomu immediately drew his katana. Using his katana and flexible body, he was able to parry his opponent's attack.

He was not in great shape at the time of the end-of-year exam due to his injuries from the fight with Shino, but now that his wounds have healed properly, Nozomu's body moved exactly what he wanted it to.

"Whoa!"

The swordsman was thrown off his stance by Nozomu's slash as he rushed forward with great vigor. Nozomu, who had dealt with his opponent's lunge, tried to throw a roundhouse kick to his opponent's flank, which was now exposed. However, just before Nozomu's kick caught his opponent, a fireball suddenly rushed in from behind and exploded.

"Wha-, guh!"

What flew in was a fireball that is classified as beginner-level magic. It is a general-purpose magic that shoots out balls of fire.

However, the fireball that just flew at him may have contained a certain amount of magic power, and the impact of the explosion at close range blasted Nozomu away.

"Damn, who the hell ......?"

As Nozomu got to his feet, having managed to use ukemi to cope with the impact of being blown away, he saw Mars' cronies leap into his eyes.

"Oioi, is that really okay? You dragged him into your attack too."

"It doesn't matter. Such a useless guy can only be used as a decoy."

It was, to his surprise, Mars' cronies who shot the fireball at him.

To them, Nozomu was literally nothing more than a decoy, and they didn't feel the slightest itch to involve him in their attacks.

"Those bastards......"

"Teeeii~!"

Nozomu got up, but while he was being blown away, the other party's swordsman, who had regained his stance, slashed at him from behind.

"Tch!"

He turned around and swung his katana, parrying it away by striking the side of the sword swung down from above, but from behind the opposing swordsman, a dagger-wielding female student was also coming at him with another attack.

Although two blades added to the offensive and made him on the defensive, Nozomu constantly shifted his body while parrying the incoming long sword and daggers, and repeatedly moved to avoid being attacked simultaneously.

Furthermore, from behind Nozomu's defensive stance, friendly fire was coming at him relentlessly.

"Take that!"

"Hahaha! Nice aim!"

Not only magic, but also arrows were added to the attack, and the situation was getting out of hand. Even with beginner-level magic, the impact and the heat of the explosion at close range inevitably slowed his movements down.

Furthermore, arrows fired in the gaps between the magic attacks were hurled at Nozomu and the attackers.

The two cronies' attacks were well coordinated in the sense that they were long-range attacks, and their strengths intertwined well with each other, successfully eliminating the shortcomings in their attacks, such as the time required for magic chanting and the gap between the next arrow.

However, there was no hesitation in involving Nozomu in their coordinated attack.

The cronies seemed to be enjoying getting Nozomu involved in the attack more than the combat training itself.

"Oh, I see now ...... Fine, then!"

Nozomu judged the two cronies as his enemies as well. With his whole body on edge, he swung his katana as hard as he could, as if to repel the swordsman and dagger wielder he was dealing with.

"Whoa!"

"Kuh!"

The two of them involuntarily moved away from their opponent in response to the large horizontal cleave. In that gap, Nozomu turned around using the momentum from his cleaving attack and activated his [Flash Step]. He accelerated toward the two cronies.

"Wha~!"

The cronies, seemingly in a panic, fired a fireball that they had kept on standby. A fireball flying at high speed approached Nozomu's eyes.

"~ !"

Nozomu sliced the fireball with a single slash from the front.

The fireball, split in half and with its spell disintegrated, faded away like a vapor.

"You bottom-feeder bastard!"

The other crony fired an arrow, but it was swiftly deflected by Nozomu's katana, which was placed right in the trajectory of the arrow.

"U-, uwa ......"

Nozomu swung his katana mercilessly toward the two flustered cronies, knocking their weapons away and slamming his fist into their stomachs.

The two fainted in agony, and then Nozomu made another turn. He tried to intercept the other party's swordsman and dagger wielder, who were in pursuit.

However, just as Nozomu was about to swing his blade again, a powerful chill came over him from the left side of his body.

"~ !"

As if urged on by the chill crawling up his spine, Nozomu used his [Flash Step] to break away as fast as he could.

Immediately after, Nozomu's vision caught sight of Mars, who was rushing toward him with his greatsword raised in the air.

The two members of the opposing party who had been fighting him were lying on the ground, probably already knocked down.

"Ggh!"

"This is ba- ......"

Unlike Nozomu, the other party's swordsman and dagger wielder were slow to react.

Mars, with his greatsword clad in a blade of wind, swung his greatsword sideways with all his might. With his enhanced physical strength and the wind blade, the front of Mars' weapon was swept away, and the remaining two members of the other party were blown away and rendered unconscious in the battle.

Meanwhile, Nozomu and Mars glared at each other silently.

If Nozomu had not gotten away with his [Flash Step], he would have definitely been caught up in the previous blow.

Nozomu's face was filled with anger toward Mars, who had clearly intended to wipe Nozomu out along with his opponents without hesitation.

Even Mars' cronies, who had somehow managed to regulate their breathing, were trembling and quivering as Nozomu glared directly at Mars with a frown on his brow. They were overwhelmed by Nozomu's anger.

Until now, Nozomu had always turned his back on everything at the school. In the past, he would have immediately averted his eyes and shut himself away.

Although Nozomu himself was unaware of the change in him, Mars' cronies, who were directly exposed to his anger, were perplexed and fearful at the obvious change in his behavior.

Meanwhile, Nozomu, who had been seething with anger, soon began to have doubts in his mind about Mars' unusual behavior.

Mars, who had just attacked Nozomu, had no trace of the disdain in his eyes that had been directed at him until now.

(What the hell is he up to?)

Mars' attitude suddenly changed after entering the third grade. However, Mars' mouth never opened as he kept staring at Nozomu.

Eventually, the class ended and was dismissed.

Nozomu left the training ground, wondering about the questions that were floating in his mind.

The cronies who had been engaged in the friendly fire with Nozomu were taken away to the edge of the training ground by Anri, who had a devilish expression on her face, and were given a scolding and ordered to clean up the training ground.

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