Ryuu Kusari No Orishin No Naka No Kokoro
Chapter 2 Part 2

"Excuse me. Norn-sensei, looks like he hurt himself. Can you treat it?"

Irisdina Francilt was there, lending her shoulder to a student suspected of being injured.

Behind him, his best friend Tima Lime could be seen. Tima was carrying luggage that seemed to belong to Irisdina.

"Alright, let the injured student sit in that chair first."

Norn-sensei immediately went to see the student, while Nozomu took out and brought a set of treatment tools containing medicines and bandages from the shelf.

"What happened ~~~~"

While Nozomu and Norn are taking care of the injured student, Anri-sensei listens to Irisdina about her situation

Apparently, he was involved in a competition for popular items in the canteen, which turned into a battle.

"Hmm, her legs sprained, but her bones looked fine, and her muscles also looked fine. If he rested for a few days, it would heal. Let's apply the ointment for a while."

While Nozomu helps Norn-sensei take care of him immediately, he meets Tima Lime.

"!!"

As soon as he met Nozomu, he shifted his gaze and hid behind Irisdina.

(............... Did I do something to her?)

Nozomu was a little distressed and skeptical as he was blatantly avoided by a girl he had never spoken to, but since he was concentrating on helping Norn Sensei, he could not think of Tima.

"That's enough. For now, rest a little."

"Thank you very much"

The school girl and Irisdina thank Norn-sensei for his treatment and leave. When Nozomu saw that although Irisdina was not involved with him, he helped the injured, took him to the hospital, and thanked the person who cared for him, he could see Irisdina's personality.

Irisdina was the daughter of an Aristocratic family in the kingdom of Forsina, a great power in the western part of the continent, and she could not be ignored by the teachers in the school, but she did not mind. After all, he had a hardworking personality. Everyone at school knows about it.

"Then, as sensei said, you just need to rest for a while."

"Yes thank you!!"

When Irisdina called out to the student, she blushed and replied with her energetic voice.

Irisdina's looks and abilities are amazing. With her noble personality, she is known as the "Kurokami-hime" (Black-Haired Princess) at school, and although she has been recognized by many boys and girls, she has been, he never seemed to accept their feelings.

By the way, it was Nozomu's childhood friend Lisa Hounds who fought equally with him in a first-class mock battle in his second year. Lisa is called the "Red-Haired Princess" because of her fiery appearance and red hair, and they seem to compete in practical skills.

Irisdina bowed politely and said, “Thank you for your help.”

"N-no need to thank me. I just happen to be here."

Nozomu's response became a bit awkward, staring at his over-ordered appearance and his pitch-black eyes.

Suddenly, Tima who was behind Iris said, "Ai. It's time for class …………"

Of course, the lunch break was almost over, and afternoon classes were about to begin.

"Nn, so. Then sensei, we'll go back to class. Thanks for your treatment."

"No problem. Nozomu-kun, thank you for your help. You should go back to class too."

The girls also said it, thanked him again, and left the hospital. Looking at the clock in the room, there were only a few more minutes until the lunch break was over. Looks like Nozomu won't have enough time to spend the rest of his lunch.

"Okay I get it, I'm going back to class" Nozomu replied.

He's back in class.

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POV Irisdina

In the corridor, while walking back to class, I asked about the strange behavior my best friend showed me in the hospital.

"Lord, I know you're not good with men, but I think your attitude towards him is a bit exaggerated."

What I mean is Tima's attitude towards Nozomu in the hospital. Tima was obviously not good with boys, and when he stood alone in front of a man, he could not speak well; however, his attitude towards him was too excessive.

"I'm sorry Ai. But the boy. That guy, he's playing Lisa-san…"

Lisa is a female student who belongs in the third grade of first grade like us. He was an outstanding student who reached A rank, just like us, and he was one of the few people who could compete with me in practical skills.

By the way, when she was in first grade, I had heard such rumors.I heard that she was dating her childhood friend, but she was cheated and betrayed. Is he that guy?

"But as far as rumors go, his character doesn't match any rumors at all."

you wouldn't think a cheater would be so kind as to prepare medicine for an injured person or help with his or her treatment.

"Un, but I was scared just then …"

Tima is a little sad. He lowered his gaze.

She's nice, but she's a little shy, and she cares too much about her surroundings. He had most likely overreacted because he had heard the rumors.

"Well, if you have the chance to meet her next time, just apologize at that time. Don't worry too much, Tima."

"…………no"

The lesson will begin soon. I rushed to class while comforting my best friend.

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"Alright, let's start the afternoon lesson."

Anri's voice echoed in the training ground.

The afternoon lesson for the 10th grade was about comprehensive combat techniques.

Unlike the one-on-one mock battles so far, this lesson involved forming a party to fight, so it wasn't just about individual fighting abilities anymore. Teamwork is more important now.

First of all, fighting against a powerful demonic beast alone was extremely dangerous even for a veteran knight. Furthermore, since there was little reward, the adventurer-like freelancers were basically organizing parties consisting of several to dozens of people. When conquering powerful demonic beasts, they sometimes formed teams with the other party or asked for help.

Therefore, in order to develop assessment abilities for each role in response to various situations, the school introduced many subjects such as group fighting starting from third grade.

However, when the classmates formed a party, Nozomu was still left alone and could not form a party with anyone.

(i knew this was going to happen, but it must be bad)

This lesson was meaningless without a few people, but even if Nozomu tried to talk to them, his classmates would not respond and instead ignore him.

(If it were like this, it wouldn't be such a lesson)

If nothing is done, the party cannot be formed, the lesson itself cannot be held, and it means nothing to Nozomu.

However, his classmates had formed a party, and there was nowhere for Nozomu to fill.

"Hey, if you don't have a party, do you want to join us?"

At that moment, there was a student calling Nozomu, but the voice came from someone unexpected, let alone Nozomu.

"O Mars, are you serious?"

"Why do you bother to throw away useless trash?"

Their reaction is natural. Mars is one of the students in the class who hates Nozomu a lot.

He was the first to exclude Nozomu as a candidate. Nozomu did not speak to them because he did not think they would come to him and invite him instead.

Mars' entourage complained, but Mars did not respond. He just looked at Nozomu.

Nozomu stared back at Mars. Nozomu doesn't know what Mars is thinking, but he has no choice. Besides, no one else wants it

"… I understand. I accept."

"…good"

And just like that, the most unlikely party in the class, with Nozomu, Mars, and his entourage has been made.

The lesson is still in mock battle format. There's four guys at Mars' and Nozomu's party. The Mars troupe consists of one archer and one witch.

His opponent also consisted of 4 people. There are two boys who use swords, one boy who uses spears, and one girl who uses 2 kris.

Along with the signal to start a mock battle, the swordman and the opponent spearman first cast reinforcement magic on themselves and began to approach Mars.

"Hm!"

Mars took out his greatsword and received an attack from two people. The sound of a high-pitched metallic clashing resounded, and the attack whose power had been enhanced by strengthening the magic attacked Mars. But Mars, who had strengthened his own body with kijutsu, had not changed at all.

Nozomu tried to attack the two people who stopped moving, but suddenly a wind passed in front of him and his attack was blocked. Looking towards the blade of wind, a dagger user chanted magic.

The wind blades hit again, and Nozomu separated from Mars. Apparently, the opponent intended to separate Mars and Nozomu and destroy them one by one. Of course, considering Mars has the highest fighting ability in the party, it would be very strategic to separate it.

Another swordsman from the enemy side approached the separated Nozomu.

"I got you!!"

Nozomu immediately took out his katana and fended off the opponent's sword. The rush momentum was strong as the swordsman strengthened his body, but being fended off by Nozomu caused him to lose his posture.

Nozomu immediately tried to chase after him, but suddenly a fireball entered from behind and exploded, and he was thrown.

"Aghhh!"

"Oi oi, is it okay? He's involved too."

"It's okay. Such a useless person could only be bait."

It was Mars who fired the fireball. For them, Nozomu was really a decoy, and it would not hurt for them if Nozomu was involved in the attack.

"Damn!"

Nozomu got up and got ready, but the opposing swordsman came close. With the addition of one double dagger user, Nozomu will be on the defensive side against two people. While fending off the three swords, he repeatedly moved so that two people would not be able to attack at the same time.

"Take this!"

"Haha! An easy target!"

Mar's entourage also attacked Nozomu using their magic and arrows, as if unwillingly. Nozomu was swept away by the long-range magic attack, and the gap was pierced by an accurate shot with a bow.

The attacks of the two members of the entourage matched each other in the sense of long-range attacks, and its strength was well-woven. The magic casting time and the gap between the next arrow, which was the weakness of the attack, were successfully eliminated.

In a 1-on-4 situation, Nozomu had no way of dealing with it. He could try to counterattack, but the entourage behind him would attack him, so he would deal with it. He was caught in a circle of being attacked again by himself and the other party.

However, this situation soon collapsed. Nozomu felt a stinging chill from the side. Using his feet, he left with all his might.

The sight of Mars swinging its greatsword was reflected in Nozomu's field of view. Mars, after defeating his two opponents, rushed with a swift motion to the chaotic Nozomu

Mars, who wielded a gigantic sword shrouded in blades of wind, swung his sword to the side with all his might. With enhanced strength and wind blades, the Martian environment was swept away, and the two remaining groups of opponents were blown away, making it impossible to continue the fight. With that, the mock battle ended.

Nozomu and Mars glared at each other in silence. Nozomu was clearly angry at Mars who was clearly attacking him, and the two entourage who attacked him.

Until now, Nozomu turned a blind eye to everything that happened in school. He would immediately take his eyes off and take care of himself.

Nozomu himself was unaware of such a change, but he clearly changed.

Nozomu is angry, but soon questions arise from his heart about Mars' unusual behavior.

Mars was attacking him, but he could not see the color of the eyes of Mars that hated him until now. Nozomu didn't understand the reason, but at least he knew it wasn't hostility.

When he thought about it, Mars' behavior towards Nozomu had clearly changed since the beginning of the third year.

He didn't curse at her, and he didn't make fun of her during the lesson.

(What's going on?)

There was anger in Nozomu's heart, but more than that, he was worried about the changes on Mars. However, Nozomu did not speak and the two of them remained silent. The group talked to Mars, but he did not respond, he just kept staring at Nozomu.

Finally the bell that marks the end of the lesson rings, and the lesson is finished. Nozomu left the training ground without finding an answer to the question that had appeared on his chest.

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The POV Mars

After the class was over, Mars thought of a mock fight while walking down the school corridor.

"He .. has changed"

He remembered Nozomu who was willing to get involved and a sharp look at him who attacked. His parents wouldn't do that, he would just look down and turn around.

Mars doesn't know what happened to him, but he can guess that his feelings have changed.

“............. But what kind of training does he do?”

Mars admires Nozomu's moves, which are actually 1 on 4 in mock battles. He could catch a glimpse of it during the battle as he only fought against two opponents, but from what he saw, there was no waste in Nozomu's movements, which dealt a four-man attack.

Mars would not be able to handle an attack from four people in such a depressed state as him. It seemed that the people around him, including those dealing with him, were unaware of it. The movements themselves were slow, but all the movements were executed with great precision.

He always moves to the blind spot of the opponent and always moves in one-on-one confrontations. Moreover, in that situation, he sensed the Martian surprise attack and immediately moved. There was no doubt that he had a fairly wide field of view.

"He's quite used to fighting. Where did he get such an experience?"

In this city, the only way to gain combat experience was to receive a request from a school or guild. No one wanted to deal with him at school, and he was not high enough to accept the request for subjugation from the guild.

Students must hold a certain rank or form a party with some higher ranking people to accept requests such as subjugation from the guild; otherwise, only miscellaneous requests are acceptable. The school students, however, were a group of inexperienced children, and the school party wanted to avoid the loss of valuable human resource candidates, so such an arrangement was made.

"…Will he, perhaps, go to the forest alone?"

The only place where he could gain such combat experience was the forest, but it was extremely reckless for a student to enter a forest where demonic beasts were dominant. No one's doing that. No matter how powerful the demonic beasts near the city were, it was not absolute, and there were cases where travelers were actually attacked.

But on the contrary, the accuracy of his movements could not be explained.

“...Should I check it?”

Mars made a decision and quickly walked down the corridor