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

Chapter 6 Part 20

Translator : PolterGlast

It all started in the commercial district at night, filled with lights.

After the sun had set and darkness had enveloped Arcazam, this commercial district was the only place where the lights shone brightly, the streets were crowded with people, and the hustle and bustle did not stop.

At night, traveling merchants and adventurers would come here to buy alcohol, and the incident took place in a place that looked different from daytime.

According to the testimonies of the people who were there, it all started with a trivial quarrel at the beginning.

"I'll bet such a pampered boy will be running away in a blink of an eye when he has to fight a demon beast."

A group of what appeared to be adventurers sneered at a boy wearing the uniform of Solminati Academy. The five or so adventurers in the group chimed in with a few mocking words for the student.

According to the story, they were D to E rank adventurers.

For them, Solminati Academy graduates, who would be chosen as executives in their countries upon graduation and who would quickly make a name for themselves as adventurers, must have been an eyesore.

However, what they were saying was just nonsense that those who had enrolled in Solminati Academy did not need to hear.

It wasn't easy to graduate from Solminati Academy. The school attracted many talented students, so it was relatively easy to get in, but less than 10% of the students could grow to be able to actually play an active role on the front lines.

In short, what these adventurers were saying was nothing more than mere jealousy.

"Hmph……"

The student responded to the adventurers' comment with a sneering smile.

It was obvious that he was trying to provoke them, but there was no way that the inexperienced adventurers, who were drunk and easily offended, would put up with such an expression.

In an instant, the adventurers' blood rushed to their heads and they attacked the student while throwing abusive words.

The inside of the tavern was immediately filled with shouting and noises, and a huge brawl broke out with chairs, food on plates, bottles, and cups flying around.

The shopkeeper panicked and called for help from the military police who were patrolling the area, but when they arrived, they found the adventurers already knocked down and crawling on the ground.

Some of the crouching adventurers had their legs and hands twisted in strange directions, and their groans of pain echoed horribly in the tavern.

The military police officers immediately tried to capture the adventurers and the student who had caused the commotion, but the student resisted, wondering why he had to be caught.

He threw a nearby chair at them, silencing one of them. While the military police officers were faltered, he fled.

The military police officers immediately pursued the student, but as he fled, the student knocked down the military police officers one by one and disappeared.

An assault by a student of the Solminati Academy. As a result, nearly 10 people, including military police officers, were injured.

Some of those who were beaten down suffered serious injuries, including broken bones, and the fact that the military police, who were responsible for maintaining public order, were beaten down caused a huge stir that spread throughout Arcazam.

The military police put their prestige on the line and conducted an investigation, and the next morning a Solminati student was captured.

It was Nozomu Bountis, a student belonging to the 10th class of the 3rd year.

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

"What the hell is going on here!?"

Mars' angry voice echoed in front of the main gate of Solminati Academy.

The students around him were looking at him with wide eyes, wondering what was going on, but Mars was so angry that he didn't care about their gazes.

Early in the morning, the military police officers suddenly barged into the student dormitory.

Before the students could understand what had happened, the military police had captured Nozomu and taken him away.

Naturally, that fact spread quickly throughout the dormitory, and when he arrived at school, it already spread throughout the school.

When he arrived at school, Mars wondered why there was no sign of Nozomu, and when he questioned Feo, who also lived in the dormitory, he heard the story of Nozomu being suddenly detained.

"I don't know what's going on! There is too little information, and I can't swallow the situation!"

"Ma-Mars, calm down ..."

Mars grabbed Feo. Tima was frightened and put her hand on Mars to calm him down.

"Ah ... S-sorry."

"Yeah, don't worry about it."

Perhaps because the touch of Tima's hand, which was as thin and cold as white porcelain, was able to cool his head a little, Mars gave a stern expression and withdrew his hand from Feo's collar.

Mars had an apologetic expression on his face, but Feo waved his hand in a reassuring manner as if to say don't worry about it.

"... So, what's this all about? I would've never been able to figure out the details of what's going on because the stories that have been spreading around the school are all different."

Mars and the others nodded at Shīna's words, who put her hand over her mouth while in thought.

The story of Nozomu being detained by the military police for causing an assault has been the subject of much speculation, and to be honest, the whole story was hardly clear.

The only thing that was common among the stories was that Nozomu was the one who had caused an assault in the commercial district last night.

"By the way, I heard that the military police came to the girls' dormitory last night. They seemed to be asking something to the head of the dormitory who was still awake...'

"Certainly, there were more military police around the store than ever before."

"I heard that a story about a Solminati Academy student causing a violent incident has spread throughout the city. I heard it when I was coming to school."

Shīna added what she heard to Mimuru and Mars, who muttered as they remembered what happened last night.

Elves, who can hear small sounds in the forest, also have excellent senses such as hearing. She must have overheard the townfolks who were glancing at the students from the side on their way to school, whispering so that the students would not hear them.

Considering the fact that the incident took place in a busy commercial district, it was understandable that the story spread so quickly.

However, Mars and the others couldn't swallow such a story.

Although she had been silent since a while ago, Irisdina also had a stern expression on her face, as if she has bitten down on a bitter worm.

Her hands were clenched tightly together. Her clenched hands seemed to speak of her indignation.

"... If such a story is spreading throughout the city, then perhaps the teachers have already heard about it."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure about that."

"Then, let's start from there."

With her long black hair fluttering in the air, Irisdina turned on her heel and walked towards the school building.

Unlike her usually graceful steps, her gait was rough as if to express her anger.

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

An assault by an Arcazam student. Moreover, the perpetrator is a student who has recently begun to attract attention at the school, and he has even beaten up the military police.

Jihad, who had received the report, sat at his desk in his office, where silence reigned while staring at a letter from Mauzu, the Arcazam's guard captain.

Beside him, Inda-sensei and Anri-sensei could be seen. They were probably summoned because of this case.

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Inda, who was sitting beside Jihad, was also looking at the report on the desk with suspicion and confusion in her eyes.

"What is going on here?"

Inda's voice echoed through the office as if to express her agitation.

Even for Jihad, this incident was unbelievable.

Although he hadn't spent much time with Nozomu Bountis, the swordsmanship he had seen in the combat training had been straightforward and without hesitation.

If he were to say that only based on his swordsman's instincts, it didn't feel too convincing.

However, if Jihad were to consider the surprise of the people around him when they first saw Nozomu's katana technique and Qi technique in the combat training, he could conclude that Nozomu had never used any of his techniques in his school life. The reason for this, was probably due to his temperament that didn't like to show off his power to others.

Considering that, it was hard to accept that Nozomu had been provoked by adventurers, had gotten into a fight, and had beaten up military police officers who had intervened to stop him.

"I don't know either. But based on the reports and sketches of the culprit, there's no denying that the culprit in this case is Nozomu Bountis. But……"

Jihad once again looked at the report from Mauzu, the captain of the guard. He knew Mauzu's character from their previous mission together to defeat the Cyclopses.

He was a solid, serious, and polite man, and there was no way he would give him a haphazard report.

The carefully prepared report was accompanied by a sketch made from interviews with military police officers and residents, and the picture was very similar to Nozomu's face.

"I'm sure~. The criminal isn't Nozomu-kun~."

Anri, who had been watching Jihad speaking beside her, confidently declared that Nozomu was not the culprit.

Jihad looked at her as if to ask, "Why is that?"

"That is because....~"

Just as Anri was about to answer Jihad's silent question, the door to the office suddenly opened and seven students came in all at once. Leading the way was Irisdina with her stern expression.

"Excuse me"

"Irisdina-san? Even Shīna-san and the others too..."

Inda's eyes widened when Irisdina and the others suddenly entered the room without knocking, but she quickly returned to her normal sharp expression and tried to tell them to go out.

"We're in the middle of an important conversation. If you need us, you can reach us later......."

This time, even the military police officers have been seriously injured, and to be honest, the situation has grown beyond the scope of what the school can handle alone.

In order to avoid unnecessary confusion, they need to deal with this matter quickly and appropriately. Of course, this includes not only expelling the culprit from school but also bringing him to justice as a criminal.

"It's about that important conversation. We are convinced that the culprit is not Nozomu."

"What is your basis for saying that?"

Irisdina said so with confidence.

She had heard the truth about Nozomu's rumor. She already had a rough idea of what had happened.

However, Irisdina and the others needed more information in order to get solid evidence.

"To find out for sure, we need to know more about what had happened. Also, we want you to listen to what we have to say."

"It's a good idea~. I think what Irisdina and the others are trying to talk about is the same as mine~"

Anri also agreed with Irisdina's words.

She was also one of those who had heard the truth about the rumors that had circulated in the school from Nozomu. So they were thinking the same thing.

"... Okay. Let's talk from the beginning of things."

"...... Alright. Let's start with how it all began."

Jihad slowly told them about the details of the assault that had occurred last night in the commercial district.

Irisdina and the others listened carefully to Jihad's words, making sure not to miss a single word, but also worrying about the well-being of their friends who were not here at the moment.

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

Because of the assault incident that Nozomu Bountis had committed in the commercial district at night, the school was in turmoil all day long.

Especially in the third year, where Nozomu's reputation was split into two, there was a lot of speculation going on in various classes.

However, there were two main trends.

One was that he had grown arrogant because of Jihad-sensei's approval, and the other was that this was a misconception that had nothing to do with the case.

Even in the classroom of the 1st class in the 3rd year, many speculations were flying around with these two assumptions as the main axis.

In such a classroom, Camilla sat in her seat, ignoring the noise around her, and stared at her palms.

Her painful hands wrapped in bandages were reflected in her hollow eyes.

She was confronted with the fact that what she had believed until now to be the truth was completely fake, and all the words she had been directing at Nozomu bounced back and pierced deeply into Camilla's heart.

"Camilla, that hand ... are you okay?"

Lisa, who was sitting beside Camilla, called out to her with a worried look on her face.

Camilla looked up at Lisa who has a bad complexion. Her face was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. Her normally shiny crimson hair was now seemed fading.

She was worn out from all the glances and rumors that had been directed at her recently.

She probably didn't get much sleep last night either.

And now this. It was obvious that Lisa's mind would be further burdened.

"I, I got a little burned while I was cooking. Don't worry, I've given it enough treatment."

She was grateful to Lisa for worrying about her, even though Lisa herself was in a bad state, but the kindness Lisa was showing her made Camilla's heart ache even more.

She knew that she had been responsible for putting Lisa in such a bad situation.

However, despite being tormented by regret and guilt, Camilla was unable to tell Lisa about this fact.

(Nozomu didn't betray Lisa. The one who betrayed her was .......)

For some reason, every time the words rose to her throat, they were suppressed and only colorless air was pushed out of her lungs.

Each time, a feeling of guilt swelled inside of Camilla's heart.

"So, what's exactly happened this morning?"

"Well, perhaps Nozomu got carried away and did something stupid, wasn't it?"

Such self-convenience speculations of her classmates flooded into Camilla's ears like a murky stream.

No detailed information about this early morning incident had been made public, and there was no announcement from the school. There was a lot of speculation flying around, but Camilla was sure that what she had just heard was complete nonsense.

In the first place, Nozomu wasn't guilty. It was Lisa's other childhood friend who had framed him, and now that she realized the truth, Camilla couldn't think of anyone other than Ken Notis who wanted to get rid of Nozomu as the real perpetrator.

"Lisa ..."

“…………”

Lisa must have heard the speculations of her classmates earlier, but she remained silent and said nothing.

However, despite her expressionless face, tears were accumulated in her eyes and she was trembling.

She wondered why she had such an expression on her face and what she could do to stop her from looking like that.

The sight of her best friend, who had saved her life, in such a state of exhaustion only stirred her impatience further.

As they faced each other in silence, a shadow walked up to them.

"What were you two talking about?"

Ken approached Lisa and Camilla while smiling as usual.

He didn't seem to be surprised that Nozomu was detained as the perpetrator. But it seemed Camilla hated his voice just now.

"By the way, I heard that Nozomu did something again. I guess he got carried away because he did a little better."

"~ !?"

Camilla instantly became agitated at the words Ken had let out.

(What are you talking about! You are the one who lied about everything, deceived the person you wanted to protect, and kept her away from happiness!)

However, her anger immediately became a sharp arrowhead that pierced her own heart. Camilla gritted her teeth to endure the pain and crouched down, trying not to show her facial expression.

"Camilla. Are you sure you're okay...?"

"Camilla's been looking a little under the weather since yesterday."

The rising remorse and the raging resentment were chipping away at Camilla's heart like a tidal wave.

And then a chill came over Camilla's whole body, like blood flowing out of a wound.

Ken took a glance at Camilla, who didn't say anything. He scooped up his shining blond hair and smiled with satisfaction.

"Well, fortunately, now that Nozomu made a fool of himself, those who were protecting him will realize that Lisa is right."

Ken acted as if he didn't have anything to worry about anymore, but Lisa's complexion was still not good.

"I wonder, what will happen to Nozomu?"

"I'm pretty sure he'll be expelled. But it's okay, isn't it? He hasn't been around us for the past two years, so it's okay if he's not around anymore. Even if he's not here, we can still help you. Since you have us as your friends…”

"~ !?"

Ken turned his gaze to Camilla, who was still facing her head down.

The moment she heard Ken's words, Camilla's swirling emotions exploded like a raging volcano.

After kicking her chair away, Camilla ran out of the classroom.

She couldn't stand it anymore. If she had stayed in that place, she would have been crushed by the remorse and helplessness she felt.

"Camilla !?"

"H-hey! What are you doing? Go back to class!"

The panicked voices of Lisa and the teacher who had come to class could be heard behind her, but Camilla did not stop. There was no way she could stop.

She just kept running until she got out of the school building and reached the central park, where she fell to her knees on the grass.

"~hick ~uuu~u~uuu!"

While recalling the figure of the person she had wronged in her mind, Camilla broke down in tears, stifling her voice in a corner of the central park where there were few people.

Her cries sounded as if she was begging for forgiveness, but there was no one there to answer her.

The sound of the wind drowned out her crying voice in a corner of the park.

Eventually, Camilla, who slowly got up, did not return to the school, and she disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the city.

She was exhausted, her gait was unsteady, and her eyes were somewhat hollow.

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

That day, Nozomu woke up to the rattling noises and the presence of many people approaching.

He noticed that the dormitory was filled with a dangerous atmosphere. Wondering what was going on, Nozomu reached for his beloved katana, which he kept nearby at all times, and looked around to see what was going on.

He heard the sound of metal clattering from downstairs and the sound of multiple footsteps.

Eventually, the clattering sound stopped in front of his room, and he stared at the door, trying to figure out what was going on inside.

The tension in the air made him wonder if a suspicious person tried to enter the room, so he reached for the hilt of his katana.

However, the next thing Nozomu saw was a group of military police breaking the door and stepping into the room.

"There he is! There is no doubt it's him!"

"All right, get him!"

The people he thought were intruders were actually military police officers who were supposed to be maintaining public order, and for some reason, they wanted to capture him.

Surprised and initially wondering if he should intercept the intruders, Nozomu's reaction was completely delayed.

A military police officer leaped on Nozomu without saying a word. Without understanding why, he was captured by the military police, taken away, and locked up in a cold, iron-barred prison.

Now, after being detained for several hours, Nozomu was being interrogated directly by the captain of the guard, Mauzu.

In the dimly lit interrogation room, Nozomu and Mauzu were facing each other. The man's face in front of Nozomu was expressionless as if he was hiding his inner anger, although he was a mature man, about the same age as Jihad, and seemed calm and polite.

The occasional thumping sound of the desk echoed in the silent room as if he was in a bad mood.

Mauzu slowly opened his mouth. He was staring at Nozomu and asked him a question.

"So, I'll ask you once again. What exactly were you doing yesterday?"

"As I've told you many times, I fell ill and fell asleep in my dorm room."

Such exchanges had been repeated so many times in this interrogation room today that it made no sense to count.

"In other words, you were alone, right?."

He asked to confirm, but behind his words, he was sure that the culprit was Nozomu.

"I'm innocent"

Nozomu wouldn't back down and insisted on his innocence even as he met Mauzu's stern gaze and the intimidation from his well-toned body.

But no one can testify to Nozomu's innocence.

"But no one can testify to your innocence, and the military police officers and the people who were near the scene have seen your face. Are you sure you're telling the truth?"

However, Mauzu put Nozomu's claim aside and glared at him with squinted eyes.

Mauzu had no intention of overlooking the criminal who hurt his important friends and subordinates, and there were military police who actually saw the criminal's face at the scene.

The criminal's escape route had also been identified to some extent through testimonies, and they have also obtained the testimony of a resident who saw a student enter the male dormitory of Solminati Academy late at night.

No matter how much Nozomu insisted he did not do it, Mauzu and the others have already gathered enough evidence.

However, Nozomu had no intention of going along with such a false accusation which he had no recollection of ever doing it.

He stuck his chest out to repel Mauzu's glare.

Mauzu frowned for a moment as Nozomu stared back at him.

Mauzu, whose companion had been hurt by the criminal's assault, showed a slight hint of discomfort, but he immediately took a deep breath to regain his temper.

"... If that's the way you're going to behave, I don't blame you."

He put together the records he had been working on and called the military police officers who were standing guard outside the room.

He decided that there was no point in listening to Nozomu any longer, and decided to keep him in jail until he could be dealt with by the appropriate law.

A military police officer came into the interrogation room. The police officer took Nozomu by the arm and pulled him up from the chair, holding him tightly by his sides, and pulled him toward the door leading out of the room.

"Either way, I've already reported this to the school. You'll probably be expelled anyway."

"... Have you ever heard of [Reflective Water Surface of the Heart Mask]?"

The words that Nozomu had spoken as he left echoed in Mauzu's ears.

But before Mauzu could say anything back to Nozomu, Nozomu's figure disappeared behind the door.

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

After being taken away, Nozomu was once again pushed into a prison cell surrounded by iron bars and stone walls, where he was under surveillance of the military police who were watching him closely.

As he sat there on the cold stone floor, Nozomu thought about the person who must have caused all this incident. It was undoubtedly "him".

Although the underclassmen have been less negative towards him lately, many of his classmates still don't have a good feeling about him.

No, their jealousy and anger might have been coming from unseen sources when his abilities were being reevaluated and he was being recognized by Jihad.

However, Nozomu could only think of one person who would try to eliminate him this far.

"Ken ..."

He mentioned the name of his former best friend.

The person who had brought him down, even though they had sworn to protect the same person.

Perhaps Ken was trying to force Nozomu to drop out of the school by falsely accusing him in order to get rid of him completely.

Nozomu's fists clenched tightly.

He was so angry that his gut felt like it was about to boil over.

*Ba-dump*

"~ !"

At that moment, Nozomu's heart pulsated violently.

At the same time, hatred slowly seeped out from deep inside his chest.

*Gurururu... *

Along with a roar that echoed through the abyss, a fierce pain shot through Nozomu's head.

His breathing becomes ragged and sweat drips down like a waterfall.

"~uugh !!"

Nozomu crouched on the stone floor and clutched his chest tightly, desperately resisting the hatred that was trying to overwhelm his reason.

His heart that had been beating wildly slowly regained its composure, and the resentment that had been seeping out began to disappear.

What remained was a strange, sad sense of desolation.

Perhaps it was the remains of his friendship with Ken.

The fact that Ken had acted this way again meant that he was probably planning to do the same thing again and again.

There was no way he could allow that to happen. Nozomu wondered if there was any way he could prove his innocence. The only way to do that would be to prove that Nozomu couldn't be at the scene when the incident occurred.

"Fuh~ ..."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to change his mind about the past.

Considering what Mauzu had said during the interrogation, Ken had probably been using the [Reflective Water Surface of the Heart Mask] all the way back to the dormitory.

In that case, the only way to overturn it would be to prove Nozomu's alibi, but since he was asleep in his room in the dorm when the incident occurred and no one visited him, it would be impossible to prove his alibi.

To be honest, Nozomu couldn't prove his innocence by himself, and there was no way to find someone who could do it for him while he was in prison.

"I'm at a loss ..."

It would have been preferable to contact his friends and ask them to help him, but there was no way to contact them from the prison.

All of Nozomu's tools and weapons have been confiscated, and since the prison was built underground, there was only one way in and one way out, which was the stairs leading to the surface.

In addition, the entrance and exit were guarded by military police.

Even if he tried to break out of the prison by force, it would not be good to release his Ability Suppression in such a city, and he would be sentenced to death immediately. However, Nozomu who had never escaped from prison before, could do nothing but break the prison by force.

He didn't have any choice but to be trapped in this prison for a while.

An imperfect jailbreak would be a bad move, and if he did it, it would give Ken the opportunity to eliminate him in the name of "catching a criminal".

In the worst case, breaking out of prison would be his last resort, and now was not the time to rush things.

However, there was still a lot to think about.

As Nozomu groaned and pondered, a military police officer came down to the basement with a displeased expression on his face and approached the cell where Nozomu was being held.

"Oi, you have a visitor."

"Visitor? Who ...... Iris and the others?"

The officer frowned at the tone of Nozomu's voice as his energy returned.

The officer's blunt attitude was probably because he thought Nozomu had hurt his comrades, but Nozomu thought he might be able to get some information out of this.

While he was thinking so, the next thing the officer said made him wonder even more.

"It's your girlfriend. Good grief, why to such a bastard ..."

"... Eh? girlfriend?"

That was all the officer said to Nozomu, and he returned to his office furiously. Nozomu, on the other hand, was dumbfounded, not understanding a word the officer said to him.

The current Nozomu did not have a girlfriend.

(Who in the world was he talking about?)

As if in response to Nozomu's question, he heard the sound of someone's footsteps coming from the stairs the officer had just come down from.

In the dungeon, light shining through the gaps of the iron bars hid the figure of the approaching shadow like a curtain.

When the curtain of light illuminated the approaching shadow, Nozomu's eyes widened in surprise.

"Nozomu, are you alright?"

"Camilla ...?"

It was a former friend who had always hated Nozomu as if he were an enemy. Camilla, Lisa's best friend, was standing there with a somewhat hollow expression on her face.