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

[LN] Volume 1: Chapter 3.3

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

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Volume 1 Chapter 3.3

Old Wound that Hurts Part 3

Translator : PolterGlast

In a dark corner of a garden, a girl around ten years old stood with her hands raised over her head. She was dressed in light, modest clothing. A candlestick was placed on the floor, and a book that looked like a grimoire was laid open beside it.

"The sun's brilliance that illuminates the earth lies in my hands..."

A girl with jet-black hair that seemed to melt in the dark night quietly chanted a spell with beads of sweat on her forehead.

Then a small ball of light appeared in the girl's hand.

The girl used [Light Ball], a magic that illuminates the surroundings with small balls of light.

However, the ball of light produced by the girl was as small as the tip of her thumb, and the light intensity was unstable, flickering like the light of a firefly.

"Hmm~… mmm~… Ah!”

About ten seconds after the magic was activated, the ball of light disappeared.

"It's not working out as well as my sister. I wonder what's gone wrong with me..."

While tilting her head, the dark-haired young girl began to glance down at the grimoire spread out at her feet. It was Somia, an Ecross student whom Nozomu had met today in the central park.

As Somia scanned the contents of the grimoire by relying on the small light from the candlestick, a dignified voice called out to her from behind.

"Somia, you're so diligent."

It was Irisdina, the owner of the mansion, who called out to her.

When Somia saw Irisdina, who had called her name, she smiled and rushed to her sister's side.

Somia's real name was Somiliana Francilt. She is the second daughter of the current head of the Francilt household and Irisdina's sister.

Irisdina, like Somia, had now changed into her regular indoor clothes, and the dignified atmosphere she had at school was nowhere to be seen and she was visibly more relaxed.

"What’s wrong? Is there any magic that you can't quite understand?"

"Yes, this one..."

Irisdina browsed through the grimoire Somia offered her.

"Oh, [Light Ball] magic, huh? It’s a bit tricky when infusing magic power into it."

[Light Ball] is light attribute magic.

The currently confirmed magic is classified into six attributes: four attributes of earth, water, fire, and wind, and two attributes of light and darkness.

The speed and proficiency of learning each attribute of magic depends on the talent of the individual itself, but basically, the lower the level of difficulty, the less it depends on personal talents.

Irisdina's specialty is the dark attribute, but if the magic is at the [Light Ball] level, it wouldn't be a problem for Irisdina to cast it.

Hoping to be of help to her sister, Irisdina raised her right palm and quickly cast a spell to produce a ball of light. The produced ball of light emitted a dazzling light and the light was stable.

Somia let out a voice of admiration upon seeing the perfect [Light Ball] magic, which was completely different from her own.

"Fuwaa~…"

"Just like the chant pacing that must be carefully maintained, this magic must be infused with enough magic power when cast. And then you can gradually decrease it until you reach the suitable intensity. Once you reach the suitable intensity, you must maintain the flow of magic power to keep it from disappearing."

"Yes!”

With a quick response, Somia returned to her self-practice.

Like before, she raised her palm, focused her concentration, and chanted. As she used the magic of [Light Ball] several times in this fashion, Somia, who was practicing her magic under her sister's guidance, suddenly smiled.

"Ehehehe...”

"You seem happy, Somia. Did something good happen to you lately?"

"Ah, yes! I made a new friend."

Irisdina looked a little surprised upon hearing Somia's words.

Somia, just like Irisdina, is a member of high nobility, but due to her birth and upbringing, she is more sensitive to malice than others.

Somia had a bright and cheerful personality, but she never approached anyone who harbored ill intentions toward her or the people around her.

Irisdina was therefore intrigued by the person who had become her sister's friend.

"Hee, what's that person like?"

Prompted by her sister, Somia recalled the moment she met Nozomu.

Somia's first impression of Nozomu was that he looked lonely. And he seemed to be overly cautious and didn't want to get involved with others. But at the same time, she had an intuition that he was a very kind person.

(Otherwise, he wouldn't have helped me when I was in trouble...)

Somia said so to herself as she caressed her bracelet, which was now back on her arm.

"He looked so lonely, but he was a very kind person. When Kuro-chan took away the bracelet that Ane-sama gave me and hid in a tree where I couldn't reach, he climbed the tree to get it back for me."

"I see..."

Irisdina, on the other hand, was looking at Somia with adoration, who happily held up the bracelet she had gotten back.

"What about you Ane-sama? How are things going at the academy?"

"Well, I myself have gotten acquainted with someone interesting recently."

"What kind of person?"

Unaware that they were both thinking about the same person, Irisdina also talked about Nozomu. The first thing she recalled was their encounter in the Spasim forest.

A very refined blade of Qi. Seeing his precision in making such an amazing blade in less than half a second, Irisdina was intrigued by it.

The second time was in the neighboring training ground during today's practical lesson.

From the way he was watching the combat training she had in class, Irisdina tried waving at him, but unfortunately, he didn't notice her.

(Now that I think about it, he looked rather depressed. I wonder if it was because Lisa-kun was there...)

"I don't really know what his personality is like ... To be honest. I hardly ever talk to him."

"It's unusual for Ane-sama to be interested in someone she haven't talked to much..."

"That's true. Even I, too, am a little surprised. Well, he left me quite an impact when we first met."

Irisdina then started talking about what happened in the Spasim forest.

She was in the middle of carrying out an investigation request from the Adventurer Guild when she was caught off guard by a demonic beast and was saved by a male student.

"The male student cut down the Mad Bear that had attacked suddenly with a blade of Qi in less than half a second. The precision of his Qi-jutsu is probably better than anyone else I know. Magic and Qi-jutsu may be different, but I don't think I can make a Qi blade as good as his..."

The person who was said to be a failure showed a Qi blade that seemed to be of the highest caliber. Due to this gap, Irisdina found herself even more interested in him.

"What an amazing person!"

Her sister's very unusual behavior also piqued Somia's interest in that person. However, she didn't realize that the person her sister was referring to was the "kind-hearted Onīsan" she met today.

"I know, right? Well, it's getting late. How about we call it a night and get some sleep."

"Eh~! But, Ane-sama, I want to hear more about that person."

"No. It's already past your bedtime. You need to rest so you can grow well."

"Muuu~. Ane-sama is treating me like a child again."

Irisdina smiled at her younger sister who was complaining. Somia was at an age where she wanted to grow taller in so many ways, and seeing her younger sister who seemed to act like her age was the greatest comfort and joy to her.

"Besides, I don't know him well enough either. Well then, how about this? Next time I have a chance to know more about this person, we'll talk about it again next time."

"Muu~~. Fine..."

Encouraged by her sister's words, Somia quickly returned to her room.

Irisdina watched her sister's back with deep emotion.

(You're still so small after all.)

In fact, Somia was smaller than other children her age. This was largely due to the fact that Somia was born prematurely.

(Mother...)

The image of her mother, who died when she was a child, came back to Irisdina's mind. Irisdina's mother, who had been a sickly woman, had died when she gave birth to Somia. That was when Irisdina had just turned six years old. Somia, born prematurely, was told that she wouldn't live long. Because of that, there were times when Irisdina was so heartbroken.

Miraculously, however, Somia survived.

With her tiny little body, she fought against death the best she could, overcame it day after day. This sight inspired Irisdina. She felt the life of her late mother in her sister's pursuit of life.

It was then that Irisdina decided to protect her sister and take over as head of the Francilt household, which she did with great difficulty.

She took up a sword that no noble daughter would ever wield, learned about noble duties, and disciplined herself. Thus, she discovered that she had the talent and she began to accumulate achievements in the school.

In fact, she was fully capable of using both sword and magic, and she maintained the top overall grade in Solminati Academy.

Top rank in the continent's most prestigious academy. In other words, she was very close to being at the top of the continent in the same age group as her.

She realized she became who she was today because of the hard work she had put in since she was a child.

"That's why I want to know..."

She was curious about Nozomu Bountis because of her own experience having worked hard beyond her age. The blade of Qi he produced showed a glimpse of the hard work he had put in.

"He's supposed to be a despicable man who betrayed his lover and childhood friend who supported him so much. However, he doesn't seem to be that kind of person to me..."

Most of the rumors about him that she heard from Tima were in the form of hearsay, and she couldn't find anyone who had actually seen him cheating with another woman.

However, it was said that many people witnessed the sudden rift between the two, who had been on very good terms with each other, and Lisa Hounds one-sidedly distancing herself from him and assuming a cold attitude toward him.

"Circumstantial evidence alone suggests that the rumors are true..."

Just what Tima said was not enough to come to a conclusion.

Irisdina took a break from her unanswerable thoughts.

"I wonder what kind of effort he put in before he could produce such a blade..."

The sustained effort generated great empathy and resonance with those who had similar experiences and that empathy was a great force that quickly shortened the distance between two strangers.

Now that she was aware of the roots of her own interest and sympathized with the efforts that she and Nozomu Bountis were putting in, Irisdina's desire to "get to know him" began to grow rapidly.

And that opportunity came sooner than she expected.

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