Ryuu Kusari no Ori - Kokoro no Uchi no “Kokoro” - Chapter 1.3

Nozomu is attending school as usual.

Upon entering the classroom, a student who had already arrived saw him but immediately gave him a stupid look. Slandering is written on his desk, and the surroundings giggle as Nozomu cleans it up.

This school, whose basic policy is a thorough meritocracy, distinguishes winners and losers very clearly. Students in this class, 10th class, are undoubtedly the latter and are treated as the lowest in the grade. Such losers usually find someone even weaker than themselves and throw their dissatisfaction on him.

He is treated as a tumor in this class and they ignore him thoroughly when he speaks to them. The only person who talks to him is Anri Sensei, who is the teacher in charge, or Mars, who is a problem child. However, Mars is only thinking about abusing him thoroughly.

"That’s right ~ That woman has a great body ……"

A trio of Mars and his two friends came while conversing stupid story. When Mars notices me, he comes with a grin. Mars is tall and has a good physique.

His face isn't bad, but his ridiculous expression ruined everything.

"Hey, Drop Out. Did you come to the school to do something useless? I think it's better to clean the toilet anyway because it's still good for us."

"Hey Mars, stop it. No one will use toilet cleaned by this guy."

"Well, what about our training dolls? It will help you to test your weapons."

Nozomu says nothing. It was the usual mockery, the usual ridicule, and the beginning of the usual daily life.

***

Today is a magic class in the morning. The instructor is Norn-sensei, a health doctor.

"As you know, magic is a technology that brings forth the energy (Qi) in the body by using mental power and technique to manifests various phenomena, the energy to be brought forth is not only from its own body but also the outside world, that is, energy in the atmosphere.

When using large-scale magic, you almost always use magic elements from the outside world. This is called ceremonial magic, and it originated from the Shinto ritual, praying to spirits and gods. Many people pray in the same way, which is also the basis of modern chanting. That is ………… ”

She goes on with the lessons without wasting time. Anri-sensei's class has a relaxed atmosphere due to her trait, but Norn-sensei's class has a quiet and tense atmosphere.

I took notes of what the teacher said. The written test is a lifeline for me, who cannot get the point of practical skill as expected due to the Ability Suppression. In the practical skill-oriented exam of the end-of-year exam at the end of the first year, I managed to advance due to the written exam added to the supplementary exam. A written test will be added to the practical test, so it will be an additional blow for ordinary students, but it is the last line for me.

With a chime at the end of the lesson, class time ends and practice time begins.

The whole class moves to the training ground with the call from Norn-sensei.

Arriving at the training ground and watching everyone use their own magic,

I just absorbed in the training of my beginner magic, that is I could only do, just feeling the magical power inside me and manipulating it.

The humans of this continent have considerable magical power, but my magical power is very low. It wasn't too low at first, but after the manifestation of my Ability Suppression, even beginner magic couldn't be used.

That's why I only repeat beginner training and increase my control.

Seeing that, the students around me started laughing again. Mars influenced by the students, came to me and started cursing at me.

"What's this, still training the first-year lesson? Soo low. I think there's a baby walker here. Hahahaha."

I Ignore those ridicule and immerse myself in training. In the first place, I couldn't hear their voice at this time.

If you concentrate on training, you will not be able to see your surroundings.

This was especially noticeable during basic training and was in this state when I met Shishō.

“………… Hey, what are you ignoring?”

Perhaps He is frustrated because I didn't listen, Mars's atmosphere suddenly became dangerous.

Originally he is a person with a strong desire to show his power.

He probably thought he was ridiculed by me, the lowest. Still, I can't hear him. I was completely trapped in my own world.

Suddenly, I was shocked from the side and was blown away. Mars blew me away with wind magic. The magic released is a type of "air burst" style magic that blows away the opponent with a shock wave when the compressed wind is released.

It's not settled yet, Mars continues to try to release magic. But before that, Norn Sensei's magic went through Mars's feet.

"That's enough, any more than this, I will take the necessary measure as a teacher."

The magic released is "Air Arrow". Although it is a beginner wind magic, the casting speed is faster than Mars, and the accuracy and power are comparable to single intermediate magic. It was clear that her air arrows were better than Mars's air bursts.

"Oh, I understand."

Mars left as if throwing away the rope, and the surrounding students returned to practice.

"Are you alright"

Norn Sensei called me.

"No problem"

I answered immediately. I've always been blown away by Shishō, so my defense has improved a lot. This is one of my few special skills.

Immediately resume the training. This is the usual thing. That's why,

"That kind of guy can be a hassle. Anri is also worried about you. Come and talk to me whenever you need to."

I couldn't receive the words head-on and could only give a vague reply. 

***

The next day, the school closes for the day, and the students spend their short vacation in their minds.

Nozomu came to a part-time job in a commercial district today after accepting a job from the Adventurer's Guild. The Adventurer's Guild has jobs in various cities, and this city is no exception. If his rank is high, he can conditionally subdue weak monsters, but his rank is low, so he can only receive chores. His job is to carry simple luggage. Since a lot of cargo arrives in the commercial area from each country, it is better to have as many carriers as possible.

When he arrives at the collection point where he collects items, He greets his Boss and receives the items he has to bring with him. Place the received load on the carriage and bring it to the destination with his companion. 

Today's cargo is a tool shop in the commercial district and a doctor in the craftsman's district. It seems that they buy things to use at the store in bulk, and there is a lot of loads, but since there are only few destinations, it will end early.

"By the way, Nozomu. Do you have a girlfriend?"

Nozomu instinctively gets stuck in the answer to the sudden question and its contents.

"Well ......... I don't. What happened suddenly?"

The color of the eyes of the other party changes whether he got some confidence in the situation.

"No, somehow. I wonder if there are people who like you, whether she exists or not. Tell me."

My companion is bright and not bad, but on the contrary, he is ignoring other people's feelings, and he asking these kinds of stories persistently.

***

Nozomu's POV

Whenever I hear the word "loved ones", her shadow flashes by and it becomes painful.

I was often asked about this kind of thing, but no one questioning my circumstances any further.

" Na naa naa, tell me whether it's a beautiful woman or a cute girl."

"………… I will go"

Nozomu immediately advances the horse. My companion asks persistently but I ignore it. On the surface, he was pardoning his companion asking questions throughout his work, but his expression was clearly tense.

When it is over, I received a salary from Boss and immediately returned home. Since my parents are ordinary farmers, so I cannot expect the remittance of my parents, so this is indispensable for my life.

The tuition fees at Solminati Academy are reasonable compared to the size of the school, thanks to the support of each country. Securing human resources lost in the great invasion 10 years ago is a matter of life and death in each country, and it can be seen that each country expects and supports this school.

How good human resources can be secured at this school will be a major factor in determining the superiority and inferiority of each nation in the future.

Therefore, each country is eager to attract excellent human resources to their own countries and comes to scouts with various favorable conditions.

Especially in my grade, there are so many excellent students that I have never seen before. Five students have set foot in rank A. Rank A is a rank owned by top adventurers and knights of the guards, and if you think that students in their late teens have reached this rank, you can understand their excellence.

On the way home, familiar people walked from the front. Ken Notice and Lisa Hounds. My former lover and my childhood friend. The two are probably in the middle of a date. Ken laughs happily, and I can understand that Lisa looks very happy.

When Ken looks at me and notices me, he raises his hand. Lisa also notices me, but she is frowning and looks gloomy.

"Hi Nozomu, this is weird."

Ken spoke openly. I couldn't see his disgusted expression. Ken talked to me openly even after I broke up with Lisa. It's complicated to see him dating Lisa, but I'm a little relieved that he treats me like before.  

"Oh, that's right. How long has it been?"

"It's been about 3 months. Didn't have the right time."

"It can't be helped. Unlike me, there's a lot of work to do right."

"Yeah, I asked Jihad Sensei to practice before, and I got a fever."

Ken talks with a bitter smile.

If you are a first-class student, the expectations of the school are high, and you will be treated accordingly. Besides, Ken is a student who has reached A rank, which is rare in the school. Therefore, He can get personal guidance from the famous continental personage.

When I was talking to Ken, Lisa, who was next to him, interrupted the conversation.

"Ken, let's go"

When she says so, she takes Ken's hand and starts walking. She doesn't want to see my face, She doesn't even try to.

"Ah"

I try to stop her, but her face clearly rejects me.

After all, I couldn't say anything to her, who pulled Ken's hand and left, and I just petrified.

When I got home, my heart didn't calm down. Why she started rejecting me.

I still don't know the reason, and my feelings remain dangling.

It's not usually that much, but when I find Lisa at school, I want to ask about her feelings. As I thought, I still did not get away from my self-consciousness.

I remember when she dumped me. She looks at me with cold eyes. She turns her back, saying "goodbye". She left in front of me. Without telling me the reason.

Since then, my feelings have stopped.