Translator : PolterGlast

“……… U~a!”

Early morning in Solminati Academy Boys' Dormitory.

The owner of this room, who was usually woken up by the rising sun shining through the window, woke up from another nightmare.

His complexion was pale like a sick person, and his clothes were drenched in greasy sweat from all over his body, which clung to his body.

"Ugh~ !!"

He, Nozomu Bountis, rushed to the washroom while holding his mouth from the feeling of nausea and the unpleasant feeling of the sticky shirt caused by the nightmare he had just seen, and washed his face with cold water.

"... Fuh~"

He removed the clothes that were clinging to his body and wiped his body with a wet towel. His complexion was getting better.

However, there were clear dark circles under his eyes, and it could be seen that he was not resting at all.

(...Recently, the interval between one nightmare and another is getting shorter)

Nozomu thought about the nightmare while holding his head down, which was throbbing and aching due to lack of sleep.

Usually, he had a bloody red dream about once a week, but recently the interval has become shorter and clearer, and it surely eroded and exhausted Nozomu's mind and body.

(What should I do? If this continues....)

Nozomu's heart grew impatient.

(Should I tell Iris and the others about me being a dragonslayer? But…)

Talking to Iris and the others might ease his anxiety a bit.

What comes back to Nozomu's mind is the scene where he slaughtered the Cyclopes in the forest.

At that time, Nozomu was definitely swallowed up by his anger, but he still used the dragonslayer's power by his own accord.

The anger, resentment, and hatred that he had tried not to notice, but certainly existed.

He was willing to slaughter his enemies just to vent.

" !! "

Because he remembered that, Nozomu became hesitant to tell Iris and the others about his dragonslayer power.

He had too much power in him. He had been shown what would happen if his powers spiraled out of control and turned towards his friends.

And the fear that they might reject him if they found out what he was doing in the forest weighed on him.

Tiamat kept running wild inside him, and he who kept running away from it. The fear of rejection was intricately intertwined, and the exhausted Nozomu couldn't do anything anymore.

Still, Nozomu wore his uniform, and while he was holding his bag, he left the room and headed for school.

Even if there was anxiety or fear, he could forget his fears only when he was with them.

(In the end, I'm still running away)

So Nozomu went to school.

Even if he realized he was still running away.

***

Nozomu saw Irisdina and the others on their way to school, they were all already gathered.

(Fu~u ...)

"Good morning, everyone"

Nozomu greeted them after exhaling to regulate his breathing so as not to make them realize his anxiety.

"G-good morning ..."

"Yeaa"

"Good morning. Nozomu-kun"

"Yo, Nozomu!"

"" Good morning. Nozomu-kun ""

They confirmed the appearance of Nozomu who greeted them, but among them, Irisdina, Mars, and Tima's replies were somewhatawkward.

Nozomu became anxious whether they noticed his anxiety.

"Ah. Nozomu-san, good morning!"

Somia replied with a cheerful greeting while Nozomu was anxious.

As far as Nozomu could see, she didn't seem to doubt his attitude, so he felt a little relieved and greeted her back.

"Good morning Somia-chan. By the way ... what's wrong with everyone?"

"Mars-san and Tima-san have been like this since we met here today. And Ane-sama is...we~ll, I think she's okay."

Nozomu, who was wondering about Somia's ambiguous answer, turned his gaze to Irisdina.

"Iris, are you alright? It looks like something is different than usual ..."

"A-aa. I'm okay. My physical condition is good and nothing is wrong. Yup."

Nozomu called out to Irisdina, but she said "no problem".

She certainly didn't look pale, and her feet weren't tottering.

"...Is that so? Mars and Time seem a bit strange, is there something wrong?"

"No, it's okay"

"Y-yup. There's nothing wrong with my body."

Nozomu was worried about the two strange atmospheres and asked what happened, but Mars and Tima just insisted that "nothing is wrong".

"Hey, Nozomu. Do you have a little time? It's about yesterday."

"What? All of a sudden?"

When Nozomu was wondering about what happened, he was suddenly approached by Feo.

Even though a strange atmosphere had enveloped Nozomu and his friends since morning, the fox-tailed boy ignored the strange atmosphere with his cheerful smile.

Nozomu was often swayed by Feo and got into a lot of trouble because of him, but his carefree and self-paced demeanor blew away the strange atmosphere of the place, so he came at the perfect time as a rescue ship.

"Yesterday, we decided to team up for special training, right? Can I also participate in your training? There are only a few more days until the special training begins, so I want us to match each other's ways of fighting."

Nozomu nodded at Feo's proposal.

Of course, as long as they worked together, they needed to know each other's strengths and weaknesses.

"...That's true. It's indeed necessary. Is everyone okay with that?"

"That's fine with me. I didn't know Feo could be so strong until Nozomu and Feo fought, so I need to train with him to reaffirm my comrades' abilities."

Shīna, who was also in the same party, accepted Feo's participation in their training.

Nozomu looked around at the others, and they all nodded uniformly and no one objected.

"Alright! It's decided then. Everyone, please treat me well."

Feo, who was satisfied with their answer, once again greeted everyone who was there.

"By including Feo, the middle side will be more solid. So, I can devote myself as the rearguard, Tom and Mimuru can also devote themselves to their respective roles."

"About that, sorry Shīna. On the second day, we're going to team up with other students."

"Eh~!?"

Shīna was talking about the formation with Feo joining them, but she was taken aback by Mimuru's sudden remark.

When Shīna turned her gaze towards Tom, he silently nodded, perhaps he agreed with Mimuru's opinion on this matter.

"We can team up with students of other classes, right? In terms of gaining various experiences on this occasion, shouldn't we try to team up with different people?"

Mimuru's words made Shīna remember her goal.

Initially, She started training with Nozomu and his friends because she wanted to overcome her party's weakness by gaining experience through training with various people.

With that in mind, Mimuru's judgment was correct and very useful in terms of gaining the necessary experience.

"That's true. It's definitely better to do as Mimuru said. I completely forgot about it..."

Reaffirming her aim, Shīna immediately reformed the formation in her head.

"Then, I'd like to ask Mars and the others too, could you team up with us on the second day?"

"Huh? Me?"

"Eh? Me too?"

"Yes. Is that all right?"

"Let me see……"

The two who received Mimuru's gaze seemed to think a little.

However, Tima seemed to be more concerned about Irisdina, and Tima seemed to be staring at her.

TimaTima usually teamed up with Irisdina, so she seemed to be trying to hear the opinion of her usual partner.

"Umm. that's... right, yup. I think it's alright."

Pushed by Tima's gaze, Irisdina glanced at Nozomu. It seemed like she wanted to say something to him.

However, in the end, she couldn't say anything to Nozomu, and she decided to cooperate with Mimuru and the others.

"Ha~a, Ane-sama. It can't be helped then..."

Somia dropped her shoulders because of her sister's behavior.

She sighed and dropped her shoulders, but she looked at Nozomu and seemed to have decided something.

"E? Um ... Somia-chan, do you need something?"

Somia gazing strongly at Nozomu and Nozomu asked her what was wrong.

Everyone around her fell silent, and before they knew it, they were paying attention to the little 11-year-old girl.

"Nozomu-san. It might be rude of me to say this so suddenly, but can you give me some time after school today?"

"Umm, today? As I said before, special training is just around the corner, so we're all thinking about preparing for it today..."

It was difficult because Nozomu had a busy schedule, but Somia still looked straight at Nozomu.

Nozomu didn't know what Somia was thinking, but he knew she didn't want to back down.

"Umm……"

"Somia, Nozomu-kun already has a plan.."

"Is that so? Nozomu-san"

"Somia …… "

Nozomu thought about what to do.

Iris Dina who saw the situation tried to pull Somia down, but Somia still refused to back down.

While the atmosphere of the two sisters was gradually becoming heavier, it was Feo who opened his mouth.

"Hmm. Somicchi's errands seemed quite important. It's only for today, so isn't that fine, Nozomu?”

He told Nozomu to go with her for today.

"Eh?"

"Wait a minute, Feo. You asked him to go with her, but I find that a little irresponsible on your part."

Shīna complained about Feo's decision.

Since she was a serious person, she had to do as much as she could to train together, but Feo now suddenly asked Nozomu to throw away the promised training.

"Now, now. Shīna also saw Somicchi's eyes just now, right? At least she herself understands what she was saying was unreasonable. And she seemed to need to go out with Nozomu by all means."

Shīna pressed Feo for an answer. Feo explained as he tried to calm her down.

"That was... I understand ..."

Shīna's mouth shut due to Feo's words.

She also knew from Somia's previous appearance that Somia was serious, so she couldn't pursue it any further.

Feo nodded and faced Somia once again.

"That's the case, Somicchi. The others and I are fine with it, so you can take Nozomu with you for today."

"O-oi, Feo."

"Thank you very much! Nozomu-san, is it okay!?"

"......I understand, it's fine. So what's your business, Somia-chan?"

Nozomu was confused, but he agreed to go out after school while giving Somia a bitter smile. Somia looked at him with sparkling eyes.

Nozomu tried to hear her request one more time. However, Somia's next words took him by surprise, like throwing a huge bomb at him.

"Please date me after school today !!"

Somia's words stopped the time for everyone who was there.

Nozomu and his friends had stunned faces, but as they gradually understood the words that came into their ears, their faces changed to astonishing colors.

"""Ha? E? Eeh ~~~ !!"""

And thus, their loud screams resounded.

While bathing in the morning sun, the birds in the trees by the roadside took off all at once.