/p>

Not to be outdone by the sense of intimidation felt from the onrushing Mars, Jin raised his right hand and swung it down powerfully.

At the same time, Deck and Tommy were the first to leap at Mars.

Jin and Cami followed behind them, and Hamria began chanting at their back.

The next moment, Mars and the five of them clashed again in the training ground dyed in crimson.

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

Tima and Feo were watching the combat training between classmates of the 10th class in a corner of the training ground.

To be more precise, Feo had wandered over to the place where Tima and Mars were training with Jin and the others.

So far, all five of them, including Jin, Deck, Hamria, Cami, and Tommy, had been fighting well against Mars alone without a single of them being defeated.

In fact, since they became a party in the previous special training, Mars and Jin and the others had been training together from time to time.

Now that Nozomu was bedridden and Irisdina and the others were busy nursing him, they had been training with Jin and the others more frequently these days.

"That guy... Mars is so energetic~~!'

While sitting on the bench beside the training ground, Feo watched their combat training with interest.

Mars originally came to the Solminati Academy in search of power, but his recent dedication to training was quite impressive.

"Nozomu-kun is still bedridden, so it's better for Mars to move his body right now, also Mars can't neglect his training..."

Indeed, now that Nozomu was still bedridden, there were limited things Mars could do.

Since he was a short-tempered person, he must have been restless.

The thoughts that had nowhere to go were applied to training.

"Hmm. Well, maybe Mars has his own thoughts about Nozomu too."

"But he doesn't train as recklessly as he used to, right? Even today, he doesn't use that combination technique, he just uses his Qi..."

As Tima said, Mars' figure as he exchanged blows with Jin and the others showed no sign of his previous impatience to catch up with Nozomu.

He was not forcing himself to use magic, but rather was maintaining his original style of overwhelming his opponents with his abundance of Qi and superior physique.

He was also enjoying the frivolous talk with Jin and the others.

"Maybe he's not that worried about Nozomu~"

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. Mars-kun said "I'm sure he'll wake up and be fine" ..."

"Hmm. Was that really what he thought? Or is he just being worried in his own way?..."

"Who knows. But I'm sure there's no doubt that he is worried about Nozomu-kun..."

There was no doubt that Mars was worried about Nozomu. But Tima sensed that Mars's attitude was a little different from Irisdina and the others.

"Where are Shīna-san and the others now?"

"She is in Nozomu's hospital room. And the black-haired princess too?"

Tima gave a small nod in response to the returned question.

"So, how is Irisdina-san doing?"

"She doesn't seem to have changed much, but I still think she's pushing herself too hard."

Tima recalled her best friend who was silent all the time in the classroom.

Her mouth was tightly shut in a straight line, and she was always gazing outside the classroom as if she was concerned about what was going on outside.

Her gaze was fixed on the Gloaurum Institute's medical facility. It was where he was sleeping.

"... Shīna was also somewhat distracted in class. It was unusual for the teacher to get angry with her."

According to Feo, Irisdina was not the only one who was absent-minded.

According to his story, Shīna was also called by the teacher several times during class, but never responded, and she finally realized it when she was hit on the head with the attendance book.

"And she just kept mumbling and muttering something as she left the classroom after the lesson was over. Mimuru called out to her, but she didn't seem to notice~. Come to think of it, I think her face was strangely red when she left the classroom..."

Feo tilted his head, remembering Shīna's suspicious behavior.

He let out a carefree voice and continued his talk to Tima.

This young man of the Fox Tribe, like Mars, didn't seem to have any unnecessary worries.

A complete trust. Such an atmosphere could be felt from their behavior.

Is that what friendship between men is like?

Once again, Tima turned her attention to Mars, who continued the combat training.

"So, what does the black-haired princess's best friend think about her unusual behavior?"

"... As expected, she can't seem to get Nozomu out of her head. And also about Lisa-san too."

It was unusual for Irisdina not to be focused in class, but from time to time she seemed to be concerned about Lisa Hounds.

The students around her didn't seem to notice, but Tima saw Irisidina's eyes squint slightly when her gaze turned in Lisa's direction.

At the same time, it was strange that Irisdina didn't say a word about the malice directed at others. If she were her usual straightforward self, she would have said something, even if it was just a little...

"Hmm~. It seems the black-haired princess is going to be in trouble."

"Y-yeah...."

Perhaps Irisdina was jealous of Lisa. That was what Tima felt after seeing her behavior recently.

Nozomu and his friends had certainly taken a step closer as friends when they were attacked by the Undead Dragon in the forest that time, but Nozomu himself had not clearly stated what kind of relationship he wanted with Lisa from now on.

He simply didn't want them to stay as it was. If he continued to turn away from the reality in front of him, it would surely be irreversible. Perhaps Nozomu was being rushed by such feelings.

However, how did Irisdina and Shīna, who were watching him closely, feel?

The years and resentment he endured from the anger directed at him unreasonably. How did they feel when they watched him desperately piling words after words while keeping a lid on his own feeling.

What if she had been in the position of her best friend?

Tima tried to imagine Mars talking to another woman in front of her.

He took the hand of another woman who was on the verge of crying and tried desperately to think of words to say to her.

And she could only watch it from afar...

"~!"

She couldn't feel calm. She felt as if there was a gaping hole in her chest, even though she had only imagined it.

However, Irisdina and Shīna were being shown this scene in reality.

Their feeling of loss must be indescribable.

"I-'ll try to talk to her tomorrow. Ai, just like Nozomu-kun, sometimes keeps painful things to herself..."

"It's hard for her to talk to Somicchi because she's her sister, and maybe it's better that way..."

The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became.

She shook her head to keep herself calm.

"Even so, what about the red-haired princess?"

"T-that's ..."

What would they really do?

Nozomu, Irisdina, Lisa, and Shīna. The four people's thoughts and feelings were complicated.

It was like a spider's thread that was intricately intertwined.

"Truly, it didn't go the way we wantedl~~."

Feo's words left Tima speechless.

A moment of silence passed between the two of them.

"A-anyway! I'll try to talk to Ai about it. I think Ai will feel a little better if she can spit out what she's holding back..."

"Well, it may not be a fundamental solution, but it might be better that way. I'll be counting on you."

Tima clenched her hands and makes a small gut-punch, and Feo smiled wryly.

Then Feo, as if remembering something, rushed to her with a serious expression on his face.

"By the way, did you have a proper talk with Mars this morning? Because I left the two of you in your own world. I tried to be reasonably attentive."

"Fue!?"

Feo, with a serious expression, suddenly took the conversation in an outrageous direction. Tima unintentionally let out a small voice.

This morning, an angry Tima and Mars created a barrier-like atmosphere near the main gate of the school. The sweet sight of the barrier gave everyone who passed by them a terrible heartburn and a desire to kill them early in the morning.

Tima's face turned red as she recalled this morning's events.

The reaction was too obvious. The perceptive Feo would not have missed it.

"Oh! By the looks of it, you must have made some progress! Perhaps a confession of love?"

The fun-loving addict fox spoke so many things at once.

Worst of all, there were no Shīna and the others here to stop Feo, who was going out of control just like in the morning.

"Or is it a kiss !? No way. Did you say, "I want you~~!". With that, school becomes a completely different place..."

As expected, Feo, who had gone out of control with too much vigor, would not stop. Tima's face was already red beyond vermilion.

"Hoho ~. I see, I've seen something good! The sight of the [Four-Scale Concerto]'s face turn red is worth 100 gold coins..."

Nevertheless, the situation was different now than it had been in the morning.

At that time, there was certainly no one who could stop Feo, but it was not a good thing to tease Tima so directly here.

"E, eeee! Fueeee!"

"Eh? ... Fugya!"

The next moment, a powerful impact struck Feo in the face.

A powerful flash of light flashed across his vision, and he was instantly knocked to the ground.

After that, Tima, who was so embarrassed, fled from that place as fast as she could. Mars and the others, who watched her running away, tilting their heads.

"What are you doing? You bastard..."

"Fufu,? I'm so full today..."

Mars and the others, who had not heard the exchange between Feo and Tima, tilted their head.

The way Feo was grinning and lying on the ground was, to say the least, creepy.

To be honest, he looked like the kind of person anyone didn't want to talk to. If anyone were to see him on the street, they would immediately avert their gaze and walk away.

"...Whatever you just did, but your face now looks like that pervy geezer."

"....E?"

"It's on the same level as that. Well, I knew it."

"Bufuou~!?"

Mars' merciless words put an end to Feo this time.

Feo's white eyes were so shocked that even his soul was protruding from his mouth.

"Mars-kun ... what are you going to do about it?"

"... Leave him alone."

Mars left Feo, who was devastated, behind and walked away from that place.

Jin and the others were also wondering what to do, but they probably thought it would be a bad idea to get involved. They left the place reluctantly.

In the end, Feo, who had fainted, was pathetically left there until night fell and a patrolman found him.