After school, Anri was walking down the corridor with so much material that she couldn't see what was in front of her.

She had borrowed these materials from the library and the reference room in order to compile materials for her class, but she had borrowed too many, and before she knew it the number of materials she had borrowed had grown to an extraordinary level.

In order to return the borrowed materials, Anri-sensei walked down the corridor with a staggering gait.

The pile of materials in her hands was about the size of her upper body, the tops swaying erratically and looking like they were about to collapse.

"A-ara? Ara-rarara??"

Sure enough, the top of the pile of materials began to wobble.

Anri tried to restore the balance somehow, but once the pile of materials that had been maintaining a perfect balance began to collapse, it all came crashing down like an avalanche.

"Fuee~~"

Anri's sorrowful voice echoed through the vast corridor.

Piles of material were scattered on the floor. It seemed like she was carrying more than just books, as there was a loud rumbling sound mixed in with the rustling sound.

The floor was littered with old books and parchment that had something written on them, lumps of ore, and items that we had no idea what they were used for.

There was no unity at all, and at first glance, they looked like garbage, but they were probably of considerable value. With tears in her eyes, Anri hurriedly began to gather up the scattered materials.

"Enn~. I will be scolded~~."

Anri-sensei was picking them up in a hurry. At that moment, a hand reached out from the side and began to pick up the materials that had fallen to the floor.

"Fue?"

When Henri turned to look at the owner of the hand that was picking up the materials while making a stupid voice, there was a middle-aged man in silvery-white armor.

"Good grief, are you alright, Anri-sensei?"

"Jihad-sensei~. Thank you~"

It seems that Jihad happened to see Anri's dumb scene earlier. When Anri saw the bitter smile on Jihad's face, a smile appeared on her face.

After Jihad finished collecting all the materials that had fallen, he asked Anri where he should bring the materials he had picked up.

"So, where should I bring these materials to?"

"Eh? Is that okay~?"

Jihad was one of the central figures of the school, and Anri wondered if it was okay to have her superior carry the materials she had dropped, but Jihad himself didn't seem to mind.

"Yeah, I don't mind"

"Thank you~. You are a life saver~"

While thanking Jihad, Anri held the materials that had been reduced by half firmly in her hands so as not to drop them this time.

The two of them, who were about the same age as a parent and child, walked down the corridor. The first stop was the reference room.

Anri, who had a laid-back personality, didn't walk fast, so Jihad next to her had to adjust his pace.

"Anri-sensei, I'd like to ask you a few questions, is that okay?"

"Yes, of course!~"

Jihad seemed to have something on his mind and approached Anri as if to ask her something.

In fact, Jihad had something he wanted to ask Anri about the recent special training and about the party that was being talked about right now. But he put that aside for later as he had to take care of a rather troublesome matter. It was at that time that he happened to see her in the corridor, so he decided to take advantage of the opportunity to ask her about it.

"Ms. Anri, do you know the results of the last special training?"

"Yes~. I was surprised~"

Anri's voice of admiration rang in Jihad's ears. It was an honest statement, not at all falsified. She was genuinely pleased with the progress of her students.

"To be honest, this result was unexpected. A student from the 10th class is as good as a student from the 1st class. Indeed, the history of this school is short, but this is still an unprecedented event."

Although the history of Solminati Academy is short, it still produces a considerable number of excellent human resources and sends them to various countries.

This was made possible by the complete meritocracy and the school life that was strict in every aspect.

Originally, Solminati Academy's purpose was to discover talented human resources lying dormant in the wild.

It was not that there were no students whose talents suddenly blossomed and rose to prominent positions amidst the harsh school life.

Not only in this school life, but Jihad himself had met several such people in his own life.

But such people are very few and far between. That's why Jihad was curious about that boy.

"Are you talking about Nozomu-kun~?"

Anri, who sensed what Jihad wanted to ask, prompted him to speak.

Jihad nodded frankly at Anri's words.

"According to my estimation based on the results, he was the driving force behind the results. He fought against you, was pushed into a corner, and one of his comrades was eliminated. But they managed to defeat you, which was a special target. To be honest, it would be impossible to say that I'm not interested. "

The first time Jihad heard about Nozomu's name was after the incident with the black demon beast. He was the male student who took charge to save his friends and escaped from that demon beast.

At first, Jihad thought that it was just luck, but from the results of the special training, Jihad felt that there was something more to Nozomu than just luck.

"That's right~. He's a straightforward and honest boy~. He can be a little too reckless at times~, but I think he has a pretty good ability at judging situations and fighting in actual battles~. I think he can compete with the top students in his year~."

Jihad squinted his eyes at her words.

It was true that he had an excellent ability at judging situations, but to find a way to defeat Anri, who was one of the top A rankers, it would be difficult to simply confront her head-on. He needed to fully grasp the power of the people who were there and come up with a feasible plan.

The fact that he was able to do so demonstrated Nozomu Bountis' high level of judgment ability.

"... So what does his grade at this school mean?"

"Due to Nozomu-kun's trait, he can't really show his true abilities inside the school~. In that sense, exercise outside of school like this special training is an opportunity for him to show his abilities~."

"Hmm, Ability Suppression, isn't it?..."

A trait he possessed. Jihad decided that she was talking about Nozomu's Ability Suppression.

Certainly, it would be difficult to achieve results with one's own practical abilities if one's Qi, magic, and physical abilities were limited. As a result, he had to hone his situational judgment, tactics, and other abilities that he could use outside of individual combat.

As a matter of fact, the ability to judge situations was something that he had acquired through his training with Shino, and the tactics were the result of his desperate efforts to score as many points as possible in the written exam.

Moreover, Nozomu had been restraining himself from using offensive Qi techniques such as [Phantom].

As he walked, Jihad asked for more details on how Nozomu and his party were fighting Anri.

"I see. He won by destroying the pendant, which was proof of your participation in the special training. That's certainly a great way to win against a superior opponent."

"Yes ~"

Jihad gave a small nod when he heard about the specific story.

The only condition for disqualification in special training is the accumulation of a certain amount of damage or loss of proof of participation. It was a good decision that Nozomu Bountis and his party chose to destroy the pendant as soon as they met someone stronger than themselves. The quickest way for Nozomu, who has little endurance to win in a single blow, is to aim for a vital point or destroy the pendant.

Also, the process can be fully evaluated. One would normally not think of sending a mage who could put up a magic barrier to confront it against the opponent and block the opponent's movements.

It may be a bit reckless and rough, but it has more than enough impact to catch his opponent off guard.

It was a sudden battle where they didn't know what kind of opponent they would be up against, and they had just fought a 4th class party before fighting Anri-sensei.

If they could do this much in a sudden battle, it should be enough.

"Hmm... What is the meaning of that rumor then? From what I've heard of the rumors, he doesn't seem to be the kind of student that Ms. Anri is talking about..."

If that was the case, then Jihad became concerned about the rumors.

It was the story that led to his isolation.

"The rumors are rumors after all~. Those rumors were an outright crap~."

"Hmm...."

Jihad fell silent with a pondering expression.

Various thoughts came and go in his head. Anri was looking at the middle-aged warrior with a smile on her face.

As he raised his gaze, Jihad's eyes caught sight of a room with the tag of a reference room. Apparently, they had arrived in front of the room while they were talking.

He opened the door to the reference room, entered, and placed the pile of materials he had brought on the table in front of him.

Clapping his hands, Jihad turned to Anri.

"Thank you, Anri-sensei. It was quite a good talk.."

"Y-yes."

Anri and Jihad put the materials on the table and started to organize them. While Anri continued to organize, Jihad was pondering with his hand on his chin.

As Anri looked sideways at the middle-aged swordsman, an idea flashed across Anri's mind.

"Ah right, Jihad-sensei~. If you want to see Nozomu-kun's ability directly, there is a good way~"

"A good way?"

"Yes, Nozomu-kun's abilities can't be understood just from the reports. Because his true fighting style can't be easily used in school~"

Jihad frowned at Anri's words. From the story earlier, Jihad had the impression that Nozomu Bountis was a strategist-type student who was skilled in intelligence.

However, based on what Anri just said, it didn't seem to be the case.

(Come to think of it, when Nozomu and the others reported to me about that black demon beast, he had a katana on his waist.)

If he was a strategist or a commander, his position would naturally be in the rearguard where he could observe the battlefield, and his weapon would be a bow or something with a wide range

However, what he was holding was a katana that was difficult to handle and rarely seen on this continent.

Because of the rumors spreading in the school, there were no students that were willing to team up with him, and it wouldn't be strange if he had to fight in close-quarters combat.

If that was the case, then he should have used a long sword that was easy to handle, a dagger that was easy to carry, or a spear that would allow him to keep his distance. He wouldn't bother choosing a katana whose technique would take a lot of time and effort to master.

This was a strange discrepancy that the person known as Nozomu Bountis had. Maybe Anri in front of Jihad knew something about it. To be honest, Jihad felt like he was being baited.

"Wouldn't you like to know~?"

Anri gave Jihad a big smile. Jihad tried to figure out what she was thinking from her words and actions. Anri is the type of teacher who loves her students so much that sometimes Inda says she is going too far.

He was sure that her proposal was made with Nozomu Bountis in mind. Jihad himself had just become even more interested in Nozomu after hearing Anri's story.

"Let's hear what you have to say."

The decision was quick. Jihad didn't have much time to spare with so many important matters on his plate, but he could at least listen.

Smiling in satisfaction at Jihad's answer, Anri slowly opened her mouth.

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

When Anri was having Jihad help her carry the materials, Nozomu was waiting for Irisdina and the others to arrive in front of the guild in the commercial district. It was to help her with a request she had accepted before.

In front of Nozomu's eyes, a three-story building made of stone stood tall, with people of various appearances coming and going through the wide-open doors.

There were warriors with lustrous body hair peculiar to the beastmen and wizards wearing hoods. Students wearing Solminati Academy uniforms and people from the city who seemed to be visiting to make or receive requests passed through the open gate.

When the students in Solminati Academy uniforms found Nozomu leaning against the wall of the guild, they made surprised expressions and then started whispering something amongst themselves.

The guild was located on the main street of the commercial district, so there were more people coming and going through here than visitors to the guild.

Nozomu couldn't hear what they were saying because of the hustle and bustle, but they were probably talking about the results of the special training that was announced today.

Today, Nozomu's keen senses had detected numerous gazes that had been directed at him while he was at the school.

In the corridors and in front of the main gate, where most of the students were passing by, there were many eyes directed at him, but most of them were eyes full of suspicion, and some of them still glared at him with hostility and contempt.

Aside from Nozomu's classmates, the students peeking out from the crowd were also looking at him with suspicion.

If they hadn't actually seen Nozomu fight, and only knew him from rumors, it was understandable.

Nozomu let out a sigh, thinking that it couldn't be helped.

Nozomu himself became rather tolerant of being seen with such gazes, and since this was outside of school, not many eyes were directed on him. But the fact that he had been watched from afar the entire time made him feel a little mentally exhausted.

"I wonder if both Iris and Feo will come soon ..."

While muttering to himself, Nozomu looked around while listening to the hustle and bustle for a while. The footsteps of a merchant who had forgotten an important item and was running in a panic. The voices of the adventurers checking the requests they had received as they walked. Military police patrolled the streets at a regular pace.

The variety of goods lined up along the roadside, such as finely crafted pottery and colorful antiques, was enormous, and the goods collected from the east, west, south, and north side of the continent seemed like a microcosm of this continent.

Each of these activities seemed to Nozomu to be the breath of life of this city. A city that was built solely for a school called Solminati.

However, this city offered a glimpse into a much wider world than the school, and the many items lined up along the streets seemed to be the gateway to that world.

"I wonder if this is what Lisa saw when she was traveling with her father."

Nozomu was looking at the hustle and bustle of the city with such thoughts in his mind.

He was wondering what to do about his relationship with Lisa and Ken? There was anger towards Ken and mixed feelings towards Lisa.

However, Nozomu was no longer trapped in that anger. To be precise, he was able to remain calm despite his anger.

In a sense, it was ironic that Ken's confession was the reason for his outburst against the Cyclopses.

(Then, I should think about what I should do...)

Finally, he was able to look forward again. Nozomu once again asked himself about the circumstances surrounding him and his own feelings.

There was so much to think about. Many memories and thoughts flashed through Nozomu's mind.

His unfulfilled promise to Lisa and his vow to Ken. The feelings of Irisdina and the others who had helped him. His own future, where he had lost his goal, and the biggest problems he had, which is with Tiamat.

If he wanted to face Lisa, he had to make her listen to him first, but that would be difficult as long as she completely believed Ken's story. Based on the way she had been acting so far, it was unlikely that she'll listen to him. Nozomu thought about gathering some evidence, but he wondered if there was any physical evidence.

He told Irisdina and the others to let him think about it, but when he did, there was so much to think about that his head started to get messed up.

Nozomu shook his head and stopped thinking for a moment. He straightened his back, took a deep breath, and reorganized his mind.

"First of all, what do I really want from Lisa and Ken..."

He knew it was not good for their relationship to continue like this. But he wondered what kind of relationship he wanted with them.

As Nozomu thought about it, he tried to find answers deep down in his mind, so much so that he didn't care about the voices and noises of the people around him or even the shining sunlight.

There is anger. There is also hatred. Sadness, sorrow, and the feeling that he had loved her.

The breath he exhaled was swallowed by the early summer breeze and disappeared. The street was still full of people coming and going, full of hustle and bustle.

However, the flow of the hustle and bustle was suddenly disturbed. The atmosphere in the area changed along with buzzing noises.

The eyes of the people who were always busy walking along the street were directed to a certain point.

When Nozomu followed their gazes to see what was going on, he found that there was a girl.

Her long, glossy, ebony black hair fluttered in the air as she walked briskly with her chest puffed out, completely oblivious to the countless stares directed at her.

As if lured by the scent of the girl passing by, the gazes of men and women of all ages followed her.

When the girl who walked so briskly arrived in front of the guild, she started looking around as if looking for someone.

Eventually, when Nozomu's and the girl's eyes crossed, she smiled as if she had found what she was looking for, and walked over to him.

"Nozomu, I made you wait."

"Y-yeah. You don't have to worry about it..."

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the city, a voice like a bell called out Nozomu's name.

The girl's gaze was fixed solely on Nozomu, even as the gazes of the many people around her locked onto her. The girl didn't seem to care about how much attention she was getting.

"Feo ... doesn't seem to have come yet."

"Yeah, that's right ..."

"Then, let's just go through the party application procedure first."

Originally, Nozomu could not accept requests to enter the forest, but he could accept such requests if he gather high-ranked students or a certain number of people to form a party.

The procedure that Irisdina was going to do now was to inform the guild that she was going to form a party.

In addition, this information is also shared with the school, which allows them to respond quickly if a student goes missing or is caught in any other unforeseen circumstances.

"Let's go, shall we?"

"Yes...."

With a casual voice, Irisdina took Nozomu's hand and pulled him by the arm as they headed into the guild. Shocked by the sudden occurrence, Nozomu had no choice but to follow as his hand guided by her soft hand.

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

The enthusiasm and commotion of the crowd were mixed in the guild.

Irisdina walked steadily while pulling Nozomu's hand through the crowd.

Irisdina calmly weaved her way through the gap between people coming and going from all directions.

Nozomu, on the other hand, was the exact opposite of her. His shoulders and arms bumped against other people.

Normally, Nozomu would be able to weave his way through the crowd. However, the warmth of Irisdina's hand took away Nozomu's free will.

"Wait, Iris... hand... uwa!"

*Squeeze*

He was being pulled and jostled against people, but Nozomu strangely did not want to let go of her hand.

"C-come to think of it, that time too..."

What came to Nozomu's mind was the scene of the first time he walked around town with her. Even at that time, Nozomu was suddenly being pulled around like this as they walked around the city.

"Uu...."

The same warmth that he had felt at that time was transmitted to his hand, and Nozomu let out a muffled voice.

His heart was pounding in his chest. His body was tense as if it were wrapped in wire, and his legs felt as if they were tangled. But Nozomu still managed to move his legs to keep from falling.

"Well then, let's get it done quickly, shall we?"

The next thing he knew, he found himself at the reception desk.

Basically, one's needs to take the request form posted on the bulletin board to the reception desk and complete the procedures to accept a request.

But since Irisdina had already accepted the request, all she had to do this time was register her party members.

"Excuse me. I'd like to register a new member."

After releasing Nozomu's hand, Irisdina approached a young man working at the reception desk and presented him with the request form she was holding. The young man, who seemed to be a good person, looked at Irisdina's face and froze as if petrified. Irisdina, on the other hand, only made a suspicious expression at the frozen receptionist.

"? Excuse me. About the new member registration..."

"Eh! ... Yes. I got it!"

The receptionist took the request form and completed the procedure in a hurry. The young man who received Irisdina's student ID and Nozomu's student ID completed the procedures skillfully.

The young man at the reception desk had slightly reddened cheeks and was glancing sideways at Irisdina. His gaze fell first on her sculpted features, her long shiny hair, her beautiful curves, and finally on Nozomu beside her.

Then he made an expression as if to say, "Why this guy?".

Nozomu noticed the difference in their appearance, so he couldn't help but smile at such an expression.

The receptionist, who was fascinated by Irisdina, disappeared into the back of the room to complete the procedure while glaring at Nozomu next to her.

At that moment, the two of them were suddenly called from behind.

"Y-you are Irisdina-senpai, right?!"

When Irisdina and Nozomu turned their eyes in the direction of the voice, they saw four people.

They were dressed in white uniforms just like Nozomu and Iris. However, judging from the color of their insignia, they seemed to be first-year students.

The student who seemed to have called out to her stepped forward.

The facial features are neat, and the brown hair that seems to reach the shoulders is well-maintained, but he doesn't tie it up, rather he let his hair down carelessly.

He had a sword at his waist, but his uniform was sloppily open at the chest, and he wore a lot of jewelry here and there. He was wearing a lot of jangly accessories. He didn't look like a serious student, even in a flattering way.

Behind him were two girls with wands and bows, and a boy with a spear.

"You are... Eldor?"

The male student called Eldor approached Irisdina with a frivolous smile on his face.

"Did Senpai come to accept the request too?

"Yeah, that's right."

"Would you like to go with us? We are also planning to accept a request in the forest too."

Eldor tried to invite Irisdina, but Irisdina frowned when she heard his words.

"But you guys are still in the first year. I think it's too early for that. ......"

"We'll be fine. We're all D-ranked."

Eldor proudly said so.

The fact that they had reached D-rank right after they entered school was certainly a great achievement and showed a glimpse of their talent. However, his attitude showed a superiority that comes from overconfidence. When Irisdina heard his overconfident words, her expression tensed for a moment.

"Umm, Irisdina-senpai, who is this person?"

'This is Nozomu Bountis. He is a classmate of mine who will be partying with me today."

"Eh?"

Eldor's eyes widened the moment he heard Nozomu's name. Then he asked Nozomu with a somehow proud expression on his face.

"Nozomu-senpai, what is your rank?"

"D-, but..."

Hearing Nozomu's rank, Eldor smiled as if to make fun of Nozomu. It was certain that he felt superior after hearing that Nozomu's rank was lower than his own.

"Irisdina-senpai, as I thought, isn't it better to go with us? We have a higher rank than him, you know?"

The student called Eldor then invited Irisdina again. Surely, he was trying to say that he would be more useful since he had a higher rank than Nozomu.

"No thanks. I have a promise to have a party with him today."

However, Irisdina flatly declined Eldor's invitation.

"But this person, that rumor..."

"And I don't think I'd want to team up with you who have such a rude attitude."

Eldor continued to try to convince Irisdina by bringing up the rumor of Nozomu. But she shunned him with an even stronger tone. The expression of disgust on her face was obvious.

Although Irisdina is always kind and gentle, the fact that she rejected Eldor in a harsh tone that was not like the usual her, caused not only Eldor but also the other junior students behind him to open their eyes in surprise.

At that moment, the receptionist announced that the procedure was completed and handed back the request form.

"Nozomu, let's go"

"O-oi"

Upon receiving the request form given by the receptionist, Irisdina pulled Nozomu's hand and turned to leave the place.

Eldor was about to say something to her, but she ignored his attempts to stop her and headed for the exit.

"Is that alright, Iris? they are our junior, right?"

'Yeah, don't worry about it. He's somewhat skilled, and somehow I don't want to team up with him."

"I see...."

After leaving the guild building, Nozomu and Irisdina took a breather.

Now that they were freed of the crowds and their shoulders were relaxed, Nozomu asked Irisdina about the junior student he had just met.

"Are you acquainted with that student?"

"Well yeah, he confessed his feelings and asked me to date him before."

Nozomu was surprised for a moment by her words, but he was immediately convinced. I'm not sure what to make of it. Irisdina's appearance and personality were both impeccable. In fact, there was no end to the number of students who confessed their love for her.

It was said that some of them were even female students. The truth of the matter was unclear, but considering the fact that there were many girls attracted to the strong and reliable Irisdina, it might not be a mistake.

"But I refused. I can't accept something that I don't want myself..."

Irisdina took a deep breath, and then glanced at the boy next to her.

Nozomu's appearance was ordinary that could be found anywhere. But somehow it brought forth a burning heat from inside her chest.

"~!"

The heat that welled up from deep inside Irisdina's chest quickly spread throughout her entire body. Her heart pulsed like a fast bell, her fingers were on fire as she held his hand, and she couldn't help but turn her face away.

Even though she turned her face away, Irisdina's hand was still holding Nozomu's hand. If she didn't let go, he might found out, but she couldn't.

"??"

He gave off a suspicious vibe, but Irisdina couldn't look back.

Irisdina couldn't meet his eyes. But she also couldn't let go of his hand.

"And also...."

Irisdina stammered. But at that moment, Nozomu's mouth was agape, and let out a voice, "Ah!"

"Nozomu?"

Irisdina turned around with a wondering expression on her face. Nozomu, who was standing beside her, didn't look at her, but in another direction for some reason.

As she followed his gaze, she saw a young man of the fox tribe with his ears?wrapped in golden fur,?popped up.

"Hmm~. Oh, don't worry about me. Please continue... just think of me like a rock on the roadside."

(How long has he been there?)

A question arose in Nozomu's mind. Thanks to Irisdina, there were several eyes directed at him, and Nozomu was completely unaware of Feo's presence. Feo was watching Nozomu and Irisdina with a smirk plastered on his face.

"Feo, how long have you been there?"

"Hmm? I saw you two walking into the guild together, so I knew I'd seen something interesting! So.....-->>

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