Chapter 6 Part 9

Translator : PolterGlast

The Arcazam Library, where books from all over the continent are collected.

In a corner of this library, a girl was devoting herself to reading.

Her blue hair, reminiscent of the sky, swayed in the breeze from the slightly open window, and her beautiful face remained motionless, like a doll, while her eyes continued to follow the words in the book in her hands.

Her pointed ears that poked out from the gaps in her long blue hair showed that she was an elf who had received the blessing of the spirits.

“........ Haa”

The girl, Shīna Yuliel, who had been devoting herself to reading the book in her hands, suddenly sighed and dropped her shoulders heavily.

She frowned and let her gaze drift in the air as if something was bothering her. She turned her attention to the book in her hands again, but this time she stared at the open page while frowning.

"Argh, gosh. I can't concentrate at all."

Putting the book she was reading on the desk, Shīna sighed loudly again and looked up at the ceiling of the library.

An unfamiliar feeling swirled in the depth of her chest. She was confused by the urge to run away at any moment.

"What is wrong with me?"

Shīna muttered in a small voice so that it would not be heard by others.

She thought that the urge in her chest would subside a little if she could speak up her mind, but contrary to her expectations, the urge grew louder.

It reminded her of an event at lunchtime today.

She was having lunch with the others when Nozomu accepted Irisdina's request.

Irisdina was a little nervous as she asked Nozomu for a favor, and Nozomu was at a loss for words but agreed.

Irisdina looked nervous, which was not like her usual self, but her smile when he agreed was so beautiful that even Shīna, who was also a woman, couldn't help but be fascinated by it. And Nozomu was also fascinated by her.

"What's up with him. It was just a request, why is he looked so..."

Remembering Nozomu who was infatuated with Irisdina, she felt a surge of indignation. However, the feeling in her chest that had risen like a geyser quickly subsided and was replaced by an inexplicable regret. This was because she had also been invited to take part in the request, but had turned it down.

At that time, Feo interrupted Nozomu and Irisdina. Shīna could tell from the grin on his face that he was planning something again. As a young man of the fox tribe who got involved in various things just for the fun of it, it was no surprise that he wanted to join too this time.

However, he immediately invited Shīna to join him. The grin on his face clearly told her that he was thinking of something terrible, so Shīna refused the invitation.

"Sigh~, why did I refuse..."

After all, it was her choice to be here, but even so, Shīna couldn't help but frown at the unpleasant feeling that was spreading deep in her chest.

At that moment, Shīna's ears heard the voice of a woman she had been hearing a lot lately.

"Shīna-san?"

"Tima-san? What are you doing here?"

It was her, Tima Lime, who spoke to her. She was carrying several books in her hands.

"Well, umm..."

The book in her hand was mainly about wind spells and magic control techniques.

A person who needed wind and magic control. Shīna could only think of one person who would need it.

"I see, it's for Mars-kun..."

"U~e!?"

Perhaps she was trying to help Mars with the skills he was trying to learn. The fact that she was looking into wind spells, as well as magic control, was evidence of this.

Shīna's cheeks naturally relaxed when she saw how blatantly shaken Tima was at her words.

"I won't tell anyone. More importantly, how is he? Even though it's not as powerful as Nozomu-kun's "power", I don't think the skill he's trying to learn will be acquired overnight due to his lack of control over it..."

"Yeah, the success rate seems to have slowed down lately. I don't know if it's because of that or not, but Mars hasn't practiced that combination technique much lately."

"Well, after what happened, I'm sure he has something to think about."

Tima gave a small nod to Shīna's words.

Mars had a complicated feeling about Nozomu's power. While he admired Nozomu's well-honed swordplay, impatience arose from his desire to become stronger.

They can still vividly recall the incident where he was so agitated that he went out of control and ended up in mortal danger.

"Maybe that's why, Mars-kun seems to be concentrating more on magic control rather than Qi technique? lately..."

"Is that so? I thought that since he mainly uses Qi technique, he would concentrate on that first..."

"According to Mars, he hasn't practiced much about magic. It looks like he decided to do a proper practice on that side. Of course, he also practices Qi techniques..."

"Well, either way. His combined technique requires not only Qi technique but also magic formation and control of magic power, so he needs to hone his skills in both magic and Qi technique..."

This is the power that Mars wanted as a result of witnessing Nozomu's swordplay. The combination of magic and Qi technique required an extremely high level of control over not only Qi but also magic power because it used different powers at the same time.

In the past, Mars had only used the Qi technique and had neglected his magic training. Surely, he's trying to fix that somehow.

"Even so, you have been helping him."

"I-It's not that I hate it... it's just..."

Mars had considerable suitability if it was only using wind magic. Perhaps she wanted Mars to get a foothold in magical control from there. In fact, the magic that Mars used when he successfully used the combination technique was without exception the wind attribute.

Tima looked down with a blush on her face. She fiddled with the edge of the cover of the book in her hand with her fingertips and said in a small voice as if she was mumbling.

As she looked at such Tima, Shīna asked Tima a question that suddenly came to her mind.

"Hey, why do you care so much about him?"

"Eh?"

"I know, Mars isn't a bad guy, but he can be a little rough around the edges. He's the kind of guy you would usually rather avoid, so I was wondering why you love him so much.

In response to the word "love," Tima's slightly flushed cheeks suddenly heated up.

"H-how, how come it's about love!"

"... Did you think we weren't aware of it?"

"A, auu..."

Shīna looked at Tima, her whole face flushed red. Shīna looked dumbfounded as Tima rambled on in a stuttered voice.

Tima's eyes wandered in the air for a while. Eventually, she exhaled heavily and slowly began to open her mouth.

"At first ... I was really scared, you know? He was glaring at me out of the blue..."

As if remembering a nostalgic memory, Tima talking while looking up at the ceiling of the library.

Shīna had heard roughly about the feud between the Francilt and the Waziart Family, but she had not heard the details, so she listened closely as Tima and Mars became aware of each other.

"I don't think he had any good impressions for me either because I'm so gloomy..."

Tima crossed her fingers and looked a little gloomy. She didn't like her own self-deprecating personality.

That was why she had feelings of admiration for people like Irisdina, who was so confident and different from her.

"But when Rugato-san came and Somia was in danger, it was Mars-kun who saved me."

An irreplaceable family of her dearest friend. A girl who was also like a younger sister to Tima.

Tima, who was trying to bind Rugato's familiar to protect Somia, was attacked by multiple magic bullets. The one who blocked the magic bullets that attacked her was Mars, who she thought hated her.

The sense of unity she felt at that moment. After that, every time she thought about him, there was a feeling that slowly seeped into the depths of her body.

Sometimes these feelings stirred her heart violently, and sometimes they gave her warmth as if she were wrapped in cotton to the ends of her arms and legs.

"I don't know how to say it, but it has been bothering me a lot..."

Tima was not able to express her feelings to others directly. She couldn't help but shy away from people because she was always one step behind them.

But instead of being able to say it out loud, Tima's expression expressed her secret more than words.

When she was talking about Mars, she didn't look down even once. Usually, due to her shyness, she tended to look down when she talked to others. Furthermore, even her cheeks were dyed bright red.

The only people who couldn't understand her feelings were those who had serious problems with their communication skills, the so-called "airheads".

"I see...."

Shīna could also sense the hidden feelings that Tima had. It stirred deep in her heart.

The image that came to her mind was of him accepting the dark-haired princess's request, even though he was embarrassed. The indescribable feelings she had felt earlier rose again from the depths of her chest.

A silence flowed between the two. All they could hear was the hustle and bustle of the city coming from outside the window.

However, a familiar voice echoed in the silence between the two.

"Yahhoo ! Shīna, Tima-san. What a rare combination, huh?"

"Mimuru-san?"

Shīna and Tima's conversation was interrupted by Mimuru. Shīna looked a little surprised to see her in the library, which she did not usually visit.

"What are you doing here? This is a library, you know."

The combination between Shīna and Tima was certainly unusual, but the presence of Mimuru in the library would be an equally strange sight for anyone who saw it.

After all, she's not very good at class lessons and is always lectured by her homeroom teacher, Inda.

"Y-you're mean, Shīna! I read books too, you know!?"

Mimuru's cheeks puffed up in response to Shīna's sarcastic remark.

Mimuru held up a book in her hand as if to say, "Look at this," but the title of the book was something like "Attribute Interference," "Fluctuation of Reaction Rate by Magic Quality," or some other complicated title. It was not the kind of book she would be looking at if she was struggling to write a reflection on her class.

"By the way, where's your boyfriend Tom?"

"If it's about Tom, he is over there ......."

Answering Shīna's question, Mimuru pointed to Tom, who was holding a lot of materials in his small arms. When he noticed Shīna and the others, he put the materials on a nearby desk and came over to them.

"Hello, Shīna, Tima-san. Oh, Mimuru, you brought me the materials I was looking for. Thank you."

“........”

Mimuru froze due to Tom's words and Shīna's "I knew it" gaze was directed at her.

"... As expected, it was Tom who wanted to visit this library, right?"

"Hmm? What?"

Shīna's eyes glared at Mimuru for lying to her. Mimuru's face turned red and she looked down, her shoulders trembling from embarrassment as her little lie was quickly exposed.

Tom, unable to grasp the situation, could only tilt his head.

"T-Tom, you idiot ----!"

"E-Ehh? Why~?"

The shame was too much for her. Unable to take it anymore, Mimuru snuggled and grabbed into Tom. Tom can only wince.

Mimuru said, "Why can't you just talk about it with me?", and screamed, "Tom, you're supposed to be my ally!" But Tom, who didn't really understand what was going on, couldn't understand her at all.

In the meantime, Tom kept trying to calm Mimuru down without knowing the reason.

Shīna could only let out a sigh as she watched the two of them, her friend looking exactly the same as usual.

By the way, screaming so loudly like that would naturally attract the attention of the people around her.

Even though the people around her were looking at her as if to tell her to be quiet, Mimuru was completely unaware of their silent protest.

"Mi, Mimuru-san..."

"What's wrong Tima-san!? This is more important right now ... Ah~"

Tima tapped Mimuru on the shoulder while calling out her name. Mimuru, who was still grabbed onto Tom, turned her face to Tima, and that was when she finally noticed the gazes around her.

"Ah, ahaha... S-sorry."

She released her grip on Tom and quickly hid behind her boyfriend to avoid the gazes of those around her.

But what's the point of hiding behind the person who had just she grabbed?

Mimuru is taller than Tom, so her body is not fully hidden. The sight of her shriveled back with flattened ears may arouse a strong desire to protect her in some who watched her.

But Tom and Tima only smiled wryly, and Shīna put her hand on her forehead as if trying to hold back her headache.

"Tom, you seem to have a hard time huh?"

"It's okay. I'm used to it."

Tom said so to himself while patting his girlfriend's head who was hiding behind his back. There was no negative emotion on his face.

He was honestly attracted to Mimuru's. Before he knew it, he had a natural smile on his face.

Mimuru purred pleasantly as her lover stroked her head.

Shīna's cheeks naturally loosened at the sight. Mimuru purred and let out a voice, "Funya~".

The warm atmosphere enveloped the girls. At that time, a voice reached their ears.

"U-um~... Everyone, what are you guys doing here?"

Everyone who was there turned towards the source of the voice, and there was a petite girl with a shiny black shoulder-length haircut.

She was holding several books in her hands, just like Mimuru had done earlier.

"Somia-chan ... why are you here?"

"Ah, Tima-chan. Yahhoo~~"

Somia replied cheerfully but not bothering the people around her. Instead of waving her hand widely, she gave a cheerful smile full of energy. She was still a cheerful girl as usual.

"Are you here to do some research, Somia-chan?"

"Yes! I'm having a little trouble understanding something in school. What were you all doing in this place? It looks like it was pretty noisy..."

"Well, Mimuru stepped on her own tail again and made a big fuss..."

"Okay, this conversation is over! More importantly, it's quite unusual isn't it, that Shīna and Tima-san are alone together? What were you talking about!"

Mimuru, who until just a moment ago had been hiding in the shadow of her lover, leaned forward and interrupted them, trying to force a change in the conversation.

Shīna let out a big sigh at the protesting gazes from the people around her, which became stronger again due to Mimuru's voice.

This was enough to make the intelligent Somia realize what had happened, and she scratched her cheeks with her fingers with a stiff smile on her face.

"It was just a coincidence that we were together. Why are you so curious?"

"No, somehow my whiskers sensed something bittersweet..."

"What's that? I wonder if cat tribe's whiskers have that kind of ability."

"Well, I've never heard of it ... Mimuru-san you're kind of cute."

Shīna looked suspiciously at Mimuru, who twitched her whiskers as if she was proud of it.

Somia also tilted her head, but it seemed she was paying more attention to the movement of Mimuru's whiskers.

Somia has always been a cat lover. She loves cute things, so perhaps she is attracted to such small gestures.

"Hmmph! A maiden in love is sensitive, you know? Tima-san is also a maiden in love, isn't she?!"

"Eh!?"

Tima, who was watching the exchange between the three of them from the side, suddenly shouted in surprise.

Remembering what she had just been talking about, Tima felt her cheeks heat up at once.

"Hmm? Wasn't it? I thought I heard Mars-kun's name?"

"You were eavesdropping on us..., weren't you?"

Shīna's suspicious gaze turned accusatory and Mimuru smiled wryly as if not admitting it and a dry laugh escaped her mouth.

But Mimuru was quick to act. Before Shīna could open her mouth, she rushed towards Tima who was standing beside her.

"So, you were talking about Mars-kun? It's only natural to be worried about someone you like, isn't it?

“........”

Ignoring Shīna, Mimuru's mischievous smile filled Tima's vision.

All Tima could do was groan inaudibly, "Ugh, ..."

She looked around as if to ask for help. Her eyes happen to catch sight of Somia, the sister of her best friend.

It wasn't a good idea to rely on an eleven-year-old child, but she had a strong core like her best friend, and she might be able to help.

Such expectations welled up in Tima's chest, but .......

"Oh, I'm also interested. What was the story about?"

"Eeeh!?"

Her wish was suddenly cut off by Somia herself.

Contrary to Tima's feelings, Somia's eyes were shining just like Mimuru's and she leaned forward.

"Ah~, As I thought, Somia-chan is also curious about it."

"Yes. I thought I'd want to learn about it for the future..."

"T-the future? ...... Isn't it a little early for you, Somia-chan?"

"Umm, is that so? I have a friend in my class who has already kissed..."

"Eeh!?"

Somia and her friend were in the same class, which meant that the girl was also about 11 years old. By the way, Tima had never held hands with a man before, except for her father. Of course, there was no way she had ever kissed anyone before.

Kiss, kiss... kissing at the age of eleven.

The image of a man and a woman facing each other flashed through Tima's mind.

They stare at each other. Their gazes meet.

The distance between them grows so close that they can even feel each other's breath.

Eventually, the other person's face fills the other's field of vision, and then...

"A~u...."

With that in mind, Tima turned her eyes with a bright red face. Her brain seemed to have overheated because her mind was filled with such scenes.

"Ehh? Did I mess with her too much?"

Mimuru peeked at Tima, who had been absent-minded, and gave her a poke on the cheek, but she didn't respond at all.

Shīna held her temples and said angrily, "There you go again, you troublemaker!". She was furious. She tried to grab Mimuru's head to get rid of this walking troublemaker.

But as she reached her hands out, she noticed Somia's gaze. For some reason, she couldn't help but pull her hand away from the pure and straight eyes that were fixed on her.

"U-umm, Somia-san? Is what you said true??"

"Yes, according to Lansa-chan, some of her friends do it quite often too. Also, Merī-chan, Kinea-chan, ..."

"I-is that so ..."

As Somia mentioned the names, she folded her fingers.

One hand was not enough, so she used both of her hands, and then both hands were not enough, so she unfolded them back and continued to count.

"T-that's enough, Somia-san..."

"Eh? Is that so?"

Shīna let out a dry laugh. If she didn't stop her, how many names would she come up with?

A strange thought crossed her mind as she was shocked to hear about the surprisingly progressive love life of younger people.

"Don't tell me, does Somia-san also..."

"Eh, me? No way, I've never done that. My father and sister always told me to be modest!"

"W-well, that's true..."

Somia replied with a cheerful voice that couldn't be said as "modesty". Apparently, she had never experienced such a "kissing" thing.

"I'm sure you understand that neither Ane-sama nor I are in a position to easily decide on a partner. I think this sort of thing is a little disappointing..."

Somia smiled a little sadly. Her figure looked so mature that it was hard to believe she was an eleven-year-old girl.

Certainly, she is also a daughter of the Francilt family, just like Irisdina. It seemed that her sensibilities were already well developed.

While thinking so, Shīna secretly felt a little sympathy for their family situation.

The elves lost their homeland due to the great invasion ten years ago, and many sacrificed their lives.

They were originally a race with one of the longest lifespans on this continent, which made it difficult for them to leave behind offspring.

With the loss of their safe haven and their numbers greatly reduced, the elves were constantly exposed to the danger of extinction of their race.

As a countermeasure, the elders of the elves recommended that men and women of the right age to have children should marry.

Naturally, Shīna was approached with marriage proposals. At the time, she was unable to use her spirit magic, but it was not something important if she were to have children.

But she turned it down and came here to Arcazam. Behind her eyelids, she saw the burning forest and her family lying on the ground. And with the image of that black demon beast burned into her mind.

It was difficult for them to decide their future partner by their own will. In that sense, Shīna and Somia were in common.

"Well, it's difficult, isn't it? A lot of things. ......"

Shīna said so while stroking Somia's head.

The things that only one individual can change are limited. She could say so probably because she actually experienced it when she was young.

Certainly, one cannot do much alone. Even the skills she had trained and honed to the point of death were no match for that black demon beast.

However, she still smiled gently.

"As I thought, you've changed recently, haven't you, Shīna?"

Tom, who had been sitting beside Mimuru and hadn't joined the conversation for a long time, smiled and spoke to Shīna.

Shīna's sense of responsibility for hurting her friend caused her to go out of control and face the black demon beast alone.

But with the help of those she came into contact with during the last two years at this school, she was able to overcome that crisis.

The bonds that she was able to form. Probably she was able to smile now because she realized the power of this bond. She understood her own immaturity, accepted it, and knew that she could change.

"Yeah... maybe so. But I still don't know much about love and stuff..."

She has been living her life with the goal of avenging her family and reclaiming her homeland. She knew that she will have to marry someone sooner or later, but she still didn't know what love was.

But there were people who wanted to help her. Shīna's best friend and her boyfriend, smiling in front of her. A little girl who smiled so adorably and her family and friends.

"Also...."

An ordinary katana-wielding boy that can be found anywhere.

He had a lot of difficulties with his powers and his childhood friends. There are times when he got depressed because he worry too much, but still, he was the one who tried to help her without hesitation even though she had been throwing abusive words at him.

Shīna is still unsure of what Mimuru means by love. But .......

Shīna's hand naturally reached for her own lips.

"By the way, Shīna kissed Nozomu-kun, didn't she? Since you're here, why don't you tell Somia-chan how you felt about it?"

"... Eeh!?"

"Ah~, that's right! Shīna-san, you were kissing Nozomu-san!"

Kiss, kiss, kiss .......

That word kept going round and round in Shīna's mind.

It reminded her of the time when she saved Nozomu from being swallowed by a dragon in the forest.

The contract magic she used to bring his consciousness back. The contract method at that time was .......

The silky white skin of Shīna turned red all at once. The whirling mind caused her to overheat, and things that were important in everyday life, such as physical appearance, intelligence, and many other things, were thrown out of her head at once, without question.

"Please! Please tell me! How did it feel! Did it taste like lemon!?"

"W-why are you so curious? Isn't it completely different compared to that Lansa girl!"

"Isn't it fine to tell me! I was only kissing his cheeks, so I wonder how it feels when you kiss his lips..."

"Ehh? What does that mean? When did you kiss him?"

"When we went on a date!"

Somia had already left his side when Shīna found Mimuru and the others following Somia's date. That was why Shīna didn't know that Somia had kissed him.

By the way, neither Somia herself nor Shīna noticed that Somia's story had somehow shifted from a story about her friend who had kissed to a story about someone else.

For Shīna herself, various new facts were discovered by her. Before she knew it, Shīna herself was in on the story.

However, Mimuru was looking at the two of them with a grin as the conversation heated up.

"But currently, Nozomu-kun is with Irisdina-san! They are doing a request~. Just the two of them alone in a place where no one can get in their way! I wonder what Nozomu-kun and Irisdina-san are doing right now~"

The stuffy feeling in her chest that she had felt earlier came up again, and a bulging vein appeared on Shīna's forehead.

It seemed that Feo had been away for some time, but that didn't seem to matter to her now.

"... Mimuru, come behind that bookshelf for a minute."

"....Eh?"

Shīna grabbed her bad friend by the collar and tried to lead her behind the bookshelf. Somia, who was standing beside Shīna, looked a bit confused.

"Shi-Shīna. Don't make such a face. You'll ruin your beautiful face... Can't you just smile and laugh it off as Somia-chan did..?"

"....No way"

Shīna interrupted Mimuru's words with a smile and ambiguous words.

It seemed that a lot of things that were buried deep inside her had finally come out. Her reaction was fierce, as her personality usually restrained her from doing many things.

"Shīna-san, do you want to use this?"

Saying so, Somia took out a book that was so thick that it had to be a thousand pages long. It was the book that Mimuru had been looking for Tom.

Somia was merciless as she casually handed over something that would make the punishment even stricter.

"Yeah, I'll borrow it."

"Wait, what are you going to do with that? If you're not careful, my head will be dented!"

Ignoring Mimuru's desperate cries, Shīna took the edge of the book Somia offered her, hold it with one hand.

Shīna's slender hands grabbed up the thick book, giving it an indescribably intimidating look.

"S-Someone, please help me!"

Feeling her life was in danger, Mimuru desperately tried to resist. But it was all in vain.

As others can see from Shīna grabbing up the thick book earlier, Shīna who was an archer was used to holding the string and arrows drawn in the position until she took aim, so her grip was actually quite strong.

The cat girl flailed frantically, but Shīna's hand grabbed her by the collar and didn't falter.

Shīna took Mimuru away with a thin smile on her face. Then Mimuru's scream echoed throughout the library.

By the way, Shīna and the others were scolded by the librarian for shouting so loudly that the window panes shook, and they were all kicked out of the library, but they deserved it.

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

After receiving a great scolding from the librarian and returning to her room in the girls' dormitory, Shīna fell straight onto her bed and the bed caught her.

Her uniform might get wrinkled, but her current mind was so shaken that she didn't care about that.

The words Mimuru's said in the library kept running through her mind until she returned to the dormitory.

(Just the two of them alone in a place where no one can get in their way! I wonder what Nozomu-kun and Irisdina-san are doing right now~)

The depth of her chest couldn't calm down. She looked up at the familiar ceiling without any lights on.

"It's not that I don't want to be with him..."

Shīna turned her head to the side, her red cheeks puffed out in a grimace. She shrank down and while squeezing and holding her knees.

Her gesture was like that of a young child.

Shīna remained still for a while, but then she put her hand on her chest, exhaled heavily, and turned to lie on her back again. Then, staring blankly at the ceiling, she relaxed her body and slowly closed her eyes.

Eventually, her body gradually began to glow faintly. It was the light of magical power.

It was not a good thing to use magic in a girl's dormitory like this.

The usual serious Shīna would not have done such a thing, but she couldn't help but be concern-->>

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