The place Mars brought Nozomu to was on the outer edge of the city. The sun had already climbed high, and its gradually warming light was spreading the mild air of spring throughout the town. Arcazam was surrounded by walls to keep out the magical beasts that lived in the forests around the city. Those walls had also been built with a considerable distance between them and the city itself. This was so that in the event of a large-scale invasion, large units could be deployed, and the space could also serve as a storage area for the supplies needed to maintain those units. Because of the distance from the city, the chance of being seen by people was quite low, though not as low as deep inside the forest. There, Nozomu and Mars faced each other.
Mars drew the greatsword on his back and suddenly charged at him with a slash.
"Kh!"
Nozomu drew his own sword while striking the side of Mars's greatsword, at the same time circling around to the man's flank to evade.
"Hey, what the hell is this all of a sudden?!"
Qi filled Mars's body. This was clearly a combat stance, not something that could be brushed off lightly. Unable to understand what was happening, Nozomu questioned him. He had expected to be pressed about the forest and about himself, but he never imagined a sword would be pointed at him right away.
"Nothing much. I just want you to answer a few questions."
"Then why are you pointing a sword at me?!"
Mars did not answer Nozomu's question and simply came at him again with a slash. Left with no choice, Nozomu intercepted. The sound of their clashing blades echoed.
Using his enhanced physical abilities, Mars unleashed a continuous series of attacks that no one would expect from a greatsword user. The trajectory was a three-hit combination of diagonal slash, horizontal sweep, and reverse diagonal slash. There was no lag in the movement of the blade, and the power behind each strike was more than sufficient, showing that Mars's skill as a greatsword user was at a considerable level. Continuous attacks with a heavy weapon like a greatsword were a fairly advanced technique. With only average physical ability, a person would be thrown around by the weight of the greatsword and would never be able to release flowing consecutive strikes. Yet Mars was launching sufficiently powerful cuts at sufficient speed.
Nozomu avoided the first diagonal slash by turning his body sideways, then ducked under the horizontal sweep. For the final reverse diagonal slash he raised his sword at an angle against the path of Mars's blade while stepping diagonally forward, changing the vector of the force he received from diagonal to sideways, and used the momentum of that step to move to Mars's flank.
Using the momentum of his movement, Nozomu tried to cut Mars, but Mars seemed to have anticipated it. The greatsword intercepted the path of Nozomu's blade, and with a high-pitched ring the attack was blocked.
Nozomu paid no mind to the block and continued with consecutive strikes. The distance was just slightly inside the reach of Mars's greatsword, close enough that Nozomu's blade could barely reach. Nozomu's consecutive attacks had even less waste than Mars's. Though they lacked speed and power, there were no openings, so Mars could not carelessly switch to the offensive. Unable to take the initiative, Mars was forced to skillfully use his greatsword to handle Nozomu's continuous strikes.
Because he was holding the greatsword with both hands, Mars's hands were occupied, so he raised the qi in his body and released it. There was no technique name. He simply released qi, but the qi of Mars, who possessed abundant amounts of it, slightly delayed Nozomu's consecutive attacks.
In that opening Mars concentrated qi into one hand and punched Nozomu away. Mars's fist, already backed by excellent physical ability and further reinforced by qi, rivaled the blow of a magical beast. Under the influence of Ability Suppression and receiving little benefit from qi reinforcement, it was a strike Nozomu could not ignore. Nozomu caught Mars's fist with his sheath and flew backward, letting the force slide past him.
The moment Nozomu landed, Mars pressed the attack. Closing the distance with Instant Footwork, he activated the qi technique "Dust Wind Blade." He tried to smash the wind blades clinging to his greatsword, along with the greatsword itself, into Nozomu. But the instant Nozomu landed he activated Instant Footwork the same way. Concentrating qi into his legs, he pushed his leg strength to the limit and charged straight at Mars in a single burst.
"Wha?!"
Mars never expected him to charge straight in from the front.
That was only natural. Until now, even when attacking, Nozomu had always first parried or redirected and only then struck. Even in mock battles Nozomu almost never took the initiative to attack. Ability Suppression limited the instantaneous power needed for offense.
Mars's downward swing of the greatsword had too much momentum, leaving him unable to take any other action. Nozomu's speed surpassed the speed of the greatsword descending toward his head and invaded Mars's reach. The slight dulling of Mars's sword path caused by Nozomu's unexpected movement was the reason.
Before Mars's greatsword could reach him, Nozomu slipped inside it and drove an elbow strike into the arm that was swinging the blade down.
"Guh!"
Attacked in a spot not protected by the gauntlet, Mars's expression twisted. Mars released one hand from the greatsword, concentrated qi, and a mass of wind formed around his fist. He released that mass of wind at point-blank range against Nozomu.
Qi technique: "Wind Mass Palm."
A wind-attribute qi technique that gathers a mass of wind and releases it all at once to blow the opponent away. It could also be applied to increase striking power by using the compressed wind. The released wind blew Nozomu back and opened a large distance between them once more, forcing a reset. They glared at each other from outside each other's reach, measuring their own range and the opponent's. Yet neither stepped in, and only time passed.
Mars was once again impressed by the skill Nozomu possessed.
(I see… So when it comes to pure sword skill, he's still above me…)
Even though I'm overwhelmingly stronger in raw power, I can't push through. After the first slash I switched to consecutive attacks focused on speed, but every one of them was either avoided or redirected. If I tried to force it with power, I immediately took a counter.
My sword can corner him, but it can't finish him.
I want to know. The reason he was able to become this strong. If I learn that, I can become even stronger.
Stronger, stronger, even stronger still…
To do that, I have to understand this guy. This man who became unbelievably strong…
They kept their swords pointed at each other, never looking away, remaining in combat readiness. Then Mars let out a breath, "Fuu," dispersed the qi he had been gathering, and sheathed his sword.
"Sorry about that. Jumping you out of nowhere."
Though Nozomu found it strange that Mars, who had been so full of fighting spirit, had sheathed his sword, he sheathed his own for the time being.
"…There's something I want to ask you. …When did you start going into the forest?"
Mars looked straight at Nozomu. His eyes clearly said he would not allow any excuses.
Honestly speaking, Nozomu had no concrete idea of what he would do if his identity as a Dragonslayer were exposed. More precisely, he had thought it would be bad if people found out, but he had never come up with any clear thoughts about what he wanted to do with this power or what he should do with it. He had become aware that he had been running away all this time and felt he could not continue like this, but having lost the goal of "helping Lisa's dream" and therefore the reason he was at this academy, Nozomu had no concrete idea of what he himself wanted. This loss of a "reason to grow stronger" was something Sino had been concerned about just as much as his "unconscious escapism." Now that he had become aware of that unconscious escapism, it was also the biggest reason he still could not move forward. That was exactly why Nozomu felt something close to strong admiration toward people like Irisdina, who said "If I find someone in trouble I help them," and Somia, who said "I want to catch up to my sister," people who walked forward toward a goal.
"Let's see… I started going into the forest from around the summer to autumn of first year. …Well, a lot was going on back then… with Lisa and everything…"
Faced with Mars's questioning, Nozomu decided for the moment to stick to something harmless. Thinking carefully about it, the presence that had been following him yesterday had disappeared once he entered the forest, so he concluded that Mars had not directly seen the power of the Dragonslayer.
"…Unbelievable. You've been going into the forest alone since back then?"
When Nozomu nodded, Mars looked exasperated and stared up at the sky. The academy made it so that students who did not meet the conditions could not enter the forest because it was dangerous, and students themselves did not do such things. Occasionally there were students who ignored the warnings and did something reckless, but most of them either ended up in bed with serious injuries or, in the worst case, became feed for magical beasts and disappeared. In the end students were still immature. No matter how high their abilities or combat strength, if they could not make proper judgments they would not survive. That fact was drilled into the students every year through the sacrifices of a few reckless ones.
"But it makes sense now. Those unusually precise movements and judgment of yours were cultivated inside the forest."
What Mars said was correct. For a while after becoming Sino's disciple, Nozomu had been made to run through the forest nonstop, and of course he had been attacked by magical beasts. The magical beasts that attacked him were all classified as low-rank, but at the time Nozomu's physical ability had not changed much, while his swordsmanship, qi techniques, tactics, and judgment were all still immature. Even against low-rank beasts there was no element that would let him win.
That was why the most important thing had been how to escape. Entering rivers to erase his scent, covering his body with leaves for camouflage, climbing trees to wait things out. Nozomu's judgment on the battlefield had naturally developed as he thought about various things, made decisions, and carried them out in order to survive. The way he moved during the group mock battle the day before yesterday was the same. Continuously moving so as not to be surrounded while repeatedly creating one-on-one situations. That was something he had acquired while fighting magical beasts that hunted in packs, such as wild dogs.
And then there had been the mock battles with Sino. Against Sino, who possessed strength on a completely different scale, even a slight delay in action would immediately knock him unconscious, and a wrong judgment would sink him. He had been in that kind of environment. Judgment would develop whether he wanted it to or not.
"So, Mars, why did you call me out? Don't tell me you suddenly swung a sword at me just to ask something like that. Hey."
Nozomu glared at Mars. It was only natural. Nozomu had done nothing wrong. He had been suddenly summoned and suddenly attacked with a sword. His reaction was completely justified.
"Ugh, well, uh… you know…"
Apparently he was aware that what he had done was unreasonable. Mars's tone became fumbling.
"???"
Nozomu tilted his head in confusion at Mars, who had suddenly started stammering. Yet from the atmosphere of the hesitant Mars, it did not look at all like he knew about Nozomu being a Dragonslayer. He simply seemed awkward about having suddenly attacked him. Considering how bluntly he had asked about Nozomu entering the forest, Nozomu could not imagine this man hesitating when it came to matters of swords or strength. For the moment Nozomu felt a little relieved that his identity as a Dragonslayer did not seem to have been discovered.
"W-what I'm trying to say is— Ahhhhh! Big brother, what are you doing?!"
A sudden loud voice cut off Mars's words. Looking toward the source of the voice, a girl with features very similar to Mars's came running over. Anger was fixed on her face, and her gaze was directed at Mars. Apparently this girl was Mars's younger sister.
"Big brother!! What were you trying to do, calling someone out to a place with no one around like this?!"
"I-I wasn't doing anything! More importantly, why are you even here?!"
"Because you left this morning with such a grumpy face, I figured nothing good would come of it and followed you. And sure enough, here you are trying to shake someone down…"
When the girl said that while lifting her eyebrows with a finger, Mars protested as if it were completely unfounded.
"That's not it! Why would I be shaking someone down?!"
"Considering everything you've done up until now, it's the natural conclusion! Do you have any idea how many times Auntie and I have had to bow our heads to the people you've caused trouble for?!"
"Ugh!"
It was true that Mars was recognized by those around him as an uncontrollable delinquent. Even though he had the ability to belong in a higher class, the fact that he was still stuck in the tenth rank showed just how bad his daily behavior was. Yet Mars seemed weak against his little sister. From earlier he had been completely on the receiving end of the scolding. Even when he tried to argue a little, he was immediately shut down with sound reasoning. He himself understood that his behavior was bad and that he caused trouble for his family, so eventually he could no longer argue back, and a one-sided verbal assault from his sister unfolded.
"Because you went wild, my favorite shop banned us!" "Because of you, kids the same age in the neighborhood started treating you like a boss!" "Because of you I spent a whole day and night walking around apologizing to the neighbors!" and so on. The complaints kept coming, enough to make one wonder how he had managed to do so much. Each time a story came out Mars would groan "Guh!" or "Muu!", looking as if spears were being stabbed into him one after another.
Eventually it shifted into embarrassing stories from Mars's past. "Your last bed-wetting was later than mine." Or "You said you wanted to ride a horse, so you jumped onto a carriage horse, the horse panicked and went on a rampage, and all the men in the neighborhood had to come out for a big capture operation." And so on.
Having his past shame exposed, Mars finally could not endure it and planted both hands on the ground, hanging his head. It was his own fault, but it was pitiful to watch. The girl who had been thoroughly tormenting Mars confirmed that he had been sunk, then came over to Nozomu.
"I'm sorry. My foolish older brother has caused you trouble."
"Ah, no, it's fine… Is your brother okay?"
"Yes. He won't reflect unless I do this. Besides, I've been put through quite a lot because of this person. This much is just what he deserves."
"I-I see…"
Feeling a little sorry for the thoroughly wounded Mars, Nozomu tried to somehow soothe the girl, but she cut him down with a single stroke.
Nozomu had been angry at Mars for suddenly attacking him, but even for a delinquent, the way this girl so cleanly cut down her own older brother left him taken aback.
"Ah, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Ena, the little sister of that deadbeat over there."
"Ah, nice to meet you. I'm Nozomu Bountis, Mars's classmate."
Unlike Mars, the girl greeted him properly and politely. Perhaps because she had suffered so much because of her older brother, she was a rather solid girl.
"Today my foolish brother caused you trouble. I would really like to apologize, so if it's all right, would you come to our family's shop? We run an inn with a tavern, so we can at least treat you to lunch."
The girl insisted on apologizing. Nozomu said he did not particularly need an apology, but Ena pressed quite firmly that "Since we caused you trouble, we have to do things properly." Feeling it would be wrong to refuse forcefully, Nozomu decided to accept the invitation, but…
"Well, that's fine, but what about Mars?"
"Ah, right. Big brother, you're in the way, so hurry up and start walking!"
Ena gave Mars a kick. Mars protested "What are you doing?!" but under his sister's glare his spirit sank, and he trudged along behind them.