I was having a dream. A deep crimson dream. Yet it did not feel like a dream to me at all.
The place was probably Solminati Academy. But the school buildings that once suggested castle walls had collapsed, and the surroundings had become a burned wasteland scattered with rubble.
"Ugh! Oe…"
Things that had once been people were scattered around. They were already so charred that it was impossible to tell who they had originally been. The smell of burning flesh clung to my nose, and I could not hold it in as I vomited the contents of my stomach.
In that hell there was a single dragon. A jet-black body with five-colored wings. There was no way I could mistake it. The great dragon that should have been inside me. Tiamat. Its mouth was moving as if chewing. It seemed to be eating something.
"Haa haa haa haa…"
A bad premonition struck me at that sight. My breathing grew ragged and my heart pounded like an alarm bell. Instinct told me "Don't look!" but by the time I thought that, it was already too late.
"A-aah… Aaaaaaaaaah!"
What was sticking out of its mouth was long hair. The moment the owner of that hair crossed my mind, I screamed and charged at it. The next moment, black giant flames appeared right in front of me. I could not even dodge and was swallowed by the flames of chaos.
"Kh! Haa haa haa…"
When I came to, Nozomu was on a bed. Apparently he had woken from the dream.
"Kh!"
Nozomu frowned and held his head. The dream had been so realistic that he felt he had to confirm it really was a dream.
As time passed, Nozomu gradually regained his composure. And he understood what had happened to him.
(I see… after that battle I must have let my guard down and fainted…)
Nozomu recalled what happened after the battle. When Irisdina and Somia walked toward him, happiness and relief drained the strength from his body, and his vision went dark. He had probably fainted at that moment.
"How much time has passed…"
Saying that, Nozomu looked around the room he had been sleeping in. The white walls had no stains at all, and besides the bed there were a desk, chairs, a fireplace, a dresser, and other items. Those items had almost no decoration, yet they somehow possessed a quiet dignity that naturally brought out the refinement of the room, or so it seemed to Nozomu.
Through the window of the room a large garden was visible. Apparently this was the Francilt family residence.
While Nozomu was looking outside, there was a knock on the door of the room, and two girls appeared. When the girls confirmed Nozomu's appearance they turned flower-like smiles toward him.
"Thank goodness. You woke up…" "Are you all right, Nozomu-san?"
They, Irisdina and Somiliana, spoke to Nozomu with smiles of relief.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"About half a day… But I'm glad. You suddenly collapsed so we were worried." "Is your body all right?"
It was probably because of the release of Ability Suppression and the Annihilating Light Impact before that that he had been so heavily drained. Sudden consumption of qi had a serious effect even on life-sustaining activities. Getting off with only this much was probably fortunate.
"And… what about Lugat-san?"
When Nozomu asked about what happened afterward, Lugat-san, just as he had said right before Nozomu fainted, had become unable to fulfill the contract because the familiar's black sphere and the contract document had been destroyed. After that he had returned to the Dizart Empire to report the matter to the master he served.
Incidentally, the lower and upper halves of his body that Nozomu had bisected had apparently healed cleanly after several hours. It was an astonishing regenerative ability, but according to the man himself, "I was cut so cleanly that even I was surprised, so the wound was clean and that's why it healed this quickly."
"Tima and Mars-kun are at the academy right now, but once their classes end they'll come here. There are various things I want to talk about as well. Is that all right?"
"…Yes, well…"
At those words Nozomu hesitated a little. At that moment a "Guu~~" sound rang out. It was Nozomu's stomach. Because he had been so heavily drained, his body seemed to be craving nutrition.
Hearing that sound, the two of them began chuckling. Nozomu felt embarrassed and looked away.
"Fufu, looking at that you seem fine. I'll bring some food now, so wait a little. Somia, help me."
"Yeees. Onee-sama! Well then, Nozomu-san, look forward to the meal and wait for us."
The sisters said that and left the room together amicably. After seeing the two of them off, Nozomu lay back down on the bed and thought.
He still did not know how to explain about himself, but right now while he was hungry, he was looking forward to the meal they had told him to expect.
In the evening, when it was not yet twilight but the sun was gradually beginning to set, the parties involved in the incident from the day before had gathered in one of the rooms of the Francilt residence. First, Irisdina began speaking about the secret agreement between the Francilt family and the Uajalt family that had been the origin of this incident.
The origin of the matter went back three hundred years. The Francilt family had apparently been engaged in a power struggle with other influential houses. However, in that conflict the Francilt family had gradually fallen into a disadvantage and reached a point where they could no longer manage on their own. At that time, the then head of the Francilt family relied on the Uajalt family as a means to overturn the disadvantage. The Uajalt family was a clan of vampires, and through the power of their unique abilities and numerous magical tools the Francilt family eliminated their opposing forces. In exchange they paid enormous wealth to the Uajalt family and made a contract to borrow their magical tools for three hundred years.
Incidentally, according to Lugat's story, the contract familiar also had the role of randomly cursing one person from the direct line of the Francilt family head to death if the contract became impossible to fulfill, treating it as a breach of contract. According to Lugat, who had been present when the contract was exchanged, the reason a period of three hundred years was taken was so that it would no longer directly involve themselves, and by offering a child of the direct line of the house they intended to show sincerity toward the Uajalt family as well.
On the Uajalt family side, being long-lived vampires, a period of three hundred years apparently did not matter much.
"…This is really…"
"…It makes my skin crawl."
When they heard this story, Nozomu and Mars felt a rage that seemed ready to boil their guts. Even Tima, who was normally quiet, had a terribly hard expression.
"…Exactly! What I dislike most of all is the idea that as long as they're fine, nothing else matters."
"Truly… I'm not the type to get angry easily, but even so I cannot forgive this."
Neither Irisdina nor Somia tried to hide their strong indignation.
"And about the Furnace of Spirit Flame that mixed with Somia-chan's soul…"
"Ah. On that side… to be honest, even Lugat-shi's master says it is impossible to separate the Furnace of Spirit Flame that has already mixed with Somia's soul. Apparently they never anticipated it being used in this way… and to begin with, we still don't know why something like that mixed with Somia's soul in the first place…"
That meant no one knew what would happen from here on. Everyone present fell silent.
"…Irisdina-san, was it really all right to tell us this kind of story?"
Nozomu, who had fallen silent at the difficulties that might befall Somia from now on, suddenly felt a question and spoke to Irisdina. This story should be one that the Francilt family could not make public.
However, Irisdina answered as if she did not care about such doubts of Nozomu's at all.
"It's fine. Even though we dragged all of you into our circumstances this time, you still saved us. I don't want to keep secrets from the people who saved our lives. Even if you know about this matter, I won't let the people of the house lay a hand on you."
Crossing her arms, Irisdina declared it without the slightest concern. There was no hesitation in that expression.
"Let me thank you once more. Thank you for saving us this time. The reason we did not lose Somia is thanks to all of you. I am… truly grateful… thank you."
"Really… thank you so much for saving us!"
The Francilt sisters bowed their heads together and offered their thanks. Nozomu felt an itchy feeling at their pure feelings. When he casually looked, Mars seemed to feel the same way, his stern face turning red with embarrassment.
"Ah, no. It wasn't anything to be concerned about…"
"That's not true at all! When you saved me from the Grim Reaper, you looked so cool!"
"Fufu, just as Somia says."
Somia leaned forward and spoke excitedly, and Irisdina also praised Nozomu.
"I-if you praise me that much I'll be troubled… Besides, I…"
Nozomu was concerned about the fact that he had hesitated until the very end of that battle. His expression naturally hardened. Mars, who had been watching Nozomu's state, asked with a serious expression. What he probably wanted to ask was…
"…Nozomu, can I ask? At the end of that battle, what exactly did you do?"
"......"
At Mars's single question Irisdina and the others also fell silent. They must have been curious as well. Every gaze in the room gathered on Nozomu.
"I knew you were far stronger than the people at the academy said. But you at that time were abnormal. What exactly did you do then?"
In the silence that dominated, Nozomu slowly began to speak.
"That was… the release of Ability Suppression…"
"The release of Ability Suppression?"
Somia tilted her head, but Nozomu continued the explanation as is.
"Do you know about my ability, 'Ability Suppression'?"
"If I recall, it was an ability that, true to its name, suppresses the user's own abilities below a certain level."
"Yes. I possess that ability and receive restrictions on my quantity of qi, strength, and magical power."
Affirming Irisdina's words, Nozomu continued explaining his own ability.
"I myself had never heard of it, but at the end of second year I became able to release this ability."
"…Could it be. The reason you were so injured at that time…"
"Ah, yeah. A lot happened then, and I became able to release Ability Suppression. Well, because of the injuries the practical exam at the end of the semester was a complete mess…"
"Then why didn't you use it until now?"
"That's…"
The scene from today's dream flashed back. The burned Arcazam and the smell of the scorched people of the city. And the one who was being eaten by "it."
"Kh!"
"…Nozomu-kun?"
"Ah, no… sorry. I spaced out. …When I release Ability Suppression it is always at full power and I can't control it, so I didn't use it. On top of that I can only release it for about two minutes."
Covering up the unease inside himself, Nozomu answered. That answer also did not tell everything.
"Because just punching something turns a rock into powder. There's no way I can handle it against people."
"…Certainly with that it wouldn't be easy to use. …Or rather, all your techniques are like that."
"…I'm aware of it."
In the end, even after this, Nozomu was unable to speak about the fact that he was a Dragonslayer.
After that time passed and twilight dyed the sky, Nozomu and the others decided to head home, and Irisdina and the others came to see them off at the mansion's gate.
"Well then, we're heading back."
"See ya."
"Yeah, see you at the academy…"
"Yeah, see you later."
Nozomu and the others finished their farewells. Then suddenly Somia, who had been beside Irisdina, took Nozomu's hand.
"W-what's wrong, Somia-chan?"
"Nozomu-san! Thank you for saving me! At that time I thought I would never be able to see Onee-sama again… but now I can be together with Onee-sama again and I'm so happy!"
To the flustered Nozomu, Somia offered her thanks once more. Then Irisdina also took his other hand and offered her thanks again.
"Yes. If you hadn't saved us at that time, Somia would without a doubt have been taken away. I… don't think I could have endured that. …Thank you truly."
At the words of gratitude given by the two of them, Nozomu's heart lightened a little. There were many things he had been unable to speak about, and the unease he carried in his heart was large. That still caught on his mind, but at the very least he felt that releasing Ability Suppression at that time had not been a mistake.
"…Come to think of it, I still haven't given this to Somia-chan."
"???"
At Nozomu's words Somia tilted her head. While taking it out of his pocket, Nozomu presented it together with words that were one day late.
"It's one day late, but happy birthday."
What he took out was the birthday present he had been making to give to Somia. White and black cords tied into a ring, with a cord attached to that ring, and at the end a bell of the kind used in the eastern lands. He had made it in imitation of the bracelet she treasured as a bond of her family.
"I used that bracelet as a reference, and I'm not good at crafting, so I wondered whether I should give it…"
"No! I'm really happy! Thank you, Nozomu-san!"
Somia said that and put on the bracelet with the bell. For a girl of her looks it was mismatched and could not be called a fine item, yet Somia was still happily excited. Irisdina also watched her little sister with a smile. Tima and Mars as well had smiles spilling across their faces at that scene.
A day full of ups and downs. Smiles they had once thought they would never see again. The scene that everyone here wanted to protect was certainly there.