Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no “Kokoro”-

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At the moment, Zonne left Arcazam to take Azel, whom he had detained, to the Village of the White Dragon.

According to the story, the Village of the White Dragon was in a place where humans could never go, but to Zonne, it seemed possible to come and go in a short time.

According to Zonne, it was “like going down the river to the next town.”

 

“When the old man said he was going to judge his granddaughter, he was extraordinarily intimidating.”

“Indeed, I felt a shiver run down my spine.”

 

When he was condemning Azel, Zonne was so full of dignity that even Irisdina and the others were amazed.

Zonne nodded at Nozomu's answer and told him that he would take Azel to the village of the White Dragon and pass a judgment there, then he bowed to Nozomu and the others and apologized for his past rudeness and Azel's barbaric behavior.

Finally, he thanked Nozomu and the others and disappeared along with the light.

 

“He thanked Nozomu-san at the end.
For some reason, I can feel he's worried about his granddaughter.”

“And then, the old man left this rock instead.”

 

Mars turned his gaze to the table.

There sat a crystal with a gold ornament inside.
It was Mikael, who had tried to seal Nozomu with Azel in the previous incident.

While Zonne was taking Azel back to the village of the White Dragon, he left the crystal in the care of Irisdina and the others, just in case.

Zonne said to the crystal, “If you want to atone for your sins, lend the boy a hand.”

However, since that incident, Mikael had remained silent.

 

“He hasn't said a word since then, has he?”

“Hmm.
Are you even trying to protect your own daughter?”

 

Mars complained in a grumpy tone to Mikael who remained silent and did not speak.

Behind his words, he was hinting at the idea that atonement might be just a way of making up for his sins.

But Shīna shook her head and denied Mars' words.

 

“No, that's not it.
Maybe he just can't speak.”

“He can't talk, you say? He's a dragon and he was speaking at that time, too, right?

 

With a dubious look on his face, Mars asked Shīna a question.

In fact, at that time, Mars and the others heard Mikael's words in that forest.
It was only natural for Mars to be suspicious of Mikael.

 

“I don't think so.
He was able to speak probably because of Azel's power, wasn't it?”

“What do you mean?”

 

However, this time Tima answered Mars's question.

As Mars tilted his head, Shīna opened her mouth again.

 

“I think Tima-san is right.
Do you remember how the old man said that Mikael is now only for sealing? Literally, he has no other abilities anymore.”

“So you're saying he can't speak of his own accord?”

“Not only that.
It's more natural to assume that he doesn't have all the senses necessary for life.”

 

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According to Shīna, the current Mikael was now blind and deaf.
He had no way of knowing anything about the outside world at all because he didn't have all five senses.

And he probably lived for thousands of years in that state.

Having said that much, Shīna's face contorted into a pained expression.

 

“He probably can't even feel anything anymore.
The feel of the wind caressing his cheek, the warmth of the sun's rays, the sound of a water stream, and the warmth of his loved ones…”

 

Hearing these words, Mars fell silent and his eyes widened.
Then he looked as if he was biting down on a bitter bug.

 

“But how did he end up in such a state?”

“According to the literature, the dragon race, while possessing immense power, is a race that can hardly grow after becoming a mature dragon.”

“Really? That girl's, Azel's, magic was extraordinarily powerful, and she could do anything, including defense, restraint, and wide-area annihilation, you know?

“The reason is that dragons are not directly interfering with the phenomenon.
In spirit magic, it is the role of the spirits to alter the phenomenon, and the dragon race is responsible for providing the power and commands necessary to alter it.”

 

In other words, the dragons were like a huge reservoir, and it seemed that the spirits were the ones who worked with the water that was given to them.
It was magic that could be taken as something that was left to others.

 

“Maybe, as a Dragon, he chose to use his soul to seal Tiamat.
That's why his body became like this.”

“For that reason, he even used his own daughter? What a shitty guy…”

 

This time, Mars turned his eyes toward Mikael.

Mars had been abandoned by his own father, so he must feel the same resentment toward Mikael as he did toward his own father.

 

“No, I don't think so.”

 

However, Mars' remark was denied by a blonde man who had just arrived at the salon.

 

“Father”

“Irisdina, Somiriana, I'm sorry I couldn't do anything when you were going through a tough time.”

 

It was Victor, the head of the Francilt Household.

He walked toward his daughters with a benevolent expression on his face and gently stroked each of their heads with both hands.

Irisdina's face was stained with embarrassment at having her head patted by her own father in front of her friends.

 

“N-, no.
Don't worry about it.
We're okay.”

“So, what do you mean by you don't think so?”

“Ma-, Mars-kun…”

 

Tima tried to stop him while looking flustered at Mars' remark.

But Victor raised his hand and calmed her with a smile, then turned his attention to his daughters beside him.

 

“He can't do anything on his own.
Can't even stroke his daughter's head and comfort her.
As a father, the most frustrating thing in the world is not being able to do anything when your daughter needs help.”

 

Victor gently stroked his daughters' heads again.

Irisdina, who was flustered with embarrassment earlier, sensed her father's sincerity behind the gentle tone and this time accepted Victor's hand obediently.

 

“Perhaps even he wanted to stop her? But he had no way of stopping his daughter.
Because he was in a body that couldn't do anything without his daughter…”

 

He wanted to protect his daughter, but there was nothing he could do.

There was nothing he could do to comfort his daughter with a gentle pat on the head, to play with her and make memories with her, or to correct her mistakes…”

 

“How frustrated and bitter he must have felt.
Wasn't sealing Tiamat the only thing he could do for his daughter? And wasn't sealing Tiamat the only thing the daughter could do for her father?”

 

Of course, that wasn't the only reason.

Mikael became a crystal long before Azel was born.

If Mikael voluntarily transformed himself into a crystal, he would have been prepared to seal Tiamat.

His own determination and helplessness.
His affection for his daughter.
Naturally, he must have also felt conflicted about his former friend.

It was not difficult to imagine that Mikael made this choice after considerable conflict.

 

“In other words.
He betrayed his friend.
Not once, but twice.”

“You've been finding fault with him for quite some time now.
Do you have any particular problems with this crystallized dragon?”

“Hmph.
I just don't like him.”

 

While saying so, Mars roughly grabbed the cup of tea.

After Victor had told him this much, there was no way he couldn't understand the weight of Mikael's choice.
Even Mars had cursed his own helplessness before.

Realizing what he had in common with Mikael, Mars drank the rest of the tea in his cup in one gulp, as if to stifle the bitter emotions that welled up from deep within his chest.

The cold tea calmed his rising anger.
But even so, Mars didn't feel like acknowledging Mikael.

 

“But why in the world would he go to such lengths to seal Tiamat in such a body?”

“I don't know what was in his heart, but at least when I opened the path with him, what I heard was a voice of deep sense of despair and resignation.”

 

Everyone who was there silently looked at the crystal on the table.
A heavy atmosphere filled the salon.

 

“And by the way, Nozomu-kun isn't here, I wonder what's going on~.”

 

Eventually, Mimuru, who could no longer bear the heaviness of the atmosphere, tried to forcibly change the subject.

However, to be honest, her word was like a bomb.

 

“Mi-, Mimuru-san …”

“You really don't read the atmosphere to say that here.”

“E-, eh? What do you mean?”

 

Mimuru, who was unaware of her own remarks, was flustered and her gaze wandered here and there.

The rest of the group, other than her, were sighing as they watched Mimuru.

 

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“Would you understand, if you think about what the person who isn't here was trying to do before being attacked by Azel?”

“The person who isn't here …
ah~ !?”

 

Mimuru finally understood.
She turned her gaze toward the girl whose hair has turned gray and her best friend, the elf girl, while cold sweat poured down her forehead.

Shina didn't seem particularly bothered and was enjoying her freshly brewed tea.

Irisdina, on the other hand, looked somewhat flustered, her fingertips playing with her hair, which has lost its color.

And then she would occasionally look out the window, with a complicated expression on her face for a moment, and then play with her own hair again.
She was repeating the same act again and again.

 

“Umm, Ane-sama?”

“I know.
It's okay, Somia.”

 

Irisdina used to try very hard to suppress her jealousy toward Lisa, but now she seemed to be somewhat relaxed.

However, judging from the expression on her face when she was looking out the window, it seemed that her jealousy was still there.

Irisdina's expression, which changed from one to another, was like that of a dog.
If she had ears and a tail, they would be moving busily.

Mars, Tima, and Feo looked at her who was like that.

 

“Somehow, Irisdina's mood has been fluctuating, hasn't it?”

“That ashen hair.
I think she thinks of it as proof that she was able to help Nozomu.
It seems she's still jealous of Lisa…”

“A maiden in love~”

 

In response to the remarks of the three of them, a vein popped across Victor's forehead.

The smile that had been benevolent earlier turned strangely black, and his mouth began to twitch.

 

“I-, Irisdina, is your hair all right?”

“Ah, yes, Father.
It's just a loss of pigmentation, and the doctor said that there's no particular health problem.
But, I don't know when it will return to normal…”

 

Contrary to her disappointed tone, Irisdina's expression was somewhat happy.

Her cheeks were stained red as she gently and lovingly combed her ashen hair with her fingertips.

 

“U-, uoo————! How lovely my daughter is! That damn brat, how dare he take away my daughter's most precious thing!”

 

At that moment, Irisdina's father snapped.
With a yell, he clasped his hands and thrust them up.
Then, looking somewhat chagrined, he began to stamp his feet on the ground.

Everyone present was wide-eyed at the sudden start of Viktor's eccentric behavior.

 

“Most precious thing?”

“Of course, her first…”

“Wha~, father! Please stop making misleading remarks!”

 

Mimuru smirked at Somia's innocent question and tried to teach her extra knowledge, while Irisdina tried to stop her father's strange behavior and remarks.

Meanwhile, the other members of the group were watching the situation unfold.
Their eyes blink over and over due to the sudden turn of events.

 

“Well, they say hair is a woman's life, and there's no doubt it's an important part of it.”

“What does she mean by 'misunderstanding'? Ai, what did you imagine?”

“Who knows.
There is no doubt that it's a sensual thing.
Did she think she could hide it now?”

 

Mars, Tima, and Feo start talking with each other while watching the Francillt parent and children who started making a fuss noisily.

When Mars glanced toward Shina, she stopped like a sculpture, her face turned bright red as she tilted her cup.
Apparently, she had imagined something naughty due to Feo's earlier comment.

Then Tom, Mimuru, and Somia joined the three of them in their conversation.

 

“I mean, the head of this household, he was such a man, wasn't he? How is he going to make Nozomu-kun take responsibility?

“Well, if a man talks about taking responsibility, of course, it's about marriage! Am I right~ Tom!”

 

The wildcat girl suddenly shook her lover and talk about how to take responsibility.

Mimuru started talking to Somia and making a passionate speech about how a man should take responsibility, and Somia just nodded her head.

 

“U-, umm.
Is that how it is?”

“Of course it is!”

“Now that it comes to this, let our entire Francillt Household do everything in our power to socially obliterate that brat, and let him choose between seppuku or beheading…”

“Sorry, how about harakiri?…”

 

However, it seems that there was a deeper difference between Mimuru and Victor than the valley in terms of taking responsibility.
Nevertheless, both were doomed.

 

“Father, enough, already!”

 

The next moment, with her face bright red, Irisdina's fist plunged deeply into Victor's cheek.

The punch, which was so brilliant that everyone in the room was in awe, was so powerful that it was hard to believe that it had come from a girl's slender arms.

Victor's body crashed through the window and was thrown out of the mansion.
Then, *crash!*.
The sound of something crashing to the ground could be heard.

By the way, the salon is located on the third floor of the Francilt mansion.
Normally, there was no doubt that he would fall and die.

 

“Mena, where are you, Mena? This is a serious matter! Gather all the forces you can!”

 

However, it didn't seem to hurt Victor in any way.
He was downstairs, and a loud voice calling for Mena echoed.

Or rather, how could he be unharmed after being knocked down from the third floor?

 

“Today I understand.
My true enemy is not the Fabran Household, with whom I am at odds in my hometown, but a single schoolboy named Nozomu Bountis!”

 

Victor angrily called all the servants in the mansion, telling them that Nozomu was more of a threat than his political enemy, and he was about to carry out a campaign to destroy Nozomu in the middle of the garden.

Furthermore, if he thought he didn't have enough people, he even started saying that he should involve the Military Police and Jihad.
Mars and the others pulled in their cheeks at the sight of this.

It goes without saying after that.

Irisdina, who was angry with Victor, who was trying to involve not only the servants of the entire mansion but also the whole Arcazam with his strange charisma, charged at him from the third floor with her face turning bright red.
A fierce father-daughter quarrel broke out.

Irisdina, looking embarrassed and angry, thrust her rapier, and Viktor, out of love for his daughter, repelled it with his bare hands.

When the father, unable to leave his daughter alone, tried to hug Irisdina and begged her not to leave, the daughter looked very disgusted and ran away, kicking her father in the face.
Such a commotion unfolded endlessly.

And in the background, Mena was nonchalantly urging the servants to get ready to clean up the mess.

In the end, for the next hour or so, until the two important figures had run out of steam, the Francilt mansion was filled with the sound of explosions.