After classes ended, Nozomu came to the central park of Arcazam. The park had been built to surround the academy. On weekdays students gathered here and let conversations bloom, while on holidays various stalls lined the paths and the place became a restful spot for the townspeople.
Nozomu had come simply to think. Lying on one of the park benches, he turned over the same thoughts he had already considered countless times. Who he had been until now, and who he would become from here on. The words his master had left behind and the dragon's power that lived inside him. His relationship with Lisa. Yet no matter how long he thought, he still could not see what he should do next. That was only natural. He had only just begun to face the present.
When he looked back on how he had kept running away, he could not simply accept staying the way he was. And yet…
Nozomu recalled the great dragon that dwelled within him. A being that could swallow, devour, and destroy everything. Even after the battle with Sino, that overwhelming presence still reigned inside him without change. His face twisted. Anyone watching would have seen how painful the expression was. Whenever he thought about what would happen to him once the existence of that overwhelming power became known, he found himself unable to take the next step.
Solminati Academy had been founded and was maintained by the investments of every nation on the continent. The people it trained would one day influence international affairs, so the school always drew the attention of governments, and political maneuvering, both open and hidden, never ceased.
If a Dragonslayer, something that had not appeared for centuries, were to show up in such a hotspot…
To Nozomu, Tiamat was a massive wedge driven into his heart, not only in the physical sense but in the mental one as well.
"Nozomu-san, what are you doing?"
While he was still wrestling with his thoughts, a voice suddenly called out to him.
Looking to the side, he saw a girl of about ten years old holding a black cat in her arms and peering at him.
"You were making a really difficult face. Are you all right?"
The girl looked genuinely worried. Nozomu hurriedly smoothed his expression and gave her a small smile.
"Yeah. I'm fine, Somia-chan."
Her full name was Somiliana. Their first meeting went back to the time when Nozomu had somehow managed to advance into the third year.
After barely passing the make-up exams at the end of the school year and securing his promotion by the thinnest of margins, the academy went on a short break while the year changed. During that brief holiday Nozomu went for a walk through the town. He stopped at a stall in the civilian district's park and bought lunch: wheat bread stuffed with vegetables and sausage. As he strolled along eating it, a young girl came into view. She was looking up at a tree in the park and seemed flustered. No one else was near her, and she clearly could not handle the situation alone. With no other choice, Nozomu approached and called out.
"Something wrong?"
"Eh?"
The girl noticed his voice and turned. She looked about ten, with glossy black hair cut neatly around her shoulders and striking deep-black eyes. She was a pretty child, though her features were still very much those of her age.
"Um… I was playing with Kuro-chan, but…"
She looked up at the tree again. Nozomu followed her gaze and saw a black cat on one of the branches. That was apparently the Kuro in question. The cat was batting at something up there.
"That's my bracelet. Kuro-chan really likes it. Come on, Kuro-chan, give it back!"
The black cat seemed to have taken a strong liking to the bracelet and was playing with it while completely ignoring the girl.
"Guess I have no choice."
Nozomu finished the rest of his bread in a couple of bites and started climbing the tree. The black cat noticed him, raised its tail, and grew wary.
"Just give up and hand it over."
He reached the height where the cat sat and tried to grab it, but the animal hissed, "Fssshhh!" and swung its claws in resistance.
"Hey! Stop thrashing around!"
"Fgyaah!"
The cat resisted even harder and finally leapt at him. High in the tree Nozomu could barely move, so the cat scratched him freely.
"Ow ow ow! You damn cat!"
A full-scale brawl broke out on the narrow branch. Nozomu could hardly maneuver, while the cat acted as if that had nothing to do with it and kept clawing away. Little by little Nozomu's balance failed. The branch creaked under the strain until it finally snapped with a sharp crack.
"Whoa!"
"Nya-nya!"
Gravity pulled both of them straight toward the ground. True to its nature, the black cat twisted in mid-air and landed neatly in the girl's arms. Nozomu, unable to right himself, crashed awkwardly into the dirt and let out a pathetic "Guh!" as he curled up on the ground.
"…Um… are you okay?"
"…Yeah… I'm fine."
He answered with forced toughness and somehow managed to stand. She looked at him with clear concern. Remembering the undignified scene he had just made, Nozomu felt a wave of embarrassment.
"More importantly, is the bracelet okay?"
The black cat was still batting at the bracelet in the girl's arms, but the ornament itself seemed unharmed.
"Thank goodness. Thank you so much."
She smiled with pure relief, a smile like a flower blooming. That innocent expression drew a natural smile from Nozomu as well, something he had not shown in a long time. After losing Sino and his place in the world, his heart had grown taut without him even noticing.
"Ah, I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself. My name is Somiliana. My friends call me Somia!"
"I'm Nozomu Bountis. Just Nozomu is fine. Somia-chan… is that okay?"
"Yes! Nice to meet you, Nozomu-san!"
"Nice to meet you too."
While they introduced themselves, Nozomu noticed her uniform. It belonged to Ecross, the affiliated elementary school of Solminati Academy that mainly enrolled children around the age of ten. Ecross had been founded to give promising children early elite education so they could develop higher abilities. Children of important figures from various nations and those born with rare abilities were gathered from across the continent to study there.
"So you're a student at Ecross, Somia-chan."
"Yes! I'll be a fifth-year this year."
Ecross was a six-year school, which meant she had already received at least five years of elite training.
Being accepted into Ecross was the same as having one's talent recognized by the various nations. It was a world of difference from a perpetual failure like himself, Nozomu thought.
"But Nozomu-san, you're a student at Solminati Academy, right?"
She asked with a smile as bright as a sunflower.
"Yeah. Though I'm still pretty green. My rank is the lowest of the ten ranks."
"Is that so? Then we're the same! I'm still not very good either!"
Somia stuck out her tongue a little and answered shyly. She was a very expressive girl. Looking at that smile somehow gave Nozomu a small boost of energy.
(Somehow I feel like Somia-chan and Anri-sensei would get along well.)
He thought of his homeroom teacher. Her easygoing nature and Somia's sunny personality seemed like they would mesh.
"By the way, Somia-chan, do you have some kind of goal? You said you're 'still not very good,' so I kind of got that feeling."
"Yes! My goal is my big sister!"
When he asked about that "big sister," Somia grew even more talkative and her smile brightened by half again.
"Onee-sama is strong." "Onee-sama is so cool." "Onee-sama is kind."
The person in question was clearly highly capable, and it was obvious even to an outsider how deeply Somia admired and looked up to her. At the same time she worried just as much, fretting over whether her sister was pushing herself, whether she was injured, or whether some strange man had gotten hold of her.
From what Somia said, her sister seemed to be the same type, so the two of them were like peas in a pod.
"Speaking of which, this black cat is still playing."
Nozomu looked at the cat in Somia's arms. It was still batting at the bracelet. Looking closer, he could see the delicate decoration and the small matching bell attached to it. Even to an untrained eye it was clearly valuable.
"That bracelet looks pretty precious. What is it?"
"Ah, this bracelet has been passed down in my family for generations. It's said to be something that ties the bonds of the family together. As long as you have it, even if you get separated you'll always meet again someday."
"Huh. That's a pretty heartwarming legend."
"Yes! It was originally sitting unused in the family storehouse, but Onee-sama gave it to me. She said she hoped our bond would continue even if I ever left home."
She spoke about the bracelet with genuine happiness. The legend was nice, but more than that she probably wanted to feel the connection to her family. By always wearing the bracelet that carried the story of bonds, she could keep her family close.
While they talked she remembered the cat still playing with the bracelet and took it back.
"Ah, right. That's enough, Kuro-chan."
When she took the bracelet, the black cat still seemed to want to play and flailed its paws like a baby whose toy had been taken away.
"That's one energetic tomcat."
"Eh?"
"I mean, it stole its owner's belongings, played with them for ages, and still isn't satisfied…"
"…Um…"
Somia looked like she was having trouble saying something.
"Nozomu-san… Kuro-chan is a girl…"
"…Huh?"
"I mean, she's a girl."
So the black cat was female. Between its rowdy behavior and the full-scale fight it had put up in the tree, Nozomu had been certain it was a male.
(Normally "Kuro" is a name you give to a male cat, isn't it?)
"Uh… why is its name Kuro, then?"
"Eh? Because it's cute, right? It just felt right somehow."
"…I-I see."
Apparently her naming sense was a little off-kilter.
"Ah, and Kuro-chan's owner isn't me. I think this one is a stray."
According to her, she had started seeing the cat around the Ecross school building from time to time, and they had begun playing together after that.
"Huh, so it's a stray. It seemed pretty attached to you, Somia-chan, so I assumed you were the one keeping it…"
The moment Nozomu reached out a hand toward Kuro—
"Shaaaah!"
"Ow!"
The cat suddenly scratched his hand.
"Ah! Are you okay? Kuro-chan is picky and never warms up to people she doesn't like."
"Ow ow ow. Is that so?"
"Yes. Every boy in my class was rejected. Girls are fine, though…"
(So it's just that guys are no good, huh…)
Apparently the black cat only took to girls. While Nozomu rubbed the scratched hand and looked at Kuro, the cat sat calmly in Somia's arms, the very picture of a borrowed cat. When it noticed Nozomu watching, it pointedly turned its face away and settled comfortably against Somia.
(This little…!)
Nozomu glared, but the cat itself (the cat itself?) completely ignored him and tried to play with the bracelet again.
"Hey, no, Kuro-chan!"
In a certain sense it was a very cat-like cat.
After that another full-scale battle broke out between Kuro, who wanted to play with the bracelet, and Nozomu, who tried to stop it. The fact that both of them (one person and one animal, if you prefer) ended up being scolded together by a ten-year-old is, of course, pure digression.
That was how Nozomu and Somia first met. Afterward they ran into each other in the park several times and exchanged small talk. Occasionally the one-person-and-one-animal battles still broke out, of course.
"By the way, Somia-chan. Your birthday is coming up soon, right?"
"Yes! I'll be eleven soon!"
She said it cheerfully with her usual bright smile, but the next moment a shadow crossed her face.
"But even though it's my birthday, Father doesn't seem able to come home."
According to her, her father was always busy and almost never returned. Her mother had already passed away, so the only family she had was her older sister.
"B-but Onee-sama is going to throw a birthday party for me!"
Somia smiled again, pushing the loneliness down inside and acting bright.
(…She's a strong kid…)
Thinking back, when Nozomu had been around her age he had still clung to his parents a lot more. Watching her hold herself together so bravely made him feel both admiration and sadness. Having no one to lean on when you needed to lean was a painful thing.
Nozomu remembered his own situation. At the academy he had been isolated, unable to rely on anyone, turning his eyes away, stretched so tight he could have snapped at any moment.
In that state, how much had the single word "Welcome home" from his master, and the hug that came with it, saved him?
He had been able to remember the warmth of human affection he had forgotten.
His frozen heart had been gently thawed, and he had been able to cry as hard as he needed to.
In that moment he had truly felt that he was not alone.
Because his master had accepted him, he had finally been able to take on that person's final wish.
He had been able to speak honestly, clash with everything he had, and face that person with true sincerity.
And he had been taught something important… so that he could move forward.
"If it's your birthday, Somia-chan, I should prepare a present too."
"Eh, really?!"
She clearly had not expected him to offer a present. Her face lit up with a full, beaming smile.
"Yeah. I can't get anything fancy, but I'll find something good in my own way."
"Yes! I'm looking forward to it!!"
This time there was no trace of the earlier lonely shadow on her face. She really did look like the sun.
(Good. No one wants to see a good kid like her making a dark face.)
Seeing that smile, Nozomu felt the tension leave his shoulders.
"By the way, did you have some kind of errand today?"
Ecross's dismissal time had long since passed, so Nozomu could not figure out why Somia was still here.
"Yes, I came to pick up Onee-sama!"
(Her sister… the person she was praising so much when we first met. Come to think of it, I never asked for details about her older sister.)
Seeing her in the park beside the academy after school hours, he guessed her sister might be connected to the school.
"Somia-chan, is your sister at Solminati Academy?"
"Yes, Onee-sama is a student at Solminati Academy just like you, Nozomu-san!"
"Huh… (wait a second)"
Nozomu looked at Somia's face. Glossy black hair, deep black eyes, refined features. In her face he suddenly saw the shadow of a certain person.
"Hey, Somia-chan, is your sister by any chance—"
"Somia, sorry for making you wait."
A sudden voice made Nozomu turn, and his entire body froze.
Long straight black hair that reached her waist. Features so perfect they hardly seemed real, and the same deep black eyes. Her face was dignified, and the aura that clung to her graceful figure looked like something only the chosen could wear.
It was Irisdina Francilt, the top student of the third year at Solminati Academy.