Ryuu Kusari no Ori -Kokoro no Uchi no “Kokoro”- [LN] Volume 1: Chapter 5.3

[LN] Volume 1: Chapter 5.3

This chapter was brought to you by the collaboration between PolterGlast and Saekano Translations.
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Volume 1 Chapter 5.3
With a Legacy in one's Heart Part 3
Translator : PolterGlast
At the same time when Nozomu was eating Hanna's food, in the kitchen, Mars was diligently washing the pile of dishes that had been given to him as a punishment.
Next to him, a huge man, taller than Mars, was silently stirring the frying pan over the fire.
The huge man's name is Dell Dickens. He is Hanna's husband and the store's owner.
Mars had been subjected to a preaching session by Hanna until just a few minutes ago and was finally freed from it when Del finished the dishes he was preparing for Nozomu because she had to deliver them to him.
However, as punishment, Hanna smacked him on the head with a frying pan, leaving a large bump on Mars' head.
"Good grief, how long are you going to keep screwing around like this?"
Hearing what Mars had done to Nozomu, Dell was taken aback.
He was so shocked that he thought that Mars had indeed gone too far this time, and Mars had no choice but to keep silent.
"Is he the reason you've been acting so strange lately?"
The silence that followed and the awkwardly averted gaze clearly confirmed that Dell's point was spot on.
"That boy, Nozomu-kun, was it? From the looks of it, you probably lost to that kid, didn't you?"
"Wha!"
Mars was surprised to hear that fact. He had told them that he tailed Nozomu and started a fight with him, but he had never told anyone about who won or who lost.
Mars let out a surprised voice, while Del sighed heavily as if to say, "What is there to be surprised about?".
"How many years do you think I've been your foster father? I know how much you hate losing."
"You're wrong!"
"Then why are you so worked up?"
"... I just wanted to know why he managed to become that strong ......"
Mars turned his head away and muttered so.
Dell let out a loud sigh once again upon seeing this.
Mars had a hard time showing his honesty to Hanna and Ena as well. His pride came into play, as well as his conviction that he should be the one to protect them.
Moreover, his dark past made it difficult for him to show his inner feelings to others.
However, even Mars, who couldn't be honest, sometimes opened his heart to Dell to some extent.
For Mars, Dell is an irreplaceable family member, a dependable father figure, and in a sense, one of his role models. Even though they are not related by blood.
"If that's the case, why don't you just say so? Why don't you just ask him about it from the beginning?"
"... There is no way I can ask such a question after all these years. Besides, he probably thinks of me as nothing more than a good-for-nothing delinquent."
Words of resignation escaped from Mars' mouth. He would never show this weak, helpless figure to anyone other than his foster father.
"What the-, so you are aware that you are a delinquent?"
Dell laughed off his son's words.
"Are you making fun of me!?"
"Well, seeing you like this after all this time, makes me start to think you've got jellyfish growing inside your head."
"Of course not!"
"You think you're so great to be able to attend the best school in the continent, Solminati Academy, and yet you stumble and get all worked up over trivial things like this. You really haven't changed, have you?"
"... Hmph."
He would laugh at his son's good points, bad points, and mistakes with silly jokes, accepting them without approving or denying them. What lay behind those words was a parental concern that he would be watching him carefully. Dell knew that his son was not by nature a bad person.
Mars has had his share of relationships with bad people in the past, but he never crossed the line that he really shouldn't have crossed.
At the same time, Mars never opened up to anyone but his family.
Neither Hanna nor Dell were Mars and Ena's biological parents.
After their mother died and their father abandoned them, Hanna and Dell adopted them.
This past still cast a shadow over the siblings' hearts.
That was why Del was happy that Mars brought an acquaintance of his own age to this inn. He was hoping that perhaps he could become a friend to this twisted son of his. Despite these hopeful feelings, Dell told Mars to do what he had to do.
"Well, at least make sure you apologize properly for what you did to him."
"Yeah, I know."
Despite his blunt tone of reply, Mars' voice had regained some of its vigors, albeit only a little.
With Mars once again concentrating on washing the dishes, Dell's stern face was slightly turned into a smile as he chopped up the steaks he had just grilled.
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The Inside of Ox-head Pavilion was rather empty when Nozomu visited, but as it got darker outside, the place gradually became filled with the hustle and bustle that one would expect from a tavern.
Nozomu, who was completely satisfied with his dinner, decided it was time to leave, as he felt it would be bad to stay too long seeing the number of customers increasing.
"Sorry for the inconvenience. The food was delicious."
"Don't worry about it. It was my son who caused you trouble."
As Nozomu thanked the owner, the well-dressed proprietress laughed and waved her hand, telling him not to worry about it.
"By all means, please come again. You ate quite well. So I'm glad it was worth the effort."
"Nozomu-san. My brother may cause you trouble again, but please take care of him."
Dell wore a smile that did not suit his stern face, and Ena bowed her head to Nozomu once again.
"Look, Mars. You're the one who caused all this trouble, so make sure you get him back to his dormitory."
"I know ......"
After being jabbed by Hanna, Mars stepped forward with a wry smile on his face.
Nozomu almost burst out laughing at Mars who had a bump on his head, but he bowed his head to Hanna and the others and started on his way home.
The two of them proceeded nonchalantly, side by side, on their way back to the dormitory.
On their way, both Nozomu and Mars were silent.
Until now, Mars had only been cursing Nozomu, and Nozomu had never had a proper conversation with Mars, so it was understandable.
As if to break the silence, it was Mars who spoke first.
"Ahh ...... Sorry ...... for all the things I've done."
While scratching his cheeks, Mars awkwardly expressed his apologies.
Nozomu was certainly angry that he had been attacked, and he had his share of complaints about how he had been treated at the school.
However, since he apologized directly, Nozomu took the matter into consideration.
Despite the feelings swirling in the pit of his stomach, Nozomu now understood that Mars was lowering his head because he was sincerely feeling sorry for what he had done.
"You've apologized to me. That's enough."
"Is that so? Thanks ......."
Mars breathed a sigh of relief in response to Nozomu's words about accepting his apology.
Of course, witnessing Mars' sister verbally abusing him so harshly was one of the reasons for Nozomu's decision to relax his distrust of him.
The sight of Mars' disgraceful behavior replaying in his mind almost made him burst into a chuckle.
"You just thought of something strange, didn't you?"
Perhaps sensing Nozomu's unpleasant thoughts through his instincts, Mars asked him with a suspicious look in his eyes.
"Well, I just wondered if I would be humane enough to further criticize someone who had already been so tattered by his own sister ...... -pfft."
On the other hand, Nozomu couldn't hold back and unintentionally burst out into choked laughter.
"Y-, you! You laughed at me just now!"
"Now, now. You're right, it's hard to forget something that has that kind of impact. I might even laugh again if I were to remember it in the future......"
The sight of Nozomu chuckling, perhaps remembering something humiliating about Mars, caused Mars' face to turn bright red.
"F-, forget it, forget it now! Forget it this instant!"
"Wha, oi! What are you doing!?"
Mars, without showing any mercy or shame, came storming toward Nozomu, and Nozomu desperately tried to escape from his clutches.
The two were making a racket, and their shouts echoed through the commercial district at night.
Fortunately, the hustle and bustle in this district never died down, even at night.
And then they realized that both Nozomu and Mars had forgotten all the reservedness they felt toward each other.
At the same time, Nozomu felt nostalgia and joy at such an unreserved banter. He had only one person with whom he could make a noise like this without worrying about his surroundings. It was his late master.
The two of them were ranting and shouting as they walked amidst the hustle and bustle of the commercial district. They looked like a pair of best friends who were on good terms with each other.
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It had been a few days since Nozomu had reconciled with Mars. During this time, Nozomu's treatment in the class had changed considerably.
This was because Mars, who had previously detested Nozomu the most, began to talk to him more often.
Students in the tenth class are usually ignored and treated with contempt by students in all other classes. This is one of the downsides of Solminati Academy, which emphasizes a thorough meritocracy. The only outlet for these students who were treated as failures was Nozomu, who was always at the bottom of the class.
However, once Mars, who currently belongs to the tenth class but is comparable to the upper classes in terms of ability, started talking with Nozomu, those who had been hurling abuses at Nozomu were no longer able to touch him.
As a result, the students who had been relieving their stress by using Nozomu were no longer able to directly touch him, but only to glare at him from a distance.
Mars also began to distance himself from his cronies, who had been hanging around him until now. Originally, his cronies had only gathered around him on their own accord, and as soon as Mars became involved with Nozomu, they soon left the group.
Mars began to interact with Nozomu in practical classes and other activities, and inevitably, the two spent more time together at the school.
Anri, who had been worried about Nozomu, who had always been alone, was happy to hear this fact.
"I'm so happy~~! That Nozomu-kun and Mars-kun became such good friends~~~~!"
One day, Nozomu was abducted by Anri, and they had lunch together in the infirmary. By the way, Mars, who was abducted by Anri as well as Nozomu, was also in the infirmary.
Anri's excitement was at its climax right from the start, and she exuded a more cheerful atmosphere than ever around her.
"T-, thanks......"
"Hmm......"
Nozomu was a little taken aback by Anri's overly high excitement. Mars, on the other hand, was wearing a blank expression, and was chomping down on a sandwich for lunch.
"Now, now. I am also glad that Nozomu-kun and Mars-kun have become friends. Anri was concerned not only about Nozomu-kun, but also about Mars-kun, you know. She even told me Mars-kun was actually not a bad boy."
Next to the overly excited Anri, Norn, the doctor in charge of the infirmary, was bringing the lunch that she had prepared to her mouth in the same manner as Mars.
"What does that mean?"
On the other hand, Mars looked a little surprised upon hearing Norn's words.
It had been only a few days since Anri had become the homeroom teacher for the tenth class, and Mars was too infamous for being a delinquent.
In such a situation, Mars himself could not believe that Anri had made such an assessment of him.
"You know~~. Mars-kun, since the end of the second grade, you stopped making fun of Nozomu-kun unlike the other children, didn't you~? Besides, it seems that you have reflected on what you did to Nozomu-kun and reconciled with him~."
In response to Mars' question, Anri herself answered.
Her words firmly pointed out the changes in Mars from the end of the second grade to the beginning of the third grade. In contrast to her languid behavior, Anri's precise observations made Mars fall silent.
"There is no way such a boy is a bad boy~~."
Although it would be hard to imagine from her usual words and actions, this woman is also a talented young woman who is assigned to be a teacher at this academy.
Mars, on the other hand, turned his face away from her, but his face was red and it was obvious that he was embarrassed. At that moment, the door to the infirmary rattled open.
"Excuse me, Norn-sensei, are you here?"
"A......"
A beautiful girl with long lustrous black hair and deep jet-black eyes entered the room. It was Irisdina Francilt.
"We have an injured person. Could you please ...... treat her?"
Irisdina's gaze fixed on Nozomu, who was having lunch in the infirmary.
Nozomu's train of thought recalled the awkward parting they had had in the central park.
"...... It's been a while, Nozomu-kun."
"U-, umm ......."
Irisdina's sharp gaze pierced through Nozomu.
A friendly, but intimidating smile on a face reminiscent of a goddess.
Nozomu's face twitched as cold sweat broke out on his forehead from the intense pressure that was suddenly directed at him.
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