READ WEBNOVEL Volume 4 Chapter 5.2
Acceleration to Collapse Part 2
Translator : PolterGlast
Central Park after school. It was already dark and rain was beginning to fall.
The usually popular outer perimeter of the park was deserted, and the wooded area was naturally empty of people. Nozomu was sheltering from the rain at the base of a tree in the wooded area, waiting for Camilla's arrival.
With a rustling sound, a girl with short, brown-colored hair emerged from the trees.
"Good, you're here......"
"You have something to talk about, right? I wanted to talk to you too."
A brief silence. Camilla closed her eyes once, took a deep breath, and silently opened her mouth.
"............We don't have much time, so I'll tell you first. About the reason why I was cooperating with Ken."
"We don't have much time?"
"I've been on the Starlight's radar since freshman year......"
"Starlight?"
"This city's intelligence organization. It would not be strange if there was one, would it? It's true that this city has released the results of its research to other countries, but not about criminals and illegal organizations."
Camilla is right.
The question is, why is she being monitored by such an intelligence organization?
Camilla looked downward once, licked her lower lip as if preparing herself, and began to speak eloquently.
"I come from a rather special family. The Empire's ......."
"The Empire's ......?"
The Cremazzone Empire is a gigantic empire that governs the southwestern part of the Arcmel Continent. It is one of the most powerful nations on the continent. On the other hand, it has taken a step back when it comes to the management of Arcazam.
This is because they are wary of the Forsina Kingdom, the Alliance of Small Nations, and the Sumahya Union.
Prior to the Great Invasion, the Empire was the most powerful hegemonic power on the Arkmel Continent, and it made various overbearing demands on neighboring nations.
However, hegemonic nations are prone to internal strife because they lack external threats. The Cremazzone Empire is no exception to this rule, and has always been politically divided, and furthermore, its national power was severely weakened by the Great Invasion.
Nowadays, when neighboring countries unite, since eliminating them single-handedly would be difficult, the empire in its decline has been forced to adopt a course of cooperation with them.
"Yes. According to the school's records, I was born in a free city in the Delta Zone. I did live there, but I actually used to live in the Empire when I was a child."
As a result, many of the Empire's citizens in Arcazam had to leave their homeland for a variety of reasons.
Naturally, some have their own reasons. Camilla was one of them.
"And I have a bit of a history with Lisa, too......"
After saying this, Camilla reached into her pocket. She took out a rainbow-colored comb. It was a side comb, imbued with magic power and clearly a magical tool.
"This's ......"
"A rainbow-colored crown shell comb. This comb is a magical tool that can change the hair color and appearance of the person whose hair is combed through it."
The comb was old and chipped in several places. Camilla began to comb her hair by brushing it to the side.
Then, her brown-colored hair began to turn red from the roots, and gradually turned into a greyish-red color.
The color of her eyes also changed, and her facial features resembled those of someone Nozomu knew.
"That hair color, it looks a lot like Lisa's. Don't tell me-......." "Yeah. That's right. We are cousins."
Nozomu's eyes widened at the sudden confession, but he took a deep breath once to calm his shaken mind.
"Does Lisa know about this?"
"No. Nor does she know that she has a cousin. If she knew in the first place, she wouldn't want to be with me."
"Why?"
"Because it's our fault that Lisa's father died......"
Nozomu couldn't comprehend those words for a moment.
He heard that Lisa's father had died before they both met, but he did not know the cause of his death.
However, the presence of her late father was very significant in Lisa's mind and was the reason for her to become an adventurer and to come to Arcazam.
What do you mean by that?
At Nozomu's questioning look, Camilla frowned and cast her eyes downward as she tried to squeeze the words out of her mouth.
"Lisa's father, who was an adventurer, and my mother were brother and sister, and were nobles of the Empire. How much do you know about the Empire?"
Nozomu didn't know much more than what was written in the textbooks.
A superpower that has ruled the southwestern part of the continent for hundreds of years. A land of sand and rock, prairies, and volcanoes. A land that continues to influence the entire continent, both historically and culturally. Also, although it supported the construction of Arcazam, it has kept its distance from it.
"Also, the fact that religiously, they don't worship spirits like other countries, but rather Dragon Slayers ......."
The main religious belief on this continent is animism centered on the spirits of the six attributes: earth, water, fire, wind, light, and darkness.
However, the Empire is different. Since its founding, humans, known as Dragon Slayers, have been deified rather than spirits.
This is because the first emperor, a Dragon Slayer, had conquered various tribes that were in rivalry for power, and as a result, the empire prospered.
He had children with many women and gave each tribe a role and privileges.
As a Dragon Slayer himself, Nozomu was curious about this country, but he chose to listen to Camilla's story for now.
"Originally, Uncle was a rather curious person, and as an aristocrat, he didn't care much about his status. That's why he didn't get along with his family and left home as soon as he came of age. After becoming an adventurer, he met Lisa's mother, whom he married and had a child with."
A yearning for the outside world. Nozomu felt that his father was very similar to Lisa in this respect.
"My mother and Uncle were very close. Even after my mother came of age and married into another family, they still secretly exchanged letters about their lives. But ......"
Camilla's voice sank and her gaze cast downward.
"My mother left the Empire a few years after I was born. I don't know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that she lost her place. I heard that after my mother gave birth to me, she became unable to bear children."
The Empire is a nation that places great importance on bloodlines, and aristocratic women are expected to bear many children.
Therefore, the status of women who could no longer bear children tended to be relatively low. Camilla's mother was apparently one such woman.
"I don't remember much about my time in the Empire. But I do remember my mother desperately running away from her pursuers in the desert under the cover of darkness. I also remember the man who helped us ......"
Once they were caught, they would be killed. With grave expressions on her face, Camilla's mother was fleeing from her pursuers with her young child in her arms. Just before the blade caught her, a red-haired man intervened to protect them.
"Leanback Hounds. Lisa's father, my mother's brother. The man who saved my life. But because of that, Uncle was ......."
Leanback managed to fight off their pursuers, but the wounds he sustained at the time cost him his life shortly afterward. Since they were on the run, Camilla and her mother were unable to even take the remains, and they kept on running away with a guilty feeling. Thanks to their efforts, the two mothers and daughters apparently managed to escape to a free city in the Delta Zone, where they were able to survive.
Meanwhile, the remains of the deceased Leanback were later found by Lisa and her mother, and she learned of her father's death.
The story behind how Lisa, her mother, and her sister returned to her mother's hometown, Oire village.
"I, we killed Lisa's father. So I thought I should protect her in his stead this time......"
"......Did you come to Arcazam with such an intention from the very beginning?"
"No, of course not. The first reason I came here was so my mother could protect me. And to gain the strength to protect myself. That's why I changed my hair color using my mother's memento......"
"Memento? Then, your mother is-......"
"......She died in an epidemic just before I came to this academy."
While saying so, Camilla sadly caressed the rainbow-colored comb in her hand.
"There was no one I could rely on. That's why I didn't trust strangers. Until I met Lisa here......"
Camilla was originally quite an outcast in her class during her freshman year because of her brash and aggressive behavior.
The first person who approached her was Lisa. She was the daughter of the man who saved her life.
"I heard about Lisa from Leanback-sama during the short time we were on the run from the Empire. He has a daughter the same age as mine. If everything is going well, I would like to be friends with her......"
What a miraculous coincidence that would be. Having survived at the expense of her benefactor's life, and having lost even her only immediate family, she had met a [family] that she had little chance of ever meeting.
"Truly, she looked a lot like Uncle. She had a carefree smile and a warm heart that could share her strength with anyone. That's why I wanted to protect Lisa ...... the only family I had left."
It was very similar to the wish that Nozomu had, to support her dreams.
"But I couldn't do it. Because that guy, Ken and Mefi knew my true identity......"
Ken, who had somehow learned Camilla's identity, forced her to cooperate with him in order to bring down Nozomu.
"The summer of the first year. Around the time your Ability Suppression was manifested, he called me and threatened me. He told me to cooperate with him if I didn't want him to reveal my true identity to the Empire. That's when I learned about the existence of the Starlight and that I was being monitored......"
In the face of the malice that confronted her, she flashed back to the past when she and her mother were almost killed.
Even if she tried to resist, she was up against a substandard human being who could contract with spirits. Combined with her doubt and suspicion about her exposed origins, she was so frustrated that she ended up cooperating with Ken.
Naturally, she was tormented by guilt. Even so, she did not run away because she felt she had to protect Lisa at least somehow.
"How did Ken know about your past?"
"He probably had Starlight find out information about me. I believe that since he could make a contract with a spirit, someone would definitely help him behind the scenes. I've actually seen Ken have some sort of interaction with a couple of hooded men......"
"Oi, then meeting like this is also-......"
"Frankly, I think it's dangerous......"
Camilla faced down and for a moment looked as if she had given up. But she quickly regained her composure and lifted her head.
"You don't need to worry about me. The problem is Lisa. Her memories are currently being altered by Mefi and Ken. Even what happened in the Spasim forest, she believed that you never come in the first place."
Nozomu had a hunch himself.
When they fought in the Spasim Forest, that spirit tried to destroy Nozomu's spirit and cripple him.
Furthermore, it even manipulated an extraordinary existence known as the Cracked-Crown Giant Centipede. Even Razward himself said that the ability to manipulate the mind itself was extraordinary. So, manipulating memories should be a simple task for it.
After thinking this through, Nozomu let out a deep breath.
"Why are you talking to me now?"
"I think if it's the current you ...... you would never hurt Lisa. You're not the same as when you pointed your sword at Lisa in the Spasim forest at that time. And also, it was because I saw Irisdina-san and the others' appearance in the arena, I think."
The recent mock combat came back to Camilla's mind.
The girls who rushed to Nozomu, who had fought until his spirit and soul were exhausted and had collapsed. The desperate expressions on their faces, which they show only because they truly care about Nozomu. She has no connection to them, and yet she longed to see this scene, a scene she once saw a long time ago.
"I've only ever seen two people who act with such sincerity toward someone else. Uncle and Mom. The fact that they think of you that way tells me that you are a person I can trust."
Nozomu had some understanding of what was going on. But there was one more thing that he wanted to make sure of.
"Alright, one last thing. Was Lisa able to pursue her dreams before all this happened?"
"That's......."
I want to be an adventurer like my father and see the unknown, to see the sparkling things.
That was the reason why Lisa left Oire village.
In order to support her, both Nozomu and Ken left their hometown just like her.
"Camilla, can you answer me?"
Seing Nozomu's straight gaze, Camilla turned her head down and shook her head slightly.
"......Lisa has lost the ability to connect deeply with anyone after we framed you. Not with Ken, not with me, not with anyone."
Some sort of anthropophobia. She can go about her daily life, but she can't connect deeply with anyone.
Camilla told Nozomu that Lisa was in such a state.
"I see......."
"I'm really, really sorry. I've done something that couldn't be undone ...... to you and to Lisa."
In front of Camilla, whose voice and body trembled as she bowed her head, Nozomu took a deep exhale and looked up to the sky.
Their dreams had long since been shattered. They had made a mistake by not realizing their escapism, and had continued to cover up their broken bond with the glue of lies.
He knew this, but when he was confronted with it, he felt pain and bitterness as if he had been hit by an arrow in the chest.
Nozomu turned his head and spoke to Camilla, who hung her head, in a grave tone of voice.
"......I won't say 'don't worry about it'."
There would be no point in offering poor consolation, and he had no intention of doing so himself.
Still, Nozomu had no intention of placing the blame on her alone.
"But I also made a mistake. I turned a blind eye to my own escapism and wasted two years of my life."
"That's why, those are my-......"
"No, it's not. Sure, you guys framed me, but I was the one who turned my back on the bad rumors that were directed at me until the very end."
A dream that should have been beautiful. But it disappeared at some point and became an excuse for him to escape.
But because he noticed his escapism, tried to face it once more, and then confronted the reality, there were new feelings that welled up in his heart.
"I...... we came here to support Lisa's dream. But if, on the other hand, we're an obstacle to her, then-......"
We should destroy it. This false, lie-painted relationship. Completely.
"What do you think Ken's going to do now?"
"I don't know. But I'm sure he won't do anything good. He's abnormally obsessed with Lisa. Especially after he lost to you in the forest, he is getting extremely impatient......"
Ken had nothing but contempt for Nozomu, but after his defeat in the Spasim forest, he began to lose his composure.
According to Camilla, there is no telling what he will do. He seems to be as dangerous as or more dangerous than cornered criminals.
"...... Anyway, we need to restore Lisa's altered memories."
"But, how......?"
"There is a way. Let's ask for Shina-san's and Razward's help. With their regained powers, maybe they could restore Lisa's memories."
"Ah......"
Ken, who was accompanied by a non-standard existence called a spirit, would certainly be a rare existence in the academy.
But now there's Shina and Razward.
Although Razward said he was not as good as Mefi when it came to mental manipulation, Nozomu had other friends he could rely on, including Tom, Irisdina, and Tima.
"There is still some hope. No need to despair. So Camilla, will you help me to save Lisa?"
Transcending past conflicts, Nozomu looked straight at Camilla and held out his hand.
A single tear trickled down from her eyes, which were staring petrified at the outstretched hand.
"Ugh, *sob*...... I'm so-, sorry......."
While covering her mouth, she broke down in tears. Nozomu watched silently as she let out an overflowing sob.
Eventually, Camilla slowly raised her head. Her eyes, while retaining some of the gloomy darkness from earlier, shone with the light of a certain will.
"When it's all over, Lisa will definitely cut all ties with me."
"Don't worry. I'll probably be beaten as well."
"Thank you, Nozomu. For listening to my feelings......"
A past that cannot be undone. Still, she should do what she had to do now. With this renewed determination, Camilla grasped Nozomu's hand back.
"Then let's move now. We don't have much time."
"Yeah, you're right."
They didn't know how severe the memory alteration done by the spirit continued to weigh on Lisa's psyche. On top of that, there were Ken and Starlight working together with him. So they had to move quickly.
But at that moment, a voice echoed through the darkened wooded area.
[I can't let you do that~~]
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