Ryuu Kusari no Ori

This chapter was brought to you by the collaboration between PolterGlast and Saekano Translations.

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Volume 1 Short Stories

Translator : PolterGlast

The Prequel to Love

One evening I invited my dear friend, Tima, to the mansion for the first time. A commoner and an aristocrat. An unlikely combination considering the difference in status, but here in Arcazam, there is nothing wrong with that.

"Come on, Tima-san, please tell me about it!"

"Well, I don't have that kind of experience, so that's impossible."

The problem was that my dear little sister was even more excited than I was. The content of the conversation was first love. She is getting more and more excited about it. Could it be due to the influence of a friend she made at Ecross?

"Umm, what about you, Ane-sama?"

Hm? Is it about my first love?

Hmm. I'm not sure if I can call it love ....... Out of my duty as a noble, I once engaged with my fiancée, who was decided upon when I was a child, but unfortunately, that engagement was broken off a few years later. I was to be the next head of the Francilt family after all.

Forsina is a country in the western part of the Arkmel continent where women have made considerable contributions, but even so, it is undeniably a male-centered society.

My former fiancée had also dismissed my aspiration to become the next head of the family by saying that it was impossible.

"Well, whether it's about getting married or adopting a son-in-law, it's something I'll never have a chance to experience."

Somia looks at me with a slightly sad expression on her face as I remember those days. Somia was even younger then than she is now, so she couldn't possibly remember. ......

I pat my sister's head as if to tell her it's okay. I am not sad, even if I never knew love. Because what is important to me is already in my hands.

This is just a short time before I met him and came to know love.

◆

Before the Encounter

"Kuro-chan~! Let's play~!"

I walked around Central Park looking for my recent favorite black cat.

I called out to her and she immediately came out from the grass.

She is a pitch-black female black cat. She has been very difficult to make friends with, but recently she has finally opened up to me.

My goal today is to get to know her better!

For starters, I extend my hand as a greeting.

She nudges me with her nose while raising her tail.

A typical greeting between cats. Then I quickly extend my hand to her neck and stroke her neck to show my affection.

Cats are generally hard to get along with. But I am more than happy to experience the feeling of gradually getting to know these difficult creatures.

Hence, I am definitely a cat person!

I squat down and pat my knees. Kuro-chan was so kind as to climb onto my lap, as if to say, "It can't be helped."

But I mustn't be relieved yet. Kuro is a picky cat, and if something displeases her even a little, she will immediately get down from my lap.

So, I slowly stroke her with my fingertips, trying not to irritate her, and measure the distance between me and Kuro.

In fact, I want to touch her more. At that moment, I noticed that Kuro was staring at a certain point for a long time.

The bracelet on my right hand which was given to me by my sister.

I had a flash of an idea. Although it is a very important thing, if I could get her to pay attention to it, I might be able to touch her more.

I was driven by such an impulse, and the moment I removed the bracelet......

"Ah!"

Kuro quickly grabbed the bracelet in her mouth and climbed up to the top of a tree.

The tree was higher than I thought, and I couldn't climb it.

Cats are fickle and clever at the same time. Kuro had completely beaten me to it.

What should I do? That was a precious gift from my sister.

"U~~!"

I was in distress and Kuro-chan was looking down at me smugly and proudly. At that moment, I heard someone's voice I didn't recognize from the side.

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The Protectors and the Protected

Flashes of light and sparks burst in front of my eyes.

Forgetting about the magic chains binding my body, I am completely fascinated by the sight in front of me.

The sight of him fighting the vampire who is trying to take my sister away from me.

It is the first time I have ever seen such a spectacle since I have always had my back on those I was protecting.

A gentle heat seeps out from deep within my chest.

It is a warmth that is clearly different from the excitement I felt when I witnessed his masterful skills.

It somehow resembles the warmth that has become faint in my memory.

It is so unlike me to feel this way.

I am someone who always protects, and has someone behind me to support me, but I have never had anyone in front of me.

The heat almost makes my whole body relax, and my rational mind desperately tries to rid itself of it.

It is dangerous to be dumbfounded because the danger is not yet over.

But I am already incapable of even casting a spell, and the battle between him and Rugato is no longer an area in which I can intervene.

My eyes are once again glued to his back.

The warmth that seeps into my once-broken heart binds me and does not let go.

Oh, no. This is no good.

This will make me weak. The things I have sealed away, the things I have left behind in the past, are about to reveal their faces.

But he is the only one. He is the only one who is protecting the existence that I really want to protect right now.

"Nozomu-kun......"

Before I know it, a voice similar to a prayer naturally escapes from my mouth, as if I am entrusting all of myself to him.

◆

Painful Scars

"Tch, if you're going to pick a fight, look at who you're dealing with."

I spat insults at the idiots who had attacked me in the alleyway of the commercial district and threw their leader, who I had beaten to a pulp, out of the way.

His companions let out a frightened cry as they ran away, dragging their fallen leader.

He had a bigger body frame than mine, but he got scared easily right after I broke his nose.

"What do you want!? There is nothing to look at here!'

I yelled at the stall owner who had been peeping at me, and he looked frightened and quickly averted his gaze.

He was apparently feeling pretty bitter about having his store destroyed the last time he tried to pull some kind of fraudulent stunt on people. Hmph, if you're going to be so scared, you shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place!

The smell of rancid sake on my nose is making me feel irritated.

I look at the surroundings, trying to forget my irritation. All of the stares I receive are filled with trepidation.

These stares brought back the memories I had pushed to the depths of my mind.

(Dad, don't, please stop it!)

The bitter memories come back to my mind.

The violence and angry shouts did not stop no matter how many times I pleaded to stop. My younger sister was crying by my side.

Ena, who could not stop crying, and I, who kept on begging and pleading, made that man even more frustrated, and he began to swing his fist down more violently.

I glance down and see my own hands, stained red and blue.

The hands resembled those of my father, whom I loathed so much.

"......"

The unstoppable impulse, the uncontrollable anger.

I left the back alley of the commercial district, biting my lip to suppress the rage raging deep in my chest.

◆

Unnoticed Changes

"Heave-ho......"

Sitting on a long bench in the vast garden, I watch the maids tidying up the mansion that has been devastated by the battle with the old vampire butler. Beside me is Ai, who has also come to see how things are going.

"Speaking of which, what happened to Mars-kun after that?"

"He went home ahead of us, carrying his sister who fell asleep on his back. He needs to explain to his family and he prefers to let her rest at home where she is comfortable."

What Rugato-san used on everyone in the mansion was just a suggestive spell, so there would be no aftereffects on the body. Even so, Mars-kun didn't leave his sister's side after the battle ended the entire time.

It was a bit, surprising. The fact that he saved me, and the fact that he was so worried about his sister. I had an image of him being more violent and not caring about the people around him.

Talking about the old vampire butler's magic brought back the image of his back that protected me by putting his body on the line.

"Fufu, I see. ......"

Ai, who was sitting next to me, smiled meaningfully. Indeed, it was a bit of an unexpected side of him.

"Well, I was a little surprised."

"That's true. It was a bit surprising that Mars-kun actually had such a strong affection for his sister, wasn't it? Even though they quarreled so much at the party. ......"

"No, that's not what I meant......"

Eh? What? Were we surprised in different ways?

As I tilted my head, Ai shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "It can't be helped", and turned her meaningful gaze on me once again.

Eh? What? Was it me who was acting weird? Did I say something strange?

Wait a minute, don't go back to the house without saying anything. At least please explain!

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