Mana Z.

Many layers of wide-range sorcery force field stretched around the village, but the most powerful barrier among them was composed of anti-detection sorcery that could only be infiltrated with a certain level of spirit arts training.

The anti-detection effect was considerably weaker against intruders approaching from the air, but the villagers were informed from the moment they entered the barrier’s range. Even Rio, who was flying closer through the sky, would probably be detected soon.

At last, Rio thought sentimentally as he looked upon the giant tree of Dryas, towering near the village.

Roughly two weeks had passed since Rio had departed from the Yagumo region; even though he could fly with spirit arts, it had been a long journey.

As Rio immersed himself deep in thought, a tingling sensation ran through his entire body. He had entered the barrier, meaning the village would undoubtedly be able to sense his presence as an outsider. With the village right before his eyes, it was only a matter of time before someone came flying out at him.

Rio halted in his flight and remained airborne.

Meanwhile, the lavender-haired girl took a look at Hiroaki’s appearance. Her eyes widened. After a pause, the middle-aged man next to the girl murmured something to her. Immediately after, the girl started walking toward Hiroaki with determination. The man followed, as well as two other young-looking knights. Hiroaki braced himself warily.

“U-Umm, my name is Flora. Flora Beltrum. I’m the second princess of the Kingdom of Beltrum. May I ask if you might possibly be... the hero?” she questioned nervously, having stopped at an appropriate distance from Hiroaki. For some reason, he was able to understand her words.

Hiroaki inspected the self-proclaimed princess and cocked his head in suspicion. “Hero...? Me?”

It was fishy, but it somehow matched the current situation perfectly. In fact, it was extremely similar to the prologue of the world-jumping fantasy novel he had read most recently.

“Y-Yes! The Sacred Stone I carry in my custody suddenly began to glow, just before it let out a huge pillar of light. According to the prophecy of the Six Wise Gods, the hero will appear by the Sacred Stone one-thousand years after the Holy Era begins.” Flora explained in a rather rushed way as best she could.

Hiroaki organized his thoughts. “...Ah, wait, hold on a sec. Let’s calm down first, princess. Putting aside the meanings of all those words for now, what you’re saying is that I appeared by the Sacred Stone you carry. That’s why I’m the hero?”

“Y-Yes. That’s why.” Flora nodded.

“I see. Well, this is a fairly cliché situation if I’ve ever seen one. And you can understand Japanese, for some reason. I suppose being on Easy Mode isn’t that bad...” Hiroaki murmured to himself.

“U-Umm.” Flora carefully watched Hiroaki’s face. “May I please ask for your name, great hero?” she inquired.

“...I’m Sakata Hiroaki.” Hiroaki ruffled his hair in a pompous gesture. “Just to clear it up now, Sakata is my family name and Hiroaki is my first name. I’d like to ask you something too. Where am I?”

“This is Marquess Rodan’s territory in the northeast of Beltrum. The consulate of the capital of Rodania.”

“Have you ever heard of these country names: Japan, America, England, France, Germany, or China?”

“Erm, I have not.” Flora shook her head apologetically.

“I see...” Hiroaki sighed a small sigh.

I’ve got an idea of the general picture now, at least... This is what you would call your typical cliché fantasy trip. Judging from the princess’s attitude, there’s no mistaking that the hero is of a similar status to royalty. If so, whether I’m actually the hero or not, would it be better to pretend I’m the hero anyway? While it’d be annoying to be treated as their go-to guy to solve all their problems, I don’t want them to look down on me, and I need more information. If I’m going to negotiate with them, I need to stand above them.

At the very least, Flora was a fair maiden, and it wasn’t bad to be respected as a hero. And so, he braced himself to be able to carry himself with skill and tact.

“So, who’s your friend there?” Hiroaki addressed the middle-aged man standing next to Flora. He appeared to be of a rather high-ranking status.

“Pardon my rudeness. I am the duke, Gustav Huguenot. Due to certain circumstances, I am currently serving as Her Highness Princess Flora’s guardian. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Duke Huguenot pasted a sociable smile on his face and greeted him respectfully. However, his eyes showed no trace of weakness as he carefully observed Hiroaki.

“Got it. For now, I’d like to get a better understanding of the situation. I’m sure you would agree, right? Don’t you think we owe each other some explanations?”

Duke Huguenot nodded agreeably. “Indeed, that is true. Allow me to show you to a place where we can discuss this while seated.”

“Great. Thanks.” Hiroaki headed toward the mansion with Flora and her entourage.

◇◇◇

Several minutes later, Hiroaki was lowering himself into a sofa across from Flora and her group.

“This is George Rodan, the lord of this territory,” Duke Huguenot said.

“An honor to meet you, hero. I am most delighted to welcome the hero of legend into my humble residence.” The middle-aged Marquess Rodan bowed his head at Hiroaki with reverence.

“Yeah, nice to meet you. Are you going to tell me the names of those knights over there, too? They seem pretty young... Even younger than me, and I’m nineteen.” Hiroaki curiously looked at the two knights standing behind Flora.

“They’re our sons. As you can see, they’re in their mid-teens, and have a long way to go. I allowed their presence here, hoping it would be a good lesson for them. Does this displease you?”

“I see... The sons of Huguenot and Rodan. I don’t mind, but... I’d like them to remove their weapons, at least,” Hiroaki warily requested while leaving his own longsword by his side. The two young knights stiffened by a fraction.

“Pardon our rudeness. You two — disarm yourselves,” Duke Huguenot ordered them with a smile.

“Yes, sir.” The two boys nodded uncomfortably, taking their scabbards from their waists.

“I shall take care of those.” A girl in noble clothing approached from the corner of the room and retrieved the two swords.

“Thank you.” The boys greeted the girl with a small bow.

“This is a good opportunity. The three of you, introduce yourselves to the hero,” Duke Huguenot urged.

“...Nice to meet you, hero. I am Stewart Huguenot.”

“...I’m Alphonse Rodan. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The two boys introduced themselves to Hiroaki first in stiff voices, watching him with faintly dubious eyes.

“It is an honor to meet you. My name is Roanna Fontaine. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” The noble girl smiled elegantly as she introduced herself.

Hiroaki widened his eyes, captivated by Roanna’s smile. “Yeah... Nice to meet you. Sorry, but you were standing in a corner, so I didn’t notice you. I cannot allow a lady to remain standing while I sit, though... Won’t you take a seat?”

Roanna shook her head with a troubled expression. “No, I’m...”

“If the hero says to sit down, then take a seat, Roanna,” Duke Huguenot insisted.

“...Thank you very much for your consideration, hero. Then, if you would excuse me.” Roanna lifted her skirt and curtsied, then entrusted Stewart and Alphonse’s swords in her hands to a servant and sat down on the sofa. Hiroaki watched her with a smirk at his lips.

“Now, may we proceed to the main point of our discussion, hero?” Duke Huguenot asked. Hiroaki nodded coolly. “There’s something I’d like to ask first.”

“What might it be? If it’s something we can answer, we shall answer to the best of our ability...”

“What summoned me was that Sacred Stone thing held by Princess Flora, right?” Hiroaki asked, looking at the princess.

“Y-Yes. That’s right!” Flora agreed almost nervously.

“The fact I’ve been summoned means that — naturally — I can go back too, right?”

“Huh? Go back? Umm, that’s...” Hiroaki’s question must have been unexpected, as Flora was rendered speechless. Her reaction was enough to tip off the sensitive hero.

“Oi oi, don’t tell me you summoned me here with no way for me to get back.”

“No, it’s just... Umm... I don’t know...”

“If you don’t know, then doesn’t that make this an abduction? Taking someone away against their will is considered a crime in this world, too, is it not?” Hiroaki pushed without giving Flora time to respond.

“I-I’m sorry. I don’t know the circumstances either, so we’re actually a little troubled by it all...” With her naturally gentle disposition, Flora could do nothing but apologize in return; her side of it had no idea what was going on, either. The Sacred Stone had summoned Hiroaki by itself, so calling it an abduction was a rather extreme way of misunderstanding the situation.

“Ah, it’s not like I’m trying to be mean. It’s just that I’m the one in a bind because of this, you know?” Even Hiroaki seemed to feel ashamed of persecuting a pretty girl like Flora, as he inclined his head guiltily.

“Hero, isn’t your attitude toward Her Highness rather rude? Is this the proper manner of a hero?” Stewart objected with furrowed brows.

“Stewart!” Duke Huguenot called in a stern voice.

“Guh... My deepest apologies,” Stewart said with a vexed expression.

Duke Huguenot bowed his head deeply at Hiroaki. “Please pardon my son’s rudeness, hero.”

“Ah, don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not trying to pick a fight or anything. It’s just that I had a life in my original world, too. One that was unfairly taken away from me. I just wanted to make that clear. If you all participated in my abduction, then we should approach this in a logical manner. Even if you suddenly tell me that I’m the hero, there’s not much I can do about it.” Hiroaki shook his head.

“That applies to us, too... And the abduction is a misunderstanding. It looks like there is a need to lay all our cards on the table and discuss things properly. We vow to tell you everything we know at this point in time, hero. Will you lend us an ear?” Duke Huguenot asked with a slightly perplexed look.

“Yeah, that’d be great. Even if you talk about Six Wise Gods and Sacred Stones and heroes, it doesn’t really make sense to me,” Hiroaki said with a relaxed smile.

After that, Duke Huguenot explained various facts to Hiroaki, including their request for the hero’s cooperation.

At that very same moment, Miharu and the others were wandering about the grasslands

Chapter 7: Preparing to Move
A month and a half passed since the shopping trip in Amande. During that time, Miharu, Aki, and Masato had remained shut away inside the rock house, cramming the common tongue of the Strahl region into their heads. Since nothing could proceed if they weren’t able to speak the language, they prioritized learning the language over everything else, beating words and phrases into their heads from morning to night, even during meals.

While there is plenty to be said about the number of hours needed to acquire a foreign language to a conversational standard, Rio’s Japanese guests were able to study the Strahl common tongue for over 400 hours over the span of a month and a half — that culminated to nine hours a day on average. That number became much higher once their own voluntary self-study time during breaks was included.

In the beginning, a lot of the time was spent explaining the grammar structures in Japanese, but as time passed, more emphasis was placed on conversation. The lessons proved to be successful, as the three were able to converse to an optimal degree. As the eldest, Miharu showed the most remarkable improvement — as long as her conversation partner spoke slowly, she was able to reply with halting speech.

On one morning after a month and a half had passed, Rio and Miharu were cooking breakfast in the kitchen and speaking to each other using what Miharu had learned.

“Haruto... can you give... frypan?” she asked Rio in a clumsy Strahl tongue.

“Sure, here you go.”

“Thank you very much. Bacon egg or fried egg... Which do you want today?”

Rio thought for a moment before making his request with a faint smile. “...Let’s see. I want to eat a fried egg today.”

“Understood. Leave it... to me.” Miharu picked up the frying pan and pumped her fists in a cute gesture.

“You can say quite a few things now.”

“It’s all thanks... to Haruto.”

“It’s because you worked hard, Miharu.”

“No... it’s because... you were teaching... constantly.”

“Since the three of you have learned quite a few words at this point, I’m thinking it’s about time we moved from this field.”

“Moved...?”

“Yes,” Rio interrupted, speaking in Japanese. “This conversation is about to get complicated, so I’ll use Japanese now. Staying here like this makes it hard to move around, and that’s ineffective for gathering more information about your friends. There are some trustworthy people I know that we may be able to rely on, but I’ll need to ask them first. The probability is low, but there’s even a chance these people may know something about you guys.”

“I see...”

“If possible, I’d like to ask those people to look after you while I finish some personal errands of my own and gather information. What do you think?”

“Umm... I’m sure you have your own life to concern yourself with, so it’s okay if you put us second. We’ll let you decide what you need to do,” Miharu said apologetically, bowing her head to Rio.

“All right. Then we’ll move closer to Amande today. I’ll have you guys wait there while I pay a visit to my acquaintances. It’ll take roughly two weeks for me to return, so I’ll leave Aishia behind to protect you, and if you need anything during that time you can feel free to go shopping in Amande, too,” Rio said with a slight smile.

He wasn’t shameless enough to suddenly bring Miharu and the others along to the spirit folk village and just leave them there for the spirit folk to look after. The spirit folk had already cut off contact with the outside world, so it was possible that they would refuse, but he would go through all the proper steps to make the request.

“I’m sorry for making you have to consider every little thing. As you’ve been looking after us, I won’t say that we’ll be fine... but I’m sure we’ll somehow manage ourselves, especially with Ai-chan here. So... you can leave the house to us.”

“Okay, thank you.” Rio nodded amicably in an effort to avoid making Miharu worry any more than she already was.

Afterward, they had their breakfast, then moved the house to the middle of a forest on the outskirts of Amande. There had been rumors of people going missing along the western road the last time Rio had gathered information in Amande, so he set up the house near the east side of the city instead.

◇◇◇

The next morning, Rio dressed himself in his Black Wyvern armor and prepared to leave. “All right then, Aishia — I’m leaving everyone to you,” he said in the living room.

Aishia nodded quietly. “Sure.”

While she looked like a fragile young woman, Aishia was actually a humanoid spirit ranked high-class or greater. Since she could use the same level of spirit arts as Rio, there was no one better for the role of a bodyguard.

“I’m going to leave this spirit stone filled with essence with you while I’m gone, so you can use this to replenish your magic essence if anything happens,” Rio said, handing Aishia a pebble-sized emerald green spirit stone that glowed. It was possible to store an enormous amount of essence in a green spirit stone, even one of this size. The Time-Space Cache Rio received from the spirit folk used a stone of a similar size, too.

“...Understood. I tied a temporary path to Miharu just in case, so it’ll be okay,” Aishia said, taking the spirit stone.

“With Miharu... Really?” Rio’s eyes widened, and he looked at Miharu.

“Yes. Apparently, we have quite a large amount of magic essence within us? I don’t really get it, but I told Ai-chan she could use whatever she needed.” Miharu didn’t seem to fully understand it all yet, but nodded firmly anyway.

“...I see. I’m relieved, then.” Rio was interested in how the three of them had a large amount of essence, too, but was glad that that was the case so he didn’t have to worry as much about them.

“Please go safely, Haruto,” Miharu said.

“Yes. You don’t have to see me off from here,” he replied.

“Have a safe trip, Haruto.”

“See you later, Haruto.” Aki and Masato offered their words of parting to Rio as well.

“Thanks. Make sure you two listen to Miharu and Aishia.”

“Ahaha, we know.”

“That’s right! We’re not kids anymore!”

Aki and Masato nodded with strained smiles.

“You’re still a brat, though,” Aki noted.

“And there’s only one year difference between us,” Masato retorted, starting their usual bickering.

Rio watched Aki and Masato get up to their usual antics with a smile. “Looks like you’ll be all right to me. I’ll be going, now,” he said, and turned on his heel. He was relieved to see the youngest of the three showing no signs of worry.

Rio opened the front door and waved back at Miharu and the others, who were waving with all their might. Finally, he looked at Aishia with an entrusting smile, before the door shut.

“The three of you need to study until Haruto returns,” Aishia said.

“Ugh, so we’re doing the same old thing even with Haruto out.” Masato hung his head gloomily.

“We don’t have a choice. If we can’t speak the language, it’s too dangerous to even go outside. You’re the most behind, so work harder,” Aki said with an exasperated expression.

“Fufu. Let’s show Haruto how much we’ve improved when he comes back,” Miharu said with a smile.

◇◇◇

Once Rio stepped outside, he spoke the activation spell to use the Time-Space Cache on his left wrist.

“Dissolvo.”

The air above his hand warped, and a jade green spirit stone appeared. While it was the same color as the Time-Space Cache, its size was larger than the other spirit stone.

“Transilio.”

Rio activated the spirit stone in his hand — the teleportation crystal. The air around Rio and the teleportation crystal instantly started to distort in an exaggerated way, and in the next moment, Rio disappeared. The view in front of Rio’s eyes changed immediately, too.

“Looks like I made it back safely,” Rio murmured to himself.

Gentle rays of sunlight filtered through the trees of the forest scenery spread before him. It was his first time actually using the teleportation crystal, so he was surprised at how the scenery had changed in an instant. Thankfully, it seemed as though he had been able to teleport to the correct coordinates.

The crystal changed from green to turquoise; as the amount of magic essence inside a spirit stone increased, the color changed from colorless to blue. As it continued to increase, the colors changed to turquoise, leaf green, then finally jade green — so quite a large amount of essence was used.

I don’t think I should be that far from the village, but where is this exactly?

Rio put the teleport crystal away into his pocket and smiled at the vaguely familiar scenery. Then, he kicked off from the ground and rose into the air to check his current location, breaking through the canopy and into the skies above the forest.

I’m outside of the residential area... but pretty close to the village — about one or two minutes away by flight. At this distance, they may have detected the distortion in essence from the teleportation sorcery I used.

Someone may have set out to get him already. With that in mind, Rio began to fly toward the residential district visible in the distance at a leisurely pace.

Sure enough, a group of people were waiting in the skies above the village. There were several warriors of the village, with Orphia among them.

“See, it is Rio after all! You came back fairly quickly this time,” she said with a happy smile as she approached.

“Hello, Orphia. I have a little news this time... and a request,” he said somewhat apologetically.

“I see... Then we should hurry to the elders immediately. Follow me — it’s this way.”

Orphia seemed to sense that Rio had an important matter to discuss and began to lead him away without asking any further questions. The villagers around them followed.

“Thank you very much. The truth is... my contract spirit woke up,” Rio said as he flew alongside Orphia.

“Eh, really?!” Orphia asked with widened eyes.

The spirit sleeping within Rio had been a humanoid spirit, after all. To Orphia, who held spirits in high regard, the awakening of Rio’s spirit was a big deal.

“Yes. Due to certain circumstances, she isn’t present right now, but I’ll discuss more about that — as well as my request — with the elders.”

Orphia nodded. “I see... I’m sure everyone will be shocked. Let’s hurry over!” She watched Rio’s expression carefully before raising her flight speed by a small amount.

◇◇◇

Rio and the others landed before the giant tree house that was used as the town hall of the village. Latifa was waiting there, along with Sara, the silver werewolf, and Alma, the elder dwarf.

“Latifa... Sara and Alma too...” Rio’s eyes widened when he spotted the girls.

“Ehehe. There was a big pulse of mana, so everyone was excited that Onii-chan might have come back. We saw Onii-chan flying in the air and hurried here,” Latifa explained proudly. She must have run, as she was still out of breath.

“The two of them were in such a hurry — it was a huge pain,” Alma interjected with a wry smile.

“Y-You’re the one who decided to come along, Alma,” Sara added on in embarrassment. Orphia smiled.

“Fufu, so the two of you both wanted to see Rio again as quickly as possible.”

“Mrgh...” Sara and Alma groaned in embarrassment, but their lack of denial implied it was the truth.

“Onii-chan, you came back quickly this time.” Latifa beamed a smile full of purity and innocence.

“Yeah. My contract spirit woke up, and I have a lot of other things I wanted to discuss,” Rio answered with a faintly strained smile.

“Y-Your spirit has awoken?!” Sara and Alma were both taken aback

Yes. She’s not here right now, but I’ll bring her along next time.”

“In that case, we have to hurry to the head elders quickly. They should be upstairs,” Sara urged, and the group stepped into the town hall.

◇◇◇

Roughly half an hour later, in the meeting room on the top floor of the hall, Rio faced the council of elders that had assembled on short notice. Latifa and the other girls remained gathered in a corner of the room.

“So, is it true? Lord Rio’s contract spirit has awoken?” Syldora, the high elf seated in the middle of the three head elders, asked.

“Yes. She woke up just a month and a half ago.”

“...A month and a half ago would be the same time as when that vast torrent of ode and mana surged from the direction of the Strahl region,” Syldora surmised with a contemplative look. The pillars of light hadn’t been visible from the position of the village, but the aftermath of the ode and mana torrent was something that they clearly detected.

“So the waves reached here as well,” Rio said with a wry smile.

“Was that surge possibly related to your contract spirit’s awakening, Lord Rio?” asked the werefox head elder Ursula.

“No... I am not sure. However, the surge of ode and mana that everyone felt was most likely created via the sorcery of the six pillars of light.”

“...Do continue,” Ursula pressed.

“I believe the true form of those six pillars of light to be a type of time-space sorcery... something that can summon humans from other worlds into this one. There are religions in the Strahl region that believe in the deities called the Six Wise Gods. According to their ancient texts, it is said that six heroes who played an active role in the Divine War will return once more alongside six pillars of light. That is why the rumor of the heroes returning is spreading throughout Strahl like wildfire.”

“Heroes... you say?” The elders in the room burst into a commotion after hearing it was possible that heroes from the Divine War had returned.

Rio glanced over at Latifa; her eyes were round as she carefully watched him. Like Rio, she also had memories of a life in another world. She must have been curious as to whether the other world involved was Earth.

I’ll explain everything to Latifa later, Rio thought to himself with a strained smile.

“Does everyone know of the tales of the heroes passed down within the Strahl region?” he asked the elders sitting across from him.

“Even us spirit folk retain records of the Divine War that unfolded over a thousand years ago. It affected our ancestors, who lived toward the center of the continent, after all. It is said that they fought to drive away the evil forces,” Syldora replied.

“In order to assist the upper high class spirit participating in the war, the village sent warriors out toward Strahl, too... Though most of those, including the upper high ranked spirit, never returned. It was said that the heroes appeared toward the final stages of the Divine War, but by then, the upper high class spirit was gone, and many of the warriors from our village had lost their lives...” Ursula continued.

“...So you don’t know any of the specifics, then?” Rio asked inquisitively.

“Indeed — we do not know much about the heroes. The Seven Wise Ones... No, they were already six by that time, so they were what the humans called the Six Wise Gods. Those Six Wise Gods had seemingly appeared from nowhere, and were all equipped with Divine Weapons. That is all we know,” Dominic said contemplatively.

“I have been wondering this for a while, but why do you seem so certain of the existence of a seventh god?” Rio asked. “No one in the Strahl region seems to acknowledge anything like a seventh god.”

“Because our ancestors encountered the one who named themselves the seventh god during the beginning and the end of the Divine War. They visited the village early during the war and requested help from the upper high class spirit of the time to fight. Their goal for visiting the village toward the end of the war wasn’t recorded, but it was noted that they were already exiled from the other six by that time,” Dominic explained.

“...The seventh god didn’t leave any information about the heroes?”

“That I am not sure of, since it was not recorded.”

“Why do you believe those heroes were summoned here from another world, Lord Rio? Even if you say they appeared from outside of this world, I find it hard to believe...” Ursula asked Rio somewhat suspiciously.

“Because I am currently looking after two girls and a boy who used to live in that world.”

Ursula’s eyes widened. “...My word. So those three are the heroes?”

Rio shook his head. “No, they are not — they were in a location irrelevant to the pillars of light. It seemed like they were in the company of two other people just moments before they were summoned here, and they claimed to witness distortions in the air similar to summoning magic. I believe the other two were the ones summoned as the heroes, while the three under my protection were merely dragged along for the ride.”

“Hmm... You were able to communicate with otherworlders?” Syldora asked without a moment’s delay. It was a well-justified question.

“...I was. Or rather, to be more precise, I already knew the language they spoke.”

With a completely serious expression, Rio answered honestly, but vaguely. He wanted to be as truthful as possible to the people he was about to ask a favor from. He already owed the spirit folk so much, and could no longer deceive them this far into their relationship.

“What do you mean by that...?” The elders all looked confused. The only one who understood was Latifa, who was speechless with shock.

“Please forgive me. I doubt my reasons would be believable even if I explained them here, and they are greatly off-topic to the current issue at hand. For now, could I ask that you take what I say at face value and accept that I was able to communicate with them? If necessary, I will explain further at a later date,” Rio said, bowing his head deeply at the elders.

“...I do not mind. I want to hear more about your contract spirit, too.” Ursula seemed to comprehend Rio’s feelings and readily agreed. The other elders exchanged looks before nodding hesitantly.

“All right. Then, is your contract spirit currently with those three people?” Syldora asked, changing the subject.

Rio nodded in acknowledgment. “Yes. Her name is Aishia, and I’m having her stay back in Strahl to protect them,” he replied somewhat apologetically.

“Does Lady Aishia know anything about the summoning of the heroes? Or did you find out anything about her identity?” Syldora asked.

“No, Aishia knew nothing. Not about why she was contracted to me, who she was, or even her own name. The name Aishia was something I gave to her.” Rio shook his head uneasily.

“...I see. Well, that seems fine. A high ranked spirit has awakened; for us, it is an exceedingly auspicious event. Lady Aishia... You named her with the ancient language of us spirit folk, yes? Warm spring, beautiful spring... An appropriate name for this season,” Dominic said, laughing cheerfully.

“Heh. Well, it’s exactly as Dominic says: there’s nothing to be discouraged about, Lord Rio,” Ursula agreed with a gentle smile. The other elders nodded, too, letting a bright atmosphere naturally fall upon the room.

“Thank you very much. Honestly, I pondered quite a bit over whether I should have returned to the village at this point in time. But when it came to Aishia and the other three I’m protecting, I was hoping I could get some information and help from everyone here, so I decided to visit.”

“...While I doubt we will be much help regarding Lady Aishia, it may do you some good to visit the Great Dryas with her. Bring her to the village anytime,” Syldora said with a pensive look.

“However, if I were to bring Aishia to this land, it would become necessary to bring the three under my care along as well...” Rio said, watching Syldora and the others carefully.

“They are your companions, after all. You are free to bring not only Lady Aishia, but the others as well. We will do whatever is in our power to assist you. I’m sure you currently have your hands full with those three, no?” Syldora said, adopting a welcoming attitude toward Miharu and the others.

“...Yes. The three of them wish to seek the other two from whom they were separated from — if they did in fact end up in this world — and return to their own world... but as of right now we’re completely unable to progress. Above all else, I currently have no knowledge about time-space sorcery that can cross worlds. I was hoping that the people here who use time-space sorcery would be able to provide some clues to how they can be returned to their own world.”

“Hmm... To be honest, we also have no idea about time-space sorcery that allows for teleportation across worlds. Of course, we will scrounge through the old texts in our village, but it may be best not to get your hopes up.”

“No, that is more than I could ask for. I had actually feared you wouldn’t allow a complete outsider into the village... I truly do not have enough words to express my gratitude.”

“Hm... With regards to the three, we’ll have to have them agree to a contract of complete confidentiality for when they return to Strahl after having gained knowledge of us. I’m sorry, but the existence of the village cannot be exposed,” Syldora explained.

“Of course. I’ll make sure to explain it to them myself,” Rio agreed reassuringly.

Their stay had been accepted with merely that as a condition — it was not an exceptional request.

“Well, you have watched over them for a while now, and decided to seek help from us on their behalf. I have no concerns with regard to their personalities. There should be no problem,” Ursula offered pleasantly, the corners of her lips turned up in a smile.

“Ursula is right,” Syldora said, followed by the nods of Dominic and the other elders.

“...I am most honored by your faith in me.” Rio bowed his head deeply, his heart filled with emotion. He was, quite simply, so grateful at how he was able to meet such people who believed in him without any doubts in their minds.

“Now that that’s decided, we must prepare to welcome Lady Aishia and the others. We must also inform the Great Dryas of her.” Dominic changed the topic heartily, as though to clear the intimate air that had come between them.

“That’s right. Will you be returning to Strahl immediately, Lord Rio?” Syldora asked, latching onto Dominic’s subject change.

“Yes — I don’t want to keep them waiting for too long. I intend on departing again within a few days.”

“Hm. Then, make sure you stay in the village today, as there’s much more we’d like to discuss about Lady Aishia and the three otherworlders.”

“Of course.”

◇◇◇

Their conversation continued into the afternoon over a light meal. Rio told them various things about Aishia, then decided with the elders what rules would be in place for Miharu, Aki, and Masato’s visit to the village. By the time their discussions had concluded, it had already become evening, so they decided to call it a day.

Rio ended up staying at Ursula’s house that night. After dinner, he was told to rest and relax — which probably meant to look after Latifa.

Rio called her over to the room he was staying in to speak with her alone. Latifa had looked somber ever since the midway point of the discussions, so he needed to explain a few things to her.

“Hey, Latifa. Could you understand the discussion today?” Rio said as he watched her expression. The two of them sat in chairs facing each other.

Latifa nodded uncomfortably. “Yeah, I could. Those people are Japanese people, too, aren’t they?” she asked timidly.

“Yes, they’re Japanese.”

“...Does that mean you told them about how you used to be Japanese, too, Onii-chan?”

Rio nodded with a bitter smile. “That’s right. If I didn’t tell them, they’d wonder about how they were able to communicate with me.”

“Hmph... But it was a secret just between Onii-chan and me.” Latifa pouted her lips somewhat unhappily.

“Are you mad?”

“It’s not that I’m mad, but...”

Rio smiled in faint amusement. “I see.”

“Mgrr! What are you laughing at?”

“At how cute you are, I guess?”

“...That’s not fair, Onii-chan,” Latifa mumbled quietly, giving Rio an admonishing glare.

“What is?”

“Nothing...”

“Listen, Latifa. Just because other people who know about Japan have appeared doesn’t mean that our relationship will change. Isn’t that right?” Rio offered convincingly with a smile as he watched her sulk.

“...Yeah.”

“Nothing will change how special you are to me.”

“...Yeah.

That’s why I hope you won’t be too shocked by this. Do you remember how I told you about my past life before? About the childhood friend I loved, and the little sister that moved away when my parents divorced.”

“Hm? I remember that...” Latifa inclined her head curiously.

“The truth is, two of the three people I’m looking after right now are those two people.”

“...Huh?”

“Ayase Miharu. The person I always loved when I was Amakawa Haruto. Well, she probably doesn’t remember me anymore... Also, Amakawa — no, Sendo Aki... We only lived together for three years, but she was my little sister. I doubt she remembers anything about me, either. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence, but they’re two of the three people that are currently in my care,” Rio explained slowly to a confused Latifa.

“...Eh... T-Then, did you t-tell them?! Did you tell those two about yourself?” Not long after Latifa understood the explanation did she start firing back questions in shock.

Rio shook his head calmly. “No, I didn’t tell them I had the memories of someone named Amakawa Haruto. I didn’t think it was the right time to tell them that...” he said in a somewhat troubled voice.

“O-Oh, okay. But... why...?” Latifa asked hoarsely.

“I don’t want to confuse them too much right now — their mental state wouldn’t be the most stable, having suddenly been brought to an unknown world. You used to be the same too, Latifa. Right?” Rio answered with his sound reasoning.

“That’s...” Latifa was at a loss for words. Rio had a point.

However, Latifa didn’t believe that Rio was being honest, despite the fact that he hadn’t lied to her. Was Rio really fine with things that way? She didn’t know.

“That’s why I’d like to ask you to hide your past life from these three people for a while, too. Of course, I won’t forbid you from telling them if you insist on doing so, but... I’d like you to stay absolutely quiet about my past life. Can you promise me that?” Rio asked, showing her a glimpse of the guilt he felt.

“...Onii-chan, you actually want to tell them, don’t you?” Latifa murmured, asking after Rio’s true feelings instead.

“...That’s not true.” Rio shook his head with a bittersweet smile.

“Tell me how you really feel, Onii-chan. Otherwise, I won’t promise you,” Latifa persisted.

“...I want to keep my previous life a secret, just between me and you, I guess,” Rio said with a strained expression, speaking truthfully.

“...That’s unfair. That’s so unfair of you, Onii-chan,” Latifa murmured in a trembling voice, appearing as though she was on the verge of tears; she was unable to decide if Rio was lying or not

Chapter 8: Operating in the Shadows
Two weeks after Rio departed from the spirit folk village...

Left behind in the Strahl region, Miharu and the others lived a completely peaceful life, leisurely waiting for Rio’s return. Presently, they were in the middle of a break from their language studies. Aishia and Masato were both taking a nap, while Miharu and Aki sat on the living room sofa sipping tea.

“I wonder if Haruto will be back soon...?” Miharu mumbled to herself. While her words were formed as a question, she was more or less speaking to herself. Nonetheless, her mumbling still clearly reached Aki’s ears.

“Miharu, you’ve been saying the same thing for a few days now,” she said with a strained laugh.

For some reason, Miharu flinched. “Eh...? R-Really?” she asked in a high-pitched voice, inclining her head.

Miharu wasn’t quite sure why she flinched, but now that Aki had mentioned it, she had been finding herself thinking about Haruto out of the blue these days.

“...What’s wrong, Miharu?” Aki picked up on the delicate change in Miharu and watched her doubtfully.

“Nothing at all. Why?” Miharu put on a calm air and met Aki’s gaze. Aki didn’t seem entirely convinced, but changed the subject anyway. “It’s nothing... But I do wonder how long we’re going to live like this, yeah?”

“Umm, what do you mean by ‘like this’?” Miharu asked.

“We should have been middle school and high school students, you know? Masato only just reached the sixth grade, and our new school lives were meant to start... But now Takahisa and Satsuki are both gone, and we may never meet Mom and the others ever again. I don’t really know, but the longer this life continues, the more I feel like we won’t be able to go back anymore.” Aki’s expression fell helplessly.

“So you’re worried...” Miharu slowly stood up and moved next to Aki, stroking her back. Aki leaned into her to be doted upon.

“...Aren’t you worried, Miharu?” she asked nervously.

“I am... a little uneasy, but probably not as much as you.” Miharu shook her head with a faint smile.

Aki looked up at Miharu’s face curiously. “Why?”

“I have you and Masato with me, as well as Ai-chan and Haruto. I feel safe. That’s why I’m wondering if there’s anything I could do in return, because I feel sorry that you’re worried,” Miharu answered. Her smile was bittersweet this time.

“...You’re strong, Miharu.”

“I’m weak. If I didn’t have you and the others, I wouldn’t be alive right now.”

“I don’t believe that... If anything, I should be saying that. I don’t know where I’d be right now if I didn’t have you with me.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

“Yeah...” Aki said shyly, still seeming to be a little unsure.

“Aki. Thanks to Haruto, we’ve been able to live so peacefully. I think that’s an amazing blessing, don’t you? So... how about you try to think a little more positively?” Miharu asked gently, trying to persuade Aki.

“That’s... Yeah. I think so too, but...”

“I guess you still want to return to Earth, right?”

“Yeah... Don’t you want to go back, Miharu?”

“If I said I didn’t want to go home... that would probably be a lie, but I don’t think there’s any need to hurry. Haruto’s willing to help us out, after all.”

“Haruto...” Aki murmured Haruto’s name, her expression turning gloomy. She was much better about it now, but she still couldn’t help but think of someone in the back of her mind whenever she heard the name. In particular, when it was coming from Miharu’s mouth, it sometimes left her feeling quite conflicted.

“What do you think of Haruto?” Aki suddenly asked Miharu. She had noticed that Miharu’s mind had been on Haruto lately, so she was curious.

“Hm? Umm... What do you mean by that?” Miharu asked in return, watching Aki’s expression with uncertainty.

“Nothing, really... It’s just — even though you’re normally bad around boys, you seem to act really natural when you’re around Haruto... Being totally in sync when you’re cooking together and laughing with each other. That’s why I was just wondering... So, how do you feel about him?” Aki explained her question hesitantly, but directly, so that Miharu couldn’t avoid answering her.

“H-How, I wonder? He’s reliable, and a really nice person, I think. And...” Miharu replied timidly, searching within herself with a contemplative expression.

“...And?” Aki pressed.

“I don’t know if it’s because his name is the same, but he kind of reminds me of Haru-kun... I guess? Maybe?”

“W-What are you saying?! Miharu!” Aki’s expression changed with a gasp, her tone of voice immediately turning rougher.

“...Huh? Ah! S-Sorry! That wasn’t my intention!” Miharu belatedly processed what she had said out loud and shook her head in a fluster. While she had always made sure not to mention Haruto in front of Aki, thinking about the Haruto in this world made his name unintentionally slip out of her mouth.

“Hey, Miharu... Do you really still remember him? Even though you might never see him again? He probably doesn’t remember you anymore, either, so don’t confuse him with this Haruto. That would be rude,” Aki snapped. She was filled with regret as soon as she finished speaking, because she had been the one overlapping this Haruto and Amakawa Haruto in her thoughts.

“...I’m sorry — I got too heated up about it. I’m going to go clear my head.”

Aki stood up and went out the front door for some fresh air, her words filled with guilt.

◇◇◇

I’m such a fool...

As soon as Aki stepped through the door, she immediately crouched down outside the house in shame. She didn’t want to be inside; despite being told not to leave the house for any reason, she wanted some fresh air.

I don’t have any right to blame Miharu... Aki regretted bitterly, heaving a deep sigh. Even Miharu, who was typically of a warm disposition, might have become angry with her this time around.

Maybe Miharu still likes him after all? Then... should I apologize for saying such terrible things? But... A complicated emotion filled Aki — she wanted to apologize to Miharu and go back to the way things were, but whenever Amakawa Haruto’s name came up, she couldn’t help but recall everything about him.

“Argh, enough!” Aki yelled loudly after some time had passed, her head filled with too many thoughts to process.

“Uurgh...” A small groan sounded from a short distance away, but it was too soft to reach Aki’s ears. The front door of the house opened and Miharu’s hesitant figure appeared.

“U-Umm, you know, Aki. ...Huh? Kya!” She tried to shyly call out to Aki, but spotted two gray creatures instead. They were shaped like humans but clearly not human, and they sauntered about the forest roughly 20 meters away from the house. Miharu couldn’t hold back her scream.

“W-What’s wrong, Miharu? Eek! W-What is that?!” Aki had flinched in surprise at Miharu’s scream, then followed her gaze; she recoiled in horror at the sight of the monstrous creatures.

Miharu snapped out of her fear with a gasp. “A-Aki, hurry inside the house! Now!” she called out in a fluster.

“B-But it’s weird... Shouldn’t there be a barrier keeping them out?” Aki observed the movements of the creatures carefully — it didn’t seem like they had noticed her.

“No! Hurry and get Ai-chan, quickly,” Miharu said fretfully, when Aishia materialized right beside her.

“It’s okay... I’m already here.” She had a somewhat sleepy expression and seemed to have just woken up.

Miharu let out a sigh of relief. “Ah, Ai-chan...”

“Aishia... W-What is that?” Aki asked her timidly.

“Monsters, probably. They can’t enter the barrier, but they may be drawn to the essence of the barrier itself. I’ll take care of this quickly — you two get inside,” Aishia instructed Miharu and Aki as she vigilantly stared at the strange creatures.

Understanding they would be nothing but a hindrance, Miharu quickly ran over to Aki. “O-Okay. Let’s go, Aki.”

She pulled her by the hand toward the house. Once Aishia confirmed that they had left, she slowly started to walk forward.

“They’re person-shaped, but don’t seem to be human...?” Seeing the strange monsters gave her an eerie feeling, making her incline her head.

Their eyes were filled with madness, but other than their skin tones, they looked just like humans. That much was clear now that Aishia was closer to them... Though once she readjusted her thinking, the truth was that none of that mattered.

I’ll find out if I defeat them... I must protect the others in this house. That was the role Haruto had given her.

With that in mind, Aishia held her right hand out toward the monsters. The faint light indicative of spirit arts started to flow from her hand as a sign of her refined ode manipulation.

Aishia fired a shock wave bullet at the monster — the invisible attack made direct contact, and a sound reminiscent of the impact of a hammer echoed as the monster’s body was sent flying through the air. Boom!

The force was enough to turn a human’s bones to dust.

Aishia adjusted her sights onto the remaining monster mercilessly.

“Uuuuuargh!”

Just then, another one leaped out of the forest. It was similar to the other two in terms of its humanoid shape, but its skin was darker. For some reason, the darker monster was able to easily slip through the barrier and rush straight for Miharu and Aki, who had retreated to the front door. It moved fairly quickly.

“Aki, get down!”

Miharu saw the black monster closing in on them and, as a last minute resort, used her own body as a shield to cover Aki, hugging her close.

“Eh?!” Aki was thrown off balance at the sudden movement, unsure of what was happening, though she could immediately tell that Miharu was covering her by holding herself close. Once she noticed the black monster approaching them, she understood why Miharu had done such a thing.

“M-Miharu?!” Aki couldn’t help but yell. Miharu was in danger — it was evident there was nothing they could do, but Aki struggled and squirmed anyway.

Meanwhile, Aishia had reacted by aiming her right hand at the black monster, but she soon lowered it. The monster’s death was certain, even without her lifting a hand.

There were several meters left until the black monster would reach Miharu and Aki, when a black shadow descended from the skies gracefully. Held in Miharu’s embrace, Aki was able to see the figure from behind.

She immediately knew who it was.

Reflected in her eyes and dressed in the armor of the Black Wyvern was Rio’s familiar figure.

“Aaugh?!” The black monster seemed to be taken aback at how Rio suddenly appeared before its eyes. Its speed fell for a moment, freezing on the spot — which proved to be a fatal mistake.

Rio immediately aimed for the opening the monster had created. He sprung forward with all his might and thrust the hilt of his sword with pinpoint accuracy into the solar plexus of the monster, blowing it back ten meters. A real human would have been wracked with unbearable pain and struggled for breath. If anything, the purely physical damage of the attack would have left them with ruptured organs

However, the dark monster held a hand against its abdomen as it staggered back to its feet. It didn’t seem able to comprehend what had happened.

“Guuargh, aurgh?” it groaned curiously.

What was that texture just now? That monster was rock-hard. It seemed to have received some damage, but it still stood up after taking the hit... Even though I attacked it with the intention of incapacitating it... Rio observed the dark creature with wide eyes.

Meanwhile, Aishia approached and apologized with a regretful expression. “...Haruto, I’m sorry. Everyone was in danger.”

“No, I’m sure you would have made it on time, Aishia. I may have stuck my neck in where it wasn’t needed, but I’m glad it seems like I got back at just the right time. Sorry, you two. I came back late...” Rio shook his head with a strained smile, then looked at Miharu and Aki behind him.

“Ah, H-Haruto... Miharu, Haruto’s here.” Aki sighed in relief. Miharu timidly opened her eyes, having squeezed them shut, and turned around. “Haruto...” she called in a daze.

She looked up at his face with befuddled eyes; it was Rio’s first time seeing her with such an expression.

“Everything’s all right now,” Rio said gently, pulling Miharu by the hand to help her stand up.

“...T-Thank you very much. Ah, s-sorry.” Miharu accepted Rio’s hand and stood up, but her knees still seemed to be weak. She staggered forward and leaned into him. He supported her in his arms, blushing with embarrassment. In the meantime, Aki stood up by herself.

“Aki, can I leave Miharu to you? The battle isn’t over yet, so you two go inside the house. It’ll be over quickly,” Rio said with a wry smile.

“O-Okay.” Aki nodded hesitantly before approaching Rio and supporting Miharu in Rio’s place.

Within a few seconds, Miharu and Aki had stepped inside the house, the door slamming shut behind them.

“Aishia, do you know what they are?” he asked Aishia, observing the three strangely shaped creatures once he had confirmed that Miharu and Aki had gone inside.

“I don’t know, but... it feels like they’re of a monster class. Also, the black one is probably strong,” Aishia explained broadly.

“I see. But they’re wounded already... though they still seem quite energetic.”

As Rio and Aishia quickly exchanged information, the black monster had already regained most of its vitality. It stood on two legs as it glared at them aggressively.

“The gray one I attacked seems to have recovered, too,” Aishia said, looking at the gray monster she had sent flying earlier.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re just naturally strong or have some kind of abnormal ability to recover; what we have to do doesn’t change. I’ll clean up the rest of them, so you stand back, Aishia.”

“Haruto, you don’t have to worry about me. It doesn’t matter if the opponents are human shaped or real humans, I won’t show any mercy to someone who stands in your way.” Aishia shook her head resolutely.

Rio hesitated for several moments. “...I see. Let’s split up and deal with them, then. I’ll take the black one... Can I leave the gray ones to you, Aishia?” he asked Aishia with a sigh.

“Of course,” Aishia nodded quietly.

“Guaargh!” The black monster seemed to have resolved to flee instead; it let out a loud roar to signal its retreat. In response, the gray ones groaned and turned on their heels to run away, too.

Do they have the intelligence to know to run away from opponents they can’t win against? With widened eyes, Rio watched their retreating forms.

Rio and Aishia’s forms disappeared from where they had stood, as they instantly closed in on the black and gray creatures respectively, moving in to attack.

“Gargh?!” When Rio appeared before the black monster, he twisted the enemy’s body and slammed it against the ground. It didn’t seem to have much effect, as the black monster got back up using its incredible reflexes, immediately moving to counterattack.

It’s fast, but... Its movements are linear and its attacks are wide open.

Rio easily dodged the attack and drove his knee into the solar plexus he had wounded earlier.

“Gruh?” The black monster’s body lifted up into the air. Rio grabbed his opponent’s feet and swung it around, dislocating its joints as he smashed it into the ground. The black monster let out a pained groan.

“You sure are tough. Can you understand what I’m saying?” Rio asked, stepping on the abdomen of the black creature. Despite its different skin color, its shape was still human-like, so he wondered if it was possible to communicate with it.

“Gruuuugh.” The monster could only give a low groan.

...No good, huh? What is this guy, anyway? Well, if it’s a monster, it’d leave an enchanted gem, I guess.

With a sigh, Rio drew the blade at his waist. He had never seen nor heard of a monster like this before; in order to check whether it actually was a monster or not, Rio thrust his sword through the black creature’s heart.

“Gragh!” The black creature yelled louder than ever as it struggled wildly. Even with a sword through its heart, it was still moving around. It had quite the stamina.

Somewhat shocked, Rio looked down at the black monster writhing in pain. Eventually, the black creature’s struggling slowed down. “Please kill me,” it seemed to mouth slowly.

With widened eyes, Rio took in the movements of its mouth, then ended the black monster’s life. With a clean snapping noise, its body started to break down into dust, leaving behind a huge heart-shaped blue gem.

So, it was a monster. But the way its mouth moved at the end... Rio picked up the enchanted gem left behind by the strange monster with a conflicted expression.

“Haruto, I’m done here, too.” Aishia walked over with two enchanted gems in her hands. Her expression was so pure, it was as though her brutal mindset from earlier had been washed away entirely.

“...Thank you, Aishia. Shall we go inside? There’s something I need to tell you.” With a small smile, Rio led Aishia back inside the house.

◇◇◇

“I-I’m so sorry!”

Once Rio and Aishia stepped inside, Aki bowed her head, her face completely pale.

“Umm, why are you apologizing?” Rio asked, taken aback.

“Umm... Even though you said not to leave the house without a good reason, I went outside and caused Miharu to put herself in danger...”

“No, no... What happened just now was a pretty irregular event. But, well... Why did you go outside?” Rio asked with a troubled look.

Miharu defended Aki in a hurry. “U-Umm, it was my fault! I was being inconsiderate of Aki’s feelings and made her angry...”

“That’s not true! I... I... I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Miharu. I’m sorry...” Tears started to stream down Aki’s face as she spoke, clinging to Miharu, who gently patted Aki on the back with a distraught expression.

“It doesn’t seem like I need to say anything more,” Rio said with a smile.

“Mm... Oh? Haruto’s back. Huh, are you crying, Aki?” A sleepy Masato appeared in the living room with a big yawn.

“I-I’m not! You carefree dummy!” Aki separated from Miharu in a fluster, turning away with a huff.

Masato tilted his head and peered at Aki’s face. “Hmm?”

“...That aside, it’s been decided that we’re moving,” Rio said, changing the subject rather forcefully out of consideration for Aki.

“Ooh, really?!” Masato asked, his attention diverted away from Aki to Rio.

“Yes. I’m sure it’s been stressful for you, being unable to go outside freely... and it must have been boring, but you’ll be able to live your lives comfortably in another location instead.”

“It’s true that all the studying has left my body all stiff... Wait, when are we moving?”

“I’m thinking tomorrow, maybe. But there are a few rules that have to be cleared up before we move. Let’s go over the details while we eat some snacks, shall we?” Rio said, then walked into the kitchen.

◇◇◇

The next morning, the five set out for the spirit folk village.

“We’ll move to our new location, now. The scenery before you will change in an instant, just like when you came to this world. It isn’t dangerous, though, so just relax,” Rio said to a rather nervous group after putting the stone house away into the Time-Space Cache.

“No... Actually, it’s more like we’re nervous wondering what the other people are like,” Masato said in an unusually flustered manner for him.

The other party they were about to meet were something else, after all. Everyone had received a clear explanation about the spirit folk and their village yesterday; elves, dwarves, and werebeasts — they were all beings that the fantasy-loving Masato was very familiar with, and something he admired greatly. There was no way he wouldn’t be nervous.

“They’re all amazingly nice people, so you’ll make friends in no time. Now, let’s go. Are we all ready?” Rio said with a smile, looking over at everyone.

“Yes, please,” Miharu replied in a somewhat stiff voice, followed by Aki and Masato nodding in response.

“I’m ready anytime,” Aishia agreed with her usual completely relaxed tone.

“Then, here we go. Transilio!” With a smile, Rio activated the teleportation crystal in his hand.

The air began to twist and bend intensely, enveloping the group. In the very next moment, they had disappeared from their original location and teleported to a place near the spirit folk village.

“O-Ooh... Yeah, this was it! This was the feeling I had when my vision suddenly warped back then...” Masato said, glancing around at his surroundings. Miharu and Aki’s eyes were wandering about, too.

“There are many strange presences... they’re similar to mine,” Aishia inclined her head and murmured.

“That’s probably the spirits of the village — it seems like spirits can sense each other’s presence. The shyer spirits are good at suppressing their aura, but there are many spirits in the village,” Rio said, taking a guess at the origin of what Aishia was feeling.

“There’s a spirit with a really big aura.”

“That’s probably Dryas. A humanoid spirit like you, Aishia.”

“There’s another one... not Dryas, but another pretty big spirit is approaching this way,” Aishia said, then looked up at the sky. At the end of her line of sight was Orphia’s contract spirit, Ariel, closing in at a fairly rapid speed.

Aki’s gaze fixed on Ariel’s approach. “...A bird?”

“Isn’t it pretty big? There are people riding on it...” Masato said with a dazed expression. While they were staring, Ariel’s figure grew larger and larger, before finally arriving in the air above Rio’s group. Ariel circled in the air as she began to lower her flight speed.

“There are... girls riding on it,” Miharu murmured.

“They’re all my very close friends, and —” Rio began to explain to Miharu, when one girl jumped off of Ariel first.

It was Latifa. She glanced at the faces of the newcomers, and her expression faltered for a moment. “...Welcome back, Onii-chan!”

She quickly took a breath to ready herself and ran at Rio, crashing into him with a hug.

◇◇◇

One afternoon, a bit before the sun set, somewhere in Strahl...

Reiss stood in the shadows of the forest that extended through the western outskirts of Amande. Surrounding him were several hideous monsters and men, who appeared to be adventurers, lying unconscious.

“...One squad didn’t return. Don’t tell me they were defeated... Defeating a squad of Revenants, especially with an enhanced body in the mix, is no simple feat,” Reiss muttered dubiously.

My actions were a little flashy this time... the investigation squad from the city should be formed soon. Reiss tapped a hand against his mouth in thought, before letting out an annoyed sigh.

“Good grief. I guess I should lie low and keep an eye on things for a while... I’ve also been invited to Charles Arbor’s wedding ceremony in two month’s time. His bride is Celia Claire, if I recall... How a dimwit like that snagged such a catch is beyond me,” he spat bitterly, before turning his gaze to the unconscious adventurers.

“...While the plan will have to be delayed for a while, the numbers have fallen. I guess I shall have to change the materials I have right here and now... How many will remain this time, I wonder?” Reiss grinned like a demon as he slowly walked toward the unconscious adventurers

We’d like to know more, like the reason why they died, or how they lived.” Shizuku hesitated to say her words, so Homura voiced her question out loud resolutely. Their eyes were locked onto Rio’s with certainty.

“...My father passed away while I was too young to remember anything, so I’m afraid I only have memories of my time with my mother. If that is all right with you...”

“Is that so... Then, could you tell us about what about your life that you remember?”

“...I understand.”

Rio took a deep breath and nodded slowly. Then, he began to speak about his father’s death in the way that it had been conveyed to him by his mother, as well as his memories with Ayame. The details were mostly similar to what he had told Yuba before — that Zen was working as an adventurer who one day messed up on the job and died, leaving Rio and Ayame to live alone until Rio turned five years old.

“My mother was a kind person who was always smiling. That’s why I thought it was natural for it just to be the two of us when I was a child. She had never once shown me any sadness over my father’s death,” Rio said with regard to Ayame’s personality.

“We were, by no means, wealthy in the least. But while he was alive, my father had earned a lot of money for us, so we were able to get by without a need for my mother to work. Our neighbors would look at us with prejudice just for having different colored hair, but those days were filled with happiness. However, my life with my mother didn’t last for very long. When I was five years old, my mother... She passed away.” Unable to determine how far he should talk, Rio hesitated to continue.

“When you were five... How did you live from that point onward, then?” Shizuku asked fearfully.

Rio had braced himself in case they inquired after the reason of his mother’s death, so he relaxed in relief. Apparently the fact he had lost both his parents by the age of five had a much stronger impact.

“...I became an orphan in the poorer part of town.” Rio said casually, with a hint of a bitter smile mixed in.

“Oh...” Shizuku looked like she would start crying at any moment. Homura had his eyes closed as he clenched his fists tightly.

“But I was only an orphan until the age of seven.” Rio said with a small shrug.

“Is that so... How did you live after the age of seven?” Homura asked.

“I saved an important person of the kingdom by chance, and was granted enrollment into an education institute managed by the kingdom as a reward.”

“Oh? An educational institute... We have such institutions in this kingdom too, but only court nobles and certain military families are permitted entry. Was it different in that kingdom?”

“No, there was no difference. Everyone around me was what you would call a court noble or royalty in this kingdom.”

“...Then you must have suffered greatly.” Homura immediately guessed that Rio had been subjected to much discrimination based on his social status.

“No, it is true that the hostility toward me was high, but there was someone there who treated me kindly, too. Thanks to them, I can proudly say my days there were fun,” Rio said with a gentle smile. It was all thanks to Celia.

But that wasn’t enough to appease Homura and Shizuku’s emotions, as they continued to avoid eye contact with him. Gouki and Kayoko, who had been listening silently from the side, also had expressions of pain on their faces.

“From there, I attended the academy until I was twelve years old, before departing for this land.”

“I had heard there were kingdoms far to the west, but... you did well making it here unharmed. Thanks to that, we were able to meet you.” Homura lowered his head deeply in an excessive show of gratitude toward Rio. Knowing that the king wasn’t in a position where he should be easily lowering his head to others, Homura’s gratitude resounded greatly within Rio.

“When I was young, my mother would tell me a lot about you. And she promised me that she would someday take me to this land. She wasn’t able to fulfill that promise, but I have always wanted to travel here. At the very least, I wanted to make a grave for them in their home town.”

“Ayame promised such a thing to you...” Homura bit down on his lip. He was filled with a mixture of happiness, regret, and shame.

The sound of Shizuku’s sobbing cries echoed through the room as Homura closed his eyes and fell silent. The silence continued for a while.

Then, after some time, Homura took a deep breath and inquired after the one thing that Rio wanted to be asked the least. “...Rio. Would you tell us how Ayame died?”

“...I must warn you, it may be difficult to hear. Do you still wish to know anyway?” Rio asked, questioning the amount of resolution behind Homura and the others. The story would most certainly be sickening to hear.

“We must know what happened... What happened in her last moments. And, if need be...”

We will blame ourselves — Homura’s face darkened with that implication.

“I’m sorry... I know it must be cruel to ask you to speak the truth, but we simply cannot bear remaining in the dark,” Shizuku agreed, not lifting her head.

The two of them spoke in a calm tone filled with their strong determination and will.

“Is that so...” Rio closed his eyes as though waffling over something, before he took a deep breath.

“My mother... was killed. Right before my eyes,” he said bluntly.

“...” While they expected it to some extent, Homura and the others were still visibly shocked.

“The person who killed my mother was a man named Lucius.”

Rio paid them no mind as he started to recall what had happened at the time. That was what they had wished for, after all.

For the five years after Zen’s death, Ayame rented a modest house in the capital of the kingdom of Beltrum and had raised Rio there. Fortunately, there was enough money saved to allow her to raise Rio alone as long as they didn’t spend extravagantly. However, the burden on her was greater than expected, and she couldn’t even afford to take her eyes away from Rio for just a moment to do a little shopping. During times like that, an adventurer named Lucius would help out Ayame. Ayame was acquaintances with Lucius back from when Zen was still alive.

Back then, Ayame had retired from adventuring when she became pregnant with Rio. Zen had continued in the adventuring industry alone for a while, but ever since one day in particular, he had started to complete missions together with Lucius.

Zen had the skills, but he was still a foreigner in a strange land. Lucius had called out to him while he was still getting used to the kingdom, and looked after him in various ways. Because of that, Zen brought Lucius home and introduced him to Ayame. That was how Ayame first came into contact with him.

Then, when Zen died shortly after Rio was born, Lucius supported Ayame in myriad ways as she devoted herself to raising her child. For instance, he went shopping on Ayame’s behalf, visited with gifts in tow, or played with the young Rio.

At the time, neither Ayame nor Rio doubted that Lucius was a friendly and kind person; since he was an adventurer, his eyes were sharp, and there was some form of intensity behind him. However, his facial features were refined, and his personality was considerate and sociable, like a gentleman’s.

It had all been an act.

One day, while Ayame had gone out on an errand in the neighborhood, she told Rio: “I’ll be back soon, so don’t leave the house if someone you don’t know comes.” Then, she had left her five-year-old son at home alone.

Immediately after Ayame left, Lucius visited the house. Rio had followed Ayame’s words at first and pretended like no one was home.

“Rio — you’re there, aren’t you? It’s me, Lucius. I met Ayame out there and she told me to come look after you. Could you open the door for me?” a voice said from the other side of the door. Once he realized it was Lucius, Rio immediately opened the door. Rio knew Lucius very well, so he trusted him fully.

However, Lucius had done a complete 180 into a cruel and cold-hearted person.

“Gah...” Lucius walked into the house and kicked Rio in the abdomen.

The sudden impact to his stomach sent Rio’s small body flying; he had seen a glimpse of Lucius’ foot making contact with his stomach, but he couldn’t understand why Lucius would do such a thing.

“Wh...y...?” Rio rolled on the floor, wheezing.

“Hahaha. Listen up, Rio. In this world, sometimes there are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They love to betray people’s trust and spread malice. Demons like me love that more than anything. They’d even pretend to be good people to do it. That’s why you shouldn’t trust people so easily, you know?”

Lucius grabbed Rio’s head and peered at his face. “Now you’ve grown one wiser,” he added, and curled his lips in a joyful grin. A glint of madness could be seen in his eyes.

Again, Rio was unable to understand anything that Lucius was saying. All he knew was that he was afraid of the man. But it wasn’t just fear — faint buds of hatred were also trying to bloom within his chest. It caused Rio to glare at Lucius with an indescribable feeling.

“...Oh? So you can make a good expression, too.” Lucius’ eyes widened with interest as he chuckled with a grin. He kicked Rio’s prone form and rolled him face-up, before stepping on his stomach and pressing him into the floor.

“Guh...” A cry of pain left Rio’s mouth.

“Well, having you wailing and crying would just be a killjoy. Let’s silence you before Ayame gets home, shall we? Don’t worry, it won’t hurt. It’s just a little drug... One that paralyzes your body and makes your mind gradually grow hazy. If Ayame gets home early, you may even be awake to see her for the last act.”

Lucius grabbed Rio by the hair and lifted his face, then reached into his pocket and took out a small metal bottle that he thrust into Rio’s mouth. Unable to spit it out, Rio swallowed the unknown substance. Immediately after that, a burning heat seared within his stomach, and gnawed away at his body bit by bit. His breathing grew shallow, and he couldn’t find strength in his limbs.

That was when the door opened. It swung open a little faster than usual, most likely because of how it was unlocked.

It was Ayame.

“Welcome home, Ayame! You’re early,” Lucius called out to her casually, with Rio still underfoot. Rio was panting in pain, face flushed with a fever.

“W-What are you doing, Lucius?!” Ayame froze where she stood in a daze, managing to speak in a high-pitched voice once she processed the situation.

“Haha. Isn’t it obvious...?” Lucius smiled in delight as he spoke to Ayame.

At this point, Rio’s consciousness had already faded, and he couldn’t make out the words they exchanged. A fog had fallen over his vision, but he still had some vague sense of awareness left. He remained in that state for so long, it felt like it would never end. The only thing that was carved vividly into his memory was the hazy sight of Lucius abusing Ayame.

At the very end, however, Rio had the vague feeling Ayame had hugged him. While he couldn’t be certain whether it was a dream or reality, Ayame had smiled at him gently with tears in her eyes.

It had most likely been real. That’s what he wanted to believe.

But, behind Ayame, Lucius was standing with his sword in hand. He made eye contact with Rio and curled his lips in a repulsive grin.

That was the last thing Rio remembered. When he awakened, Rio had been thrown into a back alleyway of the capital. His clothes were stained with someone’s blood splatter, but Rio refused to accept reality and wandered around the capital in a daze, searching for his house. He had no idea how long he walked for, but Rio eventually found the plain old house they had been renting. However, the door to the house had been locked shut.

Rio found a neighbor he recognized somewhat and asked them for his mother’s whereabouts, the neighbor was disgusted by him, and told him that she was dead. The house was a vacant house, now.

After that, Rio lived on the streets of the slums for the two years until he enrolled into the Royal Academy, all while carrying a hatred toward Lucius in his chest the entire time.

“...And that’s what happened,” Rio declared with a frown.

With that, he had revealed his entire dark past — one that he had never told anyone else before. Everyone in the room — Homura, Shizuku, Gouki, and Kayoko — was trembling. The budding emotions in their chests may have been anger, or sorrow, or perhaps something else. Rio stared back at Homura and the others with a little bit of regret, wondering if he really should have told them the truth.

“Rio, you must bear so much resentment toward us, for causing Ayame to suffer such a thing...” Homura murmured softly in a voice that suppressed his emotions.

“I do resent you—” Rio said bluntly, without a hint of hesitation.

“...” Homura and the others shook greatly. They had been prepared to be cursed, but Rio’s frank words stabbed them deep in their hearts.

“—is what someone else might say if they had been in the same situation as me. However, I do not feel any particular resentment toward you,” Rio added with a bitter smile.

Homura and the others stared at Rio with dumbfounded expressions.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to surprise you like that. But... everyone is greatly misunderstanding something, here. Please don’t feel any misplaced guilt, or think of yourselves as the wrong-doers.”

“...Why do you say that?” Homura asked in a hoarse voice.

“I was raised lovingly by my mother, and watched her from the closest perspective possible. That’s why I know: my mother did not hate you. If anything, I believe she felt grateful for being able to marry my father. That’s why it wouldn’t be right for me to hate you,” Rio said, his features breaking down at the memories he recalled of his mother.

“Is that, so...” Homura and the others trembled once more, hanging their heads low. They couldn’t bear the feelings of remorse and embarrassment.

Misplaced guilt, thinking of themselves as the wrong-doers... Rio’s words were right on the mark. What Rio had said just now stabbed them deeper in the heart than when he had said he resented them. They realized exactly how helpless they were.

“But, Rio. Allow me to ask one thing: what do you think of this Lucius, the man who killed Ayame? Can you forgive him?”

“No. I can’t forgive him, most likely, ever. Just recently, I realized there were things in this world that are absolutely unforgivable.” Rio shook his head as he suppressed his emotions.

“Then, do you seek revenge?”

“I’m not considering living only for the sake of revenge, since I don’t know where he is, or if he’s even alive. However, if I do meet that man someday, then with these hands I will...”

“...I see. I am a king, after all; I have seen countless repulsive humans up until this point. That is why I can understand the emotions that you carry, and will not deny them. But, if you are to pursue the road to vengeance, there is one thing I must tell you first,” Homura said, narrowing his eyes as though to see through Rio’s determination.

“What is it?” Rio took on Homura’s gaze head-on.

“Vengeance is not justice. The dead may not wish for revenge, and vengeance will only give birth to new vengeance. Consequently, the road to vengeance only leads to hell. Even if you want to turn back, you won’t be able to. You understand that, right?”

“Yes, I am aware.”

“You can still turn back right now. Will you still kill him, knowing that?”

“...Yes, that is what I have decided. I will no longer avert my eyes from reality. From people’s malice, from my own weaknesses. That is why I am willing to dirty these hands if necessary.” Rio asserted his own will plainly, with a determined expression.

Homura looked into Rio’s eyes carefully; his caramel-colored eyes showed no signs of delusion or madness. They were the eyes of someone who knew that there was no such thing as absolute morals in this world, yet had chosen to stick by their own morals anyway. That was why he wasn’t about to resort to any means possible for his vengeance, and he wouldn’t incur anyone else’s enmity for his own selfish reason.

Homura sighed with resignation.

“...Is that so. In that case, I will not stop you from seeking vengeance.”

If Rio had lost sight of his way, Homura would have imparted words, as his grandfather, to lead him back to a less painful road. However, there was no point in doing that to Rio as he was right now. From his experience as a king that had lived a long life, Homura could understand that human emotions weren’t so fragile that they could be washed away with a few idealistic words.

“...However, as your grandfather, I wish to know whether you have the strength to carry out that will of yours. Would you consider facing off with Gouki?”

“...You wish for me to spar with Lord Gouki?” Rio’s eyes widened, and he tilted his head at Homura’s sudden proposal.

“Forgive me — I have bewildered you with my sudden insolence. It is simply the meddlesome actions of the elderly...”

“No, I just haven’t completely grasped the point of such an action...”

“It’s about Lucius. From what you told us just now, he sounds quite skilled. With a personality as repulsive as his, I wouldn’t doubt that Zen’s death could also be attributed to him. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“...Yes. I have considered it as a possibility.”

“That being said, I knew Zen very well. At the very least, he wasn’t the type you could easily gain the upper hand on in a fight. Isn’t that right, Gouki?” Homura said, looking at him.

Gouki nodded silently, before offering his own opinion on the matter. “Yes, most sneak attacks wouldn’t be able to phase a man like him. If that foul man truly took out Zen with his own hands, then reluctant as I am to admit it, I believe he must be quite powerful.”

“That’s how it is. You must be at least Zen’s strength or greater if you ever wish to confront Lucius. And, even if he didn’t kill Zen, strength is invaluable for a journey like yours, is it not?” Homura asked.

“Yes,” Rio said, nodding.

“In that regard, Gouki was once evenly matched with Zen, and now has many years of military experience under his belt. He is a veteran warrior unmatched not only in this kingdom, but the neighboring kingdoms as well. There is no one in this kingdom stronger than this man that could test your true abilities. How about it — would you like to spar with him?”

In other words, Homura wanted to train Rio.

On the battlefield, he held the nickname of the “Fierce God Gouki” — the number of strong opponents he had slayed was immeasurable. Under Gouki, his grandchild would be able to gain valuable experience, Homura thought. Behind his words was a glimpse into the utmost faith he had in Gouki.

“I wouldn’t dare to dream of such a thing. If he would be so kind as to teach me, then I gladly accept.” Rio nodded with a bold smile.

“Is that so? Then may I leave Rio to you, Gouki?” Homura asked of him.

“Of course. Accepting this duty would be my honor.” Gouki nodded with plenty of emotion behind the action.

“Then, I shall leave it to you. ...Now, Rio. Forgive me, but I have come here today using the time between my official duties. We will have to wrap things up for now. Please, make yourself at home under the care of Gouki’s residence. Don’t forget to spar with him.”

Considering Ayame’s past, Rio’s identity wasn’t to be revealed under any circumstances, so no one was to know of this secret meeting. If the meeting had continued for too long, the unused time in their schedules might be questioned by the retainers, so they had reached their time limit.

Thus, the meeting moved to wrap itself up for the day.

“Rio, could you come here for a moment?” Shizuku stood up and suddenly called out to him. “...Yes, of course.” Rio nodded, hesitantly approaching Shizuku. She gently hugged him.

“You grew up so wonderfully, all by yourself. Well done making it this far. Thank you so much.” Burying her face in Rio’s larger body, Shizuku was moved to tears.

Rio had stiffened faintly at suddenly being hugged out of the blue, but he soon melted under Shizuku’s warmth. It somehow reminded him of Ayame.

“No... I’m the one who is happy to be able to meet the two of you.” Rio timidly hugged Shizuku back.

“Yes...” With a fleeting smile, Shizuku looked up at Rio’s face from up close.

The expression Rio could see on Shizuku’s face from a distance wasn’t one of royalty, but a loving grandmother instead, though her outward appearance was slightly young for a grandmother. Homura gazed at the two of them with an expression filled with familial love.

“Now, let us go, Shizuku.”

“All right...” At Homura’s prompt, Shizuku reluctantly left the room.

“If you’d please, Sir Rio — Allow me to lead the way.” Once the king and queen had exited, Gouki spoke up quietly.

“Yes, please do.”

◇◇◇

After the meeting, Rio left the royal castle and moved to the Saga estate.

The Saga family residence was located in a military town close to the heart of the capital, where the streets were quiet and a serene atmosphere hung in the air. Every residence in the area was enclosed within walls, but there wasn’t much greenery for shelter, so the sturdy but wonderful mansions were neatly lined.

“It’s this way.

Only nobles and oddballs want extravagant homes.