Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Volume 13, page 1
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Prologue: After the Battle
Rio grabbed Charles Arbor by the scruff of his neck and dragged him down the hill in front of an audience of 5,000 soldiers.
Christina bit down hard on her lip, maintaining a composed expression as she watched on intently. Before long, Rio was right beside her, throwing Charles onto the floor without a word.
“Ha... Haha...” Charles had completely lost his will to fight. He laughed dryly.
“Is everyone else okay?” Rio asked, mainly looking at Celia and Orphia. Along with Vanessa, the two had been on the ground when he arrived.
“Yup. I was only hit a little, so I’m fine,” Celia answered. “Vanessa was only knocked out, so it isn’t anything life-threatening. Orphia... She had her magic essence sealed with an enchanted collar, but I removed it with Dispello.”
Celia currently had her hand over Orphia’s stomach as she cast her healing magic. Right beside Orphia was the collar Charles had placed on her—a magic artifact commonly known as a sealing shackle.
Like its name implied, it had the effect of sealing magic essence. In other words, it made it impossible to release essence from the body. However, it would be more accurate to say it was an item that absorbed the essence of the wearer, activating a sorcery that severely disturbed essence control and prevented them from acting freely. This was why it could activate automatically as long as it had a source of essence to absorb.
“I’m fine. Cecilia’s healing magic is taking effect,” Orphia replied with an innocent smile.
Just then, Christina, who had been watching the battle while checking on Vanessa’s condition, approached Celia.
“Stay still, Professor. Cura.”
She placed her hand against Celia’s cheek and activated her healing magic to ensure the area Charles struck didn’t swell up. Celia had said that she was fine, but, that was probably because she had been too focused on treating Orphia to notice the state of her cheek.
“Thank you very much, Princess Christina.” Celia was dazed, as though she hadn’t noticed the pain until now.
“Not at all,” Christina replied with a frown.
Meanwhile, Rio picked up the sealing shackles that were beside Orphia and approached Charles.
“Hahaha...”
He clasped them around Charles’ neck. Charles showed no resistance, letting him do as he pleased. He merely laughed brokenly, like he was trying to escape from reality.
Rio frisked Charles and found two more sealing shackles in his possession, confiscating them. There was also a rope suitable for arrest, so he used it to restrain Charles’ arms.
“Sara, Alma,” Rio called out.
“Yes?” the two replied.
“Could the two of you disarm the people lying around and gather them together? Then tie them up with a rope or something. There may be some who still have the strength to resist, so be careful.”
“Understood.”
“Leave it to us!”
Sara and Alma both nodded firmly before moving into action immediately. The enemies that Rio swept earlier were lying all over the place.
“Rei, Kouta,” Rio called out to the two boys standing around with nothing to do.
“Y-Yes?”
“Could you also help disarm the enemies and gather all their weapons in one place off to the side?”
“...Okay.”
Kouta and Rei looked a little nervous, but set off right away. After they left, Rio approached Alfred, who was unconscious.
I should cuff him twice, just in case...
If the wearer’s essence control was exceptional, it was possible for them to defy the effects of the sealing shackles and control their magic. It was difficult to use advanced magic in such a state, but Rio decided to use two sealing shackles in consideration of Alfred’s abilities. Afterwards, he tied his hands and feet together with rope, retrieved Alfred’s enchanted sword that had fallen to the ground, then left him there.
As for Rui...
Rio walked over to Rui and paused, a troubled look on his face. Should he restrain the hero, a disciple of the Six Wise Gods, as a prisoner? He was technically on friendly terms with him.
There was something else bothering him, too—the hesitation he felt from Rui during the earlier battle. When they exchanged those last few words before Rio knocked him unconscious, it almost seemed like Rui didn’t want to fight.
It seemed unlikely that Rui would resist and rage recklessly if he woke up to this decisive scenario. After a brief moment of thought, Rio carefully picked Rui up in his arms. In the end, he decided not to restrain him. If Rui still wanted to fight, he’d have to subdue him.
“Mmgh...” Rui regained consciousness, cracking his eyes open.
“Good morning,” Rio greeted a little awkwardly.
“Haruto... Ah, I see...” Rui said, immediately understanding the situation he was in.
“I don’t want to resort to violence, so will you be compliant?”
“Yes. I have no intention of resisting.” Rui nodded weakly at Rio’s question.
“...” Rio said nothing else as he headed back to Celia with Rui in his arms. Instead, Rui opened his mouth to say something first—and for some reason, quite happily: “It’s the first time in my life... That I faced someone head-on and lost, that is.”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t control myself and had to knock you unconscious.”
“No, it’s strangely refreshing. Come to think of it, it’s my first time being carried in a bridal style like this, too. At least from what I can remember.” Rui looked up at the radiant sunset and chuckled in delight.
“I’m sorry...”
“Please don’t say that. It’s comfortable.” Rui’s laughter drew Rio into chuckling along with him.
“I’m glad you were my opponent, Haruto. Truly...” Rui mumbled softly, looking up at the sky.
Chapter 1: Across the Border
Several minutes later, Rio woke Alfred and brought him over to where Rui and Charles were beside Christina. Celia was still treating Orphia’s wound just to be sure she was healed, but Sara and Alma stood guard near Alfred in case anything happened. Meanwhile, Vanessa had also regained consciousness and was keeping a watchful eye over Charles’ subordinates, along with Kouta and Rei.
Fortunately, no one that crossed swords with Rio had lost their lives. However, there were a considerable number of people who had been sent flying by his wind spirit arts and landed hard, resulting in severe injuries. Those people had been restrained, and the critically injured ones were allowed to be treated by the sorcerers.
“You’ve done it now...” Christina glared at Charles bitterly.
“What are you saying? Those should be my words. I knew you shouldn’t have been allowed to attend that banquet. You managed to go behind my back and join forces with such a monster,” Charles sneered weakly. His fighting spirit had been completely broken, but he seemed to have regained a little composure and could hold a proper conversation again. He shot a look of detest at Rio.
“Take back your words and apologize. Sir Amakawa is no monster,” Christina ordered with a frown.
“Ha! Hahaha!” Charles cackled wildly, then lowered his voice to an irritated mumble. “If only... If only that monster weren’t here...”
He hasn’t realized it was Celia who connected Princess Christina to me?
Rio brushed off Charles’ resentment with a blank expression and made a guess based on his words. Why Reiss hadn’t explained that to Charles, he had no idea...
Christina seemed to be thinking the same thing, showing a glimpse of a doubt for a moment.
“We’re still within the borders of the Beltrum Kingdom right now. While we’ve apprehended the target, it wouldn’t be a good idea to linger about while surrounded by the enemy’s army. The faster we cross the border, the better, but what would you like to do?” Rio asked Christina.
He looked between Charles, his subordinates nearby, and the troops waiting on the hill. It was up to Christina to decide how to deal with them, and what action to take next.
Christina thought for a moment, but quickly made a decision. “We’ll bring Charles and Alfred with us as prisoners. We’ll investigate the details later.”
“Oh? Then what will happen to me?” Rui asked, shrugging his shoulders in jest.
“We cannot take the hero around as a prisoner. If you wish to follow us of your own will, that would be another matter, but...” Christina trailed off, yielding the right to choose to Rui. Taking a hero captive could be seen as a political attack, so she had to take a stance that thoroughly showed her lack of hostility.
“I see...” Rui looked at Kouta’s back somewhat sadly as he expressed his intent. “I shall return to the capital, then.”
Kouta avoided Rui’s gaze by keeping his face forward, never turning back once as he stood watch of their surroundings.
“Are you sure...?” Christina confirmed, also looking at Kouta’s back.
“Yes. I have a lover awaiting my return,” Rui nodded, answering clearly.
“Ngh...” Kouta’s back shook slightly. Rio and the others couldn’t see his expression from their position, but Rei was sighing in exasperation beside Kouta.
“Kouta,” Rui called. He didn’t respond.
Rui continued speaking to his back. “I knew why you left the castle. I knew, yet I tried to bring you back w
“...”
“If you tell me you’ll be fine, I’ll believe you. I won’t try to force you to come back anymore. I’ll believe that we can meet again someday and wait. You’re an important friend to me, after all,” Rui kept speaking in spite of Kouta’s silence, when—
“I...!” Kouta raised his voice, keeping his trembling back facing them. His bitter words were not in the language of this world, but in Japanese.
“I’ve... I’ve always felt inferior to you. You transferred into our school from overseas, blessed with your looks and brains, and immediately became the school’s favorite. You joined the same club as Akane and I and before I knew it, you were closer to my childhood friend than I was... I was jealous of you. I couldn’t win against you in school, sports, or looks. Akane kept praising how amazing you are—each time, it filled me with so much jealousy, I almost hated you.”
“Kouta...”
“But you were such a good person, treating me like a close friend—I couldn’t hate you. Even when we wandered into this world unable to understand the language, you spent hours every day studying grammar and vocabulary to help us... Acting like we were the ones having a tough time when you had it the toughest out of all of us. That’s why...” Kouta bit down on his lip.
Everyone watched his back silently. While they could understand Rui’s words due to the automatic translation effect of his Divine Arms, most of them had no idea what Kouta was saying. Only Rui and Rei, who were Japanese, and Rio—who had Amakawa Haruto’s memories within him—could understand Kouta’s words.
However, it was clear even to those who couldn’t understand Kouta’s words that he was venting out his pent-up emotions.
“That’s why it was only natural for Akane to fall in love with you. Then you fell in love with her, too. But I didn’t want to accept that... I was going to go insane with envy if I stayed with you and Akane any longer. I hated myself for feeling like that—it was pathetic. That’s why I ran from you two. That’s all...” Kouta touched upon the truth and clenched his fists tightly.
“I’m sorry...” Rui apologized with a distressed look.
“Don’t be... It must have been hard for you, too. Akane’s slow on the uptake, after all. She never realized my feelings. But you did, and that left you stuck between a rock and a hard place. I’m the one who should be sorry. Sorry, for leaving without a word—it was only natural for you to be worried.” Kouta returned the apology, his face twisting as he held back his bitter emotions. It was at this point that he turned for the first time, facing Rui. “I’ll be fine. I’ll do my best to live well outside the castle. So there’s no need for your concern. Don’t worry about me. One day, when I no longer feel inferior to you, I’ll go see you guys... Thank you for thinking of me as a close friend all this time. You’re a precious friend to me, too, Rui.”
“Yeah. We’ll always be friends.” Rui looked down, nodding his head.
“Look after Akane. Tell her I’ll be fine.”
“...All right.”
With that final exchange, Kouta turned his back to Rui once more.
“Saiki, you take care too,” Rui said to Rei.
“Yeah. Well, I’ll just be drifting along,” Rei replied with a shrug.
“Right... By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask—did you dye your hair?” Rui looked at their hair and asked.
“Oh, this is...” Kouta exchanged looks with Rei, then trailed off. Rio had asked them to keep the details of the artifacts that changed their hair color a secret if possible.
Rio interrupted. “It isn’t common knowledge, but there’s a way to change it,” he explained.
“I see. No wonder the search teams were struggling so much, then.”
Rui smiled in understanding. “That aside, Haruto. Thank you. You may not know why I’m saying this, but I was able to stop hesitating thanks to my defeat. That’s why I was able to face Kouta properly. Kouta also turned back to look at me,” Rui said brightly, bowing his head deeply at Rio.
“I did nothing.” Rio shook his head with a gentle smile.
Rui turned to address Christina and the others, who had been waiting. “My apologies—the conversation dragged on because of me. You’re crossing the border before detouring to Rodania, right? I’ll accompany you to the hill. There’ll be less chance of the soldiers picking a fight if I’m there,” he suggested as he looked at the 5,000 soldiers waiting on the hill.
“That would be much appreciated.” Christina nodded at Rui. “Is Orphia doing okay?”
Orphia was still sitting on the ground as Celia cast her healing magic on her. “Yes, I’m fine now. Thank you very much, Cecilia,” Orphia thanked Celia, using her alias, then steadily stood up on her feet.
Yet Celia still looked worried. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Normally, Orphia should have required much more rest. But they couldn’t linger around here for much longer.
“I’ll carry her until we reach the border,” Rio offered, approaching Orphia.
“Huh...?” Orphia’s eyes widened in shock.
“It’s just in case. Just rest some more.”
Orphia was flustered, which was rare for her. “B-But... Is that really okay?”
“Could you please, Haruto?” Celia requested.
“Sure, leave it to me,” Rio nodded firmly. He walked over to Vanessa with Alfred’s sword in hand. “Vanessa, this is Alfred’s sword. It’d normally be most appropriate to hand it over to Her Highness, but its weight will be a burden while we’re moving. Could I ask you to hold onto it?”
Vanessa stared at Alfred’s sword and grasped it tightly. “Yes... I can do it. Thanks.”
Meanwhile, Sara and Alma had approached Orphia and were whispering to each other.
“Since he offered, you should just let him carry you.”
“Indeed. Or you may regret it later.”
The two of them were usually the ones being teased by Orphia, so they were delighted by this chance for revenge.
“S-Stop it, you two,” Orphia objected with a red face.
“Is something the matter here?” Rio returned and questioned the girls.
“No, nothing. Orphia just wants to be carried by you.”
“Please look after Orphia.”
Sara and Alma showed an impressive display of coordination to set Orphia up.
“Urgh... T-Then... If you’d please, Haruto...” Orphia blushed shyly, bowing her head at Rio.
“I understand. Then, if you’d excuse me.”
Rio picked up Orphia with ease, fitting her snugly into his arms. When she thought about it, this would be her first experience being carried by him. She knew Rio had strength enhancements activated to make carrying her simple, but actually having him lift her so easily was a little embarrassing.
“...” Orphia ducked her face to hide how red it was.
“Let us depart, then,” Rio said to Christina. They left the knights and sorcerers disarmed and tied up a short distance away and headed for the hill towards Galarc’s border.
◇ ◇ ◇
Rio’s group had reached the top of the hill. There were 5,000 soldiers before them, but they were clearly uncertain about how to deal with their approach. There was evident unrest among the troops—and since they had allowed Charles to be captured without doing a single thing, there was also some guilt involved.
“Looking at them now, there really are a lot of them...” Christina said as she looked around at the mass of troops.
They were currently at the border of the Galarc Kingdom, with which their alliance had gone completely cold. It was also relatively close to Marquess Rodan’s domain, which Duke Huguenot’s faction was using as their headquarters.
It was necessary to allocate an appropriate amount of military force for defense, so it was easy to surmise that a fair number of soldiers had been stationed nearby to begin with.
“They deployed as many of the search party as they could on enchanted ships, then they mobilized the majority of the troops in the walled cities. There’s approximately 5,000 of them,” Rui said.
Indeed, if they used enchanted ships, then it was possible to move several hundred people from Cleia in a day.
