Chapter 1: On the Move
Somewhere along the road stretching south of Cleia...
“From the avenger to the avengee, if you will... Human karma is a truly difficult concept. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Reiss left behind those words in his exchange with Rio before retreating into the forest. Rio continued glaring into the forest afterwards, his expression grim.
“...”
Meanwhile, Christina watched Rio’s back, dumbfounded and in shock. The same went for Celia, Sara, Orphia, and Alma. Several seconds passed like that, silence falling over their surroundings. Everyone held their breath. Rio secretly probed the area using his wind spirit arts to confirm Reiss had withdrawn into the forest and taken off, and that there were no other enemies. Then, he turned back to the party.
“Let’s go.” He was the first one to break the silence.
“...Huh?” The group blinked in shock, taken aback in surprise.
“It’s just as he said. If we linger here any longer, the pursuers will catch up to us in no time at all. The roar of the minotaurs would have reached the city, so they’ve probably noticed that something has happened. There’s a high risk in using this road, so come this way.”
Rio smoothly ignored the fact Reiss had uttered his real name and succinctly explained the emergency. Then, he started walking into the eastern forest on the left-hand side of the road that stretched south. It was the opposite direction that Reiss had retreated toward.
An awkward air flowed between the party.
“...Yeah, let’s go.”
“Yup.”
“Yes.”
Sara, the silver werewolf disguised as a human, took the lead in following Rio. Similarly disguised as humans, the high elf Orphia and elder dwarf Alma echoed her words.
“Indeed, we don’t have time to be chatting here. Let us go,” the guard knight Vanessa called out to Christina.
“...All right,” Christina nodded, walking forward hesitantly. At that, Celia sighed in relief and followed after them.
Kouta and Rei exchanged a look with each other before doing the same. Meanwhile, as all of that was going on—
Aishia, can you hear me?
Rio sent a telepathic message to Aishia, who hadn’t come running to join the earlier battle.
Yup, she replied immediately.
Where are you right now?
At the edge of our telepathic range. I’ve confirmed the stone house is safe.
Perfect. Thank you, Rio said with a small smile. She had probably decided to move separately from the spirit folk girls and check up on the stone house when she sensed the minotaurs’ appearance.
The only ones present in the stone house right now were Miharu and Latifa, so the fact that she prioritized their safety and checked on them was truly a relief.
What should I do now? Aishia asked.
I’d like you to stay there and keep watch over Miharu and Latifa. You can fly after us every day and stop before the sun sets, without getting too close. We’re going to give up on taking the detour down the south road and head to Rodania via the east road instead.
He would have liked to ask her to monitor their surroundings, but with Reiss around, he didn’t want to leave the stone house unguarded—its safety was his highest priority. They also had the extra Time-Space Cache that Orphia brought along, so moving the stone house wasn’t an issue either.
Got it.
Unless there’s a major emergency, I won’t be contacting you again until we reach Rodania. If anything urgent happens over there, just scatter a load of ode and mana and I’ll come running.
Understood.
Later, then.
Their telepathic conversation ended there. He could ask for more details from Sara and the others later.
“Is something the matter, Haruto?” Celia asked, having followed Rio into the forest.
“No, it’s nothing. The monsters made a fine mess out of the surrounding earth, so I was considering how we could use that to our benefit and hide our footprints from the pursuers,” Rio said, looking around at the forest floor that had been trampled by the large number of monsters. “We could move through the treetops and cut our traces off here.”
It was pretty much guaranteed that troops would be sent to investigate the commotion that had happened, and the most prominent information they could leave behind was their footprints. If their footprints were discovered amongst the ground that had been trampled by the monsters, they’d definitely be tracked down.
In this case, it would be best to cut off their footprints here and leave no information for the pursuers, delaying them by extending their investigation time. If they find Reiss’ footprints moving in the opposite direction, they might even split their personnel further. However...
“Through the treetops...?”
How was that possible? Christina, Vanessa, Kouta, and Rei looked up at the trees overhead in confusion. While they could certainly erase traces of themselves if they moved through the treetops, the forest was lined with trees over ten meters tall.
As a physically-trained knight, Vanessa could probably manage it, but it would be a feat for the others to simply climb a tree, much less jump between the spaced out branches. They couldn’t waste time struggling to climb either, or the pursuers would arrive.
“We’ll carry you. I can take Kouta and Rei, and the other three... Can I leave them to you guys, Sara?” Rio said.
“...Sure!” Sara exchanged looks with Orphia and Alma before nodding happily.
“Then let’s get going immediately. I’ll carry Kouta, so could you climb on my back, Rei? Here goes,” Rio said, picking Kouta up in his arms in a bridal carry.
“Huh? Wai...” Kouta froze, having been picked up smoothly before he could give his consent.
“Hurry please, Rei. Hold on tightly so you don’t fall off,” Rio urged.
“Ah... All right. Excuse me,” Rei nodded obediently and climbed on Rio’s back, figuring this was no time to be arguing.
O-Oh... Wow, he’s really buff. Rei was quietly in awe at how Rio didn’t even flinch under the weight of two men.
“I shall carry Celia, then. Sara and Orphia, you take care of those two,” Alma said, approaching Celia.
“Thank you, Alma,” Celia smiled warmly. She turned to address Christina and Vanessa, hoping to ease their wariness towards the girls they had yet to be introduced to. “As you witnessed in the fight earlier, these girls have enchanted weapons just like Haruto and can enhance their physical bodies by quite a bit. They’re very reliable, so you can trust them to transport you safely.”
“I understand. I will be in your care, then,” Christina nodded at Sara and Orphia.
“I’ll take the swordswoman so you can carry her, Orphia,” Sara offered, leaving Orphia to handle Christina.
“Yup, got it.”
“Thanks.” Vanessa quietly bobbed her head at Sara. After Sara and the others arranged themselves and picked up their escorts, they finally departed.
“Let’s go. I’ll lead the way, so please follow me carefully.”
“Understood!”
Rio first took a great leap with Kouta and Rei in tow, landing lightly on a branch overhead.
“A-Amazing...”
“...I knew he had incredible physical abilities, but this is something else.”
Kouta and Rei easily surpassed 120 kilograms together, but Rio had leapt as though gravity didn’t exist, leaving the two muttering in shock.
“You may bite your tongues if you speak, so please keep conversation to a minimum.” No sooner than he had said that, Rio leapt to the next tree. Sara and the others followed suit, lightly jumping to thick branches behind Rio. They continued making their way through the forest, putting the battlefield behind them in no time at all.
Thus, just as Rio planned, the only traces left behind were those of a grand battle that had taken place on the road and surrounding forest. The troops from Cleia—including Alfred and Rui—arrived at the scene of the commotion mere minutes later.
Ten or so minutes after they departed the battlefield on the south road, Rio and the others reached a decent point down the eastern road.
We should have gained a fair distance from our previous location, but...
The further they moved away from Cleia, the further they would be located from the areas being thoroughly investigated. More distance would also give them more chances to outwit their pursuers, so ideally, Rio wanted to gain even more distance, if possible.
However, maintaining both physical ability and physical body enhancements at the same time consumed a large amount of magic essence, so it was known as an inefficient magic or sorcery. Being able to sustain them for several minutes was difficult.
Of course, Rio and the spirit folk girls all possessed extraordinary amounts of essence compared to regular humans, so they could still keep their enhancements up for as long as needed, but prolonged use in front of Christina and the others might be seen as unnatural.
...Let’s take a break for now. Sara and the others need an explanation, too.
Having decided that, Rio reduced his speed and gently landed in a basin in the forest. The spirit folk girls followed his lead and landed next to him easily.
“We should be safe here for a while. Many unforeseen events happened back there, so let’s take a small breather to explain things and discuss what our plans are moving forward,” Rio suggested as he let Kouta and Rei down onto the ground.
“But...” Celia started nervously as she watched everyone’s faces. She still seemed to be affected by how Reiss had called Rio by his real name before he left.
There had barely been any conversation on their way here, so the fact no one had been introduced to each other was probably contributing to the awkward air.
“Come to think of it, Your Highness has yet to be introduced to Sara and the others. Let’s start from there, shall we?” Rio purposefully avoided the topic of his real name as he moved the conversation along. The others seemed to pick up on his intentions.
“I’m Sara, this is Orphia, and that one over there is Alma. It’s very nice to meet you.”
Sara offered their names on behalf of the others as Orphia and Alma bowed their heads.
“May I ask what relation you have to Mister Haruto...?” Rei raised his hand and asked.
“How should I describe them... They’re young ladies—or rather, warriors—from a minority group located on the outskirts of Strahl. Certain events brought us together, after which they’ve shown me nothing but kindness.” Rio gave a convincing but harmless explanation of the spirit folk girls’ backgrounds.
“We’re currently traveling with Haruto in order to learn more about the world,” Orphia added. It technically wasn’t a lie.
“I see... You’re all very cute. Like, really...” Rei looked at them with interest in his eyes.
“Hah... Thank you very much.” Sara bowed, accepting his words as a polite comment.
“Rei. Please refrain from saying unnecessary things in this situation.” Kouta elbowed Rei in the arm.
“Hahaha... Right. Ah, my name is Rei Saiki, by the way. This guy is my underclassman, Kouta Murakumo. Pleased to meet you all.” Rei introduced himself somewhat stiffly.
“Hello. I’m Kouta.” Kouta seemed to be a little shy, as he nodded his head awkwardly. Then, Christina exhaled slowly to calm herself before speaking.
“I’m the Beltrum Kingdom’s first princess, Christina. Thank you for saving us earlier.”
“Vanessa Emarle, a knight serving as Princess Christina’s guard. I am truly grateful to you all for saving Her Highness from our predicament,” Vanessa said, bowing respectfully.
“Oh my, so you’re a princess... Well, we only intervened to help Haruto and Celia, so you can direct your gratitude towards them.” Though they must have heard the gist of things from Aishia and known the first princess Christina was here already, Sara acted like she was only learning that fact now.
“So what’s the current situation? We only know that there was an uproar in the city and that you’re on the run from the soldiers...” Alma asked. They couldn’t reveal that Aishia had acted as a messenger while Rio was in the underground room and gathered them to support the escape plan, so she implicitly conveyed their intention to feign ignorance to Rio and Celia.
“Your Highness,” Rio said to Christina.
“Huh...? Ah, yes?” Christina flinched, shaking as she replied.
“Are you feeling unwell?” Rio asked, staring at her.
“N-No, not at all.” Christina averted her gaze somewhat guiltily.
“That’s good to hear. May I explain your situation to the girls? They definitely won’t reveal anything to anyone else.” Rio looked at Sara and the others.
“...Very well,” Christina nodded awkwardly. Whether that was because she had no other choice in this situation, or because of something else...
“Then I shall summarise the situation succinctly. First, L-Lady Celia and I successfully snuck into her father’s estate, as originally planned,” said Rio. He stuttered awkwardly over Celia’s title out of unfamiliarity.
“...” Celia looked like she wanted to object to being called “Lady,” but held her tongue.
“After sneaking into the underground basement, we found Her Highness hiding there. She was on the run from the kingdom’s army, currently being led by nobles agitated about the political conflicts in the capital,” Rio explained shortly.
“I see... So Haruto and Celia will head to Rodania from here?” Sara asked.
“Yes. I’ve decided to escort them.” Rio confirmed, frowning slightly as he sighed, as he had predicted what Sara would say next.
“Then allow us to accompany you and offer what help we can provide.”
Honestly, it was a very reassuring offer. With so many people to protect, even Rio would struggle to cover every vulnerability.
Of course, he had already decided his highest priority was Celia, but he didn’t want to cause any collateral damage that would make Celia upset. Thus, in order to avoid that, he couldn’t cut corners while escorting Christina—making Sara’s offer extremely helpful.
“...We’re being pursued by the army of an entire kingdom. It’ll be a dangerous trip.”
Rio’s worries lay there. Sara and the others left their village to learn about the world, so it wouldn’t be right to drag them into such a dangerous and problematic situation. If their escort target had only been Celia, then they wouldn’t need to hide their spirit arts and could just fly through the air. But that wasn’t an option with Christina and the others present. It was a different matter than lending them magic artifacts to alter their hair color. Unless there was some kind of emergency, he didn’t want to use any methods that deviated from the common knowledge of the Strahl region.
They would move by land, mostly on foot. He wouldn’t do anything superhuman like carry Celia in his arms and run throughout the daytime and nighttime hours.
“And I thought we were friends. Did you expect us to just watch as you and Celia go off on such a dangerous journey?” Sara asked, sounding slightly fed up.
“Yup, what Sara said.” Orphia nodded in agreement.
“And wouldn’t it be better to have more people on an escort mission? That’s why we’re here, after all.”
Instead of Lady Aishia, that is—Alma implied in a way that only Rio would understand.
She had a point. Even though Aishia’s strength was on par with Rio’s and she could perform numerous roles by herself, she only had one materialized body that could act at any time. Plus, even if Aishia were to participate in the escort mission, she would be more useful in her spirit form than physical form as she could monitor the surroundings and send warnings.
In this regard, Sara and the other girls could strengthen their defenses by staying near the escort targets, while their contract spirits could monitor the surroundings instead. In this situation, the spirit folk girls could probably offer more to the escort mission than Aishia. Knowing that, they had come running to rescue Celia and offer their protection.
“...All right. I’ll be relying on you guys, then. Thank you,” Rio said gratefully. He would make sure to thank them properly on a later day.
“Thank you so much, truly...” Celia bowed her head deeply at Sara.
“Like I said, we’re friends.”
“Yep, leave it to us.”
“Let’s all do our best!”
Sara, Alma, and Orphia said proudly. Rio smiled softly at the sight.
“I guess you’ll have more guards now, Your Highness. They’re all very skilled warriors, so I hope you don’t mind,” he said to Christina.
Christina’s eyes trembled with a flash of guilt before she bowed deeply. “...Of course not. Your exchange just now has conveyed to me how strong and wonderful the trust is between you all. We will be in your care—thank you very much.”
“Then, it’s decided. We’ll have more allies with us from here on out. Let’s review our planned route and our opponent’s strength once more.”
Rio took out the map Celia’s father drew for them from his breast pocket and spread it across the ground. The entire party directed their attention to the paper.
“Our destination is Rodania, located here. Cleia is here. The original plan was to detour around the road south of Cleia before heading towards Rodania to the northeast, but the commotion drew too much attention to the south road. So, we’ll cut through the forest from here and head for the east road instead.” Rio drew a straight line with his finger, connecting the south road and the east road through the forest.
“So we’ll be using the east road from here onwards? If we were to head to Rodania through the shortest route, that would be best, but...” Vanessa stared at the map in thought as she followed the shortest route to Rodania.
“That would be the main reason to use the east road, yes. However, the shortest route to Rodania would also be the most heavily guarded. That’s why we’ll keep pressing east at the point where we would normally turn north.” Rio drew his finger along the line that Vanessa had pointed out and continued past the point in the road where they would have turned.
“But then you’d be heading into the Kingdom of Galarc...”
“That’s fine. The army wouldn’t do something as reckless as invade a foreign kingdom’s territory in pursuit of us.”
There was no distinct line marking the kingdom borders, as there was an uninhabited area between the two kingdoms, but there were checkpoints representing each kingdom—that also served as strongholds—located at fixed positions along the roads. Thus, it was possible to cross the border without passing the checkpoint as long as the roads were avoided, but off-road travel had high risk of monster and beast attacks, so people normally used the road. Since approaching a foreign checkpoint or fortress with an army was a clear declaration of aggression, Charles would surely be left with no choice but to halt his pursuit.
“In that case, I understand,” Vanessa agreed.
“Incidentally, this route will pass through Duke Cretia’s domain, so stopping by Amande to seek Liselotte’s assistance is also an option. She may even lend us an enchanted ship straight to Rodania. I can guarantee she’s trustworthy, but please make the final decision with your own judgment, Your Highness,” Rio looked at Christina and said. It was a recommendation made with the alliance between the Galarc Kingdom and the Restoration in mind, as well as his knowledge of what kind of person Liselotte was.
“...It is greatly reassuring to know that she may be willing to assist us. I’d be most grateful for it,” said Christina. It was indeed an extremely attractive suggestion that she wanted to agree to immediately, but as Christina herself wasn’t familiar with Liselotte on a personal basis, she would have never chosen to rely on the nobility of another kingdom if it hadn’t been for Rio.
“So it’s agreed that our current destination will be Amande instead of Rodania. All that’s left is to check what we know about the strength of the pursuing search party,” Rio said.
“First, the possibility of an aerial search party using griffins is extremely annoying. If we’re spotted, it would be very difficult to shake them off with our numbers—we’d have no choice but to fight them. But even more troublesome than that is the King’s Sword, Sir Alfred Emarle, and the hero, Rui. If we have to cross swords with them, we can expect a fierce battle.”
“My brother... has joined the search party for Princess Christina?”
“Rui’s here too?!”
The ones who reacted in surprise were Alfred’s little sister Vanessa and Rui’s friend Kouta.
“Yes, I crossed swords with them while I was catching up to everyone earlier. It was only briefly, though—Rui just fired a warning shot from a long distance away.”
In reality, it wasn’t a warning shot but a sniping shot intended to maim, but Rio worded it gently so that Celia wouldn’t be as worried.
“...”
Vanessa and Kouta both frowned with bitter expressions. They seemed to have conflicted feelings towards the aforementioned people.
“There’s one more person to be extremely cautious of, and that’s the man named Reiss that appeared earlier. We didn’t witness it directly, but I believe he was the one who launched that attack that was aiming for Her Highness’ life. Do you have any knowledge about him?” Rio asked Christina.
“...I’ve heard of rumors that the Proxia Empire’s ambassador, Reiss Vulfe, was on familiar terms with Charles. However, I’ve never seen his face, so whether it’s the same person...” Christina tapped her hand against her mouth as she dug through her memories.
Rio thought back on what he had heard once in Amande. “Duke Huguenot said the same. That the Proxia Empire’s ambassador was named Reiss, and that he was secretly allying with Charles.”
“He introduced himself as part of the Heavenly Lions, but if that was just a bluff and he’s actually the Proxia ambassador, then it would make sense why he would be after the princess’ life. With all due respect, Her Highness’ presence is probably a hindrance to their empire,” Vanessa stated with simmering fury.
“No, his motives for Her Highness’ life aside, the fact he brought up the Heavenly Lions wasn’t a bluff,” Rio asserted.
“Huh, really?”
“Yes. I’ve witnessed him in the company of the commander of the Heavenly Lions, Lucius Orgueil, before. Lucius is a former noble of the Beltrum Kingdom, and the man who kidnapped Princess Flora in Amande.”
“Wha...” Vanessa was rendered speechless. She had heard of Flora’s abduction while she was attending the banquet, but she hadn’t been able to ask for more details. Christina’s expression was also frozen as she swallowed her breath.
“He participated in the planning of Princess Flora’s abduction and Princess Christina’s assassination. As a member of a mercenary squad, he must naturally have some sort of employer behind him, but we can be certain that the Heavenly Lions and Reiss are after the royal sisters. There are a lot of mysteries surrounding him, but there’s no mistaking that he’s a formidable opponent. He may appear again in the future, so be extremely cautious,” Rio said, emphasizing the danger of Reiss.
Vanessa grit her teeth in rage. “Curse him...”
What I’m more concerned about is not the fact he tried to kidnap Princess Flora, but that he tried to kill Princess Christina. And why he bothered to show himself. It was like he was trying to show that his aim was Princess Christina, Rio thought to himself calmly. He didn’t have enough information to find an answer, and it wasn’t a problem that could be solved here and now.
“For now, we’re done confirming the information we have, so let’s get going. Sara, can I count on you and the others to help carry them a little further? I’d like to get away from Cleia as fast as possible, so please push your physical strength enhancements a little more,” Rio said, urging them to resume moving.
“Yes, leave it to us!” Sara replied enthusiastically, Orphia and Alma nodding with her. Thus, the party departed once more.
Meanwhile, a little earlier, on the road extending south of Cleia and at the point where Sara and the others had fought with the minotaurs.
“W-What in the world is this?! Just what happened here?!”
Having finally arrived at the scene with reinforcements in tow, Charles Arbor stared at the remnants of the tremendous battle and yelled in shock. The surface of the road was a mess and the nearby forest was thoroughly demolished.
“...Who knows? Though there’s no doubt a fierce battle occurred,” Alfred Emarle answered as he cast his sharp gaze around the area, in search of clues.
Footprints of a bipedal creature too large to be human. Footprints of a considerable number of creatures that trampled the forest, and trees that look like they were beaten in half by a large, blunt force. With all the enchanted gems lying about the place, the creatures must have been monsters. Which leaves the large footprints to most likely be minotaurs. I’ve heard witness reports of them have increased recently, but...
“H-Hey, Alfred! What are you standing around for?! Find out what happened right this instant!”
The one who had been standing around gaping was Charles, but he snapped to his senses and chose to reprimand Alfred instead.
“There was a fight here.”
“A-Anyone with eyes can see that!”
“I’m not finished. The ones they were fighting were probably monsters, after seeing the countless footprints in the forest. And seeing the size of the footprints that bored holes into the road, there was probably a minotaur among them—two of them, actually. They were probably the ones that roared so loudly that we heard them from Cleia,” Alfred explained with a sigh.
“Wha... I-Impossible! Where would such a large swarm of monsters disappear to?!” Charles yelled in confusion.
“Just look at the enchanted gems on the floor. They were probably defeated in the short time it took us to arrive.”
“Impossible! You’d have to gather a platoon of knights and sorcerers to do such a thing!”
“But there’s proof a large number of monsters were defeated here. The one who defeated them was probably that mysterious man that drove back the squad you were leading. He seems to have an absurd amount of power hidden within him.”
“Guh, that man fought in such an uncouth and barbaric way...” Charles grimaced at the reminder that his own squad was beaten black and blue by Rio earlier. Rio had fought with two daggers, and knights tended to look down on weapons such as those.
On top of that, Rio had leaped about the place and kicked at them frequently, so as someone who was taught the honorable and proper form of swordcraft, Charles saw Rio’s fighting style as extremely ungraceful. That, along with the helpless way he suffered defeat earlier, left him too frustrated to earnestly acknowledge Rio’s strength.
Two daggers... Alfred responded to those words with a contemplative look. Meanwhile—
“His movements were by no means barbaric or uncouth. He saw through his opponent’s attacks and dealt with them by using the least amount of motion possible. They were perfectly refined movements.” Rui appeared from the forest and joined the conversation with a high evaluation of Rio.
“S-Sir Rui... It’s dangerous to enter the forest alone.” Not even Charles could speak to a hero haughtily, so he forced down his anger.
“The western side of the forest had a single set of human footprints alongside the monster tracks. It headed straight into the depths of the woods,” Rui reported. Those tracks had been the ones Reiss left behind, but—
“Wha— Is that true?! Those must be his footprints!” Charles immediately decided they belonged to Rio.
“I believe it’s too early to presume that. The footprints looked like they came out of the forest and turned back in. Even if they belonged to him, I don’t see any reason for him to go out of his way to fight the monsters on the road and turn back,” Rui replied, showing off his sharp observational skills with his analysis.
“H-Hmm. Then whose footprints could they be...?” Charles hummed, at a loss for words.
Rui placed a hand against his mouth and theorized out loud. “I do not know. However, the footprints seem too unnatural to me. The steps aren’t spaced far enough for a run, and they completely disappear after a short distance into the forest—as though their owner simply took off into the air. They could be a distraction placed to confuse us.”
“The fact the monsters were wiped out means he must have been in a situation where he had no choice but to fight. He had no trouble taking on the squad Charles led, so it would have been easy for him to shake off and escape a few monsters. If he was alone, that is,” Alfred added, hinting at something.
“I see now! He must have fought the monsters in order to protect Princess Christina and the others! The footsteps in the forest are simply a distraction! He must have defeated the monsters and headed straight down the south road. It’s only natural for there to be footprints on a road, after all. There’d be no need to hide them. Send a team down the south road immediately!” Charles declared triumphantly and began barking orders at his surroundings. Up until now, things had progressed pretty much as conveniently as Rio could have hoped for before he left the forest, but—
“Hold on. I haven’t received information that Princess Christina was being escorted by such a person. Even if she is, I don’t see where the connection came from,” Alfred replied.
“He’s obviously an adventurer Count Claire hired or something!”
“As a commander, you shouldn’t jump to conclusions like that. There is no proof Count Claire is involved in Her Highness’ disappearance. We’ve also received witness reports that four people resembling Princess Christina’s group ran through the north gate. It’s possible that the man who defeated your squad is completely unrelated to Her Highness’ escape, no?”
“T-Then we’ll search north and south! Send personnel in both of those directions!”
“It doesn’t sound wise to leave the east road short of hands...”
“Ugh, you always have something to say! I have men stationed in all the stronghold cities near the Marquess Rodan domain. I’ll dispatch an order to them and have them search the route from the eastern road! I’ll also send the minimum number of search parties to the east. There are ultimately two roads into Rodania, so my men can be on standby at those points. Good enough for you?” With Alfred’s admonition, Charles huffed through his nose and decided to allocate personnel on a priority basis. The way he followed Alfred’s suggestion showed just how highly he valued his abilities.
“Yes. Then I shall leave the overall command to you and search this area a little more,” Alfred nodded.
“In that case, allow me to join you,” Rui immediately offered.
Charles nodded a little unhappily. “...Understood. Hey, Alfred. Don’t you dare let Sir Rui come to any harm.”
Approximately one hour had passed since Rio and the others finished sharing information in the forest and resumed their trip. They moved without a break that entire time, running through the deserted forest and wilderness as they steadily headed east.
“Let’s take a break.”
They were approaching the point where the girls would be questioned for being human, so Rio suggested they stop for a break. He had just spotted a spring that would make a good place to take a break, too.
Vanessa stared closely at Sara after she was lowered to the ground before questioning her. “T-That was a long time to maintain your physical enhancements. Are you all right?”
“Yes, the effects of my enchanted sword also raise my stamina, so I can manage. It’s good exercise,” Sara answered with a relatively refreshed face.
“Stamina... That too, but is your magic essence okay?” Vanessa worried for Sara’s remaining essence with a hint of surprise. There was typically no danger to one’s life even if they used every last drop of their essence, but it did cause a kind of fatigue that made recovery slower.
For the record, completely depleted essence would naturally recover in three days, but it could also be recovered by using enchanted gems and spirit stones with essence stored inside.
“Y-Yes, somehow.” Sara nodded awkwardly. She couldn’t admit that she still had a ton of essence left.
“They’re all skilled enough warriors to wield enchanted swords, so they have quite a large amount of magic essence. But considering the recovery time needed, it may be time to start saving their essence. We don’t have any enchanted gems for recovery on hand, either.”
Rio implied that Sara and the others were near the limits of their essence in order to throw off the suspicion.
“I understand why people say using enchanted swords is a talent in itself,” Vanessa said with a dry smile.
“After we finish our break here, we’ll walk for the rest of today. We should have gained a fair distance from the search party now.”
The maximum distance a person could walk in a single day was said to be twenty to thirty kilometers along a well-maintained road. Of course, their journey would fall along routes that didn’t have roads. Despite this, Rio and the others had already traveled sixty kilometers. In merely an hour, they had traveled as far as a normal person would over two days. Charles wouldn’t be expecting such a wide distance between them in only an hour, so they were currently in a position outside of his search area.
“I wouldn’t have been able to carry everyone alone, so I’m very grateful to have Sara and the others here. Let’s move with physical strength enhancements on every third day, and spend the other two days walking to recover our essence,” Rio suggested, looking at the girls.
“Yes, that won’t be a problem.” Sara nodded agreeably.
“Then that’s that. Sara and the girls must be hot after running, so feel free to wash yourselves in the water. I’ll guard the area and search for the shortest route to the road.”
“But the same goes for you, Haruto...”
Though they still had stamina remaining, their bodies were hot and sweaty, so Rio’s suggestion sounded very attractive to them. But leaving Rio behind to bathe first didn’t feel right either...
“I’ll have my turn later. It’s okay,” he said.
“...All right.” The three of them exchanged glances and nodded.
Several minutes later, Rio headed off to patrol and investigate the area, leaving the spirit folk girls to check for monsters and dangerous creatures in the area before heading to the spring close by.
“Phew, that’s so nice...” Sara sank into the spring water and let out a sigh with all her exhaustion escaping.
“We did run a lot.” Orphia smiled as she did the same.
“We’ve never had to run while carrying someone for so long before, so it ended up being good training,” Alma added with a relaxed smile. She was currently lying back as she looked up at the sky, her head sticking out of the water.
“I’m sorry for forcing you girls into a situation that didn’t affect you...”
Celia appeared at the spring and called out to the spirit folk girls. Sara and the others looked at Celia to spot Christina and Vanessa beside her.
“Don’t let it bother you. This is no problem at all,” Sara said.
“Yup.”
“Indeed.”
Orphia and Alma agreed.
“Did you two come to bathe too? And Vanessa...?” Sara asked Celia.
“Vanessa’s here to stand guard, just in case. She said she hasn’t done anything knight-like until now, so she’d at least like to work while you three are resting. We’ve been able to move so smoothly up until this point thanks to you. I’m unable to do anything to thank you now, which pains me greatly, but I shall definitely express my gratitude properly once we arrive in Rodania,” Christina replied, nodding softly.
“No, no, you really don’t need to worry about thanking us. We’re just doing what we want, so it’s fine,” Sara waved her hands in a fluster.
“But that wouldn’t be right...”
“Hmm... For us, this is just a show of our gratitude towards Haruto, kind of like repaying our debts, or perhaps as an apology for the past? Haruto doesn’t usually rely on us, so it’s a rare chance for us to be able to do something for him. That’s why... that’s why...? Hmm.” Sara tried to explain her feelings out loud to convince Christina, but she struggled to express herself in words.
“We’re doing this as part of our repayment towards Haruto, so we’re ultimately not doing this for anyone else’s sake. That’s why you don’t need to thank us for it, you see?” Orphia interrupted, explaining what Sara was trying to say.
“Yes, exactly that!” Sara nodded firmly, pointing at Orphia.
“Is that... so...” Hearing Sara and the others say something like that so easily made Christina blink in dazed realization.
It was a different affection to familial love. A different loyalty to that one would have towards a master. Having been born and raised in a calculating and greedy royal court, Sara and the others were the type of people Christina rarely saw.
They were so pure, virtuous, and had an admirable amount of determination...
It seemed like that was the reason why Haruto Amakawa served Celia with everything he had as well.
“Princess Christina? Is something the matter?” Seeing the frozen princess made Celia cock her head in confusion.
“No, it’s nothing. I just thought I saw a glimpse of how much everyone respects Sir Amakawa. He must be a wonderful person to deserve so much respect,” Christina said with a smile.
“Haruto really is a wonderful person, truly.” Sara’s voice was warm as she spoke. A conflicted expression flashed across Christina’s face. However, before anyone could notice it, she placed a hand over her chest and bowed her head in an earnest show of respect toward Sara and the others.
“...I understand. In that case, I must not do anything to dishonor everyone’s virtuous sentiments. But please let me express my gratitude to you all, at least. I hope to follow your examples and be a little more virtuous myself.”
“When you put it that way, it’s a little embarrassing...” Sara laughed awkwardly.
“That aside, you’re here at the spring already. How about taking a dip with us?” Orphia suggested cheerfully.
Alma nodded in agreement. “Indeed, it’s a little embarrassing to be naked in front of the two of you while you’re fully dressed.”
“I don’t mind, but... What would you like to do, Princess Christina?” Celia glanced at Christina and asked.
Christina thought for a brief moment before smiling shyly. “...I shall take you up on the offer. I was only able to wipe my body down while I was in the basement, after all.” There would rarely be a chance to bathe properly while outside, and she hadn’t had many opportunities to bathe with girls her age, so she was feeling quite bashful.
“We have soap that’s good for your skin and safe for the environment. I’ve dug us a little bathtub over there, so please wash up first.”
At Alma’s encouragement, their attention was drawn to the ground to the side.
“There’s nothing more I could ask for.”
Christina’s eyes widened before she beamed. Thus, the five of them ended up bathing together.
Elsewhere, a short time after Celia and Christina started bathing in the spring, Kouta and Rei were waiting a distance away with nothing to do.
“Oh god, there are so many drop-dead gorgeous girls bathing just over there...” Rei gazed at the trees in the direction of the spring and muttered longingly. His underclassman Kouta responded in exasperation.
“Don’t tell me you want to join them...”
“You have no sense of ambition for a man, Kouta.” Rei shook his head dramatically.
“Ambition... Don’t tell me you plan on peeking at them.”
“I want to! But, I value my life too much for that. I’ll just use my skills of imagination—any man’s thoughts would run wild with so many beautiful girls changing and bathing nearby.”
“You don’t have the skills. And stop it already, seriously. The more you talk, the harder it’ll be to face those girls later.”
“That just means you have a really powerful imagination yourself, Kouta.”
“I do not!” Kouta denied with a red face.
“What a naive kid. Your thoughts are a free space, you know? It’s freedom of speech, but in your head. As long as you don’t express it out loud, no one can control what you think. Are you giving up your right to such freedom, Kouta?”
“No, I don’t think it’s that complex of an issue...”
“Nay, it is indeed a complex issue concerning the mysteries of life. You should just use your imagination instead of letting it rot away.”
“I don’t have such a thing in the first place.”
“...How stubborn. Then, what if it was Akane that was bathing over there instead?” Rei said, bringing up the name of what sounded like a Japanese girl.
“...Guh.” Kouta flushed bright red.
“See? You DO have an imagination,” Rei said smugly.
“Ugh, shut up already. Akane doesn’t matter anymore.” Kouta pouted and turned away.
“I think you could act a little more carefree, you know.”
“...”
“Good grief.” Rei sighed quietly.
“I’m back.” Rio quietly reappeared out of nowhere.
“O-Oh, hey.”
“Welcome... back...”
Rei and Kouta were both taken aback at how suddenly he had come up to them.
“Everyone else is at the spring, I see. Perfect. There was actually something I’d like to ask you two,” Rio said to the two of them.
“Huh? What is it?” asked Rei.
“How did the two of you learn the language of this world? You shouldn’t be able to communicate unless you’re a hero...”
“You know about that?” Kouta looked a little surprised.
“The hero summoned in the Galarc Kingdom is a friend of mine, and her friends were similarly dragged here from the other world. They were under my protection for a while, so I know how much they struggled with the language.”
“So that’s why you know we didn’t know this language before...”
“Yes. I taught them the language of this world by using an interpretation artifact, but that was a unique magic artifact that isn’t available to the general public. So I was wondering how you two learned it.”
“In our case, we had help from Rui, the only one who could understand us. The local people would speak, Rui would translate it, then we’d figure out the vocabulary and grammar from that and desperately try to memorize it.”
“I see... That must have been difficult.”
For both Rei and Kouta, who had to learn the language, and Rui, who had to help them out.
“Yeah, the only thing we did after coming to this world was study the language every day. We managed to beat it into our heads that way. Fortunately, we’re both in the foreign language club back in our original world, so learning the language itself wasn’t that difficult.”
“I think the results speak for themselves. You can hold a conversation perfectly.”
“We prioritized speaking, so we still can’t read or write, though.” Kouta shrugged.
“That aside, we had something we wanted to ask you as well, Haruto,” Rei suddenly said.
“Yes?” Rio tilted his head at Rei.
“It’s about where you’re from, I guess. Your name sounds kind of similar to the names from the country we came from, and your facial features look kind of Asian, or maybe half-Asian. You also said you protected the friends of the hero from the Galarc Kingdom.” Rei seemed to suspect Rio had some connection to Japan, as he selected his words carefully in his question. Kouta also looked at Rio curiously.
“I’ve been asked that a lot from those of you summoned here—including Rui—but I was born and raised in Strahl. My dead parents were from a place called the Yagumo region, and it seems like that area is very similar to the place you guys came from.” Rio had an answer prepared for such a question and recited it from memory.
“Oh yeah, I’ve heard of that place mentioned in the castle before... I did think it sounded similar, too.”
“There may be a hint there about how to return to our world,” Kouta added, showing interest in the Yagumo region.
...If they wanted to return to Earth, wouldn’t it be better to stay in the castle? Rui seemed to be searching for a way back, too, Rio wondered, but the way the Beltrum Kingdom was now wasn’t exactly a great place to be. Coupled with his experience of being falsely accused, he didn’t have a particularly good impression of the nobles in power there. Perhaps they felt a similar fear for their safety?
However, Rui had joined the search team to retrieve these two, so it was hard to imagine Duke Arbor would have threatened two friends of Rui that he could have used to control him. Why had they left the castle?
“...Did the two of you leave the castle because you wanted to return to your world?” he tried asking.
“No. While we do want to return... That wasn’t the reason why we left the castle. Personally, I just didn’t want to stay with Rui and the others any more,” Kouta answered in a strangely inarticulate way, sneering at himself faintly.
“...What about you, Rei?”
“I’m here to accompany Kouta, I guess. Well, I also found life at the castle suffocating, and it’d be even more so if Kouta left,” Rei said with a shrug.
“Considering how Rui is pursuing you guys to bring you back, I should have known there must’ve been a reason... Forgive me for asking something so difficult. I won’t pry any further,” Rio said considerately. He realized it wasn’t something to ask so persistently of people he had just met.
“Sorry for the wait.” Sara and the others all returned at the same time.
“It felt great. Are you guys going to have your turn next?” Celia asked Rio.
“That sounds good. Shall we go, you two?” Rio said to Kouta and Rei.
“Yeah, I might as well. Rei?” Kouta looked at Rei beside him.
“The bathwater left over from beautiful girls bathing together... Of course I’ll go!” Rei’s eyes widened as he nodded enthusiastically. The girls all directed their apathetic gazes at him.
“Was that an offer to stay here and wait?” Christina asked coldly.
“Oh, yeah. Sure. Haha...” Rei pasted on a fake smile to gloss over the issue.
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