Chapter 6: A Brief Rest
The next day, before Rio was to depart from Rodania that morning, he visited Christina and Flora.
“In the end, I wasn’t able to settle any of the debt I owe you,” Christina said somberly, seated across from Rio in a drawing room.
Rio shook his head. “You gave me an estate, so I cannot accept any more than this.”
“...I believe the value of your achievement of defeating Alfred is equal to the sword that he owns. And that estate cannot possibly be equal in value to that sword. Thus, I considered giving you Alfred’s sword, but...”
It seemed like she didn’t think Rio had received enough of a reward. The sword Alfred used was a national treasure, which made it priceless in itself...
“There’s no way I could accept a sword like that. Please give that sword to someone worthy instead. I have a sharp enough sword already,” Rio declined politely.
“I understand... In that case, please take this brooch and use it to enter the noble district whenever you come to visit Professor Celia. It will act as an entry pass,” Christina said, removing the brooch she was wearing and entrusting it to Rio.
“Huh...?” Flora, who had been listening silently, made a noise as her eyes widened in surprise.
“What’s wrong, Flora?” Christina asked, but Flora immediately shook her head.
“N-No, it’s nothing.”
“I understand... I shall gratefully accept this.” Rio received Christina’s brooch respectfully. The brooch had the same design as Christina’s official emblem, but Rio had no way of knowing that.
The pause before he accepted the brooch was because he saw Flora’s reaction and suspected that the brooch played a larger role than just an entry pass. However, he couldn’t voice his complaints about a gift being presented by royalty, so he had no choice but to obediently accept it for now.
“Umm, Sir Haruto, you’re heading for Amande after leaving Rodania, right?” Flora changed the subject. She’d probably heard this from Christina, who was already informed of his destination. Incidentally, Christina offered to send him to Amande with an enchanted ship, but he declined by saying he’d run instead.
“Yes. I’ve promised to meet up with Lady Liselotte. As I’ve informed Princess Christina already, Celia will be joining me for this in the near future.”
“Of course, I don’t mind at all. I cannot restrict Professor Celia from seeing her friends—if anything, her expansion of her circle of friends is most welcome for us as well,” Christina said, speaking frankly about the merits to the Restoration without concealing anything.
“Thank you very much. I should be returning to Rodania after visiting Amande, so I can come give you a report along with my greeting at that time,” Rio offered with a slight bow.
“Unfortunately, we may not be available to meet depending on the date that you return. Both Flora and I plan on visiting the Galarc capital at some point in the near future.” It seemed like Christina was also leaving sometime soon.
“Is that so?”
“I must provide an explanation and apology for the deployment of the Beltrum Kingdom’s army by the border, and then discuss various other things. Both Flora and I will be away from Rodania for about half a month or so.”
“I understand,” Rio nodded with another bow.
And here I thought I’d finally have a chance to talk to Sir Haruto... Flora thought in slight disappointment.
Christina observed Flora’s expression with a sidelong glance and closed her eyes in thought for a moment. “However, if you plan on visiting Rodania regularly in the future, we would be delighted to see you again. I shall provide a most hospitable reception for you,” she said.
“I understand... However, there’s no need to provide any reception.” Rio hesitated at the thought of meeting so frequently, but ultimately decided to nod his head for politeness’ sake.
After wrapping up his farewell with Christina and Flora, Rio returned to the mansion first. There, Celia and Aishia were waiting for him. Aishia had probably sensed his approach.
“I know I just came back, but I’ll be going now.”
They had said their farewells yesterday and chatted a lot this morning, so Rio announced his immediate departure. Dragging things out would only make him more reluctant to leave.
Celia sent him off with a smile. “Yup, have a safe trip.”
“See you later,” Aishia stood beside Rio and said to Celia. She was accompanying him part of the way to the outskirts of Rodania, where the stone house was set up.
“You’ll be coming back right after showing Rio where the stone house is, right? I’ll be waiting, so come back soon,” Celia said.
“Yup,” Aishia replied.
“I should be back from Amande in a week or so, so please take care of Celia in that time, Aishia.”
“Leave it to me,” Aishia nodded.
Thus, Rio set off from Rodania.
After Rio left Rodania on foot, he ran down the road for the time being. The city turned into a tiny dot behind him and eventually disappeared. He checked there was no one around and left the main road, taking off using his spirit arts to fly.
His destination was the stone house. Rio didn’t know where it was set up, so he needed Aishia to show him the way.
“Over there,” she pointed out.
They arrived at the stone house several minutes later; they descended at the edge of the rocky area Aishia had pointed at. The door to the house was already open and an excited Latifa was waving her arms over her head at him. Sara and the other spirit folk girls’ contract spirits had probably detected Aishia’s approach in her material form.
“Welcome back, Onii-chan! Aishia!” Latifa launched herself at Rio as soon as he landed, hugging him tightly. She hugged him like she was trying to make up for his long absence, which had lasted several weeks this time.
“Hey. Good to be home.” Rio petted Latifa’s head gently.
“Oh! Is it true Liselotte invited us to her house?! Can I really go too?!” Latifa looked up at Rio’s face and asked innocently.
“Of course. As long as you want to.”
“I want to go! I’ve been wanting to meet her ever since you told me about her!”
“I’m going to head to Amande and meet with Liselotte to adjust the plans, but I wanted to come here first to talk about that. Will you be participating as well, Miharu?” Rio asked.
“Yes, I’d love to... A-Also, welcome home, Haruto. Long time no see.” Miharu first nodded awkwardly, then acted oddly humble, her voice nervous.
“Yes... I’m home. It’s been a while,” Rio replied a little bashfully. It had been several weeks since he last saw Miharu—perhaps that was why he felt oddly shy right now.
“Now, let’s go inside.” Sara clapped her hands and started walking towards the door.
“Let’s go, Onii-chan.” Latifa immediately cut around Rio and grabbed his arm, dragging him inside the house first.
Once everyone sat down on the sofas, Rio decided to bring up the dinner party. “With Latifa and Miharu’s participation decided and Liselotte, Celia, and Aishia’s attendance, all that’s left is to wait for Satsuki to get permission to go out and the dinner party can be held. There should be a total of seven people, including me.”
“Hopefully she gets permission! No, she has to get permission! But...” Latifa was speaking energetically, but then she looked up at Rio’s face and stared.
“What’s wrong...?” Rio faltered under the strange pressure he felt.
“Onii-chan’s saying Celia’s name without using a title!”
Latifa had picked up on it. Sara, Orphia, Alma had faces like they were expecting that reaction, but both Latifa and Miharu were wide eyed at hearing this for the first time.
This again...? It seemed like this topic was a greater problem than he ever expected.
“Why are you doing that?!” Latifa leaned in forcefully.
“We were escorting the princess to Rodania. I couldn’t call her Professor in front of the others,” Rio answered, frowning.
“Hmm... I guess... How nice.”
“I already call you by your name, Latifa.”
“I know that! But suddenly changing the way you address each other makes it feel like you’ve gotten closer!”
He’d been calling her Latifa since the beginning, which was why she was protesting out of envy at being unable to experience the same thing.
“That’s a little unreasonable...” Rio winced.
“Everyone else is envious too, right?! You all want Onii-chan to speak to you like that too, right?” Latifa bluntly asked all the girls present.
Sara, Orphia and Alma exchanged looks. “Well...”
“Well?”
“When we discussed it, we agreed it would be really embarrassing for that to actually happen,” Orphia answered Latifa with a giggle.
“Hmph... I suppose I get that too. As for Aishia...”
“I’ve been addressed this way from the start. I’m fine with this,” Aishia answered plainly.
“I see... What about you, Miharu?” Latifa asked Miharu last.
“Huh? M-Me?”
“Yup! Do you want Onii-chan to call you by your name?”
“H-Haruto calling me by my name...?” Miharu glanced at Rio.
Miharu. Rio’s voice played in her head.
“I-I wonder...?” Miharu’s face was bright red.
“So you do.” Latifa decided by herself.
“T-That’s not true! ...I think?” Miharu refused reflexively, but ended her words with a question.
“Her thoughts immediately show on her face,” Sara said with a slightly scornful look.
“I believe the same applies to you, Sara. Well, Miharu’s case is a little unique.” For once, Alma agreed with Sara.
That’s... That’s because it’s different than being called Mii-chan!
Miharu couldn’t explain this in words, so she protested in her mind.
“Umm...” Rio raised his hand awkwardly. He realized there would be no end to this otherwise. Everyone’s eyes gathered on him. He cleared his throat. “I have a somewhat... No, I have a very serious topic to discuss, so let’s move on for now.”
“A very serious topic...?” Sara’s face turned stern.
“It’s about Latifa...” Rio looked at the girl seated beside him.
“Me?” Latifa blinked.
“Yes, it’s about your past. To be honest, I wondered if it was right to bring it up as a topic of discussion, but if you’re all participating in the dinner party, then I believe it’s something that should be addressed.”
“Sure... What is it?” A slight shadow fell over Latifa’s face, but she nodded with a serious expression and encouraged Rio to continue. She didn’t want to remember her past, but she trusted him.
She knew, unconditionally, that the reason why he looked so torn right now was because he pondered and pondered over this topic before bringing it up. Besides, she knew she didn’t mind the people present right now hearing about her past.
“Sara and the others know this already, but Latifa used to be a slave.” Rio began with the facts, but was immediately interrupted.
“Umm, actually, Miharu knows about that already. I told her before. Including how I was raised as an assassin,” Latifa corrected.
“Really?” Rio asked in surprise.
“Yup. Back when Miharu was still in the village, she consulted with me about whether she should attend the banquet or not. I told her about my past then.”
“I see...”
“Yeah. Sorry for interrupting. Go on, Onii-chan,” Latifa said in a more mature way than normal.
“The truth is... The nobleman who raised Latifa as a slave could be part of the Restoration,” Rio finally revealed.
“Huh?!” Everyone other than Aishia was shocked.
“I-Is that true?” Latifa asked fearfully.
“Yeah. His name is Gustav Huguenot. He is the head of a ducal house, with an eldest son named Stewart.”
“Stewart...” Latifa’s expression turned bitter. She’d never forget that name. He was the one who made her call him Big Brother and came to Latifa’s cell to toy with her whenever he was bored. He never acted too violent to injure her in a way that would hinder her assassination work, but he abused her however he wanted up to being able to treat her with the healing magic Cura.
“W-Wait a moment! Gustav Huguenot—isn’t that Duke Huguenot’s name?” Sara said in a panic, checking if she had the right person.
“Indeed. Other than Princess Christina and Princess Flora, he’s the highest ranked nobility within the Restoration.”
“That man did something like that to Latifa...” Sara gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.
“The possibility is extremely likely, but it’s still a possibility. I apologize for keeping quiet about this. I wanted to explain this matter in front of Latifa, as it concerned her.”
“N-No, we don’t mind that part at all, but...” Sara shook her head at Rio’s apology. She wasn’t able to identify the man herself, as she hadn’t heard anything about his name or face from Latifa. The Collar of Submission that had been used to order Latifa to commit suicide if she was ever questioned was removed, but she still hadn’t told them his name, just in case. However, she would surely be able to identify him by seeing his face.
“I thought it best to discuss this because by attending this dinner party, Latifa will at least gain some kind of connection to nobility. That, and if she ever goes to Rodania with Sara and the others to visit Celia, it’s very likely that she’ll encounter him.”
“I see...” The girls accepted his words with thoughtful looks.
“I’ve hidden the truth of Latifa’s past from Liselotte and informed her that due to certain circumstances, Latifa’s name shouldn’t be revealed to any Beltrum nobles. That’s why the dinner party will be held within Liselotte’s estate with select attendees only. She also went to negotiate with the king for permission to have Satsuki visit her.”
“We didn’t have time to speak to her personally, but she seems like a very good person,” Orphia said softly.
“She is. That’s why Latifa’s secret will be safe with Liselotte if they are to become acquainted in the future, but visiting too often may cause rumors to spread. And so, it would be inconvenient for Latifa to use her current name while in Amande. She’ll probably need to use an alias. That’s why I thought to explain everything properly, as this’ll affect her future greatly.” Rio looked at Latifa. “What do you want to do from here onwards? If you want to go to places other than Amande, you may need to act under an alias like I’ve been doing. I haven’t told Liselotte your name yet, so you can act like it’s your real name. Of course, if you continue living in this house as you have, it shouldn’t pose much of a problem. If you want to go outside but don’t want to be near Duke Huguenot, I’ll do something about it. That’s why I’d like to hear you thoughts about all this.”
He was unusually intense in confirming her intentions.
“Onii-chan...” Latifa bit her lip. It hurt to recall Duke Huguenot, but she was happy Rio had thought about her this much.
“Of course, you don’t have to answer right away. Take some time to think about it,” Rio said, breathing a small sigh to calm his heart.
“I... If I’m allowed to, then I want to see more of the world outside the village. I don’t want to see the person who made me into a slave, but if I can stay beside you as your little sister, I want to travel even more. If I end up seeing that person while going to Rodania to visit Celia, then I’ll endure it. Of course, I’ll have to do it under an alias,” Latifa said, conveying her feelings carefully.
“I see... I understand,” Rio nodded slowly and deeply.
“But I want to meet Liselotte as my real self. I want to see her and have her know about the real me. That’s why I want to visit her as Latifa and not under an alias. Is that okay?” Latifa confessed further, peering at Rio’s face.
“Why wouldn’t it be? If that’s what you want, then we can explain to Liselotte that way. Leave it to me.” Rio assured her with a thump of his fist against his chest.
“Thank you, Onii-chan!” Latifa hugged Rio, overcome with emotion. Miharu and the others looked on with pleasant smiles.
The next day, Rio visited Liselotte’s estate and informed her of Latifa’s thoughts. Fortunately, Francois had given permission for Satsuki to go out, so Liselotte was able to report that the dinner party was to go ahead as planned.
Thus, the date for the dinner party was set to three weeks from then, where Rio had to participate in party games in the name of deepening their relationship. Many dramatic events happened, and everyone had quite the lively, warm, and relaxing time together.
Another week after that, Rio said goodbye to a worried Miharu and the other residents of the stone house, then finally departed for the Proxia Empire.
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