Prologue
At the Galarc Castle, just before the main entrance...
“Please allow me to accompany you on the mission to rescue Lady Liselotte.”
Aria Governess, Liselotte’s head attendant, bowed her head before Rio with deep regret. There was no need to question her motive: Liselotte was her master.
She had an extraordinary amount of loyalty to her—she treasured Liselotte beyond mere loyalty. Seeing how she was dressed in adventurer-like clothes, she must have prepared for this journey in advance. She may have even approached King Francois for permission to leave by herself if Rio hadn’t acted as he did.
It was easy to see the loyalty behind the determination in Aria’s expression. If Rio were to refuse her here, she would simply act independently from him. That would result in her following Rio anyway, as he was capable of tracking Erica from afar.
Ability-wise, there was no concern of Aria becoming a hindrance. She was a reassuring force to have if the situation called for more people. Furthermore, the situation had caused Rio to begin pursuing Saint Erica without hearing the details of what happened. Since he lacked information, having Aria come along would be most beneficial.
The only reason Rio had to refuse her was Aishia. Until now, he had kept her existence as a spirit as secret as possible from any third parties. Since he was using her to track Erica right now, he’d have to reveal her to Aria. However, he didn’t mind. After closing his eyes and thinking for a moment, he prioritized the feelings he could sense coming from Aria and nodded.
“I understand... However, I will require that you follow my orders while we pursue her. Is that all right?”
“Of course. Thank you very much,” Aria said immediately with a low bow.
Haruto, the target sped up dramatically after leaving the gate. She’s heading out of the noble district to avoid attention, said Aishia’s telepathic message.
Got it. Continue trailing her in spirit form.
Understood.
Their conversation wrapped up quickly.
“Let’s go. It seems the saint has sped up,” Rio said to Aria, looking in the direction of the front gate several hundred meters away.
“...Right.” Aria nodded with a slightly surprised look; it was impossible to see outside the grounds from their current position. Rio had claimed to have a method of tracking the saint without being noticed, so she was probably wondering how he knew that.
“I’ll explain the details later. Please enhance yourself with your enchanted sword,” Rio ordered, enhancing his own body at the same time.
“Right.” Aria held back her questions for the moment and grabbed the hilt of her sword, focusing on the task at hand.
“Follow me.”
Rio ran towards the front gate. With Aria at his heels, the two left the Galarc Castle grounds.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login