Seirei Gensouki ~Konna Sekai de Deaeta Kimi ni~ (LN) - Volume 20 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Amakawa Haruto

It was early in the evening, just as the sun was about to set. One hour had passed since Rio first woke up.

Aishia was in the capital of the Holy Democratic Republic of Erica to conduct the investigation Rio had asked of her: that was, to check how the people of the city were reacting to the Saint’s death, and to locate the unknown spirit art user.

In order to conduct the investigation, Aishia had decided to walk around the streets in her spirit form. Right now, there were many pedestrians on their way home from work.

There were currently quite a few manual laborers in the city, who were working on restoring the damage from the revolution. When Aishia peeked inside a lively bar, everyone at the tables was discussing the battle between Rio and the beast of the land. That was only natural, as it had only happened yesterday, and the beast of the land had been overwhelmingly huge. Aishia listened to the conversations for a while.

No one’s talking about the Saint’s death...

Everyone was discussing the battle, yet not a single conversation mentioned the Saint’s death. There were people angry at Rio for attacking their city, but there was no sense of gloom. In fact, they were all speaking as though Erica had won. But why?

Was the Saint’s death hidden from the people?

The most likely possibility was the higher-ups of the nation concealing her death. Announcing the death of the nation’s leader would definitely shake the people, which was why it was the first thought that came to mind. But there was one other option—

Or is the Saint still alive...?

Aishia considered the possibility. She had personally witnessed Rio stab her through the heart from afar. She had also watched Erica take her last breath and die beside her.

At the end of the day, it was all rumors from a bar. Repeated hearsay could have twisted the truth, and some of the information may have been arbitrarily distorted to begin with. It was hard to imagine Erica was still alive.

But she should at least confirm the facts. And if she wanted to find out the truth, she had to search for Erica. Where was the Saint most likely to be?

I’ll pay a visit to where the higher-ups are as well.

After leaving the bar, Aishia headed straight for the official residence of the head of state, where the security was particularly strict. When she looked down from the sky, she could count over thirty soldiers patrolling the grounds. There were lights on in the windows, where there were more soldiers patrolling inside.

The security is strictest here. This should be a good place to find any leads on the Saint. The spirit art user might also be here.

Aishia immediately decided to infiltrate the building. Sure enough, there were soldiers patrolling the inside of the building, but they weren’t able to perceive her spirit form with their naked eyes. Aishia went from room to room without being seen by anyone.

I can’t find the Saint.

But she couldn’t find Erica anywhere in the building. The one people she saw were officials and patrolling soldiers.

Had Erica truly died? Or was she hiding somewhere else?

Should I look for someone talking about the Saint’s death?

She considered eavesdropping on people, but the official residence wasn’t a gathering of alcohol-loosened tongues like the bar. It could take forever for her to find someone talking about the Saint’s death.

I can’t sense any other spirits around, so...

That left the option of materializing and asking someone directly. It would be a more beneficial way of gaining information than eavesdropping.

What worried her the most was the unknown spirit art user that could be hiding in this city, potentially in this very building. If there was a spirit contracted to the user, it would be able to sense her presence. But not every spirit art user was contracted to a spirit.

Rio had asked her to search for the spirit art user if possible, so perhaps it would actually be better for her to materialize as bait. It was worth trying.

With that decided, Aishia had to find someone she could question. She went around the estate once more, and several minutes later—

There.

She spotted a man in the garden behind the building. He appeared to be a cook who worked at the official residence. He had just finished preparing dinner for the employees of the building and was taking a break outside the kitchen.

Fortunately, there were no soldiers patrolling nearby, so Aishia immediately set off to question him. She materialized behind him, activated a spirit art in her right hand, then touched the back of his head through his chef’s hat.

“Wha...?”

Feeling the contact at the back of his head, the cook turned around. At that point, his mind was caught under Aishia’s spirit art. His eyes went vacant as he looked at Aishia’s face with an unfocused gaze.

There were many varieties of illusionary arts out there, but the majority could be split into two: those that sent fake information to the five senses, and those that affected the mind in the form of suggestions.

“Good evening.”

The one Aishia was using placed her target in a daydreamlike state of hypnotism. It was a powerful illusion that could control the target’s thoughts and actions to a certain degree when activated successfully.

The flaw of this technique was that the target had clear memories of everything up until the illusion was cast, meaning she had to cast it without being noticed.

“Oh, good evening. You’re—ah, that’s right. How can I help you?” The cook had no idea he was under a spell, convinced that Aishia was a friendly colleague of his.

“Is Erica alive?” Aishia asked bluntly.

“I don’t approve of that form of address. It should be Saint Erica, no?” His belief in Erica was so strong, he showed faint indignation as he corrected Aishia.

“Is Saint Erica still alive?” Aishia repeated.

“What are you saying? Of course she is.”

“Didn’t she lose her life in the battle yesterday?”

“Of course not. She emerged victorious from yesterday’s battle.”

“Really?”

The Saint should have lost, yet everyone believed she won.

“That’s right.” The cook was adamant the Saint had won. He was in a hypnotized state, so his eyes were blank, but his tone was firm. He seemed extremely offended by Aishia’s question.

“Did you see her return alive, then?” Aishia continued to ask.

“No, I didn’t... She didn’t return to the official residence yesterday as she had to deal with the aftermath of the battle.”

“She didn’t return yesterday... What about today?”

“She left on some urgent business this morning, so no.”

“Left for where?”

“That’s not something a cook would know.”

“Who would know, then?”

“Hmm... Her close aide, Mr. Andrei, should know...”

“Andrei...”

The man with Liselotte yesterday?

Aishia recalled the young man who had been beside Liselotte when she was captured. He had been called Andrei—and she was pretty sure she had spotted him in the building earlier.

“Where is he now?”

“He should be in the congress hall, but it’s almost time for dinner, so he should be returning soon.”

“Will he return here?”

“Yes, Mr. Andrei lives in this building as well.”

“I see...” Aishia mumbled. She stopped asking questions and thought about what to do.

Should I wait for Andrei here?

Going to the congress hall herself was an option, but searching for him would take time and she might miss his return. But just then—

“Mark, are you there? Mark?” a man called from the kitchen. It seemed like someone was searching for the cook.

“You’re Mark?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

Once she confirmed the cook’s identity, Aishia changed her spell to suggest something new to him.

“I’m over here! What did you need?” Mark called out, loud enough to be heard from the kitchen. After a while, a middle-aged man appeared in the kitchen doorway.

Aishia immediately hid behind Mark. It was already dark outside, so she easily hid her small frame behind him.

“Ah, so you were outside. Mr. Andrei has returned. Please prepare his dinner.”

The older man paid no notice of Aishia, speaking only to Mark. He immediately turned to head back inside.

“Oh, hold on a second. In that case, can you call Mr. Andrei over here?” Mark asked.

“Mr. Andrei? Why?”

“There’s something I want to consult with him about. Preferably in private.”

“Ah, I see. All right.”

The middle-aged man looked curious, but returned to the kitchen to call Andrei out.

“Sorry. Please sleep for a bit.” Once he had left, Aishia touched the back of Mark’s head and stopped the illusion art, putting him to sleep through another spirit art instead.

“Mm...” Mark slumped over instantly. Aishia gently supported him, leaning him to sit against the outside wall. Once she confirmed he was fully asleep, she moved over to the kitchen door and hid herself in wait for Andrei. He came out less than a minute later.

“Are you here, Mark—mmh?!”

Andrei had stepped out of the kitchen door to look for Mark. But the very moment he did so, Aishia restrained him from behind.

“Good evening.” Aishia undid the restraints after casting an illusion.

“Good evening. What are you doing here...?”

“I have something important to ask you.”

“Oh right, that’s why I was called out. What is it, comrade?”

Right now, in Andrei’s head, he wasn’t talking to Mark, but one of the kitchenhand girls. However, since he didn’t know Aishia’s name, he referred to her as “comrade.”

“Is the Saint alive?” Aishia asked right away.

“What’s the matter? Why so out of the blue?”

“I want to know if the Saint is really alive.”

“Why do you wish to know such a thing?”

Andrei was currently being directed to answer Aishia’s question, yet he kept responding with his own questions instead of answering honestly. He probably had a strong reason to not answer her. At the same time, it was evident that Andrei was a strong-willed person.

“Because no one’s seen the Saint alive.”

“That’s not true. I’ve seen her,” Andrei clearly stated.

“Then what is she doing now?” Aishia asked pointedly.

Andrei hesitated before answering. “I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that.”

“Why not?”

“She departed without telling any of us the details of her trip.”

“She didn’t tell anyone where she was going?”

“Yes. This is a national secret. So even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you.”

“I see...” Aishia hummed in suspicion. Calling it a national secret made it sound like they were hiding the Saint’s death.

“Are you sure she isn’t actually dead, and you’re just hiding that fact from the people? If everyone knew she was dead, they would be upset.” Aishia voiced her suspicions, pushing closer to the core of the matter.

“Like I said, that isn’t true. I understand you feel uneasy being unable to see Saint Erica, but she’s on a very important mission. Please believe me,” Andrei pleaded.

It doesn’t seem like he’s lying...

The information was obtained by loosening his tongue through an illusion. She had also hypnotized him to only tell the truth. This meant that Andrei truly believed the Saint was alive—that, or the Saint was actually alive.

Rio and Aishia were convinced the Saint was dead because they witnessed her take her last breath in person. That was why Aishia wanted definite proof the Saint was still alive, but...

“Ah...” Aishia suddenly stepped back from Andrei and returned to her spirit form. Doing so inevitably canceled the illusion cast on Andrei.

“Huh, what was I...?”

Andrei stumbled forward and snapped back to his senses. He looked around the area and spotted the cook, Mark, sitting asleep against the wall.

“Is something the matter, Mr. Andrei?” A man appeared at the kitchen door. It was the older man that Mark had asked to call Andrei over earlier.

“Umm...” Andrei cocked his head in confusion.

“Weren’t you speaking to a girl out here?”

“No, I wasn’t... I don’t think...”

“I thought I heard the sound of you speaking with a girl, though... Why is Mark asleep over there?” the man asked, looking over at Mark curiously.

“I don’t know either... What were you doing over here?”

Andrei was bewildered by his lack of memories. He figured the man might know more than him and questioned him in return.

“O-Oh, I was just...” The man immediately smiled awkwardly. He might have been eavesdropping out of curious amusement. Sensing that to be the answer, Andrei sighed lightly.

“At any rate, let’s wake Mark up.”

“Y-Yes, right away. Hey, Mark! Get up! What are you snoozing for after calling Mr. Andrei all the way out here!” The man started to scold Mark dramatically. Meanwhile—

Was this the work of a spy? It looks like I’ll need to take better control of the flow of information...

Andrei became even warier.

◇ ◇ ◇

After leaving the official residence, Aishia set out from the capital of Ericaburg.. She was currently outside the city at the place where Rio fought the divine beast yesterday. She stood in the middle of the battlefield.

A spirit art user would notice the activation of this art.

She had just activated a particular spirit art. At a glance, nothing had happened, but what she had actually done was release a signal wave around the area that could only be sensed by spirit art users. Her goal was to lure out the spirit art user hiding in the Holy Democratic Republic of Erica—and to make contact if possible.

Rio had said there was no need to push herself to find them, but Aishia wanted to lure them out if she could. The ground was illuminated by moonlight, but it was hard to see. Anyone who came to check the signal would be spotted by Aishia first.

How long would it take them to come? Would they come at all? Would one hour be enough of a wait? Aishia stared in the direction of the capital as she waited.

She naturally found herself recalling the sight of the beast of the land standing where she was yesterday as it fired its powerful attack.

Back then, she could be mistaken, but when the beast of the land caught sight of Aishia, it felt like it had directed its negative feelings towards her. Rio hadn’t noticed it, so it could just be her imagination, but...

“Was it just my mistake...?”

Was it because she had returned to the location where Rio fought the beast of the land? For some reason, it was only bothering her now. If she was right, and that beast had truly felt negative emotions towards Aishia—why?

Do I know that beast...? Or did the beast know me? That was the thought that suddenly came to Aishia’s mind.

Aishia had no memories from before she woke up. Haruto accepted her for that, but it felt like she was forgetting something very, very important.

She existed for Haruto. That, she was certain of.

But there was something more important. Something that she had forgotten for a long, long time...

Was this some kind of forewarning?

She had an extremely uneasy feeling right now.

◇ ◇ ◇

The next morning, Rio and Aishia were sparring lightly. Vigorous movement should be avoided immediately after healing a wound, but two days had already passed since the battle with the Saint.

Thus, the two of them had decided on some light sparring without weapons. Of course, to the average observer, it was more like a high-speed battle. And there was one such observer watching them from the entrance of the stone house—Liselotte.

Wow...

She had seen the two of them spar many times now, but she was still in awe every time. Plus, watching Rio move around like this really made it seem like he had recovered from his wounds.

Thank goodness, truly...

She had been beside herself with worry, wondering what she would do if something happened to Rio because of her. Seeing him moving about energetically today made her sigh in relief.

Rio and Aishia’s back-and-forth exchange continued for another minute. Liselotte was still watching on in a daze as the two came to a sudden stop.

“Well?” Aishia asked.

It was hard to tell what she meant with just a single word, but Rio seemed to understand her through the lack of words and smiled.

“I’m feeling much better now. We can leave today,” he replied.

“That’s good.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Aishia. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Aishia replied happily, the faintest smile on her face. Her facial features were so perfect, she normally felt inhuman, but the expression on her face right now was very soft.

She’s got such a beautiful face...

Liselotte found herself captivated by Aishia’s beauty. She nearly forgot herself for the next few seconds, but now was the perfect time to approach them with their sparring finished. Liselotte snapped to her senses and took a step forward, but when she watched how intimate the two of them seemed, she couldn’t move.

“...”

It was like she’d be intruding on a space for just the two of them.

After all, there was very little personal space between the two of them. They were speaking within arm’s reach of each other. Aishia was the one who moved to shorten the distance between them, but Rio showed no sign of backing away in discomfort. He stood next to Aishia as though it was only natural to be right beside her.

What’s the relationship between them, I wonder?

She had been informed about Aishia being a contract spirit to Rio while she was being rescued, but she wasn’t wondering about any formal titles like that right now. She wanted to know the more substantial details.

It doesn’t seem like they’re lovers, though. From what I’ve heard from everyone else, Sir Haruto isn’t dating anyone in particular.

There were many attractive women around Rio. A number of them clearly liked him as a member of the opposite sex. However, it seemed Rio had a rather negative outlook on romance and only interacted with them in a gentlemanly manner—or so Latifa had once told her. In fact, Latifa had offered the information without any prompting.

But it feels like Lady Aishia is special.

This was just Liselotte’s own impression, but it didn’t seem like Rio was as accepting of anyone being near him as he was with Aishia. Of course, he naturally let Latifa near him, but that was as his little sister rather than as someone of the opposite sex.

Just what made Aishia so special? It didn’t seem to be something that could be explained as a strong bond or trust. Such things had been formed between him and the other girls too.

That’s why Liselotte was unable to shake the feeling of Aishia being special to Rio. She was allowed to be closer to him than the other girls—but what did she have that the other girls didn’t?

Perhaps he’s actually in love with her, and just hasn’t noticed it himself?

Rio wasn’t the outgoing type with romance, and he didn’t seem to have any intentions of forming a harem with multiple women. That much, Liselotte was certain about. He would only devote himself to one person.

What if there was something special about Aishia that could be linked to romantic feelings in Rio? Even if he had no romantic feelings right now, there was plenty of chance he could connect the dots in the future.

Would Rio fall in love with Aishia?

What is this...

When Liselotte imagined that, for some reason, a hazy feeling suddenly overcame her. But she couldn’t tell what the identity of that feeling was, which just left her confused.

“Are you not going outside?” a voice called from behind her.

“Aah!” Liselotte let out a cute yelp of surprise. She looked back to see her head attendant, Aria.

“D-Don’t appear out of nowhere like that...” she complained.

“My apologies for scaring you. You were just staring outside so enviously, I couldn’t help but give you a push.”

“I-I’m not envious of anything, though.”

“Sir Amakawa and Lady Aishia are outside, no?”

“Y-Yes...”

How did she know that?

“You looked like you were about to call out to them, but your sense of inferiority made you give up.”

“Can you stop reading the mind of your master?!”

“It’s an essential skill of an attendant.”

“Guh...”

It was indeed a vital ability for an attendant.

I’d prefer it if you only activated that skill for work, though...

It was the duty of an attendant to serve their master in their daily life. It was clear Aria would merely reply that she was working right now, so Liselotte didn’t argue out loud.

“Sir Amakawa is in great demand as is. He won’t turn your way if you merely sit and stare,” Aria said, giving her master advice.

“Why are you making it sound like I want his attention?!”

“Because no matter how you look at it, he has yours...”

Was it possible that she wasn’t aware of it?

“Th-That’s not true! I’m not some princess from a fairytale, falling in love with the first person to rescue me from a pinch,” Liselotte squeaked, averting her eyes.

She showed signs of falling for him some time ago, but does she actually have no awareness of her feelings, or is she just refusing to admit to it? Either way, her case is rather dire. At this rate, things will only get more complicated for my master.

Aria looked exasperated. Her master had received countless proposals, but she had lived only for her work until now. She had no experience falling in love with the opposite sex. This might even be her first love.

That thought put a smile on her face, but the future was rather concerning.

“What’s that look for...?” Liselotte pouted, puffing up her cheeks cutely.

“Nothing. But if I were to offer one word of advice...”

“What?”

“If there’s one thing I can say for sure, it’s that you won’t find a better gentleman than Sir Amakawa anytime soon. Don’t regret your decisions.” With that, Aria pushed open the front door.

“Stop saying weird things to make me feel self-conscious about it,” Liselotte grumbled. Perhaps she already knew in her head, and her heart just hadn’t caught up yet.

What am I thinking?! I’m practically admitting that I’m conscious of Sir Haruto...

She soon came to her senses and shook her head furiously.

This really is dire... Aria thought, watching her master’s reaction with a sigh.

“What’s up, you two?” Just then, Rio came over.

“G-Good morning, Sir Haruto,” Liselotte replied first, feigning composure. But there was a clear blush tinting her cheeks.

“Nothing. I’m about to prepare breakfast, so please have a seat.” Aria was her usual self. She bowed at Rio and Aishia before turning to head for the kitchen. But Rio called out to stop her.

“Let me make breakfast today. As an apology for all the worry I’ve caused.”

“In that case, let me make it. I’m the one who should be expressing my gratitude,” Liselotte immediately offered instead.

“No, it’ll just be a simple Japanese meal...” In other words, there was no need to make a big deal of it.

“If I may be so bold as to speak, my master has been quite anxious as to how she can express her thanks. She’s also well versed on the subject of Japanese meals. Would you kindly consider taking her up on her offer?”

Aria tactfully took the chance to assist her master. Like Rio, Aria was aware that Liselotte had memories of her past life—what she wasn’t aware of was that Rio also had memories of his past life. In her mind, this was the perfect excuse for Liselotte to make breakfast for him.

Take this chance to win him over with your cooking.

Aria’s intentions were clearly conveyed to Liselotte, who blushed shyly.

“How about we make it together?” Rio suggested. “There’s all sorts of ingredients available, so we can both make a dish we want to make.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Aria agreed dramatically.

“Enough, Aria!”

“You two sure get along well.” Rio chuckled.

“Umm... Please let me cook with you.”

And so, Rio and Liselotte decided to make breakfast together.

◇ ◇ ◇

“You really have everything...” Liselotte mumbled, looking around in awe. They were in the walk-in pantry connected to the kitchen.

“There’s soy sauce, miso, and dashi, as well as every seasoning you need to make Japanese food. Anything raw or hard to preserve is stored in the Time-Space Cache, so just let me know if you need something you don’t see here.”

Rio opened the refrigerating magic artifact as he gave his explanation. The Time-Space Cache was far better at preserving foods than this fridge, so he only kept foods he planned on using soon in here.

“Wow, there’s even seaweed and tofu.”

“There’s also natto, wild yam, and okra.”

“Oh! I want to eat that...!”

The two stood before the fridge, checking the contents like that.

“Let’s make something you want to eat. What would your dream Japanese breakfast be?” Rio suggested after he’d finished explaining all of the features of the kitchen.

“My dream breakfast... That would have to be rice and miso soup.”

“I see. What ingredients do you like in your miso soup?”

“I can’t decide! I like tofu, but how about radish and abura-age? Since there’s soy sauce, I’d like to eat the tofu with that.”

The prospect of eating Japanese food again seemed to have stimulated Liselotte’s soul as a Japanese person, as her voice was brimming with excitement.

“We can also chop the radish leaves and make a stir-fry.”

“That sounds great! It’d go well with rice too.”

“Is there anything else you’d like?”

“Hmm... Maybe a grilled fish...”

“We can season it with salt and serve it with grated radish. That would be nice.”

“That sounds delicious!”

They settled on a breakfast menu in no time at all, then returned to the kitchen to finally begin cooking.

“Who normally does the cooking in your mansion, Sir Haruto?”

“Miharu and Orphia take the initiative to make our meals. Everyone else helps out here and there. Do you normally cook for yourself, Liselotte?” Rio asked back. Although she was the daughter of a duke, she clearly seemed familiar with cooking.

“I leave all the cooking to the chefs when I’m at home, but when I’m developing new recipes for work, I cook myself. The fastest way to recreate the dishes I ate while I was in Japan is to make them myself.”

“So that’s why you’re so good at cooking.”

“Thank you for the compliment. Back when I was Minamoto Rikka, my parents managed a family restaurant, so I learned a lot by helping them. That experience helped a lot.”

“My experience as Amakawa Haruto has helped me a lot too.”

“You also cooked when you were Amakawa Haruto?” Liselotte asked a little hesitantly. They both knew that the other had memories of their past life, but they hadn’t had many opportunities to discuss it quite like this.

Of course, she had always wanted to talk to Rio about his past life, but Rio wasn’t the type to talk about himself. Would it be rude to ask prying questions to someone like that? Such considerate worries had kept Liselotte from broaching the subject until now.

“Yes. I lived alone from my high school years to university. I also worked part-time jobs at restaurants and learned a bit there.”

Rio explained how he was forced into learning by necessity, showing no reluctance in discussing the topic. This eased the self-restraint Liselotte had maintained until now.

“Amakawa-senpai. Ah...”

Liselotte unconsciously called Rio “Amakawa-senpai,” then immediately panicked. It was a blunder she would normally never commit; it had slipped out when she brought the Minamoto Rikka side of herself to the forefront.

Rio blinked in surprise. “Senpai...you say?”

“Oh, no. Umm... I may have mentioned it before, but I knew you in my past life... And you were my upperclassman, so I would have called you ‘senpai.’ S-Sorry for bringing it up out of the blue.” Liselotte bowed her head, blushing furiously.

“Is that so...?” Rio replied curiously. He wasn’t completely unaware of a girl named Minamoto Rikka, but he only knew that she was a high school girl who rode the same bus as him. He didn’t think she’d seen him any differently to how he saw her, but perhaps that wasn’t the case...

Liselotte read Rio’s question off his face and hurriedly added to explain, “I didn’t have the chance to say this before, but I knew you when you were in high school as well.”

“Umm... Did we meet somewhere then?”

“I suppose you could say that. I don’t expect you to remember, though—we only met once during the cultural festival of your high school. You happened across me and helped me out when I needed a hand. But...”

“But?”

“But there’s another reason I knew about you... My cousin actually attended the same high school as you.”

“Oh, I see now.” Rio finally nodded in understanding.

“My cousin’s name was Fujiwara Mafuyu. Do you remember her?” Liselotte asked nervously.

“Fujiwara... Yes, I remember.” He looked through Amakawa Haruto’s memories and a certain girl came to mind.

“You remember her?” Liselotte sighed in relief, smiling happily.

“Yes. She used to hang out with someone named Chizuru a lot.”

Chizuru was one of the loud and lively girls in his school.

“Oh, you even remember Chi-san.”

“You called her Chi-san?” Rio smiled in amusement, surprised by the unexpected acquaintance they had in common. Mafuyu was one of the more introverted girls, but Chizuru often invited him to hang out after school. That was why he could still recall them.

“I also called my cousin ‘Fu-chan.’ I was still in middle school back then, but the two of them were my best friends. I often played together with them.”

“So that’s why you were at the school festival.”

“Yes. Thank you for helping me back then.”

“You’re welcome, though I doubt I did anything special.”

“No, no, you were really cool.”

“Ahaha. Thanks,” Rio chuckled shyly.

“I’m sure Fu-chan would be shocked to hear that I’m cooking alongside Amakawa Haruto in a world where I was reborn after I’d died.” Liselotte looked into the distance longingly.

“Maybe.”

“Besides...” Liselotte started to say, fixing her gaze on Rio’s face.

“Besides?” Rio made eye contact with her.

There was still one thing she had yet to tell Rio: that Fujiwara Mafuyu had been in love with Amakawa Haruto. That was something she had learned from Chizuru, rather than Mafuyu herself.

It was why Rikka had always known about Amakawa Haruto: she had always supported Fujiwara Mafuyu’s crush. The young man her cousin loved had been reborn into this world and was standing before her.

“It’s nothing. Sorry, I got a little sentimental there.”

After some hesitation, Liselotte decided not to tell Rio. No, she couldn’t tell him—though she didn’t know the reason why herself.

“Right.” Rio was a little puzzled by the averted topic, but he readily moved on.

“Amakawa-senpai,” Liselotte said slowly, immersing herself in the sound of the words.

“It’s a little embarrassing to be called that,” Rio mumbled, scratching his cheek.

“May I call you by that name again, sometime in the future?” Liselotte asked seriously. She didn’t appear to be making fun of him, so Rio granted her wish pleasantly.

“Sure... If you want.”

It felt like he had gained another connection with someone, which made him feel happy. No, it probably wasn’t his imagination. Acting cowardly out of the fear of others... Acting brave to be liked by others... That was how people accumulated connections.

“Hehe,” Liselotte giggled, feeling how their relationship had deepened. The same feeling applied to Rio.

“We’ve stopped moving. Let’s get back to cooking.”

“Yes sir!”

At Rio’s suggestion, they resumed cooking.

Meanwhile, Aishia and Aria had been watching over the two of them from the living room behind them. They had quiet personalities, so their conversation hadn’t been very lively, but the silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable either. Aishia wasn’t the type to feel awkward over any silence in the first place, and Aria understood that after their recent experience of living together.

I was worried about what would happen between them for a while there, but...

“Let me thank you once again, Lady Aishia.” Aria looked away from her master in the kitchen to address Aishia, who was seated beside her.

“Sure.” Aishia nodded in return, her expression soft as she watched Rio. Her side profile was beautifully alluring even to Aria, who found herself swallowing her breath.

“...”

If Aishia had any romantic feelings for Rio, she would be an extremely formidable rival to her master. Aria almost pitied Liselotte—but it seemed Liselotte was yet to accept her own feelings, so it wasn’t a concern for now.

And it wasn’t only Aishia. Once they returned to Galarc, Rio would be surrounded by charming girls who were attracted to him. Aria was certain that her close friend Celia was included among them.

Who should I support between my master and my close friend...

Aria grimaced at the difficult position she was left in.

But at least I can cheer for my master without any reservations while we’re here.

With that thought, she resumed watching over Liselotte, who was happily standing in the kitchen.