Chapter 6: Shopping
After he ate, Rio called Aishia to join him outside so that he could speak to her alone.
It was the perfect day to go shopping: the weather was clear, and a refreshing wind gently ruffled the grassy fields.
Rio stretched lightly and relaxed. “You can fly with spirit arts, right? Do you have an elemental specialty?” he asked.
As a spirit — the progenitor of spirit arts — Aishia would naturally know spirit arts, too. With spirit arts, a caster or spirit usually had their own specialty element. Experienced casters and high-ranked spirits could all use a certain level of every element, so Rio assumed Aishia could fly as well.
“Yup, I can fly. My specialty is the same as Haruto. I’m proficient in all of them,” Aishia confirmed quietly.
“...I see. I’ve heard that universal users are really rare before, though.”
Universal spirit arts users and spirits were few and far between. Because Rio himself was one of those exceptional users, he didn’t show that much surprise other than the slight widening of his eyes.
“That’s why I can fight, too. I can protect Haruto. I can stay beside Haruto,” Aishia suddenly said.
“Aishia...” Rio’s eyes widened further this time, murmuring Aishia’s name.
“You can lean on me whenever you need me. Just say the word, Haruto.”
Rio’s eyes widened at Aishia’s words, and he gave a soft smile. “...Thank you. I may need to leave the house in the near future. When that time comes, could I leave Miharu’s protection in your hands, Aishia? Of course, I doubt you’d need to do anything as long as you’re all in this house.”
“Okay,” Aishia agreed quietly but dependably.
“Also, we’re going to go shopping today. Could I ask you to accompany Miharu and act as her interpreter while we’re out?”
“Yup, sure.”
“...Thank you.” Rio thanked Aishia with an even more peaceful smile on his lips. She was so obedient and earnest, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
“Is that all?” Aishia wondered, tilting her head.
“Mm, I actually wanted to try flying in the air together, but could I check your fighting capabilities instead? We won’t be using any flashy spirit arts, though... Can you fight at close range?” Rio asked. Their conversation just now had piqued his curiosity about how well a humanoid spirit like Aishia could hold their own in battle.
“I can.”
“Then, let’s do some light sparring. We have to go shopping soon, so let’s keep it short.”
“All right.”
“Okay. When this rock hits the floor, the match begins. Are you ready?” Rio picked up a rock, then placed 15 meters of distance between Aishia and himself.
“Yup.” Aishia gave a short nod.
Once Rio confirmed her nod, he gently threw the rock upward. The rock drew a parabolic line through the air before landing on the ground.
Immediately after, Aishia disappeared.
In actuality, Aishia had moved in front of Rio in an instant. At the same time, her arm reached out to grab him by his clothes.
So fast! A throwing technique, huh? Rio’s eyes opened wide in shock before his hands moved reflexively. He broke out in a cold sweat, and he evaded Aishia’s hands while backstepping.
He had underestimated her; Rio had unknowingly categorized Aishia as someone that needed to be protected. However, Aishia had blown his naivety away at a moment’s notice, as though she was proving her own strength to him.
Aishia closed the gap between them with determination, launching a skillful attack. With a combination of feints, her fists and feet moved at Rio at a terrifying speed. The force behind a single hit would be enough to damage his enhanced body if it made clean contact.
However, Rio was still able to smoothly evade every attack.
There’s something familiar about the way she moves... Wait, is she copying my moves?! he thought, seeing that Aishia’s close-range combat techniques were consistent with his own style. While he wasn’t sure of the reason, it was possible that she had learned the same techniques as him through osmosis, just like when it came to his language.
For several moments, Aishia continued to launch her attacks at Rio, before suddenly changing her attack pattern. She backed away for a moment and put distance between them, then used wind spirit arts — just like Rio — to accelerate her movement, stirring up the surroundings as she took off again.
With a deep breath, Rio mustered a large amount of ode from within himself to raise the effect of his physical enhancement and sharpen his senses even more. As Aishia closed in on him, Rio was only barely able to perceive Aishia’s movements with his sharpened senses. Suddenly, Aishia thrust the palm of her hand at him, but Rio flanked her and sidestepped her outreached palm at the same time. He then aimed to trip Aishia off balance and used that momentum to lightly fling her in the direction she was moving. Aishia’s eyes widened, but she gracefully flipped over in midair to deftly land on the ground, then turned to resume attacking once more.
“W-Wait! That’s enough, Aishia! I have a good idea of your ability now!” Rio called out. Aishia froze on the spot.
“...I couldn’t land a single hit. You dodged them all,” she murmured quietly.
“Umm, well, they were all movements I knew already... So you could say I’ve been learning longer than you?” Rio replied with a wry smile. He didn’t know how much actual experience Aishia had on the battlefield; all he knew was that she was asleep for the last several years. It wouldn’t be strange for her skills to be dulled, even if she was a spirit.
“Haruto really is strong.”
“Ahaha, thank you. We shouldn’t be too late, so let’s hurry back inside the house.” Thus, Rio and Aishia went back inside.
After his sparring match with Aishia, Rio prepared to depart for Amande.
“All right, we’ll be going now. You’ll be safe as long as you’re in this house, but we’ll try to hurry back soon anyway. Make sure you stay inside,” Rio said to Aki and Masato, who were left in charge of the house.
The house was fortified and difficult to physically break into once it was locked and secured, and it was covered by a compact version of the barrier around the spirit folk village, so most outside intruders would never even step within the range of the barrier. Unless a formidable enemy just happened to pass right by the house, it was most likely safe. The surrounding area was devoid of people and the grasslands had very few monsters, so there was a very low probability of a fierce opponent passing by.
“Yeah, we got it. Take care of Miharu, Haruto.”
“Please be careful on your trip.”
Masato and Aki spoke up as they saw them off.
“I’ve left a lunch that can be eaten cold on the dining table for you, just make sure you heat up the miso soup. You know how to heat it, right?” Miharu asked worriedly.
“We’ll be fine. You’ve taught us plenty of times already.”
“How many times has it been, Miharu? Just go already!” They both responded to Miharu’s overprotectiveness with wry smiles.
“Let’s go, Miharu,” Rio urged.
“Okay...” Miharu agreed reluctantly. “We’ll be back soon.”
“But can you really make it back today? It looks like we’re completely surrounded by plains... Is the city actually really nearby or something?” Masato asked curiously.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t told you how we’re going. I’ll show you something interesting. Come outside for a bit, you two,” Rio said, leaving the living room to head for the front door. Aishia immediately followed him, and the other three slowly made their way over, too.
Once they left the house, a vast area of grassy plains spread before them outside.
“...It really is an amazing view,” Miharu murmured, overwhelmed by the view of the land that stretched all the way to the horizon. Now that a full day had passed, the feeling that she was in another world really cemented in as she looked out at the scenery. Aki and Masato hummed in admiration as well.
“You’re about to see something much more amazing,” Rio said with a faint smile tugging at his lips.
“Even more than this?” Miharu turned her head hesitantly, unable to imagine how that would be possible.
Instead of answering Miharu, Rio addressed Aishia who had been standing silently. “Aishia. I want to see how far you can fly, so can you show me?”
“Sure.” Aishia nodded gently. Then, her legs began to float off the ground. She continued to rise up easily, as though ignoring the force of gravity.
“Huh? ...Huh? Wha?” Miharu and the others were taken aback, staring up at the ascending Aishia in shock. She had already risen far up into the sky, moving about freely through the air at quite a fast speed.
She said she could use all types of spirit arts, but I guess that was to be expected of a humanoid spirit. Rio watched Aishia’s figure in admiration.
In the meantime, Masato returned to his senses. “Wow! Is that sorcery too?!” he asked excitedly.
“It’s different from sorcery, but you can think of it as something similar for now. I’ll explain the particulars another time,” Rio answered simply. A proper explanation would require much more time.
Just then, Aishia descended softly toward the ground.
“Well?” she tilted her head and asked Rio in a monotonous voice after she had smoothly landed.
“It’s perfect — I have no complaints. Sorry to say this just as you landed, but shall we go now? Are you ready too, Miharu?” Rio smiled and nodded at Aishia before turning to look at Miharu.
With a flinch, she stepped forward hesitantly. “Y-Yes. Please lead the way.”
“...It might be a bit late asking this now, but are you comfortable with heights?” Rio asked carefully.
“I’m okay with them... I think.” Miharu nodded, though in a slightly nervous manner. She had never flown through the air like that before, so all she could do was make an assumption.
“I guess we’ll have to find out once we’re up there. We’ll fly slowly at first.”
“Yes, please.”
Rio called for Aishia, but when he looked around she was nowhere to be seen. “Aishia... Huh?”
He had wanted her to carry Miharu instead, since he figured it would be better than having someone of the opposite gender do it, but...
“If you’re looking for Aishia, she left already,” Masato said, pointing at the sky; Aishia was already quite far up. She seemed to be warming up for the flight, as she showed no signs of coming back down.
“Haha... Erm, do you mind if I’m the one that goes with you?” Rio asked Miharu nervously with a dry laugh.
Miharu nodded with curiosity. “Huh? No, I’m fine with that.” She had yet to realize what Rio was being self-conscious about.
“Umm, I’ll have to carry you...” Rio admitted with difficulty, and Miharu finally understood.
“A-Ah, I see. That’s right.” Her cheeks turned bright red with embarrassment.
“Ahaha, maybe not after all. I’ll call Aishia back and get her to carry you.” Rio laughed somewhat awkwardly and brushed it off, preparing to move upward and call Aishia back down. However, not wanting to be rude to Rio, Miharu spoke up in a fluster.
“N-No! I-It’s okay, I don’t mind!”
Rio turned back with a strained smile. “You don’t have to force yourself, you know?”
“I-It’s fine, really. I don’t mind at all, if it’s you. I trust you, so... please.” In a tumble of words, Miharu stopped Rio and bowed with embarrassment.
“...Umm... Then, excuse me.” After much contemplation, Rio decided that rejection here would be rude. He slowly approached Miharu in order to pick her up. With her acknowledgment, Rio nodded and picked her up, bridal-style.
“Umm, a-am I heavy?” Miharu asked with a bright red face.
“Not at all — you’re very light. Like a feather, as the saying goes.” Rio shook his head with a grin.
In reality, Miharu was dainty and light. She had a soft, feminine body that Rio inadvertently felt through her clothes, despite the fact that she was wearing a thick outer coat — borrowed from Rio — over her uniform. To be honest, Rio was struggling quite a bit internally, but he desperately feigned composure to avoid being distracted by her body.
“I’ll focus on flying as safely as possible, but make sure you hold on tight anyway.”
“O-Okay,” Miharu nodded with a squeak, clinging to Rio timidly. She leaned her weight into him gently and clutched at his clothes. Their faces were almost close enough to touch.
Rio purposefully tore his gaze away from Miharu to speak to Aki and Masato standing to the side. “We’ll be off, now. Make sure you lock up properly.”
“Right. Let me fly when you get back!” Masato waved his hands with a carefree laugh.
“...Please take care of Miharu.” Aki bowed her head while keeping a close eye on their faces, having sensed the peculiar atmosphere flowing between the two of them.
Rio gave a faint smile and nod before kicking off from the ground and rising into the air. The sight of Aki and Masato’s figures on the ground grew smaller and smaller.
“Waaah, it’s amazing.” Miharu ogled at her surroundings as she tightened her grip on Rio.
With a faint smile at the look of bewilderment on Miharu’s face, Rio turned to call out to Aishia, who had been waiting in the air from some point. “Let’s go, Aishia.”
“Okay.” Aishia closely watched Miharu being carried by Rio, before nodding.
Miharu watched the endless scenic view from the skies in a daze. “...Wow, we’re really flying through the sky,” she murmured in wonder, several minutes after the flight had begun.
“Is it prettier than the view from the ground?” Rio asked with a smile tugging at his lips.
“It’s gorgeous. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful before,” Miharu answered in a breathy voice, captivated by the picturesque scenery before her.
“I’m glad to hear that. It’ll be a while until we reach our destination city, so feel free to enjoy it all you want. You’ll see a lot of different types of scenery on the way.”
“Yes!” Nodding happily, Miharu’s eyes darted about as she enjoyed the view.
Seeing her made Rio shift his gaze, too, and he similarly enjoyed the scenery. At the end of his line of sight was the ridgeline of the mountains and the surfaces of the lakes in the distance; they sparkled from the rays of sun shining between the clouds. They continued at that leisurely pace for half an hour or so until they reached their destination of Amande.
“Aishia. We can’t descend right into the city, so we’re stopping in the forest instead.”
“Got it,” Aishia replied, and they they landed together in the forest.
“Sorry, Miharu. We’ll be going on foot from here. The ground is hard to walk on, so I’ll carry you until we reach the road,” Rio said.
The area was covered in dense vegetation and mossy undergrowth, making the footing terrible for walking on. While Miharu had an overcoat on, she was wearing her uniform skirt and leather shoes underneath, which would make the journey difficult.
“O-Okay. Thank you,” Miharu replied, nodding nervously.
“I’ll be running a little, so it may be a little bumpier than when we were flying. Be careful not to bite your tongue. Let’s go, Aishia,” Rio said to Miharu and Aishia, before making a gentle leap forward. Despite the fact that he was carrying Miharu, he was crossing several meters in a single stride.
“W-Wow. Amazing... Is this a type of sorcery, too?” Quietly tightening her grip around Rio, Miharu widened her eyes at what was clearly a display of superhuman abilities. Aishia was also following behind Rio with agile movements.
“I’ve enhanced my physical body and abilities through a technique called spirit arts. I’m also giving myself a little push by controlling the wind to help my movement and landing. Let me know if it’s too fast for you,” Rio said out of consideration for Miharu.
Miharu shook her head calmly. “I’m fine. It’s not even shaking that much.”
The group arrived at the road leading to Amande only a few minutes later. After checking there was no one else around, Rio gently lowered Miharu to the ground and handed her a necklace. “Before we go into the city, please put this on.”
“Okay. What is it...?”
“An artifact that changes your hair color — people with black hair will draw attention around here. It’ll return to normal once you remove the necklace, so there’s no need for any concern about that.”
“I understand,” Miharu said, nodding, then put on the necklace as requested. Once she did, the necklace automatically started to absorb Miharu’s essence and instantly changed her hair color.
“...Wow, it really changed.”
“It suits you. ...Just so you know, the city we’re about to head to is called Amande. Shall we go now?” Rio complimented Miharu shyly before starting to walk at a relaxed pace. Miharu and Aishia followed after him.
Ten minutes later, they were out of the forest and had reached Amande.
Miharu gazed in wonder. “...There’s a lot of people.”
They had entered the city to find huge bustling crowds, as the morning markets were still open. Stalls were lined everywhere, overflowing with clamoring liveliness.
“This is a trade city, so it’s particularly busy. Most of the kingdom is uninhabited land, so people tend to swarm cities like this,” Rio explained.
“I see... I’ll have to be careful so I won’t get lost,” Miharu said with a mix of awe and worry as she watched everyone making their way around the crowds.
“Don’t worry. Miharu should just do this,” Aishia said, then suddenly grabbed Rio’s left hand.
“Umm...” Rio showed a look of bewilderment as Miharu blushed with embarrassment.
“Now we won’t get lost,” Aishia offered simply. She was right, but both Rio and Miharu were too overcome with embarrassment to reach for each other’s hands.
“You’re not going to hold it?” Aishia tilted her head in question. Her expression made them doubt themselves, wondering if they were the weird ones for being so self-conscious.
“Ahaha. Then... excuse me.” With a bemused smile, Miharu softly took Rio’s hand.
“Let’s go.” Aishia nudged Rio — making Rio chuckle with a smile — then the three of them finally set off.
However, both Miharu and Aishia were both incredibly beautiful girls that instantly drew the attention of the men around. They sent glares filled with hatred and envy at Rio, as he was holding both their hands.
“...Haha... Okay, you two — put on your hoods. It seems like we’re standing out,” Rio suggested with a twitch in his face, unable to withstand the gazes.
In the central business district of Amande...
“Apparently, this store has all the daily necessities for women,” Rio explained to Miharu and Aishia as he stood in front of a towering building. He had asked a female stall owner if there were any shops that stocked all the necessities a woman would need; it was fine if it was a higher price as long as it was of a decent quality. All the female stall owners had pointed to this store.
“What a wonderful building...” Miharu said as she looked up at the four-story building.
“It’s called the Ricca Guild, and it’s a direct branch of the trade guild that’s famous even in the neighboring kingdoms. The governor of this city, Liselotte, is also the president of the Ricca Guild.”
There were several stores owned by the Ricca Guild in Amande; the city could even be considered the base for the guild.
This store should have all kinds of useful items in stock.
Rio recalled the last time he had visited Amande several years ago. Specifically, the rumor he had heard when he dropped by the city on his way from Strahl to Yagumo.
Yes — Rio unilaterally knew about the girl named Liselotte. The talented young woman was the daughter of Duke Cretia, the great lord of the Kingdom of Galarc. She was also the first person to bring the processed food “pasta” into this world. It was clear that Liselotte, or perhaps a person working with her in the shadows, was using knowledge from Earth.
The scale of the Ricca Guild had grown exponentially in the few years Rio was away from the Strahl region. It had even become a leading trade guild in several neighboring kingdoms as well; they would have certainly developed numerous new products in the last few years.
There was no way for Rio to make the daily life items modern Japanese women used, so this was the perfect solution for Miharu to do her shopping.
Just before they entered the building, Rio spoke up. “Okay, I’m leaving the rest to you two. I’ll come back to this store in around an hour. Just leave any interpreting to Aishia.”
Since it was a branch specializing in female-targeted products, it was difficult for Rio to enter as a male. She probably needed to buy underwear and other such things, so he figured it would be easiest to leave the chaperoning to Aishia.
“O-Okay...” Miharu nodded timidly.
“Aishia, please take care of Miharu... And make sure you don’t leave this store.”
“Yup, leave it to me.” Aishia gave a sincere nod.
...Well, I’m sure it’ll be fine. They wouldn’t be able to shop at their own pace with me around anyway.
Rio decided to trust the two of them. While he still had some concerns, he knew he couldn’t be too overprotective. The store’s security seemed reliable enough that the chance of strange customers would be low.
“See you later, then.”
With that, Rio let go of Miharu and Aishia’s hands.
After parting ways with the girls, Rio began to gather information in the area around the building where Miharu was shopping.
Information spread slowly in this world, as the methods of communication weren’t very advanced. Because of that, the most well-informed people were nobles, merchants, and guild members. They took in all kinds of information because of their contact with large numbers of people, as well as their ability to collude with others like themselves to create their own intelligence network. That was why common folk, like Rio, were unable to gain much information by just remaining passive. In order to find the information he wanted, he either had to be in contact with many people on a daily basis or proactively approach those with the knowledge.
At present, Rio was effectively gathering information by going around the stalls and talking to the merchants. He wasn’t part of a guild and had no noble acquaintances, so the only way he could gather information was through the merchants available to him. By purchasing their products and chatting them up under the guise of a casual conversation, the merchants were more willing to talk. While he wasn’t likely to gain any information of high secrecy or reliability, his efforts would likely be fruitful nonetheless.
Rio visited a stall that sold grilled skewers and ordered a fair amount before addressing the female store owner. “Has anything of importance happened recently? I was really surprised when those pillars of light appeared the other day.”
“Oh my, haven’t you heard? People say that was the sign of the hero appearing,” the stall owner replied as she grilled the meat.
“The... hero?” The word hero took Rio by surprise, making him widen his eyes.
“You know of the sacred prophecy at least, right? The one about the great hero that appears alongside the six pillars of light. Since the exact events of that prophecy occurred, the rumor is that the hero has appeared, too.”
“Right, there was something like that. I see...” Rio nodded with comprehension.
The people of the Strahl region believed in the deities known as the Six Wise Gods. While Rio himself was not a man of faith, he had received classes during his time in the Royal Academy, so he could still vaguely remember the details of the sacred texts.
It might be related to how Miharu and the others appeared in this world... Or maybe they were dragged into the fray? If so, does that mean the two people with them... are the heroes? Rio thought, immediately breaking down the information and making his own hypothesis.
“Was there anything else that stood out recently around here? I was thinking of going to the Kingdom of Beltrum in the near future...”
“Hmm... They had a slightly larger scale skirmish with the Proxia Empire to the north just a while ago, but that’s just business as usual.” The female stall owner hummed as she answered, then remembered something. “Oh, that’s right. If you’re heading to the Beltrum Kingdom, then you’ll have to pass through the western road, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.” In Rio’s case, he would be flying over it with spirit arts, but he nodded anyway.
“Several adventurers have gone missing recently after heading out on missions along the west road. It isn’t unheard of for people of their line of work to run away, but even skilled adventurers went missing, so it’s been a bit of a hot topic. You look young, but your outfit says you’re an adventurer, too. Be careful out there.”
“...I see, thank you very much.” Rio thanked her and carefully stored their conversation away in his head.
After that, the stall owner continued to chat up Rio even without his prompting; she was a rather talkative person, something that Rio was grateful for since his aim was to gather information. However, most of her chatter was unrelated to the topics he was interested in, so Rio decided to wrap up their talk and retreat when she started to bring up the desire to introduce her daughter to him.
Rio went around a few more stalls afterward, but was unable to gather any new information before he returned to Miharu and Aishia.
Rio currently stood before the Ricca Guild’s store.
Hmm... I said I’d be back after an hour, but is it okay to just walk in? It was a store that specialized in a wide range of daily items for women; as a man, it almost felt like a forbidden holy ground, making him fearful of intruding.
At that moment, Aishia stepped out of the store by herself. Miharu was nowhere to be seen.
“Huh... Aishia? Where’s Miharu?”
“Haruto returned, so I came out to get you. Miharu is still shopping,” Aishia replied succinctly.
“Oh, okay. But... how did you know I came back?”
“We’re connected by a path, so I know when you’re close by.”
“I see... Come to think of it, Sara and the other spirit folk mentioned something like that.”
Rio tried to remember what they had said about contract spirits when he was in the village — something about how the contract owner and contract spirit were deeply and spiritually connected by a path. Aishia had only just awakened, but Rio wondered curiously if she would become more sensitive in terms of their connection as more time passed.
“Miharu will become concerned, so let’s go back quickly.” Aishia grabbed Rio’s hand and tried to go back inside the store.
“Right, yeah. Umm, is it... okay if I go in, too?”
Well, it should be fine with Aishia there, Rio thought, allowing himself to be dragged along. If there was an issue, he could just leave again anyway.
Surprisingly, he could spot some other men that were accompanying women inside the store. Each of them seemed rather uncomfortable to be there — Rio could empathize.
When Rio and Aishia entered the store, the gazes of the men who had been standing by as chaperones were naturally drawn to Aishia’s beauty. However, the women they were accompanying keenly noticed the change in the men and sent them a few admonishing signs, such as clearing their throats and the like. The men awkwardly pretended like they hadn’t been staring, even though they were still sneaking looks. Perhaps a similar thing had been happening while Rio was out gathering information too.
“Miharu is on the fourth floor.”
Aishia ignored the looks from all the men and guided Rio. Their linked hands must have stood out, as the attention of both men and women in the store was on them. The men were shooting glares of envy at Rio, while the women seemed to be staring at his face in admiration.
“Oh my, she had someone with her.”
“Hmm...”
“Well, he suits her, at least.”
The voices of the women could be heard throughout the store.
Awkward... Rio felt an extreme sense of discomfort.
The gazes never really left them, so he focused on watching Aishia’s back silently as he moved his feet. They climbed the stairs until they arrived at the fourth floor.
“We’re here.”
Hearing Aishia’s voice, Rio finally looked around at his surroundings again. He was met with the sight of:
“...Huh? Ah...”
A lingerie shop.
There were no men chaperoning this time, as was to be expected, and the women present were all selecting underwear that suited them as they pleased. Miharu was among them. She stood right in front of Rio and stared at undergarments with a serious expression. In her hand was a cute and stylish bra with a modest amount of lace on it.
“Miharu,” Aishia called out.
“Oh, Ai-chan. Where were you? Ah, Haruto’s back too... now...” Miharu looked away from the underwear and toward the direction of Aishia’s voice. Rio was also there, holding Aishia’s hand. He made eye contact with Miharu.
Miharu attempted to greet Rio with a smile when she realized there was something crucially wrong with the situation. She froze on the spot.
The underwear in Miharu’s hands entered Rio’s vision, causing him to apologize while looking away. “S-Sorry.”
“Eh, ah...?!” Miharu finally understood the situation and hid the underwear in her hands in a panic. Her cheeks turned bright red.
“Umm, I’m sorry. Really,” Rio said, apologizing once more. He immediately tried to let go of Aishia’s hand and turn on his heel, but she had a surprisingly strong grip on him, so he couldn’t move. All he could do was bow his head and stare at the floor instead.
“Ah, umm, m-me too!” Miharu lowered her head at Rio in return.
As they were exchanging bows, a female store attendant must have become suspicious, as she called out to them. “Is something the matter?”
“The three of us came here to shop,” Aishia summarized in a flat voice, then looked at Rio’s face and linked hands with him. That was enough to convince the store attendant.
“Oh, I see. That’s fine, then; accompanying gentlemen aren’t forbidden from entering or anything. There are many customers who wish to bring them along and ask for their opinions, too,” she said, shaking her head with an understanding smile.
At some point, they had caught the attention of the other women in the lingerie shop. They had caught wind of the situation and were giggling to themselves.
“I-I’ll come back in another hour. A-Aishia, let go of my hand...” Rio said, quickly retreating from the lingerie shop after he got Aishia to unlink their hands.
I think I’ll write a letter to Professor Celia... I need to tell her that I’ll be late. I’ll definitely go see her, though...
Once he stepped outside the store, he walked to the Ricca Guild branch that handled deliveries.
Roughly one hour later, Rio once again returned to the building where Miharu was shopping. They either must have just finished their shopping, or Aishia had sensed his approach, as the two of them came outside to meet him.
When Miharu’s eyes met Rio’s, she blushed with embarrassment. Rio grimaced uncomfortably.
“I’m sorry for the lack of consideration I showed earlier,” Rio apologized.
“N-No, I’m the one who should have been more careful. You were brought along by Ai-chan, after all. Ahaha... I’d appreciate it if you could forget everything.” Miharu laughed embarrassedly and shook her head; it was a commendable effort on her part to put the encounter behind them.
“Y-Yes. That aside, it doesn’t look like you have any bags. Did you finish your shopping?”
“Ah, the shop said they’d hold onto the bags. We can pick them up on our way home.”
“I see... That’s a useful service. Let’s go shopping for Masato’s clothes, then.”
Miharu nodded at Rio’s suggestion. “Yes, please.” They had somehow managed to clear the awkward air between them.
Suddenly, Aishia reached for Rio’s left hand and held it. Rio smiled at how natural the movement was for them now.
“Umm, may... may I take your right hand?” Miharu asked Rio shyly.
“...Yes. We wouldn’t want to get separated,” Rio agreed bashfully.
Thus, the three headed for the next store, holding hands. They found a decent shop for men’s clothing in a matter of minutes and went inside to pick out clothes for Masato. Miharu examined all the clothes carefully to select something good for Masato, when she suddenly found clothing that looked good for Haruto.
“This one looks like it’d suit you, Haruto.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. Could you try holding it up to yourself? ...Ah, see, it really does suit you.”
She handed the clothes over for Rio to hold, then stepped back to look at him from a distance with a beaming smile. Rio smiled in return, appearing somewhat bashful.
“Thank you very much. I am lacking in everyday clothes, so I think I’ll get this.”
Since Rio usually wore combat clothing or semi-combat clothing that could also act as casual attire, he didn’t have many articles that served as solely for everyday wear. This was the perfect opportunity to amend that.
“Umm, then would it be better to buy a few more pieces?”
“Sure. Since you’re here, could I ask you to help me pick them? I’m not very good at choosing clothes...” Rio requested with a wry smile.
“If you’re okay with that, then...” Miharu nodded hesitantly, then began to select clothes not only for Masato, but Rio as well. She had a good sense of style, and made sure to coordinate Rio’s clothes to suit each other.
Time passed by in a flash. “Thank you very much, Miharu. We’ve gotten some good shopping done, thanks to you,” Rio said after he finished buying their items.
“No, I should be thanking you. I had a lot of fun today.”
“I’m happy to hear that. Once your language studies have progressed a bit, we should come here again with Aki and Masato as a breather... Since the plan is to stay where we are for another month, at least.”
After they learned a fair amount of the language, he might bring them to the spirit folk village. Nonetheless, it would probably require further discussion first.
“Yes, please!” Miharu said, smiling happily.
Rio and the girls were able to return to the rock house in the field before the sun had set. They ate dinner and then settled down to enjoy tea together, when Rio suddenly spoke up.
“Actually, I may have gained some plausible information today about the two people you were with just before you were brought to this world. It’s not bad news, either.”
“R-Really?!” Aki stammered, immediately drawn to Rio’s words.
“More or less, yes. It wouldn’t be very trustworthy information under normal circumstances, and it doesn’t help us with their location, unfortunately.” Rio shrugged his shoulders and nodded.
“So, what did you find out about the two of them?” Aki pressed impatiently.
Rio smiled faintly. “The two of them... may have become heroes, I guess,” he explained in a frank manner. Aki couldn’t help but doubt what she had heard.
“...Huh?” she asked.
Not only did Aki doubt what she was hearing, but Miharu and Masato also had expressions of astonishment. Their reactions were understandable; heroes weren’t a common career path for a modern day Japanese person, after all.
“Well, I guess that’s the normal reaction to have.” Rio watched the reaction of the three Earthlings with his usual wry smile. Meanwhile, Aishia breathed a small and sleepy yawn from where she sat beside him.
“Hey, Haruto. By hero, do you mean something like the main character of a video game?” Masato asked hesitantly.
“It’s probably exactly like that, I believe.”
“Huh... Seriously? Bro as a hero, you say... I guess I kind of get it, but it doesn’t suit him at all!” Masato said with a somewhat amused grimace.
“This world has religious beliefs, too, and the sacred texts speak of a prophecy where the heroes are summoned. The phenomenon in that prophecy came true at nearly the same time you three were dragged into this world. That’s why a rumor is circulating that heroes have appeared in the Strahl region.”
“And those heroes are Satsuki and Takahisa?” Miharu asked.
“Yes. The prophecy claims there are six heroes, so I believe they must be two of them. The event that occurred was on a large enough scale for it to be just that.”
Though Rio had been too distracted by the feminine voice in his head to look at them directly, the six pillars of light that had appeared in that moment had scattered a tremendous amount of ode and mana — enough for him to believe that heroes could indeed be summoned from another world.
“Then... would we be able to meet the two of them if we find out where all the heroes are?!” Aki asked expectantly.
“If my hypothesis is right, then yes. The prophecy said the heroes would appear by the Sacred Stones, but who knows where those Sacred Stones are,” Rio replied with a troubled look. There was a lot of information readily available about the location of the Sacred Stones, but it was normal to assume all of it was misleading or false.
“That can’t be...” Aki’s face darkened in frustration.
“It’s okay. They have to be somewhere in Strahl, so as long as we keep waiting, more rumors of the heroes will circulate eventually. It’s best if we just wait patiently. Of course, I’ll do what I can to find out more about the Sacred Stones and heroes, but I’d like the three of you to focus on learning the language for now. Is that all right with you, Miharu?” Rio looked at her for a response.
“Yes. We’ll be placing all the burden on you, Haruto, but please take care of us,” Miharu agreed apologetically.
“Then, that’s decided — you’ll start learning the language from tomorrow. It may get a bit rigorous at times, but the harder you work, the faster you’ll learn. You’ll eventually be able to put more time into other things. Let’s all do our best!” Rio said to the others to motivate them.
“Yes, please teach us well!” Aki said energetically, fired up by his words.
“Studying, huh... Even though we’ve come to another world, the things we have to do haven’t changed...” Masato sighed and grumbled to himself.
“Masato, I’m warning you now. If you don’t do this properly, I’ll be angry.”
“I know!” Masato nodded bitterly at Aki’s warning. He was aware that this was a necessary task, at the very least.
Miharu watched the two of them with a pleasant smile.
After that, Rio worked together with Miharu and Aishia to clean everything up. They would begin their language studies in the morning, so Aki and Masato were sent off to bed early.
“Good work, Miharu... And you, too, Aishia. We should go to sleep soon too,” Rio said to the two girls at the dining table.
Miharu bowed. “Okay. Thank you for everything today, Haruto. You too, Ai-chan,” she said, looking at Aishia.
“Good work, Miharu,” Aishia replied sleepily.
“Ahaha. You look sleepy, Aishia — let’s go to bed right away. Good night!”
Rio figured that if he stuck around any longer he’d just be keeping Miharu and Aishia awake with him, so he started to walk toward his room.
“Good night,” Aishia said, before following after Rio. Miharu bid them good night, before walking off to her own room.
“Wait, huh? A-Ai-chan, isn’t your room next to mine? It’s just Haruto’s room in that direction. Aren’t you going to bed?” Miharu found something odd about the direction Aishia was heading and called out to stop her.
“Aishia?” Rio said with wide eyes, wondering what was the matter.
“I’m going to sleep.” Aishia cocked her head blankly.
“Umm... Where?” Rio asked nervously.
“In Haruto’s room.”
“E-Eeh?!” Miharu exclaimed in shock at Aishia’s reply.
“Umm... You have your own room, though. You’re supposed to sleep there,” Rio said carefully to Aishia, holding his head in his right hand.
“I sleep with Haruto,” Aishia declared in a pure and innocent manner.
“N-No, you can’t do that,” Rio declined in a panic, but Aishia only seemed to be curious as to why that was.
“Why not?”
“Well, that’s because...”
It seemed as though she was unfamiliar with the subtleties of personal boundaries between a man and a woman. Rio was left at a loss for words as he looked at Miharu for assistance.
“Ah, umm. You know, Ai-chan... It’s a little problematic — rather, unfavorable — for a man and a woman to sleep together in the same room if they’re not in an intimate relationship,” Miharu explained tactfully, trying to save Rio from his dilemma.
“Why?”
“U-Umm...” Aishia’s childlike question left Miharu the one at a loss for words this time. It was surprisingly difficult to explain the common sense rules and morals that applied to human society using words. Simply saying that it wasn’t allowed wasn’t enough for a spirit like Aishia to understand.
Aishia looked at Miharu with innocent eyes. “Aren’t Haruto and I intimately related?”
“Ah, erm, that’s not what I mean.”
Intimate? What was intimate? Why were the right words so hard to choose? Despite trying her best, Miharu was at an utter loss.
“If we can’t sleep as just the two of us, then do you want to join in, too?” Aishia suggested.
“T-That’s even more impossible!” Miharu turned red and shook her head.
“Why?”
“Huh? Ah, because... I-I have someone I love already. Ah — no, wait, t-that doesn’t mean I hate Haruto by any means, though!” Miharu was babbling incoherently and replying to everything with foolish honesty.
“...Yes, I know. Haha.”
Hearing that Miharu had someone she loved had been a mild shock to Rio, but he somehow managed to keep a smile on his face. He had marginally suspected such a thing already.
“I don’t get it,” Aishia murmured quietly to herself. Rio sighed and smiled wryly. “...Why do you want to sleep with me anyway, Aishia?”
“I can replenish ode more efficiently by Haruto’s side. It’s also more comfortable,” Aishia answered. The second part aside, it was a surprisingly logical reason.
“Oh, replenishing essence. That’s true... But if you’re a spirit, you should be able to take on an astral form as well, right? Wouldn’t you be able to suppress the depletion of your essence more in that state...?”
Since Aishia had a humanoid form, it felt so natural for her to be physically materialized that Rio had forgotten that spirits normally preferred to exist in their astral form. Materializing and maintaining a physical form expended a certain amount of magic essence, so it was an extremely inefficient use of their energy.
“Astral... form?” Miharu asked, unable to keep up with the conversation.
“She has a physical body right now, but at their core, spirits are actually embodiments of mana. So, like their name suggests, they have a spiritual form. Normally, they are unperceivable to humans — that form is called the astral form.”
“...I-I see. Then Ai-chan can take on that astral form, too?” Miharu seemed slightly dubious as she looked at Aishia.
“I can.” Aishia nodded. Her body suddenly turned to fine particles of light and dispersed in the blink of an eye.
“S-She disappeared? Ai-chan?” Miharu’s eyes widened in shock as she hesitantly called Aishia’s name.
“I’m here,” Aishia replied; the particles of light gathered together to take on her form once more.
Miharu made a noise of wonder and turned to Rio for confirmation. “Wah... T-That was the astral form just now?”
“Yes. You won’t be able to see her or physically interact with her, but she still exists there in her astral form. Spirits expend essence by simply existing, so they use much less energy when in their astral form.”
Miharu looked at Aishia. “I understand... Ah, then if you stayed in your astral form on a regular basis, you wouldn’t need to sleep together with Haruto anymore... is that right?”
“Essence recovery isn’t that big of a deal. I will replenish essence more efficiently the closer I am to Haruto, but if I don’t use any spirit arts, then it isn’t that difficult for me to stay in physical form even without Haruto nearby,” Aishia explained logically with a shake of her head.
“Umm, then, do you still need to sleep together with Haruto...?”
“Yes. I want to be with Haruto.”
“A-Ahaha. Really... Ah, then, how about... you sleep with Haruto in your astral form? How about that instead?” Miharu suggested, looking at Rio with a strained smile.
“Umm... I guess, yeah. That should be, well... all right, I suppose?” Rio nodded with uncertainty, though he wasn’t quite sure if doing that actually solved the moral issue of a man and woman sleeping together in the same room. At least no physical mishaps could occur while she was invisible in her astral form.
Aishia seemed pretty stubborn over the whole thing herself, making it nearly impossible to convince her otherwise. It was only a makeshift solution at best, but it was a safe line to draw as a compromise.
“Are you okay with that, Ai-chan?” Miharu asked.
“Sure.” Aishia nodded quietly.
Thus, it was decided that Aishia would sleep in Rio’s room in her astral form. And if Rio woke up to her sleeping in her physical form the next morning — well, that was a story for another day.
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