Chapter 1: The Plan From Here
Revisiting the evening when Rio took Celia away from the capital...
Accompanied by Aishia, Rio carried Celia as he flew through the air with spirit arts, heading towards Duke Cretia’s territory in the Kingdom of Galarc towards the southwest. Their current position was in the skies above a vast forest near the border of Beltrum, directly east of the capital.
In the vicinity was the trading city of Amande, where the Ricca Guild was based and Liselotte Cretia acted as governor. Rio had chosen Amande in the Kingdom of Galarc to escape to, partially because he wanted to put as much space between them and the capital of Beltrum, and partially because he wanted to stock up on all the daily necessities Celia would need at the Ricca Guild.
They talked about many things on their way here: the topics changed from Rio’s original flight out of the kingdom, to what happened on his way to the Yagumo region, to what happened on the way back from Yagumo to Strahl, and so on. They took turns talking about what had happened in chronological order, but there was simply too much to touch upon to get through everything. Even now, they were still chatting away.
“I see, so now you’re searching for the heroes from every area...”
Rio had explained to Celia about Miharu, Aki, and Masato: how they were summoned from another world, how he had looked after them, how he had left them in the care of others, and how he was searching for their friends and family, who had a strong possibility of being heroes.
“Yes. The incident this time allowed me to confirm that the hero of Beltrum wasn’t who I was searching for, but do you have any information about the other heroes, Professor?” Rio asked Celia hopefully. Despite how she had been shut away in the guest house of the castle for a while, he figured that, as a noble, she would have more gossip-like information coming her way than most others.
“I didn’t hear it through an official announcement, but I know of two other places other than Beltrum with sacred stones that summoned heroes. Also, there’s another sacred stone within Beltrum, too. It was probably taken, along with Princess Flora, by the Duke Huguenot faction. Were you aware of that?” Celia asked.
Rio’s eyes widened in awe before he smiled. “I knew I could count on you, Professor Celia. This is the first I’m hearing of any of that.”
Celia’s cheeks reddened somewhat shyly. “I-It’s no big deal. The hero summonings made quite a buzz, so I did a little research of my own. The rest was what I heard and overheard from others.”
“No, the researcher I questioned in the academy probably didn’t have any interest in current affairs, because he could only tell me the name of the hero that was summoned in the castle,” Rio said with a faint smile.
“Ahaha. Well, the nobles that choose to work as researchers tend to be an odd lot. But when you say you questioned a researcher... Ah, I see. You snuck into my room in the castle. And you’re flying through the air like this. It really is amazing, this spirit arts thing...” Celia suddenly came to her senses, expressing her awe towards spirit arts for the umpteenth time that day. There were too many shocking events and stories that had happened, completely numbing her to everything, but her nature as a researcher was strongly drawn towards spirit arts.
“Hmm. Rather than saying spirit arts is amazing, it’s more accurate to say that Aishia is amazing. The difference in ability is far more evident in spirit arts than it is in magic.” Rio hummed in contemplation before he spoke in reference to Aishia, who was flying beside them silently.
“Haruto is more amazing,” Aishia said simply.
Celia turned to Rio cheerfully, expression tinged with amusement. “Fufu. Aishia seems to be saying something to the contrary, though?”
“Ahaha. That can’t be right.” Spirits were known as the progenitors of spirit arts, and Aishia was a considerably high ranked one among them. However, Rio decided to easily laugh it off, as the conversation would get long if he went into detail. After all, Aishia was unlikely to budge from her stance.
“The two of you are both amazing to me... And I’m truly happy to see you’ve grown up into such a fine young man, Rio. You’re so much taller than me now, too.” Celia grinned as she complimented Rio.
He had been especially ridiculed during his school days for being unable to use magic, but he had actually been able to utilize an amazing ability in spirit arts instead, which he had used to save Celia from her predicament. That fact made her so unbelievably proud and happy that she could hardly contain herself.
“Thank you very much,” Rio said with a slight smile.
Celia was looking up at Rio’s face with a pleased expression, when she suddenly thought of something. “...Huh? Hold on, wait a minute. There was another person who was summoned along with the hero in the castle, but they weren’t able to communicate with anyone other than the hero. Were the kids under your care able to communicate?” she asked, her mind having been derailed from the topic of the hero search.
“Ah, umm... Well... I guess that part was kinda noticeable after all...” Rio grimaced with a somewhat troubled face.
“...Umm, was it perhaps something I shouldn’t have asked about?” Celia must have noticed the change in Rio’s expression.
“No, I was just wondering what would be the best way to explain... For now, since the sun is about to set, let’s rest around here for today. We’ll continue this conversation after that.” Rio shook his head evasively before turning to address Aishia beside him and slowly began to lower his altitude. “Let’s descend to a suitable clearing, Aishia.”
Although he had experience explaining to Miharu and the others about how he had memories of his previous life, even if it was Celia — no, no matter who it was — he needed the time to prepare himself before explaining.
“Ah, okay.” Celia nodded hesitantly, softly tightening her grip that was hugging onto Rio. Then, once they found a clearing in the forest that they could land in, Rio gently lowered Celia down to the ground.
“I’ll prepare a place for us to sleep right away, so please wait a moment. Be careful not to get your dress dirty.”
“...Okay. Are we staying here overnight?” With a slightly dazed expression, Celia looked around at the area nervously. There was nothing but dense undergrowth and thick trees in the dimly lit darkness, filling the forest with silence.
“Yes. But we won’t be camping outdoors, so don’t worry.” Rio crouched down and touched his hands against the ground with a grin. He was currently using spirit arts to secretly stabilize the ground foundation, but there was no way Celia could know that.
“Huh? But...” Celia tilted her head.
“Dissolvo.” Rio stood up and chanted. He held up his left hand with the Time-Space Cache armband on it and manipulated his essence, activating the sorcery hidden in the armband.
“Huh?! Wha...” Celia’s eyes widened in shock. Suddenly, the space before her eyes twisted and distorted, making a giant boulder appear.
“It looks just like a boulder, but the interior is a house. Please, come this way,” Rio explained with familiarity, walking towards the front entrance. However, Celia remained standing in a daze, completely at a loss for words.
“...”
The standard of sorcery in the Strahl region couldn’t even use the basics of time-space sorcery, so her surprise was reasonable.
“Professor?” Rio called out to Celia nervously, worried he had scared her a little too much.
“What... is... this?” Celia’s mouth opened and shut wordlessly.
“Umm, it’s called the Time-Space Cache. It uses a time-space sorcery that releases an isolated, empty space separated from time. Or rather, it’s a magic artifact with that inside it.” Rio folded back his left sleeve and showed Celia the Time-Space Cache he had equipped.
“The Time-Space... Cache...” Celia murmured the name and looked at his armband with great interest.
Then, after a long pause with nothing but her gazing at his arm, Rio called out to Celia once more. “Professor?”
“I can’t... anymore,” Celia whispered quietly.
“Eh? Could you please repeat that?”
“Argh! I can’t take it anymore!” With no concern for how her dress hem was dragging along the ground, Celia closed in on Rio in one lunge.
Rio was taken aback. “Y-Yes?” he stammered, taken aback.
“I was holding back from asking about everything, figuring it’d be better not to carelessly ask about those logic-defying spirit arts things, but... enough! Tell me more about that armband, and everything else! Or, rather... Will you let me study that armband?!” Seeing the advanced sorcery crystal had awakened the researcher’s heart within Celia. She looked up at Rio’s face from close-range.
“Wha... Ahaha!” Rio couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Celia returned to her senses with that and blushed faintly.
“...W-What’s so funny?” She asked in embarrassment.
“Nothing, it just brought back memories. Seeing that look return to your face makes me feel really happy, Professor.” Rio held back his laughter and smiled gently.
Celia flushed scarlet and pouted her lips. “Wha... G-Geez! It’s all because of you, showing me all these impossible things! Anyone knowledgeable about sorcery would have reacted in the same way, not just me. You can’t show this Time-Space Cache or any of your spirit arts in front of others, got it?! It would cause all sorts of unnecessary trouble!” she lectured with reproachful eyes.
“Ahaha, of course. But it’s only you right now, Professor, so there’s no need to hide it, right?” Rio gave a bright smile as he watched Celia in return.
“Ah... Oh, geez!” Celia’s blush reached its peak as she struggled for breath. Unable to look directly at Rio’s face, she looked downwards instead.
“Professor?” Rio inclined his head curiously, peering at Celia’s face.
“W-Wait! Just give me a minute! I have to silence my feelings first!” Celia waved her hands in a panic, trying to stop him from leaning in and getting a look at her face.
“...Yes?” Rio continued to tilt his head, but obeyed Celia for now.
“...Okay, done,” She said after a few deep breaths, looking up at Rio’s face. Belatedly noticing how they were still close enough to be hugging, she backed away slightly. She had been held in a bridal carry the entire way here, so it really was a rather belated realization.
That being said, being carried here was a necessity, and there was no need to be so close to each other right now. That difference was extremely important to Celia.
“Then, let’s head inside the house. Please, come this way. You too, Aishia — let’s go in.” Rio looked at Celia’s face and made sure she was all right, before turning on his heel to call out to Aishia and head towards the front door.
“Okay.” Aishia gave a short nod and followed Rio. Celia started walking forward hesitantly. Once the three of them entered the house, Celia looked around the open living space and widened her eyes.
“...I never imagined there could be such a pleasant living space inside a rock...”
“I can guarantee you that it’s comfortable to live in. Let’s get you changed first, shall we? We can’t have you remain in that wedding dress forever, now.”
“...Yeah. But... Do you have a change of clothes...?” Celia said, looking at Rio doubtfully. She had left the capital with nothing but the clothes on her back, so she didn’t have a change of clothes handy. Not to mention how they hadn’t stopped anywhere on the way here, as they wanted to put as much distance between the capital as possible, leaving them no time for shopping.
“Let’s see. We’ll definitely go shopping tomorrow, but for today, you can just...”
Rio stared at Celia’s stature closely.
? ?
Rio changed from his overcoat and combat clothing into his usual casual wear and went about preparing tea in the living room. Some time later, Celia and Aishia finished changing in a different room and returned to the living room wearing comfortable dresses.
“Say, whose clothes are these?” Celia asked Rio and Aishia as she looked down at her completed outfit.
“They belong to one of the girls who was summoned along during the hero summonings. They lived in this house for a short while, so...”
The clothes that Celia was wearing right now were the ones that Miharu and the others had forgotten to take from the laundry when they moved to the spirit folk village. It was obvious at a glance that Miharu’s clothes wouldn’t fit Celia in terms of height and fit, so Rio had given her Aki’s clothes to try on.
It looks like Aki’s clothes are perfect for the Professor, just as I expected.
Rio couldn’t help but smile in amusement at how Celia could fit into the clothes of a middle school student.
“...Just out of curiosity, how old was the girl who owned these clothes?” Celia suddenly asked out of the blue.
“Umm... thirteen,” Rio answered after an awkward pause.
“And the other girl you mentioned?” Celia puffed up her cheeks a little.
“...Sixteen. Ah, is it a little small after all? Umm, Aki — that’s the girl’s name — is just about your height, Professor, so I thought it would work. If you’d like, I can prepare the other girl — Miharu’s — clothes instead...?” It was as clear as day that the clothes wouldn’t fit, but Rio tried to be considerate and offer anyway.
“I-It’s okay. Yeah, it’s okay... it’s okay, but... umm, i-it’s a little tight around my chest, maybe. Yes, just a little, tight... B-But it’s fine!” she refused in a shrill and upset voice, shaking her head. She’d realized that Miharu’s clothes wouldn’t fit her. Although, her criticism of the chest area of the clothing may have simply been for show...
“I see, around your chest...” The flow of the conversation naturally let Rio’s gaze towards Celia’s chest. Celia certainly did seem more feminine than Aki in that regard.
“G-Geez, don’t stare so much. I know they’re small, gosh! I’m sure you like big ones too, don’t you, Rio? Ugh...” Though she hadn’t exactly been ogled at, Celia’s face turned red and she hid her chest out of embarrassment. The woes of a young lady were complicated.
“Ahaha, that’s not true.” Rio shook his head with a strained smile.
“...H-Hmm. R-Really?” Celia’s eyes widened faintly as her interest was piqued by his response.
“Yes, I don’t believe a woman’s charms are decided by the size of her bust. You’re plenty charming, Professor, so please have more confidence in yourself,” Rio said, his answer a textbook response. However, he must have truly felt that way, as his words didn’t seem contrived.
For a moment, Celia blinked in a daze. “T-Thanks... Wait, what are we even talking about here? I-I’m sorry.” With a flustered thanks and apology, she smiled in relief. Rio also smiled shyly.
“That aside, which would you like to talk about first? The reason why I could communicate with the kids that were summoned along with the hero, or spirit arts and the Time-Space Cache? Or would you like a bath first?” he asked, awkwardly changing the subject.
“R-Right. Can we talk first, then? Since you’ve poured the tea and all already.” Celia nodded uncomfortably, on board with talking.
“Of course. Let’s sit down, then... You too, Aishia. Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I’ve had tea with you, Professor.” Rio chuckled with a smile, inviting Celia to take a seat on the sofa, before serving the three of them tea.
“Yeah, that’s true. It brings back memories...” Celia nodded with a smile as she recalled those times, before her expression suddenly changed. “Ah, but is it really okay for you to tell me?”
Rio tilted his head in question. “What do you mean?”
“Umm, the stuff about spirit arts and the Time-Space Cache aside, you seemed to be thinking kind of hard about how to explain the reason why you could communicate, so it seemed like you didn’t really want to say...” Celia explained nervously.
“Ah, no, it isn’t that I don’t want to say it. It’s just that I need to prepare my heart and find the right words to do so. You’ll probably be surprised, Professor,” Rio said with a troubled expression.
“I’ll be surprised?” Celia inclined her head curiously.
“Yes. I’m going to tell you something that doesn’t sound believable by any logical means... But I am not lying. I don’t want to keep it a secret from you forever, Professor, so will you listen to what I have to say?” Rio stared directly into Celia’s eyes.
“...About the reason why you could communicate, right?” Celia said nervously, having noticed that the air around Rio had changed.
Rio nodded quietly. “Yes.”
“Okay. I’ll believe you.” Celia nodded simply, without any sign of doubt.
“Wasn’t that a little quick?” Rio’s eyes widened a little in surprise.
“Because it’s you, Rio. I’ll believe anything you have to say,” Celia said, then smiled in amusement.
“...Thank you very much.” Rio was a little uneasy, and yet he smiled happily. Though it was faint, Aishia was smiling gently, too. Then, after a moment, he spoke up abruptly.
“I have the memories of a version of myself from another life.”
“...The memories of yourself... from another life?” Celia’s eyes rounded slightly.
“They’re the memories of my past life, probably,” Rio supplemented.
“Memories... of your past life... Huh...” Celia looked dazed as she parroted Rio’s words back at him.
“...I guess it is hard to believe after all?” Rio asked timidly. As the concerned party, his senses were numbed into naturally accepting the fact, but any normal person would be more likely to find the statement delusional.
“Ah, no, that’s not it. I believe you. I believe you, and I’m not shocked... If anything, I can actually accept it so easily, I’m having trouble finding the words to explain why... Could you tell me a little more about it, for now?” Celia answered impatiently, pressing for more.
Rio widened his eyes and gently continued to speak. “...To start from the conclusion, the children who were summoned along with the hero happened to be from the same country and world that I lived in within my memories.”
“...So that’s why you were able to understand their words. But what did you mean by saying that they’re ‘probably’ the memories of your past life?”
“...There’s no way for me to tell if those memories are real, if they’re really my memories, if they are real, or if they’re simply the memories of another person.” There was only a subjective connection, and no objective connections at all. But because Rio was talking about himself from such a distant point of view and speaking so sadly, Celia raised her voice subtly, feeling some strange sense of resistance to what he was saying.
“That... may be true... But you really do have those memories, and the people who arrived were really from a world exactly the same as those memories, right?”
Rio nodded with a faint smile on his face. “...Yes. But whether those memories are mine or not does not matter right now. What’s more important is if this explains why I could communicate with them. What do you think?”
“I accept your reason about that, but...” Celia didn’t seem quite satisfied.
Rio grimaced at Celia’s reaction. “If I were to add one thing, these memories awakened within me shortly after I turned seven years old. As you know, Professor, I was an orphan in the slums until then,” he said, adding to his explanation.
“...That’s around when we first met, right?”
“Yes. Actually, the first time we met in the slums was just after I regained those memories. I was still in the middle of my confusion when you spoke to me.” Rio looked back on that time and spoke with nostalgia.
“R...Really... No wonder you’ve seemed like a really calm and intelligent child ever since we met. It was as though you weren’t actually younger than me... Ahh, I see. No wonder... So that was why. I see...” Celia’s eyes widened as though she had realized something.
“Is something the matter?” Rio tilted his head and asked.
“Ah, no, it’s just about the reason why I accepted your words about your previous life’s memories so easily. I think it’s because it explains why you were always so mature in the past.”
“I see... What did I seem like to you back then, Professor?” Rio asked somewhat curiously.
“How did you seem... Well, you were mature and kind of isolated from your surroundings, and it was like I couldn’t see the limits of your potential...? Ah, but once I started talking to you properly, we became friends quite easily, so I thought you were a nice and polite child.” Celia recalled the Rio from back then as she spoke.
“...Is that so? Then if my memories hadn’t reawakened, you may have had a different impression of me,” Rio said, grimacing with a guilty look.
“Really?”
“I would have been more bitter and twisted. Because I was rather naive in those memories, I think what you saw, Professor, was a result of adding that to my orphan self.”
“I... see... So your personality changed when your memories returned. But I’m a little interested in exactly what kind of child you were before your memories returned, too. You think if we met a little earlier, my impression of you would have changed, right?” Celia asked, peering at Rio’s face.
“...We probably wouldn’t have gotten along, honestly. I wouldn’t have replied properly if you asked me for directions, and I wouldn’t have tried to save Princess Flora.”
“Eh? R-Really?!” Celia’s eyes widened in shock.
“Yes. I was aggressive and didn’t trust other people. I believe I would have rejected your kindness, too, Professor.” His distrust of other people was still the same even today, however.
“Uh... B-But I wouldn’t have backed down! I would have been friends with that Rio, too,” Celia said eagerly, making Rio laugh with amusement.
“Ahaha.” It was all hypothetical, but with Celia, he may have been able to open his heart to her.
“I-It’s no laughing matter. I want to be friends with you no matter what, Rio!” Celia glared at him reproachfully.
“...Thank you very much. I’m glad we became friends, Professor.” Rio laughed happily.
“Y-Yeah,” Celia nodded with a blush, changing the topic to hide her embarrassment. “Wait, but how old was the Rio within your memories?”
Rio paused for a moment before answering the question. “In my memories... I was twenty years old.”
“T-Twenty... Which means... Huh? Wait a minute. Then mentally, this means you’re older than me, right? Because I was around twelve years old when we first met...” Combining the personality of a seven-year-old with the memories of a twenty-year-old didn’t mean that their mentality would combine to become a twenty seven years old. But, at the very least, his mental age was still older than Celia when they first met.
“Hmm... Is that so? Even though I may have merged with the memories and personality of myself as Haruto, I’m still mostly myself as Rio, so I’m more aware of my sixteen year old self as Rio right now, though I think the young part of me may be strongly influenced...” Rio cocked his head as he answered, smiling faintly.
“Is that, so. Well, I guess... that’s how it is?” Celia responded rather disjointedly. She had suddenly become nervous at the idea of someone she had thought was younger the whole time being older. And Rio was being oddly unperturbed about it all.
“I don’t normally pay attention to it, so I’m not sure myself. It’s not something that can be answered by just thinking it over, either... At the same time, I don’t feel anything strange if you call me by my past name, Haruto,” Rio said, laughing loudly.
“Your name was Haruto... Oh, I see. That’s why you chose it as your alias,” Celia realized with satisfaction.
“Yes. I figured it’d be easier to relate to than a completely unknown name.”
“Aishia called you Haruto as well. Oh, I’m sorry, Aishia — We’ve been completely conversing between ourselves,” Celia apologized to Aishia, who had been silently listening beside Rio.
“It’s okay. Now is the time for Celia to talk to Haruto. I’m a little sleepy anyway.” Aishia yawned cutely and shook her head.
“Ahaha, thank you,” Celia thanked Aishia, then turned to address Rio. “...She’s quiet, but she’s a really nice girl.”
Aishia sleepily leaned her head against Rio’s shoulder. “Yes, Aishia’s helped me out a lot.” Rio smiled with familiarity and nodded, but Celia’s eyes rounded with shock.
“S-So it seems. And she’s really cute and pretty, too,” Celia said in a strangely high pitched voice.
W-What?! Why has she suddenly started clinging to him so naturally?! While the smile from their conversation remained on her face, Celia’s thoughts nearly came to a screeching halt.
Rio detected the change in Celia’s expression. “Professor?”
“B-By the way, I heard some things from Aishia during the time we were waiting to meet up with you in the capital. About spirit arts, and the fact Aishia’s a spirit.” Celia snapped back to her senses and guided the conversation towards Aishia. She was afraid of directly asking why the two of them were sticking so closely together.
“Yes. How much did you hear from Aishia?” Rio asked calmly.
“Umm, that Aishia was your contracted spirit, and a little about the basic knowledge regarding spirit arts. I was worried about whether we’d be able to meet up properly back then, so I wasn’t able to really pay attention as I would have liked. Could you tell me more about that too? As well as about your relationship. What is a contracted spirit, anyway?” Celia narrowed her eyes as she emphasized the part about their relationship and questioned spirit arts and spirits in a way that couldn’t be avoided.
“Umm, how much do you know about spirits and spirit arts to begin with, Professor?” Rio felt a strange sense of vigor from Celia, making him reply a bit nervously.
As far as the Strahl region went, those two topics were not common knowledge. Reading a wide range of old literature would reveal books that dealt with the topic a little, but there was nothing that went into much detail.
“...I’ve known about the existence of spirits for a while. But I’ve only seen them mentioned in books, and never imagined them to actually exist. Aishia looks like a normal girl to me, so she doesn’t really seem like it.”
“In other words, you don’t have much background knowledge about spirits nor spirit arts, but you’re willing to believe that she’s a spirit?”
“Well, she did turn into her spirit form while we were waiting for you outside the capital. It didn’t seem like a spirit art that could simply turn her invisible... So I had no choice but to believe what I was seeing,” Celia said, sighing tiredly.
“I see. Then, to start with a simple explanation of spirits first, spirits are incorporeal forms of mana with a sense of self.”
“...Mana?”
“Unlike ode... or magic essence, which is life energy, would it be easier if I told you to imagine mana as the natural energy that’s simply hanging in the air? Both sorcery and spirit arts manipulate essence to interfere with mana and create world-altering phenomena. That’s a point they have in common.”
“What is that? This is the first time I’m hearing it...” Celia made a dumbfounded face, though she seemed quite interested. Her thirst for knowledge had been activated.
“Unlike how sorcery relies on the spell formula to interfere with mana, spirit arts is characteristic by how the user directly interferes with mana. That relation means it’s easier to standardize the event of activating sorcery, and while spirit arts are more flexible in controlling events, it is harder to learn.”
“Would I be able to use spirit arts, too?”
“Yes. If you train, you can refine the skills in order to use spirit arts. However, you will need to remove all the spell formulas you have taken into your body through spell contracts.”
“Remove spell formulas from my body... You mean you can’t learn spirit arts if you acquire magic?” Celia questioned with wide eyes.
“Right. In order to interfere with mana, the user’s imagination and will plays an important factor, but if you have spell formulas within your body, they won’t be transmitted to the mana efficiently.”
“...Which means... wait a minute. Then... the reason you failed at all those spell contracts and were unable to acquire magic during your time at school was because using spirit arts made you unable to learn magic, or something? Were you failing on purpose?”
“That’s very astute of you... But not quite. The reason why I failed at the spell contracts and was unable to acquire magic was because I had a spirit contract with Aishia. At that time, I didn’t know anything about spirits or spirit arts.” Rio smiled softly, shaking his head as he spoke.
“So that’s where the spirit contract comes in... In that case, do you have to be contracted to a spirit to use spirit arts?”
“No, there’s no requirement for a spirit contract in order to use spirit arts. However, since the spirits are sublimated forms of mana, which is essential to the use of spirit arts, their harmony with spirit arts is excellent. As a result, the contracted user’s spirit arts affinity rises once a contract has been formed. On the other hand, the disadvantage is that contracting with a spirit means that spell contracts cannot succeed, making you unable to use magic.”
“...In other words, you’ve been contracted to Aishia since your school days? Then such intimacy... is understandable, I think?” Knowing that they had been contracted for so long made Celia boldly ask for the reason behind their intimacy. She pouted her lips a little, sulking.
“No... it seems like that, but Aishia has been asleep until only recently, and we were contracted without my knowledge too. I tried to ask her the reason, but it appears Aishia doesn’t have any memories from before she woke up...” Rio scratched at his head with a troubled expression, glancing at Aishia slumped against him.
“...Really?” Celia asked, looking between their two faces.
“Yes. According to an acquaintance that’s knowledgeable about spirits, Aishia’s rank as a spirit is high, but she’s a newly born spirit... Like a baby spirit, almost.”
“Hmm... Is that so?” Then the fact that Aishia was slumped against Rio may just be because she wanted to be doted on. Such a thought crossed Celia’s mind, but she didn’t voice it out loud to confirm it.
“Do you understand our relationship now?” Rio asked, watching Celia’s expression.
“Yeah, well... I guess.” Celia nodded somewhat reluctantly.
“Then next is the explanation about the Time-Space Cache, right?”
“There’s that too, but...”
“Is there something else bothering you?” Rio asked.
“Where did you get that knowledge and those magic artifacts from, Rio? You didn’t seem to know about spirits and things when you were at the academy, so I’m sure you learned about them after you left Beltrum, but...”
“Actually, on my way to the Yagumo region, I met some people that lived quietly, away from humans. They taught me many things. About spirit arts, about sorcery — their technology was far beyond what was available in the Strahl region — and while they had cut off all contact with outsiders, I was fortunate enough to be accepted as an acquaintance...” Out of consideration for the spirit folk, Rio spoke vaguely about their specific circumstances.
“I see... So that’s where you got the Time-Space Cache.” Celia read the room and chose not to pry too deeply about the identity of the people that Rio was referring to.
“Yes. They presented it to me as a symbol of our friendship.”
“You must really have their trust if they would give you such a bold and amazing artifact. Or is it something that can be easily made by those people?”
“No, it isn’t something that can be mass produced easily,” Rio said out of respect toward the spirit folk. He shook his head with a hint of a smile.
“I see... Umm... Then it wouldn’t be good to research it blindly after all, right?” Celia looked at Rio’s expression regretfully, thinking her earlier statement was careless.
“No, I don’t mind if you look at it. If there’s any knowledge you wish to acquire, I can tell you as much as I am able to. As long as you follow the condition of not spreading or circulating the knowledge you gain... But I’m sure you can be trusted with that, Professor.” Rio gave his ready assent, showing his strong trust in Celia.
“Uh... T-Thank you. If that’s the case, then I... I swear. I’m even willing to bind myself in a sorcery contract,” Celia said her thanks uneasily, giving her oath with a shy blush in her cheeks.
“I understand. Well, we can leave the troublesome rituals for later. Would you like to have a look now?” Rio said, reaching for his left arm with his right hand.
“...No. It’s a very tempting offer, but I’ll pass for now. There’s been so many shocking truths... I’m a little tired.” Celia shook her head with a strained smile.
“Oh, then how about a bath instead? It’ll help you relax,” Rio suggested.
“A bath! That sounds great...” Celia’s face brightened at once. She got close to Rio sitting directly opposite to her when Aishia’s sleepily relaxing form entered her field of vision. “...B-But could I relax a little more here? Watching Aishia being all sleepy has made me feel a little sleepy too. S-She looks pretty comfortable,” she said in a high pitched voice, glancing over at Aishia.
“Then, let’s decide what your room should be, Professor. There’s lots of space, so you can use whichever one you wish... but if you need a studio, then a bigger room would be better?” Rio replied with a cheerful suggestion. Celia pouted and stared fixedly at Rio’s face with a reproachful look, as though she was making an appeal.
“...Yeah, let’s,” she agreed a little gloomily after a moment.
Rio sensed Celia’s suspicious behavior and tilted his head in question. “Umm, is something the matter? Professor... Wait, Aishia?”
Aishia stood straight up, then briskly walked over to Celia and stopped in front of her.
“W-What?” Celia looked up at Aishia nervously.
“This way.” Aishia grabbed Celia’s hand and gently made her stand up.
“What?!” Celia raised a voice of objection in surprise, but Aishia continued to pull her hand.
“H-Huh?” Celia was made to sit down next to Rio. She let out a squeak; her recoil from being made to sit down had caused her to lean on Rio closely before she realized it. Seeing Celia like that, Aishia gave a single nod before sitting down on the opposite side, snuggling close to Rio like she had been earlier.
“The three of us should just go to sleep like this,” she suggested with Rio sandwiched in the middle.
Once she finally processed the situation, Celia’s face turned red. “Wh... Wh-Wh-What?!”
“C-Calm down, Professor!” Rio tried to appease the suddenly panicking Celia.
“W-What is this, what is this?!” With a bright red face, Celia questioned Aishia seated on the other side.
“You wanted to do this too, no?” Aishia replied bluntly.
Celia shook her head. “T-That’s! That’s...!” she yelled, feeling as though she was losing her mind.
“P-Professor, calm down! Look, take a deep breath.” Rio grabbed Celia’s shoulder and faced her. With that, Celia’s movements froze for a second, but meeting Rio’s eyes from point-blank range had Celia blushing even more.
“B-Baaath! No no no, I have to take a bath, a bath!” Celia stood up in a fluster, running out of the living room noisily.
“P-Professor?!” Rio called after Celia to stop her, but her footsteps showed no sign of ceasing. However, before long, Celia trudged back into the living room.
“...W-Where is the bathroom?” she asked, embarrassed.
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