Chapter 5: Departure
The next morning, after Rio, Latifa, Miharu’s group, and Sara’s group finished breakfast, they all paid a visit to the town hall and applied for a meeting with the head elders. Shortly after, they were led to a room inside the town hall.
“Welcome. Please, take a seat,” Syldora said warmly.
“Thank you very much. Miharu — you, Aki, and Masato can sit there,” Rio said, urging the three of them into the seats opposite the head elders. Latifa, Sara, Orphia, and Alma took the seats to the side.
“Excuse me.” Miharu politely bowed before sitting down. Rio took the seat next to her and faced the head elders.
“You reached a conclusion faster than we expected,” Ursula the werefox said.
“Yes — The three of them discussed it. Last night, Sara and the girls joined in, and I listened too. I would like to respect the decision that they made,” Rio replied smoothly.
Syldora looked at the three of them and nodded. “I see. Then let us hear what you have decided at once. Lord Rio, if you please.”
Rio nodded, getting straight to the point by reporting the conclusion of their conversation. “Yes. To start, the three of them want to head to Strahl.”
“I see.” The elders nodded solemnly. They had predicted this, but it was one of two options: remain in the village, or leave for the Strahl region. It was a matter of whether they all chose the same option or each took on a different option, but it was all within their expectations.
“In regards to what happens after moving to Strahl, Aki and Masato will wait nearby the castle. Miharu wants to attend the banquet with me, so I plan on consulting with the noble that has invited me to see if Miharu can attend too.”
“I understand. That sounds acceptable,” Syldora said in a stately manner.
Suddenly, Miharu stood up with great force. “Umm, everyone in the village has been so terribly nice to us even though our circumstances were forced upon you, and now we’re leaving at our own convenience, so I’m truly sorry for everything!” Miharu must have been nervous, as her voice was high pitched as she bowed her head in deep regret.
“There’s no need to be so anxious, Lady Miharu. You’ve finally obtained a clue towards your friend and family. There’s no need to deny your feelings of wanting to meet them.” Syldora gave a good-natured smile as he spoke to Miharu.
Ursula agreed cheerfully. “Indeed. It’ll be a little lonely around here, but it’s your future. You need to find clues on how to return to your world. There’s no need to let it bother you.”
Dominic raised both hands to support their decision. “Well, if you run into any danger, you can just return to the village. Like Rio, you young ones are already like our brethren too.”
Ursula nodded with a smile. “That’s right. If you ever feel like you’re in danger, you can return to the village.”
“T-Thank you very much!” Miharu bit her lip, moved by her emotions, and bowed her head deeply once more. Aki and Masato followed her, and with their thanks, bowed their heads too.
“Raise your heads, the three of you,” Syldora said with a troubled look as Ursula looked at Rio.
“By the way, Lord Rio. How do you intend on getting to Strahl?”
“I plan on carrying them by air, of course,” he replied. While there was a teleportation crystal to the village, there wasn’t one back to the Strahl region, which meant the only two options were to walk or fly.
“By yourself, Lord Rio?” Ursula confirmed carefully.
“...Yes,” Rio said with a little hesitation.
“Well, it’s true that Lord Rio may be able to pull that off...” Ursula said, looking at Syldora and Dominic. Then, she turned to look at Sara, Orphia, and Alma.
“Uh...” They looked like they wanted to say something, but when the head elders directed their attention on them they flinched. The head elders smirked, nodding at each other with smiles at their lips.
“In that case, you should take Sara, Orphia, and Alma along,” Syldora said.
“...Huh? No, but...” Rio gazed in wonder, but shook his head at the same time. He had the faint suspicion they would offer to help from the moment Ursula brought up his method of travel, but he hadn’t expected this.
“It’s fine. Those three probably intended as much in the first place,” Ursula said, suddenly turning to Sara and the others.
“Eh... ah. Umm, yes. I never imagined it’d be so easy, and suggested by the head elders themselves...” Sara flinched and said fearfully.
“...” Rio couldn’t find the words to say, frowning apologetically.
“That’s that. It’s decided,” Dominic summarized with a smug huff.
“But what about the village’s laws? The residents of the village can’t wander into the outside world recklessly.” Rio tried to put a stop to things through his confusion. Because of this law, neither the spirit folk girls nor Rio himself could make the final call on accompanying him.
“The law is to forbid anyone from leaving without the approval of the three head elders or the majority of the council. As for the approval of the three head elders, well, here you go,” Ursula said with a joyful laugh.
“Uh...” Rio uttered, completely losing track of his thoughts.
It was certainly something he was grateful for — however, he felt a deep sense of regret over the fact that their harsh exceptions for their law were being disregarded for him so easily.
“Umm, it pains us to see you go through so much trouble for us, and we’re already forcing Haruto to take on so much... I don’t know...” Miharu said in a fluster. She felt bad leaving everything to Rio, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt to cause trouble for the village too. She was certainly stuck between a rock and a hard place.
“Look, now Lady Miharu is troubled, and her firm resolution may end up wavering. It’s a bad habit of Lord Rio’s to act too considerately,” Ursula said with a grin at Miharu.
Rio gave an awkward and strained smile before looking at the head elders and the spirit folk girls and bowing his head. “...That is most shameful of me. Then, I shall take you up on your offer. Can I ask that of you?”
“Of course!” Sara, Orphia, and Alma agreed enthusiastically.
“Also. For these youngsters who will one day lead the village, we normally order them to leave on a journey to the human realms to widen their views. Of course, we give them magic artifacts that change their appearance to that of a human’s.” So don’t worry about it, was what Dominic was saying.
“While it still feels a little early for that... If Lord Rio is with them, then we don’t need to worry. That’s why it’s a two way exchange,” Ursula said, laughing.
“The three of you should learn about the outside world while acting as escorts for Lady Miharu. It will be a good learning experience,” Syldora said, looking at the girls as he spoke words of encouragement.
“Yes sir!” They agreed enthusiastically.
“W-Wait!” Latifa yelled. She had been watching the conversation with a dazed look until now; a sudden look of panic was on her face.
Rio could tell what Latifa was thinking and called her name with a troubled look. “Latifa...”
“W-What about me?” Latifa asked worriedly.
“...Latifa, you stay back at the village,” Rio said to her in warning.
“N-No! If Sara and the others are going, I’m going too!” Latifa objected in shock.
“You can’t.” Rio shook his head bluntly.
“Why not?!” Latifa questioned with tears in her eyes.
“...You have bad memories of the Strahl region, do you not?” Rio asked with difficulty.
“Yes, but...!” Latifa’s face contorted as she clenched her fists.
“You’ve been waiting at the village all this time, remember? It’s not like we’re going to play,” Rio scratched his neck, trying to admonish Latifa.
“This is different than before! Miharu’s group is going, Sara and the others are going, Aishia is waiting over there... I don’t want to be the only one left behind! Take me with you this time! Just this time!” Latifa pleaded desperately.
Latifa... Miharu watched Latifa in frustration.
Yesterday, after talking to Latifa alone, Miharu had found out just how much Latifa loved Rio. She understood why Latifa was so desperate more than anyone else present. She didn’t want to be left behind by Haruto — Miharu decided to attend the banquet and hold her own future in her hands because of that, so she could relate.
“Umm, I know I’m not in the position to ask for anything, but can’t Latifa come along too?” Miharu could no longer sit still and pleaded Rio and the head elders.
“Not you too, Miharu...” Rio was completely at a loss.
“Hmm, I don’t think we should reject her accompanying you without listening to her first,” Ursula, who was also Latifa’s guardian, suddenly said.
“...May I ask why?” Rio asked Ursula with a small sigh.
“Three years ago, when you told Latifa you were leaving for the Yagumo region, Latifa did not ask to go along with you, though she did ask you not to go. Is that right?” Ursula confirmed with Rio.
“Yes.” Rio nodded uncomfortably.
“Back then, she was still unconsciously afraid of going outside. That’s probably why Latifa herself didn’t think of leaving the village. But this time, she’s requesting to go outside of her own volition. If so, this could be a good opportunity for her to grow in order to erase her past scars.” Ursula looked back on the past emotionally as she spoke of the benefits of Latifa heading to the Strahl region.
“...” Rio didn’t want to dismiss Latifa’s feelings and ignore an opportunity for her to grow either. However, he was still worried as her older brother, fearing her trauma would resurface.
“I want to go with Onii-chan. I want to stay by your side.” Latifa slowly stood up, approaching Rio and fearfully grabbing his sleeve.
As everyone in the room focused their attention on them, Rio hesitated for a long moment before speaking up. “...I have conditions.”
“W-What?!” Latifa’s face brightened immediately.
“...Even if we go there, you won’t be able to stay with me constantly. Miharu and I have to attend the banquet, so you absolutely have to listen to the words of Aishia, or Sara, or Professor Celia, who will be with us there.”
“Okay!”
“You can’t whine at them and cause trouble. You must refrain from acting selfishly. If you want to go anywhere, you cannot go alone — you get absorbed in things too quickly. Also...”
“Fu...” A giggle could be heard in the room.
“...Is something the matter?” Rio looked around at the people in the room curiously. The head elders, spirit folk girls, and humans were all smiling in amusement.
“Nothing, we were just thinking that you’re rather overprotective,” Ursula said.
“...I still have another condition. Unless you get proper permission from Elder Syldora and Dominic too, you can’t come along. It’s the village’s law.” Rio sighed tiredly.
“I don’t mind,” said Dominic.
“Me neither,” Syldora answered immediately.
“...I would have appreciated a little more than just that,” Rio said, candidly expressing his bewilderment.
“The reason is as Ursula said. What more do you want us to say? You’ve covered all the warnings yourself. That’s why I choose not to say anything. That’s all.” Dominic smiled faintly and shrugged his shoulders.
“If I had to say, then Latifa’s development has been a bit of a special case. We’ve considered those circumstances too. In regards to the concerns, my judgment is that it is not a problem if Lord Rio is there,” Syldora said.
“...Yeah, if I could add one thing. If you need a new lodging to stay in while on the move, I can prepare an extra stone house. After we made the previous one for you, we found it so fun that we made a couple more. This would be one of those. They’re extra anyway, so take it with you,” Dominic offered generously.
“Oh? In that case, you can depart immediately. When will you go?” Ursula was completely in favor of that and pushed the conversation forward.
“...There’s still time before the banquet, but I wouldn’t want to be late because of issues while moving. I think the earlier the better,” Rio replied, giving up.
“At the latest, a few days, and at the earliest, the day after tomorrow? Which means...”
Ursula placed a hand against her mouth and hummed in thought.
“We need to throw a party for everyone’s departure!” Dryas manifested in a corner of the room. The sudden appearance of the high rank spirit left everyone wide eyed in shock.
“...Lady Dryas, were you listening?” Ursula asked, sighing in exasperation.
“Yes, but just the end. It didn’t seem like the right mood to interrupt, so I was being considerate,” Dryas replied in a pleasant mood. She truly was whimsical and elusive.
“No wonder Ariel stirred within me for a moment.”
“Hel too...”
“Ifritah as well.”
Sara and Alma had also sensed the change in their contract spirits. Spirits could sense other spirits’ presences, so they had probably noticed Dryas approaching in her spirit form.
“Heh, I was hiding my aura pretty seriously too... You kids have grown as well,” Dryas praised, impressed by the contract spirits residing within the spirit folk girls. “By the way, is Aishia not here this time? She hasn’t suddenly learned how to completely hide her aura... right?” she asked, looking around the room.
“Yes, this time she’s waiting back at the Strahl region,” Rio answered with a smile.
“I see. Well, I’ve heard the general gist of things and we can discuss the details later, but for now, it’s time to celebrate everyone’s departure with a party! Let’s get ready!” Dryas suggested triumphantly.
“Understood. How about tomorrow night? We can use the food hall in the town hall where we held the party when they first arrived too. If villagers are going to the outside world, various people need to be informed too.” Ursula seemed to have intended on doing that to begin with, as she wrapped up the talk immediately.
“Sara, Orphia, Alma,” Syldora called out.
“Yes,” the spirit folk girls replied, bracing themselves.
“Go back to your parents’ homes tonight. Other than your own will and our permission, you need the agreement from your blood relatives too. Inform your families with your own words — that you have been handed a duty.”
“Yes!” At Syldora’s order, the three of them agreed enthusiastically. Thus, it was decided that the party to celebrate their departure would be held tomorrow night.
The next night, everyone gathered in the dining room at the lowest floor of the town hall. All the upper echelons of the village and their families were gathered and chatting pleasantly. The tables around the room were crammed with food and drinks prepared to celebrate their departure.
“Miharu! I wanted to learn more recipes from you, and talk to you about so much more! It’s going to be lonely. I’m so sad,” the werecat Anya lamented as she clung to Miharu.
At present, Miharu was surrounded by Anya and the young women of the village who were sadly saying their farewells. They were all students of the cooking classroom that Miharu held.
“I wanted to talk to you guys more too,” Miharu replied with a sad smile.
“Hmph, okay! We can have a long talk just between us girls! Nothing gloomy allowed! We’ll have lots of fun with girl talk!” Anya said with enthusiasm, squeezing Miharu tightly. The girls around them were all on board too, making an excited fuss.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the room, Vera was also grieving over saying farewell to Latifa and Aki. “Ugh, sudden farewells are so sad! I can’t believe Latifa is going too!” Her eyes were filled with tears as she hugged the two of them.
“Ahaha, that hurts, Vera.” Despite saying that, Latifa didn’t actually resist, just standing there being hugged with a quiet expression.
“...Sorry. It was decided suddenly,” Aki said apologetically.
“Aww... you leave tomorrow, right? When will we meet again?” Vera asked, clinging to Aki and Latifa.
“...I don’t know. But I want to see Vera again. If I can come back, then I want to. You’re my precious friend, after all,” Aki explained, expressing thoughts that were separate from her feelings of wanting to see her brother and Satsuki and return home.
“It’s a promise! If you don’t come, I’ll cry!” Vera said, sniffling as she hugged the two of them even tighter.
“Yup...” Aki and Latifa nodded solemnly.
“Geez, you’re all exaggerating so much,” Arslan said tiredly. He and Masato had been watching the exchange silently beside them the entire time.
“Haha, right,” Masato agreed with a strained smile.
“You say that, but aren’t the two of you going to say goodbye?! Latifa aside, we don’t know if Aki and Masato will be able to come back.” Vera puffed her cheeks up indignantly, glaring at them with a reproachful look.
“No... Well, doing that between men is a bit, you know. A bit shameful, or weak looking? It makes me itchy,” Arslan said, scratching his neck.
“That’s right. Anyway, I intend on coming back. I still haven’t won against him once yet, after all,” Masato said, glancing at Arslan, who stood beside him.
“Ha, as if. I’m going to get even stronger. I won’t lose next time we meet, either,” Arslan snorted smugly.
“Well, you just wait. Until I get stronger, that is.”
“Ha, I guess I can wait, though I’m not expecting anything. ...Just be careful on your trip.”
“Yeah.”
They both reached for a fist bump. Vera stared closely at the exchange between the two boys. “What’s with that? After saying those wannabe cool things, you’re being so much more embarrassing than both of us,” she said bluntly with a cold gaze.
“Oh, I thought that too!”
“Me too!”
Latifa and Aki immediately agreed.
“Geez, you could be a little more honest.” Aki grinned, looking at Masato and Arslan.
“Right?”
“Right.”
Latifa and Vera nodded while giggling.
“H-Huh?! That’s not true!” Masato and Arslan both objected with red faces.
“Aww, but it’s true. Right, you two?” Vera rebutted with a huff of laughter, then turned to Latifa and Aki and imitated Arslan’s words. “...Just be careful on your trip.”
“Yeah.” Aki put on her sharpest expression and imitated Masato, then fistbumped Latifa.
“Ugh...” Masato and Arslan were bright red as they watched.
“I-I don’t know you anymore! Let’s go, Masato!”
“Y-Yeah!” Masato and Arslan retreated from the scene in embarrassment.
“Fufu.” The remaining girls watched their backs and giggled.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the venue...
“I leave my daughter and her friends to you, Lord Rio.”
Rio, Sara, Orphia, and Alma were talking with the head elders and the relatives of the spirit folk girls. Sara’s father, a silver werewolf man, was entrusting Sara and the others to Rio.
Rio nodded. “Yes. If anything, I’ll be the one in their care...” he said apologetically.
“No, this journey will be a valuable learning experience for our daughters. If you and Lady Aishia act as their guides, we will happily send them away.” Orphia’s father, a high elf man, was speaking cheerfully. However, despite saying that, Rio probably wasn’t imagining the slightly saddened expression on his face.
“Well, as they say: they have to leave the nest at some point. Look after my daughter, Lord Rio!” Alma’s father grabbed Rio’s shoulder heartily. He was younger than Dominic, but his face and body language was very similar to the head elder’s.
While Sara and Orphia’s fathers didn’t look that much older than their daughters, Alma’s father had a face that looked to be around middle-aged for humans. This was a characteristic of the dwarf race, where the males generally had older faces.
“I cannot express my gratitude enough to everyone for entrusting me with their precious daughters. I may rely on them more than they’ll need me, but I vow to protect them to the best of my ability,” Rio pledged respectfully.
At that, Sara and the others blushed in embarrassment.
“Gahaha, that’s like a marriage vow. The girls are getting embarrassed, Rio.” Dominic laughed heartily, slapping Rio on the shoulder.
“Please don’t say such strange things!” Sara and Alma objected to Dominic’s words together.
“Ahaha, well, I’ll be in your care too, Sara, Orphia, Alma,” Rio said, hiding his embarrassment with a wry smile and bowing his head.
“Uh, s-same here, we’ll be counting on you!” Sara’s cheeks reddened, her tail wagging nervously as she bowed her head.
“Thank you, Rio.” Orphia and Alma said. Rio nodded with a faint smile.
“No need to be so formal. From yesterday through today, the girls spent time at their homes and discussed things thoroughly. On top of that, these old men agreed to it and decided to entrust their daughters to you,” Dominic said, patting Rio on the shoulder. “We’re counting on you.”
The fathers all turned their faces away in embarrassment, taking sips of their drinks instead.
“That aside, grandfather. Did you teach Latifa weird words?” Alma sighed in disappointment at Dominic.
“...Hum, whatever could you be talking about?” Dominic cocked his head in wonder.
“Don’t try to play the fool. I’m talking about the local mistress thing!” Alma stated resolutely, refusing to listen to any excuses.
“A-Ahem,” the fathers spat out their drinks, clearing their throats.
“Hey! Old man! What do you think you’re teaching children?!” Alma’s father protested at Dominic in a fluster.
“A-Ah, that? I remember now. I was talking to Latifa about Rio before when my mouth slipped from habit. Well, she probably doesn’t understand it anyway.” Dominic laughed heartily in an attempt to brush off the situation.
“That’s not the problem!” said Alma.
“I-It’s fine, it’s fine. Say, what about you? You’re only a year apart from Latifa. Did you know the meaning?” Dominic said teasingly.
“Uh...!” Alma turned bright red.
“Please don’t tease Alma too much, Dominic,” Rio warned gently as he stood in front of Alma.
“R-Right.” Dominic must have felt some kind of strange pressure from Rio, as he nodded dejectedly.
“I have a little more to say regarding the incident with Latifa. Shall we discuss it over a drink?” Rio sighed tiredly, inviting Dominic to some alcohol.
“Sure, sounds good. All right, you lot come along too! It’s a drinking party for men now!” Dominic called the fathers over in high spirits.
The party continued noisily and late into the night.
The next morning came; it was finally time for Rio to take Miharu and the others back to the Strahl region.
“All right, do you have everything?” Dominic asked, looking at the departing party.
“Yes, I believe so.” Rio looked around at the group and answered on their behalf.
“...Ah!” Vera suddenly remembered something.
“Hm? What’s wrong, Vera?” Ursula asked.
“U-Umm. Latifa, Latifa.” Vera dashed up to her.
“What’s wrong, Vera?” Latifa tilted her head curiously.
“Did you bring the thing?”
“The thing?”
“You know, the thing. The uniforms you made to surprise Rio,” Vera whispered in Latifa’s ear.
“Ooh! That thing. Yup, I brought everyone’s along.” Latifa smiled and nodded in understanding.
“That’s great to hear! You have to surprise Rio, after all.”
“Me...?” Rio must have caught Vera’s words, as he looked on in confusion.
“It’s a secret. You’ll definitely be surprised. I wanted to see it too, but I was told it was a surprise for when you came back, so,” Vera said, grinning.
“I see. I look forward to it, then,” Rio chuckled, looking at Latifa.
“Yup! Aki, Latifa, take care of yourselves. I’ll pray for your safe return,” Vera replied energetically.
“Yeah,” Latifa and Aki nodded. “We’ll be going now!”
“All right, let’s go,” Rio called out to Latifa and Aki.
“Okay!” Latifa said happily, running over to Rio. Meanwhile, Aki approached the giant bird-like spirit, Ariel, waiting next to Orphia.
“Okay everyone, get on Ariel!” Orphia said to Miharu, Aki, Masato, and Sara. The group gathered on Ariel’s back with familiarity, having rode the spirit many times already.
“Yup, there’s enough space for four people there. I’ll carry Alma and Rio will carry Latifa — it’s perfect!” Orphia said in satisfaction once everyone had climbed on Ariel’s back.
“Yup! This is the best option!” Latifa agreed, extremely pleased. She was probably happy that she’d get to stick to Rio through the whole journey.
The only ones who could soar freely through the air among the group were Rio, Orphia, and Ariel. It wasn’t as though Sara and Alma couldn’t fly at all, but their skill was lacking in comparison to Rio and Orphia, so it was faster traveling this way.
That was where the issue of who carried whom came up, and it was decided that the lightest Latifa and Alma would be carried by Rio and Orphia while the remaining members rode on Ariel’s back.
“Don’t move around, okay?” Rio said, picking Latifa up in a princess carry.
“Yup!” Latifa nodded happily.
“...” Alma watched the scene with slight envy.
“You’ll have to put up with me, Alma.” Orphia giggled at Alma.
“There’s nothing to put up with. Thank you for this,” Alma said, climbing onto Orphia’s back.
“Yup,” Orphia replied cheerfully, while Latifa pointed at the sky energetically.
“Okay, let’s go! Full steam ahead!”
“We’ll be going now, everyone!” Rio chuckled, then turned to face everyone who had gathered to see them off. He gently floated into the air, with Orphia and Ariel following close behind.
“Take care!”
“Look after our daughters!”
“Teach me cooking again sometime, Miharu!”
“Let’s play again when you’re back! It’s a promise!”
“Get stronger, Masato!”
Many voices echoed around them.
“Everyone, thank you so much for everything! We’ll definitely come back again! We want to come back again!” Miharu looked down below her and yelled her farewells loudly, which was rare coming from her.
“Later!”
“I want to come back again too!”
Despite having exchanged so many farewells yesterday, Aki and Masato yelled their goodbyes as well.
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