Seirei Gensouki ~Konna Sekai de Deaeta Kimi ni~ - Chapter 161

Chapter 161

Chapter 161 : Their Thought

It had been almost an hour since their departure from the Rock House .

The new hideout was a certain rocky area near a highway . It bordered a city in the southwestern part of the Paladia Kingdom .

Rio carefully lowered himself, setting Flora on her feet .

「Flora-sama, may I have a bit of your time before we enter the city?」

「Yes, what could it be?」

Tilting her head, Flora asked Rio .

「We need to prepare for our journey, so we need to enter the city to acquire supplies . I believe it would be best if we avoided attention, so we need to wear a disguise . 」

「Dis… guise?」

「Yes . Please wear this necklace . 」

「Yes… EH!?」

Rio handed a necklace to Flora .

She wondered a bit about it, but did as requested and put it on . To Flora’s surprise, as soon as she finished clasping the necklace her long, orchid colored hair turned light blue .

「It’s a magic tool to change your hair color . Don’t worry, it’s not permanent . Once you remove the necklace, your hair will return to its natural color . 」

「Such a magic tool… !!!」

Rio’s explanation was enough to amaze Flora . She marveled at the incredible artifact for a while before opening her eyes wide . She stared at Rio’s ashen-colored hair and lowered her gaze to his chest .

Just as Flora thought, from what she could see, Rio wasn’t wearing the same kind of necklace as her . Or perhaps it was hidden beneath his cloth armor and turtleneck sweater .

Rio had noticed her inquisitive gaze, but he feigned ignorance .

 

「… Is something the matter?」

「EH, N-NO!」

Flora shook her head in panic .

「I’ll be grateful if you refrain from disclosing any information about this necklace to anyone . It is made with a magic equation that has yet to be published . And I have no intention of publishing it . 」

「… Y-Yes . 」
 

She nodded obediently .

「Also, for safety, may I call Flora-sama by a different name while in public? How about… 『Laura』 as an alias?」

「… Ah, yes . But if we have to use an alias, why not something less similar to my real name?」

Her confusion was evident just by her expression .

「An alias that is too different from your name will be harder to respond to . It’ll take longer to get used to it, and you might not react to it when it’s needed . 」

「I understand . Of course, you’d feel uncomfortable being called by another name…」

Eyes opened wide in realization, Flora promptly agreed with his reasoning .

Rio smiled at her wryly .

「Thank you for understanding . Also, it’s a bit too late to think of another alias, don’t you think?」

「…Yes . 」

(Rio and Haruto… Those names are way too different, right?)

As she pondered about aliases and magic tools that changed hair colors, Flora’s suspicions resurfaced .

Based on Haruto’s theory, it would be too difficult for someone called 「Rio」 to use an alias like 「Haruto」 . It was too different from his name . Or perhaps there was a hidden meaning to the name “Haruto” .

She was having a hard time thinking of various possibilities .

(I really can’t understand, after all . )

Meanwhile, Rio was still waiting for Flora to finish her thoughts .

「… Did you come up with a good alias?」

「Eh, no, it’s hard to think of a good name! Uhm… Please let me use Laura . Ahaha, it’s a bit embarrassing to use another name to call yourself with, right?」

Flora shook her head, feeling a bit embarrassed about using an alias .

It was a strange feeling, changing her name and assuming a new identity .

「I understand, Laura-sama . 」

Rio used the same respectful tone that he used with her real name . Maybe because he was so at ease with her new name, she couldn’t help but feel a bit ashamed .

「Ye-yes…」

◇　◇　◇

Their first stop inside the city was a tailor shop which catered to wealthy people .

「Uhm… What do you think about this one?」

Inside the tailor shop, a young lady stood in front of her male companion, waiting for his input on her choice of clothing .

It was a simple yet durable one-piece dress, paired with knee-high socks and long leather boots . The design was simple but cute, allowing a good degree of freedom to her movements .

「It looks good on you . 」

Rio praised Flora, but it was not empty flattery . Even the shop assistant beside him forgot to serve the other customers . She had been completely bewitched by Flora’s overwhelming cuteness .

The sincere praise made Flora feel a bit self-conscious .

「Thank you very much!」

「What about the size of the dress? Please confirm it since it’s a ready-made product . 」

「Uhm… I think the size is okay . 」

Prompted by Rio’s question, Flora twisted her body to confirm how well the dress fit her . She sounded unsure of it, maybe because she wasn’t used to wearing such a dress .

「Since it doesn’t bring you any discomfort, I suppose it’s fine . Allow me to hold onto it while we look around a bit more so you can choose the most comfortable one . 」

「Yes!」

After that, the duo spent some time picking clothes for Flora . Her royal status had never permitted such activity . She was thoroughly enjoying this experience, a gleeful expression visible on her face .

Every time she asked for Rio’s opinion, he’d say it looked good on her . It was all he could say since he lacked a discerning eye for such things .

Flora wore a constant smile on her face, maybe because she was having fun or… maybe because of Rio’s constant praise . After trying on all the different clothes, Flora turned to Rio .

「Which one do I choose?」

「Hmm… Honestly, I doubt I can give you any advice since I lack a sense of fashion, but everything looks good on you . 」

Rio scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit sheepish .

This left Flora feeling a bit confused . She remembered what he had worn back at the Rock House . They had looked very good on him, giving him a neat and tidy atmosphere .

「That’s not true . All the clothes that were worn by Haruto-sama in that house were stylish . 」

「Ah… Those clothes were chosen by Miharu-sa… I mean, they were chosen by someone else . 」

It was as if a switch had been flipped inside him .

The moment he recalled that name, Rio’s smile was instantly replaced with a gloomy expression . He remembered going shopping with her in Almond several times, and she had chosen several shirts for him .

Now that he had accomplished his revenge it felt sacrilegious to even think about her .

His soul was stained with blood and filth for the sin he had committed when fulfilling his revenge .

「… I see . 」

The change in his demeanor did not escape Flora’s notice . He seemed very troubled .

(Miharu… San . Isn’t that the name of that girl from the spirit world? The one who was under Haruto-sama’s protection?)

There was a moment, during the evening party of the Galwark Kingdom, when Flora had met that woman . However, they didn’t have a chance to talk, so Flora had no idea what kind of person Miharu had been .

All she could recall was of Miharu being a very beautiful, very lovely woman . Flora was very curious as to the relationship between those two .

「Well then, I’ll trust your judgment on this matter, Laura-sama . Also, judging by the amount of luggage that we can carry, you can choose some second and third options as well . 」

「…Yes . 」

It was a blatant attempt to change the subject, but Flora just nodded obediently . There was nothing that she could say to him at the moment, so they stood in an awkward silence for a while .

「Even so, will you choose the best clothes for me, Haruto-sama?」

「… Me?」

Flora’s wish surprised Rio’s eyes wide opened as if he never expected this situation to happen . He couldn’t understand why she’d make such a request .

「… You can’t?」

「Of course I can, it’s just that… Oh, well . As you wish . Allow me to choose one for you . 」

Her anxious expression made Rio accept it with a smile, even though he was bewildered by her strange request . It wasn’t like it would take that much time, anyway .

Not to mention that despite not being affiliated to any country, he still couldn’t simply refuse a request coming from royalty .

His answer made Flora smile from ear to ear .

「Thank you very much!」

◇　◇　◇

Two ladies sat in a private room, in a faraway place .

That room belonged to Liliana, First Princess of the Saint Stella Kingdom . It was where she had private lessons of Japanese, taught by Miharu .

「Well then, let’s do our best in today’s lesson too, Miharu-san . 」

「Yes, Liliana-sama . 」

Princess Liliana greeted her teacher by bowing her head .

Miharu bowed in greeting as well but when she straightened back up, she noticed the Princess’s face did not look so good .

「… Liliana-sama, is something wrong? Your face seems paler than usual . Does this have anything to do with your health?」

When she heard Miharu’s concerned question, Fril, the only maid in the room, sighed heavily .

「Look! Even Miharu-sama noticed your condition . My eyes aren’t just for decoration, you know . Please don’t force yourself and rest more, Liliana-sama!」

It seemed like Fril had already complained about Princess Liliana’s condition before her meeting with Miharu .

The teacher took another look at her student’s face and couldn’t help but worry .

「If you’re not feeling well we can cancel today’s lesson . What do you think?」

「It’s alright, I can continue . Truth is, I merely had too little sleep last night . I stayed awake quite late while looking at the dictionary I borrowed from you, Miharu-sama . 」

Princess Liliana felt a bit awkward with the teacher’s concern, so she shook her head and explained the situation as best she could .

Miharu tried to suppress the small guilt that appeared in her chest .

「… That’s not a good enough reason to be neglecting your sleep . Also, you’re worrying Fril-san, you know?」

「Yes, I agree with Miharu-sama . 」

「Fufu… Thank you very much, Miharu-san . And you too, Fril . But I really am okay . I shouldn’t be considered royalty if I can’t even do official business while in this condition . 」

Liliana gave both women a small smile .

「Naturally I won’t say anything if you just stay up late only once in a while, but…」

Fril sighed heavily as she muttered in a tone low enough that Miharu wouldn’t be able to hear . With a closer look, anyone could see the princess hadn’t been sleeping well for quite some time .

「Today too I must ask you to clarify some characters for me . I was unable to understand them even with the dictionary . Please teach me . I want to know their meaning as soon as possible . 」

「Certainly . How about today’s lesson be about investigating the meaning of these characters?」

Liliana shot an apologetic smile at Fril . She turned towards Miharu and showed her a piece of paper with the that she was having trouble figuring out .

Miharu’s expression stiffened when she took a look at the characters .

The written characters were all gloomy, like 『Cowardice』, 『Apathy』, 『Greedy』, 『Ugly』, 『Regret』, and 『Death』 .

Liliana noticed the change in her teacher’s expression and snatched the opportunity to ask her .

「… What do they mean?」

「Ah… Well… I’m a bit surprised . All the words you’ve written here have a negative meaning . 」

Miharu’s smile returned as she placated the princess .

She quietly marveled that Princess Liliana managed to pick such characters among the immense amount contained in that dictionary .

「… Oh, really?」

「Yes . Since you picked this many characters, allow me to explain each of them . 」

Miharu immediately started her lesson .

She now had the suspicion that it wasn’t just her complexion, even Princess Liliana’s tone sounded slightly stiff when bowing just now .