Chapter 3: The Visitors
After having her fill of shopping in the capital, Ruri returned to the castle. She’d tuckered herself out from all of the walking, so she retired early and fell into such a sound sleep that she didn’t even notice Jade climb into bed with her.
The next morning, she was nudged awake.
“Mngh...” Ruri opened her eyes, fighting off the drowsiness, and saw Jade sitting beside her with his back to the morning sun. He gently stroked her hair, leaned down, and planted a soft kiss on her lips. That wasn’t enough to wake Ruri from her daze, though.
“What is it, Jade-sama? Aren’t you up earlier than usual?” Ruri mumbled drowsily, attempting to close her eyes.
Jade, however, picked her up without warning and carried her over to the balcony. The morning sun shone mercilessly upon her, telling her to wake up. A cluster of tiny giggles erupted around her. Ruri silently pleaded for more sleep and tried to doze off into a blissful slumber, but the spirits weren’t allowing that to happen.
“Looks like Ruri is sleepy.”
“Wake up, Ruri!”
“You’re in for a surprise.”
“Yeah, a big surprise!”
Goaded by the tiny voices, Ruri reluctantly opened her eyes...and saw a large school of whales. For a moment, Ruri thought that she was still dreaming, and it only made sense why she would. After all, there was a school of light-blue whales, all of which were bigger than Jade in his dragon form, swimming through the clouds. The gigantic whales almost covered the entire sky over the capital as they made their airborne journey.
“Wait, huh? What? Am I dreaming?” Ruri questioned, snapping awake. Her eyes were as big as saucers, while Jade looked on with a pleasant smile on his face.
“Uh, Jade-sama? What are those?” Ruri asked.
“You enjoyed the sights of the capital yesterday, didn’t you? Those are the fourier,” Jade explained.
“But they’re flying in the sky. They’re not swimming in the ocean.”
“Hm? Fourier are flying magic beasts. They actually hate water.”
“Those aren’t like the whales that I know...”
Everyone had said from the start that they were magic beasts, so it was Ruri’s incorrect assumption that fourier were sea creatures. Besides, seeing as how even the clione body that Rin was using could fly, it was logical to think that there would be flying whales as well. This was a fantasy world where beings such as the dragonkin existed, after all.
Although Ruri was a little afraid of the sheer size of the creatures, the fourier looked like they were just casually flying through the sky.
“Do fourier attack people? Aren’t they magic beasts?”
“They are indeed magic beasts, but they are very docile creatures. They live by continuously flying through the sky, taking in airborne mana. Since they’re large and travel in schools, someone seeing them for the first time might find them a tad frightening, but they are very harmless, so tourists come in droves to see them. It has been said since the times of old that you gain a little bit of happiness by seeing a fourier.”
“Oh wow. So it’s sort of like a good luck animal,” Ruri said. She understood why all of the townspeople wanted to sell fourier goods now. It might have been superstition, but it seemed that everyone wanted a little piece of happiness.
After she and Jade watched them for a while, the fourier started to slowly head in the direction of the sea.
“They’re gone now,” Ruri lamented.
“That was the first school,” Jade said. “They tend to travel by splitting into two or three waves, so you’ll be able to see more after this. Should I transform into my dragon form so we can get a closer look the next time they come?”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Of course. Like I said before, they are docile. They won’t attack you for just flying next to them, so don’t worry.”
“Do they sometimes attack?”
“If a foolish flying demi-human tries to mess with the fourier, the fourier will sometimes hit them with their fins or tackle them, but that’s rightfully deserved.”
“Huh? Wouldn’t that be really bad?” Ruri asked, realizing that a tackle from a body that massive would turn one into a pancake. The impact would probably be greater than getting hit by a big rig at top speed. To make matters worse, it would be a midair collision, so chances were that one would fall to their death.
“The fools in question are usually young dragonkin, so they don’t die as a result,” Jade answered.
“Aah, that’s fine, then,” Ruri said in relief.
Dragonkin were extremely tough and sturdy. They would just laugh off a tackle, even if it were from a large, flying whale. As for why they would mess with good luck animals in the first place, that was anyone’s guess. Regardless, fourier were strong enough to send a sturdy dragonkin flying, so while they were docile creatures, it did not mean they were weak.
As Ruri watched the fourier shrink into the distance, she silently prayed for happiness to descend upon them. What came after, however, was not a tiny piece of happiness, but a tiny storm instead.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
It was the day after the second wave of fourier had passed. The school had come on the night of a beautiful full moon. As Jade had promised, Ruri had enjoyed a nighttime stroll through the skies with the fourier while riding atop Jade’s dragon back.
The sight of fourier swimming in the sky altogether, basking in the soft moonlight, was so whimsical that it touched Ruri to her core. Just thinking back on it made her giddy; she regretted not taking any photos during the ride. The fourier were scheduled to come one after the other for the next week or so, so Ruri solemnly vowed that she would take some pictures during the next wave.
The following day, Ruri was having tea in Jade’s office with Kotaro and Rin while Jade worked. Rutile wasn’t there as she had the day off. She was apparently going on a date with Finn in the capital. Unlike the male clothing that she’d worn when she went out with Ruri, she’d left wearing a pretty dress. Euclase had coordinated her outfit, and Ruri couldn’t help but be impressed by the excellent choice that highlighted Rutile’s great feminine charm.
It seemed that Rutile and Euclase were the best of friends. Once Euclase found out that Rutile was going to go out in a plain outfit, they’d gone right to work gussying her up. Finn was surely going to swoon at the sight of Rutile.
While Ruri wanted to snoop on their date out of curiosity, she pulled back the reins. Rutile had been away in the Imperial Nation for so long, and this was the first time she was going out with Finn in several years. It would have been a shame to butt in during their all-too-important date.
Funnily enough, Ewan, the person most likely to butt in, was buried under so much work from Jade that he couldn’t bug them. Ruri applauded Jade for his handiwork.
Since her bodyguard was away, Ruri remained in the castle by Jade’s side. Not that she really needed to worry, considering that Kotaro and the other spirits were still by her side, but she did so nonetheless.
A knock came at the door, and everyone stopped what they were doing.
“Enter,” Jade called.
A soldier walked into the office with an extremely puzzled expression.
“What’s the matter?” asked Jade.
“Well, a young girl claiming to be a Beloved has come to the castle, and I’ve come here seeking your judgment, Your Majesty.”
“A Beloved?” Jade questioned.
“Indeed, that is what she said. It also seems she has brought along several water spirits and a contracted high-level spirit as well. It seemed like a very poor decision to send her away, so...”
Jade’s eyes widened in surprise as he shot a look at Claus, who was also in the room. Claus wriggled his eyebrows, perplexed.
“Did they only bring water spirits with them?” Jade asked.
“It seems so. What should we do, sire?”
“Yes, let’s see... I suppose there’s no way to make a call unless I meet them.”
“Yes, true,” Claus said, agreeing with Jade. “We must be wise in how we deal with this person in case they are a bona fide Beloved.”
Slightly curious, Ruri raised her hand and asked, “I have a question, Jade-sama! How can you tell whether someone is a Beloved or not?” Ruri had accepted the fact that she was a Beloved because everyone else had said so, but she still didn’t quite understand the qualifying standards to be one.
“That’s a seemingly simple yet slightly difficult question,” Jade replied. “Only a certain number are beloved by the spirits. Let’s take Joshua for example. Joshua is beloved by the wind spirits and sometimes touts a few around him.”
“But Joshua isn’t a Beloved, right?”
“Right. The number of spirits he has with him is clearly not the same as a Beloved. Plus, a Beloved is favored by multiple spirits, regardless of the elements, so Joshua, who only has wind spirits with him, isn’t a Beloved. You and Celestine have all sorts of spirits attending you, don’t you?”
“I see. Good point.”
Ruri looked around her. She recalled that her mother and grandfather also had a large entourage of spirits around them at all times—water, wind, fire, all kinds.
“The girl who has come here only has water spirits with her, so there’s a high chance that she isn’t a Beloved, but the fact that she’s contracted a high-level spirit makes me curious,” Jade said, rising from his chair.
“Are you going to go see her?” Ruri asked.
“Yes. Even if she isn’t a Beloved, I can’t neglect someone contracted with a high-level spirit, especially if they’re introducing themselves as a Beloved,” Jade explained.
“Then I’ll come with you.”
Jade instantly furrowed his brow and replied, “You know that meeting with any Beloved not from the Four Nations is strictly forbidden, don’t you? You can’t.”
“But you just said that you think it’s unlikely that this girl is a Beloved,” Ruri protested.
“But there’s always an off chance that she is.”
Ruri pouted, disappointed, before she was hit with an idea. She stood up and slipped the bracelet from her pocket onto her wrist. In the blink of an eye, Ruri took on her white cat form and nuzzled against Jade’s leg. She then looked up at him with her cute little doe eyes.
Jade flinched. “Urk!”
“Meooow.”
Now Jade was trembling—badly. He was as big of a pushover as always; he caved immediately. “Y-You’re just going to stay still and listen, okay?”
Claus, who was watching this display, simply shook his head and sighed.
Jade then picked Ruri up in his arms and walked over to the room where the young girl awaited him. Kotaro and Rin also came along, following Ruri. They were ready to go without being asked, as Jade had entreated them to be present since the other party had a high-level spirit with them.
Because this girl’s spirits were water spirits, Rin found herself unusually motivated because she was the supreme-level Spirit of Water.
“If they try to pull anything on you, I’ll make sure to scare them off, Ruri,” Rin said reassuringly.
Spirits had a strict hierarchy. They couldn’t disobey the orders of those higher than themselves. Even if one were a Beloved, as long as they hadn’t subjugated the spirit, they could only give requests, not orders.
Because a supreme-level spirit’s orders took precedence over the requests of a contract-bearer, and because Ruri had subjugated a supreme-level spirit like Rin, even if the other person were a Beloved or held a contract, they couldn’t defy Ruri. Hearing this explanation, Ruri felt both confident and terrified. It was a life hack in the most literal sense.
Once they entered the room, a girl in her late teens sprung up from her chair, looked at Jade’s face, and blushed. Ruri completely understood how she felt, but she was also somewhat conflicted as Jade’s wife.
“Are you the one who claims to be a Beloved?” Jade asked.
“Yes! That’s right, sir. My name is Sango Suzuki!”
The girl had dark hair and dark eyes. These features were very familiar to Ruri, but the color combination was rare in this world. Just as that thought crossed Ruri’s mind, she picked up on the name as well.
“Suzuki?” That name had an unusual ring to it in this world, and it hit Ruri with a wave of nostalgia.
“Oh, Suzuki is my last name. Sango is my first. The people in this world don’t really have last names, right? So, please, just call me ‘Sango.’”
The girl’s words startled Ruri. Had she just said “this world”? Nevertheless, Ruri knew that she couldn’t just jump to conclusions, so she sat still in Jade’s arms instead.
“You said that you are a Beloved, but are you certain of that?” questioned Jade.
“Yes, I believe that I am. No, I am certain of it! I mean, after all, you call people favored by the spirits ‘Beloveds’ in this world, correct? That is what the villagers all said. I’ve made friends with a lot of spirits, so I’m positive that I am one. I had wondered what would happen to me when I came to the otherworld, but I never thought I’d be someone so special. I was chosen and summoned here. I’m just like the protagonist in a light novel,” Sango euphorically explained.
Ruri couldn’t contain herself as she sat listening.
“Meow! Meow! Meow!” Ruri screamed, slapping her paw against Jade’s arm.
“Ruri?” asked Jade.
“Oh my, what a cute kitty,” Sango exclaimed. “Is that your pet, sir?”
Ruri jumped out of Jade’s arms, pulled on the cuff of his pants with her teeth, and led him out of the room.
“What’s the matter, Ruri?” he asked.
“Jade-sama, doesn’t it seem that girl is from the same world as me?”
“Yes, now that you mention it, she did say ‘this world,’ among other strange things.”
Words like “light novel” and “otherworld” were terms from Ruri’s world, and her name had an all too familiar structure.
“Would you mind asking her about that? You can do it after you find out whether or not she’s a Beloved.”
“Okay, I will.”
Jade returned to the room and quickly got to the heart of the matter. “I heard that you had a spirit entourage. Is this all of them?”
“Yes, sir.”
Sango had three lower-level spirits around her, all water spirits. Considering the number of spirits Ruri had around her on a normal basis, three was a piddling amount. Be that as it may, something other than the lower-level spirits was with Sango—a small squirrel on her shoulder.
Rin approached the squirrel.
“Wah, what is that?! A clione is flying! And it’s huge!” Sango interjected.
Her saying the word “clione” upon seeing Rin was pretty much like her saying that she was a human from planet Earth. The people of this world didn’t call Rin a clione when they saw her.
Rin stared intently at the squirrel, and the squirrel gave a little bow—a gesture unthinkable for a regular animal.
“Hmm, so this is the water spirit you spoke of. This is indeed a high-level spirit. Of course, they pale in comparison to me,” Rin boasted as she returned to Ruri’s side.
“The clione talked! Is that a spirit as well, by any chance?” Sango asked.
Jade disregarded her shock and asked Rin, “Do you not think she is a Beloved?”
“Oh, absolutely not. She’s just a regular human who fell into the favor of a high-level spirit, then a few lower-level spirits followed suit. It’d be preposterous to say that she’s a Beloved like Ruri.”
Jade nodded, not at all surprised by Rin’s blunt disavowal. He then turned back to Sango and declared, “I’m sorry, but I cannot recognize you as a Beloved.”
“Huh?! How come?!” Sango asked, displeased with the decision. “A Beloved is someone beloved by the spirits, right? Look at how many spirits I have with me. I even have a contract with one of them.”
“While you do appear to have contracted a higher-level spirit, that does not mean that you are a Beloved. Also, you only have water spirits with you.”
“Yeah? And?!”
“There is no small number of people favored by spirits of a certain element, even within the confines of this very castle. Water spirits seem to favor you, but that’s all. Hardly what you would call a Beloved.”
“Whaa?!”
“But all of that aside, I’d like to ask you one question. Are you not a person of this world?” Jade inquired, finally addressing the question on everyone’s minds.
Sango answered in a flat, matter-of-fact manner. “Yeah, I am. I used to live in a place called ‘Japan,’ but on my way home from school, I found myself sleeping in the middle of a remote village. I tried to find my way back home, but nothing I said was meshing with any of the villagers. They said I was in a place that I never heard of before called the Nation of the Dragon King. That’s when I instantly realized that I’d been transported to another world like in all those novels!”
Sango’s eyes were sparkling.
“Plus, as my hype levels shot through the roof once I found out magic existed here, I gave a can of cola I brought with me to this little guy I found at the village’s spring. When I did, they asked me to make a contract, and I agreed despite not knowing any better. When I did, the villagers who’d been giving me the cold shoulder suddenly started being kind to me. That’s when I heard about Beloveds.”
“Now I see,” Jade said, looking down at Ruri as she looked up at him.
They both understood what was going on. This girl was from Ruri’s world after all. And in a stroke of sheer coincidence, she was also Japanese. It wasn’t often that an entrance was opened to allow people to come here, but to be caught in the middle of it was just bad luck. Sango didn’t seem to be lamenting her current predicament all too much, though.
“Say, am I really not a Beloved?” she asked.
“I’m afraid not,” Jade replied.
“Wha? That just can’t be right. I’m not getting anywhere talking to you, so bring me someone higher up.”
“I am the king of this nation. While I hate to brag, I am the most important person in the land.”
“Huh? You are?!”
Ruri couldn’t blame Sango for questioning that. Jade looked to be in his twenties, far too young to be the ruler of an entire kingdom. The truth was that he was over a hundred years old, but Sango would have no way of knowing that since she wasn’t from this world.
“Yes, I am, but if you aren’t a Beloved, then our conversation is over. I would tell you to give up and go home, but...you have no home here, do you?”
“I don’t... Of course I don’t,” Sango murmured in a dejected tone.
It was only natural that she had no place to call home. After all, she could never go back to the place she used to call home ever again.
Ruri had been in the exact same boat. Fortunately for her, her family had come to this world, so she wasn’t all by herself. Even so, she could still somewhat understand how Sango felt, so she tugged at Jade’s sleeve.
Jade looked down and gently petted her head as if to tell her that he knew what she was trying to communicate. He then turned to Sango and said, “I can’t bring you into this castle as a Beloved, but the fact that the spirits care for you and that you made a contract with a higher-level spirit might prove useful in the future. So I’ll propose to you this: will you work as a maid for this castle?”
Sango paused for a moment to process Jade’s suggestion, but once she did, her eyes lit up, and she repeatedly nodded her head.
“If you work here,” Jade continued, “I guarantee you clothing and shelter. I may even ask you to utilize your contracted spirit’s power from time to time. Is that okay?”
“Y-Yes, it’s fine!”
“If you do not work diligently, then I will show no mercy and kick you out. Please keep that in mind.”
“Thank you very much,” Sango said with a deep bow. Jade nodded one more time and then walked out of the room with Ruri in his arms.
“Was that good enough, Ruri?”
“Yes, thank you,” Ruri said and kissed him on the forehead. He looked embarrassed because she was in cat form, but it was likely a very welcome reward for a cat lover like Jade.
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