Chapter 2: Return to Daily Life
The morning after the golems were defeated, just as the sun was about to rise, an azure sky spread above the Galarc Castle.
In the garden of Rio’s mansion, there was a shadow moving swiftly about. It was the mansion owner himself; no one else was in the garden, and it appeared as though he were fighting an imaginary opponent with his bare hands.
He had hidden the fact his body wasn’t fully recovered from the effects of assimilation yet, but thanks to everyone worrying about him yesterday, he’d been able to go to sleep early. Because of that, he had woken up early this morning and was now checking his own status.
Feels like I’m at seventy or eighty percent of my best condition.
His current state was somewhere along the lines of feeling fatigue or exhaustion.
My body still feels a little heavy, but it shouldn’t get in the way of fighting.
All that was left was to wait and see if the fatigue would fade or if it would remain forever.
I’ll have to refrain from strong assimilations until I recover.
According to Lina, it was best to avoid complete assimilation and prolonged durations of assimilation.
Other than that...
Rio came to a sudden stop and activated his spirit arts. Countless orbs of light floated around him. He controlled each one individually, making them move in complex paths around him.
It’s gotten a lot easier to cast my arts.
He had been vaguely aware of it already, but his sense for spirit arts was much clearer.
I wonder if this is an effect of assimilation too.
During assimilation, his spirit art ability had been strengthened. The same thing had happened the first time he’d assimilated with Aishia, but the feeling back then had remained after the assimilation ended. The beneficial side effects appeared to be a lucky fluke.
All right.
Rio made the orbs of light he had summoned vanish instantly.
Next up...
He held his left hand before him and began to refine the magic essence. He cast a partial physical enhancement on his left hand only. In this state, he should’ve been able to punch a boulder without hurting his hand.
“Ugh...”
When Rio wrapped the same light energy around his hand as the light orbs he’d summoned earlier, he frowned in pain. The area covered by the energy was protected as though it were covered by an elastic barrier, but at the same time it exposed him to the light and heat of the energy.
Sora did the same in her battle against the golem, but it really is a huge burden on the physical body. Increasing the degree of enhancement may help enduring it at higher outputs, but...
There was a limit to what a human body could withstand even when enhanced. It was more practical to wrap the energy around a sturdy weapon.
Rio drew his steel dagger with his right hand and sent essence into the blade, wrapping it in energy. But as he increased his output, the metal blade began to chip and crumble from the burden of the energy.
Normal weapons will end up breaking from the burden. It has to be a dwarf-made mythril weapon or a Spirit Arms.
Even then, a mythril weapon wasn’t entirely reliable against an enemy as strong as a golem. In reality, the sword Rio had received from Dominic in the spirit folk village had been destroyed in his battle with the upper high-rank spirit possessing Erica.
What’s scariest is when the weapon fails to block an attack from a golem-like opponent...
Human bodies were too fragile. A regular human could withstand a blow from a blunt weapon if they used physical body enchantments, but a blow from a golem was instant death.
It’d be a good defense method if I could keep my body constantly wrapped in energy...
Based on his testing just now, the light and heat emitted from the essence energy made it too unrealistic to wrap around his body. It would burn Rio’s body as well. If he had to do it, he would be limited to a low output.
If I limit the energy cover to the moment I attack and the moment I defend myself, I should be able to lower the burden, but...
That would require watching for the right timing to release the energy and would make it no different from defending against the attack itself. What he wanted was a way to defend himself against surprise attacks. Rio continued pondering things.
“Dragon Ki— Ah! Master Ri... Master Haruto! Sorry...”
Sora’s voice echoed through the garden. She had a look of shame on her face from forgetting that she was meant to call him Haruto while they were at the mansion.
Rio sheathed his dagger and smiled at her gently. “Good morning, Sora. No one’s around right now, so it’s okay. Come over.”
Sora hurried over with a skip in her step. “Good morning. You looked really tired yesterday; are you feeling better now?”
“Yeah. I was able to rest the whole night.”
“That’s great! Were you practicing the use of your fighting aura just now?”
“Aura? Do you mean this energy?” Rio looked down at the faint energy he had wrapped around his left hand.
“Yes. Sora calls it ‘fighting aura.’ Sora learned it from the Dragon King a long time ago.”
“I see. I saw you use it during the battle with the golem and wanted to know if I could do it too. I was just about to ask you some things myself.”
“You have questions for Sora? Ask away!” Sora beamed, happy to be of service to Rio.
“Thank you. I noticed my physical body couldn’t withstand the effects of the aura, so I was wondering if there was a trick to it.”
“Right, because human bodies are so fragile. And there’s a limit to how much they can be enhanced by spirit arts...”
“My body gets a bit sturdier when I’m assimilated with Aishia, but I can’t always be assimilated with her. That’s why I wanted to be able to protect myself with an aura...”
“R-Right, you shouldn’t rely on Aishia all the time. Sora will think of something...”
Sora hummed in thought, motivated by her rivalry with Aishia.
“Were you able to withstand such a powerful aura because you’re a disciple of the Dragon King?” Rio asked.
“Yes, Sora has a tough body bestowed on her by the Dragon King! Sora doesn’t even need to materialize her dragon body to use auras!”
“How sturdy is your body in its unguarded state?”
“Even without physical enhancements, Sora’s body is the hardest thing in this world. Sora can’t be hurt by any physical object. All magic and spirit arts are repelled, and no amount of flames can leave any burn. But the Dragon King was stronger, of course,” Sora said proudly.
“That’s impressive.” She had the appearance of a cute little girl with squishy cheeks, but Rio had witnessed her exchanging blows with a golem. Would it even be possible for him to hurt her if he enhanced his body and threw a punch? Perhaps he’d just end up hurting his own fist instead.
“Not as much as the Dragon King!” Sora replied, grinning happily.
“We’ve gone off topic. I’ll try different things and see if there’s a good solution. I don’t know how much I can withstand while assimilated with Aishia yet either.”
“S-Sora will help think! Um...”
Sora tilted her head in a cute gesture, still motivated by her one-sided rivalry. Rio watched her with a smile as he resumed controlling the aura wrapped around his left hand.
After a small pause, Sora let out a sound of realization.
“Ah! Come to think of it, there was another caster that could use auras during the Divine War.”
“Really?”
“Yes. They could fight pretty well for a human. Sora remembers being a little surprised to see a human using auras. And when the Dragon King saw him...”
Sora tilted her head again in an attempt to retrieve her memories of that time. She grumbled wordlessly for a few more seconds.
“He said something about how it was like casting a barrier—doing so would lower one’s offensive power, but in return, it would allow a human to safely use an aura...” she mumbled hesitantly.
“Like casting a barrier, lowering one’s offensive power...”
Rio looked as though a light bulb had gone off in his head.
“S-Sorry, that wasn’t very helpful. Um, the Dragon King said one normally wouldn’t cast such a barrier... Since it didn’t look any different to a normal aura, Sora lost interest immediately...”
Sora added to her vague explanation with a regretful look.
“No, that was a great hint. I think I’ve got an idea... Let me try it. Normal essence barriers are cast like this, but...”
Rio held his right arm forward and activated his spirit arts, creating a barrier of energy. The barrier could be physically touched just like the aura, but there was a difference between them too. And that difference was...
The aura has heat, making it more dangerous to touch the more powerful it gets. But the barrier is simply solid. No matter how solid it is, it can be touched safely.
Besides, the same energy could have different appearances. Barriers involved spreading the energy like a solid block or wall, while auras were the release of energy that flowed like liquid light. Rio clenched his hand lightly and knocked on the wall-like barrier before him.
“I was caught up in the preconception of deploying a barrier like a wall. All I had to do was release a barrier in the same way I release an aura. Like this.”
Rio erased the barrier in front of him. He replaced it with light energy wrapped around his right hand. It looked no different than the aura.
“Ooh!” Sora cheered happily.
“It looks the same. I think it’s a success.”
Rio attempted to wrap the normal aura around his left hand and compared them. They looked the same at first glance, but he could see a difference if he brought them closer to his face.
The light of the aura around his left hand was blazing hot enough to leave burns, while the swaying light around his right hand had no heat to it.
“Since I don’t have to use my essence on the heat, it’s more efficient than normal aura. But like the Dragon King said, my offensive power will probably go down a bit,” Rio surmised.
It was pretty simple once he gave it some thought. His preconceptions of controlling energy like photon bullet magic or light orb spirit arts had prevented him from thinking of barrier spirit arts.
“Wonderful!”
“Considering it has to be used at the same time as physical enhancements and other spirit arts, auras really are difficult to use. But the benefit of protecting one’s body is significant.”
A caster would require a lot of skill to reliably maintain an aura. But as long as the barrier wasn’t attacked with something stronger than the barrier, the caster would practically be invincible to external attacks.
It might be good to wrap it around myself when using flying spirit arts.
He normally created a protective coat of wind while flying, but it wasn’t very dependable as a defense when flying at high speeds. If he could protect himself with a sturdy barrier armor, he might be able to completely erase the risk of any flight accidents.
No, hold on.
Rio frowned as though he had suddenly remembered something. He kept the barrier wrapped around his right hand and made the energy aura disappear. In its place, he cast a raging wind and compressed it around his left hand.
I was using wind spirit arts to make something similar to auras already.
The destructive power of the swirling storm was only directed outward, so there was no damage done to Rio’s left hand. There was still a risk of him hurting himself if he mismanaged his arts, but it was safer than using the energy aura.
Water can also be wrapped around the body rather safely. Covering the face would result in suffocation, so that would require some care. Earth spirit arts could use sand and pebbles to make a good barrier. But that may obstruct vision...
He considered the various ways one could use defensive auras for each element.
On the other hand, fire, lightning, and ice are out of the question. Just like the normal energy aura, simply wrapping them around oneself would cause damage. But they’d be great attacks.
There were some elements that weren’t suited to defense.
Maybe it would work if I used the regular aura as a protective coating, then cast an elemental one on top? But in that case, using regular fire and lightning spirit arts seems enough...
If it required wrapping his body in an energy aura, his casting efficiency would be lowered. Rio stared at the two arts wrapped around his hands as he considered his line of thinking.
“Dragon King?” Sora called, peering up at his face curiously.
“I was thinking about how elemental spirit arts could be wrapped around the body like an aura. But the regular energy aura seems the simplest to handle.” Rio dispelled the arts around his hands.
“Yup! It’s easiest to just throw an aura over your punch. Pow pow!” Sora struck a cute fighting pose and swung her fists like she was shadowboxing.
Just then, Latifa’s voice echoed through the yard. She ran up to them and threw herself at Rio.
“Onii-chan! Sora!”
“Whoa, there! Good morning.” Rio caught her gently.
“Tee hee. Morning!” Latifa rubbed her face on Rio’s chest happily.
“You’re full of energy today.”
“Of course I am. It’s because you’re here!” Latifa looked up at Rio’s face, moving her head at an angle as though begging to be petted.
“I see,” Rio said with a smile, petting Latifa’s head. It was like they had returned to their past routine.
“H-Hey, Suzune! How long are you going to cling to the Dra...to Master Haruto for?!” Sora snapped, lashing out at Latifa.
“Hopefully forever,” Latifa said with a smitten expression.
“No way! Master Haruto is in the middle of his morning training. Do not get in his way. Shoo!”
Sora puffed up her cheeks angrily and shook Latifa’s body from behind. It should have been easy for Sora to pull Latifa away with her physical strength, so the fact that she wasn’t doing so meant she was either being reserved, or she wasn’t truly upset.
“What a raucous morning.”
Latifa wasn’t the only one who had come to the garden. A group with Sara, Orphia, Alma, Gouki, and Komomo was also approaching, with Satsuki in the lead. They all had wooden training weapons in their hands. The sun had just risen in the sky.
“Good morning, everyone.”
Rio greeted them with a smile, eyes squinting as though he were blinded from the brightness of the sun.
“What a lovely morning it is today.”
“Yes, it’s the perfect weather for training!”
Gouki and Komomo gazed at the morning sun pleasantly.
“Hey! I want to join the morning training too!” Masato shouted from the mansion, belatedly running over to join them.
“You managed to wake up today, Masato,” Alma said with a giggle.
Masato rubbed his nose with an embarrassed grin. “Heh heh! It’s been a while since Haruto’s taught me.”
“We want to spar with Haruto too.”
“Yes. Looks like there’ll be a line today.”
Orphia and Sara were also looking forward to training with Rio.
And so, the garden that had been silent just moments ago was suddenly bursting with activity.
“It really is great to have Haruto here,” Satsuki said cheerfully, watching everyone surround Rio.
“Hmph...”
Sora hid herself behind Rio, her shyness triggered by the sudden crowd.
“And so, please spar with me, Haruto!” Masato restlessly pleaded. He couldn’t help his excitement.
“Sure, let’s do it.”
Rio also seemed to be happy to be sparring with Masato again, agreeing readily.
“Yay! It’s nice that I’ve received a Divine Arms from becoming a hero and all, but I was never taught how to use a two-handed sword. I was hoping you could teach me!”
In the past, Masato had learned how to use a sword and shield from Rio. But his Divine Arms was a two-handed sword that had a long reach even considering his future growth, so it was no surprise he was struggling to settle on a combat style.
“Sure. Then let’s start a mock fight first. I just want to see how you move, so there’s no need to enhance your physical body. I’ll use a one-handed sword and shield.”
“Okay!”
Thus, Rio and Masato were to begin sparring. Rio prepared a training sword and shield, while Masato equipped a two-handed training sword specially made by Alma to match his Divine Arms. They moved a short distance away from everyone else and faced each other.
“Ready to begin? You can move first.”
“Got it.”
Rio was relaxed, while Masato was a little nervous in comparison.
“There’s no need to be nervous. You haven’t learned how to fight yet. Just show me how you fight with an unfamiliar weapon in your current state.”
“Right!”
Masato took a deep breath and started running towards Rio. There was a size difference between the two of them, but Masato had a longer reach on his two-handed sword. Masato accurately ascertained the moment Rio was within his reach and made a large but swift swing of his sword, but Rio saw the path of his blade and avoided the attack by slightly shifting his feet.
“Hah!”
Masato resolutely continued to swing at Rio without giving up. Rio swung his sword and shield in return, dealing with Masato’s blows using the minimum amount of movement.
“Swords swung with two hands tend to result in large movements. Their trajectories are also more limited than one-handed swords because of the way the human body is structured. This makes your movements easier for an opponent to predict, and unless there’s a large difference in ability, your attacks will be evaded like this. Do you get that?”
“That’s the thing! I should have the advantage of reach, yet...!”
Masato agreed with Rio’s advice while swinging his sword.
“Understanding the reach of your opponent compared to yourself is good. But that alone isn’t enough. Two-handed swords are weak when you need to be on the defensive. Of course, your opponent will also try to fight at their ideal range...”
It was at this point that Rio shifted from defending to making a counterattack. He waited for the moment Masato swung his sword horizontally to lower his stance and close the distance between them, deflecting Masato’s sword from below with his shield.
“Ugh...”
Immediately after that, Rio’s sword pointed at Masato’s throat.
“You cannot afford to let people reach your weak point so easily. You have to focus on stopping your opponent from outside their reach.”
Masato nodded happily. “Right.”
“It looks like you’ve learned how to hold a sword, swing a sword, and the general basics already.”
Rio lowered his sword and backed away.
“Princess Lilianna’s knight, Hilda, taught me a little. The experience I got from your one-handed sword lessons helped.”
“I see. Then I’ll give you a thorough lesson on what kind of sword swings leave openings for your opponent. I’ll be attacking you back from here on.”
By doing that, Masato would naturally learn what kind of swings to avoid.
“Heh heh, bring it on!”
Masato laughed happily, and they resumed sparring.
◇ ◇ ◇
Ten minutes later...
“Ah, I’m beat! It feels good!”
Having finished his training with Rio, Masato was sprawled on the ground in a corner of the garden. He had been running around while swinging a large sword, so he was sweaty and out of breath. In contrast, Rio returned to where everyone else was with a refreshed look.
“All right, can you face me next?” Satsuki asked, seeking to swap in for Masato. They had used rock-paper-scissors to decide the order they would face Rio in while he was fighting Masato.
“Of course. But are you sure? Your wounds may have closed, but you were gravely injured just yesterday...” Rio said, worrying about Satsuki’s condition.
Although wounds could be healed through magic and spirit arts, the pain lingered for some time afterward. That’s why it was recommended she rested for another day or two, but...
“Yeah. Everyone must be really good at healing, because I feel perfectly fine. Like my body’s gotten lighter and I’m brimming with energy.”
Satsuki swung her short training spear energetically.
Her assimilation with her upper high-rank spirit progressed after the fatal wound yesterday... Rio thought while staring at Satsuki.
“If you’re sure, then okay... But let me know if it starts to hurt,” he eventually said.
“I could say the same to you, Haruto. I heard you were exhausted after the battle yesterday.”
“Aha ha. Well, I was able to get a good night’s sleep...”
“I slept well too. So there’s no problem.”
“Then let’s give it a go first,” Rio said, putting down his sword and shield and picking up a wooden bastard sword instead.
“Yup, let’s go.” Satsuki nodded cheerfully and started walking towards an easy spot to spar. Rio followed right behind her.
“Let’s allow physical body enhancements in our fight. Low-power arts are also permitted.”
I want to see how much the assimilation affected her, Rio thought as he made his suggestion.
“Sounds good.”
“Gouki, can you act as a referee?” Rio asked, thinking that their match could get intense.
“Gladly.”
Gouki followed after Satsuki and Rio as well. Thus, after distancing themselves enough from the others, they stood facing each other with their weapons held at the ready.
“Begin!”
Rio and Satsuki began sparring.
“Hah!” Satsuki started running at the signal, charging towards Rio. The distance between them vanished in an instant. But her speed appeared to be faster than even Satsuki herself had expected, as she had a look of surprise on her face.
“Whoa!”
Instead of crashing into Rio, Satsuki diverted her route to the side and swung her spear while passing Rio. The decision to deviate to the side was made on the spur of the moment, so it was impressive that she could still time an attack like that. Fortunately, it also served as a feint against Rio.
But Rio had swung his sword to slash at Satsuki as she passed. Wooden weapon clashed against wooden weapon, creating a clamorous sound. Immediately after, Rio fired a weak bullet of light at Satsuki’s back. It was a follow-up attack that was aimed perfectly at her blind spot.
“Wha—?!”
Satsuki whirled around with a gasp and mowed down the light bullet with her spear. It was proof her senses were sharpened right now.
“Oh?” Gouki murmured in awe.
“Jeez, you really don’t know how to go easy on someone,” Satsuki said, protesting with a grin.
“Well, you seemed to be in as good of a condition as you said.”
Even if he had directly hit her, the bullet only had the speed and power to hurt like a rubber ball.
Satsuki nodded fearlessly. “Right? Even I’m surprised!”
She resumed running at Rio, this time striking with her short spear from the front.
Her physical enhancement has indeed improved from before.
Rio chose to stop moving and receive Satsuki’s blow directly. At the moment of impact, he leaped back a little to stifle the force of the blow.
Her power has increased too. There’s no mistaking it, he thought as he landed.
“Heh heh! Today is the day I’m going to win!”
Satsuki grinned brightly and closed in on him at a rapid speed.
◇ ◇ ◇
Two more hours passed, during which Rio faced not only Satsuki, but all different kinds of opponents.
“I couldn’t win against Haruto today either. Or Gouki, or anyone else...”
In the end, as training wrapped up, Satsuki was unable to strike back against Rio. Gouki had faced her too, and she hadn’t been able to beat him either.
Gouki laughed heartily. “Ha ha ha. I won’t be losing yet.”
“I thought I’d win at least once today...”
“Your physical enhancement was powerful, but it was like you were unable to keep up with the movements of your body.”
“Hmm. I see.”
Satsuki tilted her head and hummed at Gouki’s advice.
“But you were truly amazing today, Satsuki. Either one of us could have won our match,” Sara said, commending Satsuki’s growth.
As warriors of their village, Sara and the spirit folk girls had received combat training from a young age, placing them one step ahead of Satsuki. Sara also had better physical abilities due to being a werebeast, which Satsuki struggled against, but Satsuki’s physical body enhancement had helped her put up a good fight.
“Your physical body enhancement has gotten much stronger.”
“Did you figure out the trick to it?”
Orphia and Alma both questioned Satsuki.
“The trick to it... I guess you could say that?”
Satsuki didn’t seem to understand the change that had happened in her body, as she merely tilted her head curiously.
Looks like she’s noticed something’s different.
Now that Rio knew about the relationship between heroes and upper high-rank spirits, he couldn’t keep the information hidden forever. It’d be better to explain things sooner rather than later. That was the thought that passed through Rio’s mind as he looked at Satsuki’s profile.
“That aside, Sora was really impressive. I was shocked,” Latifa said, praising the smaller girl. She had invited Sora to spar with her earlier. Sora had refused because she considered it a bother but had eventually given in to Rio’s request. As a result, Sora had deftly handled Latifa with a single finger.
“Of course. Sora is the second-strongest in this world after Master Haruto.”
“But Aishia is just as strong as Onii-chan.”
“Hah. Sora’s far stronger than the likes of Aishia.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The last time we fought, Sora came out on top,” Sora said triumphantly. Meanwhile, Masato and Komomo joined the conversation.
“Over Aishia? I guess you did fight amazingly yesterday.”
“Please spar with me next time!”
“In reality, how strong is she?” Sara asked from a short distance away, as she approached Rio.
“Strong enough that I don’t even know. There’s no doubt she can fight on more than even terms with Aishia.”
Sora had definitely fought seriously against the golem yesterday, but it was unlikely she had used absolutely all of her strength. She’d had to suppress some of her power to prevent unnecessary damage to the city.
“She’s a strong ally,” Orphia said, giggling as she watched Sora.
“Good grief. It’s too annoying to take you all on one by one, so the three of you can come at Sora together!”
Latifa, Masato, and Komomo were pestering Sora for another match. Sora was too shy around people to act honestly, but her reply showed she wasn’t entirely displeased.
“Yes,” Rio agreed happily as he watched over Sora.
◇ ◇ ◇
After finishing morning training, they all washed up in the bathroom of the mansion and headed for the dining hall.
“Man, I’m starving!” Masato said, entering the dining hall noisily.
Miharu and Sayo were right in the middle of setting the tables. Gouki’s wife Kayoko and their attendants were there too.
“Hey, Masato! Don’t run in the dining hall. What if you bumped into someone?” Aki, who was helping set the table, warned him with a sullen pout.
“Oops. Sorry, sorry,” Masato said while scratching his cheek.
Just then, Rio entered the dining hall with Latifa and Charlotte on each arm.
“Princess Charlotte, why are you pressing against my brother’s body so much?”
“Oh, I’ve been feeling dizzy since this morning, so I’m having Sir Haruto escort me.”
“If you’re not feeling well, shouldn’t you be resting in your room? Don’t push yourself.”
“Oh no, I wouldn’t get any proper nourishment by skipping breakfast. Besides, aren’t you clinging to Sir Haruto too, Lady Suzune?”
“Because I’m his little sister!”
It was the usual composition of Latifa puffing up her cheeks and Charlotte looking like she was enjoying herself. Rio had a strained smile on his face, unable to move.
“That’s enough! Both of you get away from him!”
This time, Sora had also joined the fray. She had been too awed to cling to Rio, which allowed Latifa and Charlotte to get a head start on her.
Aishia came over and grabbed Rio’s right hand. “Haruto, let’s sit at that table.”
“A-Aishia! Release Master Haruto’s hand! It’s Sora’s duty to lead the way. This way, now!” Sora grabbed Rio by the left hand, stubbornly unwilling to lose to Aishia.
“All right, all right. I get it already. Let’s all sit at the same table,” Rio said, finally taking charge of the situation that was getting out of hand.
Just then, Sayo hurried over and tried to muster the courage to join the circle of Rio and the girls.
“U-Umm, may I join you too?” she asked.
“Of course,” Rio said, nodding with a smile. He then greeted her by name. “Good morning, Sayo.”
“Good morning, Sir Haruto.” Sayo’s eyes sparkled with happiness.
“Let’s all sit over there then. Come on, Onii-chan!”
Thus, Rio sat at a table with Latifa, Charlotte, Aishia, Sora, Sayo. Meanwhile...
Onii-chan, huh...
Aki was watching Rio and the others from a distance. She frowned with a conflicted expression, having heard Latifa call Rio “Onii-chan.” Many things—many, many things were flashing through her head.
At the banquet held by the Galarc Kingdom, Rio had explained to her that he had the memories of Amakawa Haruto. That’s why she had cooperated with Takahisa’s sloppy plot to kidnap Miharu. She had been in the wrong; Aki now understood that.
However, Aki hadn’t met Rio face-to-face since the banquet. Of course, she had seen him after the fight with the golem yesterday, but she had been too awkward to say anything other than a brief greeting.
She didn’t know how to interact with the person who had her former brother’s memories. That’s why she was trying to avoid having to talk to him by keeping her distance.
But when she was in the same space as him, she couldn’t stop following him with her gaze. When she looked at Rio and Latifa, she understood. No, she was forced to understand; it was thrust in her face.
In his mind, Latifa is his little sister...
Rio’s little sister was Latifa. Not Aki, who was Amakawa Haruto’s little sister. The sibling bond she had never been able to build with Amakawa Haruto was being built by Latifa and the person who had Amakawa Haruto’s memories.
I don’t get it.
Aki pursed her lips sullenly. She hated Amakawa Haruto; she didn’t know the reason behind her parents’ divorce, but watching her mother suffer had caused her to feel resentment. Aki had only been four years old back then.
Of course, she had realized those feelings were irrational as she grew older. But even then, she’d hated him. She still hated Haruto even now.
But Rio, with his memories of Haruto, was the person who had saved her life. Latifa was still a great friend who treated her exactly as she did before. Aki couldn’t imagine herself hating the current Rio. When she saw Rio and Latifa being such close siblings, a complex emotion rose within her.
When will my brother come back...?
To take her mind off Rio and Latifa, Aki thought of Sendo Takahisa.
Thanks to Sara’s sharp senses, the castle’s search team was able to identify the inn Takahisa had stayed in. That had been the day before yesterday. According to the report, the search team was to ask Takahisa to accompany them to the castle as soon as he returned to the inn.
But there had been no news about Takahisa yesterday. Wasn’t it weird that he hadn’t returned by now? They may have been distracted by the golem attack, but that shouldn’t mean there should be no report at all.
Did something happen?
For example, was Takahisa in danger? A vague sense of anxiety filled Aki. But if something had happened, it would still be strange not to receive a report about it.
He would have remembered Haruto too, right? What would he do then?
Takahisa had already left the castle because he was hurting over Miharu. If he had regained his memories of Rio, he would be even more hurt.
But maybe he’s already back at the castle. I’ll ask later.
Lilianna should be coming to the mansion as well today. Perhaps she would give them an update before Aki could even ask for it. With that thought, Aki pulled herself together.
However, Aki noticed one more person who was watching Rio from a distance: Miharu. She was looking at Rio with an expression between envy and vexation.
She should just join them at their table.
Just what was she holding back for? She was the one who had decided after the banquet to stay with him because she loved him. She had finally regained her memories of Rio too. Aki pouted unhappily.
Is she still bothered by the fact she kissed him?
Yesterday, Miharu had looked embarrassed the entire day. But today, she looked different than her usual self. Instead of looking shy, it was more like she was lost in her own thoughts or brooding over something,
Miharu said she had the soul of a god from this world in her, so maybe...
Was that what she was worried about? Aki looked from Miharu back to Rio.
But in that short amount of time, Rio had left his seat. She couldn’t see him anywhere.
Huh?
Aki looked around the dining hall.
“Good morning, Aki,” Rio said to her.
Aki flinched before returning the greeting. “G-Good morning...”
He had apparently gotten up to help set the tables. There was a tray in his hands, and Latifa was with him.
“Say, do you want to eat at our table, Aki?” Latifa asked.
Aki froze for a brief moment, then turned down the invitation with an awkward smile. “Oh. Sorry, I promised Miharu I’d eat with her.”
“Okay...” Latifa frowned in disappointment, then glanced up at Rio, who was standing beside her. Rio seemed to be holding back his words in front of Aki, as he was only watching over the two of them.
“Then let’s have lunch together,” Latifa said, taking a step forward to invite Aki to lunch instead. This time, Aki was the one who glanced at Rio’s face—and ended up meeting his eyes.
“What do you say, Aki?” he asked, smiling a little hesitantly.
“Sure, if it’s with everyone else...”
A shadow fell over Aki’s expression as she nodded. She had added the condition of “everyone else” to avoid having to eat with just the three of them. Either way, it was clear that Aki was feeling awkward.
“It’s a promise then!” Latifa said in a gentle tone, with a friendly smile on her face.
“Yup. See you later.”
Aki bid farewell to Latifa with a slightly uncomfortable look, then bowed to Rio. She then headed over to Miharu to invite her to eat breakfast together.
◇ ◇ ◇
In the later hours of the morning, Rio and Charlotte greeted a visitor at the mansion. It was Lilianna, the first princess of the Centostella Kingdom. Miharu, Aki, Masato, and Satsuki greeted her at the entrance of the mansion.
“I have an update on Sir Takahisa,” Lilianna said, immediately getting down to business.
The way her expression was slightly stiff suggested that it wouldn’t be good news. Aki and the others picked up on that hint, and their expressions hardened as well.
“Siblings and friends, please gather in the drawing room. If possible, you too, Lady Sara,” Charlotte said, requesting Sara’s presence.
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
Thus, Rio moved to the drawing room with Miharu, Aki, Masato, Satsuki, Lilianna, Charlotte, and Sara. After everyone settled into their seats, Charlotte gave a brief summary of the situation.
“To get straight to the point, the search team has lost track of Sir Takahisa’s whereabouts.”
No one was particularly surprised, as they had been somewhat expecting that. But a heavy silence still fell over the room. Eventually, Aki broke the silence in a hoarse voice.
“Wh-Why? I thought you found the inn he was staying at?” she asked.
“He apparently never returned to the inn.”
“That can’t be right...”
“After interrogating the owner of the inn, it was discovered that Sir Takahisa had caused trouble with a certain organization in the red-light district,” Charlotte explained hesitantly. It was clear from her expression that she was unsure if she should tell them everything as it was.
“Allow me to explain,” Lilianna said, taking over from Charlotte. “Sir Takahisa murdered a man who operated a brothel—and eloped with one of the girls who worked there.”
An even heavier air filled the room. The expressions of Miharu and the others froze like ice. They had never expected him to kill someone.
“Why...?” Aki choked out. Her gaze was unfocused, as though she was unwilling to accept reality or unable to understand what was being said.
“No witnesses have been found yet, but the assumed motive is that he did it to protect the girl.”
Perhaps there was still hope for him, as he hadn’t done it out of despair or self-interest, but no one could open their mouths.
So that was the blood I smelled when we visited the brothel...
Sara recalled the fresh blood she had smelled in the alleyway beside the brothel when she’d joined the search team and frowned bitterly.
Meanwhile, Charlotte resumed her explanation of events. “The organization behind the brothel has been furiously searching for him to exact revenge. Sir Takahisa and the brothel girl were hiding in the aforementioned inn, but they had already been caught by the organization by the time the search team got there.”
“Caught...? So where is he now?” Masato moved his dry lips and asked.
“We believe he is alive.”
Everyone looked slightly relieved.
“However, we still don’t know his whereabouts.”
“You mean you don’t know where they’re keeping him?” Satsuki asked.
“We know where he was held captive: in the hidden facility beneath the brothel. It seems there was illicit business being conducted there.”
“And he’s not there anymore?”
“No. Apparently there was a large scuffle within the facility... The basement of the brothel is now completely burned down.”
“Burned down...” Satsuki’s face twitched intensely.
“That pillar of fire,” Masato mumbled quietly.
“Yes. Yesterday morning, a large pillar of fire rose just before the golems attacked the castle. It’s almost certain that it was caused by Sir Takahisa. Just before the pillar rose, someone fitting Sir Takahisa’s description was witnessed leaving the brothel with a girl,” Charlotte described.
“My brother burned down the brothel—the whole building?”
“Yes,” Lilianna answered without hesitation.
“Then...does that mean my brother...killed a lot of people?” Masato asked. His face was twisted bitterly, as though he was enduring the pain of a toothache.
“I’m told there were many casualties,” Lilianna confirmed solemnly.
“After everything he said about not killing people...”
Masato bit his bottom lip and clenched his fists. Aki, Miharu, and Satsuki were all silent in thought. Then, as though to relieve them of some of their torment...
“All the casualties were members of the organization conducting the illicit business. The girls working at the brothel were all released before the building was burned down,” Charlotte added.
“Still... Argh! Jeez!”
He had just been informed his brother was a murderer, so it was only natural for Masato to lose his composure. He ruffled his own hair roughly as all kinds of emotions ran through him. His face was clearly saying he didn’t get what was happening.
“And Takahisa went missing afterward?” Satsuki asked after taking a deep breath to calm herself, urging them to keep going.
“Yes. There were no witnesses after that, leaving the search team at a loss. So we were hoping to borrow Lady Sara’s strength once again.”
Charlotte nodded curtly and looked at Sara.
“I just have to go to the scene and follow his scent, right? Leave it to me,” Sara said, willingly cooperating with the search.
“Thank you very much. Please help us out,” Charlotte said, and the others all bowed their heads at Sara.
“It’s nothing to thank me for! I’m only doing what’s right,” Sara said, shaking her head with a troubled look.
“Furthermore, it seems Sir Haruto has a report to make regarding Sir Takahisa. I haven’t heard the details yet myself.”
“Most of it is the same, but I’ve also received information regarding Takahisa’s safety. My source of information is the Wise God Lina,” Rio added.
“Huh? Isn’t Lina the one inside Miharu?” Satsuki asked, looking at Miharu.
“Was it yesterday...?” Miharu recalled how Lina had used her body to visit Rio’s bedroom yesterday.
“Yes. I was given a short message to pass on. She has the power to know the future, so I believe she should be a reliable source.”
“What did the goddess say?”
“She wouldn’t tell me his location, but he’s apparently doing well. In her words, he’s having fun with the girl he eloped with.”
There was no mistaking the faint look of exasperation that crossed Satsuki’s face.
“I-If she knows the future, why won’t she tell us where he is?!” Aki yelled.
For Aki, the situation was as grave as a matter of life or death. If Lina knew the future, then she should know his current location, she rationalized.
“She can’t say anything that would change the future, apparently,” Rio said apologetically.
“That can’t be...”
Aki closed her mouth in frustration. In reality, it was only natural to want to ask for the location of a missing family member from the person who knew where he’d gone. It would be more unreasonable to ask her to suppress her emotions. The fact that she was able to hold her tongue was probably because she still had reservations about Rio—or the source of information, Lina.
“Lina said that we would reunite in time. She asked that you accept it for what it is for now...”
Rio added Lina’s words to comfort them.
“I’m fine with that,” Masato suddenly said.
Aki looked at him with wide eyes. “Masato?”
“He’s alive. We’ll see him again someday. That’s enough for me for now.”
It seemed Masato had found his own resolve. He let out a deep breath, crossed his arms, and sat deeper in his seat.
Aki looked like she wanted to say something to him but pursed her lips as though stuffing her emotions away.
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