Seirei Gensouki ~Konna Sekai de Deaeta Kimi ni~ Chapter 116

Chapter 116: Interlude Part 1

Afternoon of the day Rio left Galwark Kingdom.

The hero who belonged to Bertram Kingdom’s anti-government organization 『Restoration』—Sakata Hiroaki—was visiting the mansion of Duke Kretia alongside Flora for lunch.

On Hiroaki’s plate was a finely-marbled well done steak, smoothly being cut through by his knife. As he took a bite, the steak melted in his mouth as if he didn’t even need to chew, and the savory gravy slowly drowned his taste buds.

「The food at Liselotte’s place is amazing as usual. This steak is first rate, and the seasoning brings out the meat’s natural flavor.」

「I’m honored to receive such praise. I was worried about whether I could satisfy the tastes of a gourmet like Hiroaki-sama.」

Liselotte answered with a smile, but Hiroaki started looking a little dissatisfied.

「It’s perfect. Or, I want to say that, but now I really want to eat rice to go with such delicious meat…」

「Fufu, it seems like Hiroaki-sama always wants to eat his meals with rice.」

Flora interjected, giggling in her seat.

「It’s the staple food of my homeland after all. Wish I could eat it again someday.」

Hiroaki sounded slightly embarrassed as he spoke, while Liselotte suddenly showed a smug grin.

「Actually, I had a dish with rice prepared just for today.」

「Wait, for real?」

「Yes. Aria.」

She exchanged a glance with the maid by her side.

Aria bowed, then moved to the tray she carried the food out on, bringing Hiroaki and Flora’s eyes with her.

「Ohh, this is… Is this a risotto?」

「This rice is from a plant being cultivated by Rikka Firm in a certain area of the Strahl region. That area typically uses porridge instead of wheat, so I had it made with that in mind.」

「Ah, so this is the kind that isn’t very sticky. Yeah, this isn’t best suited to be eaten straight like white rice.」

「So this is rice? It’s the first time I’ve seen an ingredient like this.」

Flora looked curious about the risotto. She’d never even seen freshly-threshed oats before today.

It was a normal reaction for a princess. Although fresh wheat could be eaten as a congee, that was the food of commoners who couldn’t even afford bread.

「Perhaps because the recipe isn’t widespread, it’s not preferred by royals or nobles. This one is the result of trial and error as well, but please enjoy it.」

The two guests lifted their spoons to their mouths in answer.

「This is…」

「Delicious.」

「It’s wonderful.」

Their mouths unwittingly went slack when they gave their impression.

「The flavor of creamy butter and cheese are spreading through my mouth. It’s rich, yet not overpowering. And the pepper is a nice accent.」

「As expected of you, Hiroaki-sama. Your palate is truly impeccable.」

「I’m a picky eater after all.」

Hiroaki spoke as if it was something to be proud of.

「This dish has my full approval. It’d become a hit if it spreads. Don’t you think so, Flora?」

「Right. The pasta earlier is delicious as well, but this wouldn’t lose.」

Following the flow of the conversation, Flora obediently nodded along.

「Thank you very much. If you’re okay with it, I’ll give some of the rice to you as well. Hiroaki-sama should know quite a few recipes, no?」

「Really? Sounds interesting. I’ll give it a shot.」

「Thank you so much, Liselotte-sama.」

「Please, there’s no need for thanks. But in exchange, I’d be grateful if you could promote this dish among Restoration.」

Liselotte answered them with a playful grin, and Flora quickly made a proposition.

「Yes, of course! Ah, right! It would be wonderful if Satsuki-sama could be invited to taste this food, right?」

「Certainly, since Satsuki-sama seemed to miss the taste of rice herself. I hope to invite her soon.」

「That’s wonderful. I wanted to talk with Satsuki-sama too…」

「Are you low on time? Then before you leave, would you like to have a little tea party? I can invite Satsuki-sama as well.」

「I would love to!」

Flora brightened up, then turned to

Hiroaki beside her.

「Um, are you going to join us, Hiroaki-sama?」

「Eh, count me out. Sounds like trouble to me.」

「But…」

「It should be fine, right? I wouldn’t have anything to say. Besides, do you think any men would come to a tea party in the first place?」

No joke; she’s pretty, but I can’t handle those nagging, class rep-type girls. Anyone who says they’re a lot better when you treat them well is lying to your face. Plus, I finally came to another world. Too much hassle trying to get along with some damn normie I don’t even know.

While Hiroaki let his thoughts run amok, Liselotte changed the topic after sensing it veer into the unpleasant.

「Come to think of it, Satsuki-sama challenged Haruto-sama to a match yesterday. Did you get a chance to see it?」

「It was splendid. They were almost too fast to follow. What did you think, Hiroaki-sama?」

「Ah, I guess you could see it that way. I can’t say I enjoyed it as much; she went easy on him. Normally a hero like Satsuki can’t be defeated.」

Hiroaki heaved a disappointed sigh.

「What do you mean by “going easy”, Hiroaki-sama?」

「Because it simply wouldn’t be a fight if a hero released all their power. If I were to fight without holding anything back, there’d be no losing for me.」

His proud tone shone through again, leaving Liselotte a bit shocked.

「How confident.」

「It’s only natural. The heroes rule over nature itself. Forget single combat, even an army couldn’t stand against us.」

「The heroes control nature?」

「Yeah, with our divine raiments. For example, my 『Yamata no Orochi』 gives me total power over the water element.」

So he said with his bold smile.

「『Yamata no Orochi』?」

「Hm? Yeah, it’s the name of my raiment. Back in my world, it’s the name of a mythical beast known as the god of water. Divine raiments don’t have a name, but giving it one makes it easier to materialize.」

「To think those kinds of secrets exist in them… But, why do you know such things? Did you have that knowledge from the beginning?」

「I got a weird dream my first night in this world. I think it’s because of that dream teaching me everything that I had all of this information unconsciously after I woke up. Basically, the weapon taught me how to use it.」

「I see… It seems I’ve just heard quite the interesting story. Thank you very much, Hiroaki-sama.」

Liselotte looked bemused for a moment at Hiroaki’s vague explanation, but she quickly gave him her gratitude with her typical smile.

Somewhere on the highway stretching north of the Galwark royal capital—

A commoners’ coach made way for a convoy of noble carriages, the latter on its way to the kingdom of Rubia.

Armed knights and soldiers surrounded them.

Inside one, decorated the gaudiest of them all, rode a girl in a white knight’s uniform and a man hidden by his black robe.

The girl was renowned as the knight princess, Rubia Kingdom’s second princess, Silvy.

The man shrouded in mystery was someone whose fate crossed with Rio’s, Reis.

The now-seventeen Silvy was glaring at the robed man, her discontent marring her otherwise sculpture-like features.

「I cooperated with you as promised. My little sister… Return Estelle immediately.」

「Mm, but the plan failed, didn’t it?」

Reis only answered her demand with a vulgar grin.

「Don’t fuck with me! This isn’t what we agreed on!」

But all he did was shrug.

「Oh, yeah, it’s regrettable. I did say that I’d return your sister as long as you worked with us, but I don’t remember saying anything about that being the only condition…」

「You, quit screwing around. Don’t you understand the risks we took going along with your plan? All the preparation down the drain…」

「What, that was just a little sideshow.」

「Sideshow? Trying to massacre the royals of multiple kingdoms was just a sideshow to you?!」

「It’s not like I was trying to assassinate them.

them. Don’t you think it was entertaining to spice up that boring party?」

「As if!」

「Aw, that’s disappointing.」

After a moment to calm down, Silvy looked meekly at Reis, who only seemed more arrogant than ever.

「Hey… I can pay random. I can swear not to disclose your identity. So why won’t you give me back my sister?」

「If ransom was what I wanted, I would have gotten it long ago. You should know by now I have no need for such things.」

「Then tell me… what are you after? If you wanted a hostage, wouldn’t I be a better choice? The first princess would be higher value than the second.」

「Because a hostage is frail and weak. A strong-willed woman like yourself makes a horrible prisoner.」

「Estelle is safe, right?」

「Yes, of course. She’s a brave girl. And attractive to boot.」

Reis’ creepy smile ticked her off more than usual, and her next words chilled to the bone.

「… Filth. You try anything strange to her, I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your miserable life.」

「Ooh, how scary, I’m shaking in my boots. You shouldn’t be so reckless; we’re accomplices, after all. Shouldn’t we be getting along?」

「Hmph…」

Silvy gave up trying to talk, turning her face to the coach window.

Wait for me, Estelle. I’ll save you, no matter what… But, I wonder what Renji would have done in this situation…

Chapter 116: Interlude Part 2

A few days after Miharu, Aki and Masato were taken to Saint Stella Kingdom—

Sendou Aki had a dream of when she was a child. It was nine years ago, before Haruto’s and her parents divorced.

The Amakawa house was dual income. With both parents working, they didn’t have much time to take care of the kids.

For the still-young Aki, rather than her parents, the work of raising her was left to Haruto and Miharu.

It was only natural for her to love the two of them as much as she did, and they made an ideal brother and sister to her.

Although their intimacy often took them to their own little world, Aki was happy just being able to see them together.

「Onii-chan, Onee-chan—」

The young Aki in the dream called to them.

It felt strange.

Usually there was only a feeling of resentment whenever she thought of the boy, but at the moment there was none.

The Aki from her dream was absentmindedly watching Haruto and Miharu.

Their surroundings were covered in jet black darkness, the three of them in the sole white space.

It was a memory of them playing house; Haruto and Miharu were the parents, and Aki playing the part of their daughter.

It was the exclusive privilege of Aki’s to be pampered like this.

「Onii-chan, Onee-chan, let’s play house!」

「Sure.」

「Okay, Aki-chan.」

As always, they answered with a smile.

These moments of bliss should never end, she thought.

「I want us to stay like this forever…」

「We can’t. Tomorrow’s not a holiday.」

But Haruto turned her down with a troubled look.

「Ehh~ but I want to sleep with Onii-chan and Onee-chan.」

She wanted the three of them to always be together.

Aki was a bit envious of what Haruto and Miharu were to each other, they never left her out.

「You see, we can only do that when the next day’s a day off.」

「Can’t you do something, Haruto-kun?」

His only weakness, Miharu, timidly interjected.

「Well, if Mi-chan asks, I guess so… Do you want to sleep in my room tonight, Aki?」

「Ah, is that okay?」

Like a switch being flipped, Aki brightened up in the blink of an eye.

「Yeah, but, you’re always sleeping with Mom and Dad. Are you sure you won’t cry in the middle of the night?」

「I-I won’t cry! I’ll be okay as long as it’s with Onii-chan!」

「Alright, then let’s sleep together tonight, Aki.」

Off to the side, Miharu was muttering something under her breath.

「So… That’s so unfair, Aki-chan…」

Haruto stopped, stunned, then smiled wryly.

「Did you want to sleep with Aki, too, Mi-chan?」

「Mm, that’s right,

that’s right, but…」

「You can stay over on our next day off.」

「Really?」

「Mhm.」

「Ehehe~」

「Can I sleep with you then too?」

Haruto and Miharu turned back to Aki, answering together.

「Of course.」

「Ehehe~ it’s a promise.」

「Yeah, it’s a promise.」

「Onii-chan, Onee-chan, you’ll always be with me, right?」

So she requested, beaming innocently.

「Sure thing.」

「Yeah, we’ll be here for you, Aki-chan.」

When the two of them nodded to her, the white area around her darkened.

She couldn’t see her own fingers, much less anything else.

「Onii-chan? Onee-chan?」

She called anxiously.

「Aki-chan.」

Then she heard Miharu respond from the darkness.

「Ah, Miharu-oneechan.」

She was relieved.

—Miharu-oneechan didn’t break her promise. Even after the divorce, she stayed by my side, and slept with me when I was sad.

—She’s not like him. Even though he said we could sleep together. Even though he promised we’d always be together.

She couldn’t suppress those feelings of hers.

She couldn’t help being frustrated.

Of course, she understood the situation.

Aki knew her resentment wasn’t justified.

But emotion and logic were two different things.

「Aki-chan.」

Swaying, swaying.

「Aki-chan, wake up… Aki-chan…」

Pushing, pushing.

Someone was shaking her.

「Liar…」

The words slipped from her mouth.

「Huh…?」

Aki’s eyes shot open.

Miharu’s confusion reached her ears as light filled her vision.

They were in a room in the Saint Stella royal palace that was given to the two of them.

「Miharu-oneechan…」

Miharu looked worried for her.

「Good morning. Are you not feeling okay? Your face is a little pale.」

「Morning. I’m fine. More importantly, did I say something just now?」

She had a pretty heavy dream. She was curious if she said anything strange, but Miharu just shook her head.

「Eh? No… Nothing in particular.」

「Really?」

「Yeah.」

「I see…」

Relieved, Aki let out a gentle breath.

「I’ve finished preparing breakfast, but, do you think you can eat?」

「Thank you. Miharu-oneechan, that’s…」

Her eyes widened seeing Miharu having donned one of the royal maids’ uniforms.

「I can’t just sit around idly. I asked Liliansama if there was anything I could do, so she requested I take care of you and Masato-kun. It’s better for the both of you, too.」

Miharu was originally supposed to stay in the castle as a guest.

She could have asked for anything and gotten it without a fuss, but Miharu stubbornly refused.

「Is that so. I guess you’re right that it’d make us more comfortable…」

Aki thought back to the uproar of a few days ago.

It lasted the entire ride to Saint Stella and then some.

Miharu and Takahisa never stopped fighting even while they were being guided to the castle.

The entire thing was just one extended argument, a continuation of what happened when they first took off.

Takahisa was being obstinate, repeatedly refusing Miharu’s requests to be sent back to Galwark.

Both sides had no intention of backing down, but Takahisa held all the cards, deeming it impossible for Miharu to go back alone.

In the end, Miharu’s been in Saint Stella under what was effectively house arrest with the royal treatment.

Their relationship has gone south, too. Neither of them had been willing to even speak to the other.

And Aki, who cared for both of them dearly, was only able to bite her nails and watch.

「Miharu-oneechan, do you hate Onii-chan?」

「… I’m very angry with him, but I don’t hate him.」

She answered in a harsher voice than usual. Aki knew she was more than just angry.

In all their years together Aki had never seen Miharu, the embodiment of kindness, get truly mad about something.

「Ah—you see, I don’t think Onii-chan is opposing you going back to Galwark out of malice. Onii-chan is worried about you, Miharu-oneechan.」

「I know that, Aki. But, I’m sorry. I can’t accept it that easily. My feelings aren’t going to change.」

Miharu stressed a little as she spoke.

「But, he said that Haruto-san and Satsuki-san were okay with it. I think it’ll be fine. It’s not like we’ll never see them again, and it seems like they’ll come sooner or later.」

Aki was frantically trying to bring Miharu over to Takahisa’s side, but all she gave her was a stiff was a stiff smile.

「I’m sorry. Aki-chan, let’s stop here. I’m going to call Masato-kun so the three of us can have breakfast together, okay?」

「… Okay…」

Miharu quickly left the room, and Aki heaved a deep sigh as the door closed.

I can’t let things stay this way. I wonder how it ended up like this. And I can’t even do anything to help them get along again…

Noon of the same day, in the castle’s training grounds.

Takahisa and Masato were dueling each other with a wooden practice sword in their hands.

Masato carried a shortsword and shield, while Takahisa had a longsword in both hands.

A minute had already passed by since they began, and though Takahisa’s physical abilities seemed to give him an overwhelming advantage, Masato was deftly deflecting each swing with his shield.

「Masato-sama only learned swordsmanship after coming to this world, right? Takahissama mentioned he never learned before.」

One of Liliana’s royal knights, Hilda, was watching wide-eyed while talking with Aki.

「It’s the truth. He only started learning after we arrived here.」

「Then, then one who taught him…」

「It was Haruto-san, the person who protected us.」

「I see, so it was the Black Knight. It makes sense if it was under his tutelage.」

Hilda looked on at Masato with admiration, much to Aki’s surprise.

Masato was focusing on protecting himself the entire time, gauging Takahisa’s skill.

Then suddenly, he turned on the offensive.

「Here I come, Aniki!」

He parried another swing of Takahisa’s sword with his shield, and immediately stepped in close past Takahisa’s defense.

「Just try it!」

Takahisa twisted his body, bringing his sword with him.

The sword drew a tight arc, but Masato brought up his shield to match it.

Shifting the point of impact, he broke Takahisa’s momentum and staggered him.

「How clever!」

If he’d missed it by a second, Masato would have been blown away.

A rookie would have stiffened up when facing that kind of close-range attack, but Masato didn’t hesitate to step forward into it.

Be it the training that made him feel like his life was in real danger, or his natural courageousness, he was scoring some serious points in Hilda’s eyes.

「Hah!」

Masato corrected his stance as he shouted, pushing toward Takahisa with his shield in front.

He was never going to match in strength, but it was easy enough to keep the already-struggling Takahisa off balance.

「Kh!」

「Your aim is weak, Aniki!」

Takahisa stepped back, swinging his sword once to gain some distance, but Masato turned on the balls of his feet, knocking the elder’s sword upward with his shield.

Right away, Masato threw his sword arm forward into Takahisa’s chest, but—

「N-Not yet!」

He shouldn’t have been able to get into a defensive position, but Takahisa somehow recovered.

He swung with astonishing speed, colliding against Masato’s sword with his own.

「Agh—」

Forced into a contest of raw strength, Masato’s weapon was knocked skyward, spinning wildly for a good few seconds before it landed and rolled along the ground.

Masato wasn’t happy with the result, glaring at Takahisa for obvious reasons.

「Oi, Aniki. You used reinforcement at the end. That’s cheating! We agreed before we started: no powers!」

Masato was supposed to win that match, but Takahisa used his divine raiment’s abilities.

「Ah… yeah, sorry. Guess I got too absorbed in it.」

The older brother apologized awkwardly, hand rubbing the back of his neck.

「Tch, it’s fine. But it’s your loss, yeah?」

「Yeah. You win.」

「Then you should do what you promised and go apologize to Miharu-oneechan. I know Haruto-anchan might have left already, and Satsuki-neechan will come here soon enough, so it might be pointless to go back, but you need to stop insisting that we can’t.」

He protested soundly, Takahisa only looking nervous.

「… I got it. I’ll give her a proper apology later.」

It wasn’t enough to satisfy him, but Masato wasn’t going to push it any further.

「I’m holding you to that.」

Ending the conversation on that, Masato started his swinging regimen to clear the gloomy weight on his shoulders.

Chapter end