Volume 1


    Chapter 24


    Half a year had passed since he came to the village of Seirei no tami . Rio was currently having his spirit art training in the plaza at the outskirt of the village like usual .


    「I’ve already taught all I can teach to you regarding spirit art . There’s nothing left for me to teach . 」


    Arthura muttered in admiration at the figure of Rio perfectly executing spirit arts before her .


    「This is also due to Arthura-dono’s help」


    With a light smile, Rio said his gratitude to Arthura for coaching him on spirit art .


    「Even so, in less than one year, to reach the point of freely using spirit art at will, it must be due to Rio-dono’s overwhelming talent . I only gave a little advice . You also become versed in many types of spirit art . My, my, the spirits really showered their affection on you . 」


    Receiving the gratitude from Rio, Arthura smiled at him .


    According to Arthura, Rio’s aptitude matched all spirit arts .


    He could manipulate every natural phenomenon such as fire, water, ice, earth, wind, and thunder . In addition, he can also cause various phenomenon . [1]


    Arthura could manipulate those phenomena too .


    However, it was impossible for her to freely manipulate each of them to similar degree .


    They could not come close to the fire element spirit art and witchcraft[genjutsu][2], her strongest arts .


    「The remaining subject related to spirit arts is Rio-dono’s unidentified contract spirit . 」


    Arthura was referring to the contract spirit in Rio, which remained unidentified till now .


    「Is there no way to know about the contracted spirit？」


    Adhering to Arthura’s direction, Rio had left that topic alone until now .


    「Uhm, someone who knows… the spirit sleeping inside you . I am not sure . Maybe there’s one person, but…… . . 」


    Arthura spoke in an unclear manner .


    「Is there some problem？   」


    「Uhm . Well, just a little actually」


    Rio tilted his head, not quite understanding what “Just a little” meant .


    「It’s a person that lives in Seirei no tami, right? 」


    「Nay, this person is actually a spirit itself . Moreover it’s an exceedingly high ranking existence .     In other words, a Quasi High Ranking Spirit[3] . It’s the spirit of the great tree, Dryad-sama」


    「Spirit of the great tree, could it be……」


    Rio looked towards the majestic figure of the gigantic tree, that towered over it’s surroundings .


    「Uhm, the living place of Dryad-sama is at that great tree in the center of this forest」


    Arthura arbitarily answered Rio .


    But, there was one thing that Rio couldn’t understand .


    「Can’t the other spirits see through the true form of the unknown spirit inside me？          」


    Rio considered since all of them were spirits, there was no need to go as far as asking the Dryad .


    「It’s a matter of fact that spirits can perceive the existence of other spirits . But, ordinary spirits can’t speak in words despite having intelligence . They act by reading their contract partners’ intention, and can point something out to them, in ambiguous way; but they aren’t able to talk about something clearly with the partners . Only top class spirits can perfectly convey their thoughts to people」


    Rio nodded his head on hearing those words .


    「I see ………… . . Can I go to the great tree?        」


    「That’s the problem . That place is something akin to a sacred place for seirei no tami .           With the exception of the spirit festival that is held once a year, even seirei no tami can’t just boldly enter that place . An approval is necessary for entering it other than that time」


    Rio’s intentions were already grasped by her with those words .


    「In other words, they didn’t know whether to let I, who is an outsider, enter it or not?          」


    Rio guessed rightly to Arthura’s worry .


    「Uhm, for our benefactor Rio-dono, it should be ………… . . it’s just like what you said . I’m sorry Rio-dono, since there’s still members of the elder council that don’t trust Rio-dono yet, even now」


    Arthura slightly frown and said that with an apologetic face .


    The news about a human boy staying in the village ?as benefactor of a girl of the seirei no tami? had already spread throughout the village . But, with the exception of a few seirei no tami, Rio’s had lived far from contact with others .


    It was already a fact that the seirei no tami didn’t have a good image for the human race, that’s why even the elder council of this village… no, it’s because they were the elders that they stubbornly remained wary of Rio .


    The elder council’s approval was necessary to go to the great tree, that was why it was necessary to gain their trust .


    「I will try to arrange it, so that you can somehow enter the great tree . Till that time, please wait patiently . Well, besides that, there should be a great number of things that Rio-dono needs to know . That fellow, Dominique, seems eager to teach his dwarf knowledge to Rio-dono . You will also be able to take pleasure in having Syldra as your personal tutor about elves . 」


    To wipe away the anxiety from the current situation, Arthura spoke cheerfully about Rio’s good fortune .


    Rio could ask for lessons directly from the elders of the seirei no tami .


    Besides the problems between races, some people may also took offence with teaching Rio knowledge of seirei no tami . However, Rio dismissed his concern on it and took it as a good opportunity .


    「I think it’s good to finish here for today . Shall we go look at how Latifa’s doing right now? 」


    Arthura let out a bright smile once she recalled her cute great-grandchild .


    「Hehh . I also want to see how she has grown」


    Rio accepted Arthura’s proposal, together they went to the plaza that was used for Latifa’s spirit art training .


    In that place were five people: Latifa, Oufia, Sara, Alma, and Uzuma .


    「Thi-this, greetings Arthura-dono, Rio-dono……」


    Though Uzuma was the first one in those five who noticed Rio and Arthura, she gave her greeting while lowering her head, as if being ashamed by something .


    「Uhm」


    「Hello . Uzuma-dono」


    Rio awkwardly returned her greeting in the seirei no tami language[4] after seeing her like that .


    Uzuma became surprised at how well Rio was in using the Seirei no tami language .


    「Could it be, you can already speak in the seirei no tami language？ 」


    She asked with eyes full of curiousity .


    「Yes, thanks to the lessons that I received constantly from Arthura-dono, now I can handle it if it’s a daily life conversation .      But it’s still a way to go, as I still feel awkward when using it」


    —-


    Rio continued his study of their language with hands on training by spending most of his everyday life conversing using the seirei no tami language .


    Thanks to that, his proficiency in the seirei no tami language reached a level where it wouldn’t be a problem for him to converse with it in his daily life .


    「Even so, that was still an incredible learning speed……」


    Alma whose beside her voiced her admiration .


    The others in the group also sent him their admiring gazes, it made Rio felt itchy .


    「Thank you very much . 」


    After he shyly gave his short gratitude, Rio turned towards Latifa, who was eagerly waiting for him to finish his conversation .


    「Latifa, are you studying properly?   」


    「Un!   I got better in using spirit arts! We had a Mock Combat just now . Uzuma-san’s really strong! Next, I will fight against Sara-oneechan」


    Latifa clung to Rio as she was talking .


    After burying her face into Rio body, she then looked up at Rio .


    「Is that so? Then, can Arthura-dono and I watch Latifa’s Mock Combat? 」


    「Um~, Okay! Sara-oneechan! Come on let’s fight!」


    Latifa dashed towards the center of the plaza in high spirits, wanting to show off her skills to Rio .


    「Geez, that child is really… She get into high spirits just because Rio-sama came」


    Sara chased Latifa’s back, expressing her feelings that it couldn’t be helped .


    After those two arrived at the center of the plaza, Oufia signalled the start .


    Strengthening their bodies and physical ability at the moment of the signal, those two started to move in an instant .


    Since Latifa had also already learnt spirit arts, the physical and body strengthening magic she was using was also from spirit arts .


    （So fast）


    Rio was surprised by that speed .


    Latifa’s speed increased by leaps and bounds when compared to when she first met Rio .


    The only grace of『Body Strengthening Magic (Hyper Physical Ability)』 was strengthening physical ability; it was different from spirit arts reinforcement, which also strengthened the user’s body and not just physical ability .


    But, it was the same for Sara, who was also strengthening her body and physical ability with spirit arts .


    By Rio’s observation, their speeds were almost equal .


    If that was the case, then it was left to their skill .


    In that regard, right now they were testing the water by executing feint attacks .


    Both of them were using wooden knives as weapons .


    Rio stood next to Uzuma and silently watched their match .


    However, a little while later, he noticed that Uzuma was struggling to calm herself .


    Though quite a long time had already passed since he came to the village of the seirei no tami, Uzuma still had that attitude, as if she was avoiding Rio .


    Although no hostility could be felt from her, it still felt awkward for him .


    「I don’t mind about that matter anymore . Uzuma-dono, you don’t have to worry about it . 」


    Thinking that their relationship had been stiff all this while, Rio resolved himself and said it out .


    Uzuma reacted with a surprise look at Rio .


    「Eh? Was I mistaken?」


    Rio had thought that maybe Uzuma was still regretting her misunderstanding, which caused her to gravely injure Rio .


    But, from Uzuma’s reaction, it looked like it was due to completely different matter, that she was acting like that towards Rio .


    If that was the case, then what was the cause of her behaviour? When Rio worried how he must converse with her, Uzuma began to speak first .


    「……No, you’re not wrong . Part of the reason is also that? it’s just that Rio-dono is completely different from the image of the human race that I had, and… I am also troubled on how to face you . I’m really sorry . All of this happened due to my lack of manners . 」


    It turned out that her awkward manner toward Rio was related to the problems between races .


    Maybe her feelings of gratitude toward Rio for saving a girl of her brethren clashed with her guilt for severely wounding Rio from the misunderstanding . Then there was her unease towards Rio due to racial issues, all of that jumbled together in Uzuma’s mind .


    Because of deep historical origin, her prejudice towards his race was hard to remove with just his one or two small actions .


    「I understand that it’s not easy to change that bad image about humans . I will not try to change that . Instead, I would be grateful if you could just be yourself around me . You’d feel worn out, right, if you continued to try and force yourself? 」


    He shrugged his shoulders when saying that, while letting out an awkward smile .


    「……I wish to express my deepest gratitude for Rio-dono’s consideration toward me」


    Uzuma lowered her head towards Rio with a movement that made her look like a natural born military man .


    Arthura, Oufia, and Alma looked at those two from the side with great curiousity .


    On the other hand, while those two were in the middle of their conversation, Sara and Latifa’s match was almost at its climax .


    Latifa gave her best shot but, Sara was still way above her .


    Rio also thought that Sara herself was a truly talented fighter, despite there also being an age difference, her combat ability surpassed Latifa who was trained as an assassin .


    Though maybe Latifa could stand on the same ground as Sara when she grew up, as she continued her training . Most likely she would be chasing after Sara’s back, who is her senior, for a while .


    「U~~u, I was also defeated by Sara-oneechan」


    Latifa said that while looking down with a frustated look on her face .


    「That’s only natural since I’m older . Since I have continuously learnt the basics for a long time from the soldiers of the seirei no tami . With Latifa’s age, this is already good enough for you to become a soldier of the seirei no tami」


    Sara coaxed the bitter Latifa, who was slumping on the ground .


    「Yeah, you really are strong . I can’t do anything at all」


    Oufia also tried to coax Latifa .


    「That was because Oufia-neesan is a rearguard and spirit art user type; it’s only natural that you can’t win against a vanguard type like Sara-neesan or Uzuma-san in close combat 」


    And here, Alma added her tsukkomi .


    Maybe due to her honest personality, or was her own trait that she speaks what she thinks .


    「But, Onii-chan is still waaay stronger than Sara-oneechan and Uzuma-san！」


    Latifa said that with complete belief for Rio’s victory .


    「Mu, my pride as a warrior won’t just let that line be, but……」


    —-


    Uzuma’s pride as the warrior chief got ignited by the [of course he is] in Latifa’s tone .


    「I couldn’t do anything against onii-chan at all！Uzuma-san is waaay more powerful than me but, you still have yet to defeat onii-chan! 」


    「Latifa, Uzuma is the strongest young warrior in this village . Even if he excels in spirit arts, for Rio-sama, a child of the human, to win against her is just……… 」


    Sara, who was very familiar with Uzuma’s strength, said a different opinion to Latifa .


    「Then, we will find that out with combat .    Right, Onii-chan?        」


    Latifa looked at Rio with upturned eyes[5], fully believing in Rio’s power from the bottom of her heart .


    He really wanted to reject her request, seeing that it was turning in a really troublesome direction but, Rio wasn’t inconsiderate enough to betray the innocent expectations of Latifa .


    「Want to try it？」


    While smiling bitterly in his heart, Rio proposed a Mock Combat challenge to Uzuma .


    「Yeah, certainly」


    Uzuma replied instantly .


    It was as if she was really eager to do that .


    After choosing their weapons for the Mock Combat, those two took their places at the center of the plaza .


    The rule was the same as before, only physical and body strengthening spirit arts were permissible in the match .


    Uzuma, with her wooden spear, versus Rio, with his wooden sword .


    「BEGIN！」


    Uzuma dashed toward Rio, right at the start of the match .


    Her speed, with the added driving force of her wings, was basically like an arrow fired toward Rio .


    Despite her calm face, her spirit was ablaze .


    Maybe it was due to her extreme confidence in her own strength .


    Rio was smiling lightly at Uzuma’s straightforward manner . [6]


    Uzuma instantly shortened the distance to Rio and stabbed her spear at Rio; naturally her body and physical ability were strengthened with magical power . [TN : magical power here using 魔力[maryoku] not the MANA from before]


    Rio warded the disorderly thrust from Uzuma, which come at him like an avalanche .


    Uzuma showed an astonished face at Rio, who parried her attack easily without any wasted movement .


    Uzuma distanced herself from Rio for an instant and then lunged at him from a low stance, almost like crawling on the ground . She struck at his chest with her spear from below, like the fish jumping against the rapids .


    Though Rio stopped the blow that came from the front, Uzuma exerted more force into the strike .


    Rio’s body lightly floated from the impact .


    With the her heels stomping hard and wings flapping powerfully, Uzuma sent Rio flying with her charge .


    The distance between them opened for a brief moment .


    Uzuma leapt toward Rio, who was thrown in the air, as if to not let him escape, and then accurately sent four thrusts, aiming at Rio limbs .


    Rio parried her spear with his sword and evaded her attacks by twisting his body and shifting his limbs .


    Then, using the recoil, he sent a horizontal slash towards Uzuma’s body .


    Uzuma instantly dodged his counter by flapping her wings to drive herself backwards .


    Matching her in a aerial battle was really difficult . [7]


    Both of them landed on the ground while keeping their distance .


    It lasted but an instant . In one single step, Rio suddenly shrunk their distance . [8]


    「!!! 」


    The offensive was reversed . Rio’s figure disappeared from Uzuma in that split second .


    However, due to her natural instincts, she barely managed to block Rio’s attack, which also destroyed her stance .


    Uzuma tried to separate from Rio and fix her stance .


    However, without letting the chance go, Rio rushed at her . He erased the space that was needed for her to manipulate her spear; his sharp thrusts came one after another towards the gaps in her defence .


    「KUH!!」


    Now it was Uzuma’s turn to find herself in a disadvantage situation .


    Though she could still barely defend herself from Rio’s attack, Rio was already superior from the number of attacks .


    If it was using real weapons, Uzuma’s body would already be full of small cuts .


    In that constant barrage, Uzuma made a slip and Rio unleashed a powerful blow at that opportunity with a large swing of his sword .


    Uzuma stopped the blow which sent her body flying backwards a little .


    Uzuma warded the impact of that attack by flapping her wings, then slowly descended to the ground .


    「……With this match, I recognize you as a warrior . Looks like I need to fight you at my full power」


    Uzuma said that with a different tone than she normally used .


    At the same time, Uzuma’s stance changed .


    [Biku], a chill ran through Rio’s body .


    Then, she instantly closed their gap and threw a fierce stab, aimed at Rio’s body .


    Rio immediately side-stepped to escape, as he could not block that crushing pressure .


    A prickling sensation suddenly felt his neck? he turned his neck sideways .


    In the next moment, there was the sound of something passing through the air; it was Uzuma’s kick, which was aimed at where Rio’s head was, just a moment ago .


    「Hoou, Good . You managed to dodge that .    But, how about this! 」


    She blasted a heavy strike at Rio , along with those words .


    But, Rio had stopped that blow .


    His expression distorted as he received it, the one-handed sword he used was gripped with his both hands; Uzuma pressed at him with a nonchalant expression .


    Rio retreated backwards a great distance from the clash to ward the power in that strike .


    「Isn’t this already a little surpassing the level of a Mock Combat?」


    Rio said that with a wry smile .


    「Of course! There’s no reason for me to hold back my joy against this kind of strong opponent! 」


    Uzuma exclaimed that loudly while letting out a ferocious smile .


    Rio thought that it couldn’t be helped, since she was a little bit of a Battle Junkie .  [9]


    Rio could only smile lightly .


    He couldn’t rebutt her since somehow or another he was also similar to her .


    Rio felt a little delighted . It had been a long time since he found an opponent on which he could go all out .


    It was a good idea to spare his thoughts and go wild like this, once a while .


    But, Uzuma greatly surpassed him with her current physical ability .


    At this rate it would be a thin line separating winner and loser .


    （Then, let’s get ourselves equal）


    Thereupon, the ODO overflowing from Rio’s body rised, it also flowed with great density .


    「Mu, what’s with that kind of ODO density」


    Uzuma opened her eyes wide at the armor of ODO that was enveloping Rio’s body . [TL : 555-Henshin!!!]


    He was strengthening his body and physical ability with spirit arts, and rose it to the next level with a quantity of ODO clad his body like armor .


    Even if his base strength fell behind Uzuma, who was a beastman, he just needed to strengthen his body and physical ability with his ODO till he surpassed her .


    That kind of realization had just come to Rio . [TL : cough*Kamen*cough*Rider*cough]


    But, just realising it was not enough .


    Whether or not his body could cope with that massive quantity of ODO all at once was another story .


    It was necessary for him to control the massive amount of ODO and find a suitable amount for him to be clad in .


    —-


    「Could it be that, till now, you did not went all out?」


    Uzuma said that while smiling lightly .


    「Nope, I was going all out . Maybe it’s embarrassing for me to say it, but, I have never had a chance to strengthen myself to this level 」


    「I see . Though it doesn’t seem that you’re using all your power yet」


    Uzuma wielded her spear, and suddenly appeared in front of Rio .


    「Not at all, I’m almost hitting my upper limit, you know」


    Rio said that while stopping Uzuma’s direct frontal blow, just like that  .


    「And you say that with nonchalant expression！   HAAAA！」


    Then she send wild thrusts with random tempo to Rio .


    Rio evaded those attacks, each one after the other, with minimum movement like flowing water . Then, matching the with flow of her breath, he closed in to Uzuma’s bosom as she was thrusting her spear and swung his sword at the exposed chest .


    「KUH!!」


    When she stopped Rio’s attack with emergency posture, rotating her spear using the part that was hit by Rio’s sword as its center, she use Rio’s own power to launch a sweeping strike at his face .


    Rio dodged that attack by turning his head sideways .


    Immediately followed by countless of their attacks countering each other .


    If those had been metal weapons, spark would have flown in every direction along with the clanking sound of weapons .


    A series of heavy blows rained upon Rio .


    However, Rio warded all of those attacks without moving even a single step .


    「AMAZING！ No matter how I hit, none of it is getting through!」


    Uzuma said that with a delighted face .


    With resolution to put her life on the line, Uzuma then launched a surprise attack, a daring spear uppercut as she sprung at Rio, just to force Rio to inch from his spot .


    Rio avoided that attack by side-stepping for a half step, and launched a counter .


    「KUH」


    Rio’s wooden sword finally struck Uzuma’s body .


    Though he stopped his blow just before it landed, Uzuma’s expression was vexed, as she knew that she had been completely unable to protect herself from that blow .


    「……It’s my loss . Thank you very much . It was already beyond a little excessive」


    Uzuma instantly returned to her usual calm and composed self, and politely bowed to Rio .


    Rio noticed that there was a tinge of red on her face .


    (Maybe she was embarrassed by her previous fighting spirit)


    「Don’t worry, it was the same for me . I also enjoyed it . If you don’t mind it, please have a match with me again」


    「Yeah, with pleasure」


    Uzuma chimed her approval at Rio’s proposal with a happy expression . [10]


    Her awkward demeanour from before had completely vanished .


    Somehow they managed to grasp each others character during their short match .


    Sara, Oufia, Alma, and Arthura were still dumfounded with their jaws wide open, even after those two had finished their match . [11]


    「Ne, let’s just say！ Onii-chan is powerful, right!」


    Amongst them, only Latifa puffed up her plains-like chest with a triumphant face, as if saying [That’s only natural right!?] .


    [1] [TL : manipulating is different from causing][2] [TL : Genjutsu here can also translated as magic, but I choose to use witchcraft since magic here using Madou not genjutsu][3] [TL : 準高位精霊(Quasi High Rank Spirit)–> any better idea?][4] [TL : it sound like japanese to me][5] [TL : Pleading eyes][6] [TN : the raw indicated single minded Uzuma, but let it be straight forward instead, since they’re having a match not a test][7] [TL : SHE IS A BIRD!!! Once again, SHE IS A BIRD . It’s only natural for her to FLY][8] [TL : Shundo[instant movement]][9] [TL : Junkie is heavy user, someone who can’t live without it or something similiar to it; like an alcohol junkie (alcoholic) or drug junkie, or food junkie (made me remember of Bambino)][10] [TL : is this a flag again][11] [TL : modified the sentence a bit for a bit of fun]


    To connect with Uzuma’s words that comes after .