Volume 3


    CH 164


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    Chapter 164


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    It was sunny during the early hours of the afternoon, making it the perfect weather  for travel . Just like yesterday, Rio carried Flora in his arms . They ran through the trackless path towards Rodania instead of following the highway .


    It was not Rio’s top speed, he could go much faster . But he needed to account for his magic consumption, along with the possibility of causing some sort of trauma to Flora if he ran at top speed .


    Something entered his range of detection .


    (That’s a goblin… Let’s ignore it . )


    Rio had spread his senses to his surroundings, widening his field of awareness and keeping his guard up . It was a protective measure to prevent any surprises . Travelers would often find themselves ambushed by bandits or monsters coming from all directions .


    Whenever he detected creatures moving fast, like a pack of wolves, he would go around them to avoid fighting unnecessarily .


    Flora was quietly enjoying the scenery while perched on Rio’s back .


    She decided to break the silence they had maintained so far .


    「… Um, Haruto-sama . 」


    「Yes?」


    「Are we in the Rubia Kingdom already?」


    Flora had no idea where they were at that moment . Although she knew where they were headed, the route was left entirely up to Rio . To avoid attracting attention they didn’t need they avoided the highway, so the surroundings were unfamiliar to the princess .


    「Yes . It seems we’ve already entered Rubia Kingdom’s territory . The next city should be the capital, and we can rest for the night there . 」


    「Waah, I see . Understood . 」


    It took less than an hour to travel through the wilderness and reach the highway .


    Since flying out from within the forest straight into an open area would certainly cause a ruckus, Rio stopped a little distance away from the road and walked slowly toward the highway .


    Flora praised his carefulness .


    「Wow! Even though we didn’t use the highway, Haruto-sama didn’t get lost at all!」


    「I merely confirmed our general direction from the position of the sun when we passed through higher ground . 」


    「… How incredible . I was taught how to confirm my general direction in case I got lost, but I don’t think I can orient myself as you do . Not losing your way without a map is an incredible feat . I was useless, only here as baggage…」


    Flora looked at Rio with eyes full of respect .


    「Flora-sama, I’m sure you’ll be able to master the trick immediately once you try it . You just need experience . We’ve almost arrived at our destination but, if you want, I can teach you how to do it on the way there . 」


    「Yes . Please teach me, Haruto-sama!」


    His offer to teach her was slightly awkward but didn’t stop Flora from agreeing to it immediately . They entered the highway while deeply engaged in conversation .


    Rio’ eyes swept quickly through the area, confirming they were alone .


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    「Let’s go, our destination is not that far . We should be able to reach it today even if we walk slowly . 」


    「We’re going to walk from now on? Yes!」


    Flora seemed to be in high spirits from the prospect of walking on her own .


    「Indeed . From this point on, we’ll begin your rehabilitation training . Please let me know immediately if it’s painful for you to walk . 」


    「Yes!」


    Rio carefully lowered Flora to the ground and immediately offered her a hand to hold .


    She happily accepted the offer . Holding Rio’s hand made her a bit timid, but Flora didn’t let go of it . She knew he held her hand to help her walk, all in the name of rehabilitation since her strength and stamina had yet to recover .


    Knowing so didn’t mean she wasn’t secretly enjoying every second of it .


    「This way . Allow me to temporarily be your attendant . 」


    「Yes, thank you . 」


    Flora began walking while being supported by Rio .


    She kept careful attention on the ground while he was careful to not let her fall .


    As they moved forward at her pace, they were unaware of someone else keeping an eye on them . Reis watched their progress from above, floating in the air .


    (As expected, they’ve already reached the Rubia Kingdom . They’ll probably spend the night in that city . I should probably go back and meet Arein and the others after those two find an inn . While at that, maybe I should mobilize that noob Hero and the Knight Princess as well…)


    Still floating, he pondered about how he should proceed .


    (His searching range is impressive . It even covers the air! It’s quite hard to follow them from above . At least he doesn’t have a contracted spirit and opted for a land route…)


    The duo spent the night at an inn inside the Rubia Kingdom’s capital .


    ◇　◇　◇


    Meanwhile, in a deserted village stood a mansion . It was where Renji and Silvi were resting .


    While Silvi and Elena shared a room, Renji was restricted to another room to prevent him from contacting the two women .


    Arein and Lucci were constantly on standby as they kept watch over the three of them .


    Currently, Arein wasn’t in the mansion .


    The only ones around were Lucci, Renji, Silvi and her attendant Elena .


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    Lucci sat on the living room sofa as he stared at the ceiling, a bored look on his face .


    Suddenly, he got up . His senses had detected the approach of his coworker as they got close to the mansion .


    The main door was thrown open and, unsurprisingly, Arein walked in . His expression was slightly tense, which made Lucci curious . He could sense something had gone wrong .


    「Ou, what happened? You look tense . 」


    「… I just received some news from Reis-sama . 」


    Arein’s voice was extremely tense .


    It did not have much effect on Lucci, as his next question was voiced in a bored voice .


    He scratched his head, probably already feeling that whatever it was, it wasn’t good news for them .


    「Oh… Then what’s the news?」


    「It’s time to make Princess Silvi do her part . We’ll move as planned and bring that brat along . I will tell you the details, but… Oh, f#ck . Okay, just stay calm and listen carefully . 」


    「… Just tell me the f#cking news already!」


    With how serious Arein’s tone sounded, Lucci was starting to lose his composure alongside him . He got even more curious about the news .


    「Our leader… Was killed . 」


    After delivering the news, Arein paused, perhaps because even he was unable to accept the truth .


    Lucci’s reaction was to just tilt his head, confused .


    「… EH?」


    「Our leader was killed . 」


    Staring at Lucci’s dumbfounded look, Arein repeated the same phrase .


    Once he processed what he was told, Lucci let out a dry laugh . However, his eyes weren’t laughing at all .


    「… Oi oi oi, what kind of b#lls#t joke are you spouting? Our leader was killed? Today isn’t April Fools, you know? Stop with the stupid jokes!」


    「It’s not a joke . Our leader was annihilated from this world . And by that I mean he died without even leaving a corpse behind . Not even a speck of dust was left . 」


    A deep sigh left Arein’s mouth .


    「Oy!」


    Lucci suddenly raised his voice, loud enough to be heard by the other inhabitants of the mansion . His shout resounded through the halls, making Arein wince and warn him .


    「… Your voice is too loud . 」


    「SHUT UP! TELL ME THE TRUTH! OUR LEADER ISN’T SOMEONE WHO CAN BE KILLED SO EASILY, RIGHT?」


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    At this point, Lucci abandoned all pretense of boredom . His face held a menacing look as he directly questioned Arein at the top of his lungs .


    Arein answered him with a frustrated look on his face .


    「Yeah, it’s true . I also couldn’t believe when I heard about it at first . But Reis-sama told me to not make him repeat what he said again and again!」


    「… MOTHER F#CKER!!!」


    Lucci was speechless, but seeing how serious Arein looked, he restricted himself to cursing and decided to trust the news he had just received .


    His coworker was silently grinding his teeth in frustration .


    「…」


    「… Who’s the f#cker that killed our leader?」


    「… It was that bastard from before . 」


    Lucci appeared calm, but he was raging inside . Arein, on the other hand, had only shame coating his words . Those same words confused Lucci greatly .


    「That bastard from before?」


    「That wind magic swordsman who was investigating our leader’s whereabouts . The one who thoroughly beat us . 」


    Arein’s words forced Lucci to remember their run-in with Rio .


    「WHAT? THAT HANDSOME BASTARD?」


    「That’s right . He’s the one who killed our leader . 」


    With a nod, the confirmation shocked Lucci to his core… but also made him tremble in fear .


    「…」


    「Be grateful . Our next target is that guy . We’ll be able to avenge our leader . 」


    「!!!??」


    「I’ll let Princess Silvi know about the situation now . Stay down here and cool your head, I’ll tell you the details later . 」


    Arein left the room, leaving Lucci alone in the living room with his turbulent thoughts .


    Sitting back down on the sofa, he leaned back in a comfortable position . Although his body trembled all over, it was unclear if it was from fear or anger .


    「… Leader… It’s a lie, right?」


    ◇　◇　◇


    Meanwhile, Arein arrived outside Silvi’s and Elena’s room .


    He gave a quick knock on the door and waited for a response before entering .


    Once he was inside, Silvi squinted her eyes at him .


    「What was that scream just now? Did you meet some sort of trouble?」


    「… It’s nothing . I found Lucci asleep during his duty, so I did something to surprise him . But I came because it’s time for you to cooperate . 」


    Arein feigned ignorance and quickly changed topics .


    「Was it from Reis?」


    「Yes . Nice deduction . The situation has changed . 」


    He merely shrugged his shoulders at the Princess’s snort .


    「Alright . What do you need me to do?」


    「We’ve known for quite a while that Your Highness’s chivalric order is stationed in the city nearby . For now, let’s go meet them . 」


    「… What did you say?」


    Elena knitted her eyebrows at the man’s tone . Arein wasn’t giving them any room to refuse his demands . Her arm was grabbed by Silvi, who pulled her back .


    Contrary to her attendant, Silvi’s tone was very calm .


    「What are you people trying to do?」


    「Don’t worry, we’re not going to incite a war with another country . I just want you to spread your personnel around this region to do some inspection . 」


    Arein replied with an aloof expression .


    Silvi frowned .


    This was different than what she had expected .


    「… Inspection? So you want us to search for someone?」


    「Correct . Such a small request shouldn’t pose a problem for someone with your level of authority, right, Your Highness?」


    「Who are you looking for? And what is your goal?」


    「Hahaha… I don’t need to tell that to someone who doesn’t even want to cooperate . 」


    「… You want us to look for someone who we don’t even know . How can we cooperate if you don’t tell us who you’re looking for?」


    Silvi made her standing on the matter clear after some careful consideration .


    Respectfully, Arein obeyed her order .


    However, a putrid hatred was visible in his eyes .


    「As you wish, Your Highness . Your attendant will be the one to deliver the message . Don’t misunderstand me, please . We need you to stay here, after all . 」


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