“No... Well, doing that between men is a bit, you know. A bit shameful, or weak looking? It makes me itchy,” Arslan said, scratching his neck.
“That’s right. Anyway, I intend on coming back. I still haven’t won against him once yet, after all,” Masato said, glancing at Arslan, who stood beside him.
“Ha, as if. I’m going to get even stronger. I won’t lose next time we meet, either,” Arslan snorted smugly.
“Well, you just wait. Until I get stronger, that is.”
“Ha, I guess I can wait, though I’m not expecting anything. ...Just be careful on your trip.”
“Yeah.”
They both reached for a fist bump. Vera stared closely at the exchange between the two boys. “What’s with that? After saying those wannabe cool things, you’re being so much more embarrassing than both of us,” she said bluntly with a cold gaze.
“Oh, I thought that too!”
“Me too!”
Latifa and Aki immediately agreed.
“Geez, you could be a little more honest.” Aki grinned, looking at Masato and Arslan.
“Right?”
“Right.”
Latifa and Vera nodded while giggling.
“H-Huh?! That’s not true!” Masato and Arslan both objected with red faces.
“Aww, but it’s true. Right, you two?” Vera rebutted with a huff of laughter, then turned to Latifa and Aki and imitated Arslan’s words. “...Just be careful on your trip.”
“Yeah.” Aki put on her sharpest expression and imitated Masato, then fistbumped Latifa.
“Ugh...” Masato and Arslan were bright red as they watched.
“I-I don’t know you anymore! Let’s go, Masato!”
“Y-Yeah!” Masato and Arslan retreated from the scene in embarrassment.
“Fufu.” The remaining girls watched their backs and giggled.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the venue...
“I leave my daughter and her friends to you, Lord Rio.”
Rio, Sara, Orphia, and Alma were talking with the head elders and the relatives of the spirit folk girls. Sara’s father, a silver werewolf man, was entrusting Sara and the others to Rio.
Rio nodded. “Yes. If anything, I’ll be the one in their care...” he said apologetically.
“No, this journey will be a valuable learning experience for our daughters. If you and Lady Aishia act as their guides, we will happily send them away.” Orphia’s father, a high elf man, was speaking cheerfully. However, despite saying that, Rio probably wasn’t imagining the slightly saddened expression on his face.
“Well, as they say: they have to leave the nest at some point. Look after my daughter, Lord Rio!” Alma’s father grabbed Rio’s shoulder heartily. He was younger than Dominic, but his face and body language was very similar to the head elder’s.
While Sara and Orphia’s fathers didn’t look that much older than their daughters, Alma’s father had a face that looked to be around middle-aged for humans. This was a characteristic of the dwarf race, where the males generally had older faces.
“I cannot express my gratitude enough to everyone for entrusting me with their precious daughters. I may rely on them more than they’ll need me, but I vow to protect them to the best of my ability,” Rio pledged respectfully.
At that, Sara and the others blushed in embarrassment.
“Gahaha, that’s like a marriage vow. The girls are getting embarrassed, Rio.” Dominic laughed heartily, slapping Rio on the shoulder.
“Please don’t say such strange things!” Sara and Alma objected to Dominic’s words together.
“Ahaha, well, I’ll be in your care too, Sara, Orphia, Alma,” Rio said, hiding his embarrassment with a wry smile and bowing his head.
“Uh, s-same here, we’ll be counting on you!” Sara’s cheeks reddened, her tail wagging nervously as she bowed her head.
“Thank you, Rio.” Orphia and Alma said. Rio nodded with a faint smile.
“No need to be so formal. From yesterday through today, the girls spent time at their homes and discussed things thoroughly. On top of that, these old men agreed to it and decided to entrust their daughters to you,” Dominic said, patting Rio on the shoulder. “We’re counting on you.”
The fathers all turned their faces away in embarrassment, taking sips of their drinks instead.
“That aside, grandfather. Did you teach Latifa weird words?” Alma sighed in disappointment at Dominic.
“...Hum, whatever could you be talking about?” Dominic cocked his head in wonder.
“Don’t try to play the fool. I’m talking about the local mistress thing!” Alma stated resolutely, refusing to listen to any excuses.
“A-Ahem,” the fathers spat out their drinks, clearing their throats.
“Hey! Old man! What do you think you’re teaching children?!” Alma’s father protested at Dominic in a fluster.
“A-Ah, that? I remember now. I was talking to Latifa about Rio before when my mouth slipped from habit. Well, she probably doesn’t understand it anyway.” Dominic laughed heartily in an attempt to brush off the situation.
“That’s not the problem!” said Alma.
“I-It’s fine, it’s fine. Say, what about you? You’re only a year apart from Latifa. Did you know the meaning?” Dominic said teasingly.
“Uh...!” Alma turned bright red.
“Please don’t tease Alma too much, Dominic,” Rio warned gently as he stood in front of Alma.
“R-Right.” Dominic must have felt some kind of strange pressure from Rio, as he nodded dejectedly.
“I have a little more to say regarding the incident with Latifa. Shall we discuss it over a drink?” Rio sighed tiredly, inviting Dominic to some alcohol.
“Sure, sounds good. All right, you lot come along too! It’s a drinking party for men now!” Dominic called the fathers over in high spirits.
The party continued noisily and late into the night.
◇ ◇ ◇
The next morning came; it was finally time for Rio to take Miharu and the others back to the Strahl region.
“All right, do you have everything?” Dominic asked, looking at the departing party.
“Yes, I believe so.” Rio looked around at the group and answered on their behalf.
“...Ah!” Vera suddenly remembered something.
“Hm? What’s wrong, Vera?” Ursula asked.
“U-Umm. Latifa, Latifa.” Vera dashed up to her.
“What’s wrong, Vera?” Latifa tilted her head curiously.
“Did you bring the thing?”
“The thing?”
“You know, the thing. The uniforms you made to surprise Rio,” Vera whispered in Latifa’s ear.
“Ooh! That thing. Yup, I brought everyone’s along.” Latifa smiled and nodded in understanding.
“That’s great to hear! You have to surprise Rio, after all.”
“Me...?” Rio must have caught Vera’s words, as he looked on in confusion.
“It’s a secret. You’ll definitely be surprised. I wanted to see it too, but I was told it was a surprise for when you came back, so,” Vera said, grinning.
“I see. I look forward to it, then,” Rio chuckled, looking at Latifa.
“Yup! Aki, Latifa, take care of yourselves. I’ll pray for your safe return,” Vera replied energetically.
“Yeah,” Latifa and Aki nodded. “We’ll be going now!”
“All right, let’s go,” Rio called out to Latifa and Aki.
“Okay!” Latifa said happily, running over to Rio. Meanwhile, Aki approached the giant bird-like spirit, Ariel, waiting next to Orphia.
“Okay everyone, get on Ariel!” Orphia said to Miharu, Aki, Masato, and Sara. The group gathered on Ariel’s back with familiarity, having rode the spirit many times already.
“Yup, there’s enough space for four people there. I’ll carry Alma and Rio will carry Latifa — it’s perfect!” Orphia said in satisfaction once everyone had climbed on Ariel’s back.
�
�Yup! This is the best option!” Latifa agreed, extremely pleased. She was probably happy that she’d get to stick to Rio through the whole journey.
The only ones who could soar freely through the air among the group were Rio, Orphia, and Ariel. It wasn’t as though Sara and Alma couldn’t fly at all, but their skill was lacking in comparison to Rio and Orphia, so it was faster traveling this way.
That was where the issue of who carried whom came up, and it was decided that the lightest Latifa and Alma would be carried by Rio and Orphia while the remaining members rode on Ariel’s back.
“Don’t move around, okay?” Rio said, picking Latifa up in a princess carry.
“Yup!” Latifa nodded happily.
“...” Alma watched the scene with slight envy.
“You’ll have to put up with me, Alma.” Orphia giggled at Alma.
“There’s nothing to put up with. Thank you for this,” Alma said, climbing onto Orphia’s back.
“Yup,” Orphia replied cheerfully, while Latifa pointed at the sky energetically.
“Okay, let’s go! Full steam ahead!”
“We’ll be going now, everyone!” Rio chuckled, then turned to face everyone who had gathered to see them off. He gently floated into the air, with Orphia and Ariel following close behind.
“Take care!”
“Look after our daughters!”
“Teach me cooking again sometime, Miharu!”
“Let’s play again when you’re back! It’s a promise!”
“Get stronger, Masato!”
Many voices echoed around them.
“Everyone, thank you so much for everything! We’ll definitely come back again! We want to come back again!” Miharu looked down below her and yelled her farewells loudly, which was rare coming from her.
“Later!”
“I want to come back again too!”
Despite having exchanged so many farewells yesterday, Aki and Masato yelled their goodbyes as well.
Chapter 6: Chance Encounter
Fifteen days after Rio and the others departed from the spirit folk village...
The journey had progressed without any particular obstacles, allowing them to reach the Strahl region safely. It was thanks to Rio choosing a safer route, having traveled between the spirit folk village and the Strahl region numerous times now.
It was before noon; their current location was far above the easternmost area of the Galarc Kingdom, known as the Nephilim Mountains — the mountain range that separated the Strahl region from the Wilderness.
“The Strahl region is past here,” Rio informed the others.
“So this is...” There was still no sign of civilization, but Sara and the other spirit folk girls looked down at their first glance of the vast Strahl region in awe.
“...” Latifa also stared down at the view before them.
“Are you scared, Latifa?” Rio asked.
“Nope, because Onii-chan’s with me! I’m fine!” Latifa answered, tightly hugging Rio, who was still carrying her.
“I see. If you feel uneasy at all, you can rely on me and the people around you.”
“Yup!” Latifa replied obediently to Rio’s gentle words.
“We’ve come back again. To the Strahl region...” Aki must have been nervous, as she was looking downwards restlessly.
“I hope we can find Takahisa,” Miharu said, squeezing Aki’s hand.
“Yup. Please ask Satsuki everything on my behalf, Miharu,” Aki said with a nod, squeezing Miharu’s hand back.
“First, we have to head to Aishia. Now that we’ve come this far, we should arrive before sundown. I’ll continue leading the way like I have been, so follow me,” Rio called out to the group flying behind him.
“Okay!” Miharu and the others focused and nodded firmly.
◇ ◇ ◇
Several hours later, before sundown — exactly as planned...
Rio led the others to an area by the outskirts of the Galarc Kingdom’s capital.
“It should be near the rocks here...” Rio searched through his memory as he looked down at the rocky area down below.
Just like hiding a tree in a forest, he had placed the rock house by other rocks. He could already feel his connection to Aishia nearby, but all the boulders were making it hard to search. Welcome home, Haruto. The telepathic message suddenly echoed in Rio’s head.
Aishia, I’m home. Good timing — I was just having trouble locating the house. Can you lead me there? Rio smiled wryly. If they could communicate telepathically, Aishia must be very close by.
Yeah, I’m heading to you now.
Hm? ...Ah, there you are. Rio spotted the figured closing in on them from diagonally to the right and smiled. His eyes had been fixed downwards, so he was a little slow to notice.
“It’s Lady Aishia.” Sara and the others had also noticed her.
“Welcome back.” Aishia came to a stop before them in a flash, calling out to Rio and the group.
“Ai-chan... we’re back.” Seeing Aishia for the first time in a while had Miharu’s eyes tearing up.
“Welcome home, Miharu,” Aishia said.
“It’s been a long time, Lady Aishia,” Sara said respectfully.
“Long time no see, Aishia!” Latifa called out happily.
“Hello, everyone. Celia’s waiting, so let me lead you to the house first. This way,” Aishia said, turning to head back in the direction she came. The party followed behind her, soaring through the air. Less than a minute later —
“We’re here. Over there.” Aishia pointed below. There was the rock house, with Celia standing outside waving her arms.
“That woman must be Rio’s teacher,” Alma muttered quietly.
“I’m nervous, but I hope I can introduce myself properly and become friends!” Orphia said with enthusiasm.
“Agreed,” Alma nodded with a small smile. Before long, they were landing on the ground. As everyone set their feet down, Celia welcomed the party with a little bewilderment.
“T-That’s a lot of people...”
“I’m home, Professor.”
“Y-Yeah. Welcome home...” Celia replied fearfully. She first looked at Latifa being carried in a princess hold, then around at Miharu and Sara and the others.
There are so many cute girls... I wonder what their relationship is?! Celia was driven with the urge to ask Rio, but with so many fellow travelers present she couldn’t help but hesitate.
For the record, Sara and the others were currently using magic artifacts in the shape of necklaces to appear like humans, hiding their racial features like ears and tails so that Celia couldn’t see.
“...” Latifa and the others watched Celia in captivation.
“...She really is young.” Sara looked at the woman she had heard about in curious wonder.
“She’s about the same height as Aki and Latifa, or maybe a bit taller?” Orphia said, cocking her head.
“She’s a very beautiful person,” Alma murmured, staring fixedly at Celia.
“H-Hey, who are these people? The Miharu person is among them, right?” Celia asked hesitantly. She must have felt uncomfortable from all the attention.
“Yes. That’s correct, but I’m not sure where to begin explaining. Introductions are in order too, so how about we head inside first?” Rio suggested with a troubled look.
◇ ◇ ◇
The group then moved to the living room of the rock house.
“Shall we all have a seat? To make introductions easier, can you all sit in groups of where you came from? Professor, you can come sit next to me,” Rio said, then sat on the three-seater sofa with Celia.
“I’ll go pour the tea, then,” Aishia volunteered.
“Ah, I’ll help, Ai-chan,” Miharu immediately offered.
Orphia stepped up too. “I’ll help too...”
“It’s fine. I already know everyone here, so the two of you should stay.” Aishia shook her head before departing. At that, Miharu and Orphia quietly sat down.<
br />
“Let’s get straight to it with introductions and an explanation of what’s going on,” Rio began. He was the only one other than Aishia who knew everyone present, so he had to take the lead. “First of all, this is Professor Celia. She’s my former teacher.”
Celia bowed awkwardly. “Hello...” Having ran away from the Kingdom of Beltrum, she wasn’t sure where to start with her introduction.
“I’m sorry. I know this must be very sudden, but I’ve given them a simple explanation of your circumstances — but only as much as they need. They also have their own rather special circumstances and would never reveal your information to anyone else, which I can guarantee. They’ll explain their background after this, so could you introduce yourself first, Professor?” Rio said to Celia quietly, his tone apologetic. Meanwhile, Sara and the others watched him speak while feeling slightly nervous.
“...All right. It’s a promise, okay?” Celia looked over at the rather stiff-faced girls and agreed in exasperation.
“Umm, like Rio said, I’m his former teacher, Celia Claire,” she began courteously. “I’m actually a noble from the Kingdom of Beltrum, but certain circumstances placed me under the care of Rio right now. Have you heard about what happened already?” she asked Rio, wondering what they knew thus far.
“Yes, very briefly. I apologize,” Rio said awkwardly.
“There’s no need to apologize.” Celia shook her head with a strained smile. “I’ll show you what I really look like, then.” She untied her hair, then removed the necklace artifact that was changing the color of her hair, changing her hair from blonde to silver.
“Whoa...” Masato let slip a sound of awe, captivated by Celia.
“...” Miharu and the rest all looked at Celia’s change in wonderment.
“As you can see, I am disguised when in front of other people, but... It’s kind of embarrassing being stared at like that?” Celia said, shyly tilting her head and seeking Rio for help. However, Rio just chuckled and shrugged.
“Wait, huh? Don’t tell me... is there something weird about me?” Celia gasped, searching her hair and face in a panic; she was feeling to see if her appearance had fallen out of sorts in a flustered manner. However, when she couldn’t find any abnormality, she watched Rio’s expression beside her as she hesitantly lowered her hands.
Beyond Memories Page 11
