The Silver Bride

by Yuri Kitayama

  Syldora laughed heartily and nodded, looking over the room. “Hahaha, all right. Everyone: as you can see, our three new visitors are lovely people. Let us give them a warm welcome, so that they may adjust to life in our village as soon as possible. Please, raise your glasses.”

  The audience raised their glasses in turn, and a waiter came over to Rio and the others on the stage with a tray of cups. Then, once everyone had a drink in their hand, Syldora raised his cup into the air and led the toast.

  “It looks like the cups have gone around. Now, to celebrate this wonderful meeting of fate. Cheers!”

  The attendees also raised their glasses in an uplifted manner. “Cheers!”

  “Alright — it’s time to talk, drink, and make merry! The young ones should make sure to use this chance to humbly greet Lady Aishia and the other visitors. Go on.”

  In order to enliven the banquet, the alcohol-loving Dominic took the initiative; he walked around briskly and relentlessly addressed the younger villagers, urging them toward the stage. Then, young boys and girls of the village — those acquainted like Sara’s group and those unacquainted — all started to move toward Aishia, Miharu, and the other visitors.

  Sara and the other girls approached Rio first, offering to take on an assistant role for Miharu’s sake. “Leave Miharu’s support role to me. Rio, you support Lady Aishia.”

  “That’d be a great help. Thank you.”

  “Yup. All right, Miharu. Come this way.”

  Sara and the others quickly took charge and led Miharu’s group a short distance away from the stage. Having everyone gathered in one place made it hard to manage; Sara probably intended on splitting up the crowd a little this way. Her idea seemed to work, as a decent number of people gathered toward Miharu, Aki, and Masato.

  The young children of the village actively started to talk to them, immediately starting a kind of cultural exchange. Thanks to Sara and the spirit folk girls acting as an icebreaker, Miharu and her group weren’t as nervous as they could have been. It was a good atmosphere.

  Looks like that side will be fine. I’ll have to do my best, too, Rio thought in relief, then braced himself.

  “Everyone, feel free to come this way. I will introduce Aishia to you.” He invited those who looked eager to talk to Aishia to come closer. While they had set ranks outside of this event, they were still feeling inferior in front of their deity of worship. Then, the youngsters of the village gathered around Aishia, greeting her in awe. Aishia didn’t respond with many words, but Rio kept the conversations going well in her stead.

  Furthermore, the adults of the village kept the banquet lively during that time, turning the hall into quite the busy place. There were many laughs to be had as time passed.

  Just like that, nearly an hour went by in the blink of an eye.

  “Fufu, it’s turned into a good welcome party. I’m having a lot of fun, too,” Dryas said to Syldora and Ursula, who were watching over the banquet in a corner of the hall. For the record, Dominic was still actively heating up the banquet from where he was.

  Syldora noticed Dryas’ presence and happily addressed her. “It is a great honor to hear that you are pleased, Great Dryas.”

  Ursula nodded along happily, slowly turning her gaze toward where Rio and Aishia were on the stage. “However, Aishia’s identity still remains a mystery... possibly even more so now than before. I thought she may have possibly been one of the upper high class spirits that disappeared in the Divine War, but...” she said a little uneasily.

  “Hmm, good point. She does have a lot of latent power within her, I believe. I don’t know if it’s a side effect of her amnesia, but she doesn’t seem to understand how to use her powers properly as a spirit, and I’ve never heard of a humanoid spirit having aptitude for every element before. If we fought seriously, I wouldn’t be able to win.” Dryas had a rarely seen expression of contemplation on her face as she nodded.

  Similar to how people had their own strengths and weaknesses in spirit arts elements, spirits also had elements that they had a higher aptitude for than others. This rule was more prominent in spirits ranked middle class and higher — that was common knowledge among the spirit folk, until now.

  This was because a low class spirit — even if it didn’t have any strong or weak elements — could bloom in a particular element upon ranking up in class. From there, it would become a spirit that specialized in that element. It wasn’t as though middle class spirits and higher couldn’t use spirit arts of other elements, it was simply that their efficiency in those other elements was far worse compared to their specialty.

  While humans who could use a number of different spirit art elements and people who could use all kinds of spirit art elements were a rare phenomenon, there had never been a confirmed case of a middle class spirit or higher. At most, there would appear the rare spirit with multiple elements that they had enough aptitude to specialize in at once. Presently, Dryas herself was a high rank spirit that mastered the element of earth, and even the six former upper high class spirits were said to each have their own specialty element.

  And so, neither Dryas nor the village elders had expected the response from Aishia claiming to specialize in every element, so their earlier conversation had truly been shocking to them.

  “For the Great Dryas to give this much praise, both Lady Aishia and Rio must be tremendously exceptional... Perhaps even more than the former upper high class spirits that vanished...” Syldora said with great awe for Aishia.

  “The six upper high class spirits that formerly stood at the top of their element ability, and the single spirit that is at least high class who has the aptitude for every element... I wonder which is the more peculiar existence.” Dryas smiled, showing a glimpse of her great curiosity.

  “Well, it seems neither Lord Rio nor Lady Aishia recognize their own peculiarity yet,” Ursula said, laughing heartily.

  People and spirits had elements they were strong and weak in. It was extremely rare for anyone to be proficient in every element — it seemed that Rio had a slightly warped understanding with regard to the history of spirit arts, as he wasn’t quite aware of how rare that occurrence was amongst humans and spirits.

  In reality, low class spirits aside, any spirit middle class or higher would — without exception — form a specialty in a particular element, making it impossible to have aptitude for every single element. But knowledge of spirit ecology like this was a rather specialized field, which was why it was understandable that Rio had misunderstood until now.

  “I’ll teach him all the knowledge he needs to know about spirits during his stay in the village this time. It’s been a long time since my curiosity has been piqued like this, after all,” Dryas said, watching Rio and Aishia as they continued to chat with the villagers.

  ◇　◇　◇

  The welcoming party for Aishia and Miharu’s group continued late into the night, but their lively time together was over in a flash.

  “Now, let’s go home!” A slightly drunk Sara led the way happily, leading Rio and the others to the house they were moving into. They stepped out of the town hall and the cool spring night breeze wrapped around their bodies.

  “Phew, I ate and drank to my heart’s content!” Masato said with a small burp as he patted his stomach.

  “Geez, you’re like an old man, Masato,” Aki sighed. Miharu and Latifa laughed in amusement at the siblings’ exchange.

  “By the way, I heard that you guys would be staying together during our time in the village...” Rio said to Sara and the others.

  “Yes. The head elders have ordered us to stay together, saying it’d be the fastest way to get them used to life in the village. Ah, we’ve already checked for Miharu’s approval on this.”

  “Of course, I’ll be staying with them, too!” Latifa said, clinging to Rio’s arm tightly.

  “I know.” A soft smile pulled at Rio’s lips as he gently petted Latifa’s head.

  “Fufu, it reminds me of th
ose days we lived together. I’m looking forward to it... I’m sure it’ll be so much fun,” Orphia said, smiling pleasantly.

  “It might get much noisier this time around,” Sara said with a sigh, making Alma laugh teasingly.

  “Sara’s been looking forward to it for a while, now.”

  “A-Alma, too. Anyway... All the rooms have been prepared already, so once we get to the house, we’ll decide who sleeps where.” Sara turned away with embarrassment, then increased her walking speed; her faintly blushing cheeks were probably because of the alcohol.

  “Ehehe, I want to try sleeping in the same room as everyone so we can all talk together,” Latifa said with a cheerful smile.

  “Huh? E-Everyone?” Masato replied in a fluster, but Aki shot him down.

  “Everyone other than you, of course.”

  “D-Don’t say that! Why is it okay for Haruto to do that, then?!” Masato whined in a pathetic voice, making all the girls laugh in good humor. They continued to chat noisily together and arrived at the house within a few minutes.

  Interlude: Talented Woman, Liselotte Cretia

  Fast-forwarding a little bit in time, in the Strahl region...

  The blue-haired noblewoman, Liselotte Cretia, was hosting four important visitors to her estate in the trading city of Amande — the city she governed — located in the southwest region of the Galarc Kingdom.

  The important visitors were Sakata Hiroaki, the hero summoned into the world three months ago, and three members of Beltrum Kingdom royalty and nobility: Second Princess Flora, Duke Gustav Huguenot, and the noblewoman Roanna Fontaine. Not even Liselotte, daughter to the most prominent lord of the Galarc Kingdom and head of the Ricca Guild — which was renowned even in neighboring kingdoms — could afford to speak out of line in the presence of these guests.

  Once Hiroaki and the others arrived in the afternoon, they were first led to the dining room for a meal and introductions. Numerous courses of gourmet foods were served to the delight of not only Hiroaki, but Flora and the others as well. Liselotte acted as the hostess during the meal, keeping the conversation going so that the group had a pleasant time.

  Once everyone finished dessert, Flora spoke up. “That was a wonderful selection of dishes. The authentic pasta here is different compared to anywhere else, and that cake for dessert was very delicious, too.”

  “Yeah... You must have a really skilled chef here. I never expected to eat pasta in another world, but... this I can say for certain: that was the best meal I’ve had since coming to this place,” Hiroaki, who sat next to Flora, said in satisfaction. In all honesty, Hiroaki hadn’t expected much from the food in this world, but he was now reconsidering that perception.

  “Hero, Princess Flora — I am most honored to receive your compliments. Allow me to graciously thank you on behalf of our head chef.” Liselotte bowed her head humbly, showing gratitude with great respect.

  “Yeah, you can tell him he’s so good that I’d love to scout him as my personal chef.”

  “I’m afraid that would be a problem for me, but the thought is much appreciated.”

  “Ah, well, it was good enough to make me consider that,” Hiroaki said with a huff of laughter. He had actually eaten two extra servings of pasta, so even if he had said it was bad, it wouldn’t have been very convincing.

  “Fufu, thank you very much. I had heard that the hero hailed from another world, so I was worried that the meal wouldn’t be to your tastes. Your words just now have reassured me,” Liselotte said, smiling brightly with relief.

  For a moment, Hiroaki lost himself in Liselotte’s smile. To hide his embarrassment, he brought up another topic. “Ah, I see. That’s good, then. Pasta is the local specialty of this city, right? There’s actually a similar food in the world I’m from.”

  Flora widened her eyes. “Oh my, is that true?” she asked.

  “Yeah. We also have lots of other similar plants and animals. Recipes and cooking skills aside, I’m honestly glad to see there isn’t that much difference in the food here,” Hiroaki replied, remembering all the foods he’d eaten since coming to this world.

  “...You seem to be the same species as us humans, so perhaps there isn’t that much difference in our ecosystems?” Liselotte asked, watching Hiroaki’s expression carefully.

  “So it seems. That being said, there are plants and animals I don’t know.”

  “How fascinating. What kind of place was the world you lived in, hero?” Liselotte asked.

  “Well, civilization was a lot more advanced than this world, that’s for sure. The country I’m from is called ‘Japan,’ a relatively advanced country even for my world.”

  Liselotte’s eyes narrowed in the faintest at the mention of that name. “Japan, you say? I have one question about that...”

  “Hm? What?”

  “Why can you understand our language, hero?”

  “...Hm? What do you mean?” Hiroaki tilted his head at Liselotte’s question.

  “Well, it’s just that I find it strange how the language of another world can be used in this world without any alterations,” Liselotte said, supplementing her question.

  “Oh, I see. That’s true...”

  This time, Flora was the one to incline her head in confusion. “Umm, what do you mean? Is he not actually communicating in our language?”

  “There are a number of theories about the origin of our language, but it is practically impossible for the same language to develop in completely different places. While the common tongue is used widely in the Strahl region nowadays, each area still has its own unique language, not to mention that the hero came from an entirely different world...” Liselotte explained.

  Perhaps translation sorcery was cast on him when he was summoned into this world as a hero. I’ve never heard of sorcery like that before, but that’s the only explanation... I’ll have to look into it more when I have a chance. For now, he doesn’t seem to find it strange that several of the Ricca Guild products have Earth names...

  “I see... So that’s how it is,” Flora said, understanding in awe.

  “Well, it’s not a problem that can be solved simply by dwelling over it. I just found it a little strange, is all. Forgive me for asking such an odd question.” Pressing the issue any further would have been rude and held the possibility of arousing suspicions, so Liselotte chose to back down easily without further pursuing the answer.

  “No, I found it strange, too. Though I assumed it was a part of the whole other-world summoning cliché, so I didn’t worry about it at first.” Hiroaki shook his head, unbothered.

  “A ‘cliché’...?”

  “Ah... Other world journeys are really common in the popular novels I often read. When certain parts of those stories get overused, they’re called ‘tropes’ or ‘clichés.’”

  “Is that right? So the hero is educated in both literature and cuisine.” Liselotte placed a hand over her mouth as she smiled elegantly. The gesture would have seemed forced on some people, but it looked more than appropriate for a well-bred girl like her, making her seem very cute.

  “Ah, no, not really. But I do believe I’ve read enough of everything to develop an eye for fine quality. I also have a view on all works of art, not only novels.” Hiroaki said in a not at all displeased manner, gloating rather bashfully.

  After that, Liselotte continued to cleverly flatter Hiroaki, sometimes directing the conversation to Flora and the others, making the after-meal discussions pleasant. Liselotte was a skilled conversationalist, drawing topic after topic from Hiroaki. They spent nearly an hour like that, until the lone female attendant in the room filled their cups of tea for a third time.

  “Oh my, would you look at the time. Talking to the hero was so fun, I was lost in our conversation together,” Liselotte said regretfully, looking at the clock in the room.

  Still wanting to talk more, Hiroaki’s face fell. “Ah, is that so? I wanted to talk with Liselotte for a little longer, though...”

  “Fufu, th
ank you very much. However, I heard from Duke Huguenot that there was a matter to be discussed, so we must address that as well.” Liselotte bowed her head apologetically to Hiroaki, before turning to bow to Duke Huguenot too. “Please accept my apologies, Duke Huguenot. I was too immersed in the conversation.”

  “No, no, you were merely fulfilling your duty as a hostess and enlivening the atmosphere. Lord Hiroaki and Princess Flora seem to be satisfied, and I was able to hear many interesting stories as well. There is nothing for you to apologize for.” Duke Huguenot smiled brightly and shook his head.

  His words were not just flattery; no matter how much of a noble education and upbringing one received, entertaining heroes and foreign royalty would normally be too great a burden for a young noble. However, Liselotte played the role of an entertainer perfectly.

  “I am delighted to hear you think so. Thank you very much,” Liselotte said with respectful gratitude. Duke Huguenot was astonished by her masterful conduct.

  It is amazing that she’s the same age as Princess Flora. She’s as talented as the rumors say... no, she’s even more talented than the rumors. Roanna — who is a year older — is also quite talented, but she would be at a disadvantage when compared to Liselotte, Huguenot thought to himself, glancing at Roanna, who sat with them as Hiroaki’s assistant.

  “Regarding the matter to be discussed... Shameless as it may be, we have a request to make of you.”

  Liselotte’s eyes widened in a great deal of surprise. “Oh, is that so? What kind of request might that be?”

  Duke Huguenot cut to the chase. “We would like to make a request for your support,” he requested brazenly.

  The ability to offer opinions and make requests without cowardice during negotiations was an essential skill for a noble. Being quick to back down because of the mood didn’t always lead to the desired results, and lowering one’s guard carelessly risked being dragged into the opponent’s pace. In a nutshell: being brazen was a noble’s forte.