Blessing of the Spirits

by Yuri Kitayama

  “Graaaah!” the Black Wyvern raged, aiming a breath of fire at its opponent.

  However, Rio stuck his left hand out and fired a blast of wind, deflecting the incoming fire breath. The flames that just left the Black Wyvern’s mouth went rushing back in.

  “Gyreeh?!” The jet black demi-dragon screeched in pain — it seemed as though fire directed inside its mouth was its weakness.

  Rio smirked and launched an enormous ball of fire into the Black Wyvern’s mouth. At the same time, he used wind spirit arts to float smoothly in the air and move above the opponent’s head. He put both hands together, and swung them down with all his might. With a loud thunk, the Black Wyvern’s mouth was slammed shut, and a large explosion took place inside immediately after.

  An incredible amount of heat and shockwave energy was produced inside its mouth, and the Black Wyvern shook its head furiously as it bent backwards.

  A dark blood was beginning to brim in its enraged eyes; it staggered for a while, before collapsing heavily to the ground.

  “A-Amazing. You defeated it so easily...” Alma muttered in amazement, having watched Rio easily take care of the beast all by himself, without any need for assistance.

  “It seemed like the inside of its mouth was its weakness. Thank goodness that was easy to figure out,” Rio said with a bitter smile, and landed softly on the ground beside her.

  “No, even if that were the case...” Alma replied in astonishment.

  The opponent was over 20 meters in size; it was no small feat to get close enough to the face to fire inside it. One could have easily been crushed by its jaws and eaten.

  “Onii-chan!” With a sidelong glance at Alma’s dumbfounded state, Latifa jumped at Rio.

  “Oh, it looks like they’re done up there too.” Receiving the force of Latifa’s embrace with his whole body, Rio looked up at the sky with a faint smile tugging at his lips.

  Alma looked up too. There, the warriors were yelling triumphantly at the scattered flight of wyvern subspecies that were trying to flee. The other Black Wyvern was still alive, but it was running away, along with a significantly lower number of its kin than when it first attacked.

  Then, Orphia and Sara (the latter still on Ariel’s back), came down from above.

  “Alma, you’re amazing! How did you defeat it? ...Oh? Rio and Latifa are here too?” Orphia started speaking in excitement as she looked at the Black Wyvern on the ground, before she noticed Rio and Latifa with widened eyes.

  “Rio defeated that Black Wyvern all by himself,” Alma confessed with a forced smile.

  “Eh, by himself?! That’s amazing! I’m not surprised — it’s Rio, after all!” Orphia praised with a radiant smile.

  “No, it was nothing. Hey, was anyone injured on your side?” Rio diverted the topic with a shy smile.

  “We’re all fine. It may have been more dangerous if the battle had dragged out, but thankfully, the others all ran away,” Sara explained after landing.

  “Sara, why do you think the wyverns in the air ran away?” Alma asked.

  “Probably because that Black Wyvern there was defeated. While we couldn’t defeat the remaining one, this was all thanks to Rio. Thank you very much.” Sara answered, bowing her head at Rio.

  “It was nothing... I am Latifa’s brother, and everyone’s sworn friend, after all.”

  Shaking his head bashfully, Rio gave a small shrug of his shoulders.

  ◇◇◇

  “Hah... Hah... Hah...”

  The boy was running through the forest, panting for breath. Both the griffin and his travel supplies were gone, and all he had left were the clothes on his back and the weapon in his hand.

  He was all alone in this great forest, with no idea of where to go or what to do.

  “Why the rush?”

  A person appeared out of view and asked the boy in a calm voice. The boy looked around his surroundings in a panic, but couldn’t find the owner of the voice.

  “I’m over here,” The voice said from above. The boy whipped his head up and saw Reiss floating in midair.

  “A-Aaah... M-Mr. Reiss?!”

  “So you actually managed to survive that situation... To be honest, I’m surprised,” Reiss said, sounding impressed as he landed on the ground.

  “W-What do you mean ‘actually’?! Were you watching the whole time?!” the boy yelled in anger, not caring about how Reiss was flying in the air, nor the politeness of his own words.

  “Heh heh. Contrary to expectations, your true personality was so repulsive, I was inadvertently captivated. They say a person’s true colors are revealed when their life is in danger... and it seems they were right.”

  At those words, the boy’s self control snapped completely.

  “E-Enough of your bullshit! I nearly died! You’re the one who brought me to this shitty place... So, apologize! How will you compensate for this?! I won’t forgive you!”

  “Heh. Heheheh. You’re an interesting person, so this is a shame. Are you sure you want those to be your final words?” Reiss asked with an arrogant smile. He held a small, clear, jewel-like stone between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand.

  “H-Hah? Is there something wrong with your head? Give me that jewe-” the boy ranted, and Reiss crushed the jewel between his fingers. An expression of agony suddenly came across the boy’s face, and he fell to his knees.

  “Goodbye.”

  With those words, Reiss took to the skies once more.

  Chapter 8: Bonds

  The next day, Latifa led Rio to the square where they had parted ways the day before.

  “U-Umm... I’m sorry for running away yesterday!” The first thing out of Latifa’s mouth after they turned to each other was an apology.

  “...I should be the one apologizing, Latifa. I was the one at fault. I should have told you in a better way... I was too clumsy about it. I’m sorry.” Rio was slightly taken aback, but after a beat, he awkwardly apologized.

  “T-That’s not right! It was just me being spoiled! I-I actually knew all along, kind of... I knew Onii-chan would leave the village some day... That’s why I was scared. Not having Onii-chan there for even a moment makes me so worried.” Latifa rejected Rio’s words and revealed her own thoughts, as if to appeal to him.

  “B... But you know, yesterday, when I heard you say you were leaving, I went a little crazy. I made Onii-chan worry, and caused trouble for the other girls... So I thought about it. I thought about it all night. I wanted to talk to Onii-chan once I gathered my thoughts...”

  Watching Latifa get more and more anxious as she spoke made Rio’s expression darken slightly.

  “Yeah, I wanted to talk to you, too,” Rio nodded, making Latifa sigh in relief.

  “Thank goodness...” she said as the strength drained from Latifa’s body.

  “I should be saying that. I was worried you hated me now.” Rio shook his head with a tense smile.

  “N-Never! I love Onii-chan! I was worried you’d hate me after everything. Worried that you’d leave the village because I’m always causing trouble. I knew that wasn’t the case, but... The thought of being a bother to Onii-chan made me so scared,” Latifa said, tears flowing in large drops.

  “You’re not a bother,” Rio informed her.

  “Huh?” Latifa looked up at him blankly.

  “You don’t cause trouble, and you’re not a bother. I’m not sure whether its okay or not for such a selfish person like me to be your brother, but you’re my sister. No... I’d be honored if you would accept me as your brother. Truly,” Rio said falteringly, looking somewhat guilty.

  “...I’m your little sister though, Onii-chan. I want to be your little sister! Onii-chan isn’t selfish at all! Is it okay? Is it really okay for me to be your sister?!” Latifa’s body shook, tears falling as she spoke.

  “You’re okay with me as your brother?” Rio asked somewhat hesitatingly, but Latifa nodded emphatically and hugged him.

  “Yup! Onii-chan is my brother! The one who sav
ed me. The one who’s kind to me! The one who saved me, even when Onii-chan could have just killed me!”

  “No, I... I told you, right? That I simply didn’t want to kill anyone. In order to avoid getting my hands dirty, I showed you false kindness. I’m not kind at all, really. I’m just selfish,” Rio said regretfully, furrowing his brow. His hands did not move to wrap around Latifa, and fidgeted aimlessly instead.

  “It’s real! It’s real kindness. I was a slave before, so I’m really sensitive to people’s malicious intentions. I’ve lived my life grovelling at the feet of others, observing their moods and always apologizing, so that horrible things wouldn’t be done to me... But I couldn’t feel any malice in Onii-chan at all. That’s why Onii-chan’s kindness is real!” Latifa tried to desperately appeal to him as she clung to him.

  “Latifa...”

  “Anyway, I’m selfish too! You know... Even when I didn’t have a reason to live, I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to be in pain, so I did everything they told me to. With this very mouth, I said my master was the best. I was the most precious thing to myself. No... That’s still true now. Even though Onii-chan’s so important to me, I keep making demands and causing trouble!”

  “No, I wasn’t inconvenienced at all. You’re not selfish — it makes me really happy to hear you ask for things,” Rio said bluntly, shaking his head at her self-deprecation.

  “...E-Ehe. Ehehe. Thank you... I’m happy, too.” Latifa looked taken aback for a second, before smiling shyly from the depths of her heart. That made Rio finally smile, too, and he awkwardly stroked Latifa’s back.

  “...Hey, Onii-chan. Will you really... be my brother?” Latifa asked once more, timidly, as she peered up at Rio’s face.

  “Yeah. If you’re OK with that.”

  “Yup, I’m fine! I want Onii-chan!”

  “Really? Thank you,” Rio said with a conflicted expression that was partway between happy and worried.

  “Yup. Ehehe.” Latifa nodded with a grin. She continued to cling to Rio for a while; he was simply letting her do as she wished. Then, after some time — “Hey, Latifa. Do you want me to stay in the village?” Rio asked, grabbing Latifa by the shoulders and gazing into her eyes.

  “U-Umm... if-if Onii-chan wants to leave the village, I... I can handle it. Because I know we’ll meet again. That’s why... I won’t even be spoiled and ask to go, too. I’ll do my best,” She replied, giving a more mature smile than usual.

  “...The reason I’m heading to Yagumo... I don’t think I’ve told you yet, Latifa. It’s the hometown of my dead parents. That’s why I want to go to the Yagumo region. It’s like visiting a grave... sort of.”

  Before he knew it, Rio was laying himself bare so easily that it surprised even him. This was a part of himself that he had never considered confiding to anyone, at least of his own free will —

  “So that... was why... I... I guess I didn’t know anything about Onii-chan. Yet, I still...” Latifa muttered in embarrassment, seemingly shocked.

  “The same goes for me, too. There’s so much I don’t know about you, either.”

  “...I guess... that’s true. I haven’t told Onii-chan lots of things. Things I need to say properly... Things I want the Onii-chan I love to know about me. Is that all right?” Latifa’s face took on a serious expression, and Rio gently nodded his head.

  “...Yeah. Will you tell me your story, Latifa?”

  Rio knew he had to hear it, because right now, Latifa was trying to take a big step forward. If he rejected her here, her progress would come to a halt.

  “Then, I’m going to tell Onii-chan my secret. It might be hard to believe, though...” Latifa emphasized as a preface. “The truth is, I actually died once. I used to be a human. Then, I was reborn into who I currently am. Erm... I don’t know how to say it so Onii-chan will believe me, but it wasn’t in this world. I lived in a country called Japan. But before I knew it, I was in this world...” She explained earnestly, albeit in a disorderly fashion.

  “I see. I believe you,” Rio easily accepted. Latifa turned a searching gaze toward him.

  “...Really? Onii-chan believes me?”

  “...Sorry. Rather than saying I believe you... it’s more like I already knew. Because... I’m the same as you.” Rio corrected, regretfully shaking his head.

  “Huh? ...Huh? What does that mean?”

  “You were a Japanese person. I was one too.”

  “...Y-You, too?” Latifa was so shaken, she barely managed to put her question into words.

  “I was Japanese, too,” Rio answered seriously, using clumsily-spoken Japanese.

  He had maintained his use of the language until now by thinking in Japanese whenever he was alone, leaving him still somewhat fluent despite being without a conversation partner for all these years.

  “Japanese... Ja... pan... Onii-chan was Japanese, too?” Latifa asked unsteadily in Japanese as well.

  “That’s right,” Rio nodded strongly.

  “So, Onii-chan... knew about me... and didn’t say anything...?” Latifa asked blankly. She had reached a point beyond being surprised, and the emotion had completely fallen off of her face. She had gone back to using the language that was familiar to this world.

  “Yeah,” Rio replied honestly, hanging his head a little as he looked straight into Latifa’s eyes.

  By giving an affirmation with his words, the memories he had sealed deep within his heart of when he was a Japanese person vividly came to life. He clenched his hand into a fist, those memories making him feel ashamed.

  “Onii-chan...” Latifa seemed to sense something within Rio’s gesture, and meekly fell silent.

  “Sorry. I should have opened up to you sooner.”

  “...No, that’s okay. But when... did you notice?” Latifa asked timidly.

  “When I first made pasta for you. You called it spaghetti,” Rio replied with a strained smile.

  “That was so long ago... But... I see... that makes sense.”

  “Back then, you were still a bit... mentally unstable. So I didn’t think it was something I needed to tell you. But, really, I just didn’t want to tell you, because I didn’t want to develop any weird regrets for my life in Japan...” Rio said with a self-deprecating smile.

  “...I see. I was being protected by Onii-chan this whole time.”

  “No, I was only prioritizing myself,” Rio said through gritted teeth, but Latifa shook her head.

  “Nope. Does Onii-chan still have regrets from when you were in Japan?”

  “If I said I had none... that would be a lie. I definitely had regrets when I died. Do you have any, Latifa?”

  “I did, but... I’m fine, now. Because I have Onii-chan.” Latifa answered, beaming with everything she had. Rio’s eyes widened.

  “You sure are strong...”

  “That’s because I have you. Because Onii-chan is here, I can be strong. That’s why... umm. I know its demanding of me to ask, but I want to know more about Onii-chan. That way I won’t be as lonely in this village while you’re gone. So... if it’s possible, I’d like to hear stories about your life before you were reborn. Is that... okay?”

  “...Yeah, okay. If it’s to you, I can say it. You’re my little sister, after all, and I’d like to hear more about you, too. Let’s talk things out, slowly. We still have plenty of time.” Rio hesitated for a bit, but eventually agreed with a soft smile.

  “Okay! Wait, you’re not leaving right away? There’s still time?” Latifa said, nodding with a smile at first, before being taken aback.

  “Yeah. There’s still a lot I want to learn from the village, and I still want to stay with you for a while... So it’ll be another year, at least.”

  “E-Eeeeh? I... thought you’d be leaving right away...” Knowing that their farewell was still far in the future, all the strength drained from her.

  And then, on that day, the two exchanged stories of before they were reborn. Although Rio held back from elaborating upon his experience, they still
talked about many things.

  The biggest shock was the fact they were distantly acquainted with each other, and rode the same bus just before they died. When she discovered that truth, Latifa began to blush a little. And before they even realized it, they had been talking to each other until evening.

  From that day onward, the two of them became siblings in the true sense of the word.

  Then, once they got home —

  “Oh, my. You two are looking even closer than before... I take it went well?” Ursula asked. She had been waiting in front of the house.

  “Yes, thank you for the concern. We’ve become closer,” Rio reported a bit shyly.

  “Even if Onii-chan decides to leave, I’ve decided to wait for him in the village!” Latifa said with a carefree smile, as a teardrop suddenly rolled down Ursula’s cheek.

  “Oho... I see I have become more susceptible to tears in my old age... Lord Rio, thank you for saving this child.” Ursula grasped his hand, as though in prayer.

  ◇◇◇

  One year went by in a flash. On one particular day, when Rio’s departure from the village for the Yagumo region was growing imminent, he was summoned by the village elders, and went to the council room of the town hall.

  “Hm. Good of you to come.” Syldora, Dominic, and Ursula stood at the front, welcoming Rio with a smile.

  “Erm... Did you need something from me today?” Rio asked with faint wariness at the rather exaggerated welcome. Syldora was the one that broached the subject.

  “Well, there is something we wished to give to Lord Rio, being that you are our village’s benefactor and sworn friend. First, please accept this as a gift from the village.”

  With that said, Syldora presented Rio with a bracelet. It was made from a mythril metal called magic silver and had a complex formula carved into it, along with a huge spirit stone that was embedded within.

  “Is... this a Time-Space Cache? I cannot accept something so valuable.” Rio’s eyes widened, refusing the gift almost reflexively.

  Rio was quite familiar with the Time-Space Cache. Loaded with time-space magic that humans couldn’t reproduce through sorcery, it was a magic artifact that held a rather extraordinary effect. It created a semi-perpetual isolated dimension in proportion to the registered owner’s essence, from which items could be freely stored and retrieved at will.