Daybreak Rondo

by Yuri Kitayama

  “Really? It’s a promise?”

  Rio’s smile was too innocent to turn down. “Yup, it’s a promise.” The woman gave a motherly smile and nodded with a voice filled with affection. It was a warm, beautiful day in the life of a parent and child.

  However, Miharu’s vision changed once again. There, the mother who had been holding Rio’s hand and walking mere moments ago, was being pinned down face-up by a well-built man.

  “Hey Rio, are you frustrated?” The man sneered with a chilling grin, his weapon pierced through the mother’s body. Young Rio cowered and cried as he reached for his mother in a daze.

  Uh... Miharu couldn’t help but avert her gaze from the scene.

  Suddenly, a grown-up Rio stood right beside her. His hair was grey and he was wearing the outfit Miharu was used to seeing him in. Rio had his sword grasped tightly in his hand as he stared fixedly at the gruesome scene.

  Ah, H-Haruto... He shouldn’t look, Miharu thought, but her mouth wouldn’t open.

  Rio paid no attention to Miharu’s presence, merely watching the tragedy with a terribly cold gaze. After a moment, Rio started walking towards the man.

  Miharu couldn’t tear her eyes away. She knew immediately what Rio was trying to do. In the next moment, Rio cut the man’s head off without a moment of hesitation.

  Ah! That was where Miharu’s mind went drowsy again. Her consciousness was rapidly fading. When she opened her eyes in the morning, she might lose her memories of the dream.

  N-No, I can’t. Don’t wake up... Miharu didn’t want to know such a sad story, but she didn’t want to forget, either. Her memory of this dream was something she thought shouldn’t be forgotten. She thought it was something she should look at straight-on, no matter how painful it was. Scared, sad, frustrated, and helpless, Miharu couldn’t do anything but embrace the Rio in her dreams.

  Her heart hurt... But that was when the door to her memories slammed shut heavily. Miharu’s mind finally faded away...

  And dawn broke.

  Afterword

  Everyone, I am most grateful to you all. This is Yuri Kitayama. Thank you for picking up Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles, Vol. 7 — Daybreak Rondo.

  Now, for some unfortunate news that I have already reported on the web novel. The manga version of Seirei Gensouki that began serialization in September last year has ended at chapter 3 due to the illustrator tenkla falling ill. I pray for tenkla’s recovery as soon as possible. Thank you very much for the wonderful manga adaptation.

  Note that the manga version of Seirei Gensouki is not ending forever, but will be resuming at some point in time. Please wait for updates regarding this.

  Finally, running alongside the release of this volume is the Twitter character popularity poll and campaign to read a limited novel of Seirei Gensouki. I hope you will all participate.

  That will be all for now.

  Until next time.

  End of February 2017, Yuri Kitayama

  Bonus Short Stories

  Because I’m Drowsy

  One sunny morning, before Rio had taken Celia to deliver the letter to Count Claire’s residence...

  Rio, Aishia, and Celia were sleeping side by side in the giant bed of the stone house as per usual. However —

  “Mm. Mrgh...”

  Celia suddenly woke up. Her former dedication to her research meant that her sleep pattern was disrupted often, which made her a light sleeper that was used to waking up after a short amount of sleep. Celia sat up slowly, looking around the room with a drowsy look. Rio was sleeping beside her, and Aishia was sleeping beside him. Aishia was clinging to Rio’s arm, breathing peacefully in her deep sleep.

  “Mmm...”

  Aishia suddenly stirred. Then, something squished against Rio’s arm.

  “...”

  Celia watched the scene while still half asleep. After a moment, she slowly looked down at her own chest. Another moment later, she looked back at Aishia’s chest.

  Squeeze, squeeze. Squish, squish.

  It wasn’t enough. It was admittedly soft to touch, but there was still something squishy missing.

  “Hmph...”

  Celia was still half asleep, but she pouted in frustration. She was used to being sleep deprived, but both her mind and body weren’t rested enough, so she snuggled into the blankets once more. Spurred on by Aishia, she boldly pressed herself close to Rio... As a result, Rio was sandwiched between Aishia and Celia.

  “...”

  When something soft from Celia’s side squished against his arm, Rio faintly stiffened. But the drowsy Celia paid no attention to that and continued to cling to Rio innocently. It was something she would never do on a regular day.

  “...”

  Aishia clung closer to Rio, as though competing with Celia.

  “......”

  Rio was completely frozen with his eyes closed. With Celia in a sleepy daze and Aishia unconsciously clinging to him, he had nowhere to go. He was perfectly restrained. In the end, Rio remained frozen between the two clinging girls for nearly an hour.

  D-Did you see?

  While Rio was interfering with Celia’s wedding ceremony in Strahl, shortly after Miharu and the others were taken to the spirit village...

  Is it morning? Miharu suddenly woke up. She had stayed up late studying, so she was rather tired. However, she suppressed her sleepiness and rose from bed to fulfill her breakfast duties.

  What should I make today? Miharu pondered drowsily as she took off her sleeping gown. Once she was down to her underwear, she picked out a change of clothes from the drawer and placed it on her bed. After taking off the bra she wore while sleeping to change into her everyday bra, she put on her clothes with familiar movements.

  Okay, I’m ready! ...Huh? What’s that nice smell?

  Miharu sniffed, nose twitching at the faint scent of cooking.

  Is that Haruto or Orphia? I should help too.

  Miharu hurried to leave the room, but someone knocked on the door first. Caught off guard, Miharu responded reflexively. “Ah, yes?”

  “Miharu, I came to call you for breakfast.” Rio was on the other side.

  “...Huh? Ah, did I sleep in? I’m sorry!” Miharu opened the door in a panic, bowing her head at Rio.

  “It’s fine. I sleep in sometimes too. Don’t worry about it...” Rio replied with a faint smile. When he spotted the bra left on the bed behind Miharu, he averted his eyes awkwardly.

  “Haruto?” Miharu tilted her head curiously.

  “Nothing, don’t worry about it. I’ll be waiting, then.” With that, Rio departed with haste.

  “Yes? I’ll be right there too.” Miharu was curious as to why Rio averted his gaze and turned back. Then —

  “?!”

  She spotted her own discarded bra. It was in full view from the door, folded neatly on top of her nightgown. She was the one who had put it there, after all.

  D-Did he see it? Miharu’s face reddened by the minute. Afterward, while they were eating breakfast, Rio and Miharu averted their eyes from each other in embarrassment the entire time.

  Elemental☆Element, Teacher?

  In the middle of spring in Japan, Amakawa Haruto and Ayase Miharu were childhood friends that just started their second year of high school this spring.

  It was morning, just before homeroom. Today was the day of the opening ceremony, and everyone was excited about the class shuffle, leaving the classrooms bustling with lively conversation. Among them were Haruto and Miharu.

  “Looks like we’re in the same class this year, Haru-kun,” Miharu said happily as she took the seat next to Haruto.

  “So it seems,” Haruto replied to Miharu awkwardly.

  The two were in different classes during their first year, but they would be in the same class from today onwards. And on top of that, they were seat neighbors.

  Amakawa Haruto and Ayase Miharu. In their high school, seat numbers were assigned by gender in order of family name, so it was only natural for the two
of them to be given the same seat number. As a result, it was inevitable for the two of them to be seated beside each other. Even if the seat numbers had been decided by birthdate, the two were both born in spring and would have been given the same seat numbers anyway.

  They’d been separated for a long time, but after reuniting a year ago, they couldn’t help but feel like fate was working for them.

  “Let’s get along this year, Haru-kun,” Miharu said to Haruto with wholehearted happiness in her tone.

  “Agreed,” Haruto replied, still a little awkward.

  However, the two were a very attractive pair that stood out within the class.

  “Ah, I wonder if those two are dating. I can’t believe this is happening after I’m finally placed in the same class as Ayase...”

  The male students all sighed together. Meanwhile —

  “Aww, I’m finally in the same class as Amakawa, but I’m no match for Ayase. I can’t believe this...”

  The female students all sighed, too. However —

  “Hey hey, it’s too early to be disappointed, guys. Didn’t you see who our teacher is? It’s Professor Celia,” one of the male students said to the others.

  “Seriously?!” The boys all regained their vigor immediately.

  Celia Claire was the lecturer that transferred to their high school from overseas last year. Her adorable looks that made her appear younger than everyone made her highly popular among both boys and girls. As they gossiped about Celia, the door to the classroom opened.

  “Ooh...!” the male students all cheered at once.

  It was Celia who had entered. However, as it was still early in the morning, she seemed rather lethargic. But despite that, the male students paid no attention to Celia’s exhaustion, caught in their own excitement.

  “We still have Professor Celia!”

  “What are you all talking about?” Celia replied tiredly to the boys as she stood at the teacher’s desk. “Oh well. I’m going to introduce you to someone, though she’ll be officially introduced later at the entrance ceremony. Come in, Aishia.”

  With a heavy sigh, she called down the hallway. A peach-haired girl appeared in the open doorway.

  “...” The students were all captivated by the beauty of the girl and gulped in shock.

  Celia grimaced at the reaction of the students. “Aishia, introduce yourself,” she urged.

  “I’m Aishia,” Aishia said, offering only her name.

  “That isn’t an introduction...” Celia placed a hand against her face in clear exhaustion. But Aishia paid no heed to her, glancing around the classroom instead. Her gaze stopped on Haruto.

  “...There you are,” Aishia muttered, swiftly approaching Haruto.

  “Huh?” Haruto looked taken aback in confusion.

  “Aishia Amakawa. I’ll be with Haruto from today onwards. Wait for me after class; we’ll go home together.” Aishia suddenly said, shocking everyone in the room.

  “Wha?!” Seated beside Haruto, Miharu was also speechless.

  “Eeeeh?!”

  The yells of the students echoed through the school.

  To be continued... maybe?

  I tried to dance!

  At the village where the spirit folk live...

  Just before supper, Latifa had shut herself alone in her room, sitting on a chair. Her chin was resting on her left arm as she held a pen in her right hand, hemming and hawing in the direction of her desk.

  What kind of uniform would be cute, I wonder?

  She was pondering over the design of her own uniform. She had decided to make a uniform after seeing Miharu and Aki’s Japanese school uniforms earlier today. Having died as a primary school student, Latifa — no, Suzune — admired the uniforms middle school and high school students wore. Unable to suppress her impatience, she took out her writing tools in an attempt to come up with her own design, but...

  What kind of uniform would Onii-chan like?

  She was having trouble coming up with anything specific. Designing wasn’t an easy task for an amateur to begin with.

  “Mmrgh...” Latifa groaned.

  While Miharu and Orphia would be the ones making the uniform, she couldn’t just leave everything to them if she wanted to surprise Rio. She at least wanted to come up with her own ideas.

  What would Onii-chan say if he saw me in a uniform? Would he call me cute?

  Latifa giggled with a smile. “Cute.” If she could hear that one word from Rio, she would ecstatic. Simply imagining it was enough to make her happy.

  Hmm, but just wearing a uniform seems a little boring... no? What if I danced or something as well? Latifa suddenly thought to herself, tilting her head.

  “...I wonder what kind of dance would be good?”

  She stood up and imagined herself wearing a uniform. Her room had plenty of empty space, so she stood in the middle of an open area.

  “Like this, perhaps?” Latifa shyly took a step. Eventually, she realized she needed to move her hands too and added to the choreography. She started having more and more fun as time passed.

  “One, two. One, two.” Latifa danced in a fairly convincing way, taking light steps and moving her limbs rhythmically.

  “Hmm hm hmm...” She started humming along. She was excited about it, so the choreography ideas came to her one after another too.

  Should I think of some lyrics too? Latifa wondered, but lyrics didn’t come to her so easily. She took several moments to wonder what would be good. Perhaps it would be best to express her feelings honestly. Which meant —

  “‘I love you, Onii-chan’?”

  That was it. Before she knew it, her mouth was moving naturally. Then, at the most climactic moment, she spun around and made her final pose. Since she was a werefox, she emphasized her fox side with rhythmic fox-like hops. Latifa’s gaze suddenly moved to the door. Come to think of it, she had left it wide open. In the doorway stood a frozen Miharu.

  “Wait, Miharu?!” Latifa’s body shook with a flinch.

  “Ah, s-sorry. I heard you humming and your door was open so I tried calling out to you a few times, but there was no reply...” Miharu apologized in a fluster.

  “W-Were you watching?” Latifa asked with a bright red face.

  “U-Umm. Just the final part,” Miharu hesitantly confirmed.

  “Mwuuuh!”

  Latifa hid her face behind her hands and crouched down on the spot. She was so embarrassed, her face felt like it was on fire.

  “I-I’m sorry.” Miharu ran over to Latifa in a panic and held up her body.

  “...It’s not your fault, Miharu. I was the one who left my door open. Uugh, but I’m still so embarrassed!” Latifa groaned in agony. She was so absorbed in her thoughts about Rio that she hadn’t noticed anything around her at all. She had some serious reflecting to do...

  “I-It was really cute, though,” Miharu offered honestly, trying to cheer Latifa up.

  “...T-Thanks. By the way, what did you need, Miharu?” Latifa’s fox ears twitched as she asked shyly.

  “Oh. I came to call you, since the food will be ready soon...”

  “...Got it. This is a secret between the two of us, okay, Miharu?”

  “Yup, I know.” Miharu nodded with a faintly strained smile. She wasn’t a big gossiper to begin with.

  “...If you tell anyone, I’ll have you dance with me in front of Onii-chan. Got it?” Latifa pouted her lips in a sulk.

  “E-Eeeh?! M-Me too?! No way!” Miharu shook her head reflexively.

  “You’ll be fine if you don’t say anything.”

  “I-I see. Right. That makes sense. Got it. Yup, okay.” Miharu nodded to convince herself.

  “...It’s a promise, then. Let’s go.”

  Latifa grinned gently and walked out of the room. Miharu giggled before bringing up the rear.

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  Copyright

  Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Volume 7

  by Yuri Kitayama

  Translated by Mana Z.

  Edited by Joi

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 Yuri Kitayama

  Illustrations Copyright © 2017 Riv

  Cover illustration by Riv

  All rights reserved.

  Original Japanese edition published in 2017 by Hobby Japan

  This English edition is published by arrangement with Hobby Japan, Tokyo

  English translation © 2019 J-Novel Club LLC

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.

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  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Ebook edition 1.0: November 2019