The Silver Bride

by Yuri Kitayama

  No. If it’s you, Professor, it’s definitely possible. You’ll be able to put everything back where it should be, Rio stated in a certain tone. It was dazzlingly straightforward, expressing his trust and clear expectations toward Celia.

  Celia was so happy she could cry; it was as though her gloomy heart had cleared up in an instant. She certainly felt like anything could be done in this very moment.

  ...That’s all I had to say. It was a long-winded conversation, but in the end, your life is your own, Professor. Even if I choose to speak up against it, I won’t force you to do anything. So, please — you make the final decision. Although... those aren’t words I should be saying with a knife pointed at you. Rio smiled faintly.

  Hey, Rio. Celia said, her heart having already decided.

  Yes? Rio replied, awaiting her answer.

  Take me away from here. All the way outside of the capital.

  With that, the caged bird was set free. Those words were, unmistakably, Celia’s true feelings.

  Leave it to me. Rio nodded with determination, happiness flowing from the depths of his heart.

  Chapter 6: Against The Beltrum Royal Army

  “I’ve decided,” Rio suddenly murmured to Charles below him.

  “Huh?! D-Don’t tell me you plan on killing me?!” Charles’ body shook as he wailed in a high-pitched voice.

  “No, you disgrace. I’m going to abduct this girl — she’s your bride to be, no?” Rio said, clearly provoking Charles, who turned bright red.

  “Y-You! You think you can run away unscathed in this situation?!” he yelled in a rage. The carriage was already surrounded by the great army of the Kingdom of Beltrum; their numbers were easily in the hundreds. Once the reinforcements arrived, those numbers would multiply.

  “Try and catch me, then. If you can, anyway,” Rio sneered, putting away his knife and lifting Celia, bridal style.

  “Gah! Wait, huh...? Ah, u-umm... Sir Charles?!” Celia called in confusion, flushing scarlet when she was lifted.

  “C-Celia?! Shit, you bastard!” Still being trampled on, Charles began to struggle in frustration.

  “Celia?!” Celia’s father, Roland, yelled. He was being held back by soldiers, unable to bear the sight.

  I-I’m sorry, Father. I will definitely come see you again... Celia’s face’s fell with sadness, but she mustered the best smile she could toward Roland.

  “...What... Celia?!” All the strength drained from Roland, leaving him standing in a daze.

  Here we go! Rio called out to Celia through telepathy, jumping down from the carriage.

  “D-Don’t let him get away!” Charles yelled in a panic, scrambling to his feet. However, Rio had already landed on the ground with Celia and was running toward the soldiers with their lances braced.

  “Don’t move!”

  “What are you all standing around for?! Move!”

  The commanding knight and Charles both yelled in tandem. While the soldiers were confused at the contradicting orders, most of them reacted to Charles’ order and moved in on Rio with their lances ready. However, Rio steadily accelerated toward the soldiers that had fallen out of step without an ounce of fear in his steps.

  “?!” Afraid, the soldiers with their lances at the ready eased up on their approaching speed toward Rio. They suddenly pointed the tips of the spears toward the ground.

  “N-No! He’s going to jump over the crowd of people! Brace your lances!” The commanding knight yelled, but it was too late. Rio had built up enough of a pace to leap before he stepped within range of the soldiers’ lances. He easily soared over their encirclement.

  “...W-What are you doing?! Are you all incompetent?! Get him already!” Half-dumbfounded, Charles yelled at the circle of soldiers in a panic.

  “Photon Projectilis!” The sorcerers who had been on standby in a corner of the circle started chanting their spells and fired their photon bullets at Rio above them. However, the bullets did not make contact.

  “Fools, don’t shoot! What if you hit Celia?! Chase them! Capture them! Use griffins to chase them from the skies! Mobilize the Aerial Knights!” Charles raised hell as he sent out order after order.

  Rio who had easily leaped two meters, landed gracefully outside the circle of soldiers. It was a jump distance easily two times as large as a knight that had enhanced his physical abilities with magic, leaving the soldiers in the circle stunned. Rio took that chance to start running again.

  Caught off guard, the soldiers simply watched Rio’s retreating back. However, the Aerial Knights, who rode their griffins, responded immediately and began their pursuit.

  “Listen up! The Aerial Knights have already began their pursuit. The entire army will now be mobilized to immediately encircle the capital. The transmission soldiers will first set up long-distance communication through magic artifacts and promptly spread the following information: the wanted is carrying a girl dressed in a wedding dress with a high chance he’s in possession of an ancient magic artifact with ability-enhancing sorcery. A regular soldier stands no chance against him. Only knights that can enhance their physical ability should attempt combat!” the commanding knight yelled loudly to the confused troops, making the flustered soldiers return to their senses with a gasp.

  “Y-Yes sir, right away!” The transmission soldiers also began to move in a flurry.

  “Those present should continue to guard this area. For now, Vanessa, you will be left in charge. Coordinate with the squad leaders and position them well,” the commanding knight said to Vanessa Emerle, the female knight beside him.

  “Understood, brother!” Vanessa saluted him with a quick action.

  Charles came over from the carriage and flared up at the knight in charge, Alfred Emerle. “Y-You! Alfred! What are you doing conveniently trying to give orders after you allowed the infiltrator to escape?!”

  Alfred sighed quietly. “The one conveniently giving orders is you, no? Earlier, when I was sending orders to the soldiers under my command, did you not send your own orders and disrupt everything?” he objected.

  “I-I don’t recall leaving you in charge of the security on scene in the first place!”

  “Indeed, I believe that was you and your unconscious subordinate’s responsibility. With both of you unable to make the order, in terms of position, I judged myself most fit to take command.”

  “Guh...” Charles must have realized he was at fault, as he fell speechless with a hateful expression.

  Alfred ignored Charles’ blame shifting and moved the conversation on quickly. “Well, whatever. More importantly, did you gain any clues on the bandit’s motives? What is his goal?”

  “...He said he had a vendetta against me,” Charles answered with a click of his tongue.

  Alfred sighed quietly. “I see. Well, that leaves quite the number of suspects, then.”

  “S-Silence! You should be pursuing the culprit, too! Go and seize him!” Charles yelled.

  “That’s what I intend on doing. The prestige of this kingdom has been tainted as much, after all. Vanessa will be left in charge of this area, but I assume you will be able to take control of the overall situation from here, right?”

  “Of course!”

  “Then I’m leaving it to you. I’ll be going now.” With that, Alfred kicked off the ground and broke into a run. He hadn’t chanted a spell, but his speed was far above an average knight with enhanced physical abilities.

  “Go already! Shit, shit, shit!” Charles shouted, stamping his feet on the ground without watching Alfred’s back. Because of this, he failed to notice the hero, Rui Shigekura, running behind Alfred secretly.

  Meanwhile, in a corner of the garden among the gathering of attendees, the Proxia Empire ambassador Reiss watched the chaos on the temple grounds pleasantly.

  While things have taken quite an interesting turn, this is quite vexing indeed. As an ambassador under their protection, it would not look good if I snuck away here. An assailant bold enough to attempt such a thing, and the
spirit who never revealed itself... How interesting... Reiss sighed, lamenting the fact he could do nothing but watch in silence.

  His interest was strongly piqued by the duo who had never revealed their identities — Rio and Aishia.

  ◇　◇　◇

  Meanwhile, Rio was running over the rooftops in the noble district, heading toward the western side of the capital. As most of the nobility were attending Celia’s wedding, the only people remaining in the district were the servants in charge of watching the houses. The security knights and soldiers patrolling the ground would spot him at times, but were unable to catch up to him. Only the Aerial Knights riding on the griffins could keep Rio within their sights, and continued to give chase.

  H-Hey, wait, Rio! This is so fast! Aren’t you going too fast?! Celia’s head was spinning.

  Yes. Just make sure you hold on tight. The griffin squad in the air is a bit of a problem, so I’m going to increase my speed a little more, Rio said, increasing the strength with which he was holding onto Celia.

  A-All right! Celia replied hesitantly.

  His body was more muscular and sturdy than she had expected, revealing the growth that had happened in the time since they’d been separated.

  You’ve grown into a wonderful young man, Rio, Celia couldn’t help but think out of happiness.

  Thank you very much, Rio replied shyly.

  ...Eh, ah, did you hear that just now?! Startled, Celia blushed crimson red. She hadn’t expected her sudden thought to be conveyed, so she wondered if she had thought something rather embarrassing.

  Ahaha, it’s because we’ve been in continuous contact for so long, it seems like our sensitivity to each other has temporarily strengthened. So even if you don’t think a thought clearly, it still gets conveyed.

  Geez! Ah, hey... I wasn’t thinking anything else that was weird, was I?! Celia started to make excuses for herself in a flurry.

  ...No, there was nothing strange.

  Hey, what was that pause just now?

  Haha, it didn’t mean anything. Rio laughed in amusement.

  Geez! Celia pouted her lips in embarrassment.

  Have you gotten used to this speed a little? Rio asked out of concern for Celia.

  Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve gotten used to it, so feel free to speed up all you want. Celia sensed that her earlier fluster had caused him to take more care and consideration around her, making her smile happily.

  Then, don’t mind if I do. Rio raised his running speed by another level.

  Just how fast can you run? Celia asked timidly.

  If I really wanted to, I could go faster, but that would require a flat path. This speed is perfect for running across obstacle-ridden rooftops.

  I see. I wonder what kind of sorcery it is...

  That explanation can come later. Even if we run at this rate, it’ll take some time for us to lose them, so we’re going to descend to the alleyways for now. There, I’ll pass the baton and meet up with you later.

  P-Pass the baton? Meet up later...? Rio’s sudden explanation left Celia tilting her head dubiously.

  That’s the plan. There’s a place I prepared in advance with my accomplice... She’s actually the girl who spoke to you first, Profes... Oh, there it is. Rio suddenly jumped down from the rooftops. Celia curled up in preparation for the landing, but Rio used his wind spirit arts to land softly in the alleyway.

  They were in an area for the upper middle class that served nobility, located relatively close to the castle walls that enclosed the noble district. The alleyway had been confirmed to be a dead end in advance, and with the closely packed buildings around it, it was difficult to spot from the skies.

  “Aishia.” Rio hid in the shadow of the buildings and called out the name of his partner, who had remained in spirit form this entire time. The particles of light gathered to form the figure of a beautiful girl. At the sight of Aishia suddenly appearing, Celia’s eyes widened in shock.

  “Wha?!”

  “Aishia, take Professor Celia and get out of the capital, as planned. I’ll buy us some time.”

  “Got it.” Aishia nodded once, taking Celia from Rio’s arms.

  “E-Eh? Wait, what is the meaning of this?!” Celia protested from how she was being carried bridal style in Aishia’s arms.

  “It’s exactly as I said. I’m going to become a decoy to buy us some time, so that you can escape the capital with Aishia. I’ll definitely meet up with you later, so don’t worry. As for an explanation about Aishia... Ask her yourself as you’re on the move. She’s trustworthy.”

  “Eh, w-wait! It’s dangerous! You might be strong, but your opponent is an entire army...?!” Celia yelled in a panic to stop him.

  “It’s fine. There’s plenty of ways it can be done in an urban area. Look after Celia for me, Aishia. I’d rather we concealed ourselves as much as possible, so if you fly in the air, make sure no one sees you,” Rio said lightly, before turning on his heel and walking away from the shadows.

  “Yup, leave it to me.” Aishia nodded deeply.

  Rio glanced back and gave a short nod. Then, he smiled gently once more to Celia, who was trying to say something, before jumping back onto the roof and running off.

  ◇　◇　◇

  After handing Celia off to Aishia, Rio resumed running across the rooftops like an acrobat. The Aerial Knights patrolling the skies immediately spotted Rio’s figure.

  “There he is! There’s no mistaking it!”

  “But Lady Celia is nowhere to be seen!”

  The captain of the Aerial Knights gazed down at the alleyway Rio came from and analyzed the situation immediately. “Hmph, he must have gotten desperate after being backed into a corner. The alleyway he came out of was a dead end... Tell the ground units to search the area, including the interior of the residences. Signal flare!”

  Then, around half of the number of patrolling griffins circled back and released a powerful blast of light magic from the air.

  “Signum Ignis!”

  Rio gazed at the griffins in the sky above and focused himself with a deep breath. ...They called for reinforcements, huh? I’m not surprised. All that’s left is for me to distract my pursuers in a noisy way...

  “Photon Projectilis!” The knights in the air all fired magic toward Rio on the rooftop in one go; a barrage of countless light bullets rained down on Rio. However, Rio moved about on nimble feet to evade the attack.

  “I-I can’t hit him!”

  “Damn it, how stubborn is he?!” The knights frowned with impatience.

  “Keep your wits about you. He probably has an ancient magic artifact with a powerful ability enhancer. We simply have to nail him down to one spot. In that time, ground reinforcements should arrive. Continue attacking,” the captain in charge of commanding the squad instructed calmly.

  “Photon Projectilis!”

  Obeying their commander, the knights began to fire light bullets at Rio once more. Rio did exactly what his opponents wanted by lazily evading the attacks until the ground reinforcements could come running. About a minute later, the reinforcement knights — ten of them — arrived. The buildings were packed together tightly, but the roads were wide and allowed for a large view, helping the reinforcement knights immediately identify the alleyway Celia had been hidden in.

  “There it is. Let’s go!” The knight who seemed to be the leader of the squad headed straight for the alleyway.

  I won’t let you! Rio sensed the movements of the reinforcement squad and jumped down from the roof, blocking the way into the alley.

  “Wha?!” The knights were taken aback Rio’s sudden appearance. Rio did not allow that moment of weakness to escape him, charging at the knights before they could draw their swords. Caught off guard, the leader took a palm thrust to the stomach before the rest of the tightly crowded knights came under a one-sided attack. Thus, six knights were rendered out of commission in an instant.

  However, the next group of reinforcements could be seen approaching in the
distance. I guess there really are a lot of them. Rio took out two daggers from his overcoat and stepped back for now. More photon bullets started raining down from the skies above.

  “...Whoa.” Rio moved around in a zigzag pattern, evading the shower of bullets as he retreated to the alleyway, but the four ground knights took that chance to launch a counterattack on him.

  In response, Rio stepped forward boldly and charged into the knights head-on. He swung the daggers in his hands to deflect the slashing attacks of the knights and twisted his body to land a roundhouse kick to one of them. He then widened their distance once again, using a hit and run tactic.

  “Kuh! Don’t give him time to rest! Our reinforcements will be here soon! Tire him out as much as possible!” one of the remaining knights yelled, exchanging looks with the other two knights and splitting up to attack Rio from three sides at once.

  “Yes, sir!”

  It was a tactic that placed their willpower on the line. However, even Rio was standing there resolved to fulfill his role as the decoy. He had no intention of backing down. Swinging his daggers, he skillfully deflected the onslaught of attacks coming from the knights.

  Unwavering before his disadvantage in numbers, Rio knocked his opponents out cold with his blows — first one person, then two, then three; every time they crossed weapons. However, the next knight squad arrived with no time for him to rest.

  It might be a little tough... to get out of this one without causing casualties. Rio’s expression was grim. He hadn’t wanted to cause any casualties in this fight because of Celia, but it was difficult to hold back and fight against such an overwhelming number. If reinforcements continued to flow in like this, he may need to resort to using his spirit arts specialized for group combat.

  But I’ve already made my declaration. I don’t want to do anything that’ll leave a foul taste in my mouth at the slightest.

  Rio didn’t give up. He was the one who told Celia not to give up, after all. He had already decided to push his ideals through to the end, even if they were too perfect to be realistic.