The Silver Bride

by Yuri Kitayama

  “?!” Rio felt an unpleasant stinging presence from before him and suddenly stepped to the side. Immediately after he did, a flash; a light strike that would have knocked him out if it had made contact flew by, striking the ground behind Rio and cracking it.

  That’s... Far in the distance was a towering steeple, and on top of it, Rio could see a boy with a bow held at the ready.

  That boy was Rui Shigekura — the hero that the Kingdom of Beltrum had summoned.

  Rui seemed surprised that his sudden shot hadn’t made contact, as he was standing there with his eyes widened in a slight daze.

  It’ll be a pain if he continues to fire this way from that distance, Rio thought calmly. For a moment, he considered revealing his hand and firing a sniping shot back with spirit arts, but there was no need for him to resort to that.

  “That’s enough. I will now proceed to apprehend you.” A single knight stood before Rio’s way. The knights immediately knew who the knight was, as a light sparkled in their eyes.

  “S-Sir Alfred!” they called out.

  ...Alfred? That’s the name of the King’s Sword. He does seem strong indeed. Rio could immediately see that Alfred wasn’t your average fighter. In fact, whether he intended it or not, he had begun to release an awe-inspiring aura toward Rio.

  “The number of casualties would only increase. All of you — step back and ask the Aerial Knights above to give the hero my gratitude for his cooperation,” Alfred said to the knights. He looked at the knights collapsed on the ground, before glancing up at the steeple in the distance where Rui Shigekura stood. Rui gave a strained but refreshed smile, shrugging his shoulders.

  “Yes, sir. Understood!” The knights behind him nodded promptly, creating distance from Alfred.

  “Hmph...” Alfred closed in on Rio in an instant. Then, drawing his sword in one smooth movement, he started with a lightning-fast attack.

  A sharp metallic clash echoed; Rio had stopped Alfred’s sword with his dual daggers. The instantaneous offense and defense left the spectating knights gulping.

  However, Rio and Alfred’s battle had only just begun.

  The two first drew back their own specialized weapons, then the next moment swung them again, exchanging blows of offense and defense too fast for the eyes to follow.

  Alfred’s weapon had weight, reach, and more power behind each blow, but Rio challenged him with his sheer number of attacks. Rio swung his daggers to beat Alfred’s blows to the punch, continuing to evade the sharp and heavy slashes. Every time the blades clashed, fireworks sparked and scattered.

  Then, after they had exchanged blows for a while, the two parties paused.

  ...He’s strong. His sword hand is good, and he has no trouble keeping up with my movements that are enhanced by spirit arts. Is there a powerful body enhancement sorcery imbued in that sword? Rio observed Alfred, analyzing his combat abilities. Alfred also observed Rio without letting his guard down, his expression looking somewhat dubious.

  Immediately after, the two of them jumped at each other once more. The battle had resumed. From outside Rio’s space, Alfred launched a vertical strike which Rio stopped by raising his daggers upward. The two powers struggled for several creaking moments when Rio pushed out his daggers and thrust Alfred away. Alfred suddenly backstepped away to retreat. Rio used the opportunity to step forward firmly and corner Alfred. Then, swinging the dagger like a dance, he ran freely around Alfred, attacking incessantly.

  Alfred only barely managed to block the endless numbers of blows approaching him with his single sword. The knights in the area gulped as they watched over the fierce fight before them. The battle between the two had already reached inhuman levels of strength, leaving no room for third party interference.

  “S-Sir Alfred is being pushed back...” The sword flashes of the two parties were already impossible for the human eye to perceive, but the knights beside them could tell that the exchange of offense and defense was beginning to lean in Rio’s favor.

  The trigger had been Rio cornering Alfred. When they both put each other within reach, it was obvious that Rio using the flexible and multi-hitting weapon had the advantage.

  If Alfred tried to swing widely, the moment Rio evaded him, a fatal opening would inevitably reveal itself. Since Rio had been attacking him persistently for a while now, Alfred was unable to swing his sword at will and was being pressed to handle Rio’s attacks.

  That being said, Alfred showed no panic in his eyes, using his long years of battle experience to move his body optimally, calmly waiting for the chance to counterattack.

  Then, at one point, Alfred went for the match. While blocking Rio’s swinging daggers, he first leaped backward to widen the distance from Rio. There, Rio stepped forward, immediately trying to close the gap between then. “Hah—” Alfred also stepped forward with force, accelerating as he charged toward Rio. The move backwards had been a feint — his true aim was to create an opening in Rio and land a sharp slashing attack there. However, Rio decelerated as though he had foreseen the counter, coming to a stop just outside of Alfred’s reach.

  “?!”

  The next moment, Alfred’s sword slashed through thin air, passing just a hair’s breadth away from Rio’s face. Immediately, Rio countered the counter by closing in on Alfred, swinging both his daggers and slashing from both left and right. Alfred’s forward leaning stance created an opening that was by no means small. Rio’s slashing attacks tried to catch hold of Alfred’s body as though they were being sucked in. Alfred reflexively deflected the slash coming from his front left with his sword, then stepped left and slipped away from the slash coming from the right.

  However, Rio turned his body, then used that force to strike Alfred with the grip end of his left dagger.

  “Kuh...”

  Alfred promptly moved his left hand, which was equipped with a gauntlet, and directly stopped Rio’s powerful blow. Though he had avoided a fatal wound, he still felt the impact, a pained expression on his face.

  Rio tried a followup attack; he pulled back the dagger in his left hand temporarily and rotated his body once more, swinging his left and right daggers at Alfred.

  Alfred leaped backward to avoid Rio’s attack, but his left hand appeared to be injured, as he held his sword with only his right hand. Rio closed in from a low angle, when suddenly, Alfred’s sword started to emit a bright light.

  “Haah!” Alfred slashed the glowing sword vertically downward, slamming it against the ground before him. The moment of impact caused a tremor and a shockwave to spread. At the same time, even though it was only afternoon, the surroundings were basked in a bright light. The knights watching nearby couldn’t help but close their eyes. Then, once they had endured the torrent of light and pressing shockwave, they opened their eyes just a bit.

  “Wha...” The knights watching the scene were rendered speechless. The stone paving Rio had been running across moments ago had its ground bored deep in a wide area, kicking up a cloud of sand and dust. Before that damaged area stood Alfred, who didn’t see Rio in the area.

  ...I’ve been underestimated. Did that assailant have no intention of killing me? Alfred thought with a bitter expression. He couldn’t figure out Rio’s intention in pointing the grip end at him when it should have been the blade. However, no matter how much he wondered, his opponent was gone.

  There was no resistance... Did he run away? But it didn’t seem like he ran into the alleyway. Where did he go? Alfred thought to himself.

  “Sir Alfred!” A single griffin from the patrolling aerial squad descended. The other ground knights that had been standing by also swarmed over.

  “I don’t see the bandit in the area. Where is he?!” The knight clearly had the same question as Alfred.

  “I don’t know. Though if that attack just now was a direct hit, there wouldn’t be much left of him...” Alfred shook his head with a dark look.

  “I-I see...” The knight nodded and gulped, looking at the deeply upturned ground. As
far as they could see from the aftermath of the destruction, there was no way Rio could be alive.

  Alfred put his doubts aside for the moment and prioritized the search of the alleyways. “All ground units will immediately conduct a search of the alleyways. Squads who come later should take care of the injured. The Aerial Knights will continue to search the skies. He may still be lurking somewhere. Do not let your guard down!”

  “Yes, sir!” the knights all replied at once, immediately taking action. However, the knights were never able to locate Celia in the alleyways.

  ◇　◇　◇

  Roughly one hour later, in a hillside area off the road that extended east from the royal capital of Beltrant, Aishia and Celia stood waiting. Celia was holding onto the hem of her skirt and watching the sky nervously, sometimes glancing at Aishia as though remembering her presence.

  “Hey, Aishia. Will Rio really be all right?” she asked her for the umpteenth time.

  “He’ll be fine.” Aishia nodded calmly. “...He’s coming,” she added, suddenly looking up at the sky toward the capital.

  “Huh? How do you know...” Celia looked at Aishia’s face in surprise at her statement. Rio then landed on the ground softly, removing his hood and announcing his return as though he had come back from a leisurely walk.

  “I’m back.”

  “...Huh?” Celia’s eyes widened in shock.

  “I’m sorry for worrying you, Professor. Everything is fine now.”

  “Y-Yeah.”

  “Thank you, Aishia,” Rio said.

  “No, I didn’t really do anything.” Aishia shook her head in her usual way.

  “Now, shall we get moving? I’d like to get away from the capital as soon as possible.”

  “Okay. But where will we go?”

  “I’d like to find some clues about the heroes, too, so I think we’ll head toward the Galarc Kingdom in the east? If you don’t mind, that is,” Rio said, looking at Celia.

  “...Huh? Ah, nope. The Galarc Kingdom sounds fine.” Celia nodded readily.

  Rio noticed Celia’s awkward behavior and questioned her curiously. “Professor, is something the matter?”

  “N-Nothing. It just hasn’t quite hit me yet, so I’m wondering if this is really okay...” Celia replied with an expression that showed her heart wasn’t quite present.

  “...Do you want to return to the capital? We can still make it if we leave right now,” he asked hesitantly, observing Celia’s face.

  “Huh? N-No, no, that’s not it! Don’t misunderstand! I was just wondering if I was really allowed to be so happy. It just doesn’t quite feel real!” Celia denied Rio’s misunderstanding with panicked gestures.

  “Oh?” Rio tilted his head in question.

  “Y-Yes... For a moment there, my future was so dark I thought my life was over. But now you’re here and we’ll be able to be together for some time... Just the thought is...” Celia said before she realized she was trying to say something extremely embarrassing and gasped, but it was too late to take back her words at that point.

  “O-Obviously I’d be happy about this, don’t you think?” she continued, averting her eyes.

  “...Is that so?” Rio smiled happily with a noncommittal response.

  “Y-Yeah. That’s why... there might be some things that are on my mind, but there’s no way I’ll regret anything. If anything, I have to think about what to do from here!” Celia stated with motivation.

  “Yeah. Let’s talk about things slowly. For the time being, I have no intention of letting you live uncomfortably, so don’t worry about that,” Rio said respectfully.

  “Ahaha, really now? But I want to repay you properly, too, Rio. Well, I only have this dress right now, but... I wonder if it’d be worth something if you sell it?” Celia looked at her silver dress and thought contemplatively.

  “No, I’d never ask you to sell that. There’s no need for you to worry about money. Just let me look after you for the near future. I am capable of doing that much.”

  “But... are you sure?” Celia asked hesitantly.

  “Of course. Let me look after you, okay?” Rio replied jokingly.

  “...Thank you. Then, I’ll accept your offer and rely on you for a while.” Celia grinned, bowing her head.

  Rio nodded acceptingly. “Of course.”

  “Same here.” Aishia joined in on the conversation, making Celia nod happily.

  “Then, let’s get a move on,” Rio urged.

  “...Understood. I’m counting on you for a safe flight, Rio.” Celia held onto the fabric of her dress and stood before Rio nervously.

  “Yes. Then, if you’d excuse me...” Rio nodded, lifting Celia awkwardly in the bridal style once more.

  “Fufu, let’s talk lots while we’re moving to make up for all the time we couldn’t see each other, okay?” Celia asked with a faint blush, but her smile was radiating brightly with happiness.

  Epilogue: The Cerulean Lady

  That night, in a room of the guest building inside the Beltrum royal castle premises, the noble daughter of the Galarc Kingdom’s great lord Duke Cretia, Liselotte, was eating her dinner alone.

  “The business talk that was planned has been placed on hold, so it looks like our return to Amande will be delayed,” Liselotte muttered listlessly.

  She had been invited to Celia’s wedding as a noble and great merchant of the Kingdom of Galarc, but with the ceremony suspended, she had been forced to stay in the guest house until now. Because the Kingdom of Beltrum was in an uproar over Celia’s kidnapping, she had been forbidden to step outside under the name of protection.

  “We’ll be able to leave the guest house in a few days, but with the situation being what it is, please forget your work and allow yourself some time to relax,” Aria, the attendant standing next to Liselotte, said.

  “You say that, but there isn’t really anything to do. The current collapse of the Arbor house is fairly interesting to the Galarc Kingdom... Or rather, something to be thankful for. You think the same, no?” Liselotte said with a giggle.

  “It is indeed exhilarating to witness. Although, I am concerned for Celia.” Even the usually emotionless Aria showed some conflict in her tone.

  “...Who do you think the culprit is?” Liselotte suddenly asked.

  “Considering the options, I believe it is very likely to be one of the opposing forces to Duke Arbor’s faction.”

  “If that’s the case, then I don’t think she’ll be treated badly, since there’s still value in using her... But the number of people who could make such a mess is fairly limited, no? Would you be able to pull something like this off?”

  “It may be possible for me if I had a powerful magic sword imbued with physical ability enhancement like an ancient artifact... But honestly, it would be a struggle. There would be a high chance of failure,” Aria explained.

  “Even someone as skilled as you would hesitate at the risk?”

  “If I were to plan an ambush, it should be easy to gain the advantage and reach the carriage. The problem is how to take Celia and run away successfully. It would be one thing if the opponent only had ground units, but when the pursuers can cover the skies, it gets quite troublesome,” Aria said, giving an orderly answer to the question.

  “I see.” Liselotte nodded, sighing in thought.

  All of the kingdoms have been acting so shady lately. I don’t know if its related to the incident this time, but the Proxia Empire in particular cannot be ignored. It feels like they’re planning something big. While Liselotte wondered such things, Aria stood silently beside her, waiting for her master to speak up.

  “Well, like you said... let’s enjoy this short break and relax. Tell those who accompanied us here that they should rest once in a while, too. Things will get busy once we get back to Amande,” Liselotte said, giving a small shrug of her shoulders.

  “Understood.” Aria nodded respectfully.

  The Galarc Kingdom will have to work harder. The hero that was summoned in the
castle, Satsuki Sumeragi, is going to be announced soon, too, Liselotte thought as she took another sip of her slightly cooled soup.

  Afterword

  Hello, everyone. This is the most indebted Yuri Kitayama. I’d like to thank you all for picking up Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles Volume 5: The Silver Bride.

  Like the cover illustration depicts, this volume features the long-awaited full return of Professor Celia since volume 1. It took eleven months from the release of volume 1 to the release of this volume 5, but... personally, the time passed felt both long and short to me. Perhaps it felt much longer to those who were patiently awaiting Professor Celia’s return.

  However, I was only able to write volume 5 because of the ample space that volumes 2, 3, and 4 opened. The contents of volume 5 greatly differed from the web novel, but how was the sight of Professor Celia in her wedding dress? If you thought it was well worth the wait, then I would truly feel blessed as an author!

  By the way, I’m currently in the middle of plotting out volumes 6 and 7. The contents of those will be vastly different to the web novel, too. Or rather, it may be best if you considered the light novel and web novel to be independent and separate stories developing in parallel worlds. For now, it seems like there’s an announcement for volume 6 at the end of the book, so make sure you check that out!

  Ah, that’s right — thankfully, a character introduction will be added from volume 5 onward. Unfortunately, there are many characters that appear in this story, so I had it created laboriously and extravagantly. Hopefully it will be of use in triggering your memories.

  One more thing: I have an important announcement.

  I mentioned this in the author profile on the cover sleeve, but the manga version of Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles has been decided! The wonderful character designs by Riv will now take life in a manga world. Just imagining it makes my chest burn hot.

  I expect there’ll be many new readers coming from the manga in the future, but I consider that to be all thanks to the readers who have supported Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles until now, as well as all the related parties that participated in the editing and marketing departments. I’d like to use this space to offer my sincere gratitude to you all. Thank you very much!