Eternal You (Premium)

by Yuri Kitayama

  The conditions Rio had requested beforehand were for it to blend smoothly with the environment when camping, and that the house was sturdy enough to prevent outside intruders from breaking in. By making the house from a boulder, both of those requests were fulfilled perfectly. With this, he would be able to set a base for his activities outside of the cities when he moved through Strahl.

  And so, the two of them continued talking, until —

  “Hey, Head Elder Dominic! Do you have a moment?” one of the dwarves on location called.

  “Oh, it looks like I’m being summoned. Well, just leave the construction to me, and look forward to its completion. I’ll call you immediately when it’s done. We can raise a glass in celebration!” Dominic said with a smile, before leaving Rio behind to head for the work site.

  “...Looks like I owe the villagers again,” Rio muttered, troubled, as he watched the dwarves happily working away.

  ◇◇◇

  Less than a month later, Rio’s house made of rock was complete.

  The appearance of the home was truly rustic — in fact, apart from the entrance and several small ventilation windows, it looked just like a regular old boulder.

  However, in complete contrast to the exterior, the interior was a wide and comfortable living space with custom-made furniture and all kinds of sorcery woven into its luxurious facilities. It went without saying that a wild housewarming party was held upon its completion, filled with singing and drinks. Furthermore, when Rio immediately moved in upon its completion to test the facilities, it was decided that — naturally — Latifa would live with him too.

  After a while, Vera and Arslan also came to sleep over, then Sara and the others were invited partly as their guardians. And so, their lively days continued.

  Thus, as winter approached, the new year arrived — year 1000 of the Holy Era. On a day when Rio’s departure for the Strahl region was steadily approaching and he was in the bathtub of his stone house...

  The interior of the spacious bathing area was purposefully carved into bare stone, making a rocky bath that allowed for an experience similar to an outdoor hot spring. Rio washed his hair, face and body, before finally sinking into the water.

  “...Hah.”

  With a sigh, his fatigue from the day melted away.

  Tomorrow’s the day, finally, he thought, gazing up at the rock ceiling that was intentionally left bare.

  It was so comfortable, he almost wanted to extend his stay, but he didn’t want to pamper himself here.

  He couldn’t afford to stand still.

  There was no doubt that unwanted memories from his past would resurface once he returned to Strahl; it was possible he couldn’t remain the same person he had been until now.

  Even so, he chose to move forward — that was what he had decided when he left the Yagumo region. That was why he had to move forward... Even if he reached the point of no return.

  With a deep breath, Rio reaffirmed his resolve.

  “Onii-chan, may I come in?” a cute voice said from the doorway to the bathroom.

  “Yeah... Huh?”

  Rio nodded reflexively, before he realized something was strange, and looked up at the source of the voice. Latifa, who had been sticking her head out of the changing room area, heard Rio’s reply and stepped into the bathroom hesitantly, clad in nothing but a single bath towel.

  “Ehehe.” Latifa grinned shyly.

  “...” Unable to close his open mouth, Rio simply stared at her in shock.

  Her pale orange hair was tied back to reveal her nape, the towel emphasizing her small and modest chest. Her waist and hips were slender, yet well-balanced, and her legs were lean and white — despite being only thirteen, Latifa was already starting to show her womanly charms.

  “O-Onii-chan, it’s embarrassing when you stare at me like that,” Latifa said, fidgeting. With that, Rio snapped back to his senses.

  “S-Sorry. Wait, why are you here?!” Rio asked while averting his gaze from Latifa’s body in a panic.

  “Umm. I wanted to wash Onii-chan’s back. May I?” Latifa smiled with a bashful yet pleased grin, noticing that Rio was seeing her as a member of the opposite sex and not just a little sister.

  “No, of course not. You need to leave immediately,” Rio said with a high-pitched voice.

  “I-It’s okay. I-I’m wearing a bath towel, so don’t worry. Not to mention the fact that you’ll be leaving the village tomorrow. So, let me have this just for today?”

  “N-No, but...”

  “Just for today, please!” Latifa hung onto him insistently when he expressed his reluctance. Since she was leaning into the bathtub from outside of it, the placement of her chest was rather precarious, making Rio beside himself with worry.

  “N-No means no. Come on, put on your clothes or you’ll catch a cold. Okay?” Rio replied with his eyes averted, unable to find a good way to reject her.

  “Hmph, then I’ll just get into the bath with Onii-chan like this. You sure?” Latifa puffed up her cheeks cutely, resisting to the bitter end.

  Now that she had gathered up enough courage to come this far, she wasn’t going to back down without a fight. Despite her face being flushed with embarrassment, she tried to remove her bath towel with a trembling hand.

  “A-All right! All right, I got it! Calm down, Latifa. You can wash me,” Rio said in a panic as he caught a glimpse of Latifa’s naked body from the corner of his eye. Latifa’s expression lit up; she was beaming.

  “R-Really?!”

  “...Yeah, just for today,” Rio gave in, nodding.

  “Yup! Okay, come over here!” Latifa said, immediately hurrying toward the washing area.

  “All right, I’m getting out now.”

  “Okay.”

  Rio checked that Latifa had looked away, before standing up from the bathtub and swiftly wrapping a towel around his waist. He then walked over to her and sat down on the bath stool in front of her.

  “Ehehe.” Latifa’s cheeks warmed happily.

  I mean... It’s just a back wash... Rio smiled in amusement.

  “Okay, I’m gonna wash you now. Erm, let me know if I miss any spots.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  Latifa rubbed the soap against a towel to lather it, then began to awkwardly wash Rio’s back. She seemed to be feeling nervous now that she was in the middle of doing it, moving timidly despite her earlier courage. Silently, she rubbed away with her hands, gradually falling into a calm state of mind.

  Meanwhile, Rio was still feeling confused, but had regained most of his composure. He couldn’t find the words to start a conversation, but he smiled happily at the feeling of Latifa’s hands as she was doing her best.

  “Latifa, that’s enough. Thank you,” Rio thanked her after a while, his voice soft.

  “O-Okay. I’ll pour the water, then.”

  Splash. Latifa touched the round stone artifact that supplied hot water and filled a tub with water to pour over Rio’s back. After repeating that a few times —

  “...Onii-chan’s back is really big after all,” she murmured quietly.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah... I wonder if it’ll be bigger the next time we meet?”

  “Who knows? I think I’ll stop growing soon, but — wait, L-Latifa?!”

  Rio was replying with a strained smile when, suddenly, he could feel a soft sensation against his back. He flinched.

  Latifa had suddenly hugged Rio from behind, drawing close enough to rub their cheeks together before he had realized it.

  “...What’s wrong all of a sudden?” Rio asked, hiding his uneasiness. He could feel Latifa’s body heat through her towel; the areas where their skin touching directly was burning hot.

  “Hey, Onii-chan... You’ll come back to the village again this time, right?” Latifa asked worriedly.

  “...Latifa?” Rio called, checking on her.

  “You’ll come back, right?” Latifa repeated the same question insistently.

  Rio felt
as though she had seen right through him. He guiltily averted his eyes, bit down on his lip and closed his eyes, then searched inside himself.

  “...If you’re waiting for me, I’ll return,” he answered slowly.

  “No — you have to come back,” Latifa demanded as she pouted with a sulk.

  “...I see. I’ll have to come back, then.”

  Rio forced down the shameful feelings that he had, and spoke with an apologetic, strained smile. Latifa’s expression brightened a little.

  “Yup. Make sure you come back earlier this time. Please?”

  “Yeah. I promised, after all. I’ll come back when I can find the time,” Rio nodded with a smile.

  He felt guilty because of his own reluctance; he wondered if it was really okay for him to have a place to return to when he was setting off on the path of revenge.

  However, his desire to return to the village was his pure, honest feelings. And with that, he would return as long as Latifa wanted him to, he decided.

  “...By the way, Latifa. You’ll catch a cold like that, so let’s get in the bath,” Rio suggested with a bitter smile to Latifa, who was still hanging onto him.

  “Huh...? Ah, okay! That’s right, ehehe.”

  Latifa distanced herself from Rio in a hurry, grinning bashfully.

  ◇◇◇

  The next morning, Rio made his way to the village square, which was where he was to depart from.

  The usual faces were there to see him off, along with the village’s elders. After Rio finished saying his goodbyes to Sara and the others, the three head elders approached him last.

  “Lord Rio, take this with you,” Ursula said, handing Rio a sparkling, jade-colored spirit stone the size of a fist.

  “...Is this spirit stone some kind of magical artifact? Is there some kind of formula sealed in it?” Rio asked, his gaze absorbed by the spirit stone in his hand.

  A spirit stone could be used as a magic artifact by having a spell formula sealed within, but it would just look like a spirit stone to those who didn’t have the eye to see essence. The formula within was being reflected in Rio’s eyes.

  “This is a teleport crystal — an artifact filled with sorcery that moves the user to a predetermined destination. The activation chant to use it is Transilio. I’ve already put the coordinates in, so you can return to the village easily with this. But it’s a one way method of travel, so you won’t be able to return to your starting position,” Ursula explained; the sorcery activation, however, required more than just chanting the keyword in order to prevent an accident from occurring.

  “An item like this... Did you recently make it just for me?”

  “Indeed. There used to be several of them in the village in the past, but they became unnecessary over our long history. The spirit stones had their formulas removed and were repurposed as other magic artifacts. After all, no one ever leaves the village. But, since you leave the village rather frequently, we figured it would be more convenient for you to have.”

  “But the spirit stone is such a high quality. It’s sizable, too. Isn’t it a valuable item?” Rio questioned at Ursula’s generous words.

  While a spirit stone could be turned into an artifact with sorcery, it also had a wide range of other uses, such as being a pure energy source for other artifacts, or for storing magic essence to use in case of emergencies. The essence capacity that could be stored varied depending on the quality of the stone, and the color of the stone changed based on the amount of essence stored. Among them, stones that could turn emerald green were said to be of high quality — proof it could store a vast amount of essence.

  Logically, the bigger the stone, the more essence could be stored. However, because of the difference in stone quality, that reasoning could differ, too.

  “It’s nothing; we’ve been making spirit stones for years and years now, so we have plenty of good stones in stock. There’s no need for you to worry.” Ursula shook her head with a smile.

  “But even so, I’ve received so many items already... I couldn’t possibly accept any more than what I have. I’ve just returned and had a house built for me, and there was the equipment set and the Time-Space Cache from last time. I’ve received so many other good quality spirit stones, too.” Rio’s expression clouded apologetically.

  “Don’t worry about it. Like we said last time, you are our sworn friend. It would be a dishonor to us spirit folk for our sworn friend to depart on a journey empty-handed, so just accept it. Well... it was Syldora and Ursula who made it, actually.” Dominic laughed merrily, looking over at the two of them.

  “We simply used a spare spirit stone — the only thing it took was time. Space sorcery has complicated formulas, so it took some effort to get the coordinates right, but it was no big deal.” Syldora shook his head, smiling in faint embarrassment.

  “Hohoho, Latifa was lonely while Lord Rio was in Yagumo. Hopefully this will help you return faster this time. We’ll need to discuss further, but it may be a good idea to use that to bring Latifa and Lord Rio’s cousin together for a meeting someday.” Ursula opened her mouth to deal the finishing blow.

  “...Thank you very much, truly. For all the things you’ve done for me.” Rio bowed his head deeply.

  “Well, that’s that. Those girls over there would be happier to have you around, kid. Come back a bit more often.” Dominic looked over to Sara, Orphia, and Alma with a grin.

  “Head Elder!”

  “Grandfather!”

  Sara and Alma blushed furiously and yelled in shock. Meanwhile, Orphia was avoiding digging her own grave by smiling cheerfully.

  “Ooh, scary, scary.” Dominic shuddered exaggeratedly and quickly made his exit.

  Then, Latifa approached Rio with springy footsteps.

  “Have a good trip, Onii-chan,” she said, hugging Rio.

  “Yeah, I’ll be back soon.” Rio smiled gently and petted Latifa’s head.

  Chapter 2: Upon Returning

  Approximately two weeks had passed since his departure from the spirit folk village.

  Rio stepped onto Strahl soil for the first time in several years; his current location was the trade city of Amande, located in the western region of the Kingdom of Galarc. As it was a part of Duke Cretia’s territory, Rio had once stopped in this city on his way out of the Strahl region.

  However, Amande had developed greatly since then, making it quite different compared to how it had been several years ago; it was actually still under development even now. From what Rio could see as he approached through the air, deforestation was occurring, which clearly secured more area for the city.

  I guess I’ll go down and gather some information first.

  Rio wasn’t about to brazenly land in the middle of the city, so he descended into the vast forest near Amande instead. Location-wise, Amande was close both to the Kingdom of Beltrum to the west and the Kingdom of Centostella near the south, so it was a good spot to gather foreign information.

  After locating a deserted road, he exited the forest to see Amande within view and felt its growth even more strongly. It was a scenery he would have seen several years ago, but it was completely unfamiliar to him now; although with the size of the city expanding, it was only natural that the outer areas would grow larger, too. While he was flying, Rio had seen the sturdy castle walls that surrounded the inner city, but the outer city was only enclosed by wooden fencing.

  He entered the city from the east road. There are so many buildings I don’t recognize. Or maybe I just don’t remember them?

  Rio gazed at the city landscape with curiosity. He had only stayed in Amande for a single day all those years ago, so his memories of the city weren’t that clear to begin with. However, the overflowing energy within the city hadn’t changed at all. No — it was possible it was bustling even more now than it had been before, with several stalls set up along the main street, their vendors calling for customers’ attention.

  As Rio walked along the road and fondly reminisced, he fina
lly spotted a certain building in his view. It was the inn he had previously stayed at for one night.

  This was where I stayed last time. What was the name of the girl in the inn again? Well, I’m sure she doesn’t remember me, either.

  Rio smiled bitterly, remembering how a couple of drunks had bothered him and caused a scene. Unfortunately, he had no business with the inn right now, so he passed on by.

  Suddenly, six pillars of blinding light shot up in every direction visible from Amande. The pillars of light seemed to be a phenomenon of sorcery or spirit arts, as they were spreading waves of ode and mana all throughout Strahl, even causing the air to tremble. As a result, not only did Rio notice the light pillars immediately with his excellent ode and mana detection abilities as a spirit arts user, but the residents of Amande did, too.

  “Look at that!”

  “There’s one there too!”

  “They’re all different colors.”

  “W-Wow, what is it?”

  The city was instantly in an uproar; everyone was looking in every direction, gazing at the red, blue, white, green, brown, and yellow pillars.

  Rio was staring at the pillars, too, when —

  “?!”

  Ba-dump. He felt something like an intense beat within his heart, making him open his eyes widely. He placed a hand against his chest reflexively, and felt a pleasantly warm heat rising within him.

  Haruto.

  ...Haru... ...-er.

  ...-ve... them.

  The strangely familiar voice of a girl echoed in the back of Rio’s head.

  “...Who is that?”

  Rio opened his mouth in amazement. He couldn’t make out what she had said, but it was definitely the voice of a girl. But, as far as he could see around him, the owner of the voice didn’t appear to be nearby.

  Sharpen... your senses.

  Go... southeast.

  ...will be... waiting... there...

  The girl’s voice echoed again, and in that next moment, Rio felt his senses sharpen dramatically.