She immediately knew who it was.
Reflected in her eyes and dressed in the armor of the Black Wyvern was Rio’s familiar figure.
“Aaugh?!” The black monster seemed to be taken aback at how Rio suddenly appeared before its eyes. Its speed fell for a moment, freezing on the spot — which proved to be a fatal mistake.
Rio immediately aimed for the opening the monster had created. He sprung forward with all his might and thrust the hilt of his sword with pinpoint accuracy into the solar plexus of the monster, blowing it back ten meters. A real human would have been wracked with unbearable pain and struggled for breath. If anything, the purely physical damage of the attack would have left them with ruptured organs.
However, the dark monster held a hand against its abdomen as it staggered back to its feet. It didn’t seem able to comprehend what had happened.
“Guuargh, aurgh?” it groaned curiously.
What was that texture just now? That monster was rock-hard. It seemed to have received some damage, but it still stood up after taking the hit... Even though I attacked it with the intention of incapacitating it... Rio observed the dark creature with wide eyes.
Meanwhile, Aishia approached and apologized with a regretful expression. “...Haruto, I’m sorry. Everyone was in danger.”
“No, I’m sure you would have made it on time, Aishia. I may have stuck my neck in where it wasn’t needed, but I’m glad it seems like I got back at just the right time. Sorry, you two. I came back late...” Rio shook his head with a strained smile, then looked at Miharu and Aki behind him.
“Ah, H-Haruto... Miharu, Haruto’s here.” Aki sighed in relief. Miharu timidly opened her eyes, having squeezed them shut, and turned around. “Haruto...” she called in a daze.
She looked up at his face with befuddled eyes; it was Rio’s first time seeing her with such an expression.
“Everything’s all right now,” Rio said gently, pulling Miharu by the hand to help her stand up.
“...T-Thank you very much. Ah, s-sorry.” Miharu accepted Rio’s hand and stood up, but her knees still seemed to be weak. She staggered forward and leaned into him. He supported her in his arms, blushing with embarrassment. In the meantime, Aki stood up by herself.
“Aki, can I leave Miharu to you? The battle isn’t over yet, so you two go inside the house. It’ll be over quickly,” Rio said with a wry smile.
“O-Okay.” Aki nodded hesitantly before approaching Rio and supporting Miharu in Rio’s place.
Within a few seconds, Miharu and Aki had stepped inside the house, the door slamming shut behind them.
“Aishia, do you know what they are?” he asked Aishia, observing the three strangely shaped creatures once he had confirmed that Miharu and Aki had gone inside.
“I don’t know, but... it feels like they’re of a monster class. Also, the black one is probably strong,” Aishia explained broadly.
“I see. But they’re wounded already... though they still seem quite energetic.”
As Rio and Aishia quickly exchanged information, the black monster had already regained most of its vitality. It stood on two legs as it glared at them aggressively.
“The gray one I attacked seems to have recovered, too,” Aishia said, looking at the gray monster she had sent flying earlier.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re just naturally strong or have some kind of abnormal ability to recover; what we have to do doesn’t change. I’ll clean up the rest of them, so you stand back, Aishia.”
“Haruto, you don’t have to worry about me. It doesn’t matter if the opponents are human shaped or real humans, I won’t show any mercy to someone who stands in your way.” Aishia shook her head resolutely.
Rio hesitated for several moments. “...I see. Let’s split up and deal with them, then. I’ll take the black one... Can I leave the gray ones to you, Aishia?” he asked Aishia with a sigh.
“Of course,” Aishia nodded quietly.
“Guaargh!” The black monster seemed to have resolved to flee instead; it let out a loud roar to signal its retreat. In response, the gray ones groaned and turned on their heels to run away, too.
Do they have the intelligence to know to run away from opponents they can’t win against? With widened eyes, Rio watched their retreating forms.
Rio and Aishia’s forms disappeared from where they had stood, as they instantly closed in on the black and gray creatures respectively, moving in to attack.
“Gargh?!” When Rio appeared before the black monster, he twisted the enemy’s body and slammed it against the ground. It didn’t seem to have much effect, as the black monster got back up using its incredible reflexes, immediately moving to counterattack.
It’s fast, but... Its movements are linear and its attacks are wide open.
Rio easily dodged the attack and drove his knee into the solar plexus he had wounded earlier.
“Gruh?” The black monster’s body lifted up into the air. Rio grabbed his opponent’s feet and swung it around, dislocating its joints as he smashed it into the ground. The black monster let out a pained groan.
“You sure are tough. Can you understand what I’m saying?” Rio asked, stepping on the abdomen of the black creature. Despite its different skin color, its shape was still human-like, so he wondered if it was possible to communicate with it.
“Gruuuugh.” The monster could only give a low groan.
...No good, huh? What is this guy, anyway? Well, if it’s a monster, it’d leave an enchanted gem, I guess.
With a sigh, Rio drew the blade at his waist. He had never seen nor heard of a monster like this before; in order to check whether it actually was a monster or not, Rio thrust his sword through the black creature’s heart.
“Gragh!” The black creature yelled louder than ever as it struggled wildly. Even with a sword through its heart, it was still moving around. It had quite the stamina.
Somewhat shocked, Rio looked down at the black monster writhing in pain. Eventually, the black creature’s struggling slowed down. “Please kill me,” it seemed to mouth slowly.
With widened eyes, Rio took in the movements of its mouth, then ended the black monster’s life. With a clean snapping noise, its body started to break down into dust, leaving behind a huge heart-shaped blue gem.
So, it was a monster. But the way its mouth moved at the end... Rio picked up the enchanted gem left behind by the strange monster with a conflicted expression.
“Haruto, I’m done here, too.” Aishia walked over with two enchanted gems in her hands. Her expression was so pure, it was as though her brutal mindset from earlier had been washed away entirely.
“...Thank you, Aishia. Shall we go inside? There’s something I need to tell you.” With a small smile, Rio led Aishia back inside the house.
◇◇◇
“I-I’m so sorry!”
Once Rio and Aishia stepped inside, Aki bowed her head, her face completely pale.
“Umm, why are you apologizing?” Rio asked, taken aback.
“Umm... Even though you said not to leave the house without a good reason, I went outside and caused Miharu to put herself in danger...”
“No, no... What happened just now was a pretty irregular event. But, well... Why did you go outside?” Rio asked with a troubled look.
Miharu defended Aki in a hurry. “U-Umm, it was my fault! I was being inconsiderate of Aki’s feelings and made her angry...”
“That’s not true! I... I... I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, Miharu. I’m sorry...” Tears started to stream down Aki’s face as she spoke, clinging to Miharu, who gently patted Aki on the back with a distraught expression.
“It doesn’t seem like I need to say anything more,” Rio said with a smile.
“Mm... Oh? Haruto’s back. Huh, are you crying, Aki?” A sleepy Masato appeared in the living room with a big yawn.
“I-I’m not! You carefree dummy!” Aki separated from Miharu in a fluster, turning away with a huff.
Masato tilted his head an
d peered at Aki’s face. “Hmm?”
“...That aside, it’s been decided that we’re moving,” Rio said, changing the subject rather forcefully out of consideration for Aki.
“Ooh, really?!” Masato asked, his attention diverted away from Aki to Rio.
“Yes. I’m sure it’s been stressful for you, being unable to go outside freely... and it must have been boring, but you’ll be able to live your lives comfortably in another location instead.”
“It’s true that all the studying has left my body all stiff... Wait, when are we moving?”
“I’m thinking tomorrow, maybe. But there are a few rules that have to be cleared up before we move. Let’s go over the details while we eat some snacks, shall we?” Rio said, then walked into the kitchen.
◇◇◇
The next morning, the five set out for the spirit folk village.
“We’ll move to our new location, now. The scenery before you will change in an instant, just like when you came to this world. It isn’t dangerous, though, so just relax,” Rio said to a rather nervous group after putting the stone house away into the Time-Space Cache.
“No... Actually, it’s more like we’re nervous wondering what the other people are like,” Masato said in an unusually flustered manner for him.
The other party they were about to meet were something else, after all. Everyone had received a clear explanation about the spirit folk and their village yesterday; elves, dwarves, and werebeasts — they were all beings that the fantasy-loving Masato was very familiar with, and something he admired greatly. There was no way he wouldn’t be nervous.
“They’re all amazingly nice people, so you’ll make friends in no time. Now, let’s go. Are we all ready?” Rio said with a smile, looking over at everyone.
“Yes, please,” Miharu replied in a somewhat stiff voice, followed by Aki and Masato nodding in response.
“I’m ready anytime,” Aishia agreed with her usual completely relaxed tone.
“Then, here we go. Transilio!” With a smile, Rio activated the teleportation crystal in his hand.
The air began to twist and bend intensely, enveloping the group. In the very next moment, they had disappeared from their original location and teleported to a place near the spirit folk village.
“O-Ooh... Yeah, this was it! This was the feeling I had when my vision suddenly warped back then...” Masato said, glancing around at his surroundings. Miharu and Aki’s eyes were wandering about, too.
“There are many strange presences... they’re similar to mine,” Aishia inclined her head and murmured.
“That’s probably the spirits of the village — it seems like spirits can sense each other’s presence. The shyer spirits are good at suppressing their aura, but there are many spirits in the village,” Rio said, taking a guess at the origin of what Aishia was feeling.
“There’s a spirit with a really big aura.”
“That’s probably Dryas. A humanoid spirit like you, Aishia.”
“There’s another one... not Dryas, but another pretty big spirit is approaching this way,” Aishia said, then looked up at the sky. At the end of her line of sight was Orphia’s contract spirit, Ariel, closing in at a fairly rapid speed.
Aki’s gaze fixed on Ariel’s approach. “...A bird?”
“Isn’t it pretty big? There are people riding on it...” Masato said with a dazed expression. While they were staring, Ariel’s figure grew larger and larger, before finally arriving in the air above Rio’s group. Ariel circled in the air as she began to lower her flight speed.
“There are... girls riding on it,” Miharu murmured.
“They’re all my very close friends, and —” Rio began to explain to Miharu, when one girl jumped off of Ariel first.
It was Latifa. She glanced at the faces of the newcomers, and her expression faltered for a moment. “...Welcome back, Onii-chan!”
She quickly took a breath to ready herself and ran at Rio, crashing into him with a hug.
◇◇◇
One afternoon, a bit before the sun set, somewhere in Strahl...
Reiss stood in the shadows of the forest that extended through the western outskirts of Amande. Surrounding him were several hideous monsters and men, who appeared to be adventurers, lying unconscious.
“...One squad didn’t return. Don’t tell me they were defeated... Defeating a squad of Revenants, especially with an enhanced body in the mix, is no simple feat,” Reiss muttered dubiously.
My actions were a little flashy this time... the investigation squad from the city should be formed soon. Reiss tapped a hand against his mouth in thought, before letting out an annoyed sigh.
“Good grief. I guess I should lie low and keep an eye on things for a while... I’ve also been invited to Charles Arbor’s wedding ceremony in two month’s time. His bride is Celia Claire, if I recall... How a dimwit like that snagged such a catch is beyond me,” he spat bitterly, before turning his gaze to the unconscious adventurers.
“...While the plan will have to be delayed for a while, the numbers have fallen. I guess I shall have to change the materials I have right here and now... How many will remain this time, I wonder?” Reiss grinned like a demon as he slowly walked toward the unconscious adventurers.
Epilogue: To You, My Precious Person
One day, roughly two months after Rio and the others arrived at the spirit folk village... In the Kingdom of Beltrum — the capital of Beltrant — a young woman who looked to be in her mid teens was in the garden of the royal castle. Her name was Celia Claire: she was a count’s daughter and the youngest person to graduate from the renowned Royal Academy of Beltrum.
Celia’s long silver hair swayed in the wind as she sadly gazed at a single letter in her hands. The name Haruto was printed as the sender.
Celia knew the name; she had received a letter from a certain boy using that name once before, so she was convinced that that same boy was the one who wrote this letter, too.
The contents of the letter were straightforward and written in a familiar handwriting, stating that he would be late, but would definitely come to see her again.
“Hello, Celia... So you were here this whole time.” A man in his mid-thirties appeared, putting on airs as he spoke to Celia. The man wore elegant knight’s clothing with several medals pinned to his chest.
Celia hid the letter immediately and addressed the man — Charles Arbor — stiffly. “Sir Charles...”
Charles grinned at Celia smugly. “There’s no need to be so formal. We’ll be wedded next week, no? How about you call me ‘darling’ instead?”
“No, umm... That’s a little... It’s still a little embarrassing for me...” Celia ducked her head down and shyly bit her lip.
Charles laughed. “I do like your sense of chastity; it is lovely indeed. You even refuse to hold the hand of your fiance. I look forward to seeing how you change after our wedding.”
Goosebumps ran along Celia’s skin as she kept her head down, feigning embarrassment.
“Sir Charles, do you have a moment?” A knight suddenly appeared out of nowhere, calling for Charles.
“My, my... Just when I came to greet my adorable fiancee, work comes calling. In these times where the kingdom is in disarray, the busy duties of a large noble family never seem to cease,” Charles said, giving an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders as he expressed his disappointment.
“Everyone feels anxious without you around, Sir Charles. Please pay me no concern and go to them.” Celia gave an empty smile, trying to encourage Charles to go.
“Yes, I shall do that. I’ll come to visit you again soon, my dear.” Charles nodded in satisfaction, then turned on his heel and walked away with his subordinate.
Celia watched his retreating back and let out a deep sigh, then took the letter she had hidden away earlier back out and clutched it to her chest.
“Rio...” she whispered yearningly, on the verge of tears.
Afterword
Hello, everyone — th
is is Yuri Kitayama. Thank you very much for picking up Seirei Gensouki, Volume 4: Eternal You.
So, the fourth volume of the Seirei Gensouki novel has finally gone on sale. Two years ago, I would have never imagined myself having a career writing books, and now I’ve already released four volumes. You really don’t know what’ll happen to you in life.
That being said, I haven’t quite gotten used to the idea of myself as an author, or maybe my identity as an author is still too weak, and I haven’t quite gotten used to calling myself Yuri Kitayama.
For example, when someone suddenly calls me Kitayama out of the blue, I sometimes think: “Who’s that?” in confusion... In another instance, someone from the editing department called me on the phone and I nearly answered with my real name; my nerves made my head completely blank and unable to recall my own series title, leaving me mumbling over my words. Embarrassing. (laughs)
But, well, as I’m living the busy author life doing this and that, I’m returning to my early days of writing for fun and enjoying it.
However, I seem to have trouble switching from my usual leisurely pace, so it takes me a while to get into the zone and my writing time is rather unstable. This is something I only noticed recently (I’m slow!).
Well, I’m also the type to get lost in concentration once I get in the zone, so I’ve been training myself to focus more consistently lately. Thanks to those efforts, the process of writing volume 4 felt like a much smoother experience.
Furthermore, with this volume, we finally get a glimpse of the heroine that appeared in volume 1 once more, so I was keen to finally start the real story from here onward. The subtitle “Eternal You” has a few different meanings, which will be revealed as the story continues. For now, I’d appreciate it if everyone took in the meaning in their own way after reading what happened in this volume.
I touched upon how the light novel version will have similarities to the web novel version — while also being an independent series on its own — in the afterword of the first volume. However, I believe the readers of both novels will find that the independence of this series has strengthened now with the release of volume four. The reason for this is that volume one through three have stuck to the storyline of the web novel fairly faithfully, but volume four has branched off from the web novel in order to include new adventurous developments and possibilities.
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