Seirei Gensouki's
Chapter 101: Second Day of Afternoon Feast, Before
The Galwark kingdom was located in the easternmost part of the Strahl region.
The three major countries around it are ―― Bertram kingdom in the west, Saint Stellar kingdom in the south and, Proxia empire in the north.
In contrast to the Bertram kingdom, Galwark kingdom, and Saint Stellar kingdom which had a long history, the newly ascended Proxia empire quickly expanded its territory by invading swarms of small countries living in the north.
The two great nations, Bertram kingdom and Galwark kingdom, saw this decided to check them by forming a union which caused the international balance of power to be deadlocked, this tense country has continued for decades.
But, in such a situation, the recent coup in Bertram increased the stimulus related to international relations.
In addition, there are rumors that are almost too good to circulate in the community that the shadow of the Proxia kingdom is behind the coup that continues to appear and disappear.
The king of Galwark kingdom and the king's reign cleared their hands from the current reign of Bertram kingdom, and a new government emerged after a coup called 『Recovery』 led by Flora.
Therefore, the current situation in the eastern part of the Strahl region is a place that will trigger a disturbance *.
Although there are many small countries in the eastern part of the Strahl region, their international policy is "Just matter your own country".
For example, if a war broke out, those countries would definitely get involved in it and there were even some countries that would do small battles as representatives of the real big country.
An evening party sponsored by the Galwark kingdom was held amidst such an international situation, and the debut of Satsuki, the hero, was gathering a lot of attention from the surrounding small countries.
And tonight, the small countries that were under the protection of Galwark kingdom all accepted the invitation, and now, they did an introduction for the foreign guests in the hall that served as the place.
In short, small countries are invited by their superior countries, that is why sending their royalties is a way to show their behavior and in the end, all that is introduced is their royalty.
By the way, the order in which they were introduced was decided according to their relationship or their national strength.
And then, while the royalties from the small countries were introduced in sequence, it was now the turn of certain princesses from the small countries to be introduced.
「FURTHERMORE IS THE FIRST PRINCESS OF RUBIA KINGDOM, PRINCESS HIGHNESS SILVI-SAMA!」
As the knight doing the introductions said that, the nobles in the hall started to make a fuss.
Just then, a girl appeared from door to stage.
5 Officers followed him.
「PP—！ PRINCESS KNIGHT KITAAA！ THIS IS A BIG INCOME YOU KNOW！ As expected, I never thought to see a princess knight after I came to this fantasy world」
And then, the one who reveled in such a strange tension was the one who stood behind the door on the stage waiting for his turn, the eyes of the nobleman gathered on Silvi's daughter who had just been introduced.
「Having a knight princess, prince Silvi's daughter, pops」
「She really is a gallant woman, not」
「Yes, I saw him and he is not inferior to the hero, Satsuki-sama」
「Such a graceful figure is suitable as ornaments on the battlefield. He's best suited to improving the morale of the soldiers, right 」
And so, the male camp gossip somehow became more passionate than it was during the introduction of other royalties from small countries.
Moreover, even one part of the young girls sent passionate gazes towards him.
Silvia Rubia is a girl who was born as the first daughter of a small country, Rubia kingdom, based on her appearance, her age is still in the latter half of her teenage years.
She is tall enough for a girl, she has a blonde face and a dashing face and a long shoulder length of ―― Actually, she is someone filled with charm that attracts the public attention.
Although it seems, as a young girl, she has a soft and gentle body, one can feel it from the way she moves so that she is actually a strong military woman.
A simple simple black ornament was added to the pure white dress she was wearing, although it might as well be her battle costume once she wore the sword on her waist, it still fit the atmosphere.
Section 2
「Everyone gets very alive, don't they? Is there a secret to the popularity of the princess Silvia？ 」
Rio asked Liselotte with the expression of someone who was interested in the rumors.
Liselotte then looked at Rio with the face of [Oh my].
「Haruto-sama doesn't know about that. Her Majesty's daughter, Silvia, is a famous girl in a neighboring country. The biggest reason for that was because he acted as a knight despite being a noble. Although it was a bit difficult to imagine for a normal country, it seemed like she was known as the Knight Princess. 」
「I understand .................... So there is a princess who acts as a knight, not thinking that I would be very ignor」
That Rio proverb seemed to be really interested in her.
One could say that she was curious about the secret of her popularity, but it was probably mostly due to her personality and her beauty.
「Although I happened to hear that he was quite skilled, that doesn't mean he was active in heroic endeavors, right. Therefore it is only natural that you never hear about it unless you are active in a high society like nobility 」
While the two of them were having that conversation, Silvi's introduction had ended so she moved to the corner of the stage.
After that was introduced some small royal royalties, and finally the turn of foreign guests of the big kingdoms.
Since the first day was led by the introduction of 『Restoration』 which had already appeared on the first day of the evening party, the ambassadors of Saint Stellar made their appearance on the second day.
「Welcome to Saint Stellar kingdom. NEXT TO BE INTRODUCED ARE THE HERO, TAKAHISA SENDOU-SAMA AND HIS FIRST PRINCESS, LILYANA-SAMA！ 」
Everyone from Saint Stellar was introduced at first.
A country that usually refrains from appearing eventually appears, people at the venue begin to show interest in the situation.
After waiting impatiently, the waiting ambassador finally appeared, entering from the open door.
「OOH!」
Everyone at the venue started to see male and female partners emerging from the door.
Even Rio quickly narrowed his eyes to the man on stage— All he saw in his eyes was the figure of Sendou Takahisa.
(He is............
Maybe it wasn't just his imagination to see it somewhere.
They have never met.
Never talk to each other.
But, even if it was only for a moment, there was a moment where he saw it from a distance.
The memory of that time had not faded, even now, it was engraved clearly in Rio's mind.
Section 3
「She's hero-dono Saint Stellar kingdom huh. Looking from his appearance, he is quite young ya 」
「Yes, I can feel his great dignity. Coupled with her appearance, she is basically perfect 」
Mumbled conversations echoed throughout the hall to confirm Takahisa's appearance as a hero.
Circular around Takahisa's body is an etiquette outfit that concentrates on silver design with blue as an accent color. [TL: Rio \= Kirito, Takahisa \= Eugeo, is this the flag of death?] [ED: probably depends on whether he is the preferred character]
It was about half 170 cm tall, slightly shorter than Rio.
He had a neat and cleanly groomed appearance, along with a refreshing short hairdo and the fact that he spread his smile throughout the hall with a bloated chest.
His figure was definitely enough to call him an adequate young noble or youth.
「But ……………. Princess Her Highness Saint Stellar is really pretty huh 」
「Ya, although I heard that she is beautiful, to think that she is this beautiful .......」.
Now, the nobles focused on the girl walking beside Takahisa.
Lilyana Saint Stellar―― First princess of Saint Stellar kingdom and who is traveling to act as manager of Takahisa.
Her lustrous golden long hair, her pale yellow dress, her gentle and kind-hearted appearance, and then her graceful behavior made one feel courteous, well-mannered, it is no exaggeration to say that she is the personification of the ideal beauty.
Although Flora was no less beautiful than her, Lilyana exuded the presence of an expert in social life more than Flora.
All the male nobles in that place swallowed in the presence of this angel-like beauty.
「But nevertheless, she is the beauty of everyone even in the presence of those who accompany her」
「Yes, she really is a flower. Yes God, everyone just ………. 」
Although there were about ten people left behind Takahisa and Lilyana, almost all of them were women.
People who follow royalty as ambassadors of other countries may have quite high standing in contrast to fair men.
「HEREINAFTER TO BE INTRODUCED IS THE ANTI-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION BERTRAM KINGDOM,『 RECOVERY 』, HEROES, HIROAKI SAKATA, DURING WITH THE HIGH OF THE SECOND POLICY, BERTRAM KINGDOM, FLORA BERTRAM」
After the introduction, the headquarters of 『Restoration』 appeared starting from Flora and Hiroaki.
But, maybe because of the looks of Takahisa and Lilyana, or because they had already been introduced last night, they really did not get any attention.
The noise is not as much as yesterday.
Hiroaki looked at the place with pouting lips as if slightly dissatisfied.
And then he glared at Takahisa who was still sunbathing watching the surroundings.
After which, Lilyana who noticed his gaze sent a full smile at Hiroaki.
「……」
Hiroaki was startled and showed an astonished face, and then started to blush.
He showed a somewhat loose smile and then nodded at her.
After which, Hiroaki sent a fleeting glance towards Lilyana to forget about Flora by her side.
When Satsuki and the royal royalty of Galwark kingdom appeared, the second day of the night party officially began.
☆ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
Section 4
Evening parties also leave time for fun talks.
「Haruto-kun」
Satsuki who appeared out of nowhere suddenly called out to Rio.
「Halo, Satsuki-sama」
Rio bowed respectfully while showing an expression as if being surprised.
「Happy to meet you, Satsuki-sama」
Liselotte also went to greet him with a sweet face to her.
「It's nice to meet you too, Liselotte-sama. Can I borrow it for a moment？？
Satsuki broke the ice by going straight to the point.
Because a slightly unexpected situation happened earlier.
Although Satsuki was already supposed to come and talk to Rio, she felt the need to talk to him about Takahisa's matter.
"Yes nih . Of course you can but, the two of you have become very close, right?？
Liselotte asked with a surprised expression.
"Yes nih . At first it was because of the story, I heard about the birthplace of her parents, and then we fit in during that conversation. We couldn't talk too long yesterday that's why I thought to talk to him again 」
Satsuki's replying to him with a smile on her face.
「A story about the birthplace of Haruto-sama's parents. …………. . Uhm, if maybe I can hear about that too？ I'm also a little interested in foreign lands 」
Liselotte asked as if trying to see the situation.
Although Rio and Satsuki were a little worried about what they said to her, the matter of inquiring about the topic of conversation was rude and unsuitable for a woman.
Nevertheless, the girl named Liselotte was not the type of girl who had a selfless personality to the point of staring enviously at the two of them who had become intimate with each other.
That's why he was aware of that fact and asked to be added to their conversation.
Moreover, she also wanted to use the party tonight to get closer to Rio.
「EH? Yeah, it's okay. Uhm ……………. 」
Satsuki glanced at Rio when she was troubled with how to answer him.
（................. How could that happen to me?）
Rio caught his signal while still smiling.
After coming with Liselotte to this place, even though she was clearly troubled and unable to talk about the main matter with Satsuki, she was unable to talk about it, there's no way he can tell himself 「Please don't talk to him first」.
He immediately thought of a suitable answer to reject this level of demand.
The matter of receiving would only come naturally when it came to Liselotte request.
It was just that, in fact, he wanted to discuss about what he wanted to do and share the information with Liselotte for now.
He had no choice but to leave it in their conversation for a while if he came and then made a proper excuse in the middle.
That's his decision, though,
Section 5
「Yes, although there is nothing extraordinary that I can tell in my story, I don't mind you know. I of course welcome you if you are interested in the birthplace of my parents 」
Rio decided to agree to her request for now.
It seemed that Satsuki also understood that it couldn't help but, she displayed a slightly irritated expression.
「But, before that, may I have a conversation about a personal matter with Satsuki-sama from yesterday？ This conversation is a bit personal. I think it will end in 2, not 3 minutes though ........ 」...
Rio bowed lightly while saying that in an apologetic tone.
And sending a fleeting glance at Satsuki while doing so.
Although Satsuki was a little surprised when their eyes met,
「Uhm, yes. Definitely a slightly embarrassing thing to hear …. . Maybe"
He immediately agreed with a somewhat awkward tone.
「This is clearly disrespectful. If that's the case I'll take the distance for now 」
Liselotte said that while putting her hand on her lips, expressing her shock in an elegant manner.
The thing is, trying to join the conversation just now when he didn't hear the full content of their story, might have come to the level of a very shameless person.
Liselotte laughed out loud and then took a few steps back.
"Thank you very much"
Rio and Satsuki bowed lightly.
Although he felt very guilty about sending her away like that, they walked until they reached a place where their conversation would not be heard from where Liselotte was.
「How are you, well, that kind of quick wit is really effective. Geez, I can't even tell such empty lies, you know 」
Satsuki said those words with a astonished voice in the middle of her sentence.
「Tough society is right. That's the secret to success 」[Rio]
Rio replied with a wry smile.
「Although I am happy with your praise, now is not the time for it. Come quickly to business 」[Rio]
"You are right . …………. . I think you already know, but this is about the hero of Saint Stellar kingdom. He is the older brother of Aki-chan and Masato-kun 」
「Yes, I know that. Do you have any plans to get in touch with him？ 」
"A little more . Even so, don't tell her about Miharu-chan and the others. I feel that he should get your approval first, since there is a princess by his side, we can't just talk to him. With that we will say hello to him for a while and tell him to meet again later 」
"Remain……… . . As for me, I think there is no reason not to tell him, he is someone who is considered a brother by Satsuki-san. Of course it is better if we proceed with caution 」
Rio told her in a loose tone.
"You are right . Right enough. I also think like that but ……………. . 」
Section 6
Satsuki's showing a pensive expression while nodding at him.
His hesitation lasted for a few seconds.
「Maybe Takahisa will be very adamant to take the three of them with him. Because of him, how should I say, someone who really cares for his family. She really appreciates Aki-chan and Masato-kun 」
Told it as if a little troubled by it.
And then, Rio guessed what worried Satsuki.
「You already told Miharu-san and the others about the risk of being together with the hero that the country has, right?」
Rio asked her.
「In that case, after that is what they want themselves, you know. Takahisa-san is also included in their choice factor. We tell them what they should worry about, we can do nothing but leave them with what they think, and that includes him. I am also in the same position as Satsuki-san. It was because they really wanted to meet Satsuki-san 」
Rio gently told her as if trying to persuade her.
Rio really has no knowledge of such a person called Sendou Takahisa.
But, he felt that Takahisa was not a bad person because Aki and Masato missed him.
Moreover, above all, Takahisa was their big brother.
If he asks if they want to meet him, of course they want to.
After all he was sure Miharu really wanted to meet him as well.
If that was the case, of course it was his duty to arrange a reunion with them, Rio decided that in his heart.
Since he did not want to act while ignoring their own will for no reason, otherwise, it would make them truly like birds inside the cage.
"You are right . Come to think of it, after explaining the situation does not mean we should have a reunion between him and Miharu-chan and the others. Maybe I'm a little too worried 」
Satsuki lowered her brows as if troubled as she said.
「I've decided to get you a little more trouble again but, can I ask you to arrange another secret meeting like last night?」
"Of course"
Rio nodded while smiling at her.
「But, sibling contact should have been easier done from Satsuki-san's side than from my side. Maybe I asked for your help in that？ 」
「I don't mind to do that but, she basically acted together with the princess during the evening party right. If we aim for it, it might be better to do it at dance time like yesterday right？ 」
「Of course. Next is to create time if possible by saying that you want to talk as someone from the same world after a night party. Besides is it possible to talk to the two of them alone, he should not be as bad as blocking the reunion of his fellow friends in public [i] 」
"You are right . I should try it after this. It would be an advantage if I could get time to have a proper conversation with him 」
Satsuki laughed with "fufufu" as she said those words.
「Alright, that's for this discussion. If possible, could you introduce the two of us after you danced with her？ 」
「It depends on the defense of the princess but, I will try」
Section 7
After their conversation reached that far, they turned towards Liselotte.
「Thank you so much for waiting. Liselotte-sama. We are done with our discussion 」
「I don't mind things like that, you know. Because it was indeed my unreasonable request 」
Liselotte told him in a soft voice.
Rio responded with a light nod.
「Then, it is a story about the birthplace of my true parents」
After that, Rio decided to tell Satsuki and Liselotte about the Yagumo territory.
Although the subject of the conversation was only on surface information, Satsuki and Liselotte were very interested in the subject about food culture.
「Grain being a staple food is something obtained from threshing the seeds of a plant they call a rice plant. As for the objects they use for seasoning, they use solid or liquid ones made from fermenting other types of grains 」
So, Rio told them.
It was obviously rice, miso and, soy sauce [shoyu].
A curious light flashed across Satsuki and Liselotte eyes.
「........... This is only probability but, it looks like it is similar to the material in my homeland」
Satsuki said it in a low voice.
「Is that？ The English called rice, shoyu and miso. Although rice is usually eaten after boiling, you can give it its taste by cooking it with other ingredients 」
So, Rio uttered the names of the ingrendien people with proper nouns in the language of Karasuki region [ii].
Satsuki who gave a special translation ability because her heavenly clothes understood the meaning of those words immediately in Japan.
「Aah, as I thought！ Much the same. This world also has it 」
Satsuki's expression became brighter with "PA".
Perhaps he wanted to eat Japanese food in this world as well,
「Unfortunately those materials are not widespread in the Strahl」 region
Rio crushed that hope while smiling wryly.
Although Satsuki dropped her shoulder without hiding the expression of disappointment,
「........... Uhm, Liselotte-san who manages a company deals with this kind of commodity right?」
He looked at Liselotte while asking her with a hopeful expression.
「........ Maybe but, I have an idea about the process of making grains. But, it looks like Haruto-sama is looking for a cooking method―― And not an edible ingredient to cook properly 」
Liselotte shook her head as if feeling disappointed.
To be honest, there was a period where Liselotte was also racking her brain to obtain those ingredients.
First of all, after searching in the vast Strahl region, only something similar to rice did he manage to find.
Wheat cultivation was very popular among the grain owners in the Strahl region, the cultivation of rice plants was none other than a small part of it but, it was not difficult to find it if he used the strength of Rikka company.
Section 8
And then, even though he finally got the dead rice for her, the result was the fact that the rice did not live up to Liselotte expectations.
Rice that has been cultivated superbly in one part of the region has almost no stickiness along with large grains, that is why cooking methods are mainly used as ingredients for soups or salads.
In short it is really not suitable to be eaten like the rice that is favored by the Japanese.
Nevertheless it is possible to eat it as a porridge and, Liselotte is actually growing it in Almond.
On the other hand, he was completely unable to find anything with regards to miso and shoyu.
Although he tried to reproduce a little, he decided to leave it immediately because he was really lacking in terms of getting the materials and fungi needed for its manufacture.
"Is it so . Although it seems that rice has no taste in itself when you just boil it normally, it may be because it has a suitable firmness, is soft and, a nice gloss, she said, it has the most incredible affinity when eaten along with side dishes that have a dark flavor of 」
Rio retaliated in a way that aroused the tastes of Liselotte and Satsuki.
「…………」
Both of them in the female camp swallowed their saliva at the same time.
They might remember the taste of their hometown when they heard stories about food from Rio.
It is natural for them to long for the taste of the hometown after a long stay in a foreign place.
Rio understood their feelings very well since he was also practically experiencing them.
Now he wondered what would happen to the two women in front of him if they knew that he was practically eating dishes made from those ingredients every day.
（I feel this will be something troublesome）
Even if he explained that he had ingredients that could not be obtained in the Strahl region, he thought that it was a very difficult matter to explain about the route to obtain those materials.
If he explained that, Rio would be confused if he did not make any reference regarding the movements up to the Yagumo region.
Although she felt it was okay to tell them about it for a moment, she decided not to tell them.
But, when he saw the two beautiful women who were tightly squeezing their lips as if eating them stimulated while gazing deeply into their eyes, an indescribable feeling of guilt gushed out within him.
Maybe I was a little too mean to them.
He was trying to make a minimum of atonement while feeling that.
（Well, should I make it for them ………. If I have that time）
Rio swore in his heart.
Thus, accordingly.
「Satsuki-senpai」
The voice that called out Satsuki's name echoed.
No one but one person will call Satsuki with "Senpai" attached as a suffix to her name at the party tonight.
Rio and comrade turned towards the owner of the voice.
「I'm surprised because you suddenly disappeared, you know. There is something I want to talk to you 」
As expected, standing there was the hero of Saint Stellar kingdom, Sendou Takahisa.
Lilyana, the princess of the kingdom was also cowering tightly to him.
Also, some of the girls escorting them stood in the distance around them.
Almost at the same time,
Section 9
「You disappeared comfortably again yes, Satsuki ………. . 」
Michael Galwark, the second prince of Galwark kingdom also came to them.
Charlotte Galwark, the second princess of Galwark kingdom was also by her side.
"Yu . What's up, everyone gathered in this place 」
What adds up is the appearance of Sakata Hiroaki and Flora Bertram as the finishing touches.
This might be a joke of fate, the 3 powerful countries along with their heroes who attended the evening party made their appearance.
After noticing that things had turned into troublesome matters, Rio quietly sighed inside.
☆ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
Why can this be.
Right now, Rio is suffering inside due to the situation he was pitted against.
When he sent a glance at the establishment of the dance hall located in the middle of the hall, he could see that both Satsuki and Takahisa were currently in deep talk about something there.
He already knew the fact that the relationship between Satsuki and Takahisa was an old friend.
Therefore, there was no unnatural feeling in the fact that they were dancing together.
After a simple conversation with everyone currently present, when Satsuki invited her to dance, Takahisa easily agreed to her proposal.
The flow of the conversation felt comfortable even for Rio but—
（Why am I in a place like this?）
Rio who was left behind in that place found it hard to describe the feeling.
The reason was the queue that gathered and ended up as his conversation partner.
Sakata Hiroaki, Flora Bertram, Lilyana Saint Stellar, Charlotte Galwark, Michael Galwark.
One was a hero while the other four were royalty from a powerful country.
In the first place, he himself was attending a party tonight where royalty and titled nobles gathered sticking out like a thumb but, isn't this too far away for him to be mixed with such a line? . [TL: Have you forgotten the fact that you are A ROYALTY yourself]
Although unofficial, Rio himself was a noble from a distant foreign country but, it was actually meaningless since he himself had no self-awareness as a noble. [ED: Look, he knows it]
Even if it was just little Liselotte accompanying by his side was a little relieved for him.
Even though the person herself is the daughter of a powerful noble――
「It looks like you became very intimate with Satsuki instead. What's your name again？ 」
The second prince of Galwark kingdom, Michael asked Rio.
「My name is Haruto, Your Highness」
Rio introduced his name with a smile on his face.
Michael looked at her with a judging look while humming and then,
「………. I saw . It seems like Satsuki's mood has also changed for the better after talking to you yesterday. I saw that he was brighter than his usual self today. If you like, please come to talk to him again 」
He said that with a slightly moody expression on his face.
「Ha. With pleasure"
Section 10
While accepting his request, Rio could not help but feel complicated inside.
Because she thought Michael might not be too happy with her interacting with Satsuki.
「It was for some reason Haruto-sama's parents were emigrants from Yagumo region. Me and onii-sama also heard the story when you met Satsuki-sama 」
So Charlotte added one after another with a bright smile on her face.
「Of course. As his words 」
It's a little bit important and he also has no obligation to it.
Rejecting requests like these that are requested from royalties is difficult.
Despite whether it was really a request as a means or just a pleasantries, only Charlotte knew, though, it was not a bad offer when thinking that he could easily meet with Satsuki from now on after being allowed by them.
「And Liselotte will come too. I'd like to enjoy tea time with you again 」
"Thank you very much . I will gladly attend also 」
Etc., right on the side of Rio and Liselotte who were conversing with the two royalties of Galwark kingdom, Hiroaki was conversing with Lilyana.
「Hiroaki-sama is a great gentlemen, isn't it?「
Lilyana chuckled while saying that.
"Is it so . We can have talks like this as much as you want 」
Hiroaki laughed carelessly with a pleased expression.
Since whatever she talked about Lilyana would give the right reaction, Hiroaki's manner of speaking was also brighter than usual.
「Then, please tell me more stories. Since I myself am a box princess who does not know the way of the world, I am very happy that I can talk like this without feeling constrained with Hiroaki-sama 」
「Aah, I understand so so so. Nevertheless, where should I start ……. . 」
He wanted to offer a topic that he thought he would be interested in as well, but, no topic of interest came out now when he was really excited for it.
And then, when Hiroaki was worried about what he would talk about,
「Then, may I ask for an interesting story from Flora-sama as well?」
Lilyana proposed it was probably because she noticed Flora who was listening quietly by Hiroaki's side.
「F-From me？ Uhm, that's right」
Losing Flora's answer when she was suddenly stabbed by such a proposal.
He showed a pensive expression on his face and then,
「........... Uhm, I think the story about Hiroaki-sama's world bathtub is interesting」
Flora said that timidly soon after.
Section 11
「A ~ h, bathtub yes. That's because people in this world don't immerse themselves in the bathtub ya 」
Hiroaki spoke as if very touched.
「Bathtub yes. Come to think of it, Takahisa-sama is also―― 」
When Lilyana was about to say something.
「B-BURGAR!」
A voice resembling a scream was heard within the hall.