Seirei Gensouki's
Chapter 125: Day of Departure

「So, did you decide on the next action?」

After Francois gave Rio the right to a surname as Haruto Amakawa, he asked about the latter's plan.

「I'll go west. 」

When he replied, Francois stopped, muttering softly.

"I saw . You were originally active on the outskirts of Almond before this, weren't you? 」

「Yes, that's right. 」

「If you are going to pass through the territory of Duke Kretia on the road, you should pay a visit to the house of Cedric. I heard that you and Liselotte came to the capital together by a magic ship. 」

The distance between Almond and the capital of Galwark kingdom was at most a few hours, even with the most common magic ships.

Taking the highway on foot, it will be about two weeks.

However, in Rio's case, he could fly himself much faster than the magic ship, but Francois didn't know about it.

「My deepest thanks for your consideration. 」

「I mentioned earlier that it doesn't matter as long as you return on the chance to see Charlotte and Satsuki-dono. I'm sure they'll both miss you. 」

Francois said their names as if to emphasize it.

"I understand . I would do my best to visit occasionally. 」

Holding a tense breath, Rio answered his request politely.

☆ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

Some time before the meeting between Francois and Rio, there were three magical ships belonging to the Saint Stella kingdom anchored in the eastern port of the capital Galwark.

The knights were very nervous, taking every precaution so as not to miss any signs of intruders entering the ship after Takahisa and Liliana boarded

Among the two people on patrol were Alice and Kiara.

「Alice, is there an abnormal reaction around or inside the ship?」

「No ~ ne. If anything, I'll let you know as soon as I notice. 」

Although Kiara's voice was tense, Alice remained indifferent as usual.

「Only you are on board with the ability to feel magical power. I'm not going to let you miss it a second time, so please stay focused. 」

「Understanding ~. But come on, don't you think you're working too hard here? I deserve a break now. 」

Other than his attitude, it was extremely difficult for someone without a good plan to crawl onto the magic ship.

Of course there were knights on guard with their eyes and ears, but Alice was wary for the use of magic or magic tools.

There are two skills required to use magic. It was the manipulation and perception of magical power, referred to as odo by Seirei no Tami.

Although it was possible for humans who could use magic to understand odo, in any normal case they only felt a fixed amount used for spelling. They could not feel the loose magic floating in the air.

To say nothing about changing phenomena, it was impossible to distinguish the true nature of magical energy from the naked eye.

This type of high-level sensory and perceptual ability is very useful for detecting abnormalities in magical powers, and is indispensable for studying spirit arts.

Since the magic used by humans did not strictly demand the ability to sense pure magic power, they did not possess the knowledge necessary to train that ability efficiently.

Of course, it was also possible for humans to learn spirit arts after special training, but it was not a broad discipline in the Strahl region.

The discipline they referred to as magic became widespread in the region thanks to its ease of use, so high-demand spirit arts faded into obscurity.

Then there were some rare cases of geniuses who had a high affinity for spirit arts among humans. Such amazing humans will be able to feel the odo with high precision from a little training.

Rio, who was able to learn spirit arts much faster than normal humans, and could even pass through the many steps used, could be considered as the rarest of the rare. However, Alice was not too far away from her level.

Many spies and assassins often use strange magic and tools. As a result, natural born wonders like Alice are invaluable as a companion to — living national treasures.

There are times when a person is smart enough to use the absolute minimum power required, enough so that they can remain undetected up to the point of contact with their target. But for anyone careless enough to use spirit arts or magic within Alice's reach, he would capture it without fail.

His outstanding talent matured at a very young age, so it was quickly decided that he was raised as a royal knight for the princess. Despite being the eldest daughter, her ability in serving Liliana could not be ignored.

☆ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

「But, we're on the lake, aren't we?」

Miharu muttered those words.

「Didn't this vibration come from the ship itself?」

"… May . How you feeling?"

Miharu answered Masato question with one of her questions, but before she could answer, the trembling got stronger. The ship seems to be moving.

「Wa — ships! Is it moving? 」

Masato looked around the salon as he stabilized himself, but unfortunately there was no window to look outside.

「Um, it looks like so. Has Takahisa-kun already entered? 」

The tourist flight on the ship was to wait for Takahisa to return, so he thought it would start when he did.

「Ah, come on, I want to be on the deck when we leave. 」

As Masato nagged his dissatisfaction, the weight of gravity slowly lessened on them.

「Ah — wah, this feels a bit strange. Let's try peeking outside. 」

Masato headed to the salon door, interrupted by Aki.

「T-Wait! Masato, you can't! 」

And suddenly the door opened, Takahisa on the other side.

「What's up, Aniki? Let me go to the deck when we go, 」

"My fault . There's something I want to talk about. Are you going to sit down for now? 」

「But we're already on the air, aren't we? I want to finish looking around. 」

「There will be no tour. We are heading towards Saint Stella's kingdom right now. 」

For some reason, Takahisa's voice was cold as a rock.

Although Masato looked agitated, he was completely dumbfounded. He could not understand what his brother had just said, and he himself could not say anything.

Next to her, Miharu was just as confused, only muttering in response.

「Eh?」

"What did you say?"

「I decided to return to our country. This ship is currently heading towards Saint Stella kingdom. Everyone should come with me. 」

「Wait a minute, I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

Masato frowned at him suspiciously.

「That's why I'll explain. Can we sit down first? Let's have lunch while we talk. 」

☆ ★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★

After everyone gathered at the dining table in the salon, a warm meal was immediately served to them.

On the menu there is a white soup made with Galwark's original calves, freshly baked bread, stir-fried mushrooms, omelet, and colorful salads.

The scent tickled Masato's nose and roused his stomach.

He had many questions he wanted to ask, but he felt it would be futile to let his food go cold. So, Masato immediately reached out his hand to begin devouring his somewhat delayed lunch.

Frankly, it was so similar to Masato that Miharu could not help but smile at the boy who had never once beaten his stomach in a battle of attrition.

He thought it would be fine to start a conversation on his own, but he hesitated to actually do so, so Masato preceded him.

「So, Send .. Santo—」

「Kingdom of Saint Stella. 」

In the end, Miharu finally corrected herself.

「Yes. Why are we going to Saint Stella's kingdom? What happened to Haruto-anchan, and Satsuki-oneechan? Are they on the plane? 」

Masato threw a barrage of questions at Takahisa on the sidelines of the raspy bread.

「They are not on board. They will visit Saint Stella in the future. 」

「Are we not going to meet Haruto-san this afternoon? You promised, didn't you? 」

Miharu asked with a puzzled expression, Masato's head spinning trying to follow, and Takahisa desperately resisted the urge to grimace.

"I'm sorry . It became impossible. That's why we're heading to Saint Stella now. 」

「Eh?」

Miharu froze stiff for a moment.

「I — That's a lie! YOU'RE LYING, AREN'T YOU ?! ?!

He had completely lost his calm.

"Why? Why did the ship take us to the kingdom of Saint Stella? Tell why! 」

「M-Miharu-oneechan, what's up?」

Aki could not help her shock, having never seen Miharu explode before. Masato was stunned, too.

He sat back in his chair, body tense.

——This shouldn't have happened, so when did this happen?

That was the only question on his mind.

Miharu's brain was in the gir the night before. He didn't even get a break for a moment.

Or rather, it was on his mind until a few minutes ago.

Haruto is Amakawa Haruto.

What if that's the truth? What's he gonna do?

He wants to know the truth. No, without exception, he should know.

Still, Haruto shows various sides of himself, and sometimes he sees something so cruel that it overwhelms him——

When he thinks the truth may not be as he imagined .. when he thinks finally it is time for him to learn the answer to his question ... he is afraid, wants to run from him——

He tried to calm himself down, even just a little bit, before he met Haruto, but for all the preparations he made, his mind slowly shattered.

He was afraid to leave the ship to see Haruto, but at the same time he was filled with anticipation to talk to him.

His heart throbbed so fast that it hurt, and the longer it took to meet him crept closer.

He never expected that he would rather do something else.

「It must have been a lie. This kind of thing ... THIS DOESN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN! 」

Haruto confesses his love to her.

He said there was something he wanted to give her.

He didn't think he would go anywhere else before that.

Miharu was attacked by an indescribable anxiety.

"That's the truth . 」

As Takahisa spoke, shivering on Miharu's back.

Only a momentary doubt flickered in his eyes.

"… I have to go . 」

「Eh?」

Aki tilted her head as Miharu stood up and ran to the door.

「Huh — Miharu-oneechan! Waitaminute! Where are you going?!"

Aki rushed after him, successfully grabbing Miharu's arm when she opened the door.

No one could understand why Miharu acted so because of the character.

"Let go! Please! I need to get off this ship! 」

「K-You can't! It's flying! 」

「I still have something to do there! Where is Haruto-san! So, why could it be like this without an explanation ?! ?!

Although he was clearly unhappy with what happened, Aki refused to release him.

「He's right, Aniki. Please explain what's happening now. And if we are not satisfied with the reason, please send us back soon. 」

Masato calmed down and agreed with Miharu.

「It's okay. You will be able to meet again. I already discussed it with Satsuki-senpai, and she agreed to it as well. 」

Perhaps because she was expecting Miharu's reaction, Takahisa could answer without stopping beating. And not just Masato, even Miharu turned to listen.

Although, in Miharu's case, there was a strange, menacing glint in her eyes.

「If so, then why do you hide all this from us?」

"… Forgive me . It's my fault for keeping this matter a secret from you. We have an urgent matter ahead of us, so we don't have enough time to let you know. 」

「If you are in a hurry, why did you force us to go with you? We can't even say goodbye to Satsuki-neechan and Haruto-anchan. 」

"… Forgive me . I don't want to be away from anyone. 」

Masato clicked his tongue at Takahisa's apology.

「I wonder if you are just trying to make us say such things ... but there is an order for this kind of thing, right?」

"I'm so sorry . 」

Takahisa becomes stiff, knowing that Masato made a good argument.

「Ah-I decided to leave after talking about it with Onii-chan!」

Unable to watch anymore, Aki forced her way in.

「Why is Aki-neechan also involved in this ...?」

「I was the one who asked him. My older brother. I should have protected you all. I Can't stand to stay apart from you and let you live in a world like this with poor public safety. 」

"He was right . Why should we be destroyed again when we finally get back together? 」

Aki immediately looks for Takahisa, who finally stops lying about what he really wants. Masato was still pouting in dissatisfaction.

「That's true, but ..」

He also did not want to be separated from his brother.

They had a fight yesterday, but Masato was trying to think of better solutions all the time.

「Maybe impossible for Satsuki-neechan, but why can't Haruto-anchan come with us?」

He wanted to know what Haruto said about this matter.

「I tried to invite him .. But he refused. He said there was something he had to do, no matter what. 」

Masato and MIharu's eyes widened hearing that. After all, Haruto himself told them the same thing.

「Looks like he'll be back in Almond soon. But he will come to visit after finishing his business, right, Onii-chan? And Satsuki-san too. 」

And hoping not to see Takahisa lose face again, he added his explanation of what he had already heard.

「Yes. Satsuki-senpai will take some preparations, but as long as Galwark kingdom gives her permission she can come see us. As for Haruto-san. 」

「Haruto-san is ..」

Miharu spoke like she muffled her voice.

「Haruto-san really didn't say anything?」

「... He said,“ Greetings to everyone. 」

"Is there anything else?"

「Ayo ..." Let's meet again. 」

Driven by Miharu's despair, Takahisa said whatever came to his mind.

He immediately regretted saying something half-baked.