Seirei Gensouki's
Chapter 199: The aftermath of the Battle pt2

「Are you sure? 」

Rio widened his eyes, not expecting how easy it was for Duran to let him go with Flora. Even if Rio was unaware of the implication that the action would bring about a relationship between Bertram Kingdom and Paladia Kingdom, he was still convinced that Flora had some sort of value that Duran could use. Therefore, to be honest, he wished he had at least had a fight.

「…. Fuouh's. Well, even if I wanted to hold you back, I have nothing on me, whether it be strength or ability, that could stop you. Besides, at first I just thought that it would be nice if I held the princess of the country hostage, you know, to entertain myself, but I'm not interested anymore. Lucius, the one who invited me here, is dead as well, so there is nothing else I can do here. 」

Snorting, Duran said in an indifferent tone, unconcerned by Rio's reaction.

「... if you are sure. I'll just take him away before you change your mind. It's…"

With a curious smile, Rio left Flora behind, and walked towards Duran. Then, he took out a wooden bottle from his breast pocket and offered it to her.

"What'sthis? 」

Duran looked at the wooden bottle curiously, wondering why it was being offered to him.

「This is a healing herb to heal your internal wounds. It is not a fast-acting herb, but as long as you drink it, it will increase your body's natural healing speed. Please use this on them. 」

Saying that, Rio looked at the wounded knights around him.

「... I don't need it. It was like rubbing salt on the wounds of a defeated warrior, it would only be embarrassing for them. 」

Duran rejected Rio's gift, snorting annoyed at the slight perceived presumption towards his knights.

「I didn't mean it that way. I only offer this because while I am really easy on them, I still beat them. I try not to kill as many people as possible, the only exception is my revenge. Fortunately no one died, but I'm not sure they'd be okay if left like this. If you don't want to receive this potion, do you have a healing magic user to take care of their wounds? 」

Smiling wryly, Rio offered the wooden bottle to Duran.

「Huh, you look like a completely different person now, unlike when you faced Lucius. So, you are merciful to my knights after you fought them, huh? You're a strange person .. Okay then. I'll drink this potion, but instead, let me treat you to a party if we meet again in the future. 」

Sneering, Duran took the wooden bottle from Rio's hand.

"…A party? 」

Rio tilted his head, a curious look etched on his face.

「At that time, I will welcome you as a guest. And if you have a change of heart, feel free to lend your strength to me. 」[TL: Starting from this point Duran calls Rio with" Kisama "instead of the previous formal form, therefore he refers to Lucius in the same way]

It seems that she did not give up on roping Rio to work for him. Using every given opportunity to try, was truly a crafty person.

"…Let me think about it . 」

With a wry smile, Rio returned to Flora and lifted her up in princess clothes. To be honest, he didn't want to stay too long in this place. Before he could fly, someone's voice called out to him.

「WAIT! No, I mean, please wait a minute! 」

Will panicked and called Rio.

"What's the problem? 」

Stopping his legs, Rio turned around and faced the person who called out to him.

「Uhm, That, I mean …………. . It's about Flora-sama …………. 」

「A-I don't want to part with him like this! 」

Donner makes use of the moment Will is at a loss for words to express his feelings.

「... Please forgive me for asking this, but what is your relationship with this girl? 」

Rio asked in a calm voice.

「He-he lives in our village! We protect her when she gets lost! 」

Will explains the situation, preparing himself for interrogation.

「So .. then you should know about his lineage as well. 」

Looking at those youths, Rio somehow understood what they meant. Before he could answer, Duran did.

「Oi, I've let the man back. What do you want to do, huh, ? Do you want me to sew your lips? And, just now, did you really admit to protecting her in your village? Before, when we asked, you didn't say that. Besides, I'm sure you guys ended up leaving him, right? 」

He asked in a dangerous voice, looking at Will and Donner like tigers, ready to attack.

「HYIII! 」

The next one scared Will and Donner. Donner and Duran might have similar bodies, but he never, even for a moment, thought that he could match his strength after seeing the short fight between Duran and Rio.

「She has nowhere to go back, and unfortunately, I don't have time to wait for her to wake up, so you can say goodbye to her. 」

Rio took a violent action against Donner and Will to calm Duran's anger so that he would let the villagers go.

「Urgh ..」

Although they initially looked like they wanted to say something, in the end they remained silent, especially after hearing his words.

「I'll tell him about you two later. May I ask your name? 」

Giving them some free time, Rio asked their name.

"…I will . 」

「Donners. 」

Fearfully, they introduced themselves.

「Understood, I have heard, and will remember your name. Then ... Here. 」

Rio took a small pouch from his pocket, handed it to Will, and then turned to leave, intending to close the conversation right then and there.

"What'sthis? 」

「Remuneration for him. There's money in it. 」

「K-We don't do that for money! 」

Will screams in panic, unwilling to have his initial intentions misunderstood.

「Nevertheless, you need a reward for the trouble he brought to you. Think of this as a sign of her gratitude because I'm afraid she'll be anxious to death for missing a change to give you a gift. 」

「Uh ..」

Will could not reply, speechless. But others do it.

「A-If so, take me with you! 」

Suddenly Donner made such a request, shocking everyone there with absurdity.

「FOOL THIS, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! ? 」

Dumbstruck, the village chief shouted at him, furious beyond belief.

「Ku-KUHAHAHA. Drama three stupid guys, but you got guts with you there. 」

Duran, who was observing their exchange from the side, laughed happily.

「... I can't take you. 」

Rio could only hold his breath, wondering how much trouble he had to face before he left, and firmly reject Donner.

「In addition, Bertram is located in the southwest of the country and she is his daughter. Therefore, he needed to return to his country, and the nearby fortress of his kingdom was a city called Rodania, under the household of Rodquis marquis. But, it would be a long and dangerous journey where one would need quite a lot of money. 」

He added that explanation so that Donner would give up, for now, with the implication that he would be free to pursue her at a later time. Of course there was no guarantee that he would be able to meet her even if she chose to chase after him, but she would not tell him that. He basically let Donner do what he wanted. As long as he has the guts to do it and without bothering him.

Will and Donner looked surprised.

"Remain healthy . 」

He understood what was implied from Rio, so with a smile, Duran bid farewell to Rio.

「I'll go now. 」

Leaving those words behind, he dashed towards the highway, holding onto Flora as if he was weightless. His movements seemed as light as usual, but in the blink of an eye, his figure vanished from everyone's line of sight.

Meanwhile, Duran continued to look at the figure of Rio retreating, his thoughts hidden from everyone's eyes.

「... Fuuh. Both of my hands are still numb, and I only received one of his attacks, but the defeat was .. 」

He muttered to himself, snorting.

In the end, I have yet to find out if he is really affiliated with Bertram kingdom or not. But if I had a choice, I would not fight a country defended by a warrior god like him.

Duran had gone through many battles in his life, but if he were to be honest with himself, he did not want to face someone like Rio in battle. He did not feel that there was a way to win against Rio in a direct confrontation.

It's a good time to finish this after a little battle. Although I do not know when the great war, which Lucius was talking about, will take place, I will gather information about the trends within each great country for now. Through it, I might be able to find out about him and his affiliates.

Duran pondered with a sharp look in his eyes, then he turned around and ordered the three villagers there.

「Oi, friends. Go back to your village and bring some people to this place. Tell them that they need to bring the knights unconscious. Also, do not forget to tell them to prepare a lodging house for us as well. 」

「... EH?」

Unlike the astonished young man there, the village chief was clever enough to quickly obey Duran's orders, so he turned around to drag the other two into the village.

「Y-Yes！ At once! You two, move! 」

「O-OI! POP! 」

Though confused by his actions, Will and Donner soon follow. Duran who was left alone in that place was looking at the unconscious knights around him and muttering.

「People who disappoint. Looks like I need to beat more training on them. 」

After muttering, he began to treat the knights using the potion he had just given him.

◇ ◇ ◇

On the other hand, around the time the battle had ended between Rio and Lucius.

A kilometer away from Rio's fight spot, deep in the forest, Reis stood still alone, holding the sword used by Lucius in one of his hands.

「The body evaporates at once, huh? Even this sword might have been destroyed if I collected it a second later. Geez, what an absurd amount of power. 」

Reis muttered with a rarely seen frown on his face.

Things got a little more troublesome for me. Although I wanted to use that person for various things after this ……………. .

Pondering for a moment, Reis then directed his gaze to the sword in his hand.

「Well I guess it's time to use all the parts available in my hands. 」

Speaking to anyone, he sighed and released his grip on the sword, letting it fall according to the laws of gravity. However, it did not pierce the earth as expected. Instead, it was suddenly absorbed by the bottomless darkness that spread from Reis' feet.

Nevertheless, a user of Black Haired Spirit Arts huh. Even though they have different hair colors, somehow, she reminds me of someone. Furthermore, I cannot feel his spirit mark either.

Thought Reis, standing still in that place with a pensive look, still wondering about Rio, especially since he could not look any closer at him due to the distance between them

But then, if the identity of that Black Hair spirit art user is one and the same as I know, things will become very troublesome from now on. Much more troublesome than I expected ……. .

For a while, he stood there, deep in thought.

But then, if I leave everything behind, princess Flora will finally return to Recovery. If that happens, what will happen to my efforts until now? I went as far as using the Evil Black Wyvern to attack the magic ship. Jeez .. All these problems are caused by one fickle person.

Resisting his anger, Reis' lips stretched out, a mad smile floated on his face.

It was just a miscalculation. Initially, everything went as he predicted, the only reason he came out of course .. was the man. The one who caused this miscalculation was the user of the Black Haired spirit art.

It didn't go as I predicted ..my plan to leave a bit of a scar on his heart failed.

Although he could have predicted that going into battle with half-baked preparations would result in the table being turned on, there was no way he would pull just like that without trying to fight back.

Therefore, after considering for a while, he decided.

「……. I guess I should use two princess knights and a captured hero for this. 」

Therefore, he chose an alternative plan that involved disposable pieces at hand.