Seirei Gensouki's
Chapter 26: Return

「Izin to go to the Great Tree has been given?」

On one day some time after Rio held the first cooking class, he was told by Arthura that permission to approach the Great Tree had been granted.

「Uhm it seems like the cooking class started by Rio-dono was very well received and your reputation soared a little. Moreover, when I explained the reason why you wanted to go to the Great Tree, I told them that you were contracted by an unknown spirit. Since our faith is centered on the spirit, we honor all who are capable of contracting the spirit. 」

Arthura told Rio the details on how he managed to obtain the permission.

"I saw . 」

Hearing that story, Rio smiled bitterly creeping onto his face.

Although the level of mistrust towards Rio was not alarming, it had been greatly reduced recently.

While Rio only started cooking classes for Latifa's sake, he found it rather amusing that the various benefits for her also appeared as a result.

「Then, we can go to the Great Tree during the next Spirit Festival?」

Based on what he knew, the next Spirit Festival was scheduled to be held in two weeks.

「No, I've arranged it so that we will leave before the Spirit Festival. Otherwise, you might not be able to calm down with so many people watching. 」

Almost the entire population of Seirei no Tami will gather around the Great Tree during the Spirit Festival.

Arthura was considering Rio because it was not an issue that should be discussed in public.

「It ... I'm really grateful for your consideration. 」

Rio thanked Arthura's consideration while smiling.

「Hoho, a youngster like you will not be able to stay calm in front of a large number of people. Besides, I also consider Rio-dono as my benefactor. It's just a simple matter, you know. 」

Arthura smiled gently as she spoke.

「That's why, besides me, there will only be four people coming: Oufia, Sara, Alma, and Uzuma. The requirement to allow you access is that we will accompany you as a guide, so I hope you don't mind. 」[1]

"Yelvin . I don't mind. 」

As for Rio, he did not mind that condition so he immediately replied.

「Umu, then departure in 3 days. Not far away so it only takes 30 minutes to get there. 」

And so, 3 days later, guided by Arthura and the others, Rio proceeded to the Great Tree where the High Spirit Spirit, Dryad, resided.

By the way, Latifa also came with them to meet spirits for the first time. [ED: It seems like it is customary for Seirei no Tami to welcome Dryad] [TL: well, Latifa is the prodigal son of the seirei no tami, so Dryad actually does not know about her birth, probably just a warning before]

Although he saw the Great Tree every day during his time in the village, Rio became overwhelmed with its presence as he got closer.

「I'm not sure how to describe this, but, while the surrounding trees are also very large, nothing radiates a heavenly and majestic presence comparable to the Great Tree. 」

Enchanted by the Great Tree as she watched it, Rio voiced his impression.

「Ara, I'm so glad you said that. 」

The charming voice of a woman sounded.

Arthura, Uzuma, Sara, Oufia, and Alma immediately knelt down as the voice sounded.

Rio and Latifa also followed.

"It's nice to meet you . I am Dryad, the spirit who lives in the Great Tree. 」

Introducing herself with an innocent smile, a young lady appeared before Rio wearing a one-piece dress adorned with beautiful flowers.

Having long wavy green hair that reached the ground and emerald-colored irides, she gave off an impression of momentary beauty, yet was wrapped in a gentle atmosphere.

「Pardon my rudeness for late introduction. I'm Rio. 」

Hearing Dryad's sudden appearance, the bewildered Rio respectfully greeted him.

「Un, Rio right? Nice to meet you . 」

Dryad smiled sweetly, which would captivate anyone who witnessed it.

「Now, I want to know if you have any business with me？ The Spirit Festival is coming, right? 」

Gently floating in the air, Dryad directed his gaze towards Arthura and the other three who were kneeling behind Rio.

"Yes nih . We came today to ask Dryad-sama for help regarding the dormant spirit residing in Rio body which is the human race. It is unfortunate but none of us know about that spirit. 」

Seeing Rio, Arthura stated the reason for their visit.

Dryad's eyes moved back to Rio.

「Spirit in this child? Of course I can feel something like that from this child but .. Do you really know anything about the spirit sleeping in your body? 」

Dryad said that with a curious expression.

"Yes nih . I really don't know anything. 」

No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to recall anything spirit-related from his memories. That's the reason for the simple answer.

Rio told the truth which showed a wry smile.

「So that's how it is. N—, may I check you a little? 」

"Yes nih . Instead, I'll thank you if you do. 」

After receiving his approval, Dryad gently touched his body.

Rio felt a foreign object enter his body but did not try to resist.

「Yeah, you have an incredible amount of Odo. Delicacy like that too. Are you really from the human race? In addition, yes, there is no doubt that you have formed a contract to judge from your completed circle— .. eh !? 」

While he confirmed the condition of the spirit residing within Rio, his body jolted in shock.

「Did you find anything?」

Noticing Dryad's strange behavior, Rio asked her.

「... The spirit inside you is a humanoid spirit. 」[TL: Dryad can be considered as human-parts, plant-parts, and fairy-parts, that's why it ranks quite high]

Dryad said in a confused voice.

「!!!?」

Hearing Dryad's words, everyone present except Latifa had astonished looks.

「Spirit humanoid?」

Sensing the real change in the atmosphere, Rio asked Dryad further because he was not included.

「In the current condition, I can't find anything else other than that is a humanoid spirit. U ~ n, it's just that the humanoid spirit has a very high rank. It's not impossible for it to be at least on par with me. I am as surprised as all of you because it is not the type of spirit that usually appears. 」

Dryad explained the situation briefly.

「... Coincidentally, did you arrive at Seirei no Tami village about a year ago?」

「That's right, I of course arrived in the village around that time ..」

While affirming Dryad's question, Rio slightly tilted his head to the side, wondering how he knew about the incident.

「At that time, I sensed the presence of a powerful spirit briefly. Perhaps it was something similar to the resonance between powerful spirits. The spirit sleeping inside you feels similar to the one I felt back then. It may be short, but the spirit within you should be awakened for a while. Do you really have no memory of that time? 」

「... No, no. 」

Raising his hand to the lips, Rio excitedly searched around in his memories but could not remember anything related.

「U ~ n. I saw . If so, then I give up .. 」

Dryad said that with a restless expression.

His resignation statement made Rio slightly unbalanced; it was an anti-response.

「Dryad-sama, is the spirit sleeping inside Rio-dono's body really High Spirit?」

At that moment, Arthura carefully cut off the conversation.

「It was impossible .. According to legend, the Six High Spirits disappeared from this world over 1000 years ago. No High Spirit was born after that. 」[TL: Dryad Rank is Quasi [Fake] high rank, while Rio spirit rank is high rank [True]]

Section 2

While Dryad gestured, as if thinking of something, he firmly shook his head towards Arthura's question.

It was an event that happened more than 1000 years ago.

Humanity lives in the western part of the Yufilia continent. They had no prosperity in the current era and magic did not exist. By forming many small communities, they could barely survive. It was a period referred to as the Dark Ages. During this time, six Wise Gods, or seven according to the Seirei no Tami, appeared in the history of mankind.

And then, as if to oppose the Six Wise Gods, a power appeared during that time, which opposed the six wise gods.

It was an army of demons, led by their King [2].

They, the demon race, emerged from the depths of the labyrinth located on the Death Peninsula, the westernmost point of the Yufilia continent. They rampage on the surface, annihilating all who oppose them, and embark on a campaign of world domination.

Opposing them was a human race led by the Six Wise Gods.

The Gods bestowed upon humans the means to use magic and holy artifacts. With their newly acquired gifts, humanity waged a long and bloody war against the demons.

The great war is recorded in history as the Devil-God War; a devastating war that lasted over a hundred years.

Although the records do not go into detail about the war, it is known that many lives were lost during the struggle. In addition, many of the magical tools and artifacts used during the war were lost and current technology cannot reproduce them.

When the Demon-God War raged in the west of Yufilia, the Seirei no Tami who lived in the central part of the continent could not last long.

The theater of war continued to spread and eventually the demon army turned their attention towards Seirei no Tami. Although they managed to repel the invasion of the demon army, Seirei no Tami suffered heavy losses.

The High Spirits that were protecting the world at that time became worried about the Demon-God War that was rapidly engulfing the entire continent. They decided to ally with humanity and the Six Wise Gods in the ongoing conflict.

Thanks to the participation of the High Spirit on the side of the human race, the demon army was overwhelmed and pushed back to the westernmost point of Yufilia. Unfortunately, the High Spirit was caught in a trap laid by the retreating demon army and they all disappeared.

Then, with the appearance of the heroes and their heavenly weaponry, soon the demon army was destroyed to end the great war.

That is the level of knowledge known to mankind.

Thinking back to the Demon-God War, Rio was pondering about the possibility of the High Spirit Dryad that was said to exist within him.

「Maybe it's a High Spirit Enthusiasm similar to mine, but I can't find out more about it in its current state. 」

Knowing that there was a High Spirit that might be within him, Rio had a complicated and indescribable feeling.

It was only natural that he felt that way because until now, he had not realized that such a huge existence existed within his body.

「Can't be awakened?」

Thinking it could be awakened like a deep sleep, Rio let out a suggestion.

「Because it fell into a deep sleep, it would take a lot of strength to wake it up forcefully. It would be best not to do it because it is still in the middle of recovery, absorbing your Odo through the circuit that connects you both. 」

Worried about the spirit within Rio's body, Dryad reprimanded him.

「So that's it .. I understand. 」

Despite still not fully understanding the situation, Rio nodded at Dryad's words. Or rather, there is no alternative.

「Looking at how you are not aware of the spirit, you may have some sort of relationship with the child before you gain consciousness. Since his condition is fairly stable during sleep, he should recover at a steady pace. I believe this will appear in the near future [3]. 」

Dryad told Rio that her conjecture was to alleviate some of her worries.

In the end, the investigation to find out the true form of the spirit residing in Rio's body was canceled because he didn't want to trouble Dryad any further. Being unable to help, Rio let it be as it is for a while.

「Although so, never in my wildest imagination have I ever thought Rio-dono might have contracted a humanoid spirit. Now that it came to this, Rio-dono's position in the village did a full 180 rounds. 」

Arthura who was silent in deep thought earlier calmly stated her judgment.

"My position?"

Rio mimicked his statement, questioning what those words meant.

「Umu, Rio-dono should already know that Seirei no Tami respects spirits. That is why those who are able to make contracts with spirits are highly respected and gain a special standing in the country. You should have known everything up to this point. However, that difference increases even further if it contracts with High Spirit or High Spirit. Rio-done will most likely be treated like a saint amongst us. No, you will definitely. 」

Sara, Oufia, and Alma all nodded in response to Arthura's words.

「E ~ toto, a saint ..?」

Rio became nervous because even though he did not do anything noteworthy, his status would be raised to an outrageous level.

「Haha, you don't have to worry. Instead, you should consider yourself lucky. Rio-dono got special permission to come to this place because you were contracted with a mysterious spirit. Now that we've learned this, it just takes heart at the fact that your treatment will improve. 」

Arthura laughed cheerfully by telling her not to worry.

「But if that's the case, then next in Spirit Festival ..」

Arthura started muttering to herself who seemed to be deep in thought.

On the other hand, Dryad subtly directed his attention to Latifa, who was happily chatting with Uzuma, Alma, Oufia, and Sara.

「You're called Latifa, right? Very funny . Please look forward to the upcoming Spirit Festival, I will give you a kiss of blessing. 」[TL: EH, Yuri flag ???]

It seems Dryad likes Latifa, who looks like a small animal.

"Yes! Please treat me well! 」

Latifa replied to Dryad's greeting with a beaming smile.

「Haa. So adorable .. Nee, can I hold you for a second? 」[TL: -_- ……. . ]

Looking at Latifa with a slightly excited expression, Dryad excitedly hugged her.

「Fue? Eeh !? 」

It seems the rumor that he has a free-spirited personality is true.

Rio smiled wryly at Latifa who was panicking due to Dryad's childish behavior.