The Seirei Gensouki Spirit Chronicles
Chapter 1: Journey to the Neighboring Country

The morning after his farewell with Celia at the Royal Academy, Rio walked around the market outside the city walls to gather equipment for his trip. He needs food, water, cooking utensils, clothing, bedding, medicine, weapons.

great resources for living. But since there was a limit to how much he could carry when traveling alone, Rio had to carefully sift through his needs and only buy necessities

the simplest minimum. He would only carry those items on his way.

Right now, he only had his typical casual noble outfit, and one sword. The weapon was too light for him to be comfortable traveling. That said, ever since Rio applied to the Academy, he had spent

his whole life is within the city walls. While Celia had taken him to the market inside the city walls to shop before, this was her first time venturing into the market that was outside of the city.

He's a little confused, now. I don't know which store I should go to .. He's been around a few stores, but there are so many of them. Some of them have sold products that

roughly made, making him furrow his brows on many occasions. Since he wanted to buy quality items that would last a long time, he did not want to randomly select a store.

After wandering among the crowd and contemplating this and that, he became tired, and stepped into the back alley to rest for a moment. That was when a delicious aroma approached him, immediately awakening

her appetite. It came from a stall in the alley. There are not many customers currently — probably because of the quiet time period between breakfast and lunch, or maybe because of its unfavorable location — but the smell drifting from there really smells delicious.

Come to think of it, I haven't had breakfast. I'll buy something from that stall and ask for a store recommendation from them. Driven by hunger, Rio's feet led him to the stall. A little girl was behind the counter, looking rather bored with the lack of customers. Behind him, a woman

it looked like her mother was busy working hard to cook.

“Ah, welcome!”

As Rio approached the stall, the little girl beamed from ear to ear and greeted him. He must be about seven or eight years old. He was a cute kid, but a bit skinny. However, as soon as he saw Rio's noble clothes, his expression stiffened. He must have mistakenly considered her a noble child. In the Kingdom of Beltrum, where society was based on social status, it was very common for nobles to act violently against commoners. That is why the commoners are afraid of

nobility. This little girl may have learned that feeling from her mother.

“Ah, erm, I mean ..” Realizing she can't act rude, the little girl forced an uncomfortable smile on her face.

“You don't need to be nervous. It smells really good here ... Do you sell anything?” Rio spoke to her softly in an attempt to convince her.

“Umm, this is bread with sauce and vegetables and fried meat inside, sir.” The girl did her best to speak politely to Rio.

“So. Then, I thought I'd pick up some.” Rio smiled gently, excitedly expressing his desire to buy their product.

“Yeah, is that a nobleman? …uh? Ah, umm ..” The mother noticed Rio's presence and rushed to greet him, but her eyes widened dramatically when she saw Rio's face.

“Is there a problem?” Rio asked curiously.

“Ah, no .. It's nothing. M-I'm sorry my actions.” The woman fearfully apologized for her strange behavior, but she kept her eyes on Rio with observant eyes.

“Oh, is this about my hair color?” Rio guessed the reason why the woman reacted in shock, touching hands to her hair. Black hair was rare in Beltrum; he had been ridiculed for being flipped by

students in the academy because of this hair.

“Umm, the .. Yes. I actually knew someone a long time ago, a boy with black hair. So I thought maybe .. But there's no way the kid's a noble, so it's just my fault. S-I don't know how I can apologize enough to you for this .. ”

“... May I ask what the name of the boy is?” Rio questioned the trembling woman. He lowered his head in fear. Maybe he was someone he knew ever since he lived in the slums.

“A-I believe the boy's name is Rio ..” Bingo — may be , Rio has met this beautiful woman before.

Unfortunately, Rio was on the run right now, and was unable to confirm his suspicions easily. If he had mistaken him for the son of a noble, then it was to his advantage.

“Sorry, I don't remember that name.”

“Is that so...” Rio decided to pretend not to know, and the woman showed her obvious disappointment.

“Are you looking for the kid?” Rio asked. He could not remember the situation where he had met this woman before.

If he had to guess, he would assume through the group of thugs that lived with him in the slums. If that is the case, then the number of possibilities is significantly narrowed. If it was someone who knew him enough to remember his name, then most likely one of the people who frequented Rio's small hut lived in that moment.

That said, it had been over five years since he had last seen them. The woman in front of him did not wear make-up, so she did not have the atmosphere of a prostitute at all, making it difficult for her to place it.

“Only she might witness the last moments of my sister.” The woman's expression clouded as she spoke.

The little girl looked confusedly at their conversation. Sister ... Could she be Gigi's younger sister, Angela? Thanks to his words, Rio was finally able to confirm the woman in front of him. He fixed his expression so that his shock did not appear, then swallowed his breath during their reunion that was

coincidentally. She used to wear thick make-up in the past, but she could see traces of her former self now knowing who she was. Come to think of it, Gigi had mentioned how she wanted to start a shop with Angela one day .. But she didn't want to draw the conversation any further, so she changed the topic

the talks.

“... Sorry, I asked you something that really bothered you.”

“T-No, it's because I acted rude from the start. It's my fault .. Accept my apology!” Angela lowered her head reflexively on Rio's apology.

“I'm actually a little hungry now. Can I order two?” Feeling that it was not good to continue their back and forth conversation, Rio immediately chased after.

“S-I'm not sure our products will suit the taste of nobles like you, Mr...” replied Angela, embarrassed. She was worried that Rio would change his mind as he bit the food. It's not strange to meet such a noble.

“It's okay. I'm used to eating food like this,” Rio explained while smiling tensely. Her words made Angela lower her guard down a bit

“Then ... it will cost eight small copper for two servings.”

“Then, you can take this. I don't need the change,” said Rio, offering one small silver.

“I couldn't possibly accept that ..” Angela rushed to take her change. For him, one small silver was more than half of his daily income.

“This is to apologize for scaring your son. Please invite him to eat something delicious.” Rio shook his head, smiling at the little girl who was standing quietly.

“But..”.

“How about, instead, you tell me about a good and trusted store that provides equipment for traveling? I'm actually not too familiar with the shops in this area ..” Rio timidly scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. For a moment, Angela replied

looking at him with confusion — before he giggles.

“In that case..” He went on to tell Rio about some of the stores he recommended. She kept the names of the shops and their specialties in her head when she saw Angela preparing the food. Just as he finished his explanation, the food was already finished.

“Please.” Angela offered him a full sandwich. The ingredients are included in crisp baguette, well-cooked meat, and special salty sauces that are put together thickly to produce a savory aroma. It's enough to make Rio drool.

(Tln: Baguette is a typical French bread that is usually long and large in size. The standard diameter of the baguette is approximately 5 or 6 cm, but the length can reach 1 m. )

“Thank you,” he said upon receiving the first sandwich. Taking it in his hand, he bit it with great difficulty — commoners seemed to love this hard bread. The taste of his juicy flesh and salty sauce spread throughout his mouth. He could not help but turn his lips into a smile.

“Lezat,” said Rio with great satisfaction, making Angela sigh in relief. Just like that, Rio ate both sandwiches. The little girl who worked in the stall looked at him, paying attention to the way he ate

in amazement.

“Come again anytime, brother!”

“H-Stop that, Sophie!”

When she left, the little girl— Sophie — called Rio with a big smile. His attitude had completely changed from before as his vigilance towards him softened, then disappeared. Angela quickly tries to silence him, worried that he is perceived as being too familiar.

“Thank you. I went somewhere far away for a while, but I will soon visit you again. See you,” Rio said, smiling at Sophie. With a small bow to Angela, she walked away from the stall as Sophie waved enthusiastically. He left the alley

back and back to the main road to head to the store that Angela told him.

… Hm?