The Seirei Gensouki Spirit Chronicles
Chapter 2's

That's reality. The girl did not understand that herself. He stared back at Rio with a blank expression on his face, slightly tilting his head in worry.

“... If you leave this country and head east, there will be a vast area called Wilderness. There should be land there where half-humans like you live,” Rio said; he had opened his mouth before he realized it.

“...Wilderness? East..?”

“East is the direction I'm heading.. Beltrum to the west. You'd better find your own kind in the Wilderness than stay in this land. ”

“Self type ... East .. Wilderness ..”

The girl muttered to herself. A glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes. She doesn't know what to do with her newfound freedom, but with Rio's guidance, she now has faint hopes for her future.

Rio watched her silently for a moment, before speaking:

“I'll go, then. Just a warning, but if next time you attack. ”

He started walking away, assuring that he had indeed given the girl his freedom from the Collar of Submission. However, it was only because the girl was – no, the reason was because she did not want to kill anyone. That's why he has no obligation to keep an eye on what the girl is doing from here. He repeated this reason to himself in his heart. The girl immediately let out an abandoned puppy expression.

“Ah-”

He reached out his hand towards the figure that was about to leave and let out a small sound, before quickly pulling his hand back. He was pacing around that place for a while. As soon as Rio completely disappeared from sight, he hesitantly began to follow in his footsteps.

Plod plod, plod plod . He followed from afar, making sure not to lose sight of Rio walking in front. Now that he was freed from slavery, he had nowhere to return. He would never return to the place where he was a slave again.

With that, he only had one place he could visit: The Wilderness Rio told him about. But without a map, or a sense of land, he was afraid of moving forward aimlessly. And if he wanted to rely on others, then naturally there was only one choice. He chose to follow Rio, who seemed to be heading in the same direction.

That's how far he's retreated to the corner. To rely on the person he was trying to kill .. Even though it was under the orders of others, he couldn't help but feel guilty about it. There was also the possibility of him rejecting it if he asked for his help right away. As a result, his selfish desire made him choose to secretly follow her. A few minutes walking through the forest then, Rio suddenly stopped.

“Come out,” he said loudly over his shoulder.

The girl flinched. She was sure she had hidden her presence, so she wondered how she had noticed him .. But she was more than aware that she could not win against Rio, no matter how much she struggled. Without thinking too much about it, he revealed himself to her.

“Do you still want something from me?” Rio asked the girl who was trembling.

“U-Umm .. I want to .. go .... to the east .. with you,”

the girl replied confusedly. Rio placed his right hand on top of his head and sighed.

“Are you serious?”

“A-I want .. go.” The girl bit her lips and nodded.

“... You may misunderstand something here. I did not free you from slavery because I wanted to save you. It's easier for me to choose not to kill you. ”

Frankly, he did not want to carry the burden of murder. That was why he took off the girl's Collar of Submission. He was not completely apathetic to the girl's situation, but he was clearly not acting with pure intention. That's the thinking behind all this.

“T-But A-I don't know ... what ... to do,” The girl muttered, lowering her head with tears in her eyes. Rio scratched his head awkwardly.

“... I'm human. The same species as the one who treated you as their slave. Aren't you scared? ”

“You ... no.. looks bad.” The girl shook her head.

Rio had a vague feeling that this would happen since he removed his collar.

Given the girl's circumstances, it makes sense. That was why he had deliberately made sure to leave, in case the girl decided to chase after him. Sure enough, here they are. But does this girl really understand what it means to move along with the person she tried to kill just a moment ago …?

“Have you considered how I feel about you, after you tried to kill me?” Rio asked flatly. The girl's face was shocked.

“Ah! I-i'm sorry! The collar ... was very sick, I .. ” He started apologizing in panic, tears dripping from his eyes.

“I'm not actually angry. I don't know what kind of pain you're suffering from that collar, but I know you're just trying to kill me because you can't disobey it. But that doesn't mean I have proof that you won't attack me again. In other words, I can't trust you. Do you understand that?” Rio explained with troubled breath.

It was true that part of him did not mind taking the girl with him, but at the same time, he did not feel comfortable with the idea of traveling alone with an unknown former hitman.

“L-Then, collar! you can ... You can put it on my neck! T-please. Take me ... with you,” she begged frantically through her tears.

“His collar .. Don't you hate wearing that thing?” Rio asked desperately due to the girl's failure to understand the weight of her words.

“I don't .. want .. alone. I fear. So ... please,”

he snorted and sobbed with his head bowed, making Rio feel even more uncomfortable. An extremely agitated expression fell on his face as he clenched his hands. He sighed for the umpteenth time.

“Hah…? Ah ... O-OKay! ” The girl hesitated for a moment before nodding enthusiastically.

“We'll be back in town first. Come.” Rio came up with that plan of action after glancing at the girl's body.

“U-Umm, will you ... wear a collar on me?” The girl hesitantly asked behind Rio back when he started walking away.

“I've been throwing it away for a long time. Let's go; we can only travel for hours a day,” Rio replied as he walked quickly.

“A-What ... do we do ... there?”

“You don't have decent equipment. We have to prepare a supply section for your trip. ”

The girl was only wearing one thin layer of clothing under her cloak, which was not suitable for the long journey they were about to take. He also had to buy more food supplies to make up for his share.

“Thanks.”

“... Use your hood inside the city. Otherwise, everything will fall apart,” Rio said, glancing at the tripping girl to follow in his footsteps.

“Good!” he nodded happily.

“By the way, what's your name?” Rio suddenly stopped to ask the girl's name.

“It ... Latifa!”

“So so. You may already know this, but I'm. Nice to meet you, Latifa.” With a small breath, Rio introduced himself rather reluctantly.

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After they went shopping, Rio and Latifa departed from Amande once again. Although not as big as Rio's, Latifa now had a large backpack on her back as well.

Then, as soon as they came out of Amande, Rio tried to run through the forest at his usual speed. He's testing Latifa's stamina. As a result, they found he could not last long while carrying a heavy backpack. Once they knew Latifa's limits, Rio slowed down the speed of his movements to a speed he could follow. They rest more often than usual.

As they sat on the large stones next to the spring in the forest, Latifa's stomach growled loudly. Rio looked at her with widened eyes.

“A-It's nothing! I ... I'm not hungry!” Latifa shook her head strongly, her face flushed red.

“You must not hold back. It's past time for breakfast,”

rio said giggling, grabbing onto his backpack for the sandwich Rebecca made. He cut it in half with a cooking knife and offered it to Latifa. But Latifa just looked at the sandwich in confusion. His eyes moved between the sandwich and Rio's face several times.

“What's wrong?”

“A-aku .. can eat this?” Latif asked Rio hesitantly, measuring his reaction.

… I guess he was never allowed to eat without permission before. Rio questioned the reason for Latifa question.

That's exactly what: Latifa was raised only to do as she was told. If he moves of his own accord, he will be disciplined. Thus, he had taken the habit of asking permission before doing anything himself. Another existence. Releasing it entirely depends on the person immediately from slavery does not solve the habit.

By engaging with her, Rio was slowly able to analyze the problems with regard to her personality and mental state. He would only do what he could, helping her little by little during their time together.

“No need to hold back – feel free to eat it. What do you want to do, Latifa? ” Rio asked.

“... I want to .. eat it.” After a brief pause, Latifa voiced her own thoughts.

“OK, then eat.” With a gentle smile, Rio handed the sandwich to her.

Latifa stared at the sandwich in her hand intently. To make her feel more comfortable, Rio started eating his sandwich first, prompting Latifa to slowly put it in her mouth.

“I-It's delicious.” After he confirmed the taste, the next bite was a hasty bite.

Seriate.....

Good Night ^^^

09.10