The Seirei Gensouki Spirit Chronicles
Chapter 3 End: Connection

Rio did not know who was called “onii-chan”, but he slowly approached and knelt in front of him. Latifa clung to him.

“Onii-chan, I'm so scared!”

“Hah? Umm .. I'm sorry. ” Did he mean me when he said ‘onii-chan’? Rio hesitated for a moment, before grabbing to pat Latifa on the back awkwardly.

“Thank you. To save me.” Latifa choked on her sobbing, grabbing tightly to hold onto Rio's robe.

“Umm, by the way,” Rio started with a somewhat tentative voice. Latifa raised her head to look at Rio face.

“You said ‘onii-chan’ ..” It took a few seconds for Latifa to process the meaning of Rio's words. Realizing how long he spent staring at her face in a daze made her blush in embarrassment.

“Err, ah, umm! M-Sorry! ”

“No, it's not something you need to apologize for ..” Rio said with a restless face on

latifa's panicked apology.

“Hah? Really?!” Latifa expression suddenly brightened.

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“A-Is it okay if I call you onii-chan ..?”

“E-EEh ..?”

“Atau .. no. .. You won't want that ..”

“I don't mind. But why?”

“I just thought it would be nice if you became my Onii-chan ...” Latifa fell silent towards the end, then glanced at Rio nervously.

“...So so.”

Rio's expression showed a complicated and difficult state of mind. He doesn't think he's

have done something too fraternal on their journey up until now. Knowing they were going to part ways in the end, he kept Latifa at a distance while treating her with a gentle demeanor. That was what Rio meant in his interaction with the woman.

But what Latifa thought as she traveled with him was a different story. Since night

first when she cried, she quickly began to open her heart towards him. The emotions he suppressed during his slave period burst out like a broken dam.

It was understandable – Latifa was starving. Hunger for kindness, compassion, love .. It makes sense that the object of his desire would be directed to Rio, the one who saved him, in an almost dependent form.

“Onii. Sorry,” Latifa apologized, looking at Rio's reaction with fear. His expression was like a child

a disappointed dog that was abandoned. Rio sighed thinking about that.

“Any call is fine.”

“Hah?” Latifa mouth opened as she looked at Rio blankly.

“You can call me whatever you want.” While she knew it was the right decision to make, Rio could not help but say that to her. He had gotten too close to Latifa without even realizing it himself.

“B-REally?”

“Ya, it's okay.”

“Ehehe ..” Unable to resist the bubbling laughter within her, Latifa smiled happily. No, no need to hold back. It had been so long since he had felt this warm happiness.

Chapter 3 End: Connection

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Chapter 4: Encounter's

Two weeks had passed since the day they were attacked by the dragons.

“Onii-chan, what breakfast for today?” Latifa asked about the menu one morning, playing by herself

in the living room while Rio lay next to her.

“What do you want to eat, Latifa?” Rio asked with a small and agitated smile.

“I want to eat risotto ! Cheese type!” he told her cheerfully. As the name suggests, it is the exact same food as the Italian risotto that exists on Earth.

”Risotto ... it is made with wheat in broth, right?”

“Yup, that's right!”

This was because he had not told Latifa that he had any memories of his previous life on Earth. Latifa was in the same situation as him, but she would shout the name of the food whenever she recognized something familiar from Earth.

 His attachment to Rio might have lowered his vigilance to do that. Rio already suspected that Latifa was Japanese in her previous life, but she did not push the topic, as she did not want to cause unnecessary drama for herself.

“Good. Then I'll make it as soon as possible. You can sleep again for a while, Latifa,” said Rio, sitting down.

“No, I want to see you cooking, Onii-chan.” Latifa raised her mouth with a carefree smile

and shook his head.

“But, there's nothing fun to see me cooking.”

“I had fun just being with Onii-chan, you know?”

“Truly now? Then let's go.” With a tense smile, Rio left the shelter.

Currently, Rio and Latifa were in a hilly area near the center of the Wilderness. They have established

their tent was on a small hill last night, giving them a beautiful view of the area. If they looked to the east, the meadows stretching all the way to the horizon filled their vision. When Rio started cooking risotto, he was staring right beyond that horizon.

“Hei, Latifa. Are you sure you can't see the big tree there?” he asked Latifa, who was sitting right next to him.

“Hm? What did you mention yesterday? I just saw the prairie .. why? ” Latifa

watching Rio cook cheerfully, while still paying attention to his surroundings. On Rio's orders, he tilted his head curiously.

“If you can't see it, it doesn't matter. Don't worry.” Rio shook his head with an evasive smile. He glanced once again towards the east, where a large tree stood along the horizon, clear as day. He first saw the tree yesterday.

They walked towards the east when he saw something visible in the distant air. Feeling suspicious, though,

he tensed his eyes to visualize the essence and the bright air, revealing a gigantic tree that pierced through the sky.

So it must have some sort of hindrance that only allows it to be felt through

sorceries. It can be detected if you can visualize the essence, but it seems invisible to others.

Rio thought that was why he could see the tree, while Latifa could not.

The problem is ... Who cast that magic? More than likely that half of the people

doing so. According to the literature I read in the Academy library, they were very compassionate towards their own kind …

Rio recalled the literature he had read during his days at the Academy. Somewhere in

Wilderness, half human – elves, dwarves, and werebeasts – live together. They have a strong sense of kinship for their own kind.

On the other hand, they had a deep hatred towards humans who oppressed half-humans, and chose to live deep within the Wilderness alone. Rio glanced at Latifa. He looked at her and spoke.

“Hm? What's the matter, Onii-chan? ”

“...Nothing. It'll be ready soon. Do you want mushrooms in it? ”

“Iya! But not wild grass. ”

“I know.” Rio nodded with a smile.

It wasn't that Latifa couldn't eat weeds, it was just that they were bitter enough to spoil

it is added to risotto. Just like that, he kept track of his fondness in taste and spoiled her.

Anyway, we should head to that forest first and see what happens.

Perhaps, in the near future, the time will come where he will have to part with Latifa. At the

finally, it will be the best for Latifa's future, as she will be happier living with her own kind of – at least, that's what Rio himself said. While he kept some reservations about it deep inside his chest, in the end that was what he decided.

“Alright, it's done. We'll be traveling a lot today, so make sure you eat. ” That day, they left the hilly area and reached a huge forest above it.

The tree was deep in this forest. I'm not sure how we can find him,

but we can only try. Standing at the entrance of – even though they can enter from

any point, really – Rio looked at the surrounding trees and decided to move forward. Next to her, Latifa looked nervously.

“Onii-chan, did we really get in here? Aren't we going to get lost? ”

“Nothing – I know the way. We will camp here and enter the forest tomorrow morning,” replied

Rio with the faint shadow of his smile. However that seemed quite convincing to Latifa, who nodded solemnly.

“Good!”

Seriate.......