The Seirei Gensouki Spirit Chronicles
Chapter 7: The Uninvited Guest

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Finally, the day of the Great Spirit Festival (Grand Spirit Festival) arrived. The main stage of the ritual will be held in a spirit temple built near the roots of a giant tree protected by the Dryas. It takes a temporary half hour (or roughly a regular hour) to walk there from the village. With the exception of the minimum security level, almost all the spirits of – over ten thousand of them – have gathered in the magnificent land of the temple.

The spirit of the giant tree, Dryas, stood on the altar laid on the temple stage, looking at the elders prostrating before him – among those present included Syldora, Dominic, and Ursula.

“Under the divine blessing of the Great Spirit, may his grace and protection be with the spirits of the people for eternity.” The solemn atmosphere dominates the entire area when Syldora and the others say their prayers.

After the ritual prayer was over, the elders stepped off the stage. Later, Sara, Orphia, and Alma appear in

the stage wore ceremonial clothing, and began their singing and dancing tribute to the Dryas. Dryas looked at the three of them happily.

“They are very beautiful ..”

Under the dance stage, Latifa watched the magical dance of the girls with great admiration. After the three girls finished their performances, Syldora went up to the stage once again and started speaking in a majestic tone.

“Mr and mistress! The Spirit Festival once again began safely. This is all thanks to your tireless efforts, you guys,

daily prayer, and devotion to the spirit over the past year. Do not let your gratitude to the dream spirits decrease.” Syldora did not speak loudly at all, but the strengthening effect of the wind spirit arts easily carried her voice throughout the area.

“Now, let's continue the ritual,” continued Syldora's voice, making Latifa jolt loudly.

Every year during the Grand Spirit Festival, it was customary for spirit children who reached a certain age to be introduced to everyone in the village and receive blessings from Dryas. Latifa was one of those kids this year. Moreover, those who received the Dryas blessing would be endowed with a slight increase in the total ode and affinity of spirit arts, even though it was not as much as given by the spirit contract.

Rio noticed Latifa's nervousness and reached out to squeeze her hand. In response, Latifa raised her head and put together a brave smile. Syldora called out the names of the children to go on stage. There, introductions and simple greetings were given to the villagers to familiarize themselves with the children. Next, Dryas placed a kiss of blessing on their foreheads, and the children's bodies would glow with a gentle light. Latifa's name was called after

all the other children received their blessings.

“Half years ago, one of our brothers came to join us: si wefox, Latifa.” After her name was called, Latifa took to the stage, her small body trembling.

“He has suffered greatly at the hands of a heartless human being, but at the same time, he is in the

here with us today thanks to the kind-hearted man who extended his hand to help. She is an awesome and kind girl.” At Syldora's introduction, Latifa bowed awkwardly. Then, like the other children before him, he walked towards the Dryas altar.

“Lewat here, Latifa.”

“Y-Ya.” Urged by Dryas, Latifa immediately approached him.

“This makes you an official resident of this village. I hope you feel at home here,” Dryas said, before suddenly lifting Latifa in a hug. It has far more contact than that

another, who only receives a kiss. The crowd murmured slowly. Latifa, in shock, accidentally barked. “Fweh ?!”

“Fufu. You've suffered so much up until now, I think I'll give you a little special treatment. I can only do this for you, but I hope you will always find strength in your heart. ”

“Y-Yes!” Latifa nodded, emotionally. Dryas then gently kissed Latifa's forehead; a dim light immediately began to shine from Latifa's body. Despite the unexpected events, Latifa also received the blessing of Dryas. And with that, the blessing ritual was completed. If the festival has followed the same developments as previous years, this is where the closing ceremony will be held before moving on to the banquet. However –

“Last I want to introduce the person who saved Latifa. Our one-sided misunderstanding caused him many problems in the past, but he forgave us, and allowed us to start all over again. Therefore, we are deeply indebted to him. Allow me to introduce you guys to benefactor Latifa – and we are also – Rio-sama,” Syldora started the introduction.

With a light nod, Rio climbed up the stage stairs. As soon as he stood beside her, Syldora continued.

“Rio-sama has taught us many interesting food recipes. They are delicious, and they will be served at the next party, so look forward to it. ” The atmosphere above the temple is slightly softened.

“Rio-sama has contracted a humanoid spirit. This was the truth that the Great Dryas had confirmed

alone, so no mistakes. …Shut up!” Syldora shouted towards the bewildered villagers; her words had caused excuses to explode into noisy chatter.

Until now, Rio's contract with the humanoid spirit had been kept secret from the people outside the village council.

But they choose to play their hand at this point. Perfect result.

“As a member of the village council, I cannot let someone who contracts a humanoid spirit not

appreciated – no matter whether he is a folk spirit or not.” To Syldora's words, the elders all nodded in agreement. The purpose of their actions is to express unity of opinion

council on the matter.

“Rio-sama is our benefactor. His extraordinary personality has been seen more than clearly for six years

last month I stayed here. That's why I considered accepting Riosama as an sworn friend of our spirit people. Does anyone mind?” Syldora asked in a loud voice, causing silence to fall over the temple grounds. Assuming no one objected, Syldora continued to speak.

“Then, I would like to humbly request that the Great Dryas give Rio-sama a kiss of blessing as a symbol of our sworn friendship. Rio-sama, Great Dryas.” At Syldora's insistence, Rio approached the altar where Dryas was.

“Fufu. Let's make friends, little human hero.” Dryas smiled. As soon as she gave a kiss on Rio forehead,

“Now, the ritual is over! Time for dinner! Get ready!” Dominic announced the end

the ceremony as applause subsided.

Soon, the bustle of the villagers became directed to the food, and the banquet management staff began

prepare with confusion. They freely used spirit arts to guide the crowd, organize the banquet area, and distribute food and drink efficiently. A young male elf and a winged werebeast flew in the air above, acting as a messenger, sending out

work orders, and guides the villagers with voices reinforced by spirit arts.

The dwarf men used spirit arts to manipulate the ground, creating tables and chairs

emergency throughout the temple grounds at a quick pace. Meanwhile, Orphia and a few other elf girls used their Time-Space Cache artifacts to bring out complete dishes and drinks one after another, after another, as men of different species race to take them to each table. Thus, the work went on like the others had seen, and before long all the preparations were completed. The dinner began with a toast.

“Gahahaha! You sure drank well today, Rio, son!” Dominic holds a sake cup in one hand

when she laughed loudly at Rio, who was drinking with her.

“Ya – I don't usually drink because I practice, but I think I should at least drink freely today. Alcohol in this village is definitely of high quality.” Said Rio, raising his cup to the mouth.

This was not flattery, but praise from the bottom of his heart. There are several types of alcohol offered at the banquet

that, but even the cheapest mass-produced alcohol of the spirits exceeded the quality drunk by the highest nobility in Strahl. Of course, it goes without saying that the development of drinking is also faster.

“Yah, duh ! Our village only makes real sake! It's not that they're man-made drinks that they drink just to get drunk!” Hearing the alcohol in the village being praised made Dominic laugh cheerfully.

“Persis as you say. Now that I have this sake, I will never be able to

back to Strahl's alcohol. ”

“Good! It's not even the top-level alcohol we make. Just wait until you try to specialize

our Spirit, Soul Sake!” Smiling, Dominic took out a mitril glass and a glass. He poured the contents into the glass and offered it to Rio.

“It..”.

“Ssst, drink only.” Rio instantly peeked into the glass, a mesmerizing mellow fragrance tickling his nose. A thick liquid filled the cup, pulling Rio's mouth towards him almost involuntarily. When sake touches his tongue –

“Yes?!” It felt so special, it almost made Rio's jaw drop. He covered his mouth in panic, but the strong aroma of alcohol had already permeated every inch of his body. It was so delicious, it felt like his soul was detached from his body. That sake was probably nicknamed Soul Sake for this reason:

since drinking it causes the experience to almost go out of the body, Rio mused. Because

unable to resist the temptation, Rio brought his cup to his mouth to take a second gulp. Before he

noticing it, the sake in his mouth had disappeared, as if it had evaporated into thin air. Nope,

that sake must have passed through Rio's throat .. It felt too much for him to process, making it seem as if it just disappeared. For such high potency, it is very easy to drink.

This is a first-rate drink, most worthy of being called Soul Sake. He couldn't even consider alcohol

Strahl as alcohol again. Losing words, Rio's body trembled with emotions flowing within him. It was then that Dryas appeared, the glass holding in one hand.

“What do you think? My sap is there,” he said.

(LT: Oh YEAH!! xd)

“Hrrrk!” After hearing Dryas mention his sap, Rio

choked.

“Kya! Eww, jeez. What are you doing?”

“M-I'm sorry. I'm just surprised. Is this the sap of His Majesty? ”

“It's true. It's called Soul Sake, isn't it? As the spirit of a giant tree, I am the soul that resides in the sap

used – because that's the name. My sap is even used in potions,” said Dryas proudly.

“A-I understand ..” If sap produces sake with this quality, then it can definitely be used as

magic components for medicines as well.

Splice........