The Seirei Gensouki Spirit Chronicles
Chapter 1

“So .. So that's how it is.” Rio nodded in understanding.

When compared to elves, dwarves, werebeasts, and other spirit beasts, humans generally had a low talent for using spirit arts. However, it was extremely rare, someone with high talent to use it from birth. This means that his father, Zen, might be able to use spirit arts as well, Rio mused to himself. It was almost impossible for his father to make such a hard journey between the Yagumo and Strahl regions without being able to spirit arts.

Rio found the information interesting, but he was unable to let his goal fall to the back of his mind. After using spirit arts to light firewood in the kitchen stove, he started cooking. The menu includes rice, miso soup, meat, and sauteed vegetables, along with pickled vegetables that Yuba has made.

Incidentally, there are many condiments available in Yagumo that are reminiscent of Asian foods on Earth – including soy sauce and miso – that make it easy for Rio to recreate the taste of Japanese food. Rio had found all kinds of ingredients and seasonings during his time in the folk spirit village, but being able to gather the ones he had never seen before in the Yagumo region made him feel very satisfied.

“... Hmph. I guess you are quite good, Rio,” Ruri muttered involuntarily when she saw Rio preparing the ingredients with an experienced hand.

“Thank you very much. I often do this, because I travel alone.” Rio shook his head timidly.

“No, no, this is not just a level of average skill. The use of your knife is even better than mine.” Ruri smiled faintly. The two of them continued to chat casually and opened up to each other, little by little. Less than an hour later, they finished cooking all the food.

“Listen, Grandma. Rio made us a sweet smelling breakfast!” With a cheerful smile, Ruri brought the completed plate into the living room and presented it on the table.

“Oh? This sure looks good. Looks like we will have no trouble leaving Rio for cooking duty.” Yuba smiled in shock at the plate on the table.

“Umm, excuse.” A cute feminine voice can be heard from the entrance, where the door is left wide open. There stood Sayo and a boy standing behind her; she was around the age of Rio.

“Ah, Sayo. Welcome then. Enter, enter. You too, Shin.” Ruri waved the two of them inside with a smile.

“O-OK. M-Sorry excuse me.” Sayo bowed politely and timidly stepped through the door.

“Ya, excuse me.” Shin followed.

“Both you two made it – You guys are in time for breakfast. Come msuk.” Yuba called the two of them closer as Ruri returned to the kitchen.

“Thank you, Grandma, already gave us breakfast.” Shin thanked Yuba and lowered himself into a pillow beside the fireplace.

“Thank you for the food, Mrs Yuba.” Sayo also sat down and lowered her head. However, he looked somewhat nervous as his eyes glanced around the room. That was when Rio came out of the kitchen, carrying more dishes.

“Good morning, Sayo.”

“S-Good morning, Sir Rio. Is there anything I can help you with? ” Sayo asked nervously, offering help.

“... No, it's okay. We just finished preparing everything. All you need to do is eat.” Rio paused for a moment how Sayo handled it, then smiled and shook his head. Meanwhile, Shin was curious to see Sayo's strange behavior.

“Rio, Ruri, you two also sit down,” Yuba orders. Both Rio and Ruri took their seats.

Everyone sat in the shape of a horseshoe around the table, with Yuba sitting in the middle. Ruri and Sayo sat by his side, while Rio and Shin sat beside them. Sayo bowed politely to Rio, who was sitting opposite her diagonally, making Shin shoot a suspicious look between them.

(Tln: U-shaped pillow)

“This is Rio and Shin's first meeting, huh? Shin, this boy is called Rio. He was the son of an old acquaintance of mine. He'll stay in our house for a while. Rio, that's Sayo's brother, Shin. ” An indescribable mood threatens to be left in the room, but Yuba ignores it as she casually introduces Rio and Shin to each other.

“My name is Rio. Nice to meet you.” Rio put on a friendly smile and bowed to Shin, who was sitting right opposite him.

“...Good. You too,” replied Shin rather bluntly, seeming to be wary of him. Sayo, who was sitting next to him, seemed like she had something to say.

“Alright, Rio's having all the trouble making this meal, so let's eat before it gets cold. We can talk more after that,” suggested Yuba. Then, when their gazes gathered on the plate in the middle of the table …

“Hey, Grandma .. This stir-fry contains meat. Isn't that a bit fancy for breakfast? Are you bagging an extra for yourself because you are the village chief? Very crafty!” Shin's eyes immediately locked the piece of meat on the vegetable stir-fry.

Meat was a luxury item that could not be eaten too often in the village. They raise livestock, but not for the consumption of – cattle in the village are rewarded for their hard work, and are used for things like transporting goods and plowing fields. The only occasions where they could eat beef were when working cattle were thrown out of injury or old age, or when the division of hunting loot came to each family.

“No need to panic. I am not cunning – this is the meat that Rio brought,” Yuba explained with a wry smile.

“Oh, so so. Yeah, as long as I can eat meat, I don't care. … Hey, this is delicious!” Not long after he heard his explanation, Shin pushed the stirring into his mouth and praised the taste with widened eyes. He swallowed the rice while the stir-fry taste was still in his mouth.

“Think of your desk manners, Shin,” Sayo warned.

“Already, you try too. Very yummy. Ooh, this miso soup is also delicious!” Shin did not seem to care at all about Sayo's warning as he scooped up the food excitedly.

“Yes pardon ..” Sayo pouted her lips dejectedly, but as she tried to stir her eyebrows raised in shock at the taste. “Very delicious!”

“Kan?” Said Shin with a satisfied nod.

“Sup miso is also good. W-Do you really make all this yourself, Sir Rio? ” Sayo asked with a little envy.

“Iya. I'm glad it feels to your liking.” Rio nodded with a thin smile.

“Ahaha, they both said what I wanted to say. Very good, Rio. ”

“Indeed, you have enough skills. Very impressive.” Ruri and Yuba both agreed with a smile that pulled at their lips.

“Thank you very much. I made some extra rice, so go ahead. ”

“Wah, second plate! Thank you, Sayo.” Shin turned to Sayo next to him and offered her an empty bowl.

“Yes my goodness, Shin! Hold on a little yourself! ”

“Sayo, no need for me to hold back. I'm a growing child, so eat as much as you can. ”

“M-I'm sorry, Mrs Yuba. My sister ... Only .. Thanks for the food.”

Sayo shook her head at Yuba and Rio, then started taking the rice into Shin's bowl from the pot next to her. As soon as she returned the full bowl to her brother, she returned to eating. Everyone ate Rio's cooked breakfast vigorously. Then, after they finished eating and poured tea for everyone …

“Now we are no longer bothered by delicious food .. Should we get to the main point? Shin,” Yuba said to the boy.

“Hm, what's up?”

“I called you here for a reason. I want Rio to try the job the hunters did. Can you take him to Dola's place after this? ”

“...Huh? This guy as a hunter? Are you serious?” After completely forgetting that Yuba had called him here for something, Shin's expression of satisfaction turned dubious of his words.

“Yes. He said he wanted to help with the work in the village, so I asked him what he could do. He had a fairly flexible set of skills, including the ability to hunt. Dola's looking for more people to help, isn't she? ”

“It ... true, but ... It's a very hard job, you know? Does he have stamina? He looks very weak,” said Shin, looking at Rio doubtfully.

“It's okay – he's not the type to lie. I've made sure that he can cook and use spirit arts. She had been traveling around the world at a young age by herself, so I felt she was already quite an expert. He also has a very good weapon ... He might even be stronger than you,” Yuba said while grinning, provoking Shin.

“J-So what? I can use spirit arts as well. We'll see what he has.” Shin hesitated for a moment, before showing a calm demeanor.

“Yeah, that's the situation. I'm counting on you to explain that to Dola. Look at Rio – skills if it seems like you can take your time, pick one of the younger juniors and task them to train it. ”

“Good. Better to hope he doesn't waste too much of our time,” Shin muttered with an unhappy nod, clearly underestimating Rio.

“Alright fine. You're very noisy. Hey, Rio. We don't have much time, so let's go.” Shin stood up and walked quickly to the front door.

“Sir Rio, forgive me! My brother needs to pay more attention to his mouth.” Sayo hurriedly lowered her head at Rio, but she smiled gently at him and shook her head, as if she did not care at all. Then, he hurriedly followed Shin.

“Saddening. Rio who was younger by one year, yet much more mature. Don't worry about that, Sayo .. I'll talk to Rio later,” Ruri said with a desperate breath.

“O-OK.” Sayo nodded shyly.

“Now, Sayo ... And you too, Ruri. Next your turn,” said Yuba.

“Hah? Us too?” Ruri gawked in shock, not expecting to be dealt with.

“Iya. Rio just arrived in this village. He may seem like he will be fine because of his calm demeanor, but there are many things that are still unfamiliar. There would be many villagers who were worried about his status as an outsider. So, can you two please take care of her?” Yuba said in a serious tone and bowed his head deeply to the two girls.

“Y-Yes. Of course we will. Leave it to us.” Ruri was surprised at the rare sight of her grandmother lowering her head like this, but immediately nodded with a smile.

“A-I will do my best too, if it's within my capabilities!” Sayo nodded enthusiastically.

“Hmm, can I think of him like my little brother? Or Sayo's older brother? But she already has Shin,” Ruri said as she stretched her neck.

“A-I can't possibly dare to imagine Sir Rio as my brother!” Sayo interjected in fear hearing Ruri's words.

“Ahaha .. By the way, what's up with calling him

‘Tuan’ Rio?” Ruri asked with a mocking smile.

“Eh? Y-Yeah, don't you think he looks like a noble? Like someone unattainable .. ” Sayo wavers, answering with a little cheek to her cheek.

“I understand ..” Ruri watches Sayo with a smile.

“A-What's up, Ruri?”

“It's okay. Now, can we get to work? We're leaving, Grandma!” Ruri quickly stood up and escorted Sayo to the door.

“Ah! T-Wait, Ruri!” Sayo struggled to keep up.

“Come, now,” said Yuba, looking at the girls who rushed away.

“... It looks like everything will be very interesting here,” murmured, smiling.

◇◇◇

Shin brought Rio to the foot of the forest mountain. Despite his frustration coming out of the village chief's house, Rio continued to invite Shin into conversation until they chatted amiably, his sour mood was long forgotten.

“True, here it is. This mountain forest is where we hunters do our job. We usually hide in the woods from morning to evening, then help out in the fields with whatever spare time we have afterwards. If you want to know more, you should ask sir. Oh, talk about demons. This is Dola, our boss. ”

Shin gave Rio a brief explanation of the hunters' work when a man named Dola – who appeared in a conversation with Yuba, also – appeared. He looked to be in his late forties, with a large body and sturdy body.

“Yo, Shin – you early. Is this a boy named Rio, then?” Dola approached, greeting them casually.

“... What, you already know about him?”

“Yes that's it. My daughter met him this morning. Hm, I understand .. This is of course .. She looks a bit soft, but I can understand why the girls went crazy to her. Well, not as crazy as they did for me. Wahaha!” Dola laughed out loud.

“Nice to meet you – my name is Rio. I was going to stay in this village temporarily, so I came to help the hunters with their work on the orders of Lady Yuba. I look forward to working with you,” said Rio, introducing himself and giving a simple picture of his circumstances.

“True, same here. Do you have experience in hunting? ”

“Ya, I know.”

“Oho? I'm glad to hear that. We actually have two other hunters, but they're both injured now. The only hunters who can work are this student, here, and myself.” Dola said with a happy smile.

“The old woman, Yuba, said if it seems like you have any hands left, to bring a younger man from the village and train him as a junior. Anyway, we'll see how it goes,” Shin interrupted with a slightly amused expression on his face.

“Why are you acting like an arrogant person? You yourself are still half an adult,” Dola said desperately.

“S-Shut up! I will hunt something much bigger than him!” Shin replied with motivation.

“Yes, sure, I'm looking forward to it. Just don't overdo it.

” Dola shrugs lightly. “Now, I want to know exactly how talented Rio is. Our spare hunting equipment is stored in a warehouse there, so let's go to the mountains as soon as you're ready,” he said with a change of attitude indicating that he meant to be serious.

After the exchange, they all gathered inside the warehouse and prepared to go hunting. Dola and Shin had been wearing work clothes that were easy to move around, but they changed clothes into thicker clothes and boots that they needed to travel up the mountain. Then, they wore straw coats, and equipped themselves with hunting knives and each bowed.

Meanwhile, Rio had been wearing his slightly thicker battle armor, and had daggers and knives in his belt, so he decided that all he needed was to borrow a bow.

“You're really weird, there. Are you sure you'll be okay in that? ” As soon as Shin finished changing, he looked at Rio from top to bottom skeptically.

“Yes, this is my travel clothes, so the clothes are made very resistant,” Rio nodded. Dola came to check the texture of the clothes.

“It looks like so. The fabric seems strong enough. Well, I'm sure this will be fine,” he said, giving his stamp of approval.

“Good. Let's go,” said Shin a little hurriedly and rushed out of the warehouse.

“Originally know it, that he's more excited than usual. You must have burned his competitive heart, Rio. Now, we have to leave too.” Dola gave a short laugh, a smile playing on her lips as she left the warehouse. Rio.

“Now, Rio. There is something I need to say before we enter the mountain,” Dola said as soon as they were outside again.

“Iya? What's the problem?”

“It's about how to talk about you. You don't have to talk so stiffly with us. It makes me uncomfortable. After all, there is no time to worry about manners while you are hunting.”

“That's true .. It's just that, this is almost a habit at this point, so if you ask me to suddenly stop it, it will be very difficult. But I'll do my best. ”

“Ha. Well, that's not a bad thing. If you say it's easier for you to talk like that, then there's no need to force yourself to stop. Okay, I want to test your skills and explain some things, so let's go to the mountains. Do you have any questions before we start, Rio? ”

“Only one. If you have a hand gesture to communicate without speaking, can you teach me first? ”

“Hand signal? What is it?” Dola and Shin were both curious tilting their heads.

“The moves you make with your hands to communicate your intentions without saying anything by gesturing. Something like moving forward, still, or backward, for example.” Rio explained.

“Ah, so. Now that you mention it, we used some gestures to give very simple instructions. But, the specifics of what to do and where are a bit fuzzy, so we don't really have a fixed motion with meaning.” Dola realized that she was using hunting hand signals regularly without really thinking about it.

spliced