The Seirei Gensouki Spirit Chronicles
Chapter 5 Chapter 4

“Is this what you want, Sayo?” Rio took two silver coins from his wallet and checked them one last time.

“Eh? Ah, t-but .. ” Sayo hesitantly looks between the hairpin and Rio. The hairpin was very attractive, and the thought of receiving a gift from Rio made her happy, but the price was high enough to scare her.

“A-I didn't want it—” When Sayo tried to say that, Rio paid for her hairpin.

“OK, miss. Please give me that one. ”

It was clear from Sayo's reaction that she liked this hairpin, so she kept going and bought it. Knowing Sayo's personality, he thought he would reject her if she didn't do it this way. Sayo watched Rio hand over the money with a confused expression.

“Thank you for the purchase! Do you want a box to protect it, or do you want to wear it immediately?” The merchant took a hairpin and a box. He stood up and approached Sayo.

“Eh, ah, umm .. Y-Yes please!”

“This, I'll put it on for you. Keep silent for a moment” sayo nodded timidly as the merchant woman put a hairpin in her hair. She froze in like a dream when a hairpin was fitted to her.

.

“This is perfect for you! Don't you think so too, sir?” the woman asked after putting a hairpin on Sayo's loose hair.

“Yes, I think it's beautiful,” Rio agreed with a smile.

“T-Thank you very much! Really, Mr. Rio.” Sayo finally regained her senses and nodded towards Rio firmly.

“Not a problem. Should we go now? We still have other items to buy.” Rio shook his head, then suggested that they leave. However, he suddenly recalled something, and asked the woman about the kamutan.

“...Oh that's right. Miss, did you know there's a nice kamutan shop around here? ”

“If that's the kamutan you're looking for, then the food store and dining gathering place towards the area there. There is a store called Kuma which is quite famous. It gets very crowded at lunchtime, so it's best to set aside time when you go,” he replied, pointing towards the area where the restaurant is located.

“So so. Thank you very much.”

“Of course. Besides I did sell something good.” The merchant woman shook her head, then approached Sayo with a running step and whispered in her ear with a wink. “... Ah, Miss Sayo, right? you have to do your best to win it. This boy seems pretty interesting. ”

“?!” Sayo lowered her head and flushed.

“Alright then! Please come again, if you have a chance for it!” The merchant woman walked away from Sayo and said goodbye to them with a smile.

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“Good. Let's go, Sayo.” Rio noticed the two of them talking silently, but at the merchant woman's farewell, he responded with his own faint smile. Then, he gestured to Sayo, and started walking.

Sayo started walking after him, but turned to bow to the merchant woman before she left. The woman waved with a smile. There was a leap in Sayo's steps as she rushed after Rio.

◇◇◇

After they ate kamutan at the shop that the merchant woman recommended, Rio and Sayo returned to the shopping district to continue shopping for luxury goods. The main street has shops lined up on both sides, with a row of stalls in the middle dividing the street in two. With a lot of foot traffic, the road was crowded with all kinds of people. Amongst them, Rio and Sayo let the crowd sweep over them, looking at the shop as they walked near them.

“A-There are more people now.”

“How dare you!” shouted an angry man.

“Kya!” sayo's timid expression trembled with trepidation. After a while, confused voices began to appear around them.

“What? What is it?”

.

“Is this a fight? What the hell is going on?”

“Sial, I can't see.”

“Hey, it looks like mercenaries attacked a woman and her child.”

“Cannot be!” And next. The conversation gets louder. Rio improved his hearing ability with spirit arts to catch the pieces of speech, before he heard angry voices from the street once again.

“Baughty boy! Watch where you walk! ”

“The rough one here is you, mere mercenary! Who do you think is talking to you?!”

It seemed like a man and a woman were arguing; the voice of a rude man's shout and the voice of a dignified but angry woman could be heard in that order. Following the explosion, from the direction of the same argument, the cute voice of a girl could be heard.

“Kya ?!” And then, after ticking: “What are you doing ?!”

“Nona Komomo!”

“Oi, wait!” the woman's nervous voice. It seemed that the situation turned into a crisis, but Rio could not see anything from where he was.

“Move!” The voice of a man could be heard some distance away; the crowd standing before Rio suddenly parted in the middle. On that newly created road, a man like a mercenary came running. He held a dagger in his right hand and a young girl tucked under his left arm as he ran, while threatening those who blocked his path. The girl was unconscious, her head hanging weakly.

“Moving! Move it! ” The man shouted furiously.

“Ah ..” Maybe she was afraid that the man approached her from the front, when Sayo stood still, unable to move. He had just been attacked by Gon a few days before, so his reaction was understandable.

“Cih.”

The approaching man saw Rio and Sayo standing still in his path, and clicked his tongue. He decided to ignore them, and keep going forward. However, without pulling his sword from its sheath at his waist, Rio leaped out in front, empty-handed. He then prepared to receive the man's body, without a weapon.

At first, he dodged the hand of the man, who was holding a dagger. Then, he skillfully knocked the man's foot off his bottom; his body spun once in the air. The man looked dazed. Rio grabbed the girl from under the man's arm and brought her closer to him, tucked her under his arm and pointed his fist at the man's heart feather at the same time. Immediately, the man's body fell to the ground.

“Guh...” The man took off the dagger and slumped, fainted. It all ended in an instant.

“A .. Woooooo!” The crowd was stunned for a moment, before they cheered. An expression of admiration was thrown towards Rio; he gave a forced smile and ignored that attention, examining the girl under his arm instead.

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spliced