Chapter 20 - Attack
One month has passed since the departure from Almond and his meeting Latifa.
Currently, Rio and Latifa have slipped out from the Galwark kingdom and are moving into the deep unexplored land.
「Onii-chan! For our lunch! What will it be! ? 」[1]
When the afternoon break came, Latifa asked Rio what was on the menu for lunch with a smiling face.
「I can’t create a too elaborate meal at noon. At most it will be a sandwich from preserved food.」
Rio, with a wry smile, replied to Latifa that brimmed with appetite.
Though Latifa was frightened in the beginning, within this one month, she became considerably more cheerful after her encounter with Rio.
She also became completely attached to him along the way; before he noticed, it had already reached the point where she called him “Onii-chan”.
「Onii-chan’s cooking! Is always delicious! 」
Nowadays she spoke more clearly.
That was because she always spoke with Rio and through that she quickly started to remember the pronunciation of the words.
「Today too, I will sleep together with Onii-chan! Is that okay? 」
Peering at Rio’s face who was starting to prepare sandwiches, Latifa asked to sleep together with Rio.
Latifa often had nightmares while she slept.
It was to the degree that she cried heavily.
She would, as if frightened about something, come in the middle of the night and softly shook Rio. Rio would then gently lulled/rocked her to sleep. That was how she got so attached to Rio
Nowadays, it came to the point that Rio hugged her every night.
Latifa needed to be embraced by Rio, otherwise she would have nightmares.
「……..Ah, its okay.」
Rio was becoming worried about the current conditions.
Originally, he had no intentions of getting this close.
By now, it is not strange if they had already entered the beastman territory.
He should already have separated from Latifa.
But, by the time he noticed, it was already too late. Latifa already completely depended on Rio.
He was horrified when he imagined what would happen if the girl came to know that he was also a reincarnated person, during this time they were together.
Was that because of the slave habit that was ingrained into her, or because of her lonely life, she was easily moved by even a little bit of gentle kindness?
In any case, Rio now worried that Latifa couldn’t simply be separated from him.
（Well, maybe an unexpected quick separation would be good…….. ）
Rio’s inner voice said it loudly, as if sneering at his thoughts.
A sudden separation between someone and another person. [Human partings were abrupt.]
No matter how close they were, no matter how much they rejected the parting, there will be a time where it can’t be avoided any longer.
And, when that time comes, how they feel for each other will no longer be the same.
No matter how much the other party wished to always be together, the other one, which is him, might not necessarily think so.
More or less, humans were that kind of creatures; that was what Rio thought.
That is why he himself must resist that lonely feeling from the parting.
He couldn’t harbored too many excessive feelings towards the other party.
He mustn’t have too many expectations toward the other party.
At least she wouldn’t loathe being separated from him too much. Rio tried to persuade himself.
「Nevertheless, as expected, that tree is so huuuuge!」
Latifa, who spoke to Rio, brought him, who was already immersed deep in thought, back to reality.
Latifa pointed at the gigantic tree that could be seen far in the distance, between crevices in the trees.
「That’s right. Though, I don’t think that is an ordinary tree……..」
They already noticed the tree yesterday.
The huge tree that towered alone, beyond the other trees, caused a feeling of being overwhelmed inside the huge forest.
Though at first it couldn’t be seen as anything but something like small pagoda (a hindu or buddhist temple, typically in the form of a many tiered tower) from a distance, as one got closer they would feel the great presence and sheer size of that tree.
That tree towered over its surroundings, as if piercing through the sky, and released an overwhelming presence.
Somehow, Rio was being attracted towards that tree.
The reason was that Rio was losing his composure.
「Should we get closer to the tree a bit more?」
「Un! Let’s do that! 」
Making a slight detour shouldn’t be a problem.
So he asked Latifa; she replied immediately, with a smiling face.
「Then, should we eat our lunch along the way? It’s already done. Here.」
He passed the sandwich to Latifa during their conversation; Latifa began to delightfully stuff her cheeks with that sandwich.
Looking at her, Rio also began his meal.
Though the bread was preserved food and harder than french bread, if it was eaten with added ingrendients as flavouring, the texture, while it was being chewed, was irresistable.
They became satisfied with that and finished eating the sandwiches. After several minutes, Rio and Latifa began to move toward the gigantic tree again.
「Onii-chan! There’s an unknown smell in our surroundings since sometime ago! There are several of them! 」
A few hours after they started to move again, their advance was just fine, while keeping their usual pace, till Latifa started to say that.
「Unknown smell? It’s not an animal or a monster? 」
「It’s different. The smell of this thing feels sharper. But it’s a little different from a human that didn’t wash their body.」
Though it was not said in a understandable way, Rio judged that it was some kind of standard for Latifa.
「Isn’t there something more specific about them?」
「………..they’re mixed, they’re closer to humans, but also different from humans. Even if it only resembles a little……………….I feel that it is something I missed so much. Like mother, but it’s not mother.」
—-
Though he didn’t understand what Latifa’s words meant, Rio was no match for that nose of her’s.
Because that nose could perceive whatever being it was.
He couldn’t just ignore it.
「Do you know where those smells came from?」
So Rio asked; Latifa then sniffed the smell from the surroundings.
「Over there! As for how far we are from them, I don’t know………….. Yet, there’s not that much of the smell remains. Maybe a great deal of time passed since it came to this place.」
After hearing that, Rio pondered about the next step of their actions. Before long he opened his mouth.
「I see. Let’s take our time and move slowly……, For the time being, should we stop for the day in this place?」
「Okay.」
Then, Rio and Latifa found a suitable camping spot. Latifa went out to collect wild plants that she was familiar with.
During that time, Rio started making dinner at another place a bit away from the camp site.
Lately that was the distribution of the jobs between them.
Rio washed the barley several times in water, and then transferred it at once to another container. The ingredients were chopped dried meat, wild plants, and preserved cheese.
The fire was lit, then olive oil was poured into a pan and then he waited for it to get to a suitable temperature. He quickly stir fried the chopped wild plants and meat.
He put the barley in there, breaking it into pieces, then stir fried it further.
When he felt that the barley looked done, as it turned transparent, he added the seasoning and hot water. [2]
Soon, when the contents of the pot was boiling, the cooking was done after it was covered with a lid for a little more than 10 minutes.
He took it off the fire and let the steam inside do the finishing touch. He completed the risotto by sprinkling it with cheese and pepper.
「Onii-chan! The smell is nice!」
Coincidentally, at the same time he finished with the cooking, Latifa who had completed the bedding came by, lured by the aroma; this was already an everyday occurence for them.
「You must wash your hands first.」
Rio produced water, with spirit arts, for Latifa to wash her hands, that were dirtied by soil. Latifa started to eat immediately after she said 「Itadakimasu」 in a small voice. [3]
Though Latifa occasionally used Japanese language in that manner every day, Rio didn’t dare point that out to her.
Though it was simply just risotto, it can be considered a feast of the highest class in the category of camping meals.
「This risotto is delicious!」
Risotto too; as far as Rio knew, there was no human race, in this world, that knew about this cooking, but Latifa, that had never properly eaten the cooking of the human race in this world, shouldn’t even know about this kind of cooking.
「Thank you very much. Though, the taste was a little worse, despite using same seasoning」
The ideal was naturally to complete the seasoning for each cooking style but, with his current money, he can only afford the minimum seasoning for western oriented cooking.
Even so, Rio was happy that Latifa ate his cooked meals every day and said it was delicious.
「You should be tired right now; we also need to wake up early tomorrow.」
「Un! 」
Latifa nodded with a smile on her face.
After finishing their meal, they went back to the camp site. With boiling hot water in a wash pot, the two of them washed their bodies in turn, inside the tent of plants.
Though it was possible for them to make a Japanese style bathroom, they couldn’t put too much effort into such a luxury, since they were in the middle of a journey.
It was still better (than nothing) since with this, their bodies wouldn’t smell unpleasant.
「Good night, onii-chan」
Inside the tent, that became totally dark when the lamp was turned off, Latifa said that while sticking her body to Rio.
Rio also fell asleep and only left a weak consciousness behind that stretched in their surroundings and connected to one part of his nerves, so that he could instantly responded when something unusual happened.
That was a skill that he acquired when he lived in the slums, so that he could instantly responded to whatever happened during his sleep.
Maybe that was also not too detestable experience, as an orphan, since it was turned out to be useful in this journey.
After that, Rio couldn’t sense whatever happened in their surroundings.
It was because when he became aware of it; there was an unknown girl before Rio.
From the features of her face, she seemed around 16 years old.
For some reason Rio was sleeping on her lap. [4]
For some reason, Rio also accepted that situation.
Rio winked his eyes to confirm whether that girl was real.
No matter how many times he winked his eyes, that girl still in there.
Somehow that girl really existed in that place.
Rio was surprised.
That girl was expressionless, or should he say serene and transient. Her face was cold, as if it only had a little trace of life.
But, it was not like that would become her flaw.
Because, it seemed he once saw that extremely beautiful and lovely girl before, that was what Rio felt.
Her beauty radiated an overwhelming divine aura.
No, even the saying that she’s beautiful was not enough to describe her.
That was what Rio thought.
Though such a cute girl could only be called a work of god, looking from above, her eyes saw Rio’s face.
Accidentally, that girl’s long, pink blonde hair tickled Rio’s face.
Feeling awkward about that, Rio quietly moved his line of sight from the girl and surveyed his surroundings.
White. There was a pure white room.
It was a huge and vast white room that spread in all directions.
Rio thought that the atmosphere in that room felt extremely dreary.
And then, somehow, when he saw that room, why did he feel as if his heart had been plucked out? It felt too lonely.
How could it be? It was very, very unpleasant.
Rio unintentionally knitted his eyebrows.
He was averting his eyes from the naked person in front of him, then glanced back at her.
『Who are you?』
—-
And then, the girl began the conversation with her mystical voice, that gave a transparent like feeling to him.
——–I? I’m Rio, but……………
That was strange. Even when he said the words, somehow his voice didn’t come out.
『Rio, Rio……….., Rio………………………』
But, the girl knew what Rio said.
Somehow he didn’t think that as a problem.
The girl stared absentmindedly at Rio’s face and repeatedly murmured his name, as if trying to engrave it into her memories.
————Then, who are you?
Rio spoke his “words” for the second time.
『………..Me? I, I ………………….. I don’t know』
In some respects the girl’s expression looked as if she was troubled by something.
————–Don’t know?
『Yes………』
———–I See………………….
The atmosphere that exuded from the girl was as if she could disappear at any moment, thus, Rio spoke to her with a worried voice.
『But, I might recall it if I were together with Rio…………』
————-Together………..with Me? Why?
In hearing that, Rio inclined his head because he couldn’t fully comprehend the meaning of that girls words.
『Since I’m tied with you…………. Something like that』[5]
It made him more and more confused.
But, strangely, those words warmed his heart.
Why was it that he felt awfully relieved? [6]
It seemed that was what he felt.
It was fine for this kind of feeling to continue forever.
That was what he thought, Rio’s lips formed a slight smile.
『But, I’m still sleepy…………..』
The girl’s eyes thinned as if her consciousness also became hazy.
Looking at those eyes, somehow also made Rio feel drowsy.
And then, his consciousness faded again. Then, “Click”, Rio’s eyes opened.
What was reflected in his eyes was the inside of the tent that was covered in plants.
What was the meaning of that? It was as if he had just woken up from a very deep slumber.
He got a feeling, as if he had dreamed about something.
But, he couldn’t exactly remember the dream.
Though he felt unpleasant about falling into a deep sleep, there was nothing unusual at all.
It seemed there wasn’t any indication of dangerous animals in their surroundings.
The night was still dark and quiet. [7]
He didn’t know how many hour had passed. He could guess wrongly, as he had fallen into a deep sleep; that was what Rio thought.
He immediately felt the temperature of someone beside him. Looking at his side, it was Latifa, sound asleep.[8]
Rio decided to leave the tent, and used spirit arts to make Latifa fall into a deeper sleep; it was okay to separate a little without her crying at night.
He wandered aimlessly in the surroundings while keeping it at a safe distance where he could instantly deal with whatever happened in their camp grounds.
Somehow his mind was awfully calm.
The night wind that touched his body was just what he needed to refresh his mind.
Maybe being in contact with a little night wind would have some effect on tomorrow; that was what he thought.
When he discovered a rock that he decided was a suitable place to sit down, Rio sat on the rock.
It was not like he was thinking about anything; he was just absent-mindedly gazing at the scenery of the quiet forest.
The forest at night was awfully quiet.
The potential of being attacked by a wild beast was not that high, compared to a monster.
In the first place, if the wild animals possessed any intelligence it was common that, save for unavoidable cases, they avoided battles.
The animals only attacked other wild beasts in cases such as protecting their child or hunting. In those cases they would start actively attacking like a monster.
Though monsters were somehow aggressive toward the other races, as a result of them absolutely not trying to hide their bloodlust, it was possible to notice them the moment they entered his search range; particularly so, in this camping ground.
Suddenly, Rio sensed that someone had entered his search range.
Rio was astonished since they were already so close to that place.
That was because their presence was extremely thin, compared to general beasts.
（………..Wolf?）
The owner of that presence entered into Rio’s field of view.
It was one big wolf, that exuded a faint silver light.
He almost couldn’t sense the particular characteristics of the beast; its presence was too thin, almost like an inorganic being.
It was almost like it was not a living being; that was what Rio thought.
Coincidentally, Rio knew of something similar to this case somewhere.
Rio firmly locked his line of sight so he wouldn’t miss any movements from the wolf.
And then, all of a sudden, the wolf shone; it was a torrent of light that illuminated the surrounding area.
（SHIMATTA!）[9]
His field of vision was dyed by white light; Rio instantly closes his eyes.
He temporarily lost his sight.
However, the rest of his senses were safe.
At that time, suddenly, Rio sensed something rapidly getting closer, from outside of his radar area*. [10]
Furthermore, they were coming in large numbers.
It seemed they were waiting in another place, outside of Rio’s sonar search*. [11]
During that time, for some reason the wolf’s presence before him vanished.
（This tactic like action….. it’s not a beast. Could it be the owner of the smell that Latifa mentioned?）
Rio then guessed at the true identity of the attackers.
And then, as predicted beforehand, in that place he came into contact with them.
But he had not guessed that they will come this fast, and with the intent to attack.
Latifa could sense the other party from their lingering smell at a distance; could it be that the other party could also do the same thing as her? Or else, could it be that they have a different method to sense the coming of Rio’s party? It wasn’t the time to think about that.
While thinking about as many possible cases, Rio retreated back to the tent where Latifa was sleeping.
「Oi! Wait a minute, you’re the demi-human tribe, right? 」
Rio shouted in a loud voice when he sensed the arrival of the other party in that place. He tried to get their attention to forestall them.
Because it happened during a battle situation, he didn’t have the leisure to use polite words.
However, could it be that they didn’t hear his voice? Or were they simply just ignoring his question? Maybe they didn’t understand Rio’s language? The signs of their movements didn’t cease at all.
（It’s not strange for these fellows to understand human language, if they’re alert to the human race. Then, could it be that they heard but deliberately ignored me? Don’t tell me they’re not expecting me….. to be a companion)
While he was still considering his situation, the group maintained their strong approach.
Then, from inside the group, one person broke out and rapidly got closer to Rio.
Rio, with his eyes closed, faced that person.
「!? 」
And then, he was surprised by the opposite party’s appearance.
But, the other party kept approaching Rio.
There was no mistake about it, the other party was going to attack Rio.
When he felt that hostility of the opponent swelled up, Rio stepped away diagonally to them.
By the sounds of the attack, relying on the air flow, he guessed that his enemy was attacking bare-handedly.
Though it did not mean that his opponent do not carry weapons, right now there was no intention of killing him yet.
「As I said, WAIT A MINUTE! You’re demi-humans, right? 」
Before his opponent continued to the next attack, Rio tried to forestall it.
And then, from a different location to the enemy in front of him, someone shouted something in a language that was unknown to Rio. The movements of his opponent also stopped on hearing that voice.
「We don’t want to be called by that name, you know」
Following that, the person talked to Rio in the human language.
When he thought that his opponent understood human language, Rio smiled lightly.
And from that voice, Rio knew that his opponent was actually a girl, around his age.
「I apologize for that. Then, what should I call you? Beast man, Elf, or Dwarf?」
Rio asked the girl once again.
「………………..Our pack is the people of spirit*」[12]
In response to Rio’s quick apology, the owner of the voice answered shortly.
Somehow she also had the intention of conversing with Rio.
And then, from the reply just now, he guessed that every race and organization in this place was called the people of spirit.
「Then, please hear me, O people of spirit. What is your objective? 」
「We came to repel you since the spirits have been making a noise about tresspassers in our territory.. It seems that you had already kidnapped one of us.」
The girl said that, while sending a stare towards the tent in which Latifa was sleeping.
From the second half of her speech that was filled with hostility, it looked like there was some misunderstanding, that Rio came here for slave hunting.
「Then, can you take care of protecting that child for me? 」
「Take care of her? That’s obvious, isn’t it! To brazenly said that after you kidnap her …」
Her anger reached Rio.
The situation had developed down a complicated route; Rio mentally clicked his tongue.
「Please wait a minute. I have something to say about that matter…」
And, when Rio was about to talk about his circumstances, in words that Rio couldn’t comprehend, the voice of a different girl (than the one he’s spoken to) resounded from the direction of the tent.
In that instant, her anger swelled up and she attacked, suddenly landing a critical blow to Rio’s abdomen.
「GAH」
Though his body was strengthened, Rio was being negligent due to their continued conversation. It was still not enough to absorb the impact of that sudden blow; Rio received damage that almost made him faint in agony.
（What brute strength……………… Am I gonna be killed!?）
Even though he couldn’t get away from that sudden blow, for him to get damaged, despite his already strengthened body.
That kind of power may be enough to pierce a thin teppan*. [13]
Rio’s body easily flew through the air, and then crash landed on the ground.
He surveyed the surroundings with his sight, that finally returned. It was vague, but he saw around him many people of spirit, who were keeping themselves at a fixed distance from him.
From every direction he could see elves, who had set their bows and were aiming at him; beastmen holding swords and daggers; and dwarves hefting their axes and halberds.
They numbered at least 30 people.
And from among them, four people stood close to Rio.
A girl that looked like a blond haired elf; A girl that looked like a dwarf with flaming hair; A silver haired wolf girl, and a winged girl with ash colored hair.
The three seemed around the same age as Rio, while the last one looked about twelve years older than him.
The one that attacked Rio was the winged woman.
She was glaring at Rio with an unpleasant expression, as if cursing him to death.
The rest of the people of spirit were also looking at him with similar eyes. [14]
In some respect it was like they were criticizing Rio, or scorning him for something somewhere about himself; it was a look that contained that kind of feeling.
（I didn’t expect that their hostility went this far…………..）
Rio smiled wryly, coaxing himself for that recognition. If he had stayed beside Latifa and explained to them, maybe they would have come to an understanding, that thought suddenly surfaced in his mind, then he fainted. [ Inside his dimmed consciousness, Rio sensed that winged girl was approaching in order to restrain him.
He tried to raise his fighting spirit, but only managed to stand up a little. The damage to his abdomen was too great, and it completely suppressed Rio. Just like that, Rio was struck on the nape of his neck, and completely fainted. And then, something caught the attention of the wolf girl and the winged girl. In a panicked state, the elf girl gave first-aid to Rio, and straped handcuffs to Rio, who was a spirit art user.
The winged girl carried Rio, while a different beastman carried Latifa. Then together, they gathered and headed off in the same direction.
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