"Yes. They hurt my Onii-chan," Latifa answered immediately, making
Rio blink with a blank expression.
"Then everything's okay." He said, amused.
"Nuh-uh! That's not true. Who did this to you?"
Latifa shook her head furiously with tears in her eyes. Then, she looked
around the room and spotted Sara, Orphia, Alma, and Uzuma — the four who
seemed to be in the know. She glared at them suspiciously, silently
demanding them to explain what happened.
"U-Umm..."
Unsure of where to begin, Sara's face paled as she opened her mouth.
The other three wore similar expressions. Suddenly —
"Good grief, why can't you all walk a little slower? I'm here now."
Belatedly, Ursula arrived. Once she saw Latifa clinging to Rio, she
bowed her head and sighed. "Figures. Human boy, please accept my
apologies. I'd like to ask you some questions about that girl. Would you
kindly cooperate with us? We'll pick a better place to talk, of course."
"Who cares about that! Are you the ones who did this to Onii-chan?
Answer me." Before Rio could respond to Ursula's question, Latifa cut in
and made a blatantly hostile demand.
"That's right... hm?! This is... quite a fierce killing intent."
The moment Ursula confirmed Latifa's accusation, Latifa took on a
protective stance over Rio. Her eyes were as sharp as a guard dog's, glaring
at the occupants of the room.
"You were mean to Onii-chan. I won't forgive you."
Before they knew it, a thick intimidating air swept through the dim room.
It was directed towards everyone in the room. Everyone except Rio, that is.
Sara's group all stiffened at once, sweating nervously. The winged werebeast,
Uzuma, stepped forth and took on the full effect of Latifa's skin-piercing
gaze.
"Stop it, Uzuma."
"You too, Latifa. I'm glad you feel that way, but stop. I'm fine, so let's
listen to what they have to say."
Ursula and Rio intervened, not wanting the situation to get out of hand.
"If Onii-chan says so, then..." Latifa reluctantly backed down.
"Thank you both. Before we relocate, allow me to undo those cuffs.
Where is the key, Uzuma?"
"...I gave it to Lady Sara," Uzuma answered Ursula in a stilted voice.
"Then, Sara. Undo those cuffs immediately."
"Y-Yes, ma'am! ...Excuse me." Sara nodded, running towards Rio in a
hurry. The cuffs around his neck, hands, and feet were unshackled one by
one.
"Thank you very much."
"N-No! We're the ones that should be apologizing to you! Please accept
our sincerest apologies!" Sara bowed her head in a fluster after Rio had
thanked her.
"Then let us relocate immediately. Follow me."
"Of course. ...But could you give me a moment first? I'd like to heal
myself a little."
Just as Rio tried to stand up and follow Ursula, a sharp pain stabbed him
in the stomach. His face twisted in agony as he sought permission to treat
himself.
"Hm? Did they injure you? That is inexcusable. Let me treat you
immediately." Ursula replied, shooting a cold glance towards Sara and the
others.
"No, I can do it. Please do not trouble yourself." Rio rejected her offer
and began to heal himself.
"That's... spirit art. I see, so you are a human of Yagumo. How
unusual..."
"So this is spirit art after all?" Ursula muttered to herself in
understanding, prompting Rio to question her.
He was more than well aware that he was using an unusual ability that
was similar to, yet unlike magic. He had tried to research the identity of it in
the Royal Academy's library, and as a result, he had discovered a book that
spoke of an imitative technique called "spirit art." However, it held no details
other than the name, and his research ended without him receiving any more
clarity of his ability.
"From the looks of it, you don't seem to understand spirit arts very well.
How did you come to learn it?"
"I was suddenly able to use it one day."
"...What?"
Rio's frank truth made Ursula's eyes widen.
"Is that unusual?"
"Hum. Humans have far less aptitude towards spirit arts than the spirit
folk to begin with... To learn it in a single day should be impossible. Under normal circumstances, at least. Don't tell me..." Ursula said, before giving
Rio a meaningful look.
"Is there a problem?"
"No, it's not a problem... it shouldn't be, anyway. I'd like to hear more
about that too, if possible. I promise to answer any questions you have about
us as well."
"Please do. Also, I would appreciate it if you could lend me something to
wear," Rio said, flashing a glimpse of his underwear-clad figure under the
blanket. Ursula sighed deeply.
"...I apologize again. They shall be brought to you immediately. Along
with some medicine, since you may already be sick. Orphia, Alma. Go
prepare them, now."
"Y-Yes ma'am!"
Orphia and Alma nodded in unison and hurried out of the room.
◇◇◇
After Rio changed, relocated rooms, and introduced himself, he
explained the reason he had taken in Latifa. He explained that he had been
moving from Strahl to Yagumo, that he was attacked on the way by Latifa, a
slave being controlled by the Collar of Submission, and that Latifa decided to
follow him after he released her, and so on.
Latifa — the only one who could attest to the truth of his story — had
perhaps grown tired or bored of the small talk, as she had fallen asleep on
Rio's lap as he talked. However, her attachment to Rio was the greatest proof
they could have offered.
As their discussion progressed, Rio explained the reason why he decided
to step foot into the great forest that held the spirit folk's village. Namely, the
fact that he wanted the spirit folk to take the werebeast — Latifa — in, and
protect her.
"Uzuma. Because of your hasty actions, you have committed the greatest
dishonor upon a benefactor seeking to protect one of our own. Do you have
something to say for yourself?"
After hearing the entire story, Ursula turned to Uzuma with a severe
look.
"Umm... When I heard that Miss Latifa was put to sleep by spirit arts, I
thought that human... that he had surely kidnapped her, and flew into a rage."
Uzuma explained her side of the story with a flushed face, sweating
profusely.
"From what I have heard, you attacked him while in the middle of
negotiations without even bothering to hear what Lord Rio had to say. Why
did you not wait until he had finished speaking?"
"I-I was simply too enraged... And as long as there was the possibility of
a kidnapping, I had to prepare for the worst case scenario and secure the safe
rescue of Miss Latifa..." Uzuma cowered as she spoke, shrinking back in fear.
Considering how urgent the situation had been, Uzuma's actions couldn't
be written off completely. Anyone would jump to the conclusion of
kidnapping if they encountered an armed foreigner, trespassing in their
territory, with a young girl of their own species put to sleep by spirit arts.
On top of that, there was the danger of Latifa being used as a hostage if
they moved too slowly... And if Rio had really been a kidnapper, that would
have been more than possible.
But just because Uzuma's reaction wasn't completely wrong didn't mean
that she had done the right thing. Reality didn't have clear solutions like
numerical formulas, after all.
"P-Please forgive me, Head Elder! Y-You may punish me however you
see fit, if need be!" Unable to withstand the mood in the room and her own
sense of guilt, Uzuma finally cracked and turned to apologizing.
"Hmph. Don't you think you've mistaken who your apology should be
directed to?"
"L-Lord Rio! I'm truly very sorry..."
Uzuma suddenly kneeled on the ground, throwing her forehead to the
floor before her.
In other words, a dogeza.
So the spirit folk also had the culture of dogeza... Rio's eyes widened
slightly at that.
While he wasn't sure whether her action held the same weight as the
dogeza did in Japan, her apologetic intentions were evident.
"P-Please accept my apology too. My Lord Rio, I am very sorry for what
happened!" Following Uzuma's lead, Sara, Orphia, and Alma all kneeled
down in succession.
"...I would be lying if I said I wasn't bothered, but I accept your apology.
I may have lacked some consideration myself when I stepped into your
territory so thoughtlessly." Uncomfortable with having girls his age and older groveling at his feet, Rio decided to accept their apologies and be done with
it. It wouldn't be a good idea to ruin their relationship from now on, either.