Act 20 - The Lover's Crusade

Seirei Gensouki 20 - Kanojo no seisen(精霊幻想記20.彼女の聖戦)

Synopsis:
獣は憤怒に突き動かされ、聖戦の刻は来たれり. 聖女エリカとの死闘を満身創痍で征し、リーゼロッテらを連れてガルアーク王国で待つ大切な人たちのもとへと帰還したリオ.

破壊の化身である大地の獣の存在や屋敷の襲撃事件など危機感の募る状況が続く中、リオはフランソワ国王から直々に勇者である沙月の能力調査と戦闘指南を任されることに！

一方、水面下で侵攻を企てる聖女が次の標的に選んだのは……

「これは、私の聖戦よ！　私を止める権利は、貴方にはない！」

怒り、悲しみ、絶望の果てで――《聖女編》最高潮！

The beast moves as its wrath wants it to, the crusade is coming.

After overcoming his mortal battle with the saint Erika with serious wounds Rio returns to his loved ones waiting for him at Galarc’s castle bringing with him Liselotte’s group.

While the crises like the earth beast that incarnates destruction, the attack to the mansion and more follow each other, Rio is entrusted by king François with Satsuki’s combat training and the investigation of her abilities!

On the other side, the chosen as the next target of the saint who plans a rebellion under the surface is…

'' This is my crusade! You have no right to stop me! ''

Beyond the wrath, the sadness and the despair-《The saint’s arc》 the climax!

Chapter 1: After returning to the kingdom, before returning to the kingdom.
When Rio’s group arrives at the castle they are immediately guided to the dinning room of Rio’s mansion where François is waiting for them. François congratulates Rio for bringing Liselotte back, he tells to him that he thought Rio could do it and that he did something great. Rio thanks him for his words, François tells to Liselotte that it is good that she’s back and that he’s happy about her safety, Liselotte apologizes for the troubles she caused to everyone and the kingdom, François tells her to not be like that, that they can just treat it as having to deal with a disaster, that the saint’s existence is like an evil being’s, he also tells her that he had called her parents, Christina and Flora to Rio’s mansion so she can show them she is doing well, Liselotte thanks François for his consideration, François says the real business is from now, he asks Rio if he heard already about what happened glancing at Gouki and Kayoko, Rio says he didn’t, that he thought it would be better to talk somewhere with everyone present.

François says he will be brief then, he tells Rio that the castle was attacked in his absence, Rio and Liselotte get wide eyed, François tells them to be at ease, that the scale of the attack was big but the damage insignificant thanks to the ones at his mansion, that he came here for thanking them for that, while François doubts about how to tell Rio that the attackers are connected to him, Rio says he understands, a female knight interrupts the talk and says that Christina, Flora and Liselotte’s parents arrived. Christina and Flora greet everyone briefly and then let Cedric and Juliane talk. Cedric tries to greet François first as the etiquette demands but François tells him to forget about it and to go and see Liselotte, both Cedric and Julianne make a reverence, run towards Liselotte and hug her strongly. Liselotte receives them moved and teary eyed, everyone looks at them silently. After staying for a while like that both Cedric and Julianne lower their heads deeply at Rio and thank him for rescuing Liselotte, Rio shakes his head and tells them to not mind it because he just did what he wanted to do, Julianne lets out a voice of admiration while looking at Liselotte that got red faced despite her pretension of being calm, Cedric thanks Rio again, he smiles softly and holds Rio’s hand firmly, Rio says looking at François that he doesn’t want to interrupt the joyous mood but that he has things he needs to tell, François agrees, he says he wants to tell him more about the attack too, he asks Rio if it is fine to listen to his part first, the information exchange begins.

Two days ago, at the Saint Erika’s Democratic Republic, in the rock house, Rio wakes up wondering where he is, Rio’s mind is cloudy and he can’t remember what happened, Liselotte calls out to Rio for making sure he woke up, Rio looks around the room searching for the source of the familiar voice, he sees Liselotte sat on a seat near his bed and calls out to her dubiously when their gazes meet each other, Liselotte asks if Rio is fine or if there is any pain while preparing to use healing magic, Rio says he is mostly fine while rising his upper body and checking his condition with sluggish movements, Liselotte says 'thanks goodness' and lets herself fall on the chair with relieve while holding Rio’s right hand strongly in hers, Rio is surprised but stays unmoving and gulps when he sees Liselotte crying, Rio apologizes and says that it seems he made her worried, Liselotte says she’s the one who has to apologize for the troubles she caused him and looks down sadly again, Rio puts his left hand on Liselotte’s and says he isn’t troubled, Liselotte looks surprisingly at Rio.

Rio says he is there on his own will, Rio says that it is pathetic to have her taking care of him after coming in so boldly but that he doesn’t think she caused him any trouble, Liselotte says he isn’t pathetic, Rio says its fine then, that it is also really good that she is fine, that she doesn’t need to make that pained face because it is just good things for both, LIselotte stays silent and unmoving while she and Rio hold hands, both continue to looking at each other like that for a while until Liselotte realizes the situation they’re in, when she realizes she has been doing something as bold as holding the hands of man while looking him in the eyes from closely she gets embarrassed and flustered, she lets go of Rio’s hands, she separates herself from him and apologizes lowering her head, Rio apologizes too, Liselotte tells him to not to apologize because she held his hand first, Rio thanks Liselotte, Liselotte asks him why, Rio says that for taking care of him while he was unconscious because she must have stayed by his side all the time, Liselotte says she took turns with Aria and Aishia, that she just sat next to him so he just needs to thank the other two, Rio says he understands, but that even like that he’s happy of having her taking care of him and thanks her again, Liselotte says she was the happy one when Rio came to help her, Liselotte’s embarrassment gets strong again and she begins to look down red faced once more.

Rio gets shy too and decides to change the topic, Rio asks Liselotte where Aishia and Aria are while smiling wryly, Aishia says she’s right there while she enters the room through the door, Rio suspects she must have been listening from the corridor but decides not to ask, Rio says good morning to Aishia, she says the same to him and makes a small smile, Rio thanks her, he says he was saved because she picked him up after the fight, Rio asks Aishia for how long he lost consciousness, Aishia tells him than more that a whole day, Rio is surprised, Aishia says Liselotte stayed by his side without sleeping all the time, Rio is surprised and tells Liselotte to please sleep properly when he realizes her lie, Liselotte says that much is fine a little sulkingly, Rio says that the insomnia is poisonous for the body, that he is happy she worried about him but to please take care of herself too, Aria enters the room bringing a tray and a jar of water in each hand and tells Rio to not be too hard on Liselotte because she didn’t know what to do if he hadn’t woken up because of her.

Liselotte complains to Aria and glares at her when she says too much, Rio tells to Aria that if she will rest immediately after this he won’t complain anymore, Aria tells to Rio she intended to take her to a bedroom even by force if she had continued like that but that fortunately he woke up before that, Aria pours water for Rio on a cup and tells him to drink, Rio thanks her and drinks, Aria says she’s the thankful one, that it was thanks to him that she managed to rescue her master, Aria puts down the tray on a side table and kneels before Rio, Rio tells her to stop in a hurry because he already explained that he just did what he wanted, Aria says that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have to be thankful, Liselotte too thanks Rio again and lowers his head at him, Rio gives up on it and tells 'your welcome' to the two, after staying like that for some seconds Aria tells to Rio that by his wishes she will put her master to sleep, Liselotte says sulkingly with her cheeks inflated and with her brow twitching that she isn’t a child that needs to be put to sleep, Rio says to Aria that he will let it in her hands, Aria says that after that she will bring him a meal, Rio thanks Aria and tells Liselotte to rest carefully for the day because they will go back to Galarc’s capital the next day, Aria and Liselotte leave the room.

Rio asks Aishia where did she set the house, Aishia says that in a forest a few kilometers away from where he fought the saint, Rio asks if anything changed while he was asleep, Aishia says that nothing had changed, Rio asks about the spirit arts user that interfered when she was rescuing Liselotte, he asks if it is fine to assume they aren’t being tracked, Aishia says that probably, she wonders if the saint herself was who interfered, Rio says that maybe because he thinks the power of the divine weapons resembles the spirit arts but there is something that bothers him, he asks Aisia if the person who attacked her manipulated light balls, Aishia confirms it, Rio thinks about that. Rio finds it strange, he thinks every hero should just be able to use one attribute with the exception of the body strengthening, Satsuki the wind; Hiroaki the water; Rui the thunder; Takahisa the fire; Renji the ice and the saint the earth. Rio thinks the light bullets are something outside the six main attributes, that if the saint can manipulate them she can use more than her own attribute, Rio wonders if the saint wasn’t the one who attacked Aishia or if she mastered the spirit arts aside from the power of her divine weapon.

Rio thinks the heroes have a good aptitude for the spirit arts from the very beginning, probably an effect of their weapons, that it was the same for Satsuki who became able of seeing the magic power the moment she was summoned, Rio thinks about Satsuki being taught just the minimum because he couldn’t use the spirit arts in front of Charlotte and her guards but that if she does it seriously Satsuki should be able to learn them quickly, Rio thinks maybe the divine weapons allow the heroes to use more than one attribute, that Satsuki told too that she doesn’t understand her divine weapon completely, Rio thinks he won’t get an answer to this even if he thinks more about it and decides to put it aside for the time being.

Rio tells to Aishia that they can’t discard the possibility of a third person different from the saint being the one who attacked Aishia yet, so they must stay vigilant, Aishia agrees and Rio thanks her, Rio tells her that they need to watch out for that beast too, that it seems natural to think the saint was the one controlling it but he can’t affirm it, Aishia says she felt a presence similar to a spirit’s from the beast, Rio asks her if the beast was a spirit, he thought of the possibility but he can’t be sure of it because a spirit with that much power should be a humanoid one, but the beast wasn’t humanoid, Aishia says she isn’t sure because its presence was incredibly muddy, Rio doesn’t understand what she means, Aishia says that every kind of living being has a different kind of presence and that between all of them the easiest to feel are the spirit's and the monster's, Rio asks if between the two the sign of a spirit was the closer one, Aishia confirms it but says that it was muddy, Rio again doesn’t understand her meaning and makes a troubled face, Aishia says that the monsters’ presences also feel muddy, so the beast may be close to a monster too in that sense but that it resembles a spirit more, Rio asks if she feels anything else intriguing from the beast’s presence.

Aishia says that it was angry, Rio is convinced, he also thinks the beast’s eyes were full of hatred, Aishia says that it was incredibly angry, that it was pitch black, Rio asks if pitch black means that it was angry enough for losing its reason, Aishia says that probably, that it had lost its reason, Rio wonders what was the target of the beast’s wrath and if it was he himself, Aishia says the beast’s wrath wasn’t pointed at Rio or anyone in particular, Rio asks what it is then, Aishia says it didn’t knew with who it was angry at, that it was like it had its eyes bandaged and didn’t know who to aim its wrath to but despite that it still couldn’t stop its wrath, that it felt like that, Rio asks if she said pitch black because of that too, Aishia nods, Rio says he understands but that it felt really strange to fight against the beast, that despite how it looked just like it was rampaging it felt more like fighting against a sly beast who chose its prey, Rio thinks it is suspicious how the beast attacked its allies at the end despite standing protectively between Rio and the city before Erika’s arrival, Rio wonders if the beast is able of acting with intelligence or of coming back to its senses if its master orders it to but can’t be sure about it, Rio thinks if the beast is something close to a spirit then its contractor shouldn’t have that kind of absolute control about it, that the relationship between contractors is equal and the spirits always keep their own free wills, Aishia says she doesn’t know about that, Rio says that of course.

Rio sighs tiredly, Rio asks Aishia if there is a way for that beast to be dead if it is a spirit, Aishia says that it depends on what kind of attack Rio used, that if he didn’t damage its spiritual body it will heal any wound over and over, but that if it uses so much magic power that it can’t keep its spiritual form anymore it can be annihilated, Rio confirms with Aishia if the spirits can take damage to their spirit bodies if they are hit by a spirit art powerful enough like he was taught at the spirit folk’s village, Aishia says they can but that it is difficult to do mortal damage and that against a powerful spirit is impossible, Rio asks Aishia if she can feel the beast’s presence now, Aishia says she doesn’t, that it disappeared completely a little before she arrived at his location, Rio says he can’t believe he killed it completely, that even if the contractor dies the spirit won’t, he wonders if the beast is waiting anywhere while gathering the magic power needed for materializing again because none but Erika seems able of providing enough magic power for it, Rio thinks if the one who attacked Aishia wasn’t the saint that person who might be able of materializing the beast but that it is hard to imagine anyone has that much power, that it is impossible for a human, that it must be impossible even for Ouphia who has a great quantity of magic power, Rio thinks regardless of who manipulates the beast it still must be anywhere in its spirit form and certainly could materialize and attack again.

Rio doesn’t want to imagine it, he isn’t confident on winning a rematch, he isn’t confident on being able of protecting the people around him that he wants to protect either and makes a tense face, Aishia holds Rio’s hand, squeezes it and tells him to look together for a way of winning the next time the beast appears, that the next time they will be able of fighting together, Rio’s expression softens a little, he squeezes Aishia’s hand back, he thanks her and says that precisely because of that it won’t do if they don’t research that monster properly, Aishia says that maybe Dryas and the people from the village know something, Rio says they have to ask Sara, Ouphia and Alma when they go back, Rio thinks it is highly likely for the divine weapons to be somehow related to that beast, that it looks like he will need Satsuki’s cooperation and maybe François’ permission too, Rio thinks he needs to go back asap to the Galarc Kingdom and to inform about the future rematch with beast and giving back the kidnapped Liselotte.

Aishia says that now that Rio woke up she will go to see how things are in the city, Rio says that he had thought about going himself, Aishia says Rio is a convalescent and that his face might be recognized because he stood out a lot, that it is fine if she goes to take a look in her spirit form, Rio says there might be a fight with the spirit arts user that attacked her, Aishia says that is another reason for her to go alone, Rio asks if he can let it to her, Aishia tells Rio to let it to her, Rio tells Aishia to take a good look at how the people there are reacting to the saint’s death, that he wants to inform François about that, Aishia nods, Rio says that if she can look into anyone who looks like they can use spirit arts she wants her to do it but that she doesn’t need to force herself because of that, Aisia says she understands, Rio says she doesn’t need to force herself, that if it looks like some trouble will start to run away immediately, Aishia nods but Rio keeps looking at her worriedly thinking it might be better if he goes himself, Aishia tells Rio he worries too much, Rio tries to deny it but he can’t, Aishia tells him to believe in her a little, Rio says smiling wryly that he believes in her, Aishia says she will be fine, she softens her expression and hugs Rio, Rio is surprised but for some reason his heart gets calmed by it, he relaxes his body and accepts Aishia’s embrace while hugging her back, both stay like that in their own world for a while, at the same time outside the door Aria stands awkwardly without knowing if she must enter with the prepared meal or not.

* TLN: HJ Bunko said on its twitter the whole book will be over 400 pages long, making it the longest of the series to date. A longer book means a longer summary, a longer summary means that it will take longer to write it. I will try to be done with the summary between the 10th and the 14th of September, but I can't make any promises about it not taking longer due to my job or the book's length.