NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 12: Going to Italy! Haru Rapid Ascent! Marquis On the Move!
In the living room, Sayanomiya Kaoru sat nervously, facing the scowling siblings. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead.
Haru glared at her, his expression promising a swift execution if her news wasn't satisfactory.
Kasugano Sora sat beside him, her face expressionless, as if she were already looking at a corpse.
"Well... uh... the History Compilation Committee has received a report. The Yuri family, the Hime Miko clan who protect the Shichiou Shrine, accepted an invitation from their magical colleagues in Austria. This morning, they departed for Italy on a family vacation to Europe. They have left the Committee's intelligence network! Following Your Majesty's previous decree, I have come to report this immediately." Sayanomiya Kaoru emphasized her last sentence.
'You told me to report immediately, so it's not my fault! Please don't kill me!!!' Sayanomiya Kaoru thought, her heart pounding with terror.
She sat rigidly on the sofa, watching Haru as he seemed to contemplate her method of execution. Her body trembled uncontrollably.
'I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die! This time for sure!'
"Haru? Are we going to Italy?" Kasugano Sora smoothed out her slightly disheveled nightgown, her eyes filled with curiosity as she looked at Haru.
'Saved!!!' Sayanomiya Kaoru looked at the delicate, doll-like silver-haired girl, who appeared like a holy, pure white angel depicted in the Bible. In this moment, she felt reborn.
Hearing Sora's question, Haru snapped back to reality. 'Austria! Mariya Yuri! The Marquis's summoning ritual! This is perfect!'
"Yes, it seems a trip to Italy is necessary." Haru said with a cheerful expression, meeting Sora's inquisitive gaze.
"Hmm, is it urgent? Should we start preparing together then?" Sora asked with a sly, fox-like smile.
"Why are you suddenly so happy?" Haru looked at the gleeful Sora, puzzled.
"Because... of this!" Sora turned around, a bashful smile on her face, and walked towards the bookshelf in the living room. She pulled out a book with a beach scene on the cover and pointed at the title: *Italy – The Honeymoon Destination of Choice for Couples*, her voice sweet and coy.
"Ahem, it seems we do need to prepare thoroughly." Seeing the book in Sora's hands, Haru rubbed his chin awkwardly, nodding slightly, his ears tinged with red.
The next morning, around 8 am, at Haneda Airport, Tokyo International Airport.
Haru, pulling Sora's hand with his right and a suitcase with his left, strode towards the VIP lane.
Standing in front of the VIP lane was a young man dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and black tie, resembling a typical company employee. He leaned against the wall, holding a laptop bag, seemingly relaxed.
Despite standing in a conspicuous location, the young man's presence was strangely faint, like a fleeting reflection in a mirror or water, easily overlooked. He had clearly employed some form of concealment magic to hide his presence.
Hearing footsteps, the young man slowly raised his head and looked towards the source of the sound. Upon seeing Haru's face, he jolted awake.
"It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty, King Kasugano, and Your Highness, Princess Kasugano." The young man approached slowly, stopping before them. He stood at attention, placing his hands at his sides, then bowed deeply in a perfect Japanese manner.
"Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Amakausu Touma, the representative of the Tokyo branch of the Japanese History Compilation Committee. I have been dispatched by the Committee to serve as your attendant and liaison during your trip to Italy with Princess Kasugano." Amakausu Touma spoke with a flattering smile, his tone servile, reminiscent of a court eunuch seeking to please the emperor.
"Princess Kasugano?" Sora noticed the unusual title in Amakausu Touma's words and questioned him with a puzzled expression.
"Your Highness is perhaps unaware, but the day before yesterday, His Majesty the Emperor bestowed upon you the title of Imperial Princess, granting you the status of a direct member of the Imperial Family. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to address you as 'Princess' now!" Amakausu Touma rubbed his hands together, praising Sora effusively.
In Japan, Imperial status still carried significant weight and influence. Upon hearing this, Sora beamed, her arms tightening around Haru's right arm.
"Haru, I've been made a Princess! You should do something to celebrate." Sora said, clinging to Haru's arm with a playful pout.
"Of course, my dear Princess. I'll treat you to a feast in a few days! How about that?" Haru gently scratched Sora's nose, his voice filled with affection.
Watching the couple's affectionate display, Amakausu Touma quickly lowered his head, pretending to count the dust particles on the floor.
*"It seems I can report the romantic relationship between the King and Princess Kasugano as confirmed information."*
After a moment of playful flirting, a stolen kiss on Sora's forehead elicited a cute squeak from her, and Haru turned to the bowing young man. "How are the preparations for the information I requested from Sayanomiya Kaoru coming along?" he asked, his voice flat.
"In response to Your Majesty, due to the limited time, we were only able to copy all the recorded basic spell data into a storage device. The more advanced and secret techniques, as they are not written down, can only be imparted to you through the 'Bestowment' spell by the Miko," Amakausu Touma reported, then cautiously raised his head, observing Sora's expression. Seeing her calm face, he sighed in relief.
Haru, who had been closely watching Amakausu Touma, naturally noticed this. *The 'Bestowment' spell... I remember that spell requires mouth-to-mouth transmission to bypass a Campione's magic resistance!* Thinking this, Haru quickly glanced at Sora's face from the corner of his eye.
Haru's repeated glances alerted Sora, despite her being immersed in the sweet interaction they had just shared. "Haru, what's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
"No, nothing. Do you mind having a third wheel with us, Sora?" Haru quickly laughed, cleverly shifting the focus to Amakausu Touma.
"We can just toss him out of the plane later. I don't mind." Although she hadn't noticed anything unusual, Sora's keen intuition sensed the source of Haru's unease and responded with a lighthearted, albeit seemingly cruel, remark.
"Please spare me, Your Highness!" Amakausu Touma immediately prostrated himself, bowing his head in submission.
"Heehee!" Seeing this, Sora giggled, clinging to Haru's arm.
"Get up. It's time to board!" Haru instructed Amakausu Touma, then led Sora towards the VIP lane.
After Haru and Sora had passed, Amakausu Touma quickly got up and wiped the sweat off his forehead. *"Once this mission is over, I'm requesting a transfer!"*
On the private jet, after helping Sora fasten her seatbelt by the window on the right, Haru turned to Amakausu Touma, who sat diagonally opposite them. "Bring me the compiled basic spell data."
Hearing this, Amakausu Touma took out a Sony laptop from his bag, expertly pressed the power button, and three seconds later, opened a folder on the desktop. He then turned the laptop around and handed it to Haru.
"This is...? The data is stored on a computer? It's quite different from the grimoires I imagined!" Haru accepted the laptop and looked at the various documents listed in the folder: On the Five Elements, Yin and Yang, Yellow Court Book, True Words, Ancient Techniques... The contents of numerous English and Japanese texts appeared before his eyes.
"Modern technology is advancing rapidly, and the development of magic is accelerating alongside it. Failure to adapt means being eliminated from the ruthless world of magic. Therefore, learning to integrate technology with magic is a mandatory course for modern magicians. This Sony laptop has been physically isolated using a unique Japanese spell to prevent data leakage! This is a testament to our ability to keep up with the times..." Amakausu Touma boasted proudly.
*Piu!* Before he could finish his sentence, a soft sound interrupted him. Haru's lips twitched.
Amakausu Touma broke out in a cold sweat, frantically casting spells to stabilize the laptop, which was on the verge of exploding. "I sincerely apologize! We forgot about the unique properties of Your Majesty's sacred body. Please rest assured, the spell has failed, and the internal data is unharmed!"
Haru looked at his right hand, both amused and exasperated.
"Ah! So that means Haru's body has a built-in 'Dispel Magic' effect like in video games? How did you do that? Did you have dispel runes tattooed all over your body like those delinquents in movies?" Sora reached out and ran her hands over Haru's upper body, making *piu piu* sounds with her mouth.
Haru chuckled and swatted Sora's hand away. "Sora! Stop it!"
Time passed slowly. Haru diligently read through the spell data, his body instinctively replicating the spells. The moment each spell formed, the egg within him activated its power, annihilating the spell and extracting its underlying rules.
Insights continuously flooded his mind: manipulation of the Five Elements based on their foundational principles, steel-forging techniques based on shapeshifting, Shikigami manipulation based on mental power, and the Thousand Languages based on the power of words.
Countless spells formed, were annihilated, and then used to deduce the rules of the world.
The Art of Evolving, infused with these newly acquired world rules, began to continuously Filter itself.
Nine hours later, as the private jet approached the airspace of Florence, Italy, the analysis of the spell data was complete.