Water Magician

Editor: Tseirp

The four aides who had fled from the tea house in the square.

They had split into pairs along the way and dashed towards the Administrative Island and successfully escaped to the ministries they belonged to.

Port Authority.

Deputy Minister’s aide, Ronfan, and Minister’s aide, Zo, were among them.

The two rushed up the stairs, entered Ronfan’s aide office, and locked the door behind them.

Finally, they caught their breath.

For a solid five minutes, neither spoke a word.

Both tried to make sense of what had just happened as they calmed their ragged breathing.

The first to break the silence was Ronfan, the owner of the room.

“It was an attack using a talisman…”

“Yeah. It was floating near the ceiling. Must have been some kind of wind-attribute magic attack.”

Zo nodded, adding details.

“Any idea who was behind it…?”

“Logically, you’d think it was the Grand Duchy.”

“But why target us…?”

“I don’t know.”

Neither Ronfan nor Zo understood why they had been targeted.

True, they had been working to uncover the Grand Duchy’s ongoing conspiracy.

But to be honest, that was all they had done.

They hadn’t taken any significant action yet.

They certainly hadn’t carried out any sabotage operations.

So why had they been attacked?

And in such a conspicuous place?

“I’m going to stay at the Port Authority for a while.”

Zo, the Minister’s aide, muttered.

The Ministry had a wide range of anti-magic and anti-sorcery defenses installed.

The level of alchemy in the Free City of Kwebasa was quite high.

One of the reasons they had been able to fend off the threats of both the Grand Duchy and the Federation so far was due to the advanced level of their alchemy.

“Yeah. I’ll do the same. That really gave me a scare.”

Ronfan, the Deputy Minister’s aide, also decided to stay in the ministry.

As far as they could tell, it was the safest place.

“But still…”

“What?”

“The magic that blocked the attack… that magic barrier. Who cast it?”

“Who knows… Probably someone from the Special Defense Bureau…”

“We owe them our lives. Maybe we should send some drinks over to the Special Defense Bureau.”

“Exchanging gifts between officials is prohibited.”

“Man… what a strict world we live in.”

Ronfan grumbled with a wry smile, and Zo shook his head in lament.

It seemed that society was tough no matter where you were.

“You fool! How could you fail to eliminate even the aides!”

“My apologies.”

Inside the second secretary’s office of the Atinjo Grand Duchy embassy.

Second Secretary Zlurma was furiously scolding the sorcerer who had failed the mission.

At that moment, the door opened without a knock, and a man entered.

“Your Excellency!”

Zlurma hastily dropped to one knee in reverence.

Naturally, the sorcerer who had been receiving the scolding also remained kneeling, facing the man who had entered.

“Zlurma, don’t be so angry.”

Duke Helb said with a smile, as he sat down on the reception couch.

He then continued.

“The important thing about this incident was that a government official, or at least someone of similar status, was attacked in broad daylight in front of many witnesses. It doesn’t matter if you failed.”

“Yes. I understand, but still…”

Zlurma lowered his head, sweating nervously at Duke Helb’s words.

“Well, it would have been better if they’d become a gruesome corpse. But there’s not much difference. Now, you… Zaban, was it?”

“Y-Yes! I’m honored that Your Excellency remembers my name…”

“Of course, I do. You’re a wind-attribute, right? I’ve heard you’re quite talented for your age. I hope you learn from this failure and continue to improve.”

“Yes! Thank you very much!”

The young sorcerer Zaban’s face flushed with excitement, and he bowed deeply.

His excitement was obvious to anyone.

And understandably so.

The man who stood at the pinnacle of the sorcerers of the Atinjo Grand Duchy, one of the most powerful sorcerers in the southern continent, and the younger brother of the Grand Duke himself.

The person many sorcerers idolized, had not only remembered his name but had even encouraged him to keep trying.

It would be strange not to be excited!

Zaban left the room, still riding that wave of excitement.

“Your Excellency, I truly apologize…”

“It’s fine, Zlurma. What I said earlier is the truth. The fact that the attack took place is what’s important. However, I’m curious about the one who blocked it. It’s likely a magician from the Special Defense Bureau, but… Could you investigate that for me?”

“Understood.”

“It would be wise to weaken the power of the Special Defense Bureau.”

Zlurma acknowledged the order, and Duke Helb nodded.

“Oh, by the way, I just received an invitation to a garden party.”

Duke Helb spoke with a smile.

“The one hosted by the Suje Kingdom embassy? Are you planning to attend?”

“Yes, I am. They probably don’t want me to, but it sounds like fun.”

“…The ambassador over there is probably having a tough time.”

“He’s an ambassador like me, but I’m also the Grand Duke’s brother. I’m curious to see how they’ll handle it. This is my first time being posted as an ambassador, so I’m looking forward to it.”

Duke Helb spoke with glee.

“It’s probably the first and last time I’ll serve as an ambassador. After all… I’m likely to be the last ambassador to the Free City.”

He laughed.

But it wasn’t the playful laughter he had shown earlier.

It was laughter tinged with malice.

Second Secretary Zlurma found himself swallowing nervously.

“Abel, we’ve finally graduated from being fools!”

“Yeah, I guess we have… we’re not so stuffed we can’t move this time.”

After lunch the next day.

The two of them were walking across the Administrative Bridge, which connected the mainland to the Administrative Island.

On their fourth day, they had finally avoided overeating and secured the freedom to move about in the afternoon.

Thus, they decided to check out the Administrative Island as tourists.

“We’re really growing!”

“But the reason we didn’t overeat was because the food was super spicy.”

“Th-That’s something we agreed not to mention!”

Yes, the reason they didn’t overeat was that the place they’d gone for lunch, a restaurant called ‘Hot n Spicy’, specialized in super spicy dishes. They hadn’t stopped eating because they were full, but because the spiciness had overwhelmed them before they could.

It wasn’t a result of their own efforts.

“Well, the food was tasty even though it was spicy. But I definitely couldn’t eat a lot.”

“You can handle spicy food, huh? Come to think of it, Amon was also fine with super spicy stuff…”

Ryo recalled the time at the opening festival in Whitnash, when Amon had casually eaten a super spicy curry.

“Swordsmen can handle spicy food.”

Abel declared confidently for some reason.

“But Niels ate the same thing and was completely knocked out.”

Ryo objected, disagreeing.

“I-I see…”

It seems to depend on the person.

“This bridge is huge!”

“It’s over 200 meters long, isn’t it? Building a bridge this big over the sea must be difficult.”

The bridge was over 200 meters long and about six lanes wide, if you compared it to Earth.

It was a truly massive structure.

“Just by looking at this bridge, you can tell how advanced the Free City is in terms of technology and economy.”

“Definitely. There’s no bridge this big in the capital of the Knightley Kingdom, is there?”

“Because we don’t need one.”

The royal capital, Crystal Palace, had no sea or even a large river.

“We shall build a huge bridge to show the nation’s power!”

“Huh? Where?”

“Between the capital and Rune!”

“That makes no sense.”

“A massive bridge that spans mountains and rivers, straight as an arrow!”

“Rejected. It’s not necessary.”

“Then… between the capital and the Rondo Forest…”

“Rejected even more. It’s even less necessary.”

“I have failed to attract public works funding… how unfortunate.”

Bridges can’t just be built anywhere.

“That’s the Supreme Council, and next door is the Free Assembly, it seems.”

“They’re impressive stone buildings.”

The Supreme Council was a three-story stone building that stood tall and imposing.

The Free Assembly, also made of stone, used a lot of dark-colored stone, so when the light hit it, it gleamed black.

Both faced a vast square, but there weren’t many people relaxing there.

“Everyone seems to be hurrying around.”

“It’s work hours, after all.”

Across from the square stood the Prime Minister’s residence, along with the various ministries. You could easily spot merchants moving around as well.

Apparently, every society has some form of paperwork submission to the government.

The two of them leisurely walked through the government district, known as the Administrative Island, heading south.

There, once again…

“Another big bridge, just like before.”

“This one connects the Administrative Island and the Diplomatic Island. It’s called the Administrative-Diplomatic Bridge.”

“What a bureaucratic name…”

Ryo couldn’t help but wish for a more appealing name.

“Then what would you name it, Ryo?”

“Something like the Great Super Big Thunder Sea Bridge…”

“That’s a no.”

“Why?!”

“It lacks any sense of style.”

“Down with tyrannical authority!”

Naming things is not easy.

“Let me guess, the bridge between the mainland and the Diplomatic Island is called the Diplomatic Bridge?”

“Exactly.”

“What a boring name…”

Ryo sighed in disappointment as Abel confirmed it.

But the citizens probably thought it was none of Ryo’s business to criticize their naming sense when he came up with something like ‘Great Super Big Thunder Sea Bridge’.

The mainland, the Administrative Island, and the Diplomatic Island were connected by bridges, forming a triangular shape.

The mainland was at the top, creating an isosceles triangle.

The Administrative-Diplomatic Bridge was the shortest side, forming the base.

The mainland lay to the west, while the Administrative Island and the Diplomatic Island were to the east.

All three bridges were enormous, and they were built quite high above the water.

Allowing most ships to pass underneath.

“Wait, wasn’t the Free City supposed to have ‘three’ big islands?”

“It does. The third one is the Prison Island.”

“Of course, it’s a prison…”

“Naturally. Civilians aren’t allowed there, and they purposely didn’t build a bridge.”

“Someone might occupy it with armed forces and make demands of the government!”

“What are you even talking about…”

Abel was baffled by Ryo’s wild imagination.

Ryo was picturing something like Alcatraz Island, floating in San Francisco Bay on modern Earth.

It was once infamous for housing the supposedly escape-proof Alcatraz Prison… and the idea of armed groups came from some movie he must have seen long ago.

“We should build a Prison Island off the coast of Whitnash in the Knightley Kingdom, too…”

“No, we shouldn’t!”

The Diplomatic Island had a very different atmosphere from the Administrative Island.

Though both were political centers, there was a clear distinction…

“The Diplomatic Island feels kind of lively, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah. The Administrative Island had places to eat too, but here there are not only teahouses but also cafes.”

“And they’re stylish. Some of them even have private rooms.”

“Officials from other embassies probably meet in those places for unofficial or quick discussions.”

Abel speculated, from the perspective of a king.

“That makes sense. If you need to have those kinds of meetings, a place with private rooms would be better. Even the taverns here… seem to have mostly private rooms.”

“In diplomacy, having multiple informal channels of communication is crucial.”

Ryo was impressed with the shops, while Abel spoke from the viewpoint of a ruler discussing diplomacy.

In every field, it’s usually in the unseen areas where crucial decisions are made.

By the time things are brought into the public eye, most decisions have already been finalized.

It’s just a presentation of the outcome.

“Efforts made behind the scenes are what determines success or failure.”

“The same goes for swordsmanship, magic, and diplomacy.”

“Evaluating that kind of effort is difficult.”

“Humans tend to focus only on what they can see. Results are everything, and effort that doesn’t produce results is meaningless… some people say that, and sometimes they’re right. But this moment isn’t all that matters. People who’ve made big mistakes often grow the most afterward… and those people are often the ones who are good at training others or managing organizations. They make good use of their own failures.”

“I see. It’s complicated.”

As they admired the stylish cafes and eateries, the swordsman and the magician walked with their arms crossed, looking like they were pondering something serious.

To an outsider, they might have appeared to be deeply contemplating which restaurant to choose.

Just then, a group of people passed in front of them.

“We saw some people who seemed a little different.”

“Could those be… adventurers?”

Both Ryo and Abel followed the group with their eyes.

At first glance, they thought the group might be sailors, like Captain Gorick, but the swords they carried were too large.

They wielded one-handed swords, though still much longer than a typical knife.

There was also someone holding a large staff, likely a magician.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen adventurers, but it feels reassuring somehow.”

“They said there weren’t any adventurers in the Archipelago region. The continent is different after all.”

“Yeah, though their weapons and clothes are interesting… the staff looks similar to those from the Central Countries, but the sword is a curved one-handed sword, and their clothing seems more local.”

“Naturally, there’ll be regional differences.”

Both Ryo and Abel were adventurers at heart.

One was a premier duke, and the other was a king… but they had originally been adventurers.

And one of them had even risen to an A-rank, becoming an elite swordsman.

“Do you think there’s something like an Adventurers’ Guild here?”

“Back when I was in the kingdom, I heard there was an organization similar to the Adventurers’ Guild in the Eastern Countries.”

“Really?!”

“Was it the Adventurers’ Mutual Aid Society?”

“Mutual Aid Society… Guild sounds cooler.”

“Is there really much of a difference? Should we try looking for one when we get back to the mainland?”

“Yeah, yeah! I’d like to take a peek.”

Both Abel and Ryo, at their core, were adventurers.

The desire to discover the unknown… that was surely essential for an adventurer.

Of course, there’s a saying, ‘Curiosity killed the cat’, but…

And so, the two of them crossed the Diplomatic Bridge and made their way back to the mainland.

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