Water Magician

Vol 3. Chapter 676: Bonus Part: Ryo and Abel’s Journey Home (3)

0676 Visit to the Grand Duchy of Atinjo I

The following day.

Number Ten entered the port town of Hoian in the Grand Duchy of Atinjo.

This time, through formal diplomatic channels from Darwei, notice had ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) already been given of Public Vessel Number Ten’s port call and of the visit by Ryo, Duke Rondo.

Because of that, everything went smoothly.

“Captain La Wu, everyone in the crew, thank you very much.”

After disembarking, Ryo bowed deeply on the dock.

Naturally, Abel did as well.

Their two beloved horses let out soft snorts too.

Surely they were expressing their gratitude.

“No, Duke Rondo, please raise your head.”

The one speaking in a flustered tone was Captain La Wu.

When a man like Duke Rondo, whom even the Emperor regarded highly, lowered his head that far, it was only natural to feel uneasy.

“I believe your journey still has a long way to go, but all of us aboard Number Ten pray that you return safely to your homeland.”

When Captain La Wu said that, the crew lined up behind him bowed deeply as well.

Number Ten would return to Darwei, but the journey of Ryo, Abel, and their two beloved horses was still far from over.

They would travel from the port town of Hoian to Camphor, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Atinjo, together with the welcoming party.

It seemed that party had already arrived.

“We have been awaiting your arrival. Duke Rondo, and Sir Abel as well.”

The one who greeted the two of them was a familiar face.

“It’s been a long time, Mr. Zuruma.”

Ryo greeted him with a smile.

Zuruma was a man with a long history with the two of them, dating back to the days of the free city of Kubebasa.

More than that, among the people of the Grand Duchy of Atinjo, he was also one of those with the deepest ties to them.

Because of that, Zuruma had been chosen as the person in charge of this welcoming party.

Looking over that welcoming party, Abel made a brief comment.

“Aren’t there too many soldiers?”

“Now that you mention it...”

Ryo nodded as well.

There were probably a hundred cavalry and a thousand infantry.

True, they were receiving an important foreign guest, and that guest was bringing back a sword passed down through the ruling house.

They could not afford even the slightest mistake.

That much was certain.

Even so...

“This is domestic travel, isn’t it? And from a major port to the capital too. The road should be fairly crowded.”

“It should. When we carried Duke Helbe’s before, we came from this same port to the capital, and there were a lot of people on the road then too.”

Both Abel and Ryo were speaking in hushed voices.

Behind Andalusia and Feiwan, whom the two of them were riding, their usual ice followed along.

“That thing... it’s carrying books and money, right?”

“Yes. The bag with all the various books we were given, and the money we received in Darwei. Inside Darwei, we can withdraw money because we have bank cards, but this time we’re carrying cash so we can use it outside Darwei too.”

With the two men, the two horses, and the at the center, the party began to move.

*****

“So it’s two days from here to the capital, right?”

“Yes. Last time it took two days.”

Ryo nodded at Abel’s question.

This time as well, their speed was not much different from before.

Some among them, including Ryo and Abel, were mounted, but most of the party consisted of infantry, so it could not be called fast.

“Hm...”

“What is it?”

After they had gone some distance from the port town of Hoian, Ryo tilted his head, and Abel asked.

“We’re being watched, but the number of people is...”

“Is it a lot?”

“About fifty in total...”

“...What?”

At Ryo’s answer, Abel let out a dumbfounded sound.

And naturally so.

The idea of fifty people conducting surveillance was absurd.

It was far too many.

If the number of watchers was high, then yes, the chance of the target escaping would be lower.

But the chance of the target noticing the surveillance would rise.

To begin with, the target of the surveillance was this welcoming party. There was no chance of it “escaping.”

Unless something truly extraordinary happened, nobody was going to lose sight of a thousand people.

In that case, the number of watchers should be reduced.

No, reducing it was the only choice.

And yet there were fifty?

“Could you be counting wrong?”

Of course Abel knew how advanced Ryo’s detection ability was.

That thing he called “sonar.”

But even so, fifty was...

“There are definitely about fifty of them. But judging by their movements... some of them may be people secretly protecting this party from the shadows.”

“Ah, I see.”

So not just the thousand visible guards, but also people protecting the party behind the scenes... in old Japanese terms, maybe something like ninjas.

Sukekaku protected the old lord of Mito in the open, while Yashichi protected him where nobody could see... something like that.

“If they have security that tight, that’s reassuring.”

“It is. I don’t want Andalusia to go through anything frightening.”

When Ryo said that, Andalusia let out a sweet little sound.

Ryo responded by stroking Andalusia’s head.

“Well, it’s a good thing to cherish your beloved horse.”

At Abel’s words, Feiwan let out a small sound as well.

*****

A little before three that afternoon, the welcoming party entered a town.

“When we brought Duke Helbe before, we passed straight through this town, didn’t we?”

“We did. We went a little farther on and camped for the night.”

“It’s still only three. If they wanted, they could keep going...”

“So they’re wary of an attack after all?”

The conversation between Abel and Ryo was carried out in extremely low voices.

That was because they were surrounded on all sides, front and rear, by cavalry from the Grand Duchy of Atinjo.

“But why would anyone attack this party? The only valuable thing here should be the sword you’re trying to return, right?”

As he said that, Abel looked at the sword inside the bag tied to Andalusia’s saddle.

“Yes, the Saint Sword Tattien. I’m sure it is something valuable, but... to begin with, I don’t think our diplomatic notice even mentioned that we were carrying it.”

“It didn’t?”

“No. It should only have said something like, ‘Abel and I are bringing an item to be returned.’ So even if information leaked along the way, the matter of the sword should not have been included.”

“In that case, it makes even less sense.”

Ryo’s explanation only left Abel more perplexed.

“If it’s some kind of anti-government group, they might attack without thinking too much about it, just to damage the government’s authority.”

“Well, I can’t say that’s impossible.”

If an important foreign guest were attacked within the country, the government’s prestige would suffer.

Other nations might conclude that it lacked the ability to govern.

Or the country’s own people might think the same.

Either way, it would not be good for the government.

“Maintaining public order is hard.”

“Yeah, it really is. You never know when or where the other side will strike.”

“When you think about it that way, the Knightley Kingdom really is a wonderful country, if you can travel safely inside it.”

“I agree. We ought to be grateful every day to the people who devote themselves to keeping public order.”

Neither Ryo nor Abel was a dreamer.

They knew that in this world, there were people who carried out acts of destruction for reasons that made no sense at all to outside observers.

To the people doing it, perhaps there was something they absolutely could not yield on...

But to outsiders, they were nothing but an intolerable nuisance.

No one wanted to get caught up in that and be hurt, or to have someone important to them hurt.

“I hope they find happiness somewhere that has nothing to do with us.”

“Agreed.”

Ryo said it while giving a small shake of his head, and Abel answered with a wry smile.

*****

That evening, at dinner.

The inn had been reserved by the welcoming party, and there were no other guests.

Seated across from the two of them was Zuruma.

“You two have surely already noticed, but public order has not been very good.”

“So it would seem.”

At Zuruma’s words, Abel nodded.

Ryo said nothing.

Not, by any means, because he had managed to get a second helping of a dessert that resembled pineapple and was happily eating it.

Absolutely not. Definitely not.

“Did Kubebasa’s independence and the power struggles in the Gegish-Lu Federation spill over here?”

Abel asked a plausible question.

“No. This is a problem within the Grand Duchy itself.”

“The great nobles?”

“Yes.”

Zuruma nodded frankly.

“Lord Bashu was enthroned as Grand Duke the other day... the previous Grand Duke had ordered him to take the throne immediately. So the enthronement ceremony was held right away. Is it related to that?”

“That is exactly right. In fact, the only reason matters have remained at this level is because Lord Bashu was enthroned immediately and has the full support of the national army. If that had been delayed, our country might have split in two.”

Zuruma explained in response to Abel’s words.

“But Duke Helbe’s ice was melted the other day, wasn’t it? If that man shows himself in public, wouldn’t everyone settle down?”

Ryo cut in after finishing off his second helping of dessert.

“Yes. It seems the enemy decided on one final gamble precisely because His Grace awakened.”

“Ah...”

“And although His Grace has awakened, he still cannot rise from bed.”

“Is that because of the effects of having been taken over by the Phantom King?”

“That appears to be the case. He recovers a little more each day, but...”

Zuruma frowned as he answered, frustration plain on his face.

“In that case, if this party gets attacked...”

“It would be to undermine Lord Bashu and the government’s authority.”

Ryo and Abel reached the same conclusion and nodded together.

But Zuruma’s expression remained dark.

“Mr. Zuruma?”

“Ah, pardon me. There is a possibility that it is not only that.”

“What?”

“Since I am the one in charge... it may be that they are also after my life.”

“What??”

*****

Zuruma gave them no answer beyond that, and dinner was brought to an end.

“It seems Mr. Zuruma has his own complications too.”

“When your position rises, all kinds of things start surfacing.”

“Damn it, Abel is flaunting his status as a king!”

“No, that wasn’t what I meant.”

Ryo said it in frustration, and Abel answered with a wry smile.

And then, deep in the night—

the inn went up in flames.