Water Magician

Vol 3. Chapter 681: Bonus Part: Ryo and Abel’s Journey Home (8)

0681 Once Again, by Them!

“Once again, by them!”

Ryo said it in frustration.

Yes, the “them” Ryo spoke of so bitterly... needless to say, there was only one such group it could mean.

“A pack of Krakens was a nasty problem.”

Abel answered with a shake of his head.

That was right. The ship the two of them were on had once again been attacked by Krakens.

And this time, it had been by a whole pack.

It happened one hour after they departed the port town of Hoian.

On the deck of the ocean-cruising warship heading north with the continent on its left, Ryo and Abel had been passing the time peacefully.

Their beloved horses, Andalusia and Feiwan, had also been happily sunning themselves.

The first to react were those two horses.

They suddenly sprang to their feet and neighed.

Both men were startled, as were the crew of the ocean-cruising warship.

Only then did Ryo notice it as well.

“Something’s coming from under the sea!”

In the next instant, something white pierced up through the hull all the way to the deck.

“That’s—”

“A Kraken’s arm!”

Ryo and Abel both understood at once.

A Kraken’s long arm.

It must have opened a massive hole in the bottom of the ship.

Naturally, it would sink.

“Come forth, Neil Andersen Kai!”

Ryo called out, and beside the ocean-cruising warship, on the surface of the sea, a submarine was generated through alchemy.

Almost without a moment’s delay, Andalusia and Feiwan leaped aboard.

By instinct, they must have judged in an instant which was safer—the ship they were currently on, or the submarine Ryo had just created.

If anything, Ryo and Abel were slower than the horses.

The instant the two men jumped aboard, several Kraken arms sprouted from the deck of the ocean-cruising warship.

Each Kraken had two of the long arms it used for attacking.

Which meant that if several arms had appeared, then several Krakens were in the sea below.

Once Ryo, Abel, Andalusia, and Feiwan had boarded Neil Andersen Kai, it was not long before the ocean-cruising warship’s hull snapped apart and it sank with a thunderous crash.

“Damn it, we were the target!”

Perhaps because the ocean-cruising warship had sunk, the pack of Krakens shifted its attack to Neil Andersen Kai.

“It infuriates me, but we’re retreating!”

Ryo declared it with his face twisted in frustration.

Before Ryo had even said it, Abel had seen him glance toward the rear, where Andalusia and Feiwan were riding.

He had made the decision to choose safety for the sake of his beloved horses.

To Abel, that decision looked like the right one.

“I support your call, Ryo.”

He said it clearly.

From that point on, Neil Andersen Kai devoted itself entirely to escape.

The pack of Krakens pursued them one after another.

Neil Andersen Kai endured the repeated attacks with the “alchemy exterior” it generated, while buying distance with suppressive fire to the rear from its Mark 256 torpedoes...

It was only one hour after the ocean-cruising warship sank that they finally shook the pack off.

“We somehow got away, but...”

“The pressure of that whole pack closing in from behind was intense.”

At last, Ryo and Abel let out breaths of relief.

And then, once they relaxed, anger came surging up.

“Once again, by them!”

Ryo said bitterly.

“A pack of Krakens was a nasty problem.”

Abel answered with another shake of his head.

“Well, the Krakens came after us, so the crew of the warship probably survived.”

“They got thrown into the sea after losing their ship, but they weren’t all that far from land.”

Both Abel and Ryo felt that it was at least some consolation that by becoming the decoy, they had saved the crew’s lives.

Then Ryo happened to look toward the rear hangar of Neil Andersen Kai.

There sat their two beloved horses, calm and composed.

“They’ve got more nerve than we do.”

“Yes. I think so too.”

Ryo and Abel nodded as they looked at their beloved horses, who sat there gazing back at the two men with trusting eyes.

“Still, this ship... was it a submarine? It’s a lot bigger than the last one.”

“Yes, yes. This third Rondo-class ship, Neil Andersen Kai, had its size redesigned on the premise that it would carry Andalusia and Feiwan. The front control room where we sit, and the rear ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ hangar where the girls can stay as well... once I made the former tank section that much bigger, it had no choice but to become fairly large. But the hangar can also carry food, so now long-range travel is possible.”

“If there is food.”

“Yes. If there is food...”

Abel and Ryo looked toward the rear at the same time.

There were Andalusia and Feiwan.

And there were frozen bags and cash.

“Even in that situation, bringing the money we got from Darwei was impressive.”

“Money is important.”

Abel praised him, and Ryo nodded as though that were only natural.

There were worlds where people killed for even a tiny amount of money.

“But there’s no food...”

“Yes. We couldn’t recover the food that had been loaded on the warship.”

“Because of them?”

“Damn those Krakens! Shall this grudge go unavenged?”

Ryo spun out the words like a curse.

“For now, let’s surface. There might be an island nearby.”

“That makes sense.”

And so Neil Andersen Kai, carrying the two men and the two horses, surfaced.

“It’s a magnificent... open sea.”

“Not a single island.”

What they saw from the surfaced Neil Andersen Kai was horizon in every direction.

What was more, thick clouds covered the sky, and they could not even confirm the sun’s position.

“This is a problem. We don’t even know our direction.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to keep moving on the surface like this?”

“Yes, I suppose so. We’ll keep going like this, and if we see an island in the distance, maybe we can stop there. If we go back, the Krakens might still be there. But...”

Ryo frowned.

“Is there some problem?”

“Using sonar is difficult on the surface.”

“Sonar? Ah, that thing you were using with magic to tell whether enemies were nearby?”

“Yes, that.”

“I see?”

Abel tilted his head, because he did not understand at all what was difficult about it.

“On the surface, I have to search for both attacks from the air and attacks from under the sea, right?”

“Well, yes.”

“The density of water molecules in the air and the density of water molecules in the sea are completely different. So the information I get from each becomes something totally different.”

“Yes, I understand absolutely none of that.”

Abel answered Ryo’s explanation with a big nod.

It was almost refreshingly straightforward.

“Sonar was originally meant to detect the movements of targets in an environment with lots of water, like underwater.”

“Alright, that part I sort of get.”

“But I made it so that even on land, I could detect an opponent’s movements using the water molecules in the air... the tiny, dilute traces of water there.”

“Right, and that part I do not get at all.”

“In other words, being on the sea is difficult because I have to deploy both at the same time.”

“I see. So it’s difficult. Do your best.”

“...”

Abel patted Ryo on the shoulder to encourage him, and Ryo was left speechless.

“I thought it couldn’t be helped if you couldn’t do it, but if it’s only difficult, then it’ll be fine, right?”

“Will it...?”

“You’ll manage, Ryo. You’ll be fine.”

Abel said it with certainty.

Ryo looked at him with dubious eyes.

Then Abel delivered the decisive line.

“You’ll be fine if it’s for Andalusia’s sake, right?”

“Of course I will! Something this easy is nothing.”

Complete reversal. Previous statement withdrawn.

Ryo gave one big nod, then raised a thumbs-up toward Andalusia, who was sitting in the rear hangar.

Seeing that, Andalusia gave a happy neigh.

“I suppose I’ll profit from that as well.”

Abel said it with a bitter smile.

Perhaps fortune was on their side.

Six hours after they had shaken off the Krakens—

“That is...?”

“An island.”

Ryo asked in the form of a question, and Abel answered with certainty.

Abel had keen eyes.

“It looks like we can reach it before dark.”

“That’s assuming we don’t run into ‘them,’ right?”

“Abel is saying ominous things...”

Abel shrugged as he said it, and Ryo frowned in displeasure.

They... the Krakens... truly were a nuisance.

After they advanced a while longer, the full outline of the island came into view.

Naturally, only from this side. They had no idea what lay on the far side.

Then—

“There’s a ship ahead...”

“It came from the far side of the island.”

“It’s not just one, is it?”

“There are three.”

“That means they’re probably...”

“They’re heading straight toward us.”

Both Ryo and Abel recognized that the three ships were coming directly toward them.

“Even though this Neil Andersen Kai is transparent. Out on the sea, you can hardly spot people even when they’re floating there, right? So how did they notice us?”

“Maybe there’s some kind of watchtower on high ground on the island?”

“Ah, I see.”

It could not be seen from the sea, but perhaps the island had something like that.

“Even if it’s possible that the island is occupied by pirates, I don’t think launching a preemptive attack is the right move.”

“Right, you’re saying that exactly like I suggested it, but I didn’t suggest that, alright? Don’t you dare do it.”

“That ‘don’t you dare do it’ is...”

“It does not mean ‘go ahead and do it’!”

“My joke got crushed... truly terrifying, Abel the Joke Crusher.”

Ryo tilted his head limp to one side to express his disappointment.

While the two were having that exchange, the distance between Neil Andersen Kai and the three ships shrank rapidly, and at last they met.

But...

“They’re saying something, but I can’t understand them.”

“This language... could it be Archipelago Sea speech?”

“The Archipelago Sea? Like the Suje Kingdom or the Comakyuta Princely Kingdom?”

“Yes. Come to think of it, we had translation devices...”

“Mine got destroyed during the repeated hard battles.”

“So did mine.”

Ryo and Abel sighed.

Back in the Comakyuta Princely Kingdom, the two had bought alchemy tools that translated the local language—in other words, Archipelago Sea speech—into the language of the Central Countries.

But once they crossed to the continent, both of them had learned the language of the Eastern Countries, and after that the Eastern Countries language kept working wherever they went, so at some point they had stopped using the translation devices...

“Come to think of it, when we met in that conference at Kubebasa, didn’t Queen Ilyaja and the others speak the language of the Eastern Countries?”

“They did. Then let’s try speaking to them with that.”

It worked perfectly.

“We are the Northern Navy of the Suje Kingdom.”

The man in the finest clothes—less like a captain and more like a squadron commander—introduced himself.

“I am Commander Meberi of the Northern Navy. We will now conduct an inspection. Remain compliant.”

“By all means.”

Neil Andersen Kai was floating on the surface.

Its front control room had been opened at the ceiling, making it look, perhaps, a little like a ship.

As for the rear hangar, since Andalusia and Feiwan were there, its transparent ceiling remained closed.

Since the navy ship’s deck was positioned high up, it would not be difficult for them to board Neil Andersen Kai.

Commander Meberi and six others came aboard.

“Who are you people?”

Commander Meberi asked in an extremely businesslike tone.

“Oh, we’re adventurers.”

“Sixth-rank adventurers.”

The two men showed the adventurer cards they had not been using much since entering Darwei.

“Hm.”

Even while checking the cards, Commander Meberi’s expression remained grim.

Ryo and Abel exchanged glances in silence.

“We’re being suspected.”

“He doesn’t seem to have a good impression of us.”

That sort of eye contact.

“I understand that there are people called adventurers on the continent, but I have no way of judging whether that is truly what you are.”

“Ah...”

At Commander Meberi’s words, Ryo let a sound slip from his mouth before he could stop it.

Come to think of it, there were hardly any “adventurers” in the Archipelago Sea region.

They had only registered as adventurers after crossing to the continent...

One of the soldiers behind Commander Meberi was arguing something in a language Ryo and Abel could not understand.

Another soldier seemed to agree.

“They’re definitely trying to arrest us.”

“That may be true, but it may not.”

Ryo and Abel also whispered among themselves.

“Even if they are, I don’t want to resist badly enough to injure them.”

“Why not?”

“At the very least, this commander looks serious. Even if he means to arrest us, there’s probably some situation that made him judge it necessary.”

“Abel... that’s probably because you’re a king who protects a country’s order, but you’re far too soft!”

For some reason, Ryo was the one criticizing him.

“Too soft?”

“There are such things as bad officials in this world. They secretly torment ordinary citizens like us and do terrible things for their own personal greed. They’re surely planning to take our property and line their own pockets.”

“Well, I’m sure there are officials who can’t exactly be called upright and incorruptible... but your view is warped far too much, Ryo.”

“Is it?”

Ryo pulled his mouth into a crooked line and clearly did not want to accept what Abel was saying.

But what Abel said next was something else entirely.

“Say, Ryo.”

“What is it, Abel?”

“Was the Suje Kingdom this far north?”

“Hm?”

“We were sent to the autonomous city of Kubebasa on a Suje Kingdom warship, weren’t we?”

“Yes, yes. It was the Rhohn Dark of the Suje Kingdom Navy.”

“And wasn’t the northernmost point of the Suje Kingdom the city of Banra?”

“I remember now! The Rhohn Dark stopped there, didn’t it? That was where the giant swarm of crabs came!”

The crab soup had been delicious...

“And after we left the city of Banra... well, we made a big detour east along the way, and there was the ghost ship and all that, but it still took time to reach Kubebasa, didn’t it?”

“About two weeks, maybe?”

Ryo counted on his fingers as well.

But this time it had only been a matter of hours...

“They said Hoian and Kubebasa weren’t all that far apart, so even if we assume it’s about the same... this is only a few hours from the southern part of the continent.”

“That’s far too close. That’s strange.”

And yet the commander had said he was from the Northern Navy of the Suje Kingdom.

Ryo and Abel tilted their heads and thought it over in all sorts of ways, but no good answer came.

After listening to his men talk for a while, the commander turned back toward the two of them and spoke.

“I would like to hear your purpose.”

At Commander Meberi’s question, Ryo and Abel looked at one another.

Ryo, because he had no idea how to answer.

Abel, because he intended to answer himself.

“We were trying to return to Darwei from the Grand Duchy of Atinjo when we were attacked by Krakens. We fled desperately, but lost our bearings while escaping and ended up here. It seems we came south, in the exact opposite direction from the north we were originally trying to go.”

Abel answered with complete honesty.

As an account, it was extremely hard to believe.

His subordinates began talking among themselves.

Seeing that, Abel asked Commander Meberi a question of his own.

“There’s something we want to ask too. We’ve visited the Suje Kingdom before. We’ve even been to the capital, Piuri, and we know Queen Ilyaja personally.”

The moment he heard Abel’s words, Commander Meberi’s eyes widened greatly.

“It’s true that it’s been several months since we left the Suje Kingdom, but... at that time, the northern edge of the Suje Kingdom was the city of Banra. That should be more than ten days south of here. So where exactly is this place?”

“This used to be part of Bol.”

“Bol? I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere...”

Commander Meberi answered Abel’s question, and Ryo tilted his head.

After a short while, he remembered.

“The large archipelago-type broad ship!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know, the one Luri and the others on the ghost ship were attacking.”

“Ah, that country the ship belonged to.”

At Ryo’s words, Abel remembered as well.

The Rhohn Dark, the ship they had been riding, had rescued a vessel being attacked by a ghost ship.

The rescued ship had belonged to a country called Bol.

“Bol was an island nation, wasn’t it?”

Commander Meberi must have heard Abel’s words, because he nodded.

Then he continued with a shocking statement.

“Bol has fallen.”