Water Magician

Vol 3. Chapter 708: Bonus Part: Ryo and Abel’s Journey Home (36)

708. Abel the Captive III

“Abel has become a captive.”

“Captive means someone who’s been captured, right?”

“Yes. It is the exact word for our present situation.”

“A king who gets captured and taken to the other side’s capital.”

“There is no word more fitting than captive.”

“The sad part is that I can’t deny it.”

They were having that conversation, but of course, there was not the slightest trace of tragedy in the air.

It was the usual banter between the two of them.

Inside the carriage headed for Jakeleah, the Federation capital, were only Ryo and Abel.

Lord Aubrey and the other Federation people were not riding with them.

Of course, outside the carriage were ten thousand Federation cavalry.

“I have a question,” Ryo said.

“Mm?”

“Why did Lord Aubrey go out of his way to appear in person at Marquis Nyusha’s place? Even if he meant to capture you, Abel, he must be busy. He could have sent a subordinate.”

Ryo voiced his doubt.

Abel answered almost at once.

“It was a demonstration toward Marquis Nyusha.”

“A demonstration? Showing strength?”

“Yes. ‘Are you going to run your country with me as your enemy? Are you sure about that?’”

“...So he was saying Marquis Nyusha would be better off joining the Federation?”

“That is exactly it.”

It was a terrifying story.

Lord Aubrey had gone there himself and deliberately held that conversation in front of Marquis Nyusha in order to bring him into the Federation.

Even if he did not go that far, he was showing him that it would be better to stay on good terms with the Federation, and making him think so.

Of course, if he captured Abel and brought him back to the Federation, he could use Abel in negotiations with the Knightley Kingdom as well.

A single action had several aims hidden inside it.

“Emperor Rupert and King Roberto Pirlo were the same, but people who lead countries are terrifying,” Ryo said.

“They are.”

“Apparently, Abel is included among them.”

“Compared with those two, or with Lord Aubrey right in front of us, do you not think I still have a long way to go?”

“I do.”

“No, that was where I wanted you to say, ‘Do not worry, you can stand against them perfectly well,’ or something.”

Abel’s sigh could be heard.

“It means you are not the type to compete through schemes and stratagems.”

“I see. So I compete through a sense of justice and sincerity?”

“...Abel, I am not looking for that kind of joke from you.”

“I tried imitating you, Ryo.”

“What I want from you is raw muscleheadedness.”

“Yes, that is not a compliment. A muscleheaded king...”

“Do not worry. I am on your side, Abel.”

“I have no idea what that means, but thank you.”

The self one aspired to be, and the self others wanted one to be... People suffered over that gap.

...

Put into words, it sounded that impressive, but of course, Ryo had not thought about anything that difficult.

“I know.”

“I feel as though Abel just looked down on me somehow...”

“Your imagination. Do not worry about it.”

Abel was the king of the Knightley Kingdom, a neighboring country of the Federation.

Officially, the ten thousand cavalry led by Lord Aubrey were “guarding” the king, a sovereign ruler.

For that reason, at night they stayed at high-class inns in towns.

That said, from Lord Aubrey’s perspective, he did not want anyone except the escorts to know Abel was present until they entered Jakeleah.

If Marquis Heinlein of the Knightley Kingdom learned of it, things might become troublesome in various ways.

So the inns were reserved in their entirety, and dinner was eaten by only three people: Lord Aubrey, Abel, and Ryo.

There, the meal was mainly devoted to deepening the friendship between the two heads of state, Abel and Lord Aubrey.

Of course, Ryo sat quietly and neatly in place, sharing in the meal.

He left all the difficult matters to Abel.

What? Do your job?

Do not worry! He should have contributed to Abel’s emotional stability...

One week after leaving Nansha, the capital of Marquis Nyusha’s domain.

At last, they reached the entrance to Jakeleah, the Federation capital.

Inside the carriage, the king and the Premier Duke were holding a secret conversation through Soul Echo.

《We need a flashy production.》

《Indeed. It would not be good if the people of the Federation thought, “King Abel has surrendered to the Federation.” If that reaches the Knightley Kingdom, it will be even worse.》

《Once we step out of the carriage, we are fine. We will use your idea, Ryo... that one. But if possible...》

《You want something for the moment you step out as well.》

Ryo nodded at Abel’s words.

In this situation, the flashier it was, the better.

《Ryo. Can you do that?》

《That?》

《The thing from before the Liberation War.》

《You cannot mean...》

That was all Abel said, but the same image flashed into Ryo’s mind.

He thought for a little while.

《Good idea. Let’s do it.》

《I will leave the details to you.》

《By all means, leave it to me.》

《It seems the Federation side has prepared a horse for me to ride, but...》

《I will ride that instead.》

Because there was the risk of eavesdropping, conversations they did not want heard were conducted through Soul Echo even inside the carriage.

One precaution after another.

After all, their opponent was that Lord Aubrey.

It was entirely possible that he was listening to the conversation inside the carriage through some kind of magic or alchemy tool.

《And what about that other matter?》

《I handled it two nights ago. We had gotten fairly close by then, so I could do it alone. It seemed to reach properly, so everyone should be moving nicely by now.》

《Smoothly done.》

《The setup is flawless; now behold the finish, as they say.》

Abel nodded, and Ryo grinned.

Then the procession arrived at the plaza of Jakeleah, the Federation capital.

They must have been informed beforehand.

A considerable crowd of Federation citizens had gathered.

Here, Abel would step down from the carriage and proceed to the Federation government building as part of his public unveiling.

The carriage stopped, and the door was opened.

At that instant, the crowd fell silent.

Beside the carriage, an ice podium was generated.

“Huh?”

Voices of confusion rose.

Not only from the crowd, but also from the ten thousand cavalry surrounding them.

Naturally, they had heard nothing about this either.

The one who appeared on the ice podium was a single man.

What he wore was neither extravagant nor showy.

Yet everyone understood.

He was no ordinary man.

That overwhelming presence.

The aura radiating from him.

Just by standing there, he made them feel it.

This was a hero.

“That is King Abel...”

“Incredible...”

Those voices leaked out.

When the man stood on the podium, the ice podium rose into the air.

The man raised one hand with a composed expression.

The crowd had heard of that sight before.

“From the Kingdom Liberation War...”

“What they did in places like Rune in the Kingdom...”

“King Abel’s speech...”

Some among them had likely heard that a painting depicting that scene existed in Rune’s government office.

Once the shock passed, the place transformed into a crucible of excitement.

“Oooh!”

“King Abel!”

“Hero King!”

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Federation and the Knightley Kingdom were potential hypothetical enemies.

But the peoples of the two countries did not necessarily have hostile relations.

Of course, during the former “great war,” their countries had clashed head-on... but fourteen years had already passed.

More than that, they were looking at the hero who had driven back the Empire and the king’s younger brother, and who had liberated his people and his country.

That excitement won out.

After the ice podium had flown once around the air, it returned to the ground.

Then something strange happened.

“Come forth, covert guards.”

The moment those words were heard—

Pale-blue humanlike shapes appeared around the podium.

There were one hundred and one of them.

Each was one and a half meters tall.

Every one held a spear taller than its own body... a spear like the lance used on horseback.

As if protecting Abel, they surrounded the ice podium.

“What are those...?”

“Aren’t they golems?”

“Ice?”

“Ice Golems?”

Those voices spread.

“Ice Golems protecting King Abel...”

“Wait, if we are talking about the Kingdom and ice...”

“Icefall.”

“Or the Silver Duke...”

“That man in the white robe on horseback?”

“The one lined up with the podium?”

“That is Duke Rondo...”

There, the whispers converged once—

And burst open.

“It’s King Abel and Duke Rondo!”

“You will never see a sight like this again!”

“The greatest pair!”

Abel and Ryo.

Those two were the stars of this stage.

Abel proceeded while still riding on the ice podium.

Beside him, Ryo rode parallel on horseback.

Behind the two of them followed one hundred and one Ice Golems.

Cheers rose from the Federation crowd.

Whether he was the king of a hypothetical enemy country or not no longer mattered. Those cheers were born from the excitement of seeing a living hero, and a spectacle that could almost never be seen, right before their eyes.

《Herald No. 1, of course, and the other children as well, all have faces full of motivation.》

Ryo nodded in satisfaction while glancing behind him from time to time.

《I cannot read expressions on golems... but it seems we succeeded in startling the Federation’s people and exciting them.》

《Yes, yes. Lord Aubrey and those ten thousand cavalry were stunned too. We did it.》

Both Abel and Ryo were satisfied with the result.

Anyone who saw this sight would surely never start saying that “King Abel surrendered to the Federation.”

Before and behind them stretched the ten thousand Federation cavalry.

Lord Aubrey, who had led them, had gone on a step ahead and was standing at the entrance to the Federation government building, waiting for Abel to arrive.

Beside him was Aide Lamber, who could be called his right hand.

“He flies through {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} the air on an ice podium, then adds Ice Golems as guards... He has made himself the complete star.”

“As expected of King Abel, I suppose.”

“I wanted to make him look rather more miserable... perhaps not that far, but at least like ‘the king of a neighboring country under Federation protection.’”

“It will not be so simple.”

At Lord Aubrey’s words after his plan had been broken, Lamber gave a small nod of agreement.

Then a man wearing something like a white coat approached them.

“Lord Aubrey, did you see that?”

Frank de Verde could not hide his excitement.

Frank was the genius alchemist who had created the Federation’s artificial golems.

“By ‘that,’ Doctor, do you mean the Ice Golems?”

“Mm. Golems he can take out and put away freely. In other words, every part of their structure is made from water and ice. Extraordinary.”

“Ah, yes, certainly.”

Golems that could be taken out and put away freely.

That was certainly troublesome.

Still excited, Frank spun out more words.

“Those were not generated by magic. Did you notice that point?”

“Pardon?”

“It is alchemy.”

“I see.”

Lord Aubrey nodded.

But seeing his expression, Frank shook his head slightly.

“You do not understand the gravity of this. If it is alchemy, that means there is an alchemy tool. An alchemy tool that generates Ice Golems. Suppose that alchemy tool were given to someone...”

“If the person who received it passed magic power through it...”

“Mm. Ice Golems would be generated there.”

“Surely not...”

Lord Aubrey was aghast.

Aide Lamber, who had been listening in silence beside him, had completely lost the power of speech.

Yes.

Not only Ryo, but another person, in another place, could summon a legion of Ice Golems.

And if that place were, for example, this Jakeleah...

One day, without warning, a legion of Ice Golems would appear in the capital, and the city would fall.

“What the hell has that duke created?”

It was a rare moment of panic from Lord Aubrey.

“That gentleman claims to be Kenneth’s foremost disciple. As a water-attribute magician, of course, but as an alchemist as well, he is someone who cannot be taken lightly.”

Frank was voicing concern, but his expression looked pleased.

“Doctor Frank, why are you smiling?”

“When one beholds a new frontier of alchemy with one’s own eyes, it is only natural to be delighted, is it not?”

“I am not delighted...”

“That is the difference between the position of an alchemist and the position of a ruler.”

Lord Aubrey grimaced. Frank laughed.

“Can you tell how many golems that alchemy tool can produce?”

“I cannot possibly tell that much.”

Frank answered with perfect nonchalance.

“Why not ask the man himself directly?”

“Would he answer?”

“Well... I would not.”

Frank shrugged and laughed.

The crowd boiled.

The rulers fell silent.

The difference lay in the information each side held.

“What the hell... has he created?”

Lord Aubrey’s bitter second murmur reached only Lamber, who stood beside him.