Water Magician

Vol 3. Chapter 711: Bonus Part: Ryo and Abel’s Journey Home (39)

711. King Abel’s Return

“We have finally come back.”

“Yes. It feels nostalgic.”

With the royal capital before them, Ryo and Abel both wore deeply moved expressions.

“For me, it has only been about a year, but for you, Ryo, it was before you went to the Western Countries, so it has been even longer.”

“Yes, that is true.”

“And I was waiting all that time.”

Sera raised her voice in protest.

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry...”

“I am joking. To an elf, one year and ten years are not so different.”

Ryo apologized, and Sera laughed as she said it was a joke.

Elves lived far longer than humans.

It seemed species with long lives had a different sense of time from humans.

“While you were away, Ryo, I found many delicious restaurants in the royal capital.”

“As expected of you, Sera! We must go.”

“I thought you would say that.”

Ryo answered almost before she finished, and Sera nodded.

But that was not all.

“However, tonight there should be a banquet celebrating Abel’s return, so you must attend that.”

“What...? A-Abel is the guest of honor, so even if I am not there...”

“You are the Premier Duke, and you returned together with Abel. You cannot be absent.”

“Ugh...”

Ryo could not resist.

He gave up arguing, but took his anger out on the king sitting across from him and nodding along with a knowing look.

“This is all Abel’s fault for nodding like that with such a smug face!”

“Me?”

“Yes. Because Abel had that sword, Garwin’s runaway magic did terrible things!”

“You can say that, but...”

Abel shrugged.

Hearing their conversation, Sera looked at Abel’s sword.

“That is the sword you have used since long ago, is it not?”

“Yes. When I left the castle, I took one from the treasury at random.”

Abel nodded at Sera’s confirmation.

“That is theft!”

Ryo pointed it out sharply.

“The statute of limitations has expired.”

Abel answered with a laugh.

“To begin with, it was a royal treasure, so as the second prince, I doubt I could be charged with a crime.”

“T-there is embezzlement, or breach of trust, or...”

“I do not know.”

“What tyranny!”

Abel shrugged, Ryo denounced him, and Sera laughed beside them...

“Well, as long as Abel is king, he will not be charged with a crime, will he?”

“The Kingdom has laws, of course. If I violated those laws, even as king, I could be charged... but there are no laws concerning royal property.”

“What did you say...?”

Sera asked with a laugh, Abel explained, and Ryo was struck speechless.

“Even you, Ryo, can freely remodel or destroy your own assets... for example, your house in Rune or your house in Rondo’s forest, can you not?”

“Th-that is only natural. They are mine.”

“Royal property is the same. It consists of things past kings and their families obtained and placed in the treasury. What is inside belongs to the royal family, so there are no laws concerning it. It has deliberately been left that way.”

“So that the king can grant treasures freely to retainers who have worked hard?”

“Exactly.”

Abel nodded and continued.

“That said, I also think it would be wrong for me to use everything up in my generation. The kings of Knightley will likely continue from here on... and I think those treasures are something I should pass down to them.”

“There are assets belonging not to the royal family, but to the Kingdom itself as well?”

“Of course. There are laws concerning how those are handled, so even the king cannot make them his own.”

“That is at least a little reassuring.”

Ryo knew.

In history, when monarchs confused “national assets” with “the king’s assets,” it became a source of disorder in the country.

At the same time, he thought Abel would not walk down that mistaken path.

In the end, it was people.

People threw countries into chaos, and people guided countries onto the right path.

While they were having that idle conversation in the carriage, the procession arrived at the entrance to the royal capital.

From here on, Abel would ride a horse and proceed to the royal castle while showing himself to the people of the royal capital.

Naturally, Ryo and Sera would as well.

“I-I will stay inside the carriage...”

“No. You and I will both ride horses, Ryo.”

Ryo resisted, and Sera crushed that resistance with a smile.

“You will follow at Abel’s right rear, and I will follow at his left rear.”

“When did that happen...?”

Sera explained, and Ryo was startled.

Before he knew it, the outline for the entry procession had been completed.

“The Knightley Kingdom is full of talented personnel. Once instructions are given, they handle every detail appropriately.”

Sera laughed.

Abel shrugged.

Ryo grimaced, but gave up resisting.

For those who held a certain level of status, attendance at ceremonies was an obligation.

Even Ryo understood that.

The Premier Duke was, without question, someone who held “a certain level of status”...

From the carriage to horseback.

Naturally, Abel rode Feiwan, and Ryo mounted Andalusia.

Feiwan was as majestic as ever, and Andalusia seemed delighted to carry Ryo again after so long.

Ryo was happy to be riding Andalusia too, but even so, he decided to say one thing to his superior.

“This happened because of you, Abel.”

“This time, you gave up without much resistance.”

“Because it is Andalusia, and Sera is riding a horse too...”

“So when persuading you, Ryo, the best method is to tell Sera.”

“Grrr.”

This was a conversation between Abel atop Feiwan and Ryo riding Andalusia at his right rear.

“Abel, you have not forgotten our promise, have you?”

“Promise?”

“My once-a-week cake privilege!”

“Ah... was it once a week? Was it not once a month?”

“Once a week!”

Ryo declared it.

Honestly, from Abel’s perspective, either was fine.

In Ryo’s case, even when it was not a privilege day, he ordered cake and coffee on his own and ate them anyway.

In Abel’s office.

The procession advanced with Abel at ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) its center.

The people of the royal capital welcomed them with cheers.

After a while, those people noticed the two riders to Abel’s left and right.

“That gallant female knight on the left...”

“Is she an elf?”

“Ah! Could she be...”

“The commander-in-chief of all knight orders...”

“Premier Knight Sera!”

“And the person in the robe on the right?”

“Cute!”

“No, not that. Is he paired with Lady Sera?”

“A robe like that... a magician? Is there one?”

“There is a magician who always follows His Majesty Abel...”

“Ah! Could he be...”

“Icefall...”

“Or the Silver Duke...”

“Lord Duke Rondo!”

It seemed Ryo had become famous as well.

The procession arrived in front of the royal castle.

Waiting in front of the castle were a beautiful woman and a toddler standing firmly on his own feet.

“Rihya, I have returned.”

“Welcome home, Abel.”

“Noah... you have grown splendidly.”

“Father, welcome home.”

Abel held Noah in his right arm and drew Rihya close with his left.

“I caused you trouble.”

“No.”

The emotions of the watching people of the royal capital surged up.

“Long live King Abel!”

“Long live the royal family!”

“Long live the Knightley Kingdom!”

The knights quietly wiped away tears.

For some reason, Ryo and Sera nodded in satisfaction.

“This is what a peaceful country is.”

“No question.”

Even after Queen Rihya and Prince Noah returned inside the castle, Abel continued waving to the people of the royal capital lining the street.

A suspicious water-attribute magician approached from behind him.

“Those serious parts of you are honestly amazing.”

“Serious? It is the role of a member of the royal family, is it not?”

“But you did not choose to be born into the royal family, did you?”

“People cannot choose where they are born.”

“Have you never thought you would have liked to be born more freely... as an ordinary citizen?”

“No.”

Abel answered Ryo’s question immediately.

“From the time I became aware of the world, my elder brother was there. I kept watching his back, so I never wished for any life other than living as a member of the royal family.”

“Ah, Crown Prince Cain...”

Yes.

Abel had admired his elder brother, the late Crown Prince Cain.

Cain came up constantly.

Even Ryo could easily imagine how great Cain’s presence was inside Abel.

People were formed by people.

Their ways of life, the words they spoke, and the experiences shared with them were absorbed into oneself.

It was not the organization one belonged to, or the place one was put in.

That was what it meant for people to form people.

Therefore, it was no exaggeration to say that the Abel of today had been shaped by Cain.

That Cain had been called the vessel of a wise and brilliant king from a young age.

And so Abel, too...

“A country exists because of its people, and a king exists because of his people. If that is so, then I think giving the people heart is one of the king’s roles.”

“Because you can say that from the heart, Abel, I respect you.”

“Mm?”

Ryo praised him, and Abel tilted his head, not understanding what he meant.

To Abel, it was truly something obvious.

That was why he could not understand why Ryo would praise him for it.

“As long as you do not stray from the path of a king, Abel, I will continue supporting you.”

“The path of a king?”

“For example, as long as you do not take away the Premier Duke’s cake privilege.”

“I see. I will keep that firmly in mind.”

And so Ryo and Abel returned to the Kingdom for the first time in nearly a year.