Water Magician

Vol 4. Chapter 713: Mitrilo Ore

713. Mitrilo Ore

The day after Ryo was introduced to former King Stafford, in the king’s office.

As always, Abel signed documents.

As always, Ryo sprawled limply across the sofa, reading a book.

Nothing had changed.

“I am always watching to see whether Abel strays from the path of a king.”

“...I haven’t said anything.”

“I know! You were thinking, Ryo is sprawled limply again today, not working!”

“I wasn’t thinking that at all, but I see. So that’s what you were doing.”

“Guh... How underhanded, King Abel!”

Before them lay the same unchanging scene as always.

“I’m going to Witnash next week. You’ll come too, won’t you, Ryo?”

“Eh? I-I’m busy with alchemy....”

“Well, I won’t force you... but I think you are the one best suited to go.”

“Huh?”

Ryo tilted his head at Abel’s words.

Ryo was suited to go?

Now then. Had there been something like that?

But the king did not wait.

“Leaving that aside, he should be coming soon, so listen to this with me—”

Before Abel could finish, there was a knock at the door.

The attendant who entered announced, “Your Majesty, Viscount Kenneth Hayward is here.”

“Yes, I was waiting for him.”

And so Viscount Kenneth Hayward, chief researcher of the Royal Alchemy Workshop, entered.

“Eh? Kenneth?”

“Ah, Mr. Ryo, you were here too. Perfect.”

After bowing to Abel, Kenneth spotted Ryo sitting on the sofa and spoke.

“Kenneth, you too are a victim of King Abel’s tyranny! Even though you have research keeping you busy, Abel must have used his position and authority to pressure you into coming to the castle.”

“If I put only what happened into words, I suppose that would be true... and yet I wonder why it feels as though I am being told something unreasonable.”

“That is because Abel’s small conscience is aching. Kenneth, you should join the Association of Abel’s Victims too, and let us denounce King Abel’s tyranny!”

“Yes, the Premier Duke should not incite people.”

Of course, no Association of Abel’s Victims existed.

A noble caught between powerful people and wondering how he should act... Kenneth had been placed in that position, but judging by the fact that he was smiling, he seemed to understand it was a joke.

“These three are things you brought back, Mr. Ryo, correct?”

As Kenneth said that, he placed the objects he had brought on the table.

A bracelet.

A brooch.

And a cylinder about the size of a juice can.

“Yes, yes. Spoils from the Western Countries.”

Ryo nodded.

They were things he had obtained in battle against the terrifying bishops of the Western Church.

The bracelet of concealment.

The fusion-magic brooch.

And the magic-nullification cylinder.

All of them were alchemy tools.

He had indeed brought them back... but he did not understand why Kenneth had them.

They should have been in his bag, as usual.

When he had been sent to the archipelago region by the Demon Man Garwin’s magical rampage, he had not had his bag.

That much was certain, because on the beach where he had been thrown, he had confirmed that he no longer had the seasonings and such that he had kept in the bag.

On the other hand, when he had arrived at the battlefield all at once through the Demon Man Merlin’s from the Western Countries... he had had the bag.

“I feel like I set the bag on the ground before the battle with Garwin.”

“Yes. After the two of you vanished, the bag containing these was left on the battlefield.”

Kenneth nodded at Ryo’s words.

Kenneth had collected it and analyzed the contents while the two of them were returning from the Eastern Countries.

“All of them are astonishingly advanced and complex alchemy tools.... It was only recently that I finally finished analyzing them.”

“For even Kenneth to struggle that much....”

Viscount Kenneth Hayward was a genius alchemist who represented the Central Countries.

No, he would most likely become an alchemist whose name would remain in history.

Alchemy tools difficult enough to trouble someone like that?

Certainly, the one who had made them was Cardinal Zacharias, apparently the greatest alchemist even in the history of the Western Church.

Perhaps it should be called a doctrine; perhaps the difference in ways of thinking and intended direction between the Central Countries and the Western Countries was great.

If so, it made sense that analysis would take time.

“This magic-nullification cylinder in particular... to be honest, I still do not understand it.”

“Goodness....”

“There are several magic formulas I cannot comprehend. What makes it troublesome is that I cannot test them. Even just the dark-attribute magic portions are quite difficult.”

“Dark-attribute magic....”

Abel and Ryo murmured it in unison.

Dark-attribute magic included many spells that affected the human mind.

So it did not seem as though it could be tested lightly.

“But beyond that, there are also several magic formulas whose attributes I cannot identify at all.”

“You cannot identify their attributes?”

“Yes. Since I cannot identify their attributes, perhaps I should call them non-attribute... but I could not understand them. Let me see.... It is like a sentence in the language of the Central Countries where words from the Eastern Countries’ language, or characters I have never seen before, suddenly appear mixed in. The grammar itself is different, so I cannot even tell what is happening or how.”

“Come to think of it, that was what it felt like.”

At Kenneth’s explanation, Ryo nodded, remembering the brief glance he had once taken at the magic formulas on the magic-nullification cylinder.

If Arabic suddenly appeared in the middle of a Japanese sentence, or if cuneiform were mixed in, there would be no way to understand it.

Japanese text flowed from left to right, while Arabic flowed from right to left... and then there were cuneiform characters he had no confidence in reading at all.

If all of that were mixed together....

Yes, that was impossible.

Analysis was not happening!

“That is the situation, so I have still made very little progress in understanding the magic-nullification cylinder. However, I do know one thing: letting someone test it would be dangerous.”

“Eh? It would?”

“Yes. Even excluding the non-attribute portions I mentioned earlier, just the dark-attribute portions are enough. That said, regarding the dark-attribute portions, I asked Twilight Land for cooperation.”

“Ah... Rosalia.”

Ryo remembered her.

Rosalia, the dark-attribute magician who had attacked the envoy delegation as one member of the assassination cult.

After she had been captured, she had been placed under protection in Twilight Land.

In the first place, there were few people in the Central Countries who could use dark-attribute magic.

Officially, the only one the Knightley Kingdom knew of was Rosalia.

The Soul Echo hanging from Ryo’s left ear had also been made with Rosalia’s cooperation, using dark-attribute magic.

“She is not an alchemist, so it seems to have been quite difficult for her, but there was one point she understood clearly.”

“And that was?”

“If an ordinary magician uses that cylinder, there is a high chance they will die instantly.”

“Instantly....”

Abel, who had been silent all this time, murmured.

Ryo grimaced and said nothing.

Certainly, Bishop Abelardo, who had used the cylinder, had not been in a normal state.

He had been dripping cold sweat and sometimes twisting his face in pain.

He had not lost his life, but....

Perhaps that was what happened even to someone with high aptitude.

“Kenneth, be extremely careful with your research into that cylinder. I want to avoid anyone losing their life during analysis, or the alchemy workshop taking damage.”

“Yes, I understand.”

At Abel’s words, Kenneth also nodded deeply.

“Leaving the magic-nullification cylinder aside, what about the other two...?”

Ryo’s gaze moved back and forth between the bracelet of concealment and the fusion-magic brooch.

“I have a general understanding of how they work. However, mass production would be difficult.”

“Mass production?”

“Yes. Marquis Heinlein asked whether mass production would be possible, so I was researching that as well.”

“As expected of Chancellor Heinlein....”

Ryo was surprised by Kenneth’s answer.

Certainly, if agents engaged in intelligence operations were given alchemy tools for concealment, or fusion magic in case something happened, they would be highly effective.

Chancellor Marquis Heinlein was one of the foremost authorities in the Central Countries in that area.

“Kenneth, why is mass production difficult?”

“The components, or perhaps I should say... both the bracelet and the brooch have one other crucial component besides the magic stone. That component is made from an ore not produced in the Central Countries.”

“Not produced in the Central Countries?”

“Yes. It is called Mitrilo ore, and rumor has it that very small quantities are traded on the Dark Continent.... That is the sort of material it is. I could not identify it myself, so I asked Viscount Lashata Deveau, keeper of traditions at the Central Temple, for cooperation, and that is how we identified it.”

Kenneth gave his report.

It seemed the analysis had brought together the Kingdom’s finest minds.

“I see. The Dark Continent.”

Abel murmured.

The Dark Continent was said to be the continent stretching south of the Western Countries.

Of course, neither Ryo nor Abel had ever gone there.

No, more than that—were there even any people from the Kingdom who had ever gone to the Dark Continent?

After Kenneth finished his report, Ryo also left the office.

The place he headed next was the Kingdom magic corps headquarters inside the royal castle.

Since it was headquarters, the most important person was there.

“Hm? If it isn’t Ryo. What brings you here?”

When Ryo entered the captain’s office, the most important person... Arthur Verasis, captain of the magic corps, called out to him.

Ilarion Baraha, the magic corps advisor who was often with him, did not seem to be there.

“Sorry to interrupt you while you’re busy, Arthur. There’s something I wanted to ask.”

Ryo skipped over most of the greetings and asked his question.

“I heard that when you were young, you went to the Western Countries. Have you ever gone to the Dark Continent?”

“No, I have not.”

Arthur answered while looking into the distance, remembering the past.

“At that time, the northern coast of the Dark Continent was unstable. For a brief period, our relations with the Western Church were not good either, so the means to cross were limited. If I recall, you could only go from the Republic.”

“The Republic of Mafalda?”

“Yes, that Republic. We spent much of our time in the dungeon near the Holy Capital... so we had deeper ties with the Holy State than with the Republic.”

“I see.”

Adult circumstances existed everywhere, Ryo thought with a nod.

“Why are you asking about the Dark Continent?”

“Well, I heard about an ore traded on the Dark Continent.”

“An ore traded on the Dark Continent? Ah... only as a rumor, but I have heard of it. You mean something called Mitrilo ore, yes?”

“That’s it! Even for you, Arthur, it’s only at the level of rumor?”

“Yes, regarding the trade. As for the ore itself, or rather weapons made from it, I have seen those.”

“Eh!”

Ryo was shocked.

“Rather, Mitrilo ore is the most famous ore used as a weapon material. Of course, if you tried to obtain it, the price would make your eyes pop out... or more accurately, it does not circulate, so you cannot buy it at all.”

Arthur laughed.

“I’m jealous. You were able to see something so valuable.”

“You have seen it too, haven’t you, Ryo?”

“Huh?”

Arthur said it with a laugh, but Ryo did not understand what he meant.

A weapon made from such a precious ore....

Of course, he had no memory of seeing one.

“Ryo, even after coming back, you still spar in the mornings, do you not?”

“Yes. I spar with Sera.”

“Sera’s sword is one.”

“Excuse me...?”

The shocking truth, revealed now!

Twenty minutes later, Ryo was visiting the Elven Self-Government Office in the royal capital.

Sera, the next representative of the western forest, stayed at this Self-Government Office when she was in the royal capital.

Although, until Ryo and Abel returned from the Eastern Countries, she apparently had spent most of her time secluded in the western forest....

And inside the Self-Government Office, Sera was usually in the training hall.

The Self-Government Office had suffered catastrophic damage during the royal capital uprising and had been abandoned when the royal capital fell. But after Abel retook the royal capital, it underwent large-scale renovations.

Originally, many mansions around the Self-Government Office had belonged to northern nobles who had turned their coats to the Empire and to the king’s younger brother Raymond.

After King Abel’s rule was established and all those northern nobles were abolished, many of the mansions around the Self-Government Office became vacant.

With King Abel’s permission, the Self-Government Office absorbed and merged them.

Its grounds became four times larger than before, many defensive alchemy measures were installed, and it became a kind of “fortress.”

In one corner of that fortress was a massive indoor training ground.

There, every day, elves devoted themselves to training.

Their instructor was Sera.

Just as she had once trained the Rune Knights, she was now training the elves.

But in that training ground, half the space could not be used in the mornings.

Because in that unusable half, fierce sparring unfolded.

Yes, fierce sparring.

A sword match between Instructor Sera and a robed magician.

That robed magician was none other than Ryo.

Ryo, who had sparred in the training ground that morning, came there in the evening, unusually enough.

He peered inside quietly....

Sure enough, fallen elves lay strewn across the floor like corpses.

No, of course they were not dead.

Rather, to Ryo, it was a familiar sight.

It had been the same in Rune.

“Ryo!”

Sera, sharp-eyed as ever, spotted Ryo with only his face poking in.

A moment later, she was in front of Ryo, hugging him.

“What is it? Was the morning sparring not enough for you? Shall I clear away the ones lying around and continue?”

Sera asked happily.

Ryo was briefly curious about how exactly they would be cleared away, but he shook his head.

“There’s something I want to ask you. About your sword.”

“My sword?”

What Sera had in her hand was a wooden sword.

A wooden sword she used for training others.

But when she sparred with Ryo, she fought with her beloved sword.

That alone showed just how much restraint she was using during these afternoon training sessions.

“My sword is over there.”

“Let me see it for a moment.”

The two of them walked toward the back of the training ground.

The elves watched them... most of them, of course, still lying collapsed on the floor... only with their faces or their eyes.

There was no hostility in those gazes.

Rather, there was respect and reverence... or perhaps just a little fear.

The people here watched Ryo and Sera spar almost every day.

They knew how strong Sera was.

Because they were trained by her like this every day.

And Ryo carried out serious sparring matches with that very Sera.

Almost none of them had crossed swords with Ryo... but his strength could be inferred easily enough.

There was no one who would not feel respect, reverence, or fear toward such a person.

The two reached the back of the training ground.

Sera picked up the sword leaning against the wall ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) and handed it to Ryo.

Ryo drew the sword.

It was a familiar sword... the one Sera always used when they sparred.

“Was this... made from Mitrilo ore?”

“Yes. It is the last blade a party member forged for me.”

A slightly lonely expression came over Sera’s face.

“It’s an incredibly valuable ore, right?”

“Even if you say you want it, Ryo, I will not give you this sword.”

“No, I’m not going to say that.”

Sera said it with her mouth bent into a pout, and Ryo denied it with a wry smile.

“When that party member forged Sera’s sword, do you think there might have been any leftover ore?”

“Hmm. I wonder. As for inheritance or keepsakes and the like, all of that was passed down to the disciples, so I would have to ask them. I only needed this sword.”

As Sera said that, she took the sword back from Ryo and tapped it lightly.

“Do you need Mitrilo ore, Ryo?”

“Rather than me... Abel? The Royal Alchemy Workshop? Well, it seems the Kingdom would be happy to have some.”

“I see. Then shall we go ask the disciples?”

“Eh! We can go?”

“Of course.”

“Is that place far?”

“The city of Rune.”

“...Huh?”