Water Magician

I will be away for the next week so the next release will be next Sunday! Hang tight and stay safe!

Abel noticed that he was being followed after he left the tavern 『Drowning man drowns in alcohol』 and split up with the three others.

(It doesn’t matter that they are tailing me, but … I wonder if those three are okay.)

He was worried about the three people he split up with.

The two said they would send Kenneth back to the alchemy workshop …

(I don’t think they would harm a Baron.)

Alchemist Kenneth Hayward was a full-fledged aristocrat with a baron title.

Attacks on aristocrats carried surprisingly heavy punishment.

Given that, he felt it was unlikely that he would be attacked.

Abel didn’t think about it too seriously.

The three who would be looking for Abel would be, Knight-Captain Baccara, Grand Chamberlain Sorrel, and Finance Minister Fuka.

Were they sent by one of them?

Three people were following him.

(At first, there were five people, so did two follow the other group? The fact that there are three people here means that I am the target.)

Abel deviated from the main street and entered a back alley.

That area had been a place he played around since he was young, and even after nearly a decade, his body remembered the way.

After a few minutes.

In the shadow of the alleyway, Abel, completely unscathed, succeeded in knocking the three of them unconscious by elusive guerrilla warfare utilizing random obstacles in the alley such as a broken door.

By the way, they consisted of two men and one woman.

“Now……”

Abel said to himself, blew a finger whistle, and waited for a while.

After about a minute, a large shadow approached.

“Sorry Warren, please carry these guys with me.”

Warren nodded and carried two men on his left and right shoulders.

Abel carried the remaining woman.

After turning the alley twice, they were in front of the 『Kingdom Magic Institute』, also known as the 『Ilarion’s House』.

“Let’s take them to the underground experiment site and interrogate them.”

Abel grinned as he said that.

The man woke up.

It was a large space, and the man was sitting on a chair in the center.

His hands and feet were tied to the chair and he couldn’t move at all.

“Damn.”

He was tailing him.

But, before he noticed it, the target appeared from behind and he was knocked unconscious with a single blow.

“I wasn’t told that he had such skill.”

However, it was too late now.

Three people tasked to attack one person and kidnap him.

To be honest, he thought it was an easy task.

The only problem was the means to transport the kidnapped man …

But the reality was different.

“What should I do……”

“If you spit everything out, it will be easier.”

An unexpected reply came for the man’s mutterings.

The man was shocked to hear the voice.

He didn’t perceive any presence around him.

And the voice he heard was not the voice of the young man who he was supposed to attack … but the voice of an old man.

The old man, who seemed to be the owner of the voice, approached and reached a distance that the man could recognize.

“No way … Ilarion …”

The moment the man muttered that, the old man quickly shortened the distance and tapped the man’s head with his wand.

“Ow.”

“Add –sama to that. Ilarion-sama. Sheesh, young people these days aren’t polite at all.”

Ilarion got angry and snorted.

A man was stunned again when he saw that.

And the man muttered.

“Why is such an influential person …”

Ilarion Baraha.

Kingdom of Knightley’s Leading Court Magician.

When you list 『The mightiest Magicians of the Kingdom』, the first person to be named would be Ilarion Baraha.

However, his face was not so well known because he rarely went out.

That said, the man being interrogated could tell he was Ilarion just by looking at his face.

“Hmm. So you know I am an influential figure. The one you tried to attack was someone who had a close connection with this influential figure. Don’t lie to me and it is better you spit out everything you know.”

Ilarion was deliberately tapping his palm with a wand.

“Guh … I will not betray my client!”

The man turned away and closed his mouth.

“Hmm … you show that attitude even though you know me, Ilarion … you’re looking down on magic huh?”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“Even though I look like this, I’m still called the Kingdom’s number one Magician. The magic that the Kingdom’s number one Magician wields … you will experience it while being tied to a chair. So, do you think you can leave here with your limbs intact?”

With Ilarion’s threat, the man’s face turned deep blue with his teeth clattering.

“Yo-you coward! Untie this rope!”

“Hmm, so if I untie your binds, I can cast magic to my heart’s content? Are you sure your body can withstand it?”

Ilarion had an expression of composure.

Using his name to the fullest as a threat. Was that wisdom of age?

“So, why don’t you start with your name?”

When Ilarion returned to his office for a break, a girls-only gathering was being held there for some reason.

“Oh, Master, welcome back.”

The first to notice Ilarion was Rin.

“Ye-yeah … what are … the three of you doing here?”

There were just three girls there.

Rin, Rihya, and a girl he didn’t recognize.

Somehow, it looked like she was one of the assailants who was supposed to be interrogated by Rin and Rihya.

Ilarion thought to himself.

“It’s a tea party. Oh, this is Oriana, a C-rank adventurer in the royal capital. It seems that the previous attack was a request from a subordinate of the Finance Minister.”

After Rihya said that, Oriana, who was introduced, stood up.

“I-I’m Oriana. I’m honored to meet the famous Ilarion.”

She bowed down as much as she could.

“Ye-yeah … Well, take your time.”

It took Ilarion’s all just to say that.

Those children could easily get the information that he had worked so hard to get …

Moreover, he was going to leave the assailant alone and come here so he left after knocking the assailant unconscious but … for some reason, here, one of the assailants was taken in as an informant with just sweets.

He managed to resist collapsing to his knees with the power of his will but he felt an unspeakable sense of defeat strike him.

Only thirty seconds later.

Abel, who returned from interrogating another assailant, heard their report just like Ilarion and collapsed to his knees.

“Well, we are the C-rank party 『Dawn Star』that belongs to the Adventurer’s Guild of the Royal Capital. This request, initially, we accepted as a formal request through the guild. It was to protect a certain individual and to eliminate suspicious persons.”

Prompted by Abel, Oriana explained.

“So, tonight, the whereabouts of the suspicious person was found and we were told to abduct him …”

“Then you followed me?”

“Yes……”

Oriana responded while looking down slightly.

“You also tailed the three who split up with me.”

“Yes, we just followed them to see who they were.”

Abel was relieved to hear that the three others were seemingly unharmed.

“I am truly sorry. I assumed that there was no problem because it was a request and instruction that came from an aide who reports directly to the Finance Minister.”

Then Oriana bowed again.

It was a request from the country’s central pillar.

It would be unnatural to doubt it.

That difficulty was understood by all three of the 『Crimson Swords』 who had received similar requests many times before.

Perhaps because of that, no one blamed Oriana.

The mastermind behind the attack on Abel was known, but it seemed that Oriana and the others were not informed of the detailed reason for his abduction.

However, it was a fact that Abel’s impression of Finance Minister Fuka suddenly turned black.

“This … I’ll have to get caught and infiltrate.”

Abel murmured.

Rin and Rihya responded to that.

“Yes, yes~, I object~. That would be too dangerous for Abel.”

Rin emphasized her opposition to the plan while extending the ending of her sentences for some reason.

“I oppose it too. Abel, don’t you remember what happened as a result of the last 『infiltration』?”

“Huh?”

“The last time you infiltrated, you sneaked into a smuggler’s ship … and Abel was swept away? If Ryo wasn’t there, Abel would be dead!”

Yes, Abel infiltrated a smuggling ship for a request, but the ship departed earlier than planned.

Moreover, the smuggling ship was hit by a storm, attacked by the Kraken, and launched onto the coast of Rondo Forest.

Fortunately, only Abel was still alive, but if Ryo hadn’t recovered him immediately, he would have been dragged into the sea again like the other corpses.

Abel understood that Rihya was emotionally opposed because his previous 『infiltration』 ended like that.

However, he couldn’t think of any other effective method.

This time it’s on land … he felt that he shouldn’t say that because it was not comforting at all … Abel looked at Ilarion without any reason.

“Why? Do you want to borrow the wisdom of your grandfather?”

Ilarion answered with confidence.

His manner of speech was annoying, but Abel couldn’t think of any other means.

“Gramps, is there any good way?”

“In essence, it would be great if Abel wouldn’t go missing and could avoid personal danger, right?”

Then Ilarion stood up and headed for the cupboard.

What he brought from there was a thumb-sized ball and an iron box about the size of two palms and about five centimeters thick.

The surface of the box was embedded with something like a clock with only the hour hand.

“It’s a tracking device made by a certain alchemist. You can find the person who has this ball with this box.”

With that, Ilarion channeled a little magical power into the ball. The sphere shined for a moment and soon lost its light.

However, at the same time, the clock part of the iron box began to shine, and the hour hand pointed toward the ball.

And the light on the hour hand began to blink at considerable speed.

If Ryo was there, he would have shouted, ‘Isn’t that a transmitter!?’

“This hour hand indicates the direction and the blinking speed indicates the distance. It uses the Wind Magic <Exploration>. Didn’t you use that Residual Magic Detector when you investigated the dungeon? This was created with that tool as a reference. However, it seemed that there was difficulty in making the box and the receiver smaller.”

Then Ilarion flicked the ball with his finger.

Then, a sound was heard from the box.

“It’s worth mentioning that the sound picked up by this ball is sent towards the box, which makes it easier for those with the box to understand what’s going on.”

If Ryo saw that, he would have said, ‘Isn’t that a bugging device!’

Ilarion placed the box on the desk and handed the ball to Abel.

“It’s amazing. So alchemy can make something like this …”

Abel muttered.

“Hohoho. It’s just that the guy who made it was a genius. Even though the royal capital has a huge population, there are only two alchemist geniuses.”

Ilarion laughed and answered Abel’s mutter.

“Is one of them called Kenneth?”

“Ho. You knew? Correct, Baron Kenneth Hayward.”

Ilarion answered Abel’s question with a big nod.

“Hmm … that exact baron was followed by adventurers of the royal capital.”

Abel looked at Oriana, a royal capital C-rank adventurer who was attempting to make herself seem smaller in her chair.

“Oh my …. tailing a baron appointed by His Majesty … Wouldn’t that be bad if it was known to officials?”

Ilarion said on purpose, but Oriana’s face still turned pale.

Even if they were orders from a subordinate of the Finance Minister … making a move on an aristocrat personally appointed by His Majesty the King would surely reach the King’s ears.

Who would protect mere adventurers from the brunt of His Majesty the King’s wrath?

It was clear that the party would be eliminated.

Ilarion looked at Oriana.

“Hm, if you guys cooperate, I can give you immunity.”

“R-really?”

Oriana jumped at Ilarion’s proposal.

“Of course. I swear on the name of Ilarion. So, do you agree to cooperate?”

“Yes, of course!”

Oriana nodded over and over again.

Abel stared at the exchange between those two people.

This old man just loves to tease people … Abel’s eyes said it all.

Ilarion and Abel went to the underground interrogation room (provisional).

The member of 『Dawn Star』 that Ilarion knocked out was there, but he had already awakened.

“Oh, you’re already up? That’s fast.”

“You bastard, you suddenly knocked me out! Release these restraints now!”

“There’s no way we’ll untie you just because you tell us to.”

Abel ignored such an argument without being concerned.

Then Rihya and Rin came in with Oriana.

“Oriana! Are you okay? Did they do anything terrible to you?”

The restrained man’s tone changed to worry for Oriana, unlike when he was arguing with Ilarion.

“Hector, I’m okay.”

Then, the last person of the captured 『Dawn Star』 was carried in by Warren.

“Aiseiya …”

Hector, the man who was knocked out by Ilarion, called out his companion’s name with difficulty.

『Aiseiya』, who was carried by Warren, had only his head out, but other than that, he was wrapped around with string so he looked like a bagworm at best.

From the beginning, he was restrained on the premise that he would be carried by Warren.

“Now, you guys are from the royal capital’s C-rank party 『Dawn Star』. Leader Hector, Oriana, and Aiseiya. I already know that you were hired by a subordinate of the Finance Minister. Oops, let me introduce ourselves. Well, needless to say, I am Ilarion Baraha, the Chief Court Magician of the Kingdom of Knightley.”

Then he continued by pointing towards Abel.

“The one you were trying to kidnap is Abel from the B-rank party 『Crimson Sword』 from the City of Rune.”

Ilarion revealed Abel’s identity.

“B-rank …”

“No wonder …”

“Mugugu …”

One person seemed to be gagged as well as having his body tied up like a bagworm with a string.

“Well, here’s the problem you’re facing …”

There, he deliberately took a breath and continued.

“The problem is that you are accomplices to the Finance Minister suspected of treason.”

His words caused intense reactions.

All three shook as if they had been hit by something and they were about to faint.

『Treason』 was a crime against the royal family, and in the Kingdom, the punishment may even be heavier than 『National Treason』.

It was pretty much either death or life imprisonment.

If they were to be involved in it, the sentence imposed on them would either be the death penalty or life in prison …

“No …”

The leader Hector squeeze out those words with difficulty.

“But it’s too pitiful to see you three discarded after being made to cooperate without knowing anything. If you cooperate with us, I will bring it up to His Majesty the King to drop the charges. How about it?”

“Re-really?”

Hector responded. As the party leader, he had the greatest weight of responsibility.

“Of course, I swear on the name of Ilarion Baraha.”

Ilarion nodded and answered.

Hector looked at Oriana and Aiseiya. Both of them nodded a little.

“Okay. We will … gratefully accept Ilarion-sama’s offer.”

Upon hearing that, Ilarion smiled with satisfaction.

“That’s right. Let me tell you one more thing. Your group tailed another two people?”

“Yes, we followed them.”

Hector answered Ilarion’s question.

“One of them was Baron Kenneth Hayward, who was appointed by His Majesty the King himself. He is a full-fledged aristocrat and appointed by His Majesty himself, so it would be serious if something happened to him.”

“A-all we wanted to do was confirm their identities! We never intend to do anything to His Majesty’s aristocrats!”

Hector desperately shouted.

“Hmm. I just pray that is true. Now, I want you to cooperate with me to help Abel infiltrate.”

“Infiltrate?”

Hector tilted his head at Ilarion’s request.

“As I said earlier, we need to get proof of the Finance Minister’s treason. He is a pillar of the country and we’re accusing him of treason, so we’ll need a lot of evidence. Your party will capture Abel and bring him to the Finance Minister’s subordinate. Basically, that’s all you have to do.”

“That’s all?”

Hector answered as if it was a let-down.

He was threatened so hard.

He was prepared to cooperate with a difficult task, but he was instead presented with the task to capture and take him as originally planned.

“Yes. Will you cooperate?”

“Yes, I understand. I will not go back on my words.”

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