Water Magician

((Ryo, can you hear me?))

((It’s unusual for Abel to be the side that initiates the connection. Something happened, right? Was your inspection tour was cancelled?))

((Yeah, the inspection tour was canceled and I returned to the royal capital a while ago.))

Ryo and the six people from Room 10 and 11 were heading to the Holy Capital.

They would arrive at the gate of the Holy Capital after another 30 minutes walk.

((Let me tell you this. I just received the news. Emperor Helmut VIII of the Debuhi Empire has passed away.))

((Huh? How?))

((Slain by King Hahn, the King of Horsemen of the Corridor Countries))

((The Corridor Countries… If I remember correctly, King Hahn held a grudge against His Majesty Rupert, the previous Emperor, right? So, he went out of his way to kill the Emperor of the Empire because of that?)

Having said that, Abel gave a brief explanation of the Empire’s unrest.

((I see. Was that His Highness Konrad’s plan…? That’s amazing, like calling in a wyvern to kill a tiger… Abel, please don’t do that, okay. If you have someone you really want to defeat in the Kingdom, I’ll defeat them for you. If you bring in foreign forces, they will ruin the country!))

((S-sure… Thank you in advance…))

In the Kingdom, the person who held the second highest position after the king would be Ryo, the premier duke.

Although Ryo wasn’t really conscious of that…

However, Abel also understood that Konrad’s plan this time was crossing a very dangerous bridge.

He also understood that it was unavoidable.

If Konrad were to kill Helmut VIII, he would be called the Emperor’s killer.

It was the truth, at least in form.

Patricide to become the Emperor… it was not completely inexcusable, but the Empire’s aristocrats would make a fuss.

Although many of the powerful aristocrats were wiped out during the era of Former Emperor Rupert, that does not mean they are completely absent.

Nor could he completely ignore the eyes of other countries.

For example, there is no guarantee that the country to which the deceased Emperor Helmut’s younger sister, the former first princess, was married to won’t intervene… and that country is one of the major countries of the Union.

Rather than that, it would be smarter in a sense to have a foreign power kill him like he did this time…

Anybody who knows the flow of events could tell that Konrad was pulling the strings behind the scenes.

It is important to keep up appearances.

If you have strong power, as long as you maintain it, you can overcome most difficult situations.

That’s how the world is.

Of course, as to whether Konrad will be able to ascend to the imperial throne easily…

((I think the Imperial Delegation is also trying to get information from their home country in some way…))

((It’s more than 4,000 kilometers away, though? Even Kenneth said before that it would be difficult to cross that distance…))

((However, this time, this Soul Resonance can, right? There are excellent alchemists in the Empire as well. Or, they could have Baron Hagen Venda transfer them…))

((Transfer… that sounds amazing. I wonder if he would run out of magic…))

((Well, anyway, please have the Gramas decide how to handle this information.))

Gramas is short for Grandmaster, Grandmaster Hugh McGrath.

When the group arrived at the Kingdom Delegation’s quarters in the Holy Capital, they immediately reported to the leader, Hugh McGrath, who was in the lobby.

First, they reported the Akuma’s attack.

And what the Akuma said.

“To summarize… There may be a being called a Fallen behind the Pope. Its purpose is to collect the Fragments of God that are within us humans. This is to prevent that Fallen being from disappearing.”

Hugh spoke carefully to confirm the information.

Hearing that, Ryo nodded proudly.

Etho also nodded, but for some reason he didn’t seem as bossy.

What exactly was the difference?

“And the Fragments of God buried in humans are not only related to Fallen beings, but also to the Demon Lord and monsters. Excited Demon Lord Factor… well, when it happens, only Fragments of God can quell it. That’s why there was a conflict between the Demon Lord’s army and humans.”

Ryo nodded. He looked pompous after all.

Etho also nodded. He didn’t look at all pompous.

“Fragments of God are what maintain the ‘balance’ of the world, so it’s not possible to obtain them in large quantities so easily… that’s why we were called from the distant Central Countries. Even if we are killed and our Fragments of God snatched, it won’t have much of an impact on the Western Countries. And there’s a high possibility that the Fallen is pulling the strings.’’

“Yes”

Etho nodded to Hugh’s summary.

It was quite complicated, but both Hugh and Etho seemed to understand it.

Of course, Ryo understood it… probably.

As a final note, Ryo told him what he had heard from Abel.

Just the other day, the Emperor of the Empire was killed by King Hahn.

“What…”

Hugh was speechless.

The other six people were also speechless.

After Ryo finished his explanation, he was drinking coffee with a serious look on his face.

He looked serious… just for show.

He felt that atmosphere was also important…

Ignis, the chief negotiator, approached while there was such an atmosphere.

“It feels like something happened?”

Ignis also immediately sensed that thye had received some unusual information.

Ignis was also informed of the death of Emperor Helmut VIII.

“That’s terrible…”

Ignis frowned.

Perhaps he was considering which personnel in the Imperial Delegation was likely to have serious headache from now on.

“Ah, Ignis-san, I was able to procure a ship.”

“Oh!”

Ryo reported, trying to clear the air, and Ignis jumped with joy.

It’s very rare to see Ignis so happy.

Ryo showed him the documents he brought back.

The documents sent separately should arrive tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

Ignis confirmed the details.

He was especially shocked when he saw the ship’s specifications.

Even the voice he used to ask Ryo was trembling.

“S-such a huge ship… really?”

It seemed that he understood the performance of the ship from the specifications and blueprints.

Ryo nodded, and a smile broke out on his face.

“I’ll call for a meeting right away.”

After saying that, Ignis rushed to the back of the dormitory.

Ryo watched and nodded.

He was satisfied.

From the bottom of his heart, he was glad that he was able to help.

Meanwhile, Hugh McGrath had come to a conclusion.

“I will inform the Imperial Delegation. I will falsify the route we obtained this information. I will inform the Kingdom Delegation this evening, so please remain silent until then.”

“Got it”

Niels answered, and the six people, including Ryo, nodded.

“Then, about that ‘Fallen’ and ‘Sacrifice’ matter…”

They reported to Hugh everything that the Akuma had told them.

Naturally, that would also affect the safety of the entire delegation.

“Of course, we can’t do anything about that right now… Tomorrow morning, we should go to Cardinal Graham in the Papal Palace and talk to him about it. I don’t think Graham knows, but we might be able to think of something with his help better than just thinking about it on our own.’’

“I think that’s a good idea.”

Etho agreed with Hugh’s idea.

Zeke was also nodding.

For now, the report was completed and the seven of them bade good bye to Hugh.

Once you feel relieved, you would feel really tired.

Many people have probably experienced that.

Even a group of adventurers are no exception.

Ryo immediately took a bath in the public bath, but the other six didn’t even have the strength to do so and just laid down on the bed.

(I guess it can’t be helped since they went through that kind of experience.)

Ryo thought as he took a bath and refreshed himself.

When you feel refreshed, you would want something sweet.

That is natural.

Yes, that is natural.

He will not accept any objections.

The question is whether to use the dormitory lounge or ‘Cafe Roemer’ next door.

“Let’s be next door for the first time in a while.”

Cafe Roemer was quite crowded.

As expected, it was probably because of the time of day, just after 3 p.m.

As Ryo was wondering whether to go in or not, a man came out.

It’s rare to have a single male customer. Except for Ryo, of course.

Therefore, Ryo followed the man’s figure as he passed by.

“Hague! Were you here?”

The person who called out to the man.

“Head Page? What’s wrong?”

“Count Kirchhof has called for you. Hurry and return to your quarters.”

After having such a conversation, the two ran towards the imperial dormitory.

“Is it because of Hugh’s report? The people of the Empire have it tough too.”

Ryo shook his head slightly and looked at Cafe Roemer again.

It looked like there were no empty seats.

“Does this mean… I should use the dormitory lounge for today?”

After muttering that, he returned to the Kingdom Delegation quarters.

Ten minutes later, you could see a water attribute magician eating a Rindo tart with relish at the lounge on the first floor…

Author’s note:

This concludes ‘Volume 6: Back to the Republic’

The new volume, ‘The Missing Magicians’ starts tomorrow!

Finally, to the core of the Western Countries arc…

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