Water Magician

“Last time it was a search for the Demon Lord, now we’re looking for magicians…”

“Niels is muttering some pretty heartless lines.”

“Hey, I’m not saying that I don’t like it or anything like that.”

Niels refuted Ryo’s words, sounding a little flustered.

They were at the lounge of the Kingdom Delegation accommodation.

The ‘request’ brought back by Commander Hugh McGrath and Ryo was being conveyed to ‘Room 10’ and ‘Room 11’.

“Graham said that he had those four search for the items missing from the vaults. Including the Holy Swords. The four magicians were the most powerful among his friends, and even they were likely captured, so it would be difficult for Graham to find someone under his command to rescue them… That’s why he would like to request your help. This is an official request from Cardinal Graham of the Papal Palace. Graham would put in the necessary application with the Theocracy Adventurer’s Guild.”

Hugh stated why Graham couldn’t resolve the issue himself.

Indeed, if his strongest companions fell into the hands of the enemy, he had no choice but to seek help from external parties…

Niels looked around and muttered.

“This time, it’s just Ryo and Room 10. There’s something else I’d like to assign to Harold and party.”

Harold stood up at Hugh’s words to argue.

But he didn’t say anything.

He didn’t even answer.

However, he was grimacing in frustration…

If it had been before, he would have fought back.

Seeing that, Niels called out.

“Harold, you’re growing up.”

“Niels-san…”

“For you, this very moment is food for growth. There must be something you can learn from watching us. Even if you are separated from us, there still must be something you can learn. Do what you can. Give it your all. That will lead to growth. If you ever find yourself struggling, remember your past experiences. This experience will definitely aid you. If that’s not enough, look around you.”

“Around?”

Harold looked around.

Zeke was nodding.

Gowan was tapping the hilt of his twin swords.

“It’s okay, you’re not alone.”

Niels said with a smile.

The next day.

Holding the newly issued Holy Seal, the four people of Room 10, including Ryo, departed from the Kingdom Delegation’s quarters.

The first place they headed to was the first vault that was attacked.

“A search for the four magicians and the Holy Sword? To begin with, we don’t even know if those four are alive.”

“Yes. In the worst-case scenario, there is certainly a possibility that all four of them are dead.”

Niels said and Etho answered.

“Maybe they are being held by the Papal Palace…”

“According to my brief search, I didn’t sense any reactions from those four people.”

Niels made a random guess, and Ryo told him the results of using Passive Sonar.

Incidentally, he had never sensed Neil Andersen other than the first time he saw him.

Of course, if there was a space completely free of water vapor, Ryo’s sonar would not be able to pick up any response.

He didn’t know if there was a vacuum or if something like a subspace was possible.

“If Ryo can’t detect anything, it’s better to assume they’re not here and proceed.”

Etho nodded and concluded.

The first to fourth vaults of the Western Church were located in the surrounding towns that were arranged like satellites to the north, south, east, and west between the Holy Capital and the dungeons.

The northern city of Boreas. First vault.

The eastern city of Euros. Second vault.

The southern city of Notos. Third vault.

The western city of Zephyros. Fourth vault.

“We have the Holy Seal and Cardinal Graham’s permit, so we can get permission to enter the vaults, right?”

“Yeah. Ah, but Mr. Graham said something at the end that bothered me…”

Ryo answered Amon’s question, but then he remembered something.

“What, is it something to be concerned about?”

Niels frowned and looked at Ryo.

“The Church is also working to find items that were lost in the vaults.”

“Isn’t that natural? If you were robbed, you wouldn’t do nothing.”

“That’s right, but there are some belligerent people, so be careful. For example, the Knights Templar.”

“Seriously…?”

Niels sighed heavily after hearing Ryo’s information.

Etho and Amon were also shaking their heads slightly.

The Knights Templar… honestly, they’re not that strong, but they’re inflexible and troublesome.

Well, they’ve never actually fought.

If he recall correctly, the first time they met them was at Onge Church, after their meeting with the Centaurs.

“They are also acting under the direction of someone else, aren’t they? Someone other than Cardinal Graham. Who on earth could that be?”

“Sure, that’s a concern.”

Amon asked who it was, and Etho nodded in agreement.

“Next time we meet, do you want to capture them and ask about it? They started investigating earlier than us, so there’s a chance they might have some information.”

“We have a ton we want to ask… but they won’t tell us that easily, right?”

“I find that quite a lot of people talk after entering an ice coffin for a while?”

“Yeah, we’ll keep that as a last resort.”

Niels rejected Ryo’s proposal.

“But it’s pretty hard for the people watching to observe the torture of cutting off fingers one by one, don’t you think?”

“That’s a bit…”

“The person on the receiving end will also scream, right?”

Ryo said, Etho looked like he wanted to refrain from doing so, and Amon thought about the inconvenience to those around them.

“No, well, that’s true, but… Huh? Why is Ryo speaking like you’re also watching?”

“Well, the torturer would be Niels.”

“Why me?”

“It’s because it fits your look!”

Ryo retorted to Niels’ question.

Ryo isn’t really slender but also not well-built and brawny.

Etho is a priest, so he is slim.

Amon is a swordsman, but he is quite thin among swordsmen.

Certainly, Niels was the only one with a burly physique.

“…Isn’t it wrong to decide based on body size?”

It doesn’t take that long to walk from the Holy Capital to each satellite town.

Therefore, the group arrived at the northern city of Boreas in the morning.

The first vault was located on the grounds of Boreas Church, almost in the center of Boreas.

Niels commented that there was no need for a church in Boreas since there was a ‘Holy Capital’, the center of the church, nearby, and Ryo thought the same thing…

“Dedicated believers always want to be with their faith. In a sense, it’s only natural that there’s a church nearby.”

Etho explained enthusiastically.

Although what they believe in may be slightly different, there was probably something in common.

However, it was obvious to Ryo that Niels didn’t understand.

“I’m sure Ryo doesn’t quite understand either!”

“Damn… how did you find out?”

Not only Niels, but Ryo didn’t understand either…

Seeing that, Etho smiled bitterly.

Perhaps Niels and Ryo were lucky that he didn’t get angry there and then…

“Hello, priest.”

In cases like this, the spokesperson is Etho.

Etho greeted them and showed them the Holy Seal and Cardinal Graham’s permit.

When the priest saw them, his eyes widened at once.

However, he quickly returned to normal and returned the Holy Seal and permit to Etho.

“I have confirmed them. I will guide you to the vault.”

After saying that, he stood up and started walking.

From the outside, the vault appeared to have been completely restored.

“I heard that the thief destroyed this entrance to get in.”

Etho asked the priest.

“You’re right. The entrance was completely destroyed. It seemed like it was caused by fire magic. But what’s strange was that no one in the church heard the sound at that time. And it was so completely blasted that we would imagine someone would have woken up… It’s embarrassing, but no one woke up, including me.’’

The priest said with a frown.

He probably thought it was his fault.

“Priest-sama, they said that the thieves were professionals at that kind of break-in. Please don’t blame yourself.”

When Etho said that, the priest bowed his head in gratitude.

The interior of the vault was quite spacious.

The name ‘vault’ conjures up an image of a large warehouse, but it was something like the warehouse of a huge distributor.

Spacious floor, high ceiling, shelves that reached almost the ceiling…

It seemed that they climbed a ladder to grab things that were high on the shelves.

“This is huge.”

“I wouldn’t know where anything is.”

Niels and Amon were surprised at how spacious it was.

“This is what was destroyed.”

The priest guided them to two shelves near the center of the warehouse.

“The items stored on these two shelves were stolen. Some of the other shelves had been knocked over, but these two shelves weren’t just knocked over, they were cleaned out…’’

The priest said with a sad expression.

They heard that the Papal Palace was responsible for managing the vault, but the local church went into the vault every day to organize and clean it.

As a result, when it was vandalized, he felt a hole in his heart.

“Records of what is stored on which shelf…”

“The records are not kept at our Boreas Church. The Papal Palace is responsible for their management, so they are only in the archives of the Papal Palace.”

The priest answered Niels’ question.

“So nobody in Boreas Church knows what’s on this shelf?”

“Yes. We do the cleaning but we don’t know the treasure’s name or history…”

The priest answered Etho’s question.

((All the mysteries have been solved! But I will refrain from saying it.))

((…Why are you telling me that?))

((If I don’t tell someone at this point, no one would believe me if I say it later))

((Perhaps you should tell Niels and the others?))

((I learned when I was little that I shouldn’t get in the way of people who are working hard))

((…I’m also working hard))

Still, Abel is a good guy who listens to Ryo’s idle chat.

((So? What mystery was solved?))

((In essence, the culprit is someone from the Papal Palace!))

((…))

((…Huh? Abel? Are you listening? Did the connection get cut?))

((I’m listening… but are you sure it’s such an easy answer? That answer doesn’t even leave that much of a mystery))

It seemed that the king did not like Ryo’s deduction.

((Abel is also a mystery reader who thinks that the culprit must be someone he never thought of even after one or two twists!))

((Mys… I don’t really understand what you mean, but in the first place, the people in the archives of the Papal Palace did a thorough investigation, right?))

((Uh… I’m sure they tampered with it well))

Before Abel’s cross-examination, Ryo was forced into a losing position.

((Isn’t there such a thing as the Inquisition? Graham and others would have used smoke to force the truth out of the suspects, right? Wouldn’t it be difficult to evade something like that and deceive them?))

((G-Graham-san is just special…))

((And…))

((E-Etho’s conversation seems to be over, so I’ll disconnect here for now!))

Faced with Abel’s offensive, Ryo chose to temporarily withdraw…

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