Water Magician

Vol 3 part 1 ebook is up on my Patreon! It is up until Chapter 477. Link here.

Editor: Tseirp

On the day of the Queen’s coronation.

Ryo and Abel were having breakfast together.

Usually, Princess Iliaja would join them, but today she was absent.

The coronation ceremony has a spiritual aspect, involving reports to ancestors and past kings.

Because of this, the king or queen who is about to ascend the throne doesn’t eat breakfast.

“Breakfast is important though… poor thing.”

“Well, the body of a king is human, but also not human.”

“Not human?”

“Yeah. It’s like a role that connects the past and the future… a king can’t obtain the happiness that ordinary people can. Of course, they accept this when they ascend the throne. I accepted it when I did…”

“Well, that’s true. Ordinary people might enjoy things like eating all the cakes at Café de Chocolat, planning an all-you-can-eat event at the royal dining hall, or visiting fifty street stalls in the capital. But kings can’t do those things, right?”

“Yeah, none of that sounds like something ordinary people would enjoy.”

“Really? Then how about freezing people you don’t like indiscriminately, making Abel slip and fall by freezing the ground under his feet, or attacking the Royal Knights’ barracks… Those kinds of things would be more realistic things, wouldn’t they?”

“You’d get arrested for that, you know?”

King Abel rejected all of Ryo’s suggestions.

“Watching you, Abel, makes me realize that in exchange for giving up the happiness that ordinary people can have, you’ve gained the power to oppress good citizens.”

“What kind of statement is that…?”

“I must talk to Princess Iliaja after she ascends to make sure she doesn’t end up like that!”

With Ryo full of determination, Abel just shook his head slightly.

At that moment, Lord Protector Kabui Somal arrived.

“Sir Ryo, the bracelet you requested is ready.”

The bracelet he presented was silver with intricate decorations. In the center was a blue magic stone obtained from a Bait Ball, making it quite elegant.

“Ooh! This is nice! Thank you!”

Ryo accepted it, checked it over, and bowed in gratitude.

Then he immediately conjured up an ice sheet and connected it to the bracelet.

Both the ice sheet and the water line connecting them were created by Ryo’s magic.

This meant he could summon them whenever he wanted!

“It will take three minutes. Please wait a moment.”

“Understood. Sorry, but could I have some coffee as well?”

Ryo, while working, spoke, and Kabui Somal sat in an empty chair and asked the maid for some coffee.

As they waited for Ryo to finish, Abel and Kabui Somal began to talk.

The topic was the Crown Prince’s Palace.

“I heard the Crown Prince’s Palace has been sealed off. Where are the Crown Princess and Sir Jolt?”

“They’re still living in one corner of the palace. The palace is vast, after all. Even though it’s sealed off, it’s not like there’s no movement of people. The day-to-day tasks in the palace are quite complicated. There were hardly any suspicious people coming in and out before, but now there are palace guards stationed at the entrances alongside the royal castle guards.”

Kabui Somal replied with a frown to Abel’s question.

It seemed he had wanted to take stricter measures.

But due to various circumstances, the current situation was likely the best they could manage…

“With such a major incident happening. Rumors must be spreading.”

“Indeed. The collapse of a section of the Crown Princess’s wing. Can’t help but stir up various rumors. Not just in the royal castle but in the capital as well. Even so… the Crown Princess is still the Crown Princess.”

“The hierarchy is a troublesome thing.”

“It certainly is.”

Abel imagined the difficulties, and Kabui Somal nodded slightly.

Exactly three minutes later.

“Alright, it’s finished.”

Ryo said, testing various things.

Then he handed the bracelet to Kabui Somal.

“Gently stroke the blue magic stone to activate it. It’s the same as what the princess wore the other day.”

“Ah, thank you, Sir Ryo. When I told Her Highness last night, she seemed quite pleased. Despite her strong demeanor, there must have been some concerns. She said she would wear it on her right arm.”

Kabui Somal thanked Ryo as he took the bracelet and left the room.

“Another attack… will happen, won’t it…?”

“Most likely… It would be best if they could change their minds and give up.”

Abel sighed, and Ryo sighed in agreement.

“If the attackers were from some Grand Duchy on the continent, and their goal was to put Sir Jolt on the throne… Even if they succeeded, it wouldn’t matter if they didn’t have the navy on their side. I wonder how they plan to handle that?”

“Who knows? Maybe immediate control isn’t their goal.”

Abel answered Ryo’s question while drinking coffee.

“Control isn’t their goal? You mean they just want chaos within the Suje Kingdom? Maybe they’re starting a civil war in that southern federation on the continent, and don’t want anyone from the archipelago region to interfere. So they create chaos to keep Suje distracted?”

“Something like that. If Kabui Somal’s rebellion had succeeded and Princess Iliaja had ascended right away… Suje Kingdom would have grown quite strong, wouldn’t it? A change in leadership can completely transform things. Of course, they’d have to handle it very well.”

“If that had happened, the Suje Kingdom would have intervened in the civil war in that southern federation on the continent… which would have been a problem. So they tried to poison the Lord Protector and kill the princess… Hmm…”

“If they succeed, great. Even if they fail, the Crown Prince’s forces and his territory will continue to smolder as a source of unrest. Either way, it’s not a bad outcome.”

Ryo looked unconvinced, and while Abel wasn’t entirely confident, his explanation made sense.

“Conspiracies are difficult.”

“They certainly are.”

Ryo and Abel might not be cut out to be schemers.

The coronation of Princess Iliaja proceeded as scheduled at noon.

In the Great Audience Hall of the royal castle.

The word ‘Grand’ certainly fit, as the hall was spacious.

It might be best described as similar to a concert hall.

However, it seemed the ceiling was even higher than that of a concert hall.

And, essentially, everyone remained standing.

Well, when a king is being crowned, sitting down to witness it might be considered somewhat disrespectful.

From the main entrance to the farthest point where the throne, crown, and what appeared to be religious figures awaited, a red carpet was laid.

Lining the carpet on either side were members of the royal guard, dressed in white ceremonial attire.

It seemed that Princess Iliaja would walk down this path.

On the platform where the crown would be bestowed, there was only one throne.

Directly below the platform, members of the royal family and ministers stood.

Behind them were the powerful nobles who held honorary titles, and the guest seats where Ryo and Abel were instructed to stand were a little ahead of the center of the aisle, perhaps.

Each person had quite a bit of space around them.

Important people, no matter the world, dislike being crammed together.

A larger personal space is necessary.

It can’t be helped.

For that reason, both Ryo and Abel also had plenty of space between them and those beside them.

Even so, they leaned in a little closer to speak quietly.

Such scenes were common.

“Hey, Ryo.”

“What is it? Again…?”

“It’s not about money!”

“Heh… so this joke doesn’t work anymore, huh…”

Abel cut him off before Ryo could say anything, and Ryo regretted being preempted.

“What I wanted to ask about was that paper.”

“Paper? Oh, you mean the talisman… well, Master Boiznan called it a ‘charm’. Just like Lord Protector Kabui Somal mentioned before.”

“Boiznan, that old man who gave the lecture on poisons, right? You call him ‘Master’…?”

“Of course. When someone teaches you something you don’t know, it’s only natural to show respect, right? The simplest way to show respect is to add ‘Master’ after their name. This way, unless the person is particularly stubborn, they’ll teach you a lot.”

“You really are a smooth talker, Ryo…”

“Abel, if you’re not good with people, you can’t unify a nation!”

“U-uni…fication? What’s that?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, it means… the whole world…”

The word unification didn’t seem to make sense to Abel.

Ryo realized that telling stories of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the man who unified Japan, would be pointless.

Although he wasn’t sure why he didn’t get it, Ryo quickly adjusted his words.

“The whole world? Unifying the world? That’s a bit unrealistic.”

“S-So it would be world unification…yes, I suppose when you put it like that…”

His attempt at rephrasing failed.

The idea became too grand, making it lose all sense of reality…

How unfortunate.

“From what I heard from Master Boiznan, the charm seems like some kind of alchemy tool.”

“Oh, really?”

“But we’ve only seen it that one time in the Crown Prince’s palace, so I can’t say for sure. And it seems that some spellcasters can also use magic, so dealing with them could be quite complicated.”

“I see.”

Abel nodded slightly at Ryo’s explanation.

It was certain that their opponents included spellcasters, but that might not be all.

How much force had they sent in, and how much was hidden…?

They wouldn’t know until something happened.

Ryo glanced around the area.

“Coronations really vary from country to country, don’t they?”

“Of course. But the only one you’ve seen, Ryo, was my coronation in the square of Rune, right? That was an exception of exceptions.”

Abel had taken the throne three and a half years ago in the southern town of Rune.

It had been without following the formal procedures, without the three sacred treasures, and in a way that could be considered a seizure of power.

“Of course, I understand that your forceful takeover of the throne in Rune wasn’t ordinary.”

“Forceful takeover…”

“Don’t worry, I support your actions, Abel. I even think you were noble for standing up for the people of the kingdom.”

“R-Really…”

“You sacrificed yourself to take the throne and granted me cake privileges, after all.”

“The cake privileges don’t really have anything to do with…”

“But I’m a citizen of the kingdom too. And at the same time, I’m an ardent supporter of King Abel.”

“I-I see… thank you…”

At the end, Ryo gave a thumbs-up, and Abel weakly thanked him.

Although there seemed to be some differences in their understanding, it couldn’t be helped.

Everyone has their own way of thinking…

While the two were having this conversation, the coronation began.

The coronation ceremony was just that, simply a coronation.

Princess Iliaja entered, walked to the throne, had the crown placed on her head… received something else, and then sat on the throne.

Cheers arose, and amidst those cheers, Queen Iliaja exited.

That was all there was to it if described in words.

Nothing more.

Essentially, Princess Iliaja didn’t speak.

Her first words as queen would be addressed to the people from the royal castle’s balcony tomorrow.

Apparently, the castle had a balcony specifically for that purpose.

The doors opened, and Princess Iliaja entered.

At that moment, a silent gasp spread through the hall.

“Oh…”

“How beautiful…”

“Her Majesty, the Queen…”

Such whispers filled the room.

The princess walked forward alone, quietly.

Neither too fast nor too slow.

Chaste, yet graceful.

All eyes in the room were fixed on the walking Princess Iliaja.

“Ah, as expected, the hasn’t been activated yet.”

“They did mention that the crown would be placed on her.”

“Then let’s protect her quietly. ”

Ryo activated the steam mines, which continued to move while maintaining a certain distance from Princess Iliaja.

“Are we good with that charm whatever?”

“It doesn’t seem to be active yet, so we’re fine. Once we’re on the platform, I’ll change it into another form.”

Abel and Ryo whispered to each other.

If the religious official placing the crown on the princess froze, that would be a serious problem…

Ryo was a very level-headed magician.

However…

As Princess Iliaja passed by them and reached the ministers.

Crack, crack, crack.

Three daggers suddenly flew in from nowhere and froze in the air around Princess Iliaja.

The activated, blocking them!

The first to react was Princess Iliaja.

She had mentally prepared herself for the inevitable attack, knowing she would be targeted.

She quickly rubbed the magic stone attached to the silver bracelet on her right wrist.

Her body became covered in a thin layer of ice.

Of course, it was barely noticeable to anyone nearby.

But Ryo could see it.

“ disengaged.”

Ryo deactivated the steam mines protecting the princess.

The royal guards standing along the carpet seemed about to rush to surround the princess and shield her with their bodies.

There was no ‘friendly-foe recognition tag’ feature.

The steam mines would activate regardless of who was nearby…

The alchemy tool activated by the princess from her bracelet ensured that ordinary slashes wouldn’t hurt her.

“Kyahhhh!”

Screams erupted from the guests’ and nobles’ seats.

And then, out of those screams appeared…

“What… is that?”

What appeared could only be described as half a corpse.

“A zombie?”

Ryo muttered instinctively.

But it was moving with astonishing speed.

“More like a Strigoi, a vampire’s thrall?”

Strigoi, vampire thralls, moved far faster and were much stronger than ordinary humans.

But that wasn’t the only thing that appeared.

“Ughaa!”

“Another one over here!”

Near the entrance, where the lower nobles were seated, something else appeared.

Upon closer inspection, it was clad in armor, swinging a sword.

It looked like an ordinary human, except… its eyes were shut.

Sewn shut with thread, it seemed.

“A death knight?”

Ryo muttered again, but it was just a guess.

It was simply the first term that came to mind based on its appearance. He had no idea if such creatures even existed in this world.

Either way, these weren’t normal humans.

Four of them had appeared, all strong.

Along with them were eight Strigoi-like creatures, wreaking havoc.

Four death knights, eight Strigoi-like creatures, it was quite a force.

Naturally, they drew attention.

And there were already many casualties.

The royal guards were gathered around Princess Iliaja in a group of six, while the remaining guards and reinforcements from outside the room were starting to engage the Strigoi-like creatures and the death knights.

But of course, that was all just a distraction.

In an instant, six daggers struck the throats of the royal guards protecting the princess simultaneously.

Leaping over the fallen guards, gray shadows lunged at Princess Iliaja.

However…

Clang!

A man in white ceremonial attire deflected the gray sword.

Clang!

The second gray sword was parried by the Lord Protector in formal attire.

Clang!

The third gray sword was deflected by a robed magician.

Abel, Kabui Somal, and Ryo protected Princess Iliaja.

“There are quite a few of them, aren’t there?”

“They came out from the toolboxes that were brought over from the Crown Prince’s Palace.”

“The spellcaster hasn’t shown himself yet.”

Abel asked, Kabui Somal answered, and Ryo warned that the real battle was yet to come.

The gray-clad men who attacked Princess Iliaja seemed to be human.

Ryo sensed something and looked up at the ceiling.

It was high.

And dark.

But there was something off.

Squinting… he saw charms stuck to the ceiling.

The color of the charms was carefully matched to the ceiling itself…

Unless someone paid close attention, they would never notice.

“There are charms on the ceiling.”

“How many?”

“One, two… lots!”

“…What do we do?”

“”

Ryo aimed a spear of ice at one of the charms.

Just before hitting it, the spear’s trajectory bent and it lodged itself in a different part of the ceiling.

“Ugh, just like last time, they distorted the trajectory.”

“So, we can’t touch those things, huh?”

“If we clear out the people, I can bring the whole ceiling down, but…”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.”

The entire grand audience hall was in chaos.

More guards had rushed in from outside, so now nearly two thousand people were moving around. It couldn’t be helped…

While keeping his attention on the surroundings, Ryo gently called out to the princess he was protecting.

“Your Highness, I apologize, but could you remain here a little longer?”

“I’m to be the bait, aren’t I?”

Princess Iliaja answered with a faint smile.

It was Kabui Somal who was shocked by this.

“That is…”

“The exits are in chaos. Likely the outside of the grand audience hall is too. Instead of running around in this confusion, it’s better to stay here, stand our ground, and face them head-on.”

When Kabui Somal tried to object, Princess Iliaja stopped him herself.

In a crisis, a person’s true nature reveals itself.

Ryo felt that Princess Iliaja’s heart and mind were already prepared to become queen.

That was a very good thing.

Because, if she wasn’t, her spirit might have broken in this situation.

Crying, screaming, and throwing a tantrum… But doing such things wouldn’t improve the situation.

Staying calm is what saves oneself and those around you.

“The princess won’t be hurt by ordinary thrusts or slashes. If it’s a powerful magic attack, I’ll handle it. Abel and the Lord Protector, take care of the enemies charging at us.”

“Understood.”

“Got it.”

Ryo gave instructions, and both Abel and Kabui Somal nodded in agreement.

The three gray-clad men surrounding them were watching for an opening… but with three top-tier fighters, creating such an opportunity wasn’t going to be easy.

In the end, it was their turn to move.

Abel swiftly invaded the range of the gray-clad man in front of him.

Without even clashing swords once, he swiftly beheaded him.

The second gray-clad man, who had been watching from the side…wavered upon seeing that strike.

Kabui Somal took advantage of that hesitation.

Pretending to attack with the ceremonial sword in his right hand, he spun around and, with the knife that had suddenly appeared in his left hand, slashed the gray man’s carotid artery.

The third gray-clad man couldn’t move.

He understood that his two comrades had been taken down in what seemed like an instant.

He braced himself, thinking the robed magician in front of him would come for him…

But his death came from the left.

Abel, who had decapitated the first man, now drove his sword into the neck of the third gray-clad man.

The three gray-clad men who had surrounded the princess were defeated in a matter of moments.

.”

Almost simultaneously with the fall of the third man, Ryo cast his spell.

Boom. Boom, boom, boom…

Rocks and pebbles struck the ice wall that now enclosed the four of them.

The attack was coming from the charms that had appeared above them without their noticing.

“This is the same as last time.”

“Yes. But this time, it’s aimed only at us…”

Ryo fell silent.

His gaze shifted to Princess Iliaja’s right wrist.

Then to the charms that were launching the stone attack.

And finally to the ceiling.

“I see… it’s an alchemy tool, but not quite an alchemical tool…”

Ryo’s murmur was heard by both Abel and Kabui Somal, but…

Neither of them understood what he meant.

.”

Without further explanation, Ryo reinforced the ice barrier.

He then stared intently at the charms that were continuing to attack.

Shifting his gaze slightly, he recited a spell in his mind.

()

Once prepared…

“There!”

He launched sixteen ice spears at the wall of the grand audience hall.

Shatter.

The sound of something breaking echoed through the room.

What appeared was…

“A white mask?”

A figure wearing a white mask and a white robe appeared by the wall.

Abel leaped forward and invaded its range in an instant.

A deadly strike came down.

Clang!

But the white mask blocked the blow.

In that moment, stones began to surround Abel.

“Abel!”

Ryo shouted reflexively.

Of course, there was no response from Abel, who was now encased in stone.

The stone rain continued to fall.

And then…

“Something’s coming from the ceiling!”

Princess Iliaja shouted.

Snapping his focus back, Ryo looked up.

“Are they going to drop monsters from the ceiling charms?”

Ryo’s expression shifted to one of anger.

“After taking Abel, they’re planning to overwhelm us…”

His voice was low, almost a growl.

“Princess, don’t move.”

“Understood…”

Even Princess Iliaja, who now placed absolute trust in Ryo, felt a hint of fear in his voice.

At the same time, she realized she must not move under any circumstances.

“.”

Countless streams of water sliced through the monsters being born from the charms.

They were cut down the moment they emerged.

“.”

Ryo cast a spell that froze everything moving near the ceiling into eternal frost.

The ceiling turned into a world of ice.

But… the charms and talismans remained unaffected.

“Even a fully deployed can’t touch them. They must be distorting space…”

Ryo gritted his teeth.

He no longer had his usual composure.

After all, Abel had been taken.

But that was exactly why…

“I’ll crush them with force. !”

Thirty-two magic circles floated in the air.

The circles flew toward the ceiling.

They spread out evenly, growing in size until the thirty-two circles covered the entire ceiling.

“”

The magic circles released eternal frost.

The newly emerging monsters were frozen the moment they were born.

Above the magic circles that covered the ceiling, everything was a world of ice.

The charms and talismans weren’t frozen, but the monsters they produced were.

Half-born monsters froze solid.

And those monsters froze others in turn.

The frozen monsters and the ceiling itself were encased in ice.

As a result, the talismans could no longer produce new monsters, as if the exit had been blocked by the frozen creatures.

Having successfully sealed them away with brute force, Ryo glared at the white mask.

The white-masked figure muttered something under his breath.

Likely giving orders to the charms and talismans.

Kabui Somal faced off against him but couldn’t make a decisive move.

He had seen what had happened to Abel.

He had realized that talismans were set on the ground as well.

Ryo looked at the stone encasing what used to be Abel.

It was like a standing stone coffin.

He didn’t think Abel was dead… but he wasn’t sure if he was unharmed.

Ryo let out a small, deep breath.

Forcing all the air out of his lungs, he had no choice but to inhale afterward.

As a result, a deep breath was completed.

With that, he regained a bit of composure.

And with that calmness, he remembered.

“Soul Resonance!”

Since reporting to the Knightly Kingdom via ultra-long-distance communication, he had left the connection cut off.

Abel had been right next to him all along, so there had been no need to use it.

Of course, the device was still attached to Ryo’s left ear.

((Abel, Abel, can you hear me?))

((Ah, Ryo. Finally. Took you long enough.))

Hearing Abel’s voice, Ryo nearly collapsed.

At the very least, his ‘soul’ was safe.

((Abel was suddenly ‘trapped inside a stone’.))

((Yeah, I was careless. I stepped right into a trap… just like in a dungeon.))

((Don’t joke around! What’s your current situation?))

((It feels like I’m trapped in a stone box? I can move, but it’s so cramped that I can’t gain any momentum. Even my Combat Art: Perfect Pierce failed due to the lack of space. It seems breaking out from the inside is difficult.))

((Got it. We should carefully cut through the stone.))

((Cut through the stone?))

((Remember back when I used the to slowly carve out the yellow magic stone from a wild golem? Something like that.))

((Ah… on the way back from Rondo Forest.))

Ryo and Abel were ambushed by wild golems on their way from Rondo Forest to Rune city.

From one of them, they extracted a magic stone by slowly shaving it down with Ryo’s .

Ryo intended to use the same method now.

((So, I’ll have to deal with the white mask first. Just hang tight for a bit.))

((Alright, I’m counting on you.))

Ryo let out a small breath.

Unlike earlier, a slightly calmer aura surrounded him.

Confirming Abel’s safety had brought him some relief.

The only one who noticed this change was Princess Iliaja standing nearby.

“Princess, could you wait here for just a bit longer?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

()

Slash.

Murasame slashed across the white mask’s chest in a single stroke.

Even through the mask, it was clear.

The white mask was surprised.

To the white mask, it must have looked like Ryo had appeared out of thin air.

And the floor traps didn’t activate.

There was no way he could have noticed Ryo sealing them with .

The white mask jumped back.

At the same time, he shot several stone spears behind him, breaking through the wall.

A desperate retreat.

()

Ryo wouldn’t let him escape.

Three Ryos appeared.

Two Ryos approached the white mask from the front.

Clang, clang.

The white mask blocked their attacks.

Of course, it was a trap.

Thud.

The white mask jumped back again, but Ryo had already circled behind him and struck the nape of his neck with Murasame.

The white mask collapsed, unconscious.

“Don’t worry, it was with the back of the blade.”

But there was no one to retort to Ryo’s comment.

Feeling a little lonely, Ryo brushed off the feeling and turned to Kabui Somal.

“When I was in the Komakyuta Principality, I saw something like shackles for magicians. Do you have anything like that?”

“Ah, I’ll have someone bring them right away.”

Ryo approached the princess and bowed.

“Princess Iliaja, thank you for waiting.”

“No… Um, what about Abel…?”

“Oh, I forgot.”

((Hey, hold on. You’ve kept the ‘Soul Resonance’ connected, so you did that on purpose, didn’t you?))

((Abel, you could hear me? I thought you couldn’t since you didn’t comment on the back-of-the-blade strike.))

((What is this back-of-the-blade strike?))

((Oh no… I forgot to teach you that joke. I’ll explain it to you later. Also, you should study magic a bit more. Not being able to detect a magic trap is pretty bad.))

((…That was a talisman, wasn’t it?))

((It’s the same thing at its core. If you study magic properly, you wouldn’t fall into such a trap.))

Ryo’s reasoning didn’t sit well with Abel, but he couldn’t argue.

After all, he did fall into the trap.

((I did learn magic properly back when I was in the royal castle. But Ryo’s magic and these talismans are so different from what I learned back then…))

((I don’t want to hear excuses!))

((Ah, yes…))

((Study properly again.))

((You’ll teach me, right, Ryo?))

((I suppose I have no choice. I’ll teach you in exchange for cake privileges.))

((How generous. But I feel like it’ll involve a mountain of paperwork.))

Hearing Abel’s words.

Ryo shuddered.

He imagined himself buried in paperwork while preparing materials to teach Abel.

((G-go ask Sir Ilarion for lectures instead…))

((Ilarion chants his spells, right? That won’t work for me.))

((Chanting is trivial. Important people just don’t get it.))

((Yeah, I don’t get it. So, Ryo, I’m counting on you.))

((I need to think of a good way to escape this…))

((…I can still hear you.))

Five minutes later, the stone coffin was carefully shaved down, and Abel was successfully freed.

However, it wasn’t over yet…

“So, how do we remove these talismans and charms?”

“No idea. That’s why we captured the white mask alive, right?”

“Well, yeah…”

Ryo and Abel were looking up at the ceiling while having this conversation.

Not only the talismans and charms on the ceiling, but those hidden all over the Grand Audience Hall, couldn’t be removed.

In fact, they couldn’t even touch them.

It was as if a transparent half-sphere of ice was covering the talismans. When they tried to touch them, their hands were diverted to the side…

“Even knocking the white mask out didn’t stop them. But at least the monsters stopped appearing.”

“The inquisitors took the white mask for questioning, right? We’ll get some information eventually.”

Ryo frowned at Abel’s words.

“Is it going to be something like torture?”

“Well… in countries where magic and alchemy for forced confessions are well-developed, they probably won’t resort to that… But I don’t know about the Suje Kingdom or this archipelago region.”

“I don’t want to see Princess Iliaja involved in something like that, even if Abel might.”

“What do you mean, even if Abel might?”

“You know, Abel might say something like, ‘Kukuku, confess everything and you’ll die an easier death. Now, spit it out!’”

“I don’t remember ever saying that. And anyway, in that scenario, you’re going to kill them eventually… so how is that an easier death…?”

“Good observation. It just shows that there are terrifying people all around the world.”

“Yeah, you’re not making sense again.”

Abel suddenly remembered something and decided to ask Ryo.

“Hey, earlier you said something strange.”

“Hmm? I don’t think I said anything stranger than Abel is a good person.”

“Stop joking.”

“I’m not jo…”

“You mentioned something being an alchemy tool but not really an alchemy tool.”

It was what Ryo muttered while watching the talismans begin to launch stones.

Afterward, Ryo fired an ice spear at the wall and dragged the white mask out into the open.

“Oh, that. Remember the bracelet I gave to the princess? It replicates using alchemy. I embedded a magic stone into it so that it could function without my magic supply, right?”

“Yeah, that blue magic stone.”

“Alchemy tools can autonomously create magical phenomena by drawing power from the embedded magic stones. But those talismans and charms don’t seem to have magic stones attached, do they?”

“True. So that’s why you concluded that someone else was supplying them with magic power?”

“Exactly.”

Ryo nodded enthusiastically.

Pleased that he was able to come up with a solution to the problem.

As they were talking.

“Ah!”

Someone suddenly shouted.

Both Ryo and Abel turned toward the person who shouted.

That person was looking up at the ceiling.

When they looked up…

“The talismans are falling down.”

“They seem to be coming off on their own.”

Indeed, it was like a phenomenon straight out of the late Edo period, where talismans were dancing in the air.

They might have learned about it in social studies.

Talismans were falling from the sky.

However, before they could reach the ground, they burned away.

“Oh…”

Ryo let out a surprised sound.

Not only the talismans that had fallen from the ceiling but all the talismans and charms scattered throughout the Grand Audience Hall burned away in an instant.

“I thought I could at least retrieve one…”

Ryo said with disappointment.

Even if he couldn’t figure out the mechanism, he was still curious about what was written on them.

“You couldn’t even touch them… I doubt you’d be able to retrieve one.”

Abel dismissed the idea.

Having been trapped in stone, he now had a strong aversion to these talismans.

Why did they peel off?

Why did they burn away?

“Your Excellency!”

A guard hurriedly ran into the hall and rushed to Kabui Somal.

He whispered a report to him.

“What?!”

Kabui Somal’s face twisted in surprise.

Curious, Ryo and Abel walked over to Kabui Somal.

Seeing them approach, Kabui Somal spoke to them.

“The man we captured earlier… died while being transported.”

“What?”

“No way…”

Both Abel and Ryo were shocked.

But at the same time, they understood.

The man’s death had caused the talismans and charms to peel off and burn away.

“His body suddenly burst into flames during transport. As a result, there’s no corpse left, everything turned to ash.”

“Thoroughly prepared, huh?”

“Did the white mask have that mechanism built-in, or is there still an accomplice out there…?”

Kabui Somal provided more details, Abel shared his thoughts, and Ryo got to the core of the matter.

Just then, Princess Iliaja approached them.

“Lord Protector, I’ve heard the report. We will proceed with the coronation ceremony.”

“Y-Your Highness…”

Kabui Somal was taken aback by Princess Iliaja’s announcement.

“Even after such disruptions. I want to show that the Suje Kingdom remains unshaken.”

“I understand your point, but there may still be enemies remaining…”

“I have people who will protect me. So, it will be fine.”

With those words, Princess Iliaja looked at Ryo and Abel.

“Leave it to us.”

“I think it’s the right decision.”

Ryo accepted the responsibility, and Abel supported the decision.

Seeing this, Kabui Somal bowed his head.

“Understood. Please wait about ten minutes. While we prepare.”

And ten minutes later, Princess Iliaja was crowned queen.

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