Water Magician

Chapter 455: Innocuous Conversation

Editor: Tseirp

The day after repelling the assault fleet.

The transport fleet was proceeding steadily towards the capital.

Ryo was sitting on the upper deck with a chair and a table, reading a book on alchemy.

He had started on the second of the three books he bought in the city of Manyamya.

A short distance away, Abel was swinging his sword.

From Ryo’s perspective, it seemed that Abel was moving more carefully than ever before… confirming each movement thoroughly and slowly.

After a while, Abel finished his practice and came over to Ryo’s table.

As if it were natural, he sat down on the prepared ice chair with an ice mat.

“Phew.”

A satisfied sigh escaped his lips.

Abel muttered quietly.

“I wonder what the Suje Kingdom’s endgame is?”

“Endgame?”

Ryo responded so as not to be rude.

Yes, Ryo was a very good guy.

Even if no one said so, he was indeed a good guy!

“The fleets clashed, and there were prisoners and captured ships. A ceasefire negotiation will eventually take place, but I was wondering what the Suje Kingdom is thinking.”

“Umm~m…”

Ryo pondered over Abel’s words.

Ten seconds later, Ryo looked up and said.

“Why not just cut them loose?”

“Cut loose? What do you mean?”

“The prisoners and the ships.”

“No…that can’t be right…”

Abel shook his head at Ryo’s extreme suggestion.

“They could argue that a fleet that didn’t receive instructions from the government clashed with a neighboring fleet on its own.”

“Yeah, that’s absolutely impossible.”

Abel dismissed Ryo’s arbitrary argument.

However, Ryo didn’t give up.

“Unlike conflicts on land, maritime collisions have the advantage of being able to adjust the scale of the conflict more easily.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“At worst, even if they are annihilated, the damage is only to the ships and sailors.”

“Hey…”

“If it were on land, a city would fall, and then the next city would be in danger…the lines could expand recklessly. The citizens would become anxious, political situations could worsen, and the scope and speed of influence would be entirely different from a maritime conflict.”

“I see…I get what you’re saying.”

“So, in this case, it might be a decision to cut off the conflict as if it never happened! That kind of decision might be valid…”

“Yeah, but that’s still not going to happen.”

Abel rejected Ryo’s final leap of logic.

“So close, yet so far…”

“Not close at all.”

Ryo looked regretful, and Abel shook his head slightly.

The two were having a trivial conversation as the premier duke and the king.

As they were talking, a person approached them.

As that person came closer… two marines beside them stopped him in his tracks.

“Oh… I’m sorry, but the wonderful aroma of coffee was wafting over here.”

The approaching person said with a wry smile.

“Rockday, was it?”

Abel said, raising his hand slightly.

The marines stepped back behind Rockday.

“You’re the one who surrendered, right? Well, have a seat.”

Ryo said, generating an ice chair and a cup, then poured some coffee from the coffee press.

“Thank you.”

Rockday said, sitting down on the ice chair with the ice mat and taking the cup.

He wore wooden cuffs that resembled handcuffs.

Making it a bit awkward to drink, but it couldn’t be helped.

Neither Ryo nor Abel had the authority to remove those restraints.

After savoring the aroma, Rockday took a sip of the coffee.

Then, he swallowed.

“Ooh…”

He murmured involuntarily.

And then another sip.

“This is really delicious.”

He said happily.

“Right? It’s the special blend from the Blue Jade Inn in Manyamya.”

Ryo replied cheerfully.

After enjoying the coffee for a while, Rockday looked at his ice cup and said:

“This water-attribute magic is amazing.”

“Oh, it’s nothing special.”

Ryo replied, blushing at the praise.

“You were the one who commanded the creation of that ice bridge during the battle, weren’t you?”

“Eh…”

Rockday made the statement with a smile, and Ryo was at a loss for words.

Ryo glanced around for a while.

Finally, he spoke.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“The ice bridge was magnificent. It must have been a grand magic performed by several water attribute magicians. The one who led it must be a powerful magician… one said to be the greatest in the nation. That’s you, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not…”

Rockday laughed as if pursuing the matter.

And Ryo tried to deny it.

“Give it up, Ryo.”

“Abel! I was almost able to get away with it!”

“No, it’s impossible.”

Ryo grimaced. And Abel was exasperated.

“Your magic was also incredibly troublesome, wasn’t it?”

Abel said, looking at Rockday.

Five stone spears from the darkness, completely silent.

He had deflected three but was deeply pierced in the abdomen and right leg.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Commander Monrashou is crucial to our country’s maritime tactics. If he were to die, I would be in big trouble with the homeland.”

Even being told by someone he tried to kill, Rockday smiled wryly.

Truly talented individuals are not easily found.

If they are secured, they must be protected at all costs.

“Abel, this person has found out a lot about us. Why didn’t you eliminate him on that flagship? ”

“Hey, don’t say such dangerous things…”

“Even now, it’s not too late. We can silence him…”

“Hey, stop being an idiot.”

Abel said, stopping Ryo’s rash actions.

“When handling information, we must be extremely cautious. If it’s just one person’s life…”

“Of course not.”

Listening to their exchange, Rockday smiled wryly.

Despite the conversation about ending his life taking place…

“There’s no helping it. Since you’re going to take my information anyway, I might as well try to get some in return.”

“Information in return?”

“What?”

Ryo declared resolutely, Abel asked suspiciously, and Rockday tilted his head.

“But first, I don’t know this person’s position.”

“Oh, that just occurred to you?”

Ryo confessed, making Abel sigh in exasperation.

Indeed, it seemed a bit late to ask.

“He’s Admiral Rockday, commander of the attacking fleet.”

“Oh, I see! I thought since Abel mentioned being hit by magic, he was a magician officer or something. To think you were done in by the fleet commander, Abel still has a ways to go.”

“Damn it… I can’t even argue against that.”

Abel admitted, feeling frustrated by his lapse.

It was true that he’d been caught off guard.

“Anyway. Being an admiral sounds cool.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

Ryo’s words puzzled both Rockday and Abel.

“‘General’ sounds cool too, but I prefer ‘Admiral’. Admiral Ryo… yeah, that doesn’t sound bad.”

“It’s a matter of personal preference, so I won’t say anything.”

Ryo mused, satisfied with his own words, while Abel gave up commenting.

Wisely, Rockday said nothing as he drank his coffee.

“By the way, Admiral Rockday, I have a question for you.”

“I’ll answer if I can…”

Rockday replied with a smile.

“What do you think the Suje Kingdom’s endgame is?”

“Endgame?”

“Hey…”

Rockday tilted his head, and Abel sighed in exasperation.

It was the same topic Ryo and Abel had just discussed.

Asking it directly to the person involved was questionable… so Abel’s exasperation was understandable.

However…

“They might just cut us off as if it never happened.”

Rockday replied, echoing what Ryo had said earlier.

“See!”

Ryo said triumphantly.

“There’s no way he’s telling the truth!”

Abel exclaimed, exasperated.

There’s no way a national policy would be disclosed in such a casual setting to an enemy.

“Honestly… Abel, can’t you believe in people? Look into Admiral Rockday’s eyes. Do they look like the eyes of a liar?”

“Sorry…they do look like he’s lying.”

Abel replied honestly.

Rockday nodded and admitted,

“Sorry, I was lying.”

“What?! ”

Ryo exclaimed in shock.

“I trusted you…”

“I’m sorry.”

“What did you base that trust on…?”

Ryo felt let down, Rockday chuckled wryly, and Abel looked unsurprised.

After a moment, Ryo lifted his head with determination.

He seemed to have an idea.

“What kind of person is the Lord Protector?”

“Eh?”

Ryo asked, catching Rockday by surprise with the sudden question.

After thinking briefly, Rockday looked Ryo in the eyes and answered earnestly.

“Lord Protector Kabui Somal is a wonderful person. Truly fitting to lead a nation, he inspires confidence that everything will be alright if you follow him. That’s the kind of person he is.”

Rockday said this all in one breath, then continued after a pause.

“I would gladly give my life for him.”

Rockday’s expression shone with admiration.

He understood that serving such a person… one he would willingly give everything for, was an incredible fortune.

Most people live their entire lives without such an experience.

Without experiencing it, they cannot understand that feeling.

Some can’t even imagine it.

But Rockday realized how fortunate he was to serve such a person.

‘He must be quite the man to inspire such loyalty.”

Abel said, nodding repeatedly.

He understood that Kabui Somal was a captivating figure.

“Admiral Rockday is lucky.”

“Yeah.”

Ryo said, and Rockday nodded firmly.

“I understand that feeling.”

Ryo said, glancing at Abel before continuing to Rockday.

“Well, he may be a bit off sometimes, and he makes mistakes now and then, and there are times he slips up during battles, but at least you can completely trust his judgment…I think it’s lucky to be able to support someone like that.”

“…”

“I can somewhat understand how Admiral Rockday feels.”

Abel looked like he wanted to say something, but he remained silent.

Ryo said decisively.

Then Ryo continued.

“That’s why I understand. The Lord Protector will not abandon you, Admiral Rockday. He will try to save you.”

“Well…”

“I don’t know when or how he’ll do it, but… I’d like to meet him.”

Rockday evaded, while Ryo spoke confidently.

“Ryo?”

Abel called out, frowning.

As he couldn’t quite understand what Ryo was thinking.

“Don’t worry. I’m not planning to freeze him and take him back to the country.”

“Yeah, I didn’t expect that. Besides, he wouldn’t come to the rescue himself.”

“Then, I’ll intercept the rescue squad… and if we capture them, I’ll make them spar with Abel for training!”

“Huh?”

“If Abel, who got rusty and had a hole blown in his stomach, goes to the next battlefield like this, he might die. To retrain him and regain his warrior’s instincts, he needs a serious sparring partner…”

“Don’t make the prisoners engage in serious battles. In some countries, you’d be put on trial, Ryo.”

“Hah. Prisoner abuse…”

Abel’s words reminded Ryo of something he’d learned from his knowledge of Earth.

“If Abel loses, it won’t be prisoner abuse. ”

“If I lose a serious match, I’ll die, won’t I?”

“If you die from that, it just means that’s the extent of Abel’s skills!”

“What about that complete trust in judgment you mentioned earlier…?”

Relationships between people can sometimes be incomprehensible to others.

It seems there are even times when the people involved don’t fully understand them either…

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