Water Magician

Vol 4. Chapter 741: Obstacles to World Conquest

The next morning, Skidbladnir left the city of Borne.

It seemed some troublesome being had taken an interest in them, but His Grace the Duke and His Majesty the King were hardly the sort to worry over that now.

“There are very few beings more troublesome than you, Abel.”

“If we put it to a vote, I’m sure the result would show that you are more troublesome than I am, Ryo.”

“You would buy votes with money and corner me that way! As expected of Abel the Wicked King.”

“Yes, I think that would be the result even without bribery.”

Today as well, the deck where the two of them stood was peaceful.

In one corner of the deck, the knights swung their swords, while the crew worked diligently.

Abel, who had been swinging his sword until a short while ago, was now reading a book, and Ryo was looking at a magic formula written on an ice plate.

“Is that magic formula you’re looking at from that coffin... the box Lord Regna is inside?”

“Yes. I’m impressed you could tell.”

“There are a lot of unfamiliar characters—or things that look like characters.”

“That’s right. I have absolutely no idea what they mean.”

Ryo said this with a smile.

A very broad smile, at that.

“Why are you smiling when you don’t understand it?”

“Huh? Why? Because it’s fun, so I’m smiling.”

“Fun? You don’t understand it, do you?”

“Not understanding it is what makes it fun.”

“...I see.”

Ryo answered with his smile unchanged, and Abel accepted it without really understanding.

Not understanding it is fun.

In many fields, once someone reaches first-rate or above, this sensation begins to sprout.

Conversely, once someone can feel that way, it is fair to say he is first-rate in that field.

Perhaps even truly top-class.

Ryo had stepped into a realm where he could be called first-rate in alchemy.

When it came to water-attribute magic, he was surely among the finest in the world.

And when it came to alchemy as well, he had now set his hand upon a high level... It would be fair to say that.

Of course, Ryo himself had no such awareness.

Which was why he did not get a swollen head.

Because very close beside him was a genius alchemist named Kenneth Hayward.

To °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° keep climbing higher without growing arrogant...

That was a fortunate thing.

“I think revealing everything in this world, all of creation and every phenomenon within it, is the greatest desire a person can have. If you think about it that way, I need to at least become able to decipher a magic formula like this!”

Ryo’s face was full of motivation as he smiled.

“Everything in this world... That is grand.”

“You’re the same way, aren’t you, Abel?”

“Me? I’ve never thought about everything in the world in particular.”

“King Abel must possess the ambition of world conquest, to obtain everything in the world.”

“Yes, I possess no such ambition.”

“Once you become king, you must have that sort of ambition at least once.”

“I have never had it.”

Ryo tried to incite him toward world conquest. Abel was terribly sensible.

Ryo’s incitement changed shape again and again...

“The most troublesome opponent in any world conquest would surely be Twilight Land.”

“Ah... Conquering that place would be impossible, wouldn’t it? It’s a country of vampires.”

“True. Let us form an alliance with Twilight Land and make sure not to turn them into enemies. When that happens, I will handle the negotiations. Leave it to me.”

“R-right... When the time comes, I’ll rely—no, wait, we aren’t conquering the world in the first place!”

“So close. I almost had you...”

Ryo’s temptation failed.

As such peaceful time flowed aboard Skidbladnir, the ship arrived off the coast of Hosoina, the capital of the Bardael Chiefdom, on the morning of the second day after leaving the city of Borne.

Unlike the peaceful Skidbladnir, however, the waters there were...

“Those patrols... There are a lot of them.”

“It feels quite tense.”

“The report that we saved the city should have gone out from Borne, so we ought to be able to enter port without issue.”

Abel and Ryo tilted their heads at the sheer number of ships that seemed to be patrol boats, and Captain Paulina also looked dubious.

One of the numerous patrol boats quickly spotted Skidbladnir and approached.

“Heave to. We are a patrol boat of the Bardael Chiefdom. Submit to this vessel’s boarding inspection.”

As in Borne, that voice carried to Skidbladnir’s deck as well.

“I suppose he thinks he’s shouting loudly...”

“He’s harder to hear than the one at Borne.”

“Perhaps he was suddenly pulled in from a different department and isn’t used to this work.”

“We’re off the capital, aren’t we? Normally they would station excellent units here.”

“Maybe the excellent people have all been pulled away somewhere even more serious...”

Abel and Ryo exchanged a casual conversation.

It was true, however, that the voice was harder to make out than the patrol boat at Borne.

Skidbladnir accepted the patrol boat’s request to stop.

One of the two patrol boats came alongside, and five officials came aboard.

This much was the same as at Borne.

“I am Lexadow, captain of the Fortieth Patrol Unit of the Bardael Chiefdom.”

“Thank you for your work in the boarding inspection. I am Paulina, captain of Skidbladnir, registered to the Knightley Kingdom.”

They introduced themselves to one another.

Watching from a distance, two people conversed so no one else could hear.

《He said Fortieth Patrol Unit.》

《The one at Borne was the Third Patrol Unit, I believe.》

《Compared to Captain Nau from that time, this Captain Lexadow is very young.》

《The four who came aboard with him are all young too.》

《So they really were pulled in, weren’t they...?》

《That may be the case.》

Abel finally accepted Ryo’s speculation.

Paulina handed the crew certificate to Captain Lexadow.

“I will check the crew certificate.”

Lexadow said this, then began checking it with movements that, frankly, did not seem particularly practiced.

During that time, the four who had boarded with him kept glancing around the deck.

As in Borne, they did not move around.

They did not, but...

《Those looks are clearly suspicious.》

《...Are they?》

《Yes. I can tell.》

《Even if that is true, I don’t think they’ll suddenly restrain us.》

《Huh...》

《Ryo, you were about to say some delusion like that, weren’t you?》

《Kh... Abel the Joke-Crusher, now you crush even my elegant delusions?》

《I don’t think delusions can be elegant or anything else.》

The two held that exchange.

But even from a distance, they could tell Paulina’s expression was dark.

She was not arguing with the patrol unit.

Rather, Captain Lexadow of the patrol unit looked apologetic.

After a while, the patrol unit disembarked, returned to their patrol boat, and headed off for the boarding inspection of another ship.

Paulina came to Abel.

“Something happened, Captain.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I apologize. It seems entering port will take some time.”

Paulina reported this with a grimace.

“There is no need for you to apologize, Captain. What happened?”

“The patrol unit would not give us the details, but... it seems the chief has gone out on campaign, and this is apparently related to that.”

“The chief has gone out on campaign? Chukudy, Lord of Borne, did not say anything about that, did he?”

“No. I heard nothing of it either.”

At Abel’s confirmation, Paulina shook her head.

Ryo also shook his head silently.

In the past two days, some great change in the situation must have occurred, one that required the chief himself to take the field.

“If the chief is away on campaign, who is responsible for the capital?”

“The crown prince, apparently.”

“Hmm... In that case, procedures and processing should be running without issue...”

Abel looked around the ship.

Skidbladnir had arrived in the morning, so they had been able to undergo boarding inspection at a fairly early stage.

But during that time, one ship after another had arrived from offshore... and it had begun turning into something like a traffic jam.

“There really are a great many patrol units, but...”

“The processing inside the port is probably bogged down. Not a single ship has entered yet.”

“Ah... So that’s why the offshore waters are getting clogged.”

Both Abel and Ryo shook their heads slightly.

“Nothing for it. We have completed our procedures. Captain, let us wait at our leisure.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

In the end, it was evening by the time Skidbladnir was able to enter port.