The Water Magician

The day after the explosion incident in the royal capital.

On the Second Avenue of the kingdom.

This road extends from the Royal Capital Crystal Palace, through the largest city in the east, Wingston, all the way to the Eastern Border Town Redpost.

The eastern border is adjacent to the Duchy of Inberri and the Handalu Federation.

Ryo, Prince Willy, Lord Rodrigo, and four bodyguards, along with six adventurers led by Corn, a total of thirteen people, were making their way west along the Second Avenue, heading towards the royal capital.

The box carriage carrying Prince Willy and the others was relatively large and quite sturdy.

Due to the many towns along the Second Avenue and the abundance of lodging facilities, they would essentially stay in towns at night, which was a relief for everyone as they didn’t have to keep watch while camping.

However, this meant they had to cover a good distance during the day.

Basically, Corn was the driver.

This was a result of Corn's suggestion, as he thought it would be better than hiring an inexperienced coachman.

Since the destruction of the assassination cult's village, they had not been attacked even once.

In the first place, considering that the reason Prince Willy was targeted was due to the leader's quest for eternal life, the current absence of that leader meant there was no longer a reason for them to be targeted.

That said, the possibility of a retaliatory attack was not zero, so they could not let their guard down while traveling.

Perhaps because of this, Corn noticed the sound of sword fights carried by the wind and the neighing of horses.

"Hey, something's going on in the forest to the north,"

Corn opened the partition of the driver's seat and called out to the three inside.

The bodyguards and adventurers heightened their vigilance around the carriage.

"I can certainly hear it. It sounds like trouble. Your Highness, what should we do?"

Ryo had a rough idea of what Prince Willy might say, but he still asked.

"If someone is being attacked, I would like to help..."

When they were attacked, no one came to their aid.

That was understandable. No one wants to get involved in trouble.

Or perhaps, at that time, no one was traveling along the road at all...

However, if there were people being attacked like they had been a few days prior, they wanted to extend a helping hand... Prince Willy thought so.

As a result, there was a possibility that someone might get injured or lose their life, but... perhaps he hadn’t considered it that far.

Even so, the adults around them thought that the prince's sentiment was admirable.

They did not want him to grow up thinking that he was entitled to service simply because of his status as a prince.

"I understand. Then, the six of us adventurers will go take a look. Ryo and the bodyguards will stay by your side."

Corn gave the order.

There was already absolute trust in Ryo at that point.

Currently, the most important thing was Prince Willy's safety.

And the one who could ensure that was Ryo.

That is why Ryo was left with the prince while the others went to investigate.

"I understand. I will definitely protect Your Highness."

Ryo promised Corn.

When Ryo used his passive sonar to probe, he could sense about ten people moving around.

They were four hundred meters away.

In a place with many trees like a forest, that distance was close to the limit of passive sonar's range.

Since they were inside the carriage, Corn, who had keen hearing, might have noticed it first.

Corn’s ears were formidable!

After relaying the distance and number to Corn, he nodded, and the adventurers ran off.

For the time being, the carriage was parked in the shade along the road.

Ryo stood on the roof of the box carriage, while Prince Willy and Lord Rodrigo waited inside.

As Ryo kept an eye with his passive sonar, Corn and the others, who seemed to have been observing for a while, charged into the group.

However, what caught Ryo's attention was not that.