The Water Magician

" Eto, are demons strong?"

"Uh..."

Ryo asked Eto, who was next to him, in a small voice.

The question seemed unexpected, and Eto responded with a surprised tone.

"I think they are strong... but to be honest, I don't really know. There hasn't been any recorded appearance of one in the last few hundred years..."

Saying this, Eto turned to the legacy officer Rasharta.

"That's right. You are... Eto, right? What you said is accurate. The last record of a demon being subjugated was 950 years ago. Of course, it’s possible there were other subjugations that weren’t documented due to various adult circumstances. The demon this time is probably the one from 950 years ago."

"This demon this time?"

"Yes. According to the legends of demons passed down in the kingdom, there are two sealed demons. One is the 'Demon sealed to the South' and the other is the 'Demon sealed to the East.' The East one is said to have been horrifyingly strong, with many legends remaining about it. The damage it caused was reported not just in the Eastern Kingdom, but also in the regions that now belong to the Handalu Federation."

Rasharta put his hand on his chin and continued after a moment of thought.

"Considering that, for this situation... there’s a possibility that additional forces might be dispatched."

"Like the knight order...?"

"Or the magical association...?"

"Or high-ranked adventurers...?"

"Or even heroes..."

Nils, Eto, and Amon mentioned potential 'additional forces,' and finally, Ryo added his remark, causing the three in Room 10 to look at him with great intensity.

It was Nils who spoke up.

"Ryo, the current hero is from the Western Nations. There’s no way he’s coming here."

Nils confidently declared.

"Fufufu, Nils, your information is outdated. Actually, Hero Roman and his party were in the royal capital just recently, you know?"

Ryo asserted with even more confidence.

After all, he had fought alongside them, so it was only natural to feel confident.

"Seriously?!"

Nils opened his eyes wide in disbelief.

"By the way, I heard that during the recent royal capital turmoil, the hero also assisted in the defense of the underground of the Central Sanctuary. You knew that well, Ryo."

Legacy officer Rasharta nodded as he said this.

"But... it's been quite some time since they left the royal capital... I doubt they would come this time."

"I see, that's unfortunate."

Ryo said something he didn't genuinely mean.

Hero Roman had challenged Ryo to mock battles numerous times after the royal capital turmoil, so he was quite worn out from it by the latter half.

While he practiced mock battles with Sera multiple times, he attempted to avoid mock battles with the hero.

That was just the kind of person Ryo was.

As the five continued discussing such matters, Daimyo Goro returned to the meeting room.

"I arranged to send a brief report to the royal capital, Run, and Kairadi."

(Did he do that in such a short time?!)

Ryo was astonished.

It was impressive that he had accomplished such a report in just about thirty minutes.

"Yesterday, I was told by Eto that it appeared to be a demon insect. The report was almost finished. I just had to add today’s confirmed information, have it 'transcribed,' and send identical content to the relevant parties."

He said this matter-of-factly, with a bright smile.

"You’re still as capable as ever, Goro, unlike me, who can’t get anything done. Do you still have no intention of returning to the royal capital?"

Rasharta turned to Goro and asked.

"I don’t plan to return yet. I love this village. More than anything, I really love Kona Coffee."

Just as Goro said that, the door opened, and six cups of Kona Coffee were brought into the meeting room.

After the meeting and report were finished, they would enjoy coffee.

It was a truly blissful time.

"Now, I’ll return to Kairadi for a bit."

As the blissful time came to an end, Rasharta said.

"Could it be...?"

Goro hesitated to finish his sentence.

"Yes, that’s the case. I left my work halfway done."

Rasharta laughed heartily as he said this.