The Water Magician

"Why isn't anyone coming?"

With a grimace, Hugh was pacing around the large conference room.

The time was just before ten in the morning.

Ryo and the four from Room 10, along with the seven members of the Hero Party led by Roman, had been waiting here for nearly an hour.

Just then, the daimyo Goro burst in, panting heavily.

"Master McGrath, it seems they've gone into the forest early this morning."

"What...?"

Hugh was speechless at the absurd report.

"I apologize. I called them directly to the office yesterday and informed them about the meeting at nine... What could have happened?"

Goro sighed, shaking his head repeatedly.

"Well... they insisted on solving this matter themselves... Once they’ve left, there's nothing we can do. When they return, I'll be sure to yell at them right on the spot."

Hugh sighed as well. Then he turned to the members of Room 10 and the Hero Party.

"I'm sorry. Therefore, we will disband for today."

After saying that, Hugh slumped into a nearby seat.

"This must be a divine message to have Ryo-san engage in a mock battle."

"No way."

Hero Roman challenged Ryo to a mock battle, but Ryo flatly declined.

"Why not...?"

"Well, we did enough of that in the royal capital..."

Roman widened his eyes in question.

Ryo replied with a look that suggested it was obvious.

"A mock battle between Ryo and Roman... You guys won't destroy the village, right?"

Hugh said to the two with a surprised expression.

"No way would we destroy a village in a mock battle... What do you think we are?"

"Exactly, it's just a sword fight."

Ryo looked at Hugh with an expression that said he couldn't believe that was even a consideration, and Roman nodded in agreement with a wry smile.

However, a little addition followed after that.

"If Ryo-san used magic in a mock battle, the village would definitely perish."

"Hey!"

Both Ryo and Hugh interjected at the same time.

Ryo meant, "That can't be true," while Hugh's expression implied, "Is that what would happen?!"

The three members of Room 10 who were listening nearby were thinking the same thing.

(Absolutely do not ask Ryo to be the opponent in a mock battle.)

It was just past noon.

"Ahhhhhh!"

The scream of a woman reached the ears of the four members of Room 10, who were helping with pest removal.

"Which direction is that from?"

"East. Towards the forest."

The four quickly grabbed their weapons and rushed toward the direction of the scream.

Along the way, they were joined by the Hero Party, who had also heard the scream.

When they arrived at the scene, they found a woman from the village sitting on the ground in shock.

Ahead of her were blood-soaked people.

"First, check everyone's pulse."

Cleric Graham of the Hero Party called out to his party members and the four from Room 10.

"There's one."

"Yes, there is."

"It’s very weak, but it seems to be there."

"… none."

Voices were heard.

The blood-soaked individuals were adventurers from Kairadi.

There should have been ten: five from Dragon's Agito and five from the Five Stars, but only seven were present.

Moreover, of the seven who returned, two were already without a pulse.

"The most critically injured one is him. And this one here. I'll take care of these two. Eto-san, please attend to that person who looks third most critical. The remaining two should be fine, so could someone please fetch a potion?"

Cleric Graham was impressive with his remarkable triage skills.

Ryo was genuinely impressed.

He must have gone through so many battlefields... he had acquired various know-how that was an invaluable asset as an adventurer.

Thinking that, Ryo took out a homemade potion from his usual bag.

"This... ah, I'll give the potion to the swordsman Dogon."

With that, Ryo administered the potion to Dogon.

Though he was not in life-threatening danger, he had sustained quite a number of visible wounds.

The moment he drank the potion, Ryo watched in wonder as his wounds began to heal.

It was a sight that never ceased to amaze him.

"Thanks... you saved me."

The leader of Dragon’s Agito, the swordsman Dogon, expressed his gratitude with none of the arrogance or hostility he had shown just yesterday.