The Water Magician

"Three hours down this road..."

After staying overnight at the manor, the party set off towards the fishing village the next morning.

They expected to arrive just before noon.

Even if the fishing village had already fallen to the vampire, they had planned their arrival time to ensure they would be able to strategize against the Strigoi...

"It's really cloudy, isn't it?"

Ryo said as he looked up at the sky.

"Yeah... Graham, with it being this cloudy, the Strigoi's abilities might..."

"Shouldn't drop at all. They’ll be at full power," Graham answered with a wry smile to Hugh's question.

"This is troublesome..."

Hugh looked up at the cloudy sky with a resentful expression, then shifted his gaze back to Ryo.

"Ryo, how would you fight against the Strigoi?"

It seemed he asked without any particular meaning behind it.

However, after hearing the answer, he regretted asking.

"I would freeze the entire village. There’s a perfect water attribute magic called 'Permafrost'..."

"Yeah, definitely don’t do that. It’s possible that it’s a direct territory of the royal family. You might actually go through with it, which is the problem."

"I gave a perfect suggestion when asked by Hugh, yet it was rejected for some reason."

Ryo complained while walking alongside the three from Room 10.

"What kind of suggestion?"

Eto, the gentle one, inquired.

"Thank you for asking. When Hugh asked how to fight the Strigoi, I suggested freezing the entire village. There’s magic for that. But for some reason, I was told not to use it... It’s really effective."

Ryo shook his head repeatedly, lamenting the futility of the world.

"If I were the Guild Master, I’d say the same thing. Freezing the entire village..."

"But that way, wouldn’t they be less likely to counterattack?"

"If there are any decent humans who haven't become kin..."

"It’s fine. Just freezing them won’t kill them, and as long as we thaw them properly, there won't be a problem!"

Ryo stated confidently.

"Oh, I see…"

Nils put a hand to his forehead and nodded several times.

His face seemed to say, “That’s right, Ryo is that kind of guy.”

"Well, regardless of freezing the whole village, if we face the Strigoi, we need to find a way to stop their movements. They’re said to move far beyond humans."

Eto thought of a practical approach.

"Previously, when we did a quest in my village, Ryo tied up the monster's hands and feet with some ice rope, right? Wouldn’t that work?"

"If the opponent’s movements are too fast, it might not be effective."

Nils suggested while recalling the past, but Ryo shook his head in denial.

"So, freezing the entire village..."

"And that’s a no."

Ryo’s renewed suggestion was immediately shot down by Nils.

"Stopping a fast-moving opponent... it’s the eternal theme of combat, isn’t it?"

It was already a given that the youngest, Amon, would provide the most solid opinion...

After about thirty more minutes of walking, Ryo's passive sonar detected a response.

There were observers watching the party from afar.

Ryo subtly moved closer to Hugh.

Hugh, who had been talking to Graham, noticed him.

"Hugh, we have scouts. Two of them."

That report surprised the scout, Maurice, from the Hero Party, who was right behind them.

"No way?!"

"They’re keeping about three hundred meters away. I figured that out with water attribute magic."

Ryo casually showcased the excellence of water magic.

"Impressive, water magic..."

As expected, the scout Maurice was astonished and murmured.

"Well, having observers means it’s highly likely the fishing village isn’t in a good state. Seriously, all the villagers might have been turned into Strigoi."

Hugh frowned and shook his head a few times.

"Hey, Graham. Is it really true that those who become Strigoi can never return to being human?"

"Unfortunately. Once a vampire drains a certain amount of blood, they become Strigoi. In the Western Nations, in the past, experiments were conducted, which were inhumane. I believe it was because a royal family member became a Strigoi. Many Strigoi dissections were also performed. However, since their brains undergo degeneration, they couldn’t be reverted. If the main vampire dies, the kin also dies. They’ve formed a magical connection along with bodily degeneration, so there’s no way to reverse it..."