The Water Magician

C-rank adventurer Shouken was troubled.

He was the leader of the delegation's guardian adventurers.

At thirty-three years old, he was the oldest among them and was appointed as the leader directly by the grand master due to his long and deep experience as an adventurer.

The guardian adventurers, consisting of four parties with twenty members, posed no problems at all.

There was no infighting or lack of cooperation among the parties.

On the contrary, they were successfully collaborating even with members of the Royal Knight Order, who usually did not cooperate, to fulfill their escort duties.

So, what was troubling Shouken?

It was the adventurers inside the carriage.

One was A-rank adventurer Abel.

Of course, there were no issues with his character, lack of ability, or communication difficulties.

As expected of an A-rank, he possessed deep insight, a charisma that attracted everyone, and unparalleled swordsmanship.

In the morning, when Shouken saw him swinging his sword in the inn's courtyard or engaging in light sparring with a knight whom he seemed to know, he was overwhelmed by his sword skills.

The other was Ryo, a C-rank adventurer and mage.

Though he was C-rank, he had been chosen as Abel's partner, suggesting he had no issues as a person. He appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, likely due to his Eastern appearance.

At the banquet at Acre Inn, female adventurers had repeatedly exclaimed, "So cute!" and had been doting on him the entire time.

That was a bit enviable.

Neither Abel nor Ryo had any problems with their skills as adventurers or their personalities.

What troubled Shouken was their position.

Of course, he knew they would not be involved in the escort mission for this delegation.

He also knew they were merely guests traveling to Twilight Land.

Thus, he understood why they were in a carriage.

However, if a situation arose where he wanted to hear their opinions regarding the escort mission, especially that of A-rank adventurer Abel, he was uncertain whether he should approach them or not.

That was the issue.

Monsters had been attacking daily since passing the next town after Acre, Bardon Brain.

He wanted to hear their thoughts on this.

Of course, Shouken already had some predictions in mind.

However, that alone might not be the answer.

There could be something they or their companions were unaware of or had not considered.

If there was no one else to ask, he would give up, but they were right there in the carriage.

They had shared drinks together at Acre Inn and were no longer strangers.

He wanted to ask...

On the sixth day after leaving Bardon Brain, during the afternoon.

That day, they had repelled the usual morning monster attack and the delegation was taking a lunch break.

After Bardon Brain, they spent nights lodging in villages or small towns.

Of course, there wasn't always enough accommodation for everyone in the delegation, so some had to camp.

However, procuring food was not an issue, and the cooking was carried out by squires and some clerks and adventurers, providing satisfactory meals both at lunch and dinner.

After lunch.

"Excuse me, Abel-san, do you have a moment?"

Outside the carriage, after Abel and Ryo had finished their lunch while enjoying the scenery, Shouken approached them.

"Shouken-san. We've just finished eating, please come join us."

Abel said, patting the ground next to him to invite him over.

On the opposite side, Ryo was starting to grind coffee beans with an ice coffee mill for his post-meal coffee.

"Actually, I wanted to consult you regarding the recent monster attacks."

"Oh, if I can be of any help, feel free to ask."

Though Shouken was older than Abel, it was natural for him to speak respectfully since Abel was an A-rank adventurer.

Shouken summarized the discussions among the adventurers.

Since the monster attacks were occurring with such regularity, there might be someone manipulating the monsters through some artificial means.

It was certain that their target was this delegation, but it remained unclear who or what exactly was being targeted within the delegation.