The Water Magician

Eight days after leaving Acre, in the morning.

The delegation finally reached the border.

They left the Naitorei Kingdom's border office after only a document check.

Then, they proceeded to the border office of the Twilight Land, which was a hundred meters ahead.

It seemed that the authorities on the Land side were already informed of the delegation's arrival today, and they were allowed to pass through with just a brief document verification.

Thus, eighteen days after leaving the royal capital, the delegation finally entered the Twilight Land.

"Finally, we are in Twilight Land! The sun is shining normally!"

Ryo had unconsciously formed an image in his mind that the place named "Twilight Land" must be a land of eternal dusk.

However, in this "Fai," the association of twilight with the name does not hold true.

Thinking about it again, Ryo became curious about the person who named "Twilight Land."

"It's only natural that the sun is out... It’s not the 'Land of Eternal Night' from the legends..."

"The Land of Eternal Night... Does such a thing really exist?"

What a fantasy!

There were still many things Ryo didn't know.

Under Ryo's intense demeanor, Abel responded.

"Ah, yes... It's a legend from the Western Nations. Arthur Velasis, who had been an adventurer over there, mentioned it before."

Arthur Velasis is an advisor of the Royal Magic Guild and has fought alongside Abel against a horde of devils in the dungeon of the City of Run.

Ryo wasn’t a stranger to him, having made personal requests in the past.

"Arthur... When I meet him next, I must ask him about it."

Ryo nodded several times, taking a mental note.

The abnormality occurred that afternoon.

Ryo’s dynamic steam buoy—or rather, his usual passive sonar—detected something different from the previous monster attacks.

"Abel, something big is coming, unlike the monsters we've seen so far."

"I thought so! I was expecting it to arrive soon. Alright, let's contact Shouken and the others."

"No, wait a moment."

Ryo unexpectedly stopped Abel, who was trying to alert Shouken and the others.

"What is it?"

"This reaction feels familiar. It's likely that a wyvern is coming..."

"Eh..."

Abel was left speechless by Ryo's unexpected words.

Speaking of wyverns, they are troublesome monsters that require more than twenty c-rank adventurers to hunt down.

Moreover, even with that many adventurers, it is common for human casualties to occur.

If such a monster is approaching the delegation, the casualties could be substantial...

"For now, let's bring it down to the ground; we can hunt it there."

"Eh... Ah, yes, that’s true..."

Yes, while wyverns are generally troublesome to hunt, Ryo and Abel had experience hunting dozens of them on their way back from the Forest of Rondo.

For some reason, Ryo could pierce through the "wind defense membrane" that wyverns are said to possess, allowing him to shoot them down.

"Shouken! A wyvern is approaching from the left!"

Abel shouted loudly to Shouken outside the carriage.

"Eh? A wyvern?"

The term "wyvern" registered in Shouken's ears, but it hadn't fully processed in his brain as he looked toward the left side of their group.

Only then did he finally recognize it as "the troublesome monster, the wyvern."

"Wh-what's it doing here...?"

Of course, like the previous monsters, it was caused by human intervention.

Ryo also spotted the approaching wyvern from inside the carriage.

"I’m going! [Icicle Lance 2]!"

In that instant, two transparent, thick ice spears were generated above the wyvern, piercing its wings and pinning its body to the ground.

"Shouken, stab the fallen wyvern with the spear squad!"

"Ah, yes. You guys, let’s go!"

Following Abel's orders, Shouken and the adventurers armed with spears approached the wyvern and aimed for its head.

However, they struggled to break through.

After a brief struggle, one spear finally succeeded in delivering a fatal blow as it pierced through the eye and reached the brain, causing the wyvern to stop moving.

Even though it took a little effort, given that no casualties were sustained compared to the usual wyvern subjugation, it could be considered a great success.