The Water Magician

"My mother is the daughter of Grandpa Cyrus, but Twilight Land only recognizes the right of succession for direct male descendants. Therefore, I do not have any inheritance rights."

"But Mew has inheritance rights through her father, who is a marquis of the kingdom,"

The one who added this was Imogen, a party member with her hand on Mew's shoulder.

(Ah... If the daughter of a marquis and the granddaughter of a grand duke were to be killed in the Land... it would certainly have an impact...)

Ryo thought this but kept his mouth shut.

"Just to be clear, when I was chosen for this escort duty, I confirmed my origins with the Grand Master and the negotiator Ignis. However, the Grand Master told me that it could actually be a merit rather than a risk, so I should do my best..."

Mew pointed out the possibility of risk correctly, and still, the higher-ups gave their approval.

"Yeah, I get it. Thanks for telling me."

With that, Ryo distanced himself from Mew and the others and moved toward the leader meeting.

As Ryo approached the leader meeting, it seemed the meeting had just ended, and members were dispersing.

"Ryo!"

Abel called out when he spotted Ryo.

"The meeting is over, huh? Just so you know, I confirmed the reasons why the cult is targeting us."

The two exchanged information a little away from others.

Ryo informed Abel about Mew's origins.

Abel informed Ryo about future measures.

"Since they crossed the border, it seems the assassins have no choice but to hand them over to us," Abel said.

"I see... It was Rosalia, right? The dark element mage. She's a valuable asset, but it can't be helped."

"Ah, yeah..."

Ryo expressed his thoughts while contemplating, and Abel made a face as if he had something stuck in his teeth in agreement.

"Abel, what's wrong?"

"No, it was just unexpected to hear the words 'valuable asset' come from your mouth, Ryo..."

"Come on, what do you think I am? I'm also considering the development of the country! If we have her, we can create incredibly rare alchemy tools, you know? Even if I can't do it yet, if I take her to Kenneth..."

"Ah, I see. That makes a lot of sense."

Ryo's criteria are whether something is cool, interesting, and how it relates to alchemy.

"Anyway, it seems we need to get in touch with the town of Karnak where we'll be staying tonight and have them send someone to escort them. They have no idea how long it will take, though."

"I see. Since it's a foreign country, the procedures and systems are likely very different from the kingdom's. But if they might come quickly, there’s something I want to ask the frozen person."

The two received permission from negotiator Ignis and went to Natalia, the frozen woman.

"No matter how many times I see it... I can't believe she's alive in this state."

Abel commented as he looked at the frozen Natalia.

"I practiced a lot to be able to freeze someone while keeping them alive. Many of the monsters from the Forest of Rondo fell victim to my training..."

Ryo said this as if he were reflecting, but it was clear to Abel that Ryo felt nothing about it.

As a result, the words that came from Abel's mouth were...

"Wow."

Very light indeed.

After giving Ryo a slightly resentful look, Ryo melted the ice covering Natalia’s face.

"Hello, Natalia. I would like to have a little chat."

"Don't mess with me! Go die! You...!"

Immediately, she was frozen again, and it seemed her body was being subjected to some kind of pressure.

After about two minutes of this, Ryo melted the ice covering Natalia’s face again.

"It's a shame for such a beautiful woman to spit out such filthy words. Your body must be in pain, right? Being frozen like this, it must hurt if you feel like you're being crushed by the ice."

"You..."

Natalia's face was filled with fear and hatred.

The fear came from the fact that her life and death were in someone else’s hands.

The hatred came from being treated however someone pleased.

"This is not a difficult question. I understand the reason for targeting Mew, but I need confirmation about the client. First, it’s because of Mew's origins, right?"