The Water Magician

The day after the fierce battle with the one-eyed creature, Ryo found himself at the battlefield from yesterday.

There wasn't any particular reason for his return; it was just a feeling.

Coming back and seeing the scene again, he finally felt the weight of his victory.

However, there was no joy in that feeling...

Before Ryo, someone descended.

The moment he saw it, his mind went blank.

Except for one single word.

That was.

(Dragon...)

A dragon, shining red, possibly fifty meters long.

Though his mind was blank, it started spinning rapidly a few seconds later.

(Why is there a dragon in a place like this? No, that doesn't matter right now. I need to escape somehow. Can I even escape? This seems impossible no matter how I look at it. Fight? No way, that’s out of the question. Even if the world turned upside down, fighting would be impossible. The difference in our existence is just too great. Seriously, I could be killed with just the tip of its pinky.)

Because of these desperate thoughts, Ryo didn’t hear the voice that called out to him.

[[Hey, human.]]

A voice that directly addressed him in his mind.

[[Hmm? Isn't this how telepathy with humans works? It’s been so long that I can’t remember. Human, can you not hear me?]]

“Huh? What? I think I hear something?”

Ryo finally came back to his senses.

[[Oh, you can hear me! I am the dragon standing right before you.]]

“So this is telepathy... Ah, yes, I’m sorry, I was quite flustered. I can hear you.”

[[Good, good. I apologize for startling you. I wanted to ask you something. Do you happen to know about any birds in this area that evolved from Assassin Hawks?]]

“Uh…”

He had too many thoughts on that.

Too many, and it was likely referring to the one-eyed creature he had killed yesterday.

However, he knew that trying to deceive the dragon would be futile, and lying would lead to dire consequences if discovered—Ryo himself understood that well.

“Yes, I have some information.”

Saying this, Ryo spoke honestly about everything.

From the fate he had with the one-eyed Assassin Hawk to what had transpired there yesterday.

“If it was one of your kin, I'm very sorry. I apologize.”

With that, Ryo bowed his head.

[[Hmm, I see. So you were the one who killed it.]]

The dragon said, pondering for a moment before speaking again, or rather, using telepathy.

[[That’s fine; it was not one of my kin. Just, the reaction of such a bird suddenly disappeared yesterday. If one of us dragons had eaten it, I would have understood, but it seems that was not the case. So, I became curious as to why it disappeared and came down from the mountain.]]

Saying this, it looked up at the eastern mountain.

Indeed, the mountain Ryo had thought “there might be dragons” was home to dragons.

“I see. That one-eyed Assassin Hawk was indeed killed by me.”

[[As long as you understand the reason for its disappearance, that’s good. It was an evolved type that hadn’t been seen in this forest for several hundred years. But to think you managed to take it down, impressive. Did it not use magic nullification?]]

“Yes, it did! It was outrageous! Being a mage, magic nullification is just unfair.”

The dragon nodded in agreement.

Then, it suddenly focused its gaze on Ryo’s waist.

[[What you have sheathed at your waist... that is quite a rare item you possess.]]

“Waist?”

Ryo took out Murakumo to show it.

By this point, the fear he once felt toward dragons had vanished.

Ryo's nerves might be tougher than he anticipated.

[[Oh, indeed, that is the Sword of the Fairy King.]]

“The Fairy King? I received this from a dullahan that appears every night at the lake in the northern wetlands…”

In Irish folklore, a dullahan is a fairy.

[[I don’t know what a dullahan is, but if it gave you that, then it must be the Fairy King. The one in this forest is the water fairy king, if I recall correctly.]]

“Ah, I see. Since I am a water attribute mage, that’s why I was able to receive it. Thanks to this sword, I was saved yesterday.”

[[I see, a water mage. That’s why the Fairy King took a liking to you. So, you are learning water magic from the Fairy King, right?]]