The Water Magician

"Kenneth, is Kenneth there?"

The scene I once saw is repeating itself at the entrance of the Royal Alchemy Workshop.

Standing there is the water attribute mage, dressed exactly as he was back then.

However, there is one significant difference.

"Your Grace Duke Rondo, I have been waiting for you!"

His status has changed dramatically, eliminating the need for any unlawful intrusions.

Over these last three years, he has frequented the Royal Alchemy Workshop quite often...

The guards and staff at the workshop know Ryo.

Even in his adventurer mage attire, they recognize him as the first duke.

And also as a disciple in alchemy of the workshop's owner, Viscount Kenneth Hayward.

Though this is something Ryo has been proclaiming on his own...

Kenneth always smiles wryly upon hearing it.

Nonetheless, on this day, Ryo had contacted Kenneth in advance, allowing for an unusually smooth entry.

"Ah, Ryo-san, thank you for coming."

Kenneth greeted Ryo with a warm smile as he entered the laboratory.

"I heard you completed something interesting, so I came to see it."

Ryo's expression was filled with excitement, even more than usual...

It was something that Kenneth himself had deemed "interesting."

Naturally, this piqued his curiosity.

"Yes. This is quite interesting. For now, I have named it 'Echo of the Soul.'"

"What is that?!"

There couldn't be a more fantastical name than this.

"To put it simply, it's a long-distance communication device."

"It suddenly became a very realistic term..."

"Ahaha."

'Echo of the Soul' and 'long-distance communication'... It's not often you see such a juxtaposition of words.

"You were also given the long-distance communication tablet, right? It was named 'Communication Tablet,' if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yeah, it's placed in the Forest of Rondo."

That's the one from which he received the message to "Ascend the Castle."

"This is an improved and smaller version of that. Depending on the user's magical power, it can be used repeatedly over considerable distances."

"Oh, that's amazing."

Kenneth explained, and Ryo expressed his surprise.

Then, Ryo recalled the story he had heard in Abel's office.

"Earlier, Kenneth showed me a paper, right? About long-distance communication through magic stone segmentation."

"You remember well! That’s precisely what this is based on."

In fact, Ryo had received an item utilizing that technology from Kenneth afterward...

But that's a story for another time.

Kenneth brought out a tiny object that looked like a small earring.

"This is it."

"So small!"

The blue magic stone embedded in it was likely less than a centimeter in diameter.

The pure silver frame looked quite stylish.

It was probably something to be worn on the ear...

"Um, I'm not good at piercing my body..."

Ryo had never worn earrings in his life.

"Don’t worry. I thought you might say that, so this one is designed to clip onto your earlobe like an earring. Once set, it automatically adjusts to the perfect size, so it won't hurt at all."

"Really!"

This is the world of magic.

This is the world of alchemy.

This is Kenneth Hayward.

Still...

"I've never seen a blue magic stone before."

"Ah... Blue magic stones are quite hard to obtain. Of course, they come from water-dwelling monsters, but when they are defeated, they sink to the ocean floor..."

"I see."

Ryo nodded at Kenneth's explanation. Speaking of which, the monsters he fought against while battling the bait ball also sank away...

"Since you're a water attribute mage, you have excellent compatibility with blue magic stones. In fact, this was prepared with you in mind."

"Seriously...?"

"This has one incredible function. There's also Rosalia, the dark attribute mage in Twilight Land, who helped me with this. That's where the name 'Echo of the Soul' comes from..."

Kenneth began explaining with an even brighter smile, showcasing a ring embedded with a matching blue magic stone.

Royal Castle, King's Office.

King Abel was buried in documents, just like before.

However, there were fewer papers than before.

"Hey, Ryo."

"What is it, Abel?"

As Abel signed documents, Ryo lay sprawled on the sofa, reading a book related to alchemy and answering casually.