Published: July 3, 2025
On the third day since the kingdom delegation began to advance along the Forest of Jet Black roadway,
they had traveled approximately to the midpoint towards the small country, Aiteke Bo, despite the lack of signposts making it imprecise.
Thanks to having had sufficient rest on the nights of the first and second days, the members of the delegation were in high spirits.
Both nights had been protected by a massive wall of ice, which must have contributed to their well-being.
Seeing this, the former a-rank adventurer, grand master of the adventurers' guild, and the leader of this delegation quietly muttered,
"The concept of camping out has changed entirely."
It is certainly a joy to be able to sleep soundly at night.
"Is being a water attribute magician really that impressive?"
"No, it's just that Ryo is not normal."
The swordsman Harold from Room 11 murmured, and Priest Eto from Room 10 denied it with a wry smile.
Perhaps it was because Priest Zeek from Room 11 often spoke with Eto.
Both Harold, the swordsman from Room 11, and Gowan, the dual-wielder, seemed to find it easy to talk to Eto.
"To think of that as the standard for a water attribute magician is mistaken."
"But Ryo’s apprentices were also making ice walls..."
Eto sought to correct Harold's perception, but Swordsman Nils recalled a scene he had once witnessed.
It was the sight he saw in the garden of the Gecko Merchant Association.
"Ryo-san's apprentices, huh... They must be powerful adventurers."
"No... they're merchants..."
"Ehh..."
Harold was left speechless at the truth revealed by Eto.
Merchants stronger than adventurers... It might be a tale from some RPG world...
However, the peaceful movement of the delegation was abruptly interrupted by urgent news from the scout.
Naturally, the delegation had sent out scouts to probe ahead for any potential issues.
At the center of this was Laslino, the scout of the B-rank party Coffee Makers.
Surrounding him, scouts from each party took turns going back and forth.
"Grand Master, the roadway ahead has been washed away due to the river's rising water."
"Rising water? Washed away? What is that? The map provided by the Empire doesn’t show any river crossing the roadway."
"I think something must have happened to change the river's flow. The flooded river extends 300 meters to the opposite shore..."
"Damn it. This is why I hate being at the front. We have no choice but to search for a spot to cross upstream. If we go through the forest, we'll encounter monsters as well. The scout unit will rest. Let’s send adventurers who can fight."
Based on Laslino's report, Hugh decided to search for a place to detour around the broken roadway.
The delegation took a short break.
As Ryo served coffee to the scout unit and returned to his previous spot, he noticed that none of the three from Room 10 or Room 11 were present.
"Hey?"
It was quite unlikely for all six to have vanished.
Just then, he happened to run into the members of the C-rank party Heavenly Mountain.
Since Heavenly Mountain was walking in formation in front of Room 10, Ryo recognized their faces.
"Um, where are my kids...?"
Ryo asked, as if inquiring about lost children.
"Oh, Ryo. Nils and the others went to look for a detour route on the Grand Master's orders."
"A detour route? Hmm..."
Ryo tilted his head in confusion.
Realizing it was futile to ponder, he went to directly ask Hugh.
"Hugh-san, did you send Nils and the others for a detour route?"
"Yeah, Ryo. That’s right. I sent them to check for a place to cross upstream."
"Uh... I feel like I could just make an ice bridge..."
"Oh..."
In that moment, Hugh realized his blunder.
That’s right. The man who could build such a massive ice wall was right here.
He should have considered that he could also create an ice bridge...
But the words that came out were...
"Ryo, you should've said something sooner."
"Eh... It’s not my fault..."
It seems that unreasonable words from superiors exist in any world.
Even for a capable superior like Hugh, it seems unavoidable that such words might slip out...