The Water Magician

"Finally, my long-cherished wish is coming true!"

"No, you saw the golem we captured from the alliance in the royal capital before, didn't you?"

In response to Ryo's words, the head of the kingdom delegation, Hugh McGrath, who was accompanying them more as a supervisor than a supporter, interjected.

The head himself is the supervisor... Ryo is receiving VIP treatment.

One could simply say that it's because there's a high possibility that other individuals wouldn't be able to keep things in check.

"That was that, and this is this."

"I-I see..."

Hugh weakly agreed with Ryo's insistence.

The door bore a plate that read ‘Golem Maintenance Room’.

A guide from the duchy was leading the six of them.

"By the way, it’s not just me and Ryo..."

"No, Master McGrath, we are, of course, interested as well."

"Master McGrath, no sneaking ahead now, no sneaking ahead."

Hugh grumbled, while Former Emperor Rupert laughed and Former King Robert Pirlo chimed in.

Hugh accompanied Ryo, Count Hans Kirchhoff was with Rupert, and Captain of the Guard Grown was with Robert Pirlo.

There were a total of six individuals, two from each delegation.

It was quite fair and impartial.

Opening the door marked with the plate ‘Golem Maintenance Room’, the guide led the six of them inside.

The space was enormous, possibly the size of ten basketball courts.

There, lined up, were the golems.

The dull metallic reflections created a rather majestic atmosphere.

"Oh..."

Ryo involuntarily let out a voice, and as he staggered closer to the nearest golem, he reached out to touch it...

"Stop!"

He was halted by Hugh.

"Please don’t stop me, Hugh!"

"No, I will stop you! You were told to look but not to touch, right?"

Indeed, they were permitted to look, but touching was, of course, a no-go.

As a member of the delegation, if Ryo were to break any agreements between nations, it would lead to serious trouble.

"Ugh... I see now."

Even Ryo understood that much.

The golems lined up there were about three meters tall.

The surface appeared to be made of some type of metal, dull and faded.

Compared to the artificial golems of the alliance that Ryo had seen before, there were both similarities and differences.

First, in terms of size, the artificial golems of the alliance were two and a half meters tall, while these were about three meters.

And the most significant difference in appearance was...

"Two legs..."

Ryo muttered.

Yes, the golem in front of him had two legs.

The artificial golems from the alliance had four legs.

Needless to say, a four-legged design offers better stability.

Rather, walking on two legs is quite difficult when it comes to balance control.

In other words, one could say that the golems before him had a control mechanism that differed from the artificial golems.

From the outside, the armor was tightly overlapped, making it hard to see the joints and such.

"If only I could see the magic formula as well..."

Ryo's mumble seemed to reach the guide.

"I apologize. The magic formula is not visible from the outside. Additionally, a mechanism to prevent various external interference has been implemented."

In other words, they seem to have taken various measures to prevent anyone from rewriting the magic formula from the outside and taking control...

Of course, the magic formula itself is made invisible.

Well, if that weren't the case, even a delegation that the Pope directly entertained would not easily show their golems to foreigners.

Standard precautions were taken.

"I would love to have a go at this..."

"I’m sorry, but..."

Before Ryo could finish his thought, the guide interrupted.

"That was a swift refusal."

"Of course."

As Ryo muttered in surprise, Hugh interjected.

"When we were lined up outside, they were holding halberds, right?"

"Halberd? What’s that?"

"Oh? Now that I think about it... I don’t recall seeing them in the Central Nations..."

In response to Hugh's question, Ryo began to recall.

A halberd is a long weapon with an axe and a hook near the tip of the spear.

It can be used to stab like a spear, swing like an axe, or hook things with the claw... however, it is quite heavy.