The Water Magician

The next morning.

As the kingdom delegation gathered in the dining hall of their lodging, a shocking fact was revealed.

"…We are leaving today?"

If we were to describe Ryo's expression at that moment, it could be summarized as 'dismayed.'

“They say the river's flood has calmed down, and we will be departing today. It seems to be quite a large ship, with only two able to dock at once. As usual, the order will be Empire, Alliance, and then Kingdom. The Empire has already begun boarding. Our boarding will be in two hours. Please proceed with your preparations.”

Most of the delegation members nodded at the words of their leader, Hugh McGrath.

However, there was one water attribute mage who did not nod…

“I had planned for the second day of the golem tour…”

“No, there was never a second day to begin with,” Hugh retorted to Ryo’s lament.

The duchy had only granted permission for a one-day, two-hour visit.

In fact, it was quite unusual for the people of another nation to be granted such permission…

“Ryo, isn't the golem in Fundebie Kingdom, which we are heading to, the strongest in the Western Nations? Don’t you want to see it soon?”

“I see! Indeed, as Eto said, let’s change our mindset. Now, everyone, please hurry with your preparations!”

Ryo turned around at the words of Priest Eto.

As expected, the members of 'Room 10,' having had a long acquaintance with Ryo, seemed to know how to handle him…

It goes without saying that leader Hugh McGrath was left speechless…

Two hours later.

There were two ports on the Aust River, and the delegation's ship was docked at the port exclusive to the duchy.

Thus, it was located adjacent to the duchy castle.

At that exclusive port, two large ships with two decks had docked.

Wagons and heavy cargo were placed on the lower deck, while humans were to board the upper deck.

“This is huge…”

“I feel like it would tip over if it were in the ocean…”

“It seems to be made specifically for the Aust River.”

“It’s not as cool as the ship we saw in Whitnash.”

These were the sentiments of Amon, Ryo, Eto, and Nils.

The last line might sound like Ryo’s impression, but it was actually Nils speaking.

Even he, who was thought to have no sense of aesthetics, still finds the beauty of the trimaran 'Queen Rain Shooter' that he had seen in Whitnash to be remarkable.

By the way, the four of them had no idea where the Queen Rain Shooter currently was…

When they had loaded all the supplies received from the Kyushi Duchy and nearly thirty wagons onto the ship, a commotion broke out.

“Ahhhhhh!”

A scream echoed from the duchy castle.

And it was not just one scream.

Many angry shouts could be heard.

Of the three hundred people in the kingdom delegation, one hundred were bureaucrats, while the remaining two hundred were adventurers.

Moreover, these were all adventurers of D rank or higher.

Naturally, they could take action almost reflexively in the event of an emergency.

Immediately, party members gathered together and shared their intentions through eye contact.

Almost simultaneously, a command was issued from their leader, who was also a former a-rank adventurer, Hugh McGrath.

“Bureaucrats, hurry aboard. D rank parties, board your assigned ship and stand by on deck. Protect the bureaucrats if any anomalies occur. B and C rank parties, prepare for battle on land.”

They understood there was some kind of anomaly occurring in the duchy… but because they did not know what kind of anomaly it was, they could not move carelessly.

What had happened?

It did not take long for the kingdom delegation to learn the answer.

“The sound is… getting closer.”

“It’s a heavy sound.”

“This is definitely that, isn’t it…?”

Amon murmured, Eto added on, and Nils imagined.

Between the duchy castle and the exclusive port, there was a castle wall.

In an instant, that wall crumbled.

What emerged was, as they had imagined… a golem.

And not just one.

The walls continued to collapse one after another, and from the fallen sections, at least ten golems came charging toward the delegation.