The Water Magician

"Wow, I learned a lot!"

"Uh, um, is that so?"

Ryo said with a big, cheerful smile.

He was surprisingly able to understand the enchant magic formula himself.

It seemed like it could be applied to the paddy field management specialized golem in the Forest of Rondo.

Of course, no one knew how to actually apply it to the paddy field management golem...

Moreover, he could disassemble the ruined Holy Knights however he liked.

However, to be honest, this was not particularly interesting.

The golem from France, known as the best in the Western Nations, was essentially a standard golem that raised its output by using an incredibly large magic stone...

"The essence of the French golem lies within the imperial guards known as the 'Holy Guard.'"

Neil said to Ryo, who had slightly sunk due to the lack of things to learn.

It goes without saying that Ryo's eyes sparkled again upon hearing that...

"Someday, I want to disassemble the Holy Guard..."

Ryo's murmurs went unheard by Neil Anderson, who was sitting beside him.

(…)

Through the echo of the soul, the king who was far away heard it, but he chose to remain silent.

Perhaps he thought that saying anything would be meaningless.

The two were walking back to the castle, but Neil Anderson kept glancing at Ryo's back.

Behind Ryo were six carts, slightly larger than usual, lined up.

Each cart was carrying a severely damaged civilian.

Ryo was helping to transport them to the hangar.

When Neil first saw such carts, he was startled and widened his eyes.

"I would prefer to study the magic of that cart of Lord Ryo..."

Neil's words were too quiet for the cheerful Ryo to hear.

They placed the six ruined bodies in the hangar.

Of the remaining ones, the ones with minor damage had already begun repairs.

Moreover, the almost intact thirty bodies had some thick cables attached to them.

Those were probably linked to the magical power drawn from the castle walls...

"Neil, can I ask a fundamental question?"

Still smiling brightly, Ryo turned to Neil and opened his mouth.

"Of course."

Neil answered, satisfied after confirming that all the work inside the hangar was proceeding smoothly.

"Well, it seems that the Republic's 'Civilians' were inferior to France's 'Holy Knights' in almost every aspect, but I want to know how you managed to surpass them. I understand that the Holy Knights had incredibly large magic stones, providing significant output and endurance. How did you achieve that?"

Ryo asked directly.

"Hmm. It's a simple matter. We made sure to fully utilize the magical power stored in the magic stones."

"Fully utilize it? Isn't it usually impossible to exhaust it all?"

"Yes. Normally, once about eighty percent is released, it is said that the magic stone is depleted. In reality, you cannot draw magical power beyond that point. It may be something like the magic stone's self-preservation."

Even humans, when they say they've given it their all, still have some stamina left.

This is because if they exhaust everything, they would die...

They need to keep some power for their heart to beat and to breathe, right?

It seems that Neil Anderson managed to make them use everything.

If magic stones were alive, it would have been a huge problem.

"As you know, magic stones have the ability to store magical power. They also have the capability to release the accumulated magical power. Monsters possessing magic stones convert the magical power stored in these stones into their own strength, allowing them to perform extraordinary magical feats."

Since Neil's explanation was something Ryo already knew, he nodded.

"However, it has been discovered that magic stones can actually increase the magical power they have stored by themselves."

"Eh..."

"The amount is very small and slow, but yes, it's like a self-replication of magical power. In other words, if left alone, given enough time, the depleted magical power inside the magic stone will naturally refill. However, when you perform the operation to empty the remaining magical power within the stone, that self-replication of magical power will also stop. If you multiply one by a hundred, you get a hundred, but if you multiply zero by a hundred, it remains zero, right? It's the same. Thus, a magic stone that has completely run out of magical power ends up... looking like that."