The Water Magician

The next morning.

The four of them set out towards the western town of Zephyros.

"I heard at the inn when we left earlier that yesterday's fried chicken dish is called 'Lord Nyu's Cuisine' and is apparently one of the traditional dishes," Eto revealed the information he had gathered.

Lord Nyu is the person referred to as the founder of the Western Church.

"Traditional cuisine..." Ryo muttered absentmindedly.

"But we haven't seen it at the delegation's lodging, have we?"

"Not at all. I've eaten all kinds of dishes there, but there was no fried chicken."

Amon raised a question, and Nils provided a flawless answer.

Is there a more perfect answer than this?

"I respect Nils for that," Ryo said, shaking his head slightly, and Nils realized he had been mocked.

Eto and Amon burst into laughter.

Today too, the four of them were lively.

In the center of the town of Zephyros stands the Zephyros Church.

Within its grounds lies the fourth storage vault.

"I think it would be nice if the enemy were to attack soon, and we could counterattack, capture them, and make them spill the location of their base... something like that," Ryo imagined.

"Things won't go that conveniently..."

Nils bluntly denied Ryo's light novel-style classic development.

"You really like those kinds of solutions, Ryo," Eto said with a wry smile.

"It's all about power, after all. I admire it a bit."

Amon seemed to yearn for strength... despite being the most sensible person in Room 10.

That day, the priest in charge of Zephyros Church was absent.

"I apologize. The priest has gone to the Holy Capital since yesterday..."

Pillar, who was acting as the priest's substitute, explained.

As usual, Eto showed the Holy Seal Certificate and Cardinal Graham's permission.

Thanks to that, Pillar guided them to the fourth storage vault.

The inside was considerably larger than the second and third storage vaults.

However, it was not as vast as the first storage vault.

In particular, the difference from the other three storage vaults was how sturdy it looked.

"These stone walls look quite solid," Ryo commented.

"Yeah, it's impressive. It feels more like a fortress than a storage vault," Nils agreed.

Both the inside and outside of the vault were made of heavy stone.

"Indeed, this vault was once a fortress," Pillar passionately explained.

"Is that so?"

"Saint Joshua took refuge here to fight against the rebel Kozlov's army. Although the second floor and above have been removed, the first floor and foundation remain from that era."

Pillar seemed proud to be serving as a deacon in the Zephyros Church, which has ties to Saint Joshua.

Eto nodded in agreement.

He could understand Pillar's feelings well.

"I see," Nils seemed to have a harder time grasping it.

"If Nils were to be told by Abel, 'I entrust you with this land,' he would protect it with his life, right? That's what it's about."

"I see! That makes sense."

Ryo provided a somewhat ambiguous analogy which seemed to resonate with Nils.

"About a third of the shelves were knocked over and broken," Pillar said from the back of the vault.

Of course, now, the shelves were all restored, and there was not a speck of dust on the floor...

"This floor stone has a crack in it."

"Ah, yes, that's right. The new shelf's size is slightly different from the previous ones, so the part that was under the shelf has become visible. We found a crack in part of it, and we decided to have it replaced. The construction should be happening this afternoon..."

Pillar nodded in response to Ryo's observation.

Cracks in the floor stones are not uncommon.

However, for some reason, Ryo felt uneasy.

(Active Sonar)

He sent out a 'stimulus' towards the floor.

Generally, it would bounce back after hitting the surface...

(This sensation... is there a space beneath this?)

It didn't feel like a very large space, but it seemed to extend down like a staircase...

Since he deduced it from the reflection off the floor rather than direct water vapor, it was quite ambiguous.

(But, the entrance isn't through this floor, right...? Normally, it would be somewhere in the wall?)