The Water Magician

From behind the mansion, the four members of 'Room 10' made their way around.

The sounds of battle from the front could be heard even from this distance.

However, conversely, as long as those sounds were audible, it should mean that their attention was diverted away from them...

"The golems have all gone over there, right?"

"Yes. There are ten adventurers in the mansion's garden, but seven are near the front door and three are close to our back entrance."

With Ryo's [passive sonar], the layout was completely revealed.

"You're as sharp as ever, Ryo."

"That means we can safely carry out our ambush."

"I have some doubts about Amon's opinion on this..."

Eto expressed admiration, Amon honestly shared his thoughts, and Nils shook his head slightly.

"If the golems were to find us and come this way..."

"Don't worry, Eto. That’s precisely why, in a rather cruel manner, Nils made us wait until the Templar Knight Order engaged with the main golem force. Even if they noticed us, they wouldn’t easily abandon the fight to retreat."

Ryo responded to Eto's concerns.

"You're not wrong, but can we phrase it differently?"

Nils seemed dissatisfied...

Ultimately, the adventurers near the back entrance were quickly frozen in place, and without anyone noticing, the four successfully entered the mansion.

"Inside the mansion... there are six people as far as I can tell."

"That's quite few."

Nils replied to Ryo's report.

"One of them is... drunk, on the third floor. There's a bedroom connected by a door nearby, so that must be the owner of this mansion, Count Padawan. There are five others gathered in what seems to be a large dining room on the first floor."

"You can tell he's drunk...?"

"He's been downing drinks at quite the pace, his movements are a bit shaky... so he’s likely intoxicated."

In any situation, it is necessary to analyze the information obtained and deduce from there.

Even with magic, this holds true.

Rather, it could be said that the ability to analyze and deduce is extremely important precisely because of magic.

No one else has this information.

Only they do.

Naturally, they could only rely on their own analysis.

"First, we will subdue the five on the first floor."

Nils set the plan, and the three nodded.

The four arrived in front of the door.

Nils nodded towards Ryo.

Ryo raised three fingers.

Then two.

And finally one.

([ice bind 5])

The moment it turned into a fist, Nils kicked down the door.

All four burst in.

On the floor lay five adventurers.

Their limbs and mouths were bound by ice.

To prevent them from resisting or screaming...

"Uh..."

Nils hesitated and looked at Ryo.

"I knew where the five were thanks to the sonar, so I restrained them on the count of three, two, one. I was a bit tense just in case there was a sixth one I hadn't accounted for, but thank goodness, it was only five."

"O-oh..."

Ryo let out a large sigh, looking satisfied, while Nils accepted it with a slightly, really slightly, dissatisfied expression.

Eto and Amon were smiling wryly.

Thus, the mansion was subdued.

"Next is the count on the third floor."

They approached the door that seemed to lead to the count’s room.

Nils knocked properly.

"Come in!"

A drunken man's voice came from inside.

As they opened the door and entered, they saw a man in his mid-fifties sitting in a chair, clearly intoxicated, looking towards them.

"Hm? Who are you? You're not the adventurers I hired."

"No, we are not."

Nils replied politely to the count's inquiry.

Since the man before them was a noble, he used the appropriate language for addressing nobility.

"I see. Have you come to kill me? Go ahead, kill me. I have no regrets left in this world."

"You are Count Padawan, correct?"

"That's right. Ah, I suppose I need to confirm before I can be killed. Here, take this recognition plate."

With that, the count tossed a small plate hanging from his neck to Nils.

It was slightly different from the plate that Ryo had... the appearance varies significantly by country.

However, this alchemy tool for recognition has become quite common in both the Central Nations and the Western Nations.