The Water Magician

A bit shorter than usual.

For now, starting tonight, there will be three consecutive posts.

Five people walking through the desert.

If someone who knew all the circumstances were there, they would have been astonished.

Because one of those five is a demon.

And the remaining four are the demon's kin.

Among the kin, there is a giant man who embodies the rough, bold, and rugged image.

His long, thick orange hair and matching eyes stand out more than his massive frame as he spoke.

"Lord Garwin, we've been in the desert for so long that I'm thirsty."

"Shut up, Orenju! You, as my kin, won't die even if you don't drink water!"

Garwin, a tall and muscular man standing at 190 centimeters with blonde hair and a tanned complexion, yelled.

"Well, I won't die, but... I feel thirsty, you know? Right, Izolda?"

"No, not particularly."

The long-haired black-haired woman Izolda shook her head in response to Orenju's inquiry.

"Seriously...? Wait, so is it just my imagination?"

Orenju's expression turned surprised as he said this with uncertainty.

However, he quickly continued speaking.

"By the way, why are we walking in a place like this?"

"It's due to the runaway magic, [Implosion]."

Izolda answered casually.

Though they should have been dead during the runaway, it seems she understands something of it.

Among the five, a child walking beside the demon Garwin bowed deeply.

It was Juk, the kin who had taken over Duke Arwin of Shrewsbury's body.

In contrast to how he spoke to Orenju, Garwin's voice was filled with a kindness that felt genuine.

"Good, Juk. It’s not your fault, don't worry about it."

"…"

"Indeed, I underestimated that young duke's determination. Truly, the tenacity of humans is formidable. My judgment was lacking."

"…"

"Ha ha ha, that's right, as expected of Juk. A bundle of ambition. Yes, I have high expectations for you."

After watching the exchange between the two with a tilted head, Orenju turned to Izolda walking next to him.

"I always think this, but Juk's voice only seems to be heard by Lord Garwin."

"Yes, that's true."

"Why is that?"

"Well? I don’t know. It’s just how it is, isn’t it?"

"Even though we're the same kin?"

"Though we are both kin of Lord Garwin, Juk is special. Right now, he looks like a child, but neither you nor I knows his true form, do we? Basically, he's always taking over someone else's body and sending power to Lord Garwin... that’s his role. Even while Lord Garwin is sealed, that child was the only one who could act. He’s truly special."

Izolda answered while glancing at Juk.

Orenju and Izolda were at the front, with Garwin and Juk following behind, and Vim Row guarding the rear.

Compared to Garwin and Orenju, Vim Row was slender.

Of course, he was still well-muscled and overwhelmingly strong compared to an average human.

That was only natural.

He was one of the top-ranking kin of demon Garwin, one of the four generals.

However...

"Vim Row still doesn’t talk."

"That’s just how it is, right?"

As Orenju and Izolda said, he remained silent.

In truth, the two also had no memory of hearing his voice.

"Juk's voice isn’t heard, and Vim Row doesn’t talk… Out of the four generals, it’s just me and Izolda who can speak normally."

"At this point, there’s nothing we can do about it. Moreover, it’s been a while since all five of us have gathered like this, including Lord Garwin."

And so, the five walked through the desert.

"Still... where are we, anyway? We can't enjoy the scenery if it's just endless desert."

Orenju grumbled.

"It’s certain that it's neither the Central Nations nor the Western Nations."

Unusually, Garwin replied to Orenju's complaint without yelling.

He seemed to have some confidence in his words.

"Is that really true? What Lord Garwin says seems to be..."

"Shut up, Orenju! Unlike you, I have my reasons for saying so!"

Garwin ended up yelling again.

"Lord Garwin. What is the reason for saying this isn't the Central Nations or the Western Nations...?"

A masterful follow-up from Izolda.

But it turned out, Izolda herself was just curious about the reason and wasn’t particularly helping Orenju...