The Water Magician

After the travel plans for the two were decided, Queen Iliriaja made a point to visit them whenever she had time.

Or perhaps, she often invited them to tea parties.

Today, the three of them had just finished having tea together.

"Becoming a king is quite tough, isn't it? You're both amazing, Queen and Abel."

"…Even if you suddenly compliment me, I won't do anything for you?"

"I think it's better to accept praise more straightforwardly."

"I can't help but think this is due to Ryo's usual behavior..."

"How cruel..."

Ryo pretended to be hurt by Abel's words.

Of course, he wasn't hurt at all.

It was just playful banter.

"Still, it's surprising."

"What is?"

Ryo picked up on what Abel murmured.

"I thought Queen Iliriaja would try to keep us from leaving... but she hasn't made such a suggestion even once."

"Huh? Are you saying that if someone is as capable as you, it would be natural for them to try and keep you? Abel, that's a bit self-centered."

"No, that's not what I meant..."

"Anyway, even if they did try to keep us, we would have to refuse."

"Well, that's true..."

"Abel is just a needy person, isn't he?"

"I’m not!"

Ryo pointed this out while shaking his head sadly, and Abel denied it.

"I was asked to stay by Kavui Somaru. Didn't they ask you, Ryo?"

"Ah~ now that you mention it, I feel like I might have been asked... but I don't really remember. I won't be staying anyway."

"O-oh."

Abel was left speechless by Ryo's blunt words.

While Ryo was right...

After that, the conversation continued with more words that weren't what Ryo said as usual.

"I think Abel should live a little more seriously."

"I can't believe I’m hearing this absurdity from absolutely the wrong person."

"I'm very serious, you know. I'm always living earnestly."

"I've never seen a truly serious person say something like that..."

"I have to promote myself occasionally, otherwise no one will say it for me."

"The reason no one says it is that Ryo isn't serious..."

"What did you say?"

"No, I didn't say anything."

Ryo sharply questioned, and Abel elegantly dodged.

You shouldn’t take sharp attacks head-on.

They exchanged their usual conversation, but Ryo's behavior was strange in the first week after the departure schedule was set.

No, I won’t accept comments like 'Isn't he always strange?'.

He started writing something whenever he found free time.

At first, Abel thought it might be the usual alchemy work.

But after a bit of thought, he realized it was odd.

Usually, in such cases, Ryo would pull out an ice slab and draw magic formulas or magic circles on it.

But this time, he was writing on paper with a pen.

Worried, Abel once approached to see what he was writing.

However, he blatantly hid it.

"Could you show me a bit?"

"No."

He was clearly denied.

After that, Ryo began to be more wary of Abel's approach than ever before.

It was natural for Abel to be curious about what he was doing, given that he was treated this way.

He was very curious.

But Ryo's guard was solid.

In the end, he covered himself with an ice wall and started writing in an ice room...

Such strange behavior ended after a week.

In the following two weeks, there was no sign of such things...

Before long, even Abel forgot Ryo's strange behavior.

Strangeness was just business as usual.

"Is a king a lonely existence?"

Queen Iliriaja's words were so quiet they could be considered a murmur.

However, they were heard by Ryo and Abel, who were drinking coffee at the same table.

Ryo simply tilted his head and said nothing.

He recognized that this was something his partner should say, not him.

"I think it's the same question as whether a head of household is lonely."

"Head of household? Your father or mother?"

"Yeah. For a king, the people are family. It's a metaphor, but I truly believe that from the bottom of my heart. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to manage the country's affairs for the people while throwing away everything of your own, living a life burdened with paperwork from morning till night, right? It's because it’s for family that you wouldn’t think of throwing it all away even in such circumstances."