The Water Magician

Ryo and Abel arrived at the Prime Minister's Official Residence by carriage from the Sujay Kingdom Embassy.

After a brief check inside, they were guided to the carriage turnaround.

As the two stepped out of the carriage, they were greeted by over twenty guards.

Of course, "greeted" does not mean it in the literal sense.

They were likely known to be dangerous individuals.

The guards were all tense.

And while surrounding the two, they began to move together.

"It seems the guards at the Prime Minister's Official Residence are aware of Abel's ferocity."

"Maybe they're just warned to be careful of the robed mage, not me?"

"From any angle, I look like a harmless, gentle mage, right? Please don't group me with someone like Abel, who is obviously terrifying and spreads fear as a swordsman."

"I sometimes wonder. How can you say such frivolous things? That’s a kind of talent."

"How rude! It’s precisely because I’m always thinking that I can come up with such remarks instantly. This is the result of my efforts."

"What a waste of effort..."

Their conversation, of course, was heard by the surrounding guards.

However, no one spoke up.

"But it's scary not to know the facts."

"What do you mean?"

Ryo raised his voice slightly to a normal conversation level.

Abel looked puzzled.

"Well, the guards are within the range of the terrifying swordsman Abel's sword flash, right? Witnessing twenty heads fly off in a single slash would indeed be frightening."

"Hey..."

The moment Ryo spoke, he noticed the guards' faces stiffening.

Abel let out a sigh of exasperation, but at the same time, he saw some of the guards reaching for their swords while still surrounding them.

It seemed Ryo and Abel were known as quite dangerous individuals, or at least people to watch closely.

"Don’t worry too much. I can’t exactly slice through twenty people in one strike."

Abel said to ease their concerns.

However, of course, the guards did not feel reassured.

In fact, their faces seemed even tenser than before.

Abel tilted his head in confusion, not understanding why.

Seeing this, Ryo shook his head slightly and spoke.

"What’s the point of scaring them even more?"

"No, I was just trying to reassure them…"

"How is saying you can't slice through twenty people at once supposed to reassure anyone…?"

"Isn’t it?"

"They know. They know that Abel can kill without using a sword."

At Ryo's words, the guards walking beside them began to glance at the two with curiosity.

"Hmm... But even after saying all that, they haven’t run away. These people are quite trained."

"Well, they're the guards of the Prime Minister's Official Residence. In the kingdom, you could say they are like the imperial guards regiment, the top elite of the nation."

"To bully such people with words..."

"Information gathering is necessary. We need to know how well-trained they are."

The two spoke purposefully loud enough for all twenty guards to hear.

So, they were not having a conversation out of malice.

It was part of their information gathering.

... Probably.

After a while of walking, they arrived at a large door.

The door opened, and they were prompted to enter.

"Lord Abel, Lord Ryo has arrived."

A person who seemed to be the captain of the guards announced inside the room.

"Ah, please, come in."

That voice was familiar.

Inside the spacious room were three men.

Two of them were individuals known to both Ryo and Abel.

One was the intended Duke Helb.

The other was the second secretary Zuluma, who had been at the grand duchy embassy.

"Wait, didn’t Abel kill that secretary?"

"Ah."

"His head was severed, limbs chopped off, and his heart pierced, right?"

"Yes, I did sever his head, chop off his limbs, and pierce his heart."

The two approached the couch where only Duke Helb was sitting.

"You two dare to appear before His Excellency again without learning your lesson!"

The second secretary Zuluma, who was supposed to have been badly injured, questioned them in an angry tone.

Ryo stared closely at Zuluma's neck.

Then, he nodded significantly and said, "There's a mark that looks like it’s holding your head together with thread."