The Water Magician

In the dense jungle, there is no shortage of food.

Fruits and meat could be described as all-you-can-eat.

And water too.

"I'm glad I'm a water attribute mage."

"That's true. When traveling, not having to worry about water is more significant than I imagined."

Ryo proudly asserted this, and Abel agreed.

One does not live by bread alone... water is also important.

"Free City... no, it's the Autonomous City of Kubevasa now, right? The set of seasonings I bought there is proving to be useful."

Ryo said this while praising the seasonings he carried in an ice bottle tucked away in his bag.

"Ryo is quite meticulous about those things."

"About that?"

"Seasonings. You had salt and pepper when we headed from the Forest of Rondo to Run, right? Thanks to that, we were able to enjoy delicious meals."

"Ah. Seasonings enhance the taste of dishes with just a small amount, don't they? While they alone can't make a meal delicious, they bring out the flavors of the ingredients, acting like the unsung heroes of cooking. They enrich our food without taking up much space, which is why I value them highly."

Abel praised Ryo, and Ryo, in turn, praised the seasonings.

In this instance, the ice bottle contained salt, pepper, something resembling soy sauce, and a few unknown spicy items.

Basically, they were seasonings that go well with meat and fish dishes... apparently.

Well, fruits and vegetables can be eaten raw anyway.

However, Abel's gaze occasionally shifted behind Ryo.

Something akin to a small ice cart was following behind Ryo.

It was created by Ryo's magic, [Cart].

This one was quite small, a box shape that could hold about one soccer ball.

Inside, there were two bags.

"Hey, Ryo."

"What is it, Abel?"

"That thing behind you is the magic called [Cart], right?"

"You remembered well! It's most familiar to you, Abel... Ah, never mind that."

Ryo hurriedly cut off his words.

Once, when Abel washed ashore in the Forest of Rondo, Ryo had unceremoniously loaded him onto the [Cart] and taken him home.

However, he hadn't told Abel about it.

It felt somewhat awkward since he had treated Abel rather carelessly during that time... so he had a hard time bringing it up.

"What's in there...?"

"Yes, it's our money that we received in the Komakyuta Feudal Kingdom and Sujay Kingdom, which we exchanged for Free City currency."

"I remembered that we had it on the grand duchy ship, but you managed to salvage it from a sinking ship."

"I grabbed it with the rear manipulator and pushed it straight into the back of the USS Neil Anderson. We could only manage to grab our bags and swords. Better safe than sorry."

Abel was impressed, and Ryo nodded proudly.

"Money drives people crazy. It can do so when there's too much of it or too little. People can even kill for just a small amount of money... It's certainly better to have some than none."

"That's true."

Both Ryo and Abel were realists.

The [Cart] followed them along the road leveled by the [Ice Path].

Even at night, when they rested, Ryo would build an ice house-like structure, and neither of them would keep watch within it.

Ryo thought it was nice to take turns on watch in terms of aesthetic beauty... but he also understood that it was practically unnecessary.

Considering the need to walk all day, getting adequate rest should take precedence over aesthetic beauty.

Ryo understood that much.

"If Abel really wants to keep watch, I won't stop him, but..."

"No, I want to sleep."

"Yes..."

There's really no helping it.

"But Abel, when you're working as the king in the castle, you’re buried in documents from early morning until late at night, aren’t you?"

"Well, that’s true."

"Then staying up late to keep watch at night...?"

"Yeah, I don't want to do unnecessary things."

"Ah, yes..."

The king's work is necessary.

"Still, I wonder how long this dense jungle continues..."

"Let’s see. It’s been... is tomorrow the fifth day? Even though it's a jungle, with Ryo’s help, we should be moving north at quite a pace... we've walked quite a bit."

"We have indeed. Technically, we should be heading directly north... Oh..."