The Water Magician

Time rewinds a few hours.

“Now, we are fully prepared for the invasion of Darwei!”

“What do you mean by invasion...?”

Abel shakes his head slightly at Ryo's declaration.

It seems he has some reservations about the expression used.

“We must push deep into Darwei, overcoming many difficulties. If we don't call this an invasion, then what do we call it!?”

“Isn’t it just fine to say we’re moving or going?”

“You don’t understand, Abel. This expression embodies the pathos of things.”

“Here we go again, the pathos of things.”

With the help of the crew of the Sue Koo, the two managed to rewrite their letter of credit, create bank cards, and even register with the adventurers' mutual aid association.

“Though I’ve avoided the bottom tier, starting from a-rank is still a bit much. I moved up to a-rank in the Central Nations, you know?”

“It can't be helped. We’re not collaborating with the Central Nations. Being a-rank means we’re in the same tier as those kids from ‘Tiger's Fang,’ right?”

“Now that you mention it… Well, registering doesn’t hurt, I guess… a-rank adventurer, huh…”

“There’s the fun of moving up from the bottom, isn’t there?”

Ryo seems pleased compared to Abel, who is still unsatisfied.

Abel has memories of his time as an adventurer in the Central Nations, where he climbed to a-rank by completing many requests and facing life-threatening situations, so his dissatisfaction might be understandable.

“We even treated the crew to lunch, so our pockets are a bit lighter now.”

“Yeah, that last comment is a bit odd when you think about it in context.”

Both of them have some money on hand, but they deposited most of it in the bank.

Using the bank card infused with alchemy, they can withdraw money from anywhere within Darwei, so there’s no need to carry around heavy coins.

The only heavy things they have are a few books each.

“Make sure to read ‘That Hungry Swordsman’ too, okay?”

“...If I have the time.”

“The clothing is definitely quite different.”

“Clothing?”

Abel comments while looking at the outfits of the people passing by.

“I feel like, in the Central Nations, Archipelago Sea Region, and even the Southern part of the continent, they were fastening their clothes with buttons or wearing them over their heads...”

“Oh, I see.”

Abel’s specific observation finally registers with Ryo.

What Ryo hadn’t noticed might be because the clothing felt familiar in a way.

Of course, it wasn’t in this ‘Fai’ world but back on Earth.

The garments are layered in front of the body, secured with a belt instead of buttons.

Some upper garments reach down to the knees.

The lower clothing varies from skirt-like spreads to pants being worn...

It’s indeed the layering of the garments that is characteristic.

There should have been a name for this in the materials given by Bosch from the Censorate...

“I believe they call it eastern attire. Since Abel has a good physique, I think you could pull off eastern attire quite well.”

“Is that so?”

Abel’s face turns slightly red, perhaps out of embarrassment.

It seems he’s not used to being complimented.

While having such a conversation, the two returned to the adventurers' mutual aid association building.

They have no intention of taking any requests today, but they wanted to check what requests are available for tomorrow and beyond.

Furthermore, they hoped to get assistance in finding a place to stay for the night...

However, inside the adventurers' mutual aid association, the remaining adventurers had all gathered in one spot.

During this time of day in the early afternoon, whether they were from the Central Nations or the Eastern Nations, even if some adventurers were left inside the building, their numbers would be limited.

When all ten or so adventurers gathered in one place, both of them felt intrigued.

Recognizing they were newcomers, they peered in from the outside at the senior adventurers.

There were two receptionists sitting at a desk, explaining something.