The Water Magician

Abel and Ryo, the ice sellers, returned to the mansion "Rondo Mansion."

The time was close to five in the evening.

"Really, it's a bit much to have the Censorate come over at this hour."

"Well, that's true."

The six Coffins of Ice were lowered into the garden.

When Ryo waved his hand meaningfully, the refraction of the ice seemed to change, making the inside visible.

"Hey, Ryo."

"What is it, Abel?"

"You were doing that the other day too."

"That?"

"The part where waving your hand makes the inside of the ice visible."

"Yeah, we did that."

"Actually, you could see inside without doing that, right?"

"How did you… know…"

"Yeah, I figured as much."

Ryo was taken aback, while Abel shook his head slightly.

Abel saw through it all.

"It’s just because it looks cool, right?"

"I thought it would seem more meaningful if I waved my hand like this..."

"Yeah, I guess that's true..."

The six people visible inside were all with their eyes closed.

"This is... Kash... something? They are unconscious..."

"Yes, yes, it's a state of suspended animation due to extremely low temperatures. You remember well."

"They're not conscious, right?"

"That's correct. Therefore, they can't hear what we are saying, and even if someone could cast magic without trigger words, they should be fine in this state."

Ryo nodded clearly at Abel's question.

Abel noticed that Ryo was moving something while remaining silent.

Looking at the Coffin of Ice, it seemed like something was wriggling inside.

It looked like a slime was squirming within the coffin...

After a while, something was presented from the four Coffins of Ice.

"Is that an adventurer card?"

Abel asked as he recalled the adventurer mutual aid association card he also had.

"Yes, that's right. So these four are adventurers."

Ryo said, examining the four adventurer cards one by one.

Abel also peered in from behind.

"All four of them..."

"Are third rank adventurers."

"The adventurers from the Advanced Hall who were out on requests..."

"Were assigned to this kind of job."

Both Abel and Ryo tilted their heads in confusion.

Adventurers are not suited for stealthy work.

Of course, if it's a scout role, they can monitor to some extent without being noticed... but even so, they haven't received specialized training in espionage, so it doesn’t seem like they would excel in surveillance missions.

In fact, these four were also sensed by Ryo and even Abel towards the end.

In such a large crowd.

"The proper placement of personnel is the most important aspect in an organization. Personnel placed in unsuitable positions will become stressed and wear out without being able to perform to their full potential."

"That's true. It's one of the things that those in leadership positions must always be careful of."

Both Ryo and Abel recognized that personnel are the treasures of an organization.

At the same time, they didn't believe that anyone could do any job.

Everyone has jobs they are suited for and jobs they are not.

If they are to put in effort, it’s better for the organization as a whole if they enjoy doing a job they are suited for... it's obvious.

It’s an obvious thing, but... in reality, it's also quite difficult...

"The four earlier are adventurers and humans, but..."

Ryo said, turning to the two who did not have cards.

"They are humans, but? That way of saying it is..."

"Yes, I think these two might be phantom beings."

"Hey, seriously..."

"Isn’t that Seven Star General Yun Chen we caught the other day? They seem pretty similar. But..."

"But?"

"Unlike demons or other beings, phantom beings are very close to humans in appearance or structure... so probably, it's the mental aspect that's 'mixed in.' No, well, it might be that the mind can control the body allowing them to perform movements that ordinary humans cannot..."

"In normal condition, they are extremely close to humans."

"Exactly."

Ryo nodded at Abel's conclusion.

And continued speaking.

"We should have the Censorate use the helmet-type information collector we used on General Yun the other day."

"Oh... the one that extracts information by being placed on the head. However, you haven't finished analyzing the information obtained from General Yun, right? It probably takes quite a bit of time."