The Water Magician

"Isn't it a bit thin for what they call the main force of the Imperial Army?"

"Did you think so too, Abel?"

While glancing at the chaotic battle, the two who had crossed the border were now walking briskly towards the Capital of the Chououchi Empire.

"Actually, none of the phantoms I know were among them."

"Who is it? The Phantom King?"

"No, I can't tell from the sonar response of the Phantom King. When I faced Kubevasa, the outer layer was Duke Helb."

"Ah..."

"Envoy Berk and his subordinates who came to Rondo Mansion... they weren't among them."

Ryo said with a frown.

"They're diplomatic envoys, so they probably wouldn't be on the battlefield, right?"

"That might be true, but... you see, General Yun whom we captured, he wasn't there either, right? Isn't he one of the Seven Star Generals? It's strange that he's not there, isn't it?"

"I see, that does sound odd."

Of course, neither of them knew exactly what position the "Seven Star General" held within the Chououchi Imperial Army.

But they thought that he was in a higher position than the leaders of the scout unit they had interrogated.

After all, he was a "general."

"So, does that mean that wasn't the main force?"

"Or should we say the strong units called the main troops are elsewhere?"

Neither Abel nor Ryo had any precise answers.

However, they both felt that the "main force" they had encountered earlier was quite weak.

The phantoms related to the Chououchi Empire that they had faced in Darwei up to now had all been incredibly powerful.

Compared to them, this was just too...

"Honestly, this country is still quite confusing even up to this point."

"I completely agree. When I think about it this way, I start to feel that our kingdom is actually quite decent."

"That's right... there were some strange things going on with the Royal Knight Order in the past..."

"But now, under Captain Dantan's leadership, they're doing their best!"

"Yeah, that's true."

Both the first duke and the king properly praise those who are working hard.

"Even so, our kingdom has a long history. Because of that, it's probably quite strong at its roots."

"Certainly, the Chououchi Empire seems like a young country... but we really lack knowledge about the phantoms who make up that country."

"That's true. Should we have asked more questions to the two scouts the other day?"

"They were scared of Abel, so that would have been impossible."

"I didn't do anything, though."

Captain Sonjang and Vice-Captain Rara of the second scout unit... at least those two did not seem like bad people, or rather, bad phantoms.

"Just because they're phantoms doesn’t mean they’re all bad."

"Of course. There are good people and bad people among humans too."

Abel replied to Ryo's words, as if acknowledging the obvious.

"Abel is... no, never mind."

Ryo seemed to be about to say something but stopped midway, making it quite conspicuous.

"You're being too obvious."

"No, no, there's nothing behind it at all?"

"Did you know, Ryo? Whether I should resume your weekly cake privilege is something I can decide."

"That's unfair!"

Abel said with a sly grin, and Ryo opened his eyes wide in protest.

"I'm a good person, right?"

"Taking cake as a hostage..."

Even when Abel laughed at something uncharacteristic of him, it was simply a playful banter.

Despite the peaceful atmosphere they were creating, their feet did not stop.

They continued to walk briskly.

By the way, the cart following behind Ryo had been reduced to one.

They had left one behind for Captain Sonjang and Vice-Captain Rara of the second scout unit.

"Should we also think about what to do after rescuing his majesty the emperor?"

"Ah... moving through the forest is going to be tough... right?"

"Well, since he has basically been in the Imperial Palace, it’s going to be difficult, right?"

"Yeah, that’s true…"

While saying that, Abel looked at the path they had walked and the road they were about to proceed on.

A path covered with ice created by water attribute magic...

"It's almost a straight line."

"Since we can use magic, we should use it; it would be a waste not to."