The Water Magician

On that day, deforestation occurred.

"For the sake of his majesty the emperor, who is not in perfect health, the trees of the forest have become sacrifices."

"Y-yeah... I think it's unavoidable."

Ryo and Abel walked quickly while talking.

To ensure the comfort of the covered cart following Ryo, a smooth ice path was laid down in the forest.

Inside it, a futon was spread out, and the emperor Tsuin, who had lost a lot of blood and was still far from being in good health, lay down.

"Abel, if something happens, please take care of it."

"What do you mean by 'if something happens'?"

Abel didn't understand what Ryo was referring to.

"When Marie attacked the palace before, she brought faceless ghosts with her."

"Faceless ghosts?"

"They are gray monsters with no eyes, nose, or mouth on their faces."

"Ah, you mean shadow stalkers."

Abel and the maid Mifa had repelled the two shadow stalkers that Marie brought.

"I’ve heard that those are monsters produced by the forest."

"That's what they say."

Even someone as experienced as Abel in adventuring didn't know the exact details.

That’s how mysterious shadow stalkers were.

"I've also faced them once on my way to the Western Nations."

"Seriously? That's rare."

"After that, I was warned by the forest."

"O-oh..."

"They might be in this forest too. And we are repeating deforestation."

"So, the forest might be angry and send out shadow stalkers. If that happens, you're saying I should handle it?"

"That's right."

Normally, Abel would say that was unreasonable, but this time he didn't.

They had originally set out to rescue the emperor.

But they still had to bring him back to Darwei.

The cart carrying the emperor was Ryo's.

Moreover, Ryo was a water attribute mage skilled in defense.

If that was the case, it would be ideal for Ryo to defend while Abel attacked.

"Got it. If it comes to that, I'll fight, so Ryo, you take care of the emperor."

Abel was a serious and good guy.

However, their journey back was relatively smooth.

Along the way, Ryo and Abel often discussed what would happen after their return.

"I don't think Prince Kouri will hand over the great governance just because the emperor returns."

"Great governance? Regency? I don't understand well, but you mean he won't return the power he's holding. I agree with that. More than the person himself, those around him will resist. In some cases, it might even become a fait accompli."

"A fait accompli? Ah, so you're saying they could make the emperor disappear by force?"

"That's what I'm saying."

Neither Ryo nor Abel were particularly scheming.

But even those two could think that far.

This meant that those strategists or advisers around Prince Kouri might naturally take such measures.

"It would be ideal for it to be unnoticed, but even if it's known, they can just kill him afterward."

"Well... They control more than half of the Shtaiif Layer and hold the imperial palace. They could probably manage anything even if they do something outrageous."

"It definitely won't work to say we snuck back into the imperial capital. We want to make a grand entry. One that leaves the opponent speechless."

"That sounds pretty difficult."

They often had such conversations.

But of course, they had also informed Emperor Tsuin of what had happened in the imperial capital after he was kidnapped.

"I see, Kouri..."

Emperor Tsuin said that and fell silent.

Ryo and Abel also hesitated to say anything that would further strain Emperor Tsuin, who was still far from being in good health, and there wasn't much they could report.

Most events had occurred while they were away from the imperial capital.

The information they had was almost entirely relayed from Minister Shou through Inspector Li Wu, so they thought they needed to gather information after reuniting with Public Ship No. 10.

As days passed, Emperor Tsuin's health also improved.

He had not been ill to begin with; rather, he was waiting for the recovery of the blood lost during blood donation, so he just needed to eat nutritious food and not overexert himself.

"Thank you very much, Duke Rondo and Abel."