The Water Magician

The Skizblaznil Vessel, having departed from Vamos Island, was heading west towards the Mainland of the Dark Continent.

"Is 'Eastern Provinces' the name of a country in the Dark Continent?"

As always, Ryo asked on the deck of the Skizblaznil Vessel.

"It wasn't originally, but now it functions as a country name in a coalition state sense. The central part is Bardale Principality," Abel replied.

"And to the west is the Western Nations?"

"That area is officially a federation state known as the Western Nations Federation."

"'Eastern Provinces' and 'Western Nations Federation'? It's complicated."

Abel answered accurately as the king, while Ryo frowned and shook his head.

"When dealing with a country's foreign diplomacy, it’s necessary to understand the official country names, but if not, can't we just call them Eastern Provinces and Western Nations? It’s been commonly referred to that way since they parted ways over a hundred years ago."

"I see. That makes it easy to understand."

Ryo took up Abel's suggestion.

Simplicity is the best.

Country names change quite frequently, after all...

"Naitorei Kingdom has been the Naitorei Kingdom for a long time, right?"

"That’s correct. Ever since the first King Ashton founded the country, it has never changed."

"First King Ashton, the restorer of the kingdom King Richard, and the current Abel..."

"What is it?"

"It must be tough to be compared to such great kings."

"No, it’s ridiculous to compare me to those two."

For some reason, Ryo crossed his arms and made a pompous assessment, while Abel frowned in dissatisfaction.

"Having become the king of a historical nation, you must aspire to surpass the kings of the past! I figured you would have that kind of ambition."

"I don’t."

"If Abel desires it, I wouldn't mind cooperating by reverting the cake privilege from once a month back to once a week..."

"Yeah, no need to cooperate, I'm not going back."

"Kuh... Restoring a lost privilege is tough."

Ryo's expression was filled with bitterness.

Indeed, it was peaceful on the deck of the Skizblaznil Vessel.

As they discussed such matters, Captain Paulina approached.

"Your Majesty, in about an hour, we will be able to see the port town of Bolen in Bardale Principality."

"Bolen? If I remember correctly, it boasts one of the largest scales among the principalities, right?"

"Yes. Not just within the principality, but it ranks among the five largest towns in the entire Eastern Provinces. Because of that, any ships of a certain size will definitely undergo inspection."

"Given the size of the Skizblaznil, that's a given."

"Yes, a patrol ship will be coming."

"Understood. As I mentioned when we were at Vamos Island, if my identity check is necessary, feel free to look up whatever plate or documents you need. I leave everything to the captain."

"Thank you very much."

After Captain Paulina left, Ryo asked Abel.

"You seem to know quite a bit about the Dark Continent, Abel."

"Is that so?"

"After all, you were able to speak the dark continent language."

"That’s because I learned it at the royal castle. It was a compulsory subject at the higher academy as well."

It was elite education.

"But there’s no direct exchange between the Central Nations and the Dark Continent, right?"

"None."

"Then why learn it?"

"I learned it through the history of the royal family, but apparently, there was some exchange several hundred years ago."

"Eh? Wait, that’s incredibly far back. How did they...?"

"It’s definitely not by sea routes, so it must have been overland. They would have traveled by land to the Western Nations and then sailed to the Dark Continent from there."

Trading routes that faded with the passage of time.

What came to Ryo's mind was the Silk Road of Earth.

It’s quite difficult to maintain a trading route that crosses cultural spheres.

If political changes, wars, or the downfall of nations or towns occur along the route, it would be severed.

"And now, we are trying to revive that, aren’t we?"

"That’s right. Not by land, but by sea."

Both Ryo and Abel looked out at the horizon with deep emotions.