The Water Magician

Ryo, Abel, and Scotty returned from the café to the Skizblaznil.

At that moment, they noticed a quite large ship docked at the port.

Skizblaznil is a massive clipper ship.

Many ships that sail back and forth along the coast of the dark continent are moored at this port, and some even travel across the sea to the Western Nations.

Those ships are large.

However, compared to them, Skizblaznil is more than a size larger.

There was a ship that is almost as large as Skizblaznil...

"That one came in while we were at the square, it’s huge," Abel expressed his honest thoughts.

"Is that a battleship? No, battleships have three decks... that one has two? Of course, there are small battleships with two decks, but... wouldn’t it be more fitting to call it a frigate? I’m not quite sure though..."

"Uh?"

Abel responded to Ryo's murmuring.

Looking at the ship, Ryo pondered.

On the side of the ship, there are dozens of 'covers' lined up.

In the case of Earth’s ships, those covers would open up, and cannons would emerge to bombard the enemy.

However, in this 'Fai', gunpowder is not yet common.

From what he heard in the Western Nations and from experiences in the Archipelago Sea Region, he thought that a mage would launch attack magic from there...

"Well, anyway, it's a warship."

"Oh. But there hasn’t been a single warship in Jerdan port, right?"

"Yes, we haven't seen one since we docked. Besides, that warship seems like a foreign ship since it has people stationed on land..."

As Ryo murmured, he went up to the deck.

While Ryo and Abel sat on ice chairs on the deck, Zack, who had remained on the ship, came to report.

"That’s said to be a ship of the Western Church."

Hearing what Ryo and Abel were concerned about, he went to confirm it.

"Western Church?"

"Moreover, there’s a fleet outside the port."

"Are they preparing for war?"

Abel frowned at Zack's report.

After finishing his report, Zack was called by a knight order member and left.

Once again, Ryo and Abel were left alone.

"I wonder if there are branches of the Western Church in the dark continent?"

Ryo's simple question.

"Those who live on the dark continent are said to be half devoted to the six great deities, about twenty percent to the Western Church or its factions. At least, that’s what I learned previously at the royal castle."

"Here we go again, prince's education!"

Ryo pointed out sharply.

"Well, that’s true... but it would be bad not to know such things as a member of royalty."

"Is that so?"

Ryo, being common folk, didn’t quite understand.

"If we were to come to the dark continent and acted in a forbidden manner or spoke forbidden words, it could lead to problems, right? It might be acceptable for commoners who don’t understand local circumstances, but for a king or royal family representing a nation, that’s not allowed."

"Oh, I see."

Ryo agreed.

A king or royal family is a person yet not a person.

Of course, they are not gods either.

They are symbols of the nation.

Precisely because they are symbols, it is natural for them to receive the best education and to attain the highest culture... that's how it's perceived.

Every action and gesture of theirs is constantly scrutinized.

Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to endure it for a week.

"Being royalty is tough, isn’t it?"

"Well, that’s one of their roles."

Abel shrugged at Ryo's common perspective.

Abel seemed to have accepted... or rather, given up on various things.

Ryo decided to understand it that way.

"Anyway, back to the topic."

"Yeah?"

"What are the six great deities?"

It seems to be something many people on the dark continent believe in, but Ryo had no knowledge of it.

When one doesn’t know something, it’s best to ask.

After all, right in front of him is the king, who is a source of answers.

"The six great deities are the gods that govern each of the six attributes."

"They are worshipped by people in the kingdom's temple... like the goddess of light?"

"Exactly. They continue the flow of worship of the six great deities from the past."

Abel nodded.

"That said, there are no statues or pictures of the gods, and the magic of each attribute is said to be something given to humans by each respective god..."