The Water Magician

The Fundebie Kingdom Fleet departed from the Port of Von.

At the center of the fleet are the Papal Barge Archangel and Skizblaznil.

On the deck of Skizblaznil, his majesty the king is swinging his sword today as well.

Naturally, the Royal Knight Order is also divided into groups, swinging their swords.

Among them, the one who is most fired up is a certain squad captain.

"Zack, you're really fired up!"

"After seeing his majesty the Pope's sword yesterday, I renewed my determination!"

Abel calls out, and Zack responds.

The first duke nods in satisfaction at the scene before him.

Of course, Ryo has contributed nothing toward this determination.

Yet for some reason, he looks quite important.

What Ryo is doing is arranging ice slabs in front of him, seemingly engrossed in alchemy.

"It seems the Holy Knights are indeed strong. The title of strongest in the Western Nations is not just for show. My golem army cannot afford to lose either," he mutters.

That said, even while working hard, breaks are taken.

Of course, Abel sits on the ice chair in front of Ryo.

Naturally, he drinks the coffee placed before him.

"Hmm? Is it cold?"

"Yes. Abel, you must have broken a sweat from moving around, right? During times like that, you crave something cold, don’t you? So, I decided to try iced coffee this time."

Ryo answers with a proud look on his face.

Indeed, compared to the usual coffee, the glass used is larger.

It should be called a glass rather than a cup.

By the way, there’s no ice in it.

Since ice would dilute the coffee as it melts, the coffee itself has been made cold.

"All thanks to the great power of water attribute magic."

"Oh, wow... water attribute magic is amazing."

Ryo speaks dramatically, and Abel praises him.

While drinking the iced coffee, Abel looks at the accompanying Archangel.

"There’s even a religion that worships vampires."

"Ah, it was the Vira Church we talked about yesterday, right?"

Ryo responds to Abel’s muttering.

"Humans are creatures that easily worship things that surpass them. Gods, children of gods, or even tengu..."

"What’s the last one? Tengu?"

"They're legendary creatures. They resemble humans but have long noses, incredible physical abilities, and impressive sword skills. They're said to train and raise people. They might be a type of monster."

"Something like that… Oh, you said they're legendary creatures. But it’s interesting. A monster that trains and raises people? What would be the purpose of that?"

Abel seems to be intrigued by the tengu.

"Hmm... they might impose trials on practitioners, warriors, or swordsmen and, depending on the situation, even impart sword techniques. As a result, humans grow stronger and their minds get trained as well. However, there’s no benefit for tengu, right? Perhaps..."

"Perhaps?"

"They might have wanted to train humans as opponents to fight since they ran out of worthy opponents themselves."

"...Just to pass the time?"

"Your way of putting it is quite cruel, but it could be interpreted that way."

Ryo nods a few times in response.

"You learned swordsmanship from your master, right?"

"Eh? Ah... that’s true. Now that you mention it, I wonder why my master taught me swordsmanship. He gave me this robe and boots, and even Murakumo..."

"What was the initial encounter like?"

"I attacked my master when I found him."

"Hey..."

"I was fortunate that my master was a friendly person."

"...That’s true."

Ryo seems to recall their encounter, gazing off into the distance, while Abel shakes his head slightly.

"I'm really glad you had such a friendly master. Normally, Ryo would have been killed."

"This expedition of the French Fleet is a retaliation for the attack on the Holy See by vampires, right?"

"Yes. All the cardinals were killed except for Graham and Adolfito."

"That certainly can't be left as is."

"Exactly. It's tied to the people's faith."

"The people's faith?"

"To put it bluntly, if it were just a matter for the higher-ups of the nation and the church, there would have been no need for such an expedition."

"Oh?"

"However, the people wouldn't accept it, would they? Their precious church, which they believe in, has been harmed by those high-ranking figures. Would they really be satisfied with a statement like, 'We won’t retaliate for the sake of peace'?"