Water Magician

The job of the guards at the scene of the accident was to keep the curious onlookers away from the scene.

In the case of a flashy incident in the royal capital like this time, the number of onlookers was unusually large.

As a result, even the guards who were supposed to be off duty were also called to the scene.

Still, their numbers were insignificant compared to the number of onlookers.

Therefore, a 『no-entry rope』, which is a kind of alchemy tool, was stretched around the site.

Touching the rope would cause a slight shock.

Letting the onlookers know that they couldn’t go any further.

However, an old man came over and entered while grasping the 『no-entry rope』 with his hand.

In front of the guards.

“Hey, old man, you can’t come in here. Or rather, why are you fine grabbing the rope?”

One of the guards tried to chase the old man away.

“Hmm. This is a tool that I helped make. I know the principle it works by better than anyone else.”

“Ha?”

“I’m Ilarion Baraha, the Chief Magician of the Kingdom’s Court Magicians. Call the person responsible for the site over.”

When Ilarion said that, nobody moved for a few moments, but one person understood and rushed off.

The remaining guards were all silent, glancing at each other.

No one was confident that they could properly deal with the sudden appearance of one of the Kingdom’s heavyweights.

The guard who encountered him first started with ‘Hey, old man’ … and that guard’s complexion was so deathly pale that he could be seen even at night.

A minute later, a person who seemed to be in charge of the guards rushed over.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Ilarion-sama. I am Rex, the Vice-Captain of the Royal Guard Corps, who is in charge of this site.”

Vice-Captain Rex saluted and introduced himself.

“Okay, Vice-Captain Rex, I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy, but I wonder if you can explain the current situation. After all, the explosion shook my laboratory too. As a person in charge, I have to explain various things as well. Just enough for me to grasp the situation.”

“Y-yes. Currently, there are accident investigators, but I have not received any reports yet …”

“I’ll explain.”

Someone interjected from Vice-Captain Rex’s side as he was trying to explain.

“Count Harold Lawrence? The Minister of Home Affairs arrived already? That’s quite swift.”

“The explosion was just that serious. Even the royal castle was shaken … I ended up having to rush over in a hurry.”

Minister of Home Affairs Harold Lawrence explained why he had already arrived.

(Even so, that was quick. No, it’s too quick …)

At that moment, there was a sliver of doubt in the corner of Ilarion’s mind.

“The accident investigator says it was a misfired Fire-Attribute Magic.”

“Magic from Fire-Attribute Magic that can cause such an explosion … I didn’t know that.”

Ilarion did not hide the fact that he was not convinced by Harold Lawrence’s explanation.

“That is tough. There is no magic that Ilarion doesn’t know. This magic may be a failure of fusion magic with alchemy or a simultaneous misfire by multiple people.”

“Hmm. Fusion magic with alchemy …”

Upon hearing that, Ilarion fell into thought.

Of course, he knew that it was actually the impact of an explosion caused by 『black powder』, but the recently mentioned 『Fusion Magic with Alchemy』was a research subject that Ilarion had an interest in.

However, Ilarion also knew that even 『Fusion Magic with Alchemy』 could not produce such destructive power.

However, there was no point in pursuing it.

Rather than that, there was something he wanted to confirm then.

“I get the gist of it. Was there anyone involved? The condition of this building is terrible. It seems that the surrounding buildings were also damaged.”

“Yes. It’s terrible. Ten bodies were found on the first floor of the building where this blast originated. From the things scattered around, it seems that they were adventurers. That was also one of the grounds for suspecting it was fusion magic.

(There still aren’t any adventurers who can use fusion magic! There’s no way these people were capable of it!)

Ilarion retorted internally.

“Ten adventurers? Do you know their identities?”

“No, not yet. Why are you interested to know?”

Ilarion felt that Harold Lawrence’s air seemed to change for a moment at his question.

It was dangerous to dig too deep.

“Well. If there was an adventurer who could use fusion magic, I would want to scout them for my laboratory after retirement. If a person I selected had died …I would have to source for a substitute as soon as possible.”

Ilarion responded in a carefree manner.

“I see. That’s right. Right now, I’ve called an adventurer guild staff member to confirm their identities. It’s about time they finish confirmation and report …”

A man came forward as he said that.

It was Josiah Onsager, the vice guildmaster of the Royal Capital Adventurer’s Guild, who also knew Ilarion.

“Minister of Home Affairs, I was able to confirm … Ilarion-sama? It has been a long time.”

“Hi. Vice guildmanster Josiah. It’s been a long time.”

“So, Josiah, the adventurers?”

When prompted by Harold Lawrence, Josia frowned.

“It’s true that they are adventurers from the royal capital. They are the six members of the C-rank party 『Dragon’s Claw』 and the four members of the D-rank party 『Black Shadow』.”

Josiah was saddened by the death of his fellows.

Ilarion was relieved to hear that 『Dawn Star』 was not involved.

(The six were the ones at the adventurer’s guard station. The four were the ones Sica mentioned he hired …)

Ilarion matched the news with prior information.

“I see. That is a tragedy. Thank you for your confirmation. We will return the bodies to the guild once the inspections and procedures are completed. Please wait until then.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

The conversation between Harold Lawrence and Josiah was over, and Josiah walked towards the guild.

“Now then, I’ll return too. Count, I’ve taken your time.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

When Ilarion stepped in front of the onlookers, they naturally split to the left and right.

Then he went back to the laboratory.

Harold Lawrence watched with a slight glimpse of an indescribable light in his eyes before turning to return to the scene.