Water Magician

“We will obtain Kona in our grasps!”

“Why are you singing the song of invaders?”

Niels disagreed with the lyrics that Ryo sang.

“Recently, I feel like Niels has become more like Abel …”

“Abel isn’t so half-hearted.”

Niels reacted to the name ‘Abel’ that Ryo said.

While listening to such conversations, Etho and Amon followed with laughter.

On the way from the City of Rune to the village of Kona.

They left the City of Rune at dawn and would arrive at Kona in the evening.

“Apart from the unknown insects, I’m worried about the monstrosity.”

Amon raised the question to nobody in particular.

“That’s right. They didn’t indicate the name of the monster but called it a monstrosity. What the hell is there?”

Etho answers while tilting his head.

“No matter what, I’ll slice it in half!”

Niels vomited a muscle-brain line.

He was the party leader.

Ryo was convinced that the ability required for a party leader was not intelligence, but the ability to keep members motivated. While glancing at Niels.

“Ryo, you’re thinking about something very rude right now.”

“Wha-what-are-you-talking-about.”

Ryo replied incoherently to Niels’ sharp catch.

Still, Niels looked at Ryo with a keen gaze.

“I just felt that Niels’ have amazing qualities as a party leader.”

Ryo said proudly.

He was not lying.

“O-oh. If that’s the case, well …”

Niels was simple-minded.

Etho and Amon were watching the scene with slightly troubled faces.

“Ryo was …”

“He was having rude thoughts.”

The two whispered softly.

That was how the four people arrived at the village.

It was about 2 pm.

They were able to arrive a little earlier than planned.

It was a village … it was a village but it looked quite populous.

Houses lined up facing the road. And in the back, there was a vast coffee plantation.

“I heard but this is …”

Niels muttered.

“The population is over 5,000 … so it’s almost a city.”

Etho muttered.

“Why is it still a village?”

Amon said in a normal loud voice.

“That’s because this is under the direct control of the royal family.”

The three were surprised and looked back.

Ryo wasn’t surprised because he knew someone was approaching, but he was surprised that the village was under the direct control of the royal family.

(Does His Majesty also like coffee?)

The person who spoke from behind was a man in his mid-40s.

A tall man with, a graceful way of walking, brown skin, black eyes, and chestnut-colored hair.

Ryo felt that he didn’t have the air of a farmer which may be related to the clothes he was wearing.

A thin but very well-tailored shirt, three-quarter length trousers, and sandals on his feet.

“Oops, excuse me. My name is Goro Ganda, dispatched to this village of Kona as a local magistrate. Please call me Goro.”

(Goro? It’s a Japanese name, but … his face is Latin? His features are deep)

“Sorry for the late introductions. We’re from the adventurer party 『Room No. 10』 from the City of Rune. I’m Niels, and this is Etho, Amon, and Ryo. We accepted the request from this village sent to the City of Rune.”

When Niels said so, Etho took out the request acceptance form from his bag and handed it to Goro.

Goro verified it.

“Yes, it is accurate. First of all, let’s go to the magistrate building. I will explain there. Accommodation has also been readied so you will be staying there.”

Then Goro took the lead and started walking.

“As you know, this request was also made to the Adventurer’s Guild in Kyradea. There are also adventurers coming from there, but they will arrive by the evening. So I’m sorry but let me explain further once they arrive.”

“Okay, please don’t worry about it.”

Niels politely answered Goro’s request.

So he could properly converse with clients in such a manner.

(He’s doing good even for a muscle-brain)

For some reason, Ryo nodded with a condescending attitude.

It was pretty rude.

“This is the accommodation where you will be staying, and due to the nature of this village, bureaucrats and aristocrats often come from the Royal Capital and other cities. This is the place used for accommodation in such cases.”

“Is it okay for us to stay in such a place?”

Niels answered Goro’s explanation in a hurry.

“Of course, it’s possible because I decide as the magistrate. It’s a waste to not use it when we have it, right?”

Goro explained that with a chuckle.

Ryo, who had the image of magistrates being overbearing toward adventurers and commoners, liked Goro, who did not take such an attitude.

Of course, the image of an overbearing magistrate was also Ryo’s selfish imagination and he had never actually met such a magistrate.

The meeting room in the magistrate building. It was the room next to the magistrate’s office.

There was a fairly large round table in the room where the magistrate held meetings and received reports from each department.

“Please take a seat over there.”

Goro said and sat in the front seat in the center.

The four of them sat on his right-hand side.

The Kyradea group who will come later would sit in the vacant left-hand seats.

When the four sat down, drinks were brought in without delay.

Of course, it was ‘Kona coffee’.

“Because you came to Kona, you have to drink Kona coffee first. The talk will start after that.”

Goro recommended the coffee with a nice smile.

The room was instantly filled with the aroma of coffee.

Not only for four people but of course for Goro as well.

When Goro picked it up, he brought it in front of his face and inhaled the scent.

By that time, each of the four had picked up a cup, inhaled the scent, and drank a little.

(It’s different from ‘Hawaii Kona’ on Earth after all … It’s different, but it’s very delicious. The fact that there is almost no miscellaneous taste is evidence that it was roasted after carefully removing the defective beans. There are people sincere toward coffee … and the extraction was not by a drip type … but a press type. Did she mention French press … when mom was still alive …)

Ryo was drinking coffee while soaking in nostalgic memories.

Goro looked at him with interest.

That was because he was a lot more natural compared to the other three drinking nervously.

It was normal that Goro’s eyes were attracted to him.

But he didn’t ask questions there. Goro wouldn’t do such inelegant acts.

Goro knew that foods, drinks, and their tastes and aromas can bring back memories of the past.

Sometimes there are memories that others shouldn’t step into.

That’s why he didn’t ask such a boorish question.

The man named Goro Ganda was a very talented man.

After talking for about an hour, he was informed that the adventurers from Kyradea had arrived.

“Then I will be picking them up, so please wait here.”

Then Goro left the room.

The remaining four talked in whispers.

“The magistrate is a decent person.”

“Yes, he’s really nice.”

“The rest that remains to be seen are the Kyradea adventurers.”

Etho and Amon praised Goro, while Niels worried about Kyradea’s adventurers.

“This village is under the direct control of the royal family. No wonder they can ask two adventurer guilds.”

“Yeah……”

When Ryo conveyed his thoughts, Niels couldn’t say anything.

“Niels … Did you forget to tell Ryo?”

Etho pointed out the reason with a bitter smile.

“You’re terrible……”

Ryo sank to the round table.

While doing that, Goro came back with the Kyradea adventurers.

“These are the Kyradea’s adventurers, 『Dragon Agito』, and those are Rune’s adventurers, 『Room No. 10』.”

『Dragon Agito』 consisted of three men and two women, for a total of five members.

『Room No. 10』 consisted of four men.

Each introduced themselves and sat at the round table.

And, of course, coffee was brought in.

The four people from Room 10 enjoyed themselves again.

Ryo enjoyed its aroma and tasted it again.

The three people from Room 10 were desperately showing a feeling of being more accustomed to it than before.

But … none of the five members of Kyradea’s 『Dragon Agito』 drank.

As expected, Goro also noticed the situation.

“Do you not like Kona coffee?”

Goro asked the five people serenely, neither intimidating nor bad.

The Swordsman who seemed to be the leader answered.

“No, it’s not an issue with the coffee. I just don’t want to drink or eat in the same place as these guys.”

When he heard that, Ryo almost spat out his coffee.

He had coffee in his mouth, so he was glad he didn’t spit it out.

Instead, he looked sideways worried that Niels would snap, but Niels was holding back.

In front of the client, it was third-class to be unable to suppress your emotions.

In fact, Abel had drilled that into Niels thoroughly.

Ryo was surprised that Niels didn’t explode because he didn’t know that, but Etho and Amon nodded a little.

Niels was definitely growing.

When the leader of Dragon Agito said that, only Etho noticed that Goro’s eyes narrowed slightly.

And he sighed in his heart.

(Why would you make the client feel unpleasant from the beginning? This may be a very troublesome party.)

“Okay, so let’s start explaining this request. I will accept questions at the end.”

Then Goro began to explain the request.

“Insects that we have never seen before have damaged the coffee trees. Currently, about 5% of the total tree has been affected. It is difficult to identify the insects … Previously, we called an expert from the Royal Capital to take a look but they couldn’t identify their characteristics. Currently, we use the method of looking for each insect by sight and crushing them by hand. Please let us know if there is a better method. That is the first part. The other part is to solve the continued disappearance of people.”

Speaking until there, Goro spread a map of the village on the round table.

“This is a map of the village. We know that the last place we saw the disappeared people were near the entrance to the eastern forest. However, the eastern forest is very deep and has many monsters. No monsters have ever come near the village, so we don’t know if the reason for their disappearance is a monster or something else. If it was a monster, subjugate the monster. If it’s another reason, I’d like you to investigate the reason.”

After taking a breath, Goro continued.

“If you have any questions, please go ahead.”

When Goro asked, the leader Swordsman of 『Dragon Agito』 raised his hand and asked.

“I don’t feel like cooperating with these guys. It’s more efficient if we investigate the people’s disappearance and have them investigate the insects.”

(So there really are people who are hostile from the beginning. I want to know the intention of the Kyradea Adventurer’s Guild for sending such people.)

Ryo was thinking in his heart, being careful not to show his expression.

“It doesn’t matter how you proceed. However, please do not disturb the lives of the village and the villagers. This is under the direct control of the royal family. The villagers are the direct vassals of His Majesty the King. Please be aware.”

Goro said the last sentence very seriously and in a strict tone for the first time since they met.

As expected, the facial expressions of the members of Dragon Agito also stiffened.

“So, are the members from Room No. 10 agreeable to the work distribution?”

Goro returned to his original mild atmosphere and asked Niels.

Niels confirmed with Etho at a glance. He replied when he saw Etho nod slightly.

“Yes, we are okay with that arrangement.”

The members from Dragon Agito were surprised at that answer.

On the contrary, they thought they would flare-up.

Investigation of insects that was known to be impossible … was not the job for D-rank adventurers.

However, as long as Room No. 10 accepted it, the division of tasks was decided.