Water Magician

After the explanation, Goro once again recommended having some Kona coffee.

Of course, the four people from Room No. 10 gladly took his offer.

The members of Dragon Agito refused to drink again so Goro called a secretary and requested to show the members their accommodations.

After the Dragon Agito members left, coffee arrived, and the four people including Goro slowly started drinking.

The original plan was to take them to the accommodations together after the explanation in this room.

That was the best option considering efficiency.

That was why the explanation was done in this room together with both parties.

However, the compatibility of the parties was the worst …

Mainly, it was a one-sided repulsion from the Dragon Agito side…

That was why, if he recommended coffee again, Room No. 10 would remain, and Dragon Agito would exit first.

It was a smart way to split them up.

Ryo was thinking about such things while drinking Kona coffee.

“I’ll amend future plans that include both parties together.”

Goro, with a cup of coffee in one hand, said with a bitter smile.

The four people who heard it replied with bitter smiles.

They felt sorry, but it was a little strange to apologize … They were the ones at fault! But it was also somewhat wrong to talk bad about them after they left.

So they had no choice but to just relay their feelings with bitter smiles.

The five people slowly drank coffee for about fifteen minutes.

After that, Goro guided them to their accommodations and the dining room and gave some precautions when using it.

“It’s true that some villagers are disappearing and anxiety is spreading. Fortunately or unfortunately, the large population is alleviating it. If this were to be a small, ordinary village, all the villagers would have been feeling anxious.”

Goro said and paused.

“I think this request is full of difficult issues, but I look forward to working with all of you.”

He bowed to the four people.

“Well then, it is 4 pm. It’s less than three hours before sunset. What should we do?”

Niels said after looking at his favorite pocket watch.

“Why don’t we take a look at the farm? We might be able to gather some information from the people working.”

Etho suggested and the other three agreed.

The farm was a vast coffee plantation that they saw when they entered the village, at the back of the village.

Although Ryo loves coffee, he had never entered a coffee plantation.

There, coffee trees about the height of a person were lined up to the point where they could see, with a space of about one to one and a half meters between the trees.

It was an impressive sight.

“Amazing……”

Ryo murmured unintentionally.

Farmers were manually collecting ripe fruits from the coffee trees.

In the distance, a Wind-Attribute Magician was mowing the grass between trees with Air Slash … what a fantasy scene!

“Okay, let’s go?”

It seemed that the three other than Ryo were not as impressed.

Ryo was a little dejected …

After some discussions with the farmers, they asked to show them the insects.

That said, they would crush one as soon as they found one, so they had to look for a new one.

It was a young man named Tucker who had just come of age who guided the four.

Tucker looked around the trees where the insects were commonly found.

Three minutes later, the four were called by Tucker.

“This is the insect.”

At the tip of Tucker’s finger, there was a black bug about half the size of a pinky fingernail, or the size of the pinky fingernail if its legs were included.

“That’s a strange insect.”

Ryo whispered.

“Ryo?”

Niels heard the mutter and asked Ryo.

“It has ten legs.”

“You’re right.”

Amon also looked closer and muttered.

“By the way, do insects usually have six legs? But spiders have eight legs, right?”

Niels thought of insects he knew and ended up with spiders.

“Yes. I learned that spiders are related to horseshoe crabs and scorpions.”

“Scorpions are those found in the desert with a venomous tail and big pincers, right? A long time ago, my grandpa showed me one that he soaked in alcohol. Spiders are related to those … “

Amon trembled a little, remembering the old days. It seemed that he was scared.

(There are many cultures that soak venomous creatures in alcohol.)

That’s what Ryo thought.

While the three were talking about that, Etho stared at the insect and remained silent.

“Etho?”

Ryo called out to Etho.

“Eh? Oh, Ryo. It’s a little too small … I wish it was a little bigger …”

Etho squinted and said while looking closer at the insect.

“There is just the right magic in Water-Attribute Magic.”

(<Ice Lens>)

When he chanted it in his head, a palm-sized ice convex lens was created.

When he was first reincarnated on 『Phi』, it took more than 15 minutes to generate an ice lens, but now he could do it almost instantly.

Ryo was reflecting on his growth.

“It will look bigger when you look through this.”

“This is……”

Etho only commented that and began to take a closer look at the black insect.

After about five minutes, Etho raised his face.

After returning the ice lens to Ryo, he nodded once and told the three.

“I might know the true identity of the insect.”

“I think it’s likely to be a Majin insect.”

Etho returned to the magistrate’s office and told the magistrate Goro.

“Majin insect? That’s the first time I’ve heard of it. What are they …”

Goro was confused by the name of an insect he had never heard of and prompted for more details.

“When a sealed Majin is resurrecting, it is one of their kin that begins to move to gather power for them.”

“Majin……”

(Majin!)

It was Goro who said it out loud and there were feelings of dread in those words.

Ryo repeated it internally and there were feelings of delight in those words.

(Devil, Demon Lord … or more specifically Devil Princes? Those kinds of beings came out, but they were very weak and disappointing … I guess the true foe on 『Phi』 are these Majins!)

(TLN: Majins are ‘Demonic People’ in raw translation. There is a distinction from the Devils/Demons so I kept them as Majin)

Demon Lords and Majins were classics for reincarnated in another world stories!

However, one would be strong and the other weak.

Or most of the time, only one of them appears.

Finally, with the appearance of the Majins, Ryo’s tension rose at once.

“But I only learned about them at the temple, so I think it’s a good idea to have an expert look at it.”

“That’s right. The expert I called previously was an insect expert. I didn’t think I would need a Majin-related expert …”

Goro sighed deeply. Then something flashed in his mind and he raised his head.

“Etho. Do you think a 『Folklore Officer』 from the Sanctum, who would be familiar with the folklore of Majins, would know about this Majin insect?”

“Yes, I think they will be the ones most knowledgeable about this in the temple.”

“That’s great. A Folklore Officer should be staying in the City of Kyradea, so they can come right away. I know them so they would try their best to come over.”

Then, Goro wrote a letter in a hurry and gave it to his secretary to send it to Kyradea by bird mail as soon as possible.

“For now, we can only wait for a reply.”

Then Goro continued to breathe deeply.

“Even so, I didn’t expect the insect issue to be cleared up so quickly. I’m glad you guys are a party with a priest.”

Goro smiled.

“Not at all……”

Etho was a little shy.

“In any case, the work was forcibly divided between the two parties earlier, but I am very happy with this division in the end. The Dragon Agito party did not have a priest.”

The Dragon Agito party had a male Swordsman, a female Scout, a male Axe-user, a male Magician, and a female Archer, with no priests.

“Because there are not many adventurer priests.”

Etho replied, nodding.

The four people played a role for the time being.

In less than two hours after arriving, he could see a tentative solution … If only that was considered, it could be said that the result was very excellent.

Of course, after tomorrow, they had to get confirmation from the 『Folklore Officer』 and complete the extermination of the insects themselves, but for the time being, work was over for today.

“First of all, a bath!”

“Ooo!”

Three people responded to Niels’ command with the same shout.

The accommodation was meant for aristocrats and bureaucrats so it was fully equipped with a large communal bath.

It seemed that it was open to villagers on weekends too.

(That’s the best way to maintain a facility. If you don’t use it, it often breaks down when it is needed.)

Goro’s reputation within Ryo was raised even higher.

And after the bath, it was dinner.

The expectations of the four people who heard from Goro that the chef here also handles meals for the officers too went up.

And…

“Delicious!”

“Delicious!”

“It is amazing!”

“I like both the meat and fish!”

Niels, Etho, Amon, and Ryo were all offered a satisfying dinner.

The chef looked on from the kitchen and nodded.

As expected of four adventurers.

There was quite a lot of food but it was gobbled up in no time.

The priest Etho, who usually has the image of a small eater, ate everything, possible because they walked from the City of Rune and had to settle with dried meat during the day.

After meals, of course, they ended it with Kona coffee.

Five adventurers came in as the four relaxedly enjoyed the coffee after their meal.

The members of Dragon Agito, the adventurers of Kyradea.

“Tch.”

The Swordsman clicked his tongue loudly.

Of course, it was heard by the four people from Room No. 10.

Ryo was worried about Niels.

During the explanation, he didn’t snap because it was in front of the client Goro, but now it was not the case.

There was a possibility of him snapping.

Thinking so, he looked at Niels.

But Niels was drinking coffee as if nothing had happened.

The same was true for the other two.

(So mature!)

Ryo was impressed by the growth of the three.

Only for the first ten seconds.

“Do you know Ryo? The weaker the dog, the louder it barks. The more incompetent the adventurer, the more they click their tongue.”

(No, I do not know! You definitely made up the second half just now!)

Ryo retorted internally to Niels’ excessive lines.

“What did you say!”

Of course, the Dragon Agito members wouldn’t stay silent.

Five people displayed their anger at once.

The two women felt like they were as belligerent as the men … I guess people are formed by their surroundings?

Ryo shook his head a little.

“Well, let’s go back to our room. Chef, thank you for the meal.”

“Thank you for the meal.”

Behaving well, the people from Room No. 10 stood up, thanking the chef.

The four people from Room No. 10 left the dining room, completely ignoring the five livid people.

“Hey, wait right there.”

With that, the Dragon Agito’s Swordsman tried to grab the shoulder of Ryo who was at the rear.

At that moment …

Rattle rattle crash!

The Swordsman fell with a loud noise.

No one noticed that his feet were frozen momentarily.

When the Swordsman fell, he knocked a chair and table nearby and caused a vase on the table to come crashing down, leaving him in a wretched state.

“Are you okay? Slipping is dangerous.”

Ryo left with those words and the four from Room No. 10 left the dining room.

After that, there were five people whose anger had no outlet and scowled at the cooks staring at the dining room from the kitchen.

For the time being, as professionals, the cooks offered dinner to the five but later testified to the steward.

That they had dissatisfied faces from beginning to end.

The next morning, the four from Room No. 10 got up leisurely.

When the steward told them that Dragon Agito had breakfast early in the morning and left for the eastern forest, the four people looked at each other and nodded.

The troublesome seeds were gone.

The four of them ate a very luxurious breakfast, slowly spent their luxurious time, and after having coffee after the meal, headed to the magistrate building.

They were told last night to come around 10 o’clock.

When they entered the conference room, there was Goro and another person.

(It’s not a white priest’s robe, but a priest’s clothes … but that’s the first time I’ve seen that cloak’s coat of arms. So that is a Folklore Officer?)

Ryo thought in his head.

Visually, he was about the same age as Goro, not very tall, and had a slender body.

He was not a lean muscular person like Ryo and didn’t appear to have much muscle … in a sense, he was similar to Etho.

“Oh, you’re here. Rashata, these are the adventurers from the City of Rune 『Room No. 10』 who I talked about earlier.”

Goro introduced the four to a man called Rashata.

“Everyone, this is Viscount Rashata Debuo, the Folklore Officer from the Sanctum.”

“… Viscount?”

Etho muttered softly.

“Hello, nice to meet you. Yes, it’s weird to have a title even though I belong to the temple. There are various reasons for that. I’ll talk about it if the time comes. But, regarding the issue with the insects …”

“Yes, this is it.”

Ryo said and placed the icebox he was holding beside him.

It contained the black insects they caught yesterday.

“Hoho, look at this. The insect is interesting, but honestly, this icebox is even more so …. Are you a Water-Attribute Magician?”

“Yes.”

Rashata asked Ryo, and Ryo replied.

“Looking at this box, I remember the folklore of 『The Goddess of Ice and the Emperor of Ice and Snow』 … a story more than 10,000 years ago …”

“Sorry, Rashata, before that, please look at the insect.”

Goro blocked Rashata from starting his story and turned his attention to the black insect.

“Oops, that’s right. I’m sorry.”

Rashata replied and laughed.

Then he looked at the insect and began to check something while muttering.

About three minutes passed, and Rashata looked at Ryo and said.

“Can you open this icebox?”

“Yes.”

Ryo removed the lid of the box.

Then Rashata reached into the box, grabbed the insect, and squeezed it in his palm.

And then opened his hand.

“Hmm … as according to folklore, red body fluid …”

In his open hand were a crushed remain and a red body fluid reminiscent of blood leaking from it.

“According to folklore meaning…”

“Yes, I’m sure it’s a Majin insect.”

Rashata nodded and answered Goro’s question.

“Maybe it’s the 『Majin sealed in the south』 in folklore. It’s probably regenerating and gathering the power to wake up.”

Rashata said, thinking about something.

“I understand. First, I will report to the Royal Capital. As for the name of the identifier, I will write your and Etho’s name, if that’s okay.”

“Sure.”

“Yes, I don’t mind.”