Water Magician

“Etho, are Majins strong?”

“Eh……”

Ryo asked Etho, who was next to him, quietly.

The question may have been unexpected as Etho returned a surprised reaction.

“I think they are strong … but it is unknown how strong they truly are. There has not been any record of them appearing in the last few hundred years …”

Etho said and turned to the Folklore Officer Rashata.

“Yeah. You were … Etho-kun, right? As Etho-kun said, the record of the last subjugation was 950 years ago. Of course, other subjugations might have been carried out but not recorded. Likely due to vested interests. This Majin is probably the one from 950 years ago.”

“This Majin?”

“Yes. In the folklore passed down in the Kingdom, there are two sealed Majins. One is the ‘Majin sealed in the South’ that we are dealing with now. The other is the ‘Majin sealed in the east’. There are quite a lot of folklore on how terrifyingly strong the eastern Majin was. Not only the eastern part of the Kingdom but also the region of the current Handal Union was devastated.”

Rashata placed his hand on his chin, thought a little, and then continued.

“Given that, this case … there is a possibility that additional forces will be dispatched.”

“Knight’s Order …?”

“Magic Corps …?”

“High-ranking adventurers …?”

“The Hero …?”

Niels, Etho, and Amon said the possible ‘additional forces’, and Ryo added at the end, causing the three from Room No. 10 to look at Ryo with tremendous momentum.

It was Niels who opened his mouth.

“Ryo, the Hero of this generation is in the Western Countries. They won’t come all the way here just for this.”

Niels denied the possibility confidently.

“Fufufu, Niels, your information is old. In fact, the Hero Roman and his party were in the Royal Capital until recently, you know?”

Ryo asserted with even more confidence.

He was naturally confident since they fought.

“Seriously?!”

Niels asked with wide eyes.

“I heard that in the last Royal Capital chaos, the Hero also cooperated in the defense of the basement of the Sanctum. I’m surprised Ryo knows about it.”

Folklore Officer Rashata nodded and said.

“But … it’s been a long time since they left the Royal Capital … so I don’t think they will be coming this time.”

“Ah, that’s a shame.”

Ryo replied with words that he didn’t actually mean.

The Hero Roman challenged Ryo many times after the chaos in the Royal Capital, so he was tired of dealing with him after a while.

He tried to avoid the mock battles with the Hero, even though he had many mock battles with Sera.

Ryo was that kind of guy.

When the five of them were talking about that, Goro, the Magistrate, returned to the office.

“I have arranged to send a brief report to the Royal Capital, Rune, and Kyradea.”

(In that short time?!)

Ryo was surprised.

It was pretty amazing that he finished reporting that much, even though it had only been about 30 minutes.

“Yesterday, Etho told me that it was a Majin insect. I finished writing most of the report then. I filled in the confirmed details today, had it <Transcribed>, and sent the reports to the relevant places.”

He said nonchalantly and smiled.

“Unlike me, who can’t get work done, you’re still excellent, Goro. Do you still not have the intention of returning to the Royal Capital?”

Rashata turned to Goro and asked.

“I’m not going back yet. I love this village, and above all, I love Kona coffee.”

At the same moment as Goro said those words, the door opened and six Kona coffees were brought into the office.

Drinking coffee after meetings and reports.

It was bliss.

“Well, I’ll be returning to Kyradea.”

When the blissful time was over, Rashata said.

“Did you …”

Goro trailed off.

“Yes, I threw aside my half-completed tasks.”

Rashata burst into laughter.

“Sorry about that.”

“That’s okay. Thanks to that, I was able to see Majin insects. After this, I definitely want to see how they deal with the Majin … so I’ll finish my work and return immediately.”

Then, Rashata said that there was no need to see him off and left the office.

“He said he’s bad at paperwork, but that’s a lie.”

With a faint smile, Goro began to explain.

“He once returned to secular life, that is, he resigned from priesthood to succeed the Viscount family. However, his ‘Folklore Officer’ qualities were hard to replace, so the royal family and the temple gave special permission to reinstate him as a ‘Folklore Officer’ even while remaining in secular life.”

“That’s … so amazing that it’s unimaginable …”

After receiving Goro’s explanation, the most surprised one was the priest Etho.

“Is that so great?”

“Yes. It’s usually not possible. Can you imagine? That special permission is rarely given even for saints.”

“Oh … then I can understand that it’s truly unimaginable.”

It seemed that Niels also understood that it was rare.

Rashata’s qualities as a ‘Folklore Officer’ may be rarer than saints.

In the Central Nations, it was originally not possible to become a priest with a title.

“For now, the problem of the insects is shelved. Since the report has been made, the Royal Capital will decide on future actions. Then, the remaining problem is the disappearance case …”

Goro had a distinctly bitter look after reaching that point.

“The Dragon Agito party is hostile towards you …”

He sighed deeply.

“Yes … I’m sorry.”

Etho bowed his head.

“No, your party is not responsible … right? Was there a dispute with the Dragon Agito in the past or …”

“No. We met them for the first time here.”

Niels answered Goro’s query.

“In the first place, meeting adventurers from Kyradea …”

After saying that, Niels stopped.

“Niels?”

Ryo asked Niels who had a strange expression on.

“Well, the only time we may have interacted with adventurers from Kyradea was when we … received the request from my village. Maybe it’s related to that?”

“Yes, I was thinking about that. It could be the party that was seriously injured and withdrew or the party that was chased away …”

“Oh.”

Amon and Ryo nodded in the same manner when Etho presented the possibilities.

Etho then gave a brief explanation to Goro, who was listening.

Simply put, it was unjustified resentment.

“I see. Dragon Agito might have been the party. Well, even if that is the case, you all are not to blame … Personally, I would like your party to investigate the disappearances as well but it would be a problem if something happened in the woods … For the time being, please be on standby. We have also reported to the City of Rune so they may get in touch with further instructions.”

As such, the four people from Room No. 10 got a fleeting rest, officially recognized by the Magistrate.

Two days later, the Magistrate’s Office received correspondence.

Both Room No. 10 and Dragon Agito were called into the large conference room.

The ‘Folklore Officer’ Rashata was already seated next to Goro, having returned from Kyradea.

“I have been contacted by the Royal Capital. At present, no force will be sent from the Royal Capital. Instead, the Kingdom government has put up an order for a dispatch from the adventurer guilds of Rune and Kyradea. In other words, additional adventurers will be dispatched from Rune and Kyradea.”

In other words, ‘High-ranked adventurers’ were coming.

Amon’s prediction was correct.

Amon nodded many times.

Looking sideways, Niels looked a little bitter.

However, there was a person who was not convinced.

Of course, it was not anyone from Room No. 10, but the leader of Dragon Agito.

“I cannot accept this! This is our request. For adventurers to come later and take the credit … moreover adventurers from another city … that’s bullshit!”

(I understand your feelings, but that’s not something you say in front of the client.)

Even Ryo, who had little experience taking on requests, thought so.

The thoughts of the other three from Room No. 10 could be guessed.

“Mr. Dogon. Please control yourself. This is the decision of the Kingdom. The decision of individuals even higher up than us, your client. As long as this village is under the direct control of the royal family, it equates to the decision of the royal family. Do you understand that going against the royal family is high treason?”

Goro chided the Swordsman Dogon in a very low voice, a low voice that even the four from Room No. 10 had never heard before.

The mention of high treason naturally caused the Swordsman Dogon to look daunted.

And after that, his complexion paled.

But he had to say something. Driven to a corner, he judged that the situation was not good.

However, the problem was that the result of his judgment was not ‘silence’ but ‘clumsy counterargument’.

“In the first place, isn’t it a lie that the insects on the trees are called ‘Majin insects’? It’s possible that the Rune guys there said it to raise their achievements. How can you believe what they say!”

Upon hearing that unreasonable remark, the first thought of the four people from Room No. 10 was ‘Oh shit~’.

They were not angered or tried to argue …

Their reaction was ‘Oh shit~’ because …

“I identified the bug as a ‘Majin Insect’. I have been assigned the role of ‘Folklore Officer’ at the Sanctum.”

“Then, you colluded with them to say they are Majin insects!”

(Illogical, unreasonable, Swordsman Dogon … Well, I wonder if he couldn’t help it since he lost his composure.)

Ryo prayed for the Swordsman Dogon in his heart.

“I’m a priest … but my name is Viscount Rashata Debuo. Are you aware? As a Viscount, I am part of the nobility. I recommend you do not use those words.”

“Wha … nobility …”

Not only the Swordsman Dogon, but the other four from Dragon Agito were surprised and unable to speak.

Silence occupied the conference room.

“We will maintain the status quo until additional forces arrive from Rune and Kyradea. Our plan of action after that will vary depending on the people who arrive, so let’s decide then. Both parties please spend your time in the village until then. The contract period will be extended so we will provide additional rewards accordingly.”

Hearing the last sentence, the four from Room No. 10 secretly made small guts poses … in their hearts.

With that, the meeting was over and as usual, Goro invited everyone for coffee … and, as usual, the five members from Dragon Agito refused and left the meeting room.

The four from Room No. 10, Goro, and Rashata remained.

When the coffee arrived, Rashata opened his mouth.

“Goro, what’s with those Dragon Agito adventurers. Well, I’m not asking them to be as friendly as the Room No. 10 guys, but I’ve never met such terrible adventurers.”

The four people from Room No. 10 were apparently friendly.

The four looked at each other and smiled wryly.

“Yeah … Honestly, the reputation of the Kyradea Adventurer’s Guild is declining every day … I was worried when I made the request and I got it right. They sent adventurers like that over.”

Goro shook his head many times and replied.

“Is the Kyradea Adventurer’s Guild that hopeless?”

“The person we corresponded with when we stopped by was decent, but … the deputy guildmaster …”

“Mr. Landenvia.”

When Ryo whispered his question, Niels answered halfway, and Etho supplemented.

However, it seemed that their whispers could be heard when it was just this number of people in the room, and Goro said with a bitter smile.

“Deputy guildmaster Landenvia was like the conscience of Kyradea, but … six months ago, he was assigned to the guild in the City of Acre as guildmaster. From then, Kyradea’s Adventurer’s Guild visibly deteriorated …”

There, he sighed deeply.

Acre was the largest city in the south and the territory of Marquis Heinlein.

Becoming a guildmaster there could be said to be a great promotion.

However, the organization where an excellent individual left was left in a sad state.

“Well, that’s why I made this request to both Kyradea and Rune. From this village, Kyradea is a little closer, but for the reason mentioned … I pretended it to be a slipup and sent the request to the City of Rune as well.”

Magistrate Goro was a capable man.