Water Magician

I’m back! Thanks for waiting!

Editor: Tseirp

After a moment of despair, Ryo stood up.

Which also meant he’s recovered.

“Actually, I was asked to guard you, Abel.”

Ryo decided to be honest and spilled everything.

He was told to remain ‘friends as equals’, so…it would be easiest to reveal everything.

“My own guard detail? Not me guarding somebody, but I’m getting guarded?”

“Listen Abel, for what it’s worth, you’re going to be the next king, so I don’t think you’ll be escorting anyone ever again. I guess that means you will lose out on those invaluable experiences forever. What a pity!”

“Why do I feel like you purposely said that in a very unpleasant manner…”

Abel said with a frown.

“Whatever.  So, you’re going to be my bodyguard huh, Ryo? Well, there will definitely be more attempts on my life in the future…. So, can you handle it, Ryo?”

“Worry not! Now that you’ve been left in my care, anyone aiming for your life has just run out of luck.”

Ryo declared with renewed determination.

“R-Right…”

“Listen, Abel, I have a surefire way to make sure that anyone else that tries to kill you will never succeed.”

“What? Are you for real?”

Abel was indeed surprised by this proposal.

If there was such a revolutionary method, he should definitely ask about it.

“Of course, as long as I kill you first…”

“Yeah, I figured you were going to say something like that!”

“Of course not, that would defeat the purpose. It’s obviously out of the question, right?”

“Really? I was so sure you were going to suggest that though.”

“Hehehe, I guess you still have a lot to learn, Abel. All right, let’s get down to business. I have a surefire way to keep you alive.”

Ryo said confidently.

“Oh, that sounds good. How exactly?”

“I just need to freeze you, and you’re good!”

“…”

“If you are encased in ice that no one can break, you won’t die! Since the ice is transparent, everyone can admire Abel’s noble face. You will be heralded by the name, ‘Ice King’, how about it?”

Ryo said with a confident expression on his face, as if he were a consultant who had come up with the perfect proposal.

“Nope.”

“Why…”

Once again, Ryo sank into the pits of despair.

“Because, then, I won’t be able to continue signing these papers.”

“O-Oh, right…”

Ryo was convinced by Abel’s logical rebuttal.

“Then what if I make it so you can move your arms within the ice. Then affix the pen, problem solved!”

“Nope.”

Ryo was once again devastated by Abel’s words, just like how a consultant looking satisfied with his perfect re-proposal gets shattered by a single word from his client.

“Why…”

Ryo stared at Abel, with faint traces of…nothing, in his eyes, and asked.

“Because it sounds uncool.”

“Ugh…”

For Ryo, being ‘cool’ is a top priority.

Abel was aware of the destructive power of the word ‘uncool’ on Ryo because he had experienced it to the point of disgust.

“If you don’t want to be encased in ice, then you can just wear it instead. I know a water-attribute spell that is just right for it. It’s called Ice Armor. With it, you can cover your entire body, how about it?”

“Wearing ice huh…”

“It’s a piece of thin, transparent ice. From a distance, it’s hard to tell you’re even wearing anything.”

“If it’s thin, won’t it break…”

Ryo made an affronted face at Abel’s concern and continued.

“You realize we’re talking about my ice, right? An ordinary attack won’t even crack it.”

“Makes sense…”

Abel also knows that Ryo’s ice is unusually hard.

He felt that it would not be a problem.

“Let’s give it a try.”

“All right, here we go.  <Ice Armor>.”

There was a knock on the door of his office.

“Come in.”

As Abel said this, the door opened and the three members of the ‘Crimson Sword’ entered.

“We’re back, Abel. Looks like things aren’t looking…”

“We’re back, finally~. Kona village was quite something. I heard that Ryo is here too…”

“…”

Rihya, Rin, and Warren, silent as usual, came into the room, looked at Abel from a distance, and then tilted their heads.

“Abel…”

“What’s that glowing thing…?”

Neither Rihya nor Rin knew why, but Abel’s surface seemed to shimmer.

The light coming in through the window reflected off the surface of ice armor on Abel and made it shimmer.

“Hm? I’m surprised you two spotted it. Ryo cast an ice armor on me for protection.”

“With this, he’ll be safe from any surprise attack!”

Abel explained, and Ryo vouched for it.

Ryo’s ice would certainly be hard, and well, it looks like he’d have no problem moving…”

“But nah.”

Rin gave a nod to show understanding, but Rihya said no.

“Why!”

Abel and Ryo exclaimed in unison.

“Because people who shake Abel’s hand won’t be impressed by it.”

“…Huh?”

Again, they both exclaimed in unison.

Impressed by Abel’s hands? The hell is up with that?

“Those who shake Abel’s hands always feel impressed just so you know. He has several overlapping calluses from wielding the sword, you see…. It’s like a reputation that you’ve earned through hard work as an adventurer. But if he wears that ice armor, no one is going to bat an eye when he shakes hands with them, right? So, nope.”

Ryo literally crumbled to his knees at Rihya’s words.

“Well, sorry…Ryo.”

Abel said apologetically.

“It’s fine…never thought I’d lose to sword calluses…. But then it can’t be helped. Sword calluses are a medal to those who live by the sword.”

Ryo said with an even more refreshed expression.

“Ryo has it too right…sword calluses.”

Abel said, looking at Ryo’s clenched hands.

Ryo has been wielding a bamboo sword since he was in elementary school, and even on ‘Phi’ he wields his sword almost…every day, so of course he has.

“Sure. In my case, though, the ones on my left hand are thicker.”

He was once told that sword callus is a sign of inexperience.

By an instructor from the dojo where he went to practice.

But now Ryo knows that this is not true…at the very least, not to him.

Consistently doing three thousand to five thousand strikes every day, will surely get you some nice sword calluses.

Even fencers who win the All Japan Championships won’t lose their sword calluses if they continue practicing at that level.

Sword calluses disappear when people practice less…of course, that is generally not a bad thing, and everyone will practice less once they reach the age of forty, right?

Practice is not everything, and rest is also a form of practice…which is true.

With experience, one may be able to get the most out of less practice.

Either way….

Sword calluses are by no means a sign of inexperience.

They are a medal of honor to those who pursue the way of the sword.

Ryo looked at Abel and then at his own hands and once again, affirmed so.

Read the next chapter in advance on Ko-fi and Patreon!