Water Magician

Editor: Tseirp

The rain that fell that afternoon had completely lifted by the time the stars came out.

By some coincidence, and by some artificial reasons, the four members of the ‘Crimson Sword’ were gathered in Abel’s office, a rare occurrence.

The final meeting of the units that each of them had trained and organized was taking place.

“The troops of the Rune Frontier County and the troops of the Marquis of Heinlein will serve as the core of the southern army.”

Abel explained to Warren, Rihya, and Rin, showing them a map of the kingdom.

“The so-called Kingsguard will be led by Phelps. His ‘White Brigade’ and Rune’s adventurers.”

“Never heard of a king who appoints adventurers as his personal guard, though.”

“Definitely a feat only Abel could pull off, for sure.”

Abel’s explanation surprised both Rin and Rihya, but they got the gist.

Phelps is the son of Marquis Alexis Heinlein and at the same time a B-rank adventurer in Rune city.

The ‘White Brigade’ led by him has forty members, which by itself is the size of a ‘battalion’, if not a ‘brigade’.

In addition, all of the adventurers in Rune are acquaintances of Abel’s, and he trusts them with his life.

Abel’s popularity among them is unrivaled.

And if absorbed by the Empire, the ‘surplus gold’ they have saved and deposited in the guild may be taken away.

In other words, those who, out of both emotion and reason, want Abel to regain control of the kingdom are the adventurers.

“Guilmas has been working on the coordination all along while holed up in the guild. Rin, how are the magician forces looking?”

“Well, they’re very well-trained originally. Of note, they possess a considerable amount of magic power, so they can hold out for a long time in combat. Enough to cast a ton of spells. They are currently doing a lot of mock battles and gaining more experience in antipersonnel combat. So, they’re ready anytime.”

Abel’s question was answered by Rin as she nibbed on her snacks.

The four of them had been talking the whole time while nibbling on snacks instead of having supper, so they were pretty famished.

“The Knights have even gone so far as to go on a drill outside the castle…which means we are pretty much good to go.”

Organizing an army takes more time than one might imagine.

Also, if one is to take on an entirely different assignment and a different opponent, it’s only right to want to be as proficient as possible before going into battle.

Else, only death awaits.

And these preparations were made through the efforts of people whose names do not remain in history… those whose names appear in history books are not the only ones who worked hard.

The four of them were talking about such things.

When they all stopped talking, Abel suddenly felt a sense of discomfort.

At first, he didn’t know why.

But he soon realized.

It’s too quiet…”

Indeed, it was already nighttime.

But even so, a good number of people worked in the mansion, and soldiers patrolled the grounds.

The mansion is usually filled with the sounds of people talking, walking around, and many other noises that one normally isn’t aware of.

Now, they weren’t hearing any of it.

Which was unusual.

Then Abel felt a gaze and looked out the window onto a large balcony.

At the far end of the balcony, on the railing, he saw four men.

And the man in the middle lightly raised his hand…with a daunting smile on his face.

“They’re finally here…”

Abel muttered and picked up his sword.

The other three may have guessed who the four on the balcony were, so they each grabbed their weapons and headed for the balcony with Abel.

The balcony outside the office was large. As large as a school playground.

It’s also connected to the hall, and this balcony alone is large enough to hold a party.

In fact, it was from this balcony that the frontier count gave the order to the knights lined up in the front yard for the expedition ceremony.

Four men were standing side by side on the railing of that spacious balcony.

All four must have been a little over thirty years old.

A swordsman, a magician, a spear-wielder, and a scout and archer.

They were the ‘Five Dragons’, one of only two A-rank parties in the Kingdom.

As Abel and the others stepped out onto the balcony, San, the leader and swordsman, opened his mouth.

“Oh, thank goodness. We were starting to get lonely, thinking we would remain out here a while without getting noticed.”

Such condescending and provocative words…but, he was a man with the strength to back it up.

“You must be San of the ‘Five Dragons’.”

“Hey, I’m not gonna ask that you call me lord, but at least call me Sir San. I’m still your senior as an A-rank adventurer, for what it’s worth?”

San replied Abel’s words, feigning hurt.

“I have no respect for traitors.”

“Looks like the adventurer king is a hard man.”

Abel said, and Connor, the spear-wielder, retorted with a quip.

The Five Dragons were leaning against the railing, and San was sitting nimbly on the railing, but they were still completely guarded.

Abel was thinking of cutting them down in one go if they were to drop their guard, but there was no such chance whatsoever.

“It sounds silly asking you this in this situation, but I suppose I should still ask for the sake of it. You’re here to kill me, correct?”

Abel asked as he looked at San.

“I guess there’s no point hiding it. That’s right. If we kill you, Abel, the A-rank adventurer and proclaimed king, the four of us will get two billion florins. So, would you mind giving us your head?”

Without any ill will, and showing no sign of remorse, San acknowledged Abel’s question.

“Two billion huh…what a bargain.”

“No, no, no, how’s that a bargain.”

Abel muttered, and Connor, the spear-wielder, chimed in.

“Even with A-rank commissions, you don’t get that kind of pay.”

Connor shrugged his shoulders with open arms, expressing the improbability.

“Now then, as I’m sure the wise King Abel and his friends understand that after all this time, no one’s coming, right? I can assure you, you won’t be seeing reinforcements anytime soon.”

“Tsk.”

San said, and Abel clicked his tongue a little.

Abel was indeed talking at length because he was slightly hoping that someone would notice the commotion and come to his rescue.

But at the same time, it’s also true that it’s hard to believe that these A-rank adventurers would commit such an oversight.

“What did you do to the people in the mansion?”

“Oh, don’t worry about them. They’re just having a really deep sleep. I could have killed them, but the only prize is your head, Abel. Kind right, I know?”

“Did you put everyone in the mansion to sleep?”

Abel was honestly surprised.

They may have drugged them, but there must have been over a hundred people. It’s certainly not an easy feat…

“I put them all to sleep.”

Calvin, the scout and archer, who had not uttered a word up to that point, said.

“He’s an A-rank scout, you know? When it comes to stuff like that he’s a freak.”

San said, a little proudly.

In fact, not many scouts in the history of adventurers have ever made it to A-rank.

The fact that the other A-rank party, the ‘Crimson Sword’, don’t have a scout…spoke volume about it.

Nevertheless, when Abel heard the words “put them all to sleep”, he was relieved.

Since it was a piece of much better information than “killed them all”.

“Okay then, I think it’s time we ended this exchange of information, don’t you think? So, Abel, we’ll be claiming your life now.”

San said and climbed down from the railing.

“I only have one question. What happened to your fifth member Priest Henning?”

Abel asked the question he had been wondering since the report on the Five Dragons had come around.

“That’s…none of your business.”

San said these words with a blank expression…but Abel sensed just a hint of sadness and regret in them.

Parties have different circumstances…that others should not step into.

“I see, my bad.”

Even if the A-rank adventurers before him are those who, for whatever reason, have strayed from the right path, there are certain questions that others should not ask.

Abel’s question was of that sort.

So Abel apologized in all candor.

Thus, the curtain lifted on the battle between the ‘Five Dragons’ and the ‘Crimson Sword’, the only two A-rank parties of the Kingdom.

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