Water Magician

“Then, I’ll set off in search of some breakfast.”

Ryo said and stood up.

“Hmm? You should just eat here … now that you mentioned it, no one is eating …”

Abel looked around puzzled.

Although the number of people sitting in the seats was sparse, it was a strange sight for a dining room, as all of them were only drinking water.

“This morning, the research team requisitioned all the food in this cafeteria.”

“Wha …”

As expected, Abel, Rihya, Rin, and Warren, who’s always silent anyway, were at a loss for words.

And to the surprise of Ryo, Natalie was also stunned.

“I-I thought that the court magic group brought their own cooks and food … so I didn’t know that was the case …”

Even though she understood that it was not her responsibility, she still seemed apologetic.

“But if this spreads within the guild, it’s going to be pretty hard for the research team to hire adventurers. After all, adventurers place a lot of focus on emotions and sentiments.”

“Yes, a grudge over food is terrifying.”

Abel calmly pointed it out and Rin relayed a truth that was the same in this world as well.

Either way, it had nothing to do with Ryo, who decided not to approach the dungeon.

“Abel, if the dungeon is going to be unsealed today, I’m guessing today’s hunting is canceled?”

Rihya confirmed with Abel.

“That’s right. I think Guilmas will probably gather the main parties and give an explanation after this. Given that, we should at least be in the city so that we can be contacted. As a B-rank party, we’ll definitely be called.”

“We and the White Brigade. After that, there should be about 20 C-rank parties staying here.”

“Oh, by the way, Sera is back.”

Rin commented as she remembered.

“Oh, Sera of the Wind? She’s been at the royal capital this whole time due to a request.”

Ryo had lost the timing to leave the restaurant while standing, but he made a decision then.

“Then, I’ll be off.”

“O-oh. You should be able to get breakfast at the Golden Wave Pavilion.”

“Yes, I intended to do that but …”

“Erm, I’m sorry …”

Natalie, who realized that she had taken away Ryo’s opportunity to eat breakfast, turned red and bowed her head.

“It’s okay, you seemed like you were in a hurry, so it couldn’t be helped. See you.”

That said, Ryo left the guild and set out for the Golden Wave Pavilion in search of breakfast.

“Ryo-san went to Golden Wave Pavilion for breakfast … but I made him bring me here …”

Even after Ryo went out, Natalie still commented apologetically.

“Don’t worry. Ryo wouldn’t mind that.”

Abel laughed.

“Oh right, Natalie, I want to ask you as a Schwarzkopf, the experts of Water-Attribute Magic, is there a Water-Attribute Magic that creates an ice wall high in the air and away from the caster?”

“Eh? No, as far as I know, there is no such magic.”

“I see … I knew it.”

Natalie answered Rin’s question without any hesitation, although she was confused.

“What Rin, so you were still mulling over that?”

“It’s natural! Every Magician would fixate on it!”

Rin replied with a threatening attitude to Abel who said it teasingly.

“Does that mean there is a Magician capable of creating an ice wall away from themselves?”

Natalie asked gingerly.

“Yes, but I haven’t seen it.”

“Who then?”

“The leader here saw it.”

“Yeah, I’m the leader here.”

Abel raised one hand and bowed his head a little.

“Such a thing … I don’t think that’s possible … Abel-san, are you sure?”

“I guess you’re right when you say any Magician would fixate on it … even Natalie has taken an interest.”

Abel smiled wryly.

“Ah, so-sorry. But if that’s true, I definitely want to see it … Where did you see it?”

“In the middle of a trip …”

“Ah … then I guess I can’t see it anymore.”

Natalie was visibly depressed. If he just saw it during his trip, it could have just been a mistake too …

“No … Oh right … Natalie, for this topic, could you keep it to just this table? Don’t even tell your family. If you can promise that, I’ll tell you more …”

“Eh … o-of course. I won’t tell anyone. I’m okay even if you want to put it in contract magic!”

“No, there’s no need to go that far.”

After that, Abel thought a little. He was choosing his words.

“He created an ice wall in the air and dropped it to crush a golem. That Magician was Ryo, who was just here a while ago.”

When Natalie heard it, her eyes grew astonishingly wide and couldn’t be closed for a while.

“Ryo is extraordinary. I’ll say this to Rihya, Rin, and Warren too. Never make Ryo your enemy. Even if the four of us ganged up, we would be killed instantly. If he turns hostile, give up obediently. That way, he at least won’t take your life. Listen closely, I’m serious about this. This is a command as party leader.”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

Warren nodded.

“Abel-san … is it that extraordinary? … Ryo-san’s ability …”

Natalie looked at Abel with a serious expression.

“Natalie. If you ever encounter a situation that you need someone to help you and we aren’t there at the time, you can rely on Ryo. He’ll either be in Room 10 of the dormitory here or the library. If it comes to that, never deceive him. He would see through your lie. He’ll kill you if he finds out you lied. Tell him everything seriously, honestly, and seek his cooperation. He’s a nice guy, so he’s more likely to help that way.”

An hour after Ryo left for breakfast at Golden Wave Pavilion, the Guild Master sent out a call to convene.

For all D-rank and above party leaders in the City of Rune.

Of course, there was no particular problem if they chose to ignore it.

However, usually, no adventurer would ignore a call to convene from the Guild Master.

Of course, that’s assuming the call to 『convene』 reaches the person …

For example, a man who is a D-rank adventurer and a Water-Attribute Magician on the main street from Golden Wave Pavilion on his way to the North Library.

Ryo arrived at the North Library after 10 o’clock.

However, there was no one at the entrance.

The South Library always had three or more librarians collecting admission fees …

In this North Library, there was a piece of paper … ‘I’m away from my seat. Please wait a moment.”

Someone would apparently be coming back.

About fifteen minutes later, a young man with a monocle came back and said.

“Sorry I made you wait.”

Ryo paid the admission fee, hung the black admission card for adventurers on his neck, and went into the large reading room.

The large reading room of the South Library was a vast space about the size of the Tokyo Dome, but the North Library was different.

Ryo had the impression that it was an old European university library.

The bookshelves were quite tall and there was a built-in mobile ladder to assist with picking books from high places.

Ryo took a liking to it at the first glance.

The overwhelming scale of the vast South Library was pleasant, but the atmosphere of this North Library, where you could get a sense of unity with a huge number of books, was exceptional.

At first, Ryo’s eyes drank in the atmosphere of the large reading room itself, but suddenly he couldn’t take his eyes off one point.

A soft light spilled through the tall windows.

Illuminating a woman.

The air around her was shining and he couldn’t look away.

Platinum blonde hair, sheer white skin, upturned nose, well-shaped lips … the slightly pointed ears that would otherwise be most noticeable … but the most striking were her large green eyes.

A scene that was too unrealistic.

As if it was a wide painting.

Ryo couldn’t tell how long he stared at her.

The woman suddenly looked up and looked towards Ryo.

After looking at him for a while, she opened her eyes wide and showed a surprised expression.

That was when Ryo finally returned to himself.

He realized that he had been looking at the woman all that time.

The woman stood up and walked towards Ryo.

“Hello. You’re an adventurer too. I’m Sera, nice to meet you.”

Having said that, she extended her hand.

“Yes, I’m Ryo, an adventurer.”

Ryo replied and shook hands.

Meanwhile, the woman, Sera, was looking at Ryo … but her gaze was on Ryo’s robe, not Ryo’s face.

After looking at the robe for a while, she finally looked Ryo’s face and smiled delicately.

“At the moment, all the librarians in this library have been called by the academic research team and aren’t here, so if you have a book you’re looking for, I can help you. I know most of the book locations.”

“Oh, that’s why there was no one at the entrance …”

“I believe there should be a young man wearing a monocle? He’s not a librarian but a child sent from the castle just for management, so he won’t know where the books are.”

Sarah pursed her lips tightly and tilted her head, feeling sorry.

(It would be a bit too much to ask Sera about Akuma … Honestly, I don’t know what kind of reaction she’ll give so let’s not ask that today.)

“Well, I’m looking for books about alchemy. For intermediate level … my proficiency is probably insufficient at the moment … but although not immediately, I want to see something related to moving golems with alchemy as the final goal.”

Sera seemed surprised at this and opened her big eyes even wider.

“Golem! That’s a grand ambition … Well~, there aren’t any alchemy books directly about golems … but there must be some books that could lead to it. Come with me.”

For the next few hours, they searched through all the alchemy-related books that could lead to golems.

Although it was quite a few books, it was a very comfortable time for Ryo.

Ryo originally loved reading since he was on Earth.

However, since coming to 『Phi』 and living in the forest of Rondo, the only things that could be called 『books』 were the 『Monster Encyclopedia Beginner’s Edition』 and 『Plant Encyclopedia Beginner’s Edition』.

Though while he was living in the Rondo Forest, he didn’t have any problems with it and didn’t have a desire for books.

After arriving in the City of Rune and spending time surrounded by books at the South Library, the literary addict background lost in Ryo was revived.

For Ryo, the size of the North Library, the huge number of books, and the quiet space … all of which were pleasant.

What’s more, now a beautiful woman was also helping out.

It was a really happy time.