Water Magician

Chapter 0521 Riding Training

Translator: Jay_Forestieri

Editor: Tseirp

Even after Sue Ku had departed, Ryo and Abel remained amidst the crowd for a while longer.

This was to continually generate under the feet of the attackers who were trying to stand up, keeping them immobilized in real-time.

“They’re persistently trying to get back on their feet, aren’t they?”

“Yeah… calling it persistence might sound a little too harsh for them, though.”

Ryo muttered softly, shaking his head. Beside him, Abel watched the attackers continue to fall over and over again, feeling a small pang of pity for them.

“But they’re heinous criminals who attacked an innocent official in broad daylight, right in the middle of a public street. They should reflect deeply on their actions.”

“Yeah. You’re absolutely right about that.”

Abel nodded in agreement, fully aligning with Ryo’s sentiment.

“Still… I suppose they were just following orders.”

“Following orders doesn’t mean you can do anything, does it? That’s no excuse. Lacking individuality like that is unacceptable. And there are bosses in the world who treat their subordinates like disposable tools. You’ve got to protect yourself.”

“You’re absolutely right again. Everything you say makes sense.”

Ryo argued passionately, Abel conceded, nodding once more.

Perhaps this is an era where even attackers need to show a sense of autonomy.

“By the way, about earlier, when their magic and throwing knives froze midair…”

“Ah, that was thanks to my . I had discreetly planted it in front of them.”

Ryo replied with a pleased smile to Abel’s question.

He had anticipated that they would resort to long-range attacks like magic or throwing weapons.

Incidentally, even while they were talking, Ryo continued generating under the attackers attempting to stand.

“Watching from the side, I can’t tell at all when you’re using magic.”

“I know, right? The future of magic might demand stealth and subtlety. I’m just ahead of the curve in my training.”

“Stealth, huh…”

“Once, when I was staying at the guild dormitory in Rune, I tried secretly using like this. But Phelps-san figured it out.”

Ryo reminisced about how, in an effort to teach a lesson to an investigation team, he had repeatedly cast while peeking through the dormitory window.

Afterward, Phelps had come to the window to greet him…

“Ah, well, Phelps can’t use magic, but deputy leader Sheena has dual-attribute abilities. She’s sensitive to the flow of magic and magic power.”

“Dual-attribute? I remember feeling how incredibly strong Sheena-san must be.”

“She’s a former assassin. Of course she’s strong.”

“Why would Phelps-san keep someone like that close to him…?”

“Because she’s strong. She originally tried to assassinate Phelps but failed… and then she became completely loyal to him.”

“That’s such a classic protagonist backstory…”

Failing to assassinate the protagonist and then swearing loyalty to them… it’s a staple narrative trope.

But that’s only supposed to happen around the ‘protagonist’…

“Could it be that Phelps is actually the protagonist of this story…?”

“Who knows? He’s good-looking, smart, ridiculously strong, popular, heir to a marquess family, and well-respected. That’s about it.”

“Yeah, no doubt about it. He’s definitely the protagonist.”

Abel listed with a wry expression, and Ryo conceded, shaking his head slightly as if accepting reality.

“The world isn’t fair.”

“Indeed. It isn’t.”

Eventually, the crowd began to disperse.

Though they had been entertained by watching the attackers repeatedly fall over as they tried to stand, even the spectators seemed to grow bored.

Moreover, most of the attackers had given up entirely and lay motionless.

Ryo and Abel left the scene as the crowd thinned out.

“Having to stick around just to keep them falling was quite tedious.”

“True, but it couldn’t be helped. By now, Sue Ku should have safely reached the mansion…”

“The spell itself is simple. It only generates when weight is applied. Then dissipates when there’s no pressure. It just keeps repeating those two actions… I feel like this could be recreated with alchemy.”

“What…?”

Ryo’s muttering startled Abel.

“Are you saying you want to make an alchemy tool that does this?”

“Exactly. That way, I wouldn’t have to stay there the whole time…”

“But wouldn’t that tool just end up being used in situations like that?”

“Yeah. Ah… if it were to be stolen, it would be a disaster!”

“Exactly…”

Abel nodded, agreeing with the glaring flaw.

Suddenly, Ryo seemed to have an idea. He clenched his right hand into a fist and lightly struck the palm of his left hand.

A gesture that clearly said, ‘Eureka!’

“I’ve found a solution!”

“…Why do I feel like I don’t want to hear it?”

“Abel, you can monitor the alchemy tool and retrieve it afterward.”

“Yeah, I really didn’t need to hear that.”

‘Retrieving the device’ after its use… it seemed like a difficult task in any story.

When the two reached Sue Ku’s mansion, the scene had become noticeably more fortified.

The gates were securely closed, and four armed guards stood vigil with spears.

“When we left this morning…”

“There were no guards, and the gate was open.”

Ryo and Abel remarked, surprised by the change.

Of course, both of them understood the reasoning.

The attackers had struck in broad daylight in the middle of town.

There was no guarantee they wouldn’t target the mansion next.

“Small-scale all-out war…”

“I get what you’re saying, but is that really the right term for it…?”

Ryo’s murmur made Abel shake his head slightly.

Naturally, the two of them passed smoothly through the gates and entered the premises.

“Oh, thank goodness. Both of you are safe.”

Sue Ku greeted them with a warm smile and said this as she welcomed them.

She then bowed her head formally to express her gratitude.

“Thank you so much for saving me earlier.”

“No, no, we just happened to pass by. It was pure luck.”

Ryo hurriedly told her to raise her head.

“Still, a daytime attack in the middle of town… forgive my bluntness, but is such a thing common in this city of Jonjon?”

“Not at all. I’ve never heard of anything like that before.”

Sue Ku shook her head firmly in response to Abel’s direct question.

No matter how powerful the Duke Kang’s influence might be, an act like that wouldn’t go unpunished.

“Why would they make such a spectacle of it?”

“A spectacle?”

“Yes. There are countless quieter ways to abduct someone, aren’t there? This seemed almost theatrical.”

Ryo remarked, finding the event to be conspicuously staged.

“If it was deliberate, then they must have had some other motive.”

“And what could that motive be…?”

Abel and Sue Ku frowned as they tried to figure it out.

However, no answers came to mind.

“If you think of anything, please let me know.”

Sue Ku said, and Abel and Ryo nodded in agreement.

“I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel like something major is about to happen.”

“…Yeah.”

“Abel, you be careful too, okay?”

“…Will do.”

“It’s during moments of crisis that consistent effort will pay off.”

Ryo declared with a serious expression.

But Abel gave him a skeptical look.

“Abel, what is that look for?”

“Well… it’s hard to take you seriously when you’re saying that while on horseback.”

“How rude!”

That’s right. The two of them were on horseback in Sue Ku’s mansion’s backyard.

As previously declared, Ryo was undergoing horseback training.

Of course, he had Sue Ku’s permission.

Moreover, the mansion’s guards were cooperating with him…

Next to Ryo, Abel was also casually on horseback.

Abel had been riding since he was a child at the royal castle, and he genuinely enjoyed it, so this wasn’t new to him.

It was more a way to relieve stress.

“You’re a natural, Abel… you really look the part on horseback.”

“Yeah, well. I enjoy it. And this horse is well-trained and easy to handle.”

“Oh, my horse is too. Apparently, they picked gentle and easy-to-ride horses for us. According to Captain Milan of the Seventh Guard Squad.”

“The Seventh Guard Squad? Are they the ones near the stables…?”

“Yes, that’s them. They’re such nice people. Captain Milan is apparently one of the top horse experts in the mansion. I’m quite lucky.”

Ryo said happily.

As they slowly rode in circles around the backyard, Mifa, who was staying at the mansion, approached them.

“What are you two doing?”

“I’m training in horseback riding. Abel is showing off his skills.”

“Hey…”

Ryo answered Mifa’s question, making Abel shake his head slightly.

“Indeed… Master, you’re very skilled. Even to my eyes, it looks like you’re one with the horse.”

“Ahaha…”

Mifa’s praise made Abel chuckle awkwardly.

“As expected of someone of noble standing…”

Mifa murmured, recalling her conversation with Princess Shio Fen, though neither of them caught her words.

“Sue-sama said the current state of heightened security will remain for a while.”

“Understood.”

Mifa reported to Abel, who had dismounted, and he nodded in acknowledgment.

Meanwhile, Ryo was still on horseback.

“Is Ryo-san going to stay on that horse for much longer?”

“He wants to be able to read a book while on horseback. I imagine he’ll keep riding for a while, switching horses as needed.”

“What…?”

“That’s just how he is. He never minds the effort it takes to achieve his goals”

“That’s… impressive.”

“When you have someone like that close by, it makes you want to do it too.”

Mifa remarked in surprise, while Abel smiled as he spoke.

Ryo, still on horseback, was stroking the horse’s neck and murmuring something to it.

Naturally, being a horse, it couldn’t understand him, but…

Somehow, he seemed to be enjoying the conversation, occasionally laughing.

“He’s not actually having a conversation with the horse, is he…?”

“He shouldn’t be… but with Ryo, I can’t confidently say for sure.”

The world, after all, is full of mysteries.