Water Magician-Chapter 633: Fade to Black

Editor: Tseirp

The Eastern Countries’ Joint Conference began with Grand Duke Atinjo’s opening declaration and Duke Helb Plak’s introductions of the delegates and running of the meeting.

Ryo had expected a clamorous, heated exchange — a conference full of shouting and sharp clashes of opinion — but his expectations were betrayed.

The meeting proceeded with a surprising calm.

The basic policy that all participating nations would unite against the Choouchi Empire passed without issue, and so did the clause that, for military matters, the frontline and decision-making authority would be entrusted to Darwei.

“This isn’t what I thought it would be.”

“What did you expect it to be like?”

“A chaotic shouting match where angry voices fly, and everyone denounces the other side — an uncontrollable meeting!”

“Is there really an international conference like that? I’ve never heard of one.”

“An international conference is war with swords exchanged for words! It’s not something pleasant!”

For some reason, Ryo stated that with great conviction.

Abel, an active head of state, had no idea why Ryo insisted so strongly — in fact, he thought the opposite.

“In a bilateral negotiation, maybe, but a conference with many nations won’t be like that, right? Besides, before the leaders gather, bureaucrats do the pre-adjusting.”

“That’s being soft! That way, the leaders won’t be forged.”

“Hmm, I don’t get it.”

Ryo’s argument made no sense to Abel.

Of course, since Ryo’s assertion was essentially fantasy… it wasn’t surprising that Abel didn’t understand.

At that moment, Abel gave a faint smile.

Ryo noticed and frowned.

“What are you smiling at?”

“Oh, it reminded me of a lecture I once had back when I was at the royal castle — a lecture on ‘how to approach a conference properly’.”

“Excuse me?”

Ryo didn’t understand, so he asked for clarification.

“Do the Knightley royal household teach things like that?”

“Probably because I was terrible at it, the teacher figured it’d be better to teach me directly. I’ve never heard that my elder brother took that kind of class, though.”

Abel smiled faintly.

Meanwhile, the meeting continued… and was progressing remarkably smoothly.

“If the proposer comes in saying, let’s have everyone give their opinions here and decide something, nothing will be decided, and only time will be wasted.”

“That’s true, I guess.”

“So you need to at least prepare a draft proposal beforehand. And you must think through the final landing point as well.”

“I understand a draft, but can you really foresee the landing point?”

“Oh, it’s not hard. By checking the positions of those who’ll participate and what has been proposed so far, you can make reasonable guesses. With that, you don’t have to hit the other side directly — you can judge from the materials at hand, right?”

“Indeed.”

Ryo nodded at Abel’s explanation.

Ryo had heard something similar once from a senior who’d gone into a foreign consultancy.

The first thing his manager told him upon assignment was to enter meetings having prepared a working plan and the line you can concede up to.

That applied to internal project meetings or talks with other companies, anything at all.

Some say Westerners are better at running meetings than Japanese, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re better at arguing.

They simply prepare a plan and fallback positions before the meeting begins, check the concession line with superiors, and imagine the landing point, so decisions proceed smoothly.

If you call that being skilled at running meetings, then fair enough.

Gathering in a room with no proposals or outlook and arguing back and forth achieves nothing; time just slips away.

Ideally, schools should at least teach that ‘trick’ in high school.

It’s useful anywhere and lasts a lifetime.

People who manage to make things happen in meetings often do those things unconsciously.

There may be a real difference between ‘holding a meeting’ and ‘having a debate.’

Debating in the meeting is fine… but that’s not the essence of a meeting.

A meeting is a place to make decisions.

Debate is not primarily for making decisions.

Understanding that alone would eliminate ‘meetings that don’t lead to decisions’…

And now, before Ryo’s eyes, a meeting that decisively reached decisions was unfolding at breathtaking speed.

The chair was Duke Helb.

Without a doubt, he had prepared the landing point in advance.

The military frontline would be Darwei.

Because of command relationships, no troops would be dispatched from other nations.

Cooperation would take the form of material support.

That was a reasonable landing point both for Darwei and the other nations.

If troops were sent from other countries, public sentiment would become an issue.

“Why should we travel to fight for an attack coming from some unheard-of, remote northern country?”

The soldiers sent would also be emotionally conflicted.

So restricting support to supplies was a sensible, decisive measure.

For Darwei, having poorly motivated foreign troops at their flank would bring nothing but harm.

As a result… by the morning of the first day, the basic treaty had already been signed.

“It’s amazing…”

“Yes, truly. Duke Helb’s management of the proceedings is superb.”

Ryo and Abel whispered to each other as they watched Grand Duke Atinjo and Duke Helb leave the conference room for the lunch break.

“This meeting was supposed to be three days long, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. But with the treaty signed, it’s just the fine adjustments left, right? Deciding the kinds and amounts of supplies each nation will provide. But that’s a bureaucratic matter, not for the heads of state…”

“Practically, the conference is over.”

Even the two of them hadn’t expected this.

But it was by no means an unpleasant surprise.

“Long meetings are just a nuisance.”

“Better to finish quickly and spend the freed-up time meaningfully.”

Whether or not their minds had immediately gone to searching for a good Kwebasa restaurant, nobody could tell…

A waiting room had been prepared for every delegation.

Duke Helb returned to Grand Duke Atinjo’s waiting room after finishing a few adjustments with other nations.

In the inner anteroom, Grand Duke Atinjo sat.

The lunch set before him was almost untouched.

“Brother, will you eat?”

“I have no appetite.”

Grand Duke Atinjo answered with a bitter smile.

Helb said nothing further.

He had a rough idea why his brother lacked appetite.

It was likely due to the influence of the .

Since Helb had been assigned as ambassador to the free city of Kwebasa, this was the first time he’d seen Grand Duke Atinjo’s meal.

Once, Grand Duke Atinjo had eaten with a boisterous, magnanimous gusto, so seeing this made Helb honestly uneasy…

But there was nothing to be done by voicing it.

“I’ve finished the adjustments with the other nations. It seems fine.”

“As expected of Plak. I thought leaving it to you would work out… but I never imagined it would be finished by the first morning.”

Grand Duke Atinjo said, laughing openly as he praised him.

Helb looked pleased to be praised by the elder brother he respected.

It was a face he never ordinarily showed.

Only before his brother could he remove his usual mask and show himself fully…

The fifteen-year age gap probably felt comfortable to Helb.

“In the afternoon, we’ll announce the contents of the signing and decide the kinds and amounts of supplies from each country. You’ll appear for the beginning of the afternoon announcement, but the later work on supply details can be left to the bureaucrats — you and the other heads of state may rest. You only need to attend the closing ceremony at the end…”

“Understood. I’ll leave it to you.”

Grand Duke Atinjo nodded at Helb’s suggestion.

Helb felt a small relief.

He didn’t know exactly how burdensome resisting the

would be.

But from looking at his brother, he could tell it demanded considerable physical exertion.

His brother’s will was strong and his gaze sharp, but still…

Then it happened.

“Ugh!”

Grand Duke Atinjo made a muffled sound, clutched his chest, and collapsed to the floor.

“Brother!”

Helb rushed to him in a panic.

And shouted at the same time.

“Someone! Call a healer!”

Servants poured into the room with Helb’s cry.

One of them ran to fetch a healer.

Helb understood immediately.

This was almost certainly the work of the .

A healer could do nothing.

What he had feared had happened…

“There… Zlurma, are you there?”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Grand Duke Atinjo called out in a pained voice, and Zlurma answered.

Apart from Grand Duke Atinjo and Helb, Zlurma was the highest-ranking courtier present.

“You… be my witness. I command you… Duke Helb Plak… To cut off my head…and pierce the heart…the vessel of my soul… Do it…”

“…I, Zlurma, accept being the witness.”

“…I, Duke Helb Plak, have received this direct imperial command.”

There were many others in the room besides the three of them.

Of course, they didn’t understand what was happening.

They didn’t know why Grand Duke Atinjo suddenly gave such an imperial command.

They didn’t understand why Duke Helb accepted it without protest.

But they did know this was no ordinary crisis.

That much was obvious.

Only a fool who couldn’t tell the gravity of the situation would remain idly beside Grand Duke Atinjo.

Helb rose, took down a sword that had been propped aside.

It was Grand Duke Atinjo’s sword.

He unsheathed it and dropped to one knee.

He placed the sword at the fallen Atinjo’s neck.

“Plak, I leave the rest to you.”

“Yes… brother.”

A single flash.

Then a thrust.

Grand Duke Atinjo’s head was severed, and his heart was pierced.

“Your Excellency…”

The first sound to break the silence of the inner room came from Zlurma.

It was a question addressed to Helb, who still held the sword.

“Forgive me. Leave me alone for a while.”

Helb said in a small voice, but the whole room heard it.

Everyone left the room, and the door was shut.

“Brother…”

Tears overflowed with that whisper.

A small, choking sob.

The sound of the sword falling from his hand.

“I will recover. I will surely recover, so please, just a moment…”

Helb’s voice leaked out as a whisper.

The task had been entrusted to him.

He would give it everything he had.

But please, just a short time…

To have slain the beloved brother he revered with his own hand… even Helb, who had been raised to possess an unshakeable heart from childhood, felt the impact.

That unshakable heart was indispensable to him as a practitioner of sorcery and as the younger brother of a future grand duke.

Precisely because of that, he had a nearly perfect composure.

Still, this was painful.

And yet…

It had all been calculated…

“Ugh.”

A muffled sound escaped Helb himself this time.

In that instant, he realised.

It was the .

“Damn… the target was me from the start.”

To shake an unshakable heart, they had made him kill his beloved elder brother.

Immediately after that, the shaken heart was taken.

“How could I be so careless…”

Helb’s consciousness vanished.

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