Water Magician-Chapter 654 : Rendezvous
Chapter 0654 Rendezvous
Translator: Jay_Forestieri
Editor: Tseirp
That day, the forest suffered devastation.
“For the sake of His Majesty the Emperor, who is not yet fully recovered, the trees of the forest must be sacrificed.”
“Y-yeah... I suppose it can’t be helped.”
Ryo and Abel moved at a quick pace, talking as they went.
To ensure a smooth ride for the covered cart trailing behind Ryo, an ice road free of bumps was laid through the woods.
Bedding had been spread inside it, and Emperor Tsuin—still weak from having had blood drawn and not yet fully recovered—lay there.
“Abel, if anything happens, I’m counting on you.”
“What do you mean by ‘if anything happens’?”
Abel didn’t understand the meaning behind Ryo’s words.
“When Marie attacked the Imperial Palace before, she brought along those faceless things.”
“Faceless things?”
“Monsters with no eyes, nose, or mouth... gray beasts.”
“Oh, Shadow Stalkers, huh.”
The two Shadow Stalkers Marie had brought were driven off by Abel and the lady-in-waiting Mifa.
“I’ve heard those are creatures born from the forest.”
“That’s what people say.”
Even someone as experienced as Abel did not know the precise truth.
Shadow Stalkers were that much of a mystery.
“I once encountered them on my way toward the Western Countries.”
“Really? That’s rare.”
“After that, the forest warned me.”
“Uh... right...”
“Maybe there are some in this forest too. And we’re destroying the forest again.”
“So the forest might get angry and send Shadow Stalkers after us. If that happens, you want me to handle it?”
“Exactly.”
Normally, Abel would complain at such unfairness, but this time he did not.
They had achieved their original goal of rescuing the Emperor.
Now they had to bring him back to Darwei.
The Emperor rode on Ryo’s <Wagon>.
Ryo, after all, was a water-attribute magician skilled in defense.
Ideally, Ryo would guard while Abel took the offensive.
“Understood. I’ll fight then—Ryo, you watch over the Emperor.”
Abel was earnest and good-hearted.
After that, the three of them’s return proceeded fairly smoothly.
Along the way, Ryo and Abel often talked about what would happen after they returned.
“Even if His Majesty returns, I don’t think Prince Kouri will hand back supreme power.”
“Return power? I don’t get it. You mean he won’t give back the authority he’s seized? I agree. Those around him will resist even more than he will. They might try to make it a fait accompli.”
“Fait accompli? Ah—you mean they might simply eliminate the Emperor by force.”
“Exactly.”
Neither Ryo nor Abel were schemers.
Yet even they could imagine such things.
That meant if there were plotters or strategists around Prince Kouri, they might well take that step.
“Ideally, no one would know, but even if it becomes known, you can always just kill him afterward.” 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
“Well... he already controls more than half of the Shitaifu Class and holds the Imperial Palace. Even if something drastic happened, they could probably make it work.”
“So sneakily returning to the capital is absolutely out. We need a grand reentry. One that leaves the other side speechless.”
“That’ll be hard.”
The two often traded such theories.
Naturally, they had told Emperor Tsuin what had happened to the Imperial Court after his abduction.
“I see... Kouri has...”
Emperor Tsuin fell silent after that.
Ryo and Abel refrained from pressing the Emperor further; he was still far from fully well.
And most of what had happened transpired while they were away from the capital.
The bulk of their information had come through Secretary Shau, relayed by Inspector Li Wu, so they planned to meet up with the Tenth Ship and do more information-gathering.
As the days passed, Emperor Tsuin’s health recovered.
He had not been ill per se; he simply needed the blood he had given to replenish itself. With nutritious food and some care, he could recover.
“Duke Rondo, Abel-dono, I am truly grateful.”
The Emperor expressed thanks almost daily.
“No, Your Majesty. Please convey that gratitude to Commander Tin of the Imperial Guard and to Prince Ryun.”
Ryo always answered like that.
Most likely, the greatest regret belonged to Commander Tin.
Prince Ryun, who had requested Ryo’s cooperation despite knowing he might attract Prince Kouri’s ire, had also put himself in a dangerous position.
Compared to those stakes, Ryo and Abel were comparatively trivial...
“We merely moved a short distance, fought for our lives, and had an arm severed.”
“Don’t forget, Ryo.”
“Eh?”
“That during the fight, a large area of forest was destroyed and sacrificed.”
“Yes, I’m sorry...”
In a world where limb regeneration—the ‘Phi’ that could regrow limbs—had become possible, having an arm cut off might be less significant than destroying entire stretches of forest.
...No, that really should not be the case.
Far from the Choouchi Imperial capital, at the Phantom King’s main camp.
The Phantom King—sat.
“Taoran, you say a report from Marie has arrived?”
“Yes. It has just reached us.”
Taoran, who had accompanied Envoy Berke to the Darwei Imperial Palace and had been the woman who had whispered to Prince Bin behind a black mask.
Handed a report.
She handed it to the Phantom King.
Anyone who had seen Envoy Berke would have been startled.
The Phantom King and Envoy Berke were nearly identical.
The difference lay in hair color.
Envoy Berke had white hair reaching down his back and wore black Darwei Attire.
The Phantom King had black hair reaching down his back and wore white Darwei Attire.
But their manner of speech was completely different.
Imperial Envoy Berke was always polite.
The Phantom King was rough and blunt.
“For Marie of all people to send in a report... something serious must have happened. Did the capital get destroyed or something?”
Saying that, the Phantom King read through the report.
His brow clearly furrowed.
After slowly reading it once more, he handed it to Taoran.
“Read it. And let Berke read it too when he comes back.”
“Yes, sir.”
Taoran took it and read.
But she immediately looked up.
“She lost a duel and let Tsuin escape...?”
“Yeah, that’s what it says.”
“That can’t possibly be...”
“It can’t be helped. That’s what happened. Her opponent was that Duke Rondo.”
“Even if it was Duke Rondo, for Marie to lose in a duel...”
Taoran repeated it several times with an expression of disbelief.
But after a while, she came back to herself.
“What shall we do about pursuit?”
“Forget it.”
“Huh?”
“Who would we even send? The opponent was someone Marie lost to. The only ones who could fight him are Berke or me... and both of us are too far away to chase.”
“But still...”
Taoran understood as well.
She had seen Duke Rondo facing Imperial Envoy Berke at the Rondo Manor.
He was indeed strong.
But if they let the Darwei Emperor get away now...
“True, the Emperor’s southward movement could be a nuisance.”
The Phantom King said with a laugh.
Showing not a shred of respect.
“But don’t forget. What I want is the Central Countries. If the Emperor wants Darwei, let him have it—I won’t stop him. We’ll attack Peiyu as well. We’ll invade northern Darwei, too. But all of it is to reach the Corridor that leads to the Central Countries.”
“Understood.”
“I already crippled the function of the Atinjo Grand Duchy for the Emperor’s sake, and caused a ruckus at that Eastern Countries council. That choked Darwei’s rear... oh, speaking of which, I think Duke Rondo was the one who interfered with that as well.”
The Phantom King recalled the robed man he had faced in Kwebasa.
“Seems there may be some troublesome fate tying us together. The Central Countries, a duke of the Kingdom of Knightley, huh...”
The Phantom King laughed a little and spoke,
“The report says they collected as much of the Darwei Emperor’s blood as needed. We can’t move for a while anyway because of preparations. Let Marie know that this time we’ll let it go, so have her bring everything here.”
“Understood.”
Taoran said so and left the room.
“For Marie to lose, huh. When I fought him in Kwebasa, I did think he was a troublesome opponent... I’m interested. Should I fight him once more, this time in person? Hmm, that might not be bad either.”
Saying that, the Phantom King laughed ominously.
Ryo, Abel, and Emperor Tsuin took seven days to travel from the ‘Summer Villa’ and arrived at the port town of Mei-Hei in Peiyu.
“Your Majesty, I’m glad you are safe.”
“La Wu, you and the crew of the Tenth Ship have gone through a lot as well.”
“You honor us.”
Emperor Tsuin spoke to Captain La Wu and the others with a smile.
Some of the crew were even in tears.
Because the ‘Imperial Ship’ belonged directly to the Emperor and the Imperial Palace, their feelings toward the Emperor might have been different from those of other Darwei Navy crews.
“You are Inspector Li Wu of the Inspectorate, right?”
“For Your Majesty to know even my humble name...”
“I have heard from Chief Zhuon that you are an inspector with backbone.”
“I am most honored.”
At Emperor Tsuin’s words, Inspector Li Wu bowed deeply.
The group moved to an inn adjacent to Mei-Hei Port.
It seemed the crew of the Tenth Ship had been staying here while waiting for Ryo’s party.
“First, here is a summary of the movements in the capital since Your Majesty was abducted.”
After entering a spacious room, Captain La Wu said and laid several sheets of paper on the table.
They described, centered on the movements of Prince Kouri’s camp, the reasons why the camp of Prince Churei, the Third Prince, had been unable to act aggressively, and more.
“They appointed Prince Churei as Supreme Commander of the Northern Expedition?”
Ryo blurted out one item that caught his eye.
“Churei is straightforward, for better or worse. But that is also for the sake of the Darwei Imperial House and its people. If told it is for the country rather than himself, he will accept becoming Supreme Commander.”
Emperor Tsuin answered.
“But wouldn’t that be taken as him accepting being under Prince Kouri?”
Abel voiced his concern.
Emperor Tsuin did not respond verbally to that concern, only nodding in silence.
By accepting it, among the Shitaifu Class who had supported Prince Churei, those who were quick to chase advantage would surely have left him at once and drawn closer to Prince Kouri.
It might be questionable as human behavior, but those who lived around power could not survive without making such judgments and actions... that too was a fact.
“Prince Kouri predicted that Prince Churei would accept if it was framed as being for the country and the people, and calculated that this would split the Shitaifu factions that had been in Churei’s camp. Prince Kouri is impressive.”
“That calculation is very much like Kouri.”
Emperor Tsuin nodded at Ryo’s words.
But his face was clouded.
“His high level of calculation is admirable, but the people do not like being shown calculations.”
Emperor Tsuin muttered.
Ryo nodded repeatedly at that remark.
The masses do not like rational explanations.
Rather, that is the very nature of the masses.
Their nature does not change, no matter the era or the world.
If one reads history with that premise in mind, many things start to make sense.
If one studies without understanding that, the moment ‘the masses’ appear, one will panic.
“Why?” “Why do they act that way?”
It is not a matter of being foolish or wise.
That is simply how they are.
And the moment one understands that... the one who understands is no longer part of ‘the masses’.
Yes, from the instant you understand, you are no longer among them.
Then what do you become?
That is something you decide for yourself... it depends on what you do afterward.
But you cannot return to being part of the masses.
You will never return to being part of the masses.
You become something that is not the masses.
While Ryo was lost in such a digressive train of thought, Emperor Tsuin continued reading through the documents on the table.
His eyes were those of a ruler.
The expression filled with determination to carry forward the nation’s politics was unmistakably that of an Emperor.
Ryo exchanged glances with Abel.
Abel nodded.
Yes, Abel had thought the same as Ryo.
Emperor Tsuin was trying to reclaim his position as the Emperor of Darwei.
How strong his resolve went, they did not yet know.
Would he forcibly remove Prince Kouri?
If the Darwei army, including the Imperial Guard, turned against him, would he fight them?
If forces were blocking his return to the capital in the first place, how far would he go...?
Both Ryo and Abel felt they should eventually ask Emperor Tsuin these things directly and confirm.
“So Ryun is staying shut in the Royal Residence, claiming illness.”
When Emperor Tsuin muttered this while reading, Inspector Li Wu nodded.
“Did new information arrive?”
Ryo was surprised.
Up until Ryo and Abel left, no such information had come in.
“After Duke Rondo left this town, several developments occurred.”
Captain La Wu said this and gathered the documents Emperor Tsuin had finished reading, then began laying additional papers in the empty space on the table.
“These are detailed reports from inside the capital. This handwriting must be from the Censorate’s Shau, correct?”
“Just as you say, Your Majesty. They came to me from Shau-sama through our Chief Zhuon.”
Inspector Li Wu bowed.
“Come to think of it, those two were from the same cohort of the Central Examination, were they not?”
Emperor Tsuin said with a laugh.
At that, Inspector Li Wu and Captain La Wu both looked surprised.
Even though Shau and Zhuon were major figures of the state, they were astonished that the Emperor knew such details.
“In the palace examination under the previous emperor, those two argued fiercely. Even though it was the occasion to answer the Emperor’s oral questions! Both gave splendid answers, but before long they started debating each other... There has never been anyone like that before or since.”
Emperor Tsuin said, laughing nostalgically.
“And now they get along well...”
“Because they recognize each other’s ability.”
Emperor Tsuin nodded firmly once.
Then he turned to Captain La Wu.
“I roughly understand the situation so far. Now then, regarding what comes next, is there any information or proposals from somewhere?”
“Yes. Shau-sama and Zhuon-sama have a recommendation.”
Captain La Wu said this and handed over something like a tightly sealed envelope.
Emperor Tsuin opened it and read.
“Indeed, those two are remarkable. Have you contacted them already?”
Emperor Tsuin said this and handed the document to Ryo.
“Is it all right for me to read it?”
“Of course. At this point, I intend to trouble Duke Rondo to accompany me until the end.”
Ryo took it and read.
Abel leaned over from the side to read as well.
When both finished, they wore surprised expressions.
“Roche Ten is on board, I see. The other person—you can fully trust their loyalty as well.”
“Yes... actually, I know that other person too.”
“What? It seems you have far more connections within Darwei than I realized, Duke Rondo.”
Emperor Tsuin said and laughed cheerfully.
It was probably the first genuine laugh from the bottom of his heart since his abduction.
“Very well, our destination is decided. We head for Boago.”
