Water Magician-Chapter 655 : Deployment
Chapter 0655 Deployment
Translator: Jay_Forestieri
Editor: Tseirp
The tenth ship of the royal fleet set course for the southern Darwei town of Boago.
Naturally, that meant they would not stop by the imperial capital Hanlin.
“We were able to load enough provisions at the port town of Mei-Hei. I also conveyed our gratitude to the magistrate’s office, so there should be no problems.”
Captain La Wu explained.
“If I recall, you handed them something like a handwritten letter of thanks from His Majesty?”
“Yes. Captain Moa Shu of Mei-Hey’s port garrison was moved as well.”
Captain La Wu answered Ryo’s question.
The two nations had suffered an unfortunate clash in the past, but perhaps they were now trying to move past it and walk a path toward peace.
After Captain La Wu left, Ryo spoke to Abel, who was reading a book beside him.
“Peace is truly a wonderful thing.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“Abel, our Kingdom of Knightley should also push forward with a diplomacy of letters of thanks.”
“What’s that supposed to be?”
The king tilted his head at the premier duke’s proposal.
“We’ll hand out letters of thanks, personally written by King Abel, to the lords of neighboring countries.”
“No—letters of thanks and the like should be very rare, right? If you spam them, they’ll have the opposite effect.”
“Is that so? Aren’t you just saying that because writing them is a pain?”
Ryo gave Abel a sly, puzzled look.
It was the inverse of their usual roles.
“Think about it. If a lord of the kingdom had a handwritten letter of thanks from the Emperor of Debuhi Empire displayed in his office, what would you think?”
“He’s bound to betray us someday!”
“See?”
“Indeed... let’s drop the idea of ‘letters of thanks diplomacy’.”
Ryo frowned and shook his head slightly.
Even diplomacy meant to bring peace didn’t always produce peaceful results.
How fiendishly difficult diplomacy could be.
The next morning.
Captain La Wu presented their sailing plan to Boago.
“We don’t have exact charts or reliable wind information, but we expect to arrive in roughly three weeks.”
“Understood.”
Emperor Tsuin nodded.
Since setting sail, Emperor Tsuin had apparently been holed up in the stern captain’s cabin, writing letters.
“After proclaiming our safe arrival in Boago, he’ll probably send them out to the regions.”
Abel murmured as the briefing ended and they dispersed, watching the emperor return to the captain’s cabin.
“A proclamation of ‘Rise up, citizens!’ sort of thing, huh?”
“I don’t quite follow...”
“You wrote something like that once too, didn’t you?”
Ryo remembered.
Yes—when he rose in the southern town of Rune to liberate the kingdom ravaged by the imperial invasion and the king’s younger brother Raymond.
Abel had written a rallying manifesto addressed to the realm’s lords, urging them to rise together.
“The first to respond was the Marquis Hope family in the west. It’s Ignis-san’s family.”
Ignis was a diplomacy specialist whom the two had traveled with as part of a delegation.
He was the second son of Marquis Hope.
“Ah. The Marquis Hope family, one of the great western nobles, and the Rune Frontier Count family and the Marquis Heinlein family in the south immediately expressed support. I knew the two southern houses would support us early on, but having Marquis Hope show support at that stage was huge.”
Abel explained.
Originally, Abel had also been an A-rank adventurer belonging to Rune.
So the southern great nobles supporting him looked natural to the other kingdom nobles.
But having one of the kingdom’s great western nobles—Marquis Hope—quickly throw their weight behind him carried significant impact.
“Do you think this time will be like that?”
“I don’t know... to begin with, can we even say the other side is a clear enemy?”
Abel tilted his head at Ryo’s question.
“Besides, wasn’t more than half of the Shitaifu class aligned with Prince Kouri’s faction? They gambled their futures on his faction, and that prince seemed to have seized supreme power. So how they will move is uncertain...”
“Hmm... but His Majesty the Emperor is the supreme authority, isn’t he?”
“That’s true, but an announcement was made that the kidnappers pronounced the Emperor dead. Those in the capital now probably don’t know the emperor is alive.”
“Indeed...”
“The real question is how they’ll act after they learn he’s alive.”
“That’s difficult.”
Both Abel and Ryo understood the formalities.
The rightful supreme—the emperor—had returned.
If he reclaimed the throne and the country continued to function as before, that would be ideal.
Yes, that was the official line.
On the surface, it might look like everything would settle peacefully.
But they also knew reality could display a very different appearance...
“Just as many in the Shitaifu class follow Prince Kouri, each of those Shitaifu members has retainers beneath them.”
“That’s right. Those retainers also have families and subordinates. Choices are made bearing responsibility for all those people.”
“You can’t choose based on a sense of justice alone anymore.”
Both Abel and Ryo had seen much within the kingdom.
So they did not want to unilaterally denounce those in the Shitaifu class aligned with Prince Kouri’s faction.
“I hope it doesn’t turn into direct armed conflict.”
“Heading to Boago is part of the preemptive measures for that.”
Abel said firmly.
“You can’t avoid war by thinking ‘I don’t want to fight; I hope they don’t attack’. The very feeling that you hope they won’t attack means you are not overwhelmingly superior to them militarily.”
“Well, if we were overwhelmingly stronger, they wouldn’t attack. So it’s true you don’t just sit around hoping they won’t attack.”
“If we’re not overwhelmingly superior, they might attack. What do we do?”
“...Make ourselves overwhelmingly superior?”
“Yes—that’s best.”
Abel nodded at Ryo’s answer.
That was the answer of a king.
He answered with confidence that it was the measure to take as one who leads a country.
“At times like this, I really see Abel as a true king.”
“...What do you usually think I am?”
“A starving swordsman.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”
A corner of the Kouri Royal Residence in the imperial capital Hanlin.
The Kouri residence hosted a wide variety of retainers and guests.
Many kinds, many statuses.
But among them, one of the most famous figures was undoubtedly Lord Rowon, one of the Six Saints.
As the strongest water-attribute magician, he held a place among the Six Saints—the pinnacle of magicians and sorcerers—and was also known as the capital’s foremost alchemist.
Lord Rowon was walking through a part of the residence he usually did not visit.
There was no particular reason.
His feet had simply carried him there that day, at that time.
But in that building he found some extremely uncommon people.
“Well, the fire Buon, wind Leo Lin, and dark Barda... Three adventurers among the Six Saints gathered—how rare.”
“Huh? Isn’t that Old Man Rowon?”
The brusque voice belonged to the fire-attribute magician Buon.
Though a magician, he was nearly 190 centimeters tall and so brawny he looked like a swordsman. In appearance, he was a close-combat type, not a typical fragile magician.
Buon was a fire-attribute magician, but his prowess as a swordsman also reached the heights of the capital’s adventurers; he was even listed among the physical peak group ‘Six Swords’ alongside the Six Saints.
At thirty, he was in the prime of an adventurer’s life and, of course, a special-rank adventurer.
Beside him stood the slender wind-attribute magician Leo Lin.
Born the same year as Buon, he wielded a staff as tall as himself and, with seemingly inexhaustible mana, overwhelmed foes with relentless offensive spells.
Despite a gentle appearance, his ferocious consecutive attack magic was staggering.
Finally, a short man in a gray cloak with his hood pulled deep over his face—the dark-attribute magician Barda.
Dark-attribute magicians are quite rare in the Central and Western countries.
The situation is no different in the Eastern countries; dark-attribute is less common compared to the other five elements.
Nevertheless, dark-attribute—able to affect the human mind—is powerful in every situation and, far from being shunned in places like the Central countries, is often highly valued here.
At the pinnacle of the Eastern countries’ dark-attribute magicians stood Barda.
He always wore his hood low, and it was said no one had clearly seen his face...
“The three of the Six Saints are preparing to depart? Hmm... maybe I should pretend I didn’t see anything.”
“You’re catching on, old man. Only His Highness knows. Does that make things clear?”
“Hmm. But you still don’t know where the ‘target’ will appear, do you?”
“There’s a certain geezer who’s been very active. I can’t say more than that.”
Buon shrugged after speaking.
“As I thought, I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything. You lot, don’t fail, alright? Even if you’re Six Saints... there’ll be troublesome people around the ‘target’.”
“Hey old man, you taking us for fools?”
At Rowon’s teasing, Buon responded with an undercurrent of irritation.
“Six Saints or whatever, it’s irrelevant. People just praise us with titles they don’t understand. But don’t get it wrong—we are special-rank adventurers.”
Buon declared firmly.
Pride seeping into the word ‘special-rank adventurer’.
“Special-rank adventurers don’t fail.”
With that, the three set off.
Watching them go and after they were out of sight, Lord Rowon muttered.
“If you fail, I’ll have to go on assignment myself... that’s something I’d like to avoid.”
Three weeks after the tenth ship left the port town of Mei-Hey, it arrived at Boago.
“We have been awaiting you.”
Those who greeted the party were people familiar to Ryo and Abel.
One was Count Bashu, Roche Ten.
The other was his uncle...
“It’s been a long time, Fu Ten.”
It was the former Boago deputy magistrate, Fu Ten.
“Most glad to see you safe and well.”
“By His Majesty’s clemency and pardon.”
Emperor Tsuin looked pleased; Fu Ten looked grateful.
Fu Ten had once been the lord of a territory further south of Bashu—the Barrow County. He had been responsible for guarding the Eastern Palace where the crown prince lived.
On the very night he was on duty, the crown prince was murdered in his sleeping quarters within the Eastern Palace.
As a result, Fu Ten lost his title as Count of Barrow and was reassigned as deputy magistrate within the domain of his nephew, Count Bashu Roche Ten.
But when Fu Ten looked at Emperor Tsuin, there was no trace of resentment.
On the contrary, he seemed to offer heartfelt respect.
Emperor Tsuin, for his part, seemed genuinely pleased to see Fu Ten again after so long.
Afterward, Fu Ten noticed some unexpected people standing behind Emperor Tsuin.
“Aren’t those the adventurers, Ryo and Abel? Long time no see.”
“You’ve been well.”
“Fu Ten-dono seems in good health as well.”
Ryo and Abel greeted him with smiles, but...
Another person suddenly panicked.
“Uncle, those are the Duke Rondo and Albert-dono you heard about.”
The hurried explanation came from Count Bashu Roche Ten.
Of course, Roche Ten had not known at first either.
But by now, he had learned that Ryo was Duke Rondo and that Abel was his bodyguard swordsman, Albert.
“Oh my... That was most rude of me.”
At the Boago magistrate’s office where the group moved, troops were lined up in formation.
“The troops of the Bashu domain, but in fact some...”
Count Bashu Roche Ten began to explain, but immediately faltered.
There was something difficult to say.
“It’s fine; I won’t be angry, so speak.”
Emperor Tsuin encouraged him.
“Yes. Actually, soldiers from the neighboring Barrow domain have come, wishing to lend their strength as well.”
“Barrow? I see—that was Fu Ten’s territory.”
Emperor Tsuin nodded at Roche Ten’s explanation.
“Your Majesty, I am sorry.”
Fu Ten bowed his head.
“The people of the domain must wish to aid Fu Ten. They likely thought that by coming to the capital with me now, your restoration would be expedited. It is a sign that you governed well as their lord.”
Emperor Tsuin said this almost happily.
After nodding broadly, he continued.
“Very well. I had intended to restore the Count of Barrow to you eventually. This merely speeds up that process. I will here and now re-establish you as Count of Barrow.”
“Y-Your Majesty!?”
That was surely unexpected even for Fu Ten.
His voice completely cracked.
“Since I have not abdicated, I remain Emperor of Darwei. There should be no problem.”
Thus, Fu Ten was restored to the County of Barrow after five years.
When the news spread, cheers rose, especially among the Barrow soldiers, and spread outward.
“That’s wonderful, Fu Ten-san.”
“Ah, Ryo... no, Duke Rondo, my thanks.”
Ryo didn’t mind being called ‘Ryo’, but in front of Emperor Tsuin and his retainers, he understood it was better to use the Duke Rondo title.
Being mindful of which identity to use was surprisingly bothersome.
“When the crown prince was assassinated, there were even opinions suggesting our entire family, me included, be executed.”
“What!?”
“But Your Majesty withdrew my title as Count of Barrow and sent me away to be a local deputy magistrate. Without letting the surroundings object, you first removed me from the capital. And you posted me to my nephew Roche Ten’s domain. All by Your Majesty’s clemency. If you had not acted so decisively, who knows what would have happened.”
“At that time, I still could judge.”
As Fu Ten explained this to Ryo, Emperor Tsuin approached and said as much.
“The instant I heard Jun had died, I thought I had to do something for Darwei. So I think it was good that I made the decision about Fu Ten immediately. But day by day, I sank into despair. The more I thought, the more I realized Jun was truly gone... I became listless.”
Jun was apparently the crown prince’s name.
Emperor Tsuin seemed to be recalling that time.
His face twisted.
Recalling one’s past mistakes is never comfortable for anyone.
Yet sometimes one must overcome them.
Often, it is not for oneself... but for something more important than oneself.
“Lately, I feel I’ve begun to understand Jun’s feelings.”
“His Highness the Crown Prince’s feelings?”
“He truly enjoyed going out among the people and interacting with them. To be honest, at the time I did not understand why...”
Emperor Tsuin paused, shook his head slightly, then continued.
“It was simple. He was happy to see the people’s joy.”
“Ah...”
“Having been shut up in the palace for so long, I couldn’t grasp that. So lately I’ve tried to go outside the palace once in a while.”
Acknowledging that going out too often had led to his kidnapping.
He laughed wryly.
It seemed he had recovered enough to be able to laugh about even his abduction.
“And those people you mentioned?”
“Ah—They’re scheduled to arrive tomorrow, I hear.”
At Emperor Tsuin’s inquiry, Count Bashu Roche Ten answered.
The instant Emperor Tsuin nodded at that, a report came in.
“Urgent from the north!”
Emperor Tsuin took the dispatch and read it at a glance.
Then he handed it at once to Count Bashu Roche Ten.
Roche Ten’s words were astonishing.
“The Peiyu nation has surrendered to the Choouchi Empire...”
