Water Magician-Chapter 660 : Cost-effectiveness Concerns

Chapter 0660 Cost-effectiveness Concerns

Translator: Jay_Forestieri

Editor: Tseirp

The day after Emperor Tsuin’s return was announced in Boago.

At the magistrate’s office, a man knelt on both knees and wept like a child.

“Tin, thank you for coming.”

“Your Majesty...”

The one weeping was Forbidden Army Commander Tin Meu.

Emperor Tsuin took Tin’s hands as Tin knelt and sobbed.

“With you here, it’s like having a hundred men.”

“Uwah... Your Majesty, I failed to protect you...”

Tin could not stop his tears.

“That was unavoidable. I still regret that I rejected your recommendation to strengthen the guard before departure.”

“Your Majesty...”

Commander Tin, who had conveyed that Emperor Tsuin was alive and entrusted his rescue to Ryo and Abel, had arrived in Boago with the support of Secretary Shau of the Censorate and Zhuon, Chief of the Inspectorate.

After crying his fill, Commander Tin found Ryo and Abel and clasped his hands together in deep gratitude.

“Duke Rondo, Albert-dono, you rescued His Majesty in good health. I offer my heartfelt thanks.”

“No, Tin-san. We did what any guest of the Emperor would do. Please don’t trouble yourself.”

Ryo said this and returned the alchemy tool used to track Emperor Tsuin.

“I return this to you, Tin-san, who has shown the greatest devotion.”

“Thank you.”

To devote one’s entire loyalty to a single person.

It is no simple thing.

Watching Tin return once more to the Emperor’s side to guard him, Ryo nodded repeatedly.

“Abel, in our kingdom, the man equivalent to Tin-san would be Warren, right?”

“Yes. Warren’s family has long produced the kingdom’s bulwark. You could say they are the lineage that stands closest to protect the king.”

When Ryo asked Abel, Abel answered so.

Warren had been the great shield-bearer of the former ‘Crimson Sword’ and is now Count Carlisle, a leading northern noble who serves as the literal shield of the kingdom against the empire.

“Now that he’s Count Carlisle, he can’t guard right beside you, can he?”

“Well, yes, that’s true...”

Ryo nodded strongly at Abel’s words.

Then he continued.

“All the same, it’s time for a Warren Golem!”

“Huh?”

“I’ll make a Warren Golem of ice and have it act as your shieldbearer.”

“...Say what?”

“It’ll be fine. The usual golems are about 1.5 meters, but I’ll make a custom two-meter Warren Golem. Same build as human Warren, so Abel should feel comfortable.”

“No... I don’t think anyone would ever get used to a golem.”

Abel’s muttered objection was ignored by Ryo.

“An Ice Golem won’t speak, but then human Warren doesn’t either, so it won’t feel odd. Yep, it should work.”

“...Really?”

The guarded’s voice—Abel’s—was full of distrust.

“If I research the Flight Ring some more and integrate it into the golem, it might keep up with your flight. An aerial guard corps!”

“That might be pushing it...”

Abel flying with a Flight Ring while a Warren Golem flapped around him.

Perhaps several Warren Golems would take to the air.

“Even without golems, the castle has the Royal Knights and the Royal Guard Regiment to protect the king, you know?”

Abel made an attempt at resistance.

“When you say Royal Knights, you mean Captain Dontan and the like are doing their best. Royal Guard Regiment—did we even have such a unit?”

Ryo tilted his head.

“They stand in front of the doors to rooms in the castle, holding spears, right?”

“Ah! So they’re the Royal Guard Regiment.”

Even when Ryo sneaks about the castle, they are the sort who will pretend not to see him.

Of course, that’s because they know he is Duke Rondo...

“Well, Warren Golems won’t be ready right away, so for now let the Royal Guard Regiment and the Royal Knights protect you.”

“Yeah, let’s do that...”

For the time being, the image of a bulky Ice Golem standing behind King Abel was avoided.

Some time later,

Ryo murmured.

“Abel, I can’t help but feel uneasy.”

“That’s unusual—what’s the matter?”

Despite the earlier talk of Warren Golems, Ryo frowning and speaking negatively was rare, so Abel asked.

“I feel a strong sense of déjà vu about the current situation.”

“Déjà vu?”

“A scene I’ve seen somewhere before?”

“Ah... in Rune, right.”

“Yes. Before Abel stood as king and moved to retake the capital, when we were in Rune.”

Perhaps Abel had been thinking of it too.

The words came smoothly when Ryo mentioned it.

“Do you remember what happened then?”

“Let’s see? I only remember Ryo sprawled on the sofa in my room, reading an alchemy book, hehe.”

“N-Not that! Please erase that malicious memory!”

“Well, jokes aside. You mean the ‘Five Dragons’ attack?”

“Yes. They were sent to assassinate Abel, weren’t they?”

Back then, two of the kingdom’s strongest parties clashed.

The A-rank party ‘Five Dragons’, acting on the request of the king’s younger brother Raymond, attacked King Abel in Rune city.

The A-rank party ‘Crimson Sword’, led by Abel, engaged in a fierce battle.

“Assassination is an abhorrent means. Utterly indefensible. Yet history shows how many heroes fell to the assassin’s blade. It’s shockingly cost-effective.”

“If you kill one person, the opponent’s force might collapse. I can understand why someone would choose that method.”

Ryo shook his head sadly, and Abel shrugged.

Both agreed assassination was wrong, but their instinctive revulsion differed.

“Didn’t you say something like that before, Ryo?”

“What do you mean?”

“That if the emperor of the Debuhi Empire needed assassinating, to let you know.”

“Th-that was a joke! If Abel asked me to do such a thing, I’d cry ‘Abel has fallen to the dark side!’ and denounce him.”

“Yeah, that attitude sounds dark-side enough.”

Joking like that is a sign of closeness...

“If you’re so uneasy, shouldn’t you have gone with the land forces instead of the fleet?”

“Hmm... When Kabui Somar-san asked me, I did think I was needed there. But once the thought of the Emperor’s assassination entered my head, I wavered. Ah, but I have taken measures in this case too, you know?”

“Oh? If you’ve taken measures, then that’s fine, isn’t it?”

“Commander Tin of the Forbidden Army is here, so I think we’re okay...”

And so the Emperor’s army departed Boago.

The reason the Emperor’s main force deliberately proceeded by land;

was to account for the lords who, unable to judge the situation, would flock to join once they saw the movement.

Of course, for safety, there was a suggestion that the Emperor remain with the fleet.

But Emperor Tsuin himself refused that suggestion.

He said he had to personally take the hands of the lords who rushed to join him.

That courtesy would bind their hearts.

Hearing that, Abel inwardly nodded.

Ryo spoke aloud.

“Emperor Tsuin is a genuinely good ruler, isn’t he?”

“That must be his true nature. The death of the Crown Prince led him astray...”

Abel agreed with Ryo’s assessment.

But a problem occurred in the next town, Bant.