“We did it!” Ryo crowed in delight. “Excellent haul, don’t you think?”
As usual, Abel frowned as he walked alongside the water magician.
Ryo knew that look. He was about to complain, but this time, he’d get ahead of him!
“Abel, please don’t say a word.”
“Ah, so you knew I was about to say something.”
“Of course. How long have we known each other?” Ryo answered confidently. “I suppose you were going to complain because you’re hungry and in a bad mood, right?”
“No, you ass! What about this situation led you to think that?!”
He had a point. By their “situation,” Abel was referring to the fact that nineteen Ice Carts, each one loaded with a “sculpture,” were following Ryo in single file. Unusually, you couldn’t even tell what the sculptures—or, more accurately, ice blocks—contained. Regardless, any passersby would describe the sight as magnificent.
Abel, obviously, knew the ice blocks contained the people they’d just fought and captured.
“Any particular reason you made the boxes opaque this time?”
“Weeell... They were bad people who carried out sabotage and endangered citizens all over the Kingdom, but they did so under the orders of the Empire and fought bravely...so I don’t want to display them like a freak show. Call it a samurai’s compassion.”
“What the heck is a samurai?”
“Um, let me think... Does ‘chivalry’ ring a bell?”
“Huh?”
“What do you mean ‘huh’?”
Ryo understood “samurai” might not translate, but how could anyone in a kingdom with knights not know what chivalry was?
“You know... Knights fighting for their lord, rescuing beautiful damsels... Does that not exist?”
“No idea. In books and stories, sure, but...” Abel shrugged.
“I see.”
Apparently, nothing stayed consistent when your entire world changed.
“It seems we live in an era where people will achieve their goals no matter the cost, then, hm?”
“Wow. That’s a bit...much, isn’t it?”
“Ugh, why do you always have some little retort? Swordsmen are too selfish for their own good. I wish you’d at least try to understand the sensitivities of a magician.”
“Yeah, no. Seems more like a ‘you’ problem, Ryo.” Abel looked at the convoy of Carts following Ryo. “Anyway, I can’t believe the Empire has gotten this bold.”
“How many bad guys have we caught now? We’re practically a two-man counter-terrorism unit!”
“Not entirely sure what ‘counter-terrorism’ means, but I’d wager groups like this lot are way more common than we know.”
“What a terrifying world.”
Ryo shook his head in horror.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Hey, you mentioned you knew one of the people among that other group, right?”
“Yes.”
“Is it someone I know too?”
“It’s Jurgen.”
“Who?”
Ryo, ever generous, deigned to give Abel a proper explanation.
“You remember that magician from the Empire? He had something about fire in his nickname.”
“The Inferno Magician, Baron Oscar Luska. And his nickname is two measly words, Ryo. I know you know it.”
“Anyway. Jurgen is his subordinate.”
“Huh?”
Alas, despite Ryo’s perfect explanation, Abel was slow on the uptake.
“Jurgen is Inferno Man’s subordinate.”
“Really?”
“Why would I lie?”
“Calm down. I’m just surprised. So he works for him, huh?”
Abel pressed a hand to his forehead. In other words, their convoy included Oscar’s adjutant and General Rancius, the commander of the Twentieth Imperial Regiment. Both were undoubtedly key figures in the Empire.
“Trouble’s coming. I can feel it.”
“As citizens of Knightley, we can’t just ignore bad actors subverting the kingdom, can we?” Ryo said, his voice matter-of-fact.
“You’re right. But...” Abel paused. He knew Ryo was right, but something else was bothering him. “I think you’ve mentioned before that the people you freeze can hear what’s going on around them. So they can hear our voices, correct?”
“Good memory. Yes, I did. They can hear perfectly fine—if they’re inside my normal Ice Casket.”
“Okay...”
“But this version is different. The temperature is extremely low, putting them in a state of suspended animation. Therefore, they can’t hear our conversation.”
“And what does that mean, exactly?”
“Well, hm... It means they’re half dead.”
Clearly, cryopreservation didn’t exist in the Kingdom yet.
“Whoa. And why did you decide to make them half dead?”
“Because that Jurgen fellow is an excellent magician, which means it’s entirely possible he can cast without words—with his thoughts alone. So, I thought it was prudent to remove his ability to have thoughts.”
“Wait, what? It’s possible to cast magic without an incantation or even a trigger word?”
“Yes, yes, those are the phrases. ‘Incantation’ and ‘trigger word.’”
“Now just wait a damn second. Are you saying you can use magic just by thinking about it?”
“Yes, I can. Haven’t I told you?”
“This is the first I’m hearing of it.”
What a shocking revelation! Now Abel knew Ryo’s secret!
Abel glanced at Ryo’s hand and saw he was clutching something. “What is that?”
“This? Jurgen was holding it.”
Ryo showed him a cube, about ten centimeters on either side. It emitted a dull light and seemed metallic, but it was impossible to tell what was inside or its function.
“This is obviously unique. I know it’s some kind of alchemical tool, but I have no idea what it does, its intended purpose, or how to use it...”
Ryo looked a bit frustrated. He dabbled in alchemy, but this box was beyond his understanding. He couldn’t figure out how to open it. There wasn’t a single button or anything of the sort... Though it galled him, he knew the best solution.
“Let’s have Kenneth take a look at it.”
Baron Kenneth Hayward, the genius alchemist, would know more.
“We’ll go straight to Lune. No stopping in Acray,” Ryo said.
“Fine by me, but are we rushing just to get that box to Kenneth faster?”
“Partly. The more important thing is that I think we should report to Hugh as soon as possible.”
“‘Report,’ huh? More likely, you just want to dump these guys on his doorstep and let him deal with the rest, right?”
“Wh-Whatever do you mean? Prompt reporting is a given for a working professional,” Ryo said, pointedly avoiding Abel’s gaze. Though his argument sounded reasonable, he knew it wasn’t convincing.
“Well, it’s not like we can do anything about them anyway,” Abel remarked with a glance at the convoy.
Ryo followed his gaze. “Precisely.”
“Man, Hugh has it tough being a guild master, huh?”
“I completely agree.”
Abel and Ryo shook their heads as they considered the misfortunes about to befall Hugh McGlass.
As if they weren’t the messengers of those exact misfortunes.