Water Magician

Chapter 254: Epilogue

Editor: Tseirp

“Quite a lot happened this time around.”

“That’s a little unusual coming from you, Ryo.”

Abel said this to Ryo, who was standing beside him.

The former crown prince’s office in the royal castle.

In the end, Abel decided to make it his new royal office.

There were several ostensible reasons, but the real reason was that it has an escape path both in and out of the royal capital, making it convenient in many ways.

In the new royal office, Abel was still doing paperwork, assisted by Marquis Heinlein, and Ryo was sitting properly on the sofa talking.

The reason why he was sitting properly was, of course, because there was coffee in front of him.

If not, he would have been… loafing around~…

“Well, I did get a burn around my right eye and a huge hole in my gut. I guess it was my blunder for having my robe open after I landed at that time. But hey, I cut off both of his arms and didn’t pass out. So, in a way, it was my victory!”

“O-Okay…”

Abel acknowledged Ryo’s claim for the time being.

Since he couldn’t be bothered to engage him.

“And there’s also the teleportation event where the enemy’s leader appeared via <Teleportation>, so am I not right in surmising that ‘quite a lot happened’?”

“I’m not exactly sure what you mean by teleportation event, but, you’re right, that certainly caught me by surprise.”

Ryo said and Abel agreed.

Then Marquis Heinlein supplemented the information.

“That mass teleportation is not something that can be used very often, and every time it is used, Baron Hagen Venda’s health suffers. Perhaps it’s magic activated using one’s life force. And as a matter of fact, he teleported the Emperor’s Magic Division, and soon after that, he teleported the Emperor and 50,000 others, all the while vomiting blood. Apparently, he still hasn’t gotten up even after returning to the Imperial capital.”

“What spectacular magic that even Heal doesn’t work…”

“So that’s how far the Emperor had to go to show up there.”

Both Ryo and Abel felt a tinge of sympathy for Baron Venda’s situation.

No doubt, the magic put them in harm’s way, but the way the Baron was used was so unfortunate.

“Well, the fact that it’s not so convenient to use at will is good news for us. It won’t be funny if they were to suddenly send a large army to the royal capital with it.”

Abel stopped writing and said so.

In that moment, Marquis Heinlein said to Abel.

“Your Majesty, I have already informed Marquis Hope and the Rune Count about that matter concerning Sir Ryo.”

“I see. Was there any problem?”

“No. They were both very delighted. And were like, with that much power, it would be a big problem if some noble were to win him over.”

“Excuse me?”

Marquis Heinlein shot a meaningful glance at Ryo, and Ryo tilted his head and asked.

“Nothing, it’s just a plan to make Ryo a noble with your achievement in this last campaign.”

“A noble…”

Abel said, and Ryo asked with a raised eyebrow.

Because he didn’t have a very good impression of the word.

“The royal palace politics where the greedy and selfish assemble…days plagued by the rebellion of the people…harassment by neighboring lords…”

“Hey, what failed state are you citing?”

Abel interrupted Ryo’s muttering.

The Kingdom is a nation governed by law, and there are laws that even nobles must abide by.

They are, of course, more lenient than those for commoners, but this depends on the relationship with the royal family of the time.

Or more precisely, it depends on the power of the royal family itself.

If the royal family is strong, the nobles will obey it strictly, and if the royal family is weak, the nobles will act more brazenly.

Then, which spectrum does King Abel belong to?

Although it is still in the early days, he has the support of Marquis Heinlein, the Rune Frontier Count, and Marquis Hope, the great nobles of the south and west, as well as adventurers from all over the Kingdom, and is very popular with the people of the Kingdom because of his history.

Moreover, in the recent war, the territories of the nobles that had joined Raymond’s camp were taken over and were now under the control of the royal family.

Going forward, it is up to King Abel to decide which of the existing nobles will be given those territories, or whether a new noble family will be established…or whether the territories will remain under the direct control of the royal family.

It all depends on King Abel.

In other words, it was clear to everyone that King Abel’s power was going to be quite tremendous.

“The Flitwick Dukedom will be dissolved and a new dukedom established. Ryo, you will be the head of that dukedom.”

“…Come again?”

Ryo tilted his head at Abel’s explanation.

He very much understood what was said.

Just failed to grasp the underlying meaning.

Something that happens quite often in the human brain.

“So…what do you think of the Duke of Rondo? Ryo Mihara, Duke of Rondo. Your territory will be in the Rondo Forest. It’s an uninhabited area anyway, no one else would be able to rule it, and since there’s no one there, there’s no need to rule it. It’s just in name only.”

“And the Duke of Rondo will also be the premier Duke, since it’s a house established after dissolving the Flitwick Dukedom. In other words, you will also be a leading noble.”

Abel appointed him Duke of Rondo, and Marquis Heinlein explained the position of the Duke of Rondo.

“A leading noble…”

Ryo couldn’t think straight.

“As a leading noble, no noble would be foolish enough to think of taking you under their command. I told you didn’t I? I’ve thought it through.”

Abel knew that Ryo didn’t want to be taken in by the nobles and get tangled up with them, and he said that he had thought of a plan to deal with it.

This was the said plan.

Well, one would say it’s over the top.

“No, no, no, wait a minute…you could have gone with something like, Lord Marquis Heinlein here, that would have sufficed, wouldn’t it? What’s with suddenly making me a leading noble…”

“Sure, could have. But, I suggested this instead. You are the supreme power of the country. Your status will show that you’re directly subordinate to the King in name and reality, and that you’re not one whom other nobles can control.”

“It’s not like you have to do anything in particular in the royal castle. On a normal day, you don’t even need to go up to the castle… since nothing is compelling you to do so, like say, an event where all the nobles in the country gather together or something like that. Take the Marquis of Hope, for instance, he hasn’t been to the royal capital for more than a decade. Well, should a war like the previous one break out, I would like you to help out, but other than that, you can live your life as you like. You can live in the royal capital, or in Rune, you can even choose to stay in Rondo Forest, which is your territory.”

Abel nodded repeatedly as he said this.

He would be given an honorary position as the ‘premier duke’ or ‘the leading noble’, but would not be able to assume any authority or duties of a real national leader.

And Ryo, certainly, does not want any of that, and is grateful for it, but then…this must have been the train of thought of Marquis Heinlein, who happens to be a pragmatist.

“Well…if it’s an honorary title, then sure, I’ll accept it…”

“Great! Very good. I was wondering what I would do if you said something like, it’s a pain in the ass…but, I’m glad it turned out all right.”

Abel smiled happily and said so.

Marquis Heinlein also smiled delightfully.

“I’ll prepare a mansion for you in the royal capital, so you can use it as you like. Oh, and if you don’t use it regularly, some managers can take care of it for you. Well, I guess we’ll see how it goes.”

Abel said cheerfully.

He must have been very happy that Ryo had agreed to become the Duke of Rondo.

“Oh right, we will of course inform the nobles that Ryo will become Duke of Rondo, but not the general public. So you can continue your activities as an adventurer as usual.”

“Ah, that’s great to hear.”

“The government will give you a ‘plate’ to show your status in due course, so be sure to keep it well. It has a lot of uses. For instance, you can enter the ‘forbidden library’ of the Royal Capital Library with it.”

Ryo reacted to these words by springing up.

“The forbidden library is a great incentive! I’ve seen someone with that plate around Prince Willy before. Some random patrol was checking it with some kind of alchemy tool.”

Ryo recalled the incident on his way to the royal capital.

Being able to enter the forbidden library of the Royal Capital Library seemed to have been highly evaluated by Ryo.

Although the summit of alchemy was still far away…for instance, there might be alchemy-related books left by King Richard not only in the royal capital library, but also in the forbidden library of the royal castle….

“Abel, is there perhaps, a ‘Forbidden Library’ in the royal castle as well?”

“Er…is there?”

Abel, apparently unsure of his memory, asked Marquis Heinlein beside him.

“Yes, there is. The regulations are quite strict, so even Baron Kenneth Hayward, the chief of the alchemy workshop, would not have been allowed in…but, entering won’t be a problem for the Premier Duke I suppose.”

“Yay~”

Ryo made a series of little fist pump gestures at Marquis Heinlein’s explanation.

Abel watched on with a wry smile.

At last, peace was restored to the Kingdom.

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