Water Magician

Chapter 407: Movement…

TLN: Please read my translations at , I did not give permission to any site to host my translations. 

Editor: Tseirp

Your Majesty Roberto Pirlo. By anomalies, do you mean the trace magic power being sucked out?

Ryo, who had just arrived, inquired intrusively.

Hmm. As expected of you, Ryo-dono, you noticed it.

No actually, I first realized it when Groen-san, who came to call me, narrated the abnormality.

Roberto Pirlo complimented him, but Ryo smiled wryly.

Even Ryo wasnt all-powerful.

Dont worry, its a matter of experience. Having been a magician for seventy-five years, it comes to me naturally.

Roberto Pirlo laughed as he said that.

Then he put on a serious face and asked.

Its the auditorium seats thats sucking out the magic power. As a member of the delegation, I would like to avoid ruining this inauguration ceremony since it might affect the outcome of the negotiations that the civilian officials have been working so hard to close. Nevertheless, these civilian officials are the ones suffering the most So, can you think of any way to resolve this situation amicably?

Roberto Pirlo, the man Lord Aubrey couldnt kill.

He is well-known for his intelligence.

But even such a man couldnt think of a way to resolve the situation peacefully.

Then Ryo began pondering.

To be honest, he still didnt completely understand what magic power is.

However, it is not something that exists outside of physics, which is the study of everything.

He could infer that from what Michael (pseudonym) said.

That being the case it should be possible to block it from sucking out magic power, or in other words, to block the transfer of magic power.

I have just the right water-attribute magic for the task. To carry out a little test may I try it out with just Your Majesty and myself? I reckon among those present, only Your Majesty and I can accurately recognize the subtle amount of magic power being sucked out so

Ryo-dono, thats

Its okay, Groen. You are right, Ryo-dono. We should try it on ourselves before applying it to the whole.

Ryo suggested, and as the guard captain, Groen tried to stop him, but Roberto Pirlo interrupted him.

Someone willing to take the initiative and put himself at risk thats the kind of man Roberto Pirlo is.

Now, please excuse me.

As Ryo chanted, a floor of ice formed under Ryo and Roberto Pirlos feet.

Nothing special, just the usual .

Appearance-wise.

Oh, its an ice floor, so its slippery. Please be careful. I tried to make the ice to be not as slippery as possible, but I just couldnt completely remove that slippery characteristic.

Ryo warned Roberto Pirlo, who was touching the that extended to the seats.

This ice isnt cold

Roberto Pirlo expressed.

Yeah, thats the whole point. I have stopped its change from ice to water and prohibited the transfer of heat. It may look like a single sheet of ice, but it is actually multiple layers, with a layer of ice in the middle that has almost no molecular vibration. In effect, forcibly stopping molecular vibrations, and presumably, that should also inhibit the transfer of magic power.

No matter what magic power is, it should vibrate.

By forcibly stopping the vibration, its propagation is blocked.

In a very simple model, it would be like a magic power thermos flask, where heat transfer is restricted.

By creating a vacuum between the two layers, the transfer of heat is prevented.

Its more of a Dexter energy transfer than a Forster resonance energy transfer.

Ryo had also speculated that this was probably the case when he saw , , and , which are said to be absolute magic defenses it would appear that he wasnt entirely wrong.

Somehow, it felt a little incorrect, but he didnt care.

After all, he had yet to comprehend the essence of magic

At first, I thought I could just try to prevent direct contact with the audience seats, but seeing that even with clothes and shoes on, magic power was still being sucked out all the same. Hence the multiple layers. Your Majesty, please see if magic power is still being absorbed.

Well to be honest, I didnt really understand Ryo-donos explanation, but it sounds interesting. We should get together and discuss magic sometime, but for now, let me check to see if the absorption of magic power has stopped.

Roberto Pirlo said, meditating and concentrating on following the flow of his magic power.

Ryo also closed his eyes, meditating in the same way, and followed the flow of his magic.

The flow of magic power that was being sucked out from the soles of his feet earlier had stopped.

Neither was there any absorption into the air.

The measure seemed to be successful.

Opening their eyes, they nodded.

A familiar face approached and called out to them.

Your Majesty, Ryo-dono, could you please tell me the outcome too?

Oh, Count Hans Kirchhoff. I didnt know you were a magician talk about a man of many talents.

The man who approached was Count Hans Kirchhoff, a member of the Empire delegation.

Roberto Pirlo said jokingly.

I, too, could feel my magic power being sucked out. Then I looked to the side and saw Ryo-dono heading towards the Union delegation, and was even talking to His Majesty Roberto Pirlo. So I assumed that this abnormality must have something to do with magic.

I see.

Ryo nodded broadly in agreement with Hans logical, yet concise explanation.

It seems that truly excellent people are excellent in any situation.

You sensed correctly, Count, this auditorium itself is sucking a trace amount of magic power out of us. I asked Ryo-dono if he could do something about it without making a scene, and apparently this ice floor he generated seems to have done the trick.

So, Im going to spread it so it covers the entire Union and Kingdom delegations. After that, Ill go over to the Empire delegation to set it up as well, so Count should return and inform everyone.

Roberto Pirlo explained, and Ryo added.

Hans returned without asking any questions.

Perhaps he could even guess what the siphoned-off magic power was for.

Same as these two.

Ryo-dono, the siphoned magic power is for activating that thing, isnt it?

Ah, yeah. So Hugh-san did tell you about it. It is probably for activating the huge magic circle in the basement of this Holy Capital. And if they could also strip the envoys who might resist of their magic power, it will be easier to suppress their resistance killing two birds with one stone.

Unbeknownst to Ryo and the others, Hugh McGrath was apparently also sharing information with the Union and the Empire.

Those who lead an organization tend to act without the knowledge of those below them.

Otherwise, the organization will not function properly.

Sometimes, some become the head of an organization without understanding such things

Naturally, the organization wont operate optimally.

You cant retain the same mentality as those below, otherwise the organization will quickly go bankrupt if you want to move up the ladder, you have to learn a lot of things.

For the sake of everyone in the organization.

Conversely, those who are not ready to do so should not be promoted to higher positions.

Your capability as an individual and the ability to run a project or an organization are two completely different things.

The sheer number of managers who dont understand this

Mm-hmm. Master McGrath sent a report to me. And of course, to the Empire delegation as well. Even the one about the sacrifice too. I also learned that Ryo-dono has arranged for the magic circle to be rendered ineffective.

Yeah. I just made it so that magic power is not supplied to the most central part, effectively rendering it useless The initial part works fine. In case whoever designed it decides to perform a test run or something.

Well, makes sense. So they dont find out that its been tampered with.

Roberto Pirlo nodded once in response to Ryos explanation.

Audience seats for the Kingdom Delegation.

Ice was laid on the floor by Ryo, and the chairs were also covered with ice.

Its not cold, but its hard.

In the audience seats.

Dammit I have a bad feeling about this.

Whats the matter, Commander?

Hugh McGrath muttered quietly, but Ignis, the chief negotiator sitting next to him, heard him.

Nah just, Im feeling a little restless in my chest area. At times like this, something terrible usually happens.

Ah Ryo-san called it gut instinct or something. He said that the more someone goes through hell and back, the more intense it is. And speaking of the Commander, I can imagine.

I sure hope nothing happens this time.

Hugh muttered, but he understood that the lives of the entire delegation were at stake.

He shouldnt have raised that flag.

He had done everything he possibly could. Everything.

But still, he thought.

He still thought he could have done more.

He thought he could have prepared better.

Commander, its all right. Youve done everything you can.

Ignis, the chief negotiator, said with a smile.

He is the man responsible for all of the negotiations, which he was exposed to daily under pressure that even Hugh would be unable to handle.

He is, without a doubt, the most mentally drained man in the delegation to the Western Countries.

His conduct of the negotiations would determine the interests, influence, and rights of many countries for decades to come.

Not just for his children and grandchildren, but for generations to come.

And eventually will come a renegotiation?

Will the side that signed a favorable treaty be willing to renegotiate it?

Is there a need to renegotiate?

Of course not.

The opportunity for renegotiation may or may not appear until fifty or a hundred years from now.

How many people will be bound by this treaty by then?

Thinking about it, it is not something that can be described in one word: pressure.

But then, the man said.

Its alright. Youve done everything you can.

Those words, more than Hugh McGrath could have imagined, lifted the pressure from his mind.

Ah, Ignis. Youre right.

Hugh gave a small nod, and seeing that, Ignis also smiled and nodded.

While the envoys from the Central Countries were being freed from the situation of having their magic power sucked out of them by placing their feet on the icy floor and sitting on the icy chairs, the inauguration ceremony was going on in the arena.

Ryo had returned to his original seat in the Kingdom delegation.

I was wondering how they were going to manage the magic power needed to activate that giant magic circle, but to think that they would rig the audience seating at the venue.

The scale is pretty massive, isnt it?

Etho questioned Ryos impression.

Thats right and it would take a lot of work. You would have to draw a lot of magic circles no, you can do this with a few larger ones maybe? But then again, the magic power that would be used to activate those magic circles

Ryo couldnt find an answer, and his voice was getting quieter

Then came Amons quiet but sharp voice.

The guests over there from the Dark Continent, arent some of them sleeping?

Yeah, they are. Well, maybe one or two out of a hundred people Does that mean theyre sucking magic power out of them too?

Amon reported what he spotted with his sharp eyes, and Niels agreed.

Should we destroy the magic circle or device alchemy tool or something around there thats siphoning the magic power? If we destroy it, though, its more likely that those at the center of this conspiracy will recognize that theyve failed and take hard measures.

Ryo asked, turning to Niels and Etho.

The party leader is Niels, and normally he makes the decisions, but in this case, since it was magic-related, Ethos opinion was respected.

Niels and Etho looked at each other and nodded.

Lets destroy it. They will soon realize that they have not been sucking any magic power from the delegation anyway. The enemy will eventually resort to forceful measures. Then wed better make the first move.

Niels said, and Etho and Amon nodded as well.

Understood.

Ryo nodded.

The four consulted with Hugh McGrath and received permission to proceed.

And so they sneaked out from the top stairwell, behind the auditorium

Authors note:

Abel hasnt appeared for some time!

Are there any readers who think so?

Yes, he hasnt appeared

Its not that Ive forgotten.

There is a reason.

Youll know eventually.

Yes, eventually hehehe.

TLN: Please read my translations at , I did not give permission to any site to host my translations. 

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