Water Magician - Chapter 403: Before the Festival

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

Two days left until the Pope’s inauguration.

The entire Holy Capital became lively.

The inauguration ceremony itself will be held at the Papal Palace and surrounding church-related facilities.

But before the inauguration ceremony, the pope traditionally travels in a horse-drawn carriage through the main streets of the Holy Capital to bless the faithful.

As a result, the entire Holy Capital becomes as lively as a festival.

“It’s feels great, the atmosphere of the days before a festival like this.”

“It reminds me of the maiden voyage ceremony at Whitnash.”

“We faced a difficult opponent at Whitnash last time. Now, how about this time?”

“When Ryo says that, it really seems like it would happen, that’s so troubling…”

Etho rejoiced in the atmosphere of the town, Amon thought back to the festival in the port town, Ryo remembered the confrontation with ‘that fire magician’, and Niels sighed.

The four people from Room 10 were talking while eating cake and coffee set on the terrace of ‘Cafe Roemer’, the cafe adjacent to the Kingdom’s delegation accommodation.

To be honest, they didn’t have much work to do, so that was how they killed time.

However, there was only one thing that bothered Ryo.

That was the whereabouts of alchemist Neil Andersen.

As far as Ryo knew, he was not inside the Papal Palace.

He asked Graham to look for him, but he had no clues either.

Recently, he had even thought that perhaps he had already left not only the Holy Capital but also the Theocracy.

He did say he would go to the Dark Continent.

Even though he was a little bothered by it, he didn’t take it too seriously…

There was a more serious problem than that.

The four of them were prohibited from acting alone by their leader, Hugh McGrath.

The four of them managed to get the holy swords back and freed the magicians who had been captured by the underground government, including the four magicians from the hero’s party.

Naturally, they must have attracted the attention of many powerful people.

Therefore, they were basically only inside the delegation accommodation.

When they do go out, all four of them visit ‘Cafe Roemer’ next door.

That was the decision.

“We haven’t been hunting monsters lately.”

“Where did that come from all of a sudden, Ryo?”

Ryo suddenly muttered and Niels heard him.

“There were quite a few monsters on the way to these Western Countries, but… especially since we entered the Theocracy, we haven’t encountered them at all.”

“That’s true. Unlike the Central Countries, people live in a fairly small area.”

“Still, it seems that there are some monsters in the depths of the large forest, and the knights sometimes subdue them as training.”

“So it’s not the adventurers who subjugate monsters, it’s the knights.”

Ryo commented sadly, Niels answered, Etho explained the situation, and Amon pointed out the difference from the Kingdom.

While they were having that rambling conversation, Ryo suddenly noticed a scene that caught his attention.

“Don’t you find… there are quite a few people who give out an exotic atmosphere?”

“Yeah, I understand what you’re trying to say, Ryo-san.”

Amon responded softly to Ryo’s quiet comment.

Cafe Roemer is located in the Holy Capital of Marlomar, which can be called the center of the Western world.

Moreover, it is located right next to the Papal Palace, which is said to be the most high-society area in the Holy Capital, and is known as a high-class cafe.

Therefore, many of the customers are sophisticated in their dressing style.

Of course, there are exceptions.

“We’re clearly out of place…”

Niels muttered while shaking his head slightly.

Yes, the adventurers of the Central Countries Delegation were an exception to that.

However, all four of them noticed what Ryo pointed out.

It was not like that some kind of obvious ethnic costume.

Their outfits were common to those in Western countries, but…

“Ah! The color of their hair is different, isn’t it?”

Amon pointed out.

Yes, it’s unclear if they dyed their hair or not, but they were green, pink, and even light blue…

The person with light blue hair had a well-shaped face and looked quite nice.

“I think they are probably guests from the Dark Continent.”

Etho answered with a smile.

It seemed like he was getting his information from somewhere.

Probably among those who serve God, the clergy of the Western church.

Priests and clergy.

If you think about it normally, they should be killing each other… well not to that extent but it looks likely to be a relationship where they point fingers at the other person and criticize ‘it’s heresy!’.

The Western Church also has something called the Inquisition.

However, it seems that this is not actually the case.

The founder of the Western Church, New-sama, apparently advocated for ‘freedom of religion’…

A group of about five guests from the Dark Continent were eating cake deliciously.

Just by that act, there was the possibility of world peace.

Yes, delicious food is justice!

Ryo felt inexplicably happy.

With that, the four of them left ‘Cafe Roemer’.

The five guests from the Dark Continent had no idea that they were being watched by the four people from Room 10.

Of course, those five people were not the only guests.

Hundreds of people have arrived in the Holy Capital to attend the pope’s inauguration as guests.

“Whew, this cake is delicious. It goes surprisingly well with coffee from our continent.”

“Patrice Tshisekedi, I agree that it is delicious, but is this really okay? For us to fool around in a place like this…”

“Guti, I always tell you not to call me by my full name. It’s fine. His Excellency the Chief himself said, ‘Go to Cafe Roemer’. This is Cafe Roemer.”

The man called Patrice shrugged his shoulders and explained to the woman he called Guti.

The three others listened to the conversation between the two with bitter smiles.

“Besides. His Excellency the Chief specifically asked us to go to a specific location. I think there’s probably something here.”

Patrice spoke a little quieter the first time.

When told that, Guti nodded and said.

“Ah, I see. That might be true.”

But Guti didn’t notice.

After that, Patrice grinned.

The look on his face was a perfect expression of ‘Guti, too naive!’.

Of course, the other three, having caught a glimpse of Patrice’s face, smiled even more bitterly than before.

That was a common sight among those five people of the escort party ‘Refreshing Five Peaks’.

For the next hour, the five of them stayed at ‘Cafe Roemer’ after getting another serving of the cake set… but nothing special happened.

Patrice Tshisekedi, who said it basically because it was the first thing on his lips, and the three of them who were smiling bitterly, didn’t think anything of it, but only Guti, who was serious, kept repeating, ‘Nothing’s happening~’.

In fact, they were instructed to go to Cafe Roemer so that someone would see them, not because something would happen… but they didn’t even consider that.

In addition, those five people did not know where they would stay after that.

Even the ‘Chief’ who ordered them to go didn’t ‘see’ that far…

In the lobby on the first floor of the dormitory where the four people from Room 10 returned.

“Niels-san!”

A man spotted Niels when he returned and called out to him.

“Huh? Harold? It’s been a while. What have you been doing?”

“Yes. I went to Bacirta, the royal capital of the Eastern Kingdom of Lasha, on the instructions of Commander McGrath.”

Harold from Room 11 answered Niels’ question.

Behind Harold were Gowan and Zeke.

Both of them bowed slightly to the four people from Room 10.

“Speaking of Bacirta, the royal capital of the Eastern Kingdom of Lasha, it’s the place where Cardinal Graham was stationed when he was an archbishop, right?”

“Yes, exactly. We were there to run an errand for him.”

Etho asked, and Harold nodded in response.

While the four people from Room 10 were getting some things done, the three of them also seemed to be gaining experience.

For some reason, Ryo was folding his arms and nodding haughtily.

He must have been satisfied with the way the three of them were gaining a lot of experience and growing.

Of course, Ryo didn’t contribute anything to that.

Then Hugh McGrath, the leader of the delegation, came down from upstairs.

That was quite rare.

That was because Hugh usually stayed in the lobby during the day.

His room is on the upper floor, but he doesn’t go there until night…

But it was now eleven o’clock in the morning.

“Oh, Room 11 is back too. Just nice. Room 10, Room 11, and Ryo, please come to my room for a moment.”

Hugh said and went up the stairs again.

The seven of them looked at each other and quickly followed.

Hugh’s room had a large conference desk.

Seven people sat around it.

“I’ll hear the report from Room 11 later. First, I have something to tell you guys.”

After saying that, Hugh paused and continued.

“The other day, Archbishop Goon and his superior, Cardinal Camilo, came to our lobby. Graham informed me that their threat had been eliminated. They didn’t look any different, but he assured me that they would not pose a threat to the delegation.”

“What on earth does that mean…?”

Ryo directly asked Hugh the questions he had on his mind.

“I don’t know either. Maurice, the scout for the hero party, brought a letter from Graham a while ago. It said exactly what I just said. Well, it might have been a related technique he cultivated in the place he came from before he joined the hero party…’’

“The Inquisition…. They say they use smoke to take away your free will and rewrite memories…”

“Yeah, I fear that’s probably the case… to move up in that kind of organization, it’s impossible to maintain spotless integrity. They would need quite steely nerves to not only be broad-minded enough to accept both good and evil but also do it all with a smile on their faces…”

“That’s amazing… I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

“Yeah… I can’t do it either.”

Both Ryo and Hugh shook their heads slightly, frowning.

Truly a power struggle filled with conspiracies!

“That’s why Archbishop Goon and Cardinal Camilo are no longer a problem. Among the Cardinals, the biggest problem seems to be a man named Cardinal Sacharias. I was told to be careful with him.”

“The Cardinal who is also an alchemist, right? Graham-san told me that Cardinal Sacharias was the one who made the brooch and bracelet. Also, the underground space connected to the 4th vault in the western city of Zephyrus. I think the huge magic circle drawn there was probably designed by Cardinal Sacharias.’’

“Seriously…?”

Hugh relayed information, Ryo offered facts and speculation, and Niels was surprised.

“I got the impression that there was a common thought process with the magic formulas for the brooches and bracelets. It really varies from person to person. The more complicated it is, the more noticeable the designer’s idiosyncrasies. It’s easy to tell like music. Once you get used to it, even if it’s the first time you hear it, you’ll know who composed it. It’s just like that.’’

“Ah, I see.”

Zeke and Etho were the only ones who nodded in understanding to Ryo’s explanation.

I guess the rest are muscle brains after all…

“It’s the same with paintings. I don’t know much about the touch or the style, but I can kind of tell that it’s a work by the same artist. I guess that’s what it feels like.”

Hugh McGrath came up with the solution.

He is a huge, intimidating man, and out of all of them, he looks the most ‘muscle-brained’, meaning even his brain probably looks like muscle, but surprisingly, that is apparently not the case.

In fact, he may have had quite a decent education…

“As expected of Hugh-san… unlike Niels…”

“Ryo, are you trying to say something?”

Niels interjected as Ryo murmured.

“O-of course, I’m not. I’m just saying that Hugh-san is well-educated, and as expected of the grandmaster. I’m not comparing him to anyone else.”

Ryo replied looking prim.

The tongue is the root of calamities.

Peace is best.

Of course, there was no need to explain why Etho stifled his laughter and Amon was smiling wryly.

In the end, after some discussion, the four people from Room 10 left the room.

It seemed that Hugh would listen to the detailed report from the three people from ‘Room 11’ after that.

The four of them descended the stairs and headed to the first floor.

However, Etho called out to Ryo.

“Ryo, is there something you’re concerned about?”

After all, Ryo was walking down the stairs with his head slightly tilted thinking about something.

Usually in situations like that, he would say things like ‘I’m torn on what to have for lunch’ or ‘What kind of cake set should I have?’ but Etho probably thought that wasn’t the case today.

“No, it’s about the holy swords we got back…”

When Ryo said that, he thought about it for a moment before choosing his words.

There was no point in using words that only he could understand.

“The being who is trying to extract the Fragments of God from us, well we could call them the Fallen… but we believe that the Fallen is like a former angel…”

When Ryo said that, Etho nodded silently.

Seeing that, Niels and Amon also nodded.

“But… angels are really out of reach for us, right? Isn’t the term ‘angel’ mentioned in the doctrine even in temples?”

“Yes, they are. Also, ordinary priests do not experience this, but there is a legend that Saints have talked with angels. Although it is very rare.”

Etho answered Ryo’s question while thinking about various things.

Then, after thinking about it, he understood what Ryo was trying to say.

“Ah, does Ryo think that it would be impossible to defeat angels, or that Fallen, with a holy sword?”

“That’s right. As expected of Etho. Angels… I don’t think we can harm them with something like that.”

Etho said and Ryo nodded in response.

Of course, the angel that came to Ryo’s mind at that moment was Michael (pseudonym).

“But in that case, I don’t understand why Cardinal Camilo and the upper echelons of the Western Church were putting so much effort into getting their hands on the holy swords. Leaving aside the ones in the vaults, they were even trying to get what the delegation people had, weren’t they? That’s not normal. It would make more sense to think that the Fallen, or someone who was instructed by the Fallen, did it. I doubt they would target the delegation members if it was just an ‘if’. After all, we are their important ‘sacrifices’.”

Ryo finished saying that in one breath and sat down in the lounge.

The other three also sat down.

And four Dark coffees were ordered.

“Yes… maybe the holy swords are not meant to defeat the Fallen.”

Etho slowly spoke, thinking about what he had thought again.

“What do you mean?”

Ryo tilted his head and asked, and Niels and Amon also looked at Etho with uncertainty.

“I think it’s not a weapon against the Fallen, but something that the Fallen would create or summon. You recall, when we were first teleported by the Akuma Jean-Jacques, Wraiths repeatedly appeared in that city. That came to mind.’’

“I see. A weapon against summoned beings like followers… that seems like a possibility!”

Ryo nodded and affirmed Etho’s guess many times.

Niels and Amon’s focus was already back on the coffee that was served…

“Ryo, do you think that Fallen would manifest?”

Etho asked Ryo with a more serious expression than before.

“When you say manifestation, you mean whether or not it would appear in this world in some form? An existence like God or an Angel.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

When Ryo clarified, Etho nodded and answered.

“I don’t think so.”

“Why?”

Ryo answered immediately and Etho asked.

“Hmm, it’s hard to explain, but I think the place where they are and the place where we are are in different dimensions… ah, different places. They are in contact, but they cannot travel between the places. It’s a connection where they can interfere, but can’t appear in the other place. It’s hard to explain…”

“Hmm”

Let’s think about it in three dimensions and two dimensions, as we did before.

Imagine that we are in a completely flat two-dimensional space, and a ball is floating in three-dimensional space one meter off the ground.

A ball in the three-dimensional space can hit the adjacent two-dimensional space where we are.

At that moment, it will cause damage to us in the two-dimensional space.

If the ball hits us, we’ll definitely be hurt.

It is possible to ‘interfere’ in that way.

But can that ball come to the flat two-dimensional space we are in?

The spherical shape of a ball itself is a three-dimensional shape… so it would be impossible for it to become two-dimensional.

A ball drawn in two dimensions… in other words, a ball in a picture, is entirely different.

We two-dimensional people basically cannot interfere with things in the three-dimensional space.

And we can’t travel to the three-dimensional space either.

A three-dimensional entity like a ball can interfere with two-dimensional entities whenever it pleases.

However, it cannot travel to the two-dimensional space.

That was Ryo’s conclusion.

Therefore, the Fallen can interfere with them, but they cannot come to this dimension.

That’s what he thought.

Thinking so, he answered Etho.

He answered…

But he felt like something was missing.

He felt like he overlooked something big…

But… he didn’t know what.

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

If you like my translations, please support me on Patreon and unlock early chapter releases! 7 day free trial is available for Bronze tier now!