Water Magician-Chapter 674 : Visitors on the Deck
Volume 3.5, Ryo and Abel’s Journey Home
Chapter 0674 Visitors on the Deck
Translator: Jay_Forestieri
Editor: Tseirp
“The world is so wonderful!”
On the deck of the Tenth Public Vessel, a water-attribute magician cried out like that.
“Yeah, it really is.”
The swordsman beside him replied, but there was no vigor in his voice.
Predictably, the water magician shot him a hard glare.
“Abel is always like that. He has a slanted view of the world and only expresses negatively. If he were to cut back on that a bit more, people would be more likely to follow him.”
“No, I also think the view outside the deck is magnificent. I agree with that from the bottom of my heart. But when you say ‘the world’, you’ve got to include the deck too. On the deck...”
On the deck, a small drinking party had been set up.
Four participants looked fairly drunk.
Of course, they weren’t members of the tenth ship’s crew.
The crew, intent on navigating the vessel properly, rarely drank aboard the public ship to the point of drunkenness.
“Whee—drinking on a ship is great~”
“So this is what getting drunk feels like~”
“Can’t swing my sword...”
“When you’re drunk, even opening a ‘Gate’ to fetch booze becomes a hassle~”
Four Akumas—Leonor, Pastra, Argenta, and Jean-Jacques—were holding a drinking party.
“What a wonderful sight...so peaceful...”
“Is that so?”
Ryo said with a strained expression, and Abel gave him a dubious look.
“Seriously, why are Akumas on the deck of the public vessel?”
“Because Jean-Jacques opened a ‘Gate’ and they came through...”
“Yeah, when I say ‘why’ here, I mean why in the sense of reason, not how.”
“I don’t know how to answer that.”
Ryo said, frowning and shaking his head.
It had happened only thirty minutes ago.
The party had departed the imperial capital of Hanlin and was heading for the Atinjo Grand Duchy.
Ryo and Abel, as usual, were idly passing the afternoon on the deck.
Ryo was fiddling with the Flight Ring he’d bought in Darwei, and Abel was practicing sword swings.
Then, with no warning at all, a jet-black ‘Gate’ opened and four Akumas stepped out.
“I suppose this is perfect for us.”
Leonore said—Ryo heard it.
“Right?”
Jean-Jacques replied—Ryo heard that too.
“Good to have a place to run experiments.”
Pastra nodded—Ryo heard that as well.
“There’s enough room to swing a sword.”
Argenta murmured—Ryo heard that too.
After that, the drinking party began.
“You should’ve stopped them, Ryo.”
“It’s not my fault!”
Abel accused, and Ryo snapped back, flustered.
“Who here has ever beaten any of these four?”
“W-well, that would be me...”
“Then realistically speaking, who could have stopped them?”
“W-well, it would only have been me...”
Ryo kept glancing at the four who were drinking.
For reasons he couldn’t fully explain, their presence on this ship was connected to Ryo... he had to admit that much.
But admitting that didn’t mean he could simply stop them. He had only ever beaten them one-on-one.
What would happen if he fought all four at once?
Absolutely impossible.
After all, they were Akumas.
By the way, when the four appeared, the crew of the tenth ship, including Captain La Wu, had been surprised— but after a while, no one cared.
They realized the Akumas weren’t going to damage the ship or harm the crew.
Quiet exchanges of information circulated among them.
“They’re acquaintances of Duke Rondo.”
That single remark was enough for the crew to stop worrying.
And get back to their duties.
The situation added pressure on Ryo.
It was true that the four Akumas were acquaintances of Ryo. No doubt.
In fact, most of them had tried to take his life.
Still, there was no choice but to ask.
There was no one else to question.
“Um— excuse me.”
“Hm? What’s up, Ryo?”
“Ryo, you want a drink?”
Leonor asked, and Jean-Jacques invited.
Argenta silently offered a cup. Apparently, for Ryo to use.
“No, I’m fine. That’s not it—what are you doing here?”
“As you can see, we’re having a drinking party.”
Leonor answered, tilting her head. As if it were obvious.
“Wasn’t asking about that. I mean, why are you having a drinking party here?”
“Experiment.”
Pastra answered in a single word.
Yes—he knew she liked research and experiments.
“What kind of experiment?”
“To see whether Akumas get drunk when they drink on a ship.”
“...Excuse me?”
Pastra had given a perfectly concise answer.
As words, it was flawless.
The perfect reply to Ryo’s question.
And yet it made no sense.
Then...
Ryo noticed a more fundamental doubt.
“Do Akumas even get drunk from alcohol?”
“If they cut the decomposition circuit, they do.”
“Decomposition circuit?”
“The circuit that breaks down alcohol and poisons.”
“Is there actually such a thing...?”
Ryo nodded at Pastra’s succinct explanation.
He couldn’t follow the fine technical details, of course, but he accepted that Akumas must have such a circuit.
At the same time, he understood why poisons normally don’t affect them.
This might be useful information for the next fight... maybe.
There’s always a chance!
Ryo left the four and returned to sit beside Abel.
“They say it’s an experiment to see whether drinking on a ship makes Akumas drunk.”
“Yeah—I heard that.”
“They say if you cut the decomposition circuit, Akumas will get drunk.”
“I heard that too.”
“...That’s it.”
Ryo couldn’t bring himself to say more.
“There were a lot of things I wanted you to ask them— like why here, and when they’ll leave.”
Abel sighed theatrically.
“I thought I should get that kind of info too! I really did think so, but...”
“But?”
“They were having such a good time drinking, so I thought, ah well, whatever.”
“...I see.”
Both Ryo and Abel sighed.
Because it was peaceful, it was probably fine.
Then...
“All right, conclusion reached!”
Leonor declared, standing up.
She moved closer to Ryo and said,
“Then, Ryo, let’s fight.”
“Huh?”
Leonor smiled while Ryo looked like a pigeon struck by a bean-shooter.
But Ryo quickly pulled himself together.
“That’s not allowed.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re drunk.”
“If I restore the decomposition circuit, the drunkenness will wear off, right?”
“People who are drunk will insist they’re not drunk.”
“Hm?”
Ryo asserted emphatically, but Leonor only cocked her head.
“Look at that swordsman, Abel.”
“Hmm.”
“He always claims he’s not a battle fiend, but is that really so?”
“If someone says that himself, he’s definitely a battle fiend.”
Leonor agreed strongly with Ryo.
“It’s the same here! You can’t tell for yourself.”
“Is that so? Then it can’t be helped this time. We’ll fight the next time we meet.”
Ryo employed his usual dodgy logic to dodge the issue.
Hearing Leonor’s answer, Ryo inwardly relaxed— that went without saying.
The four Akumas left.
They had arrived like a storm and departed like one.
“Phew, I somehow got through that. Still, what on earth was that?”
“Hey, Ryo.”
“What is it, Abel?”
“You called me a battle fiend earlier, didn’t you?”
“Ah, that was just a figure of speech. I said it to get out of the situation. Inside, I was crying about having to sacrifice you, you know?”
“Oh ho~”
Ryo blurted that out in a fluster, and Abel shot him a suspicious look.
“You always say it: first survive, then profit comes after. That spirit.”
“Fine.”
Abel let the matter go.
Abel understood as well. It was thanks to Ryo’s peculiar persuasion that the Akumas had gone away.
If those Akumas had decided to go on a rampage, everyone except Ryo—Abel included—would have been killed instantly.
They were beings nobody wanted nearby.
“But why did they show up here?”
“I’m wondering about the same thing.”
Abel wondered, and Ryo frowned and shook his head.
He continued,
“When something abnormal behaves abnormally, perhaps something abnormal is about to happen.”
“That’s an unpleasant thought.”
Abel shook his head, frowning.
The Akumas’ visit had left both Ryo and Abel perplexed.
