Chapter 344: Wager

Seven people who looked like guards were surrounding the sofa where Ryo was sitting from a distance.

Ryo was taken aback and remained seated on the sofa.

The last man who entered through the door seemed to be in command.

“Bureau Chief, what are you talking about!”

Captain Bangan asked the man with a harsh tone.

Right behind him was Vice Captain Amalia.

“Bangan, this man is not the Duke of the Kingdom of Knightley. He deceived us, thinking we don’t know anything.”

“No, but… I heard that his identification plate was checked at the border. It is practically impossible to forge an identification plate.”

“It must have been forged in some way that we don’t know. We can get inside information about the church. Naturally, that also included information about the Central Countries’ mission. Inside the mission roster, there isn’t a duke from the Kingdom.”

“What…”

The Bureau Chief explained and Bangan was at a loss for words.

That’s when Ryo finally understood.

He could calm down once he understood.

People are like that.

()

He set up a wall of ice around himself.

It would be troublesome if they suddenly jumped him.

He adjusted it such that the coffee placed in front of him would fit inside the wall…

Then, Ryo let out a small sigh.

What should he do?

Ryo was completely innocent in this case.

He had saved two lives.

However, he was misunderstood and was about to be arrested.

In other words, it was a battle that he could definitely win.

Ryo grinned in his heart.

However, the misunderstanding won’t be cleared there.

It can’t be helped.

Battles don’t always end on the spot.

However, Ryo’s hand was strong this time. Surprisingly strong.

If your hand is unbeatable… if it’s a royal straight flush, you don’t need to back down.

Rather, the trick is to raise the stakes as much as possible.

“I’m sure you understand?”

Ryo slowly verbalized those words.

He crossed his legs and drank the coffee slowly.

“The meaning of arresting the Premier Duke of the Kingdom of Knightley, which is a major power among the Central Countries.”

He daringly remarked and looked at the man who was called the Bureau Chief.

In his eyes burned suppressed anger…

“I am not a demon either. If you admit your error, if you apologize now, I will forgive you.”

His tone was different from usual, but it was a voice that had the composure and power of a high-ranking person.

And then he took another sip of coffee.

“Ab-absurd!”

The Bureau Chief yelled.

He didn’t seem to want to apologize.

“We have evidence!”

He had absolute confidence.

But what if the source of the evidence is wrong…?

“I’ll teach you what’s wrong.”

Ryo smiled faintly, really faintly.

It was surprisingly eerie to those around him.

For the Bureau Chief, it was more than eerie, it was closer to fear…

Clearly, he was struck by Ryo’s ‘pressure’…

“The place you should check with is not the church. You should check with the mission itself.”

“What…?”

In fact, there were quite a few members of the Central Countries’ mission who knew about Ryo, but not many knew that Ryo was the ‘Premier Duke of the Kingdom’.

Of course, most of the escorting adventurers from the Kingdom knew, but… they knew that when Ryo acted as an adventurer, he wanted to be treated as ‘C-rank adventurer Ryo’, so they treated him as normal…

After finishing the coffee, Ryo stood up.

“Then, I’ll be returning to my inn.”

“Wait!”

The guards behind Ryo reached out with their hands in sync with the Bureau Chief’s voice, but they were blocked by an invisible wall.

“What?”

“Physical barrier?”

The completely transparent wall of ice may be indistinguishable from a physical barrier to ordinary humans.

Literally no one could touch him.

As Ryo walked, the people in front were pushed out of the way by the .

Ryo left the gate of the Secret Services Agency with everyone kept at a distance, no one was able to hold him back.

Next to the Bureau Chief, he could see Captain Bangan and Vice Captain Amalia bowing their heads at him deeply.

They seem to be good people…

The bad impression that Ryo had of the Secret Services Agency as a whole was somewhat softened by the two of them.

“Welcome back, Ryo.”

The receptionist at Doge Pietro, the inn where Ryo was staying, recognized Ryo and bowed respectfully.

The receptionist at that time was a nice-looking man.

It appeared that they shared information perfectly.

He recognized Ryo even though he didn’t give his name.

“I’m back.”

Even as Ryo answered, his eyes were captivated by the small blackboard at the lounge on his left.

“Excuse me, that lounge’s ‘blackboard cake of the month’…”

“Yes. This month’s ‘mousse chocolat covered with glacage chocolat’ is a new original from our patissier.”

He didn’t know what it was, but it sure sounded like a delicious cake.

But there were more important words than that.

Glacage… ‘Chocolat’, Mousse… ‘Chocolat’.

“Thank you, I’ll try it.”

Saying so, Ryo moved to the lounge and ordered ‘This month’s blackboard cake’ and mocha coffee.

The cake that came out was…

“I knew it… chocolate…”

Yes, after reincarnating on Phi, Ryo encountered chocolate for the first time.

The cake had a cylindrical shape, and the surface was covered with glacage chocolate, in other words, melted chocolate… or should he say that it was coated?

Of course, it had hardened by now.

He cut it with a fork.

The chocolate on the surface cracked with a crisp.

Cutting out a bite-sized chunk and bringing it to his mouth…

“Oh, sweet…”

The chocolate was sweet.

It was not something like 100% cocoa, but it was the sweet chocolate that ordinary people on Earth think of when they hear the word ‘chocolate’…

Right, especially this kind of chocolate…

“It goes well with coffee…”

Ryo had a moment of bliss.

After finishing the cake and drinking coffee, he heard something.

((Ryo? Can you hear me?))

((Eh? Kenneth?))

Typically, what Ryo wore on his ear was ‘Abel’s Soul Resonance’, so what he hears should be Abel’s voice… but this time, he heard Kenneth’s voice.

Well, the alchemy tool was developed by Kenneth, but…

((Ah, yes. I quickly pieced together a new alchemy tool so that I could talk directly with Ryo. However, of course, it is still Abel’s ‘Soul Resonance’, so even now, I am constantly having Abel touch the new alchemy tool. While that connection remains, we can talk like this.))

Somehow it seemed that he made a new alchemy tool.

What’s more, to converse with Ryo through it, Abel must constantly touch the alchemy tool.

Surely Abel must be signing documents with his right hand as usual while holding the alchemy tool with his left hand…

His Majesty the King always has it tough…

((Okay… I kind of understand. So, if Kenneth’s here, you’re here regarding ‘Fusion Magic’, right?))

((Yes. I heard that Ryo encountered fusion magic in the Western Countries.))

((Yeah, it’s highly likely.))

After saying that, Ryo talked about the man called Cesare and the people with him.

The strength of their magic, their brooches, etc.

((I see. With that kind of power, the possibility of fusion magic is high. It is said that the magic level of the Western Countries is higher than that of the Central Countries, but even so, it’s hard to imagine breaking up to the ninth layer of Ryo’s ice wall with a single strike. But if they used fusion magic… it’s not impossible.))

((Oh…))

That’s terrifying.

I want to increase the strength of my magic… that would be one of the wishes of any magician.

Alchemy that makes it possible and fusion magic… they are not opponents he can be careless about.

((As I said before, the easiest and most effective fusion magic is stacking magic. Those people likely also stacked the same magic to increase the output.))

((In other words, with one chant, many magic shots were fired?))

((Yes, that’s right. You’re not wrong to think of it that way.))

((But if that happens, the magical power used…))

((That’s right. If you stack it five times, it will consume five times of magical power…))

((I see. Sacrificing stamina to increase the maximum instantaneous output huh…))

However, there was a possibility that it was not just that.

((Fundamentally, if you multiply it by 5 times, it will consume 5 times of magical power, but depending on the quality of the magic formula used and the quality of the magic stones used for the alchemy tools, it may be possible to only use about 3 times of magical power… I only recently found out that it is possible to save magical power))

((What…))

((I’ll have to tweak the loop mechanism part of the magic formula a bit…))

Compared to three years ago, Ryo’s alchemy-related knowledge has progressed dramatically, but even so, he still could not fully understand the explanation…

Ryo vowed to study harder…

However, he understood some things.

Sacrifice endurance to increase instant firepower.

((But Kenneth, you unveiled fusion magic, right? It’s pretty amazing how they adopted it right away and refined it to this degree of perfection…))

((Yes, it’s amazing.))

Ryo could imagine Kenneth nodding over and over again.

((Frank… Frank de Velde, who made artificial golems in the Union, could probably do it. As for the Western Countries… I’m not sure. But there are quite a few alchemists there. Ryo, please be careful.))

((Yeah, got it. Thank you.))

If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-fi and Patreon and unlock early chapter releases!