Chapter 358: Gμν(x)

Translator: Jay_Forestieri

Editor: Tseirp

“Y’all were taking your sweet time, so I started without you.”

“What are you talking about…”

Niels replied to Ryo’s words with a small shake of his head.

The six of them left Ryo and went to take a bath.

Ryo was already bathed, so he remained in the lounge.

((Looks like they’ve gotten themselves mixed up in some nasty business.))

((Even if you say that, it doesn’t leave much to go on…))

Ryo was somewhat bored, so he turned to the king in the royal capital, and Abel replied casually.

Even after becoming king, Abel is a good guy.

((I will ask them about it during dinner.))

((So Ryo is eating cake right now… and you’re still going to have dinner after this?))

((How did you know!))

((Because Soul Resonance doesn’t just transmit sound, but images too…))

((Oh, right. There’s something I wanted to report to Abel, or rather, consult you on. This time it’s purely about the negotiations between the delegation and the Theocracy.))

((Since you’re saying ‘this time’, until now, I take it that hasn’t been the case…))

((…))

((It’s alright, I get it, I’m not mad or anything.))

((Really? Well, the Chief Negotiator, Ignis, seemed really perturbed. About the sea trade routes.))

((Hmm. Well, I hear it’s quite a distance even by sea…))

((If the Kingdom were to trade with the Western Countries by sea, the central port would be Whitnash, wouldn’t it? That’s when it occurred to me. That, there was a very cool ship called the Rain Shooter in Whitnash.))

((Ah, yeah…))

Abel’s reaction suddenly became dull.

((It sure looked fast, so I thought it could be used for trade with the Western Countries. That’s the ship that the royal family had built, right? If Abel allows it, I think it would work out perfectly, what do you think?))

((Yeah…))

Ryo said this with an air of ‘what a great idea’, but King Abel’s reaction was extremely poor.

((At any rate, I, as a noble of the Kingdom, am proposing this after putting some thoughts into it, but what’s with that lackluster response of yours, Abel? If you have something to say, then you might as well say it.))

((You’re right…. Actually, the Rain Shooter is no more.))

((…Pardon? Sorry, please say that again. I think I misheard you.))

((The Rain Shooter is no more.))

((…Sorry, I must have misheard…))

((Nah, you heard me right! It’s gone, the Rain Shooter is gone! A year ago.))

((Gone…))

Ryo became extremely depressed.

Though it didn’t matter to Ryo whether it was there or not, it had nothing to do with him…

The Rain Shooter was a trimaran, which was unveiled at the Whitnash Port Opening Festival three years ago and was even called a revolution in shipbuilding.

It was so beautiful that not only Ryo but also the three members of ‘Room 10’ admired its appearance.

The ship also had a hybrid navigation system, in which water-attribute magic was used below the draft, and wind-attribute magic was used above the draft, and the ship ran with the repulsive force of the wind behind it.

The ship was commissioned by the royal family…

((A ship that cost 370 billion florins to build is gone?))

Ryo’s muttering was through ‘Soul Resonance’, so, of course, it was all transmitted to Abel.

((…I’m surprised you even knew about the cost.))

Abel, too, replied with a deep sigh.

Ryo could understand that Abel himself was also very disappointed.

((A year ago, it sailed out of Whitnash for oceanographic research… and hasn’t returned since then.))

((My goodness…. Ahh, don’t tell me, a victim of the Kraken…))

((Yeah, very likely. Besides Kraken, there are other huge monsters in the sea…. Of course, they were loaded with both powerful monster repellents and armaments…. Well anyway, that’s how the Rain Shooter went missing.))

How very sad.

((What about building another ship?))

((I believe we’re in the process of building another ship that specializes in transportation…. It will be a while before it is completed.))

((I see… that’s too bad.))

“Eh? Akuma? Etho, did you just say Akuma?”

Ryo’s voice quavered slightly in surprise.

“So you know of their existence.”

“You once said that coffee is as black as Akuma, hot as hell, pure as an angel, and sweet as love after all.”

Niels nodded, and Amon added.

“Huh…ah, sure…”

Ryo admitted it, reluctantly, although he looked like he wanted to clear up a slight misunderstanding.

Then again, he did quote Talleyrand after all.

“I’m glad you survived an encounter with an Akuma…”

Ryo meant it from the bottom of his heart.

“It’s all thanks to Sir Merlin who saved us.”

Niels answered.

“I see, Sir Merlin did that. A Djinn vs. an Akuma showdown… must’ve been quite a sight.”

“Yeah, the magic battle was beyond anything I’ve ever seen… that was magic, right?”

“It’s probably magic…”

Ryo fantasized, Etho recounted, and Zeke agreed.

It was an enigma far removed from the common magic practices observed in the Central Countries that even Etho and Zeke couldn’t comprehend.

From what the two tried their best to explain, Ryo could somehow understand…

Well, not in the literal sense.

“I would have loved to see that…”

Ryo’s thoughts were from the bottom of his heart.

“I’m especially interested in that Akuma’s clone-like teleportation… but Sir Merlin’s magic is just as amazing…. Gravity system? I wonder if it really exist? And the flying flames and ice, and flipping them around to return them to their origin… interference with inertial systems? No, Einstein said that what we think of as gravity is actually the bending of space… so if you can manipulate gravity, that means you can bend space. The Gμν(x) formula. I see, then, it’s no big deal to return an opponent’s attack by bending space…. Is it perhaps a non-attribute magic if it is not water, fire, earth, or wind, not to mention light or darkness? So intriguing…. Oh, come to think of it, the Southern Djinn also floated in the air when he was released. Anti-gravity! That’s what came to mind when I saw it…. Perhaps the Djinns are good at that kind of magic system? Like a trait inherent in their species or something? I’ll ask Sir Merlin to show me next time…”

All those words that Ryo thought he was saying in his mind were all leaked.

“I see, so that’s what goes on in Ryo’s mind!”

“He’s even decided to enlist the help of Sir Merlin.”

“I already knew he was up to no good.”

Amon nodded, Etho chuckled, and Niels shook his head as he expressed his thoughts.

Even though his words didn’t seem to contain any disturbing remarks, it may have been due to their impression of Ryo.

The poor magician.

“But still, what are ‘Akuma’? Of course, I understand that they are supernatural beings, different from us humans, but they seemed different from the so-called monsters… and different from Djinns like Sir Merlin too…”

Zeke asked no one in particular.

“Perhaps… beings out of this world’s biological system.”

Ryo’s muttering was not loud… on the contrary, it must have been on the lowest possible spectrum, but it reached the ears of all six of them.

“What do you mean, Ryo-san.”

The first to take the bait was Zeke.

“Huh… nothing, I just kind of thought so…”

Ryo was anxious with Zeke’s inquisitiveness.

Then Ryo became exposed to Zeke’s intense gaze.

Ryo gave up and decided to cough out a few things.

“Well… I don’t know that much either…. But I do, in fact, have an acquaintance who is an Akuma.”

“Eh…”

Ryo’s confession left all six of them shocked.

“Oh, I say acquaintance, but we’re not buddies… I helped them once, but, well, that was just an act of kindness of sorts…”

The six of them listened to Ryo’s words in silence.

“Besides that, we’ve fought about three times. And I almost died all three times…”

“Holy shit…”

The words escaped from Niels’ mouth unintentionally.

Unbeknownst to them, Ryo had survived such life or death crisis.

Against such a supernatural entity!

Then, Ryo remembered.

When he last fought the Akuma Leonor, she gave him information about the Western Countries.

When they parted at the end, she said a few words.

“Come to think of it, I remember what the Akuma said to me. There are Akumas like me out there in the Western Countries, so do be careful.”

“I see, that’s the Akuma that showed up this time…”

Ryo’s explanation was answered with a nod from Etho.

At the same time, Ryo remembered.

Another word that Leonor mentioned.

A keyword she mentioned… ‘Sacrifice’.

He recalled it, but at present, he still had no idea what it meant.

Perhaps something will come to light in the future… even so, it was quite a disturbing word.

There were several things that he was clueless about.

Sacrifice… the Fallen… the new Akuma that joined the fray, and Merlin, the Djinn who fought him.

Furthermore, there were wars among nations in the Western Countries, as he had experienced in the Republic.

He had not a clue!

(Don’t think about what you don’t know! )

You’ll figure it out anyway when you have all the information you need.

Until then, you won’t be able to solve it no matter how much you think about it…

In times like that, you only need to eat a full meal of delicious cuisine!

Good food makes you forget everything!