Water Magician

Chapter 149: Kona Coffee

Volume 1, Part 9, Kona Village

Ryo’s life after returning from the Royal Capital was relatively routine.

In the morning, he spent all his time in alchemy and magic, in the afternoon he had mock battles with Sera at the Knights Training Ground, and after taking a bath in the evening and having a meal, he spent time in alchemy and magic until he went to bed.

Or sometimes, Sera would come by in the morning and read a book in the living room. In the afternoon, they ate together at a restaurant such as Houshoku-tei and went straight to the Knights Training Ground.

Such days continued.

As a result of asking the genius alchemist Kenneth to teach him in the Royal Capital and earnestly working on his proficiency with alchemy even after returning to the City of Rune …

“Fufufu, I finally got it!”

Ryo unintentionally leaked a dubious laugh.

“What happened, Ryo?”

Hearing that, Sera looked at him suspiciously.

“Sera, come outside and take a look.”

Ryo said and invited Sera to the courtyard.

“<Afterimage 8>”

When Ryo chanted that, about 30 meters ahead, eight ‘beings’ that looked like Ryo emerged.

“Oh! There are eight Ryo!”

“I used water vapor and ice particles in the air to project an image of me. Anyway, that’s not what I wanted to show you …”

While saying that, Ryo formed an image in his head.

“<Floating Magic Circle>”

Then, around Ryo, eight magic circles emerged perpendicular to the ground facing the afterimages.

“<Icicle Lance>”

Then, an icicle lance was fired from each magic circle and penetrated the afterimages.

“Oh!”

The scene was very magical.

Sera was surprised at the sight she saw for the first time and Ryo was satisfied with the result of his efforts.

“Ryo, that’s beautiful magic!”

“Right? Eh …? Magic? It was Alchemy …”

“Alchemy? It was alchemy …? Hmm, I don’t know. But it was amazing.”

Sera praised Ryo’s efforts with a wide smile.

He wasn’t sure if it was considered alchemy or magic, but … either way, Sera’s praise with a smile was enough.

Ryo was that kind of guy.

In any case, he could finally form floating magic circles but … he could only form floating magic circles that fire an icicle lance.

Of course, even if he didn’t have magic circles, it was something he has been able to do until now … it didn’t improve his combat ability at all.

Yes, not even a millimeter.

However, being cool or beautiful was very important.

Ryo was heading to the Adventurer’s Guild that evening for the first time in a while.

On the day he returned to the City of Rune, he popped by with Abel, so it had been about a month since then.

Unfortunately, there were no food stalls along the way.

It seemed that they left before he returned to Rune. That was a shame.

“There’s no other reason for me to ask Ryo to come here but this.”

As Nina brewed tea and left, Hugh immediately cut to the chase.

“All the magic stones have been sold.”

Hugh said in a quieter voice than usual.

There was an eerie smile on his face … It was eerie even though Ryo was familiar with it.

“It took a while because I sold it so that the source would not be revealed, but this is the final amount to be transferred to Ryo.”

Then Hugh handed him a piece of paper.

The amount written there …

“E-eleven digits …”

The amount of money that lightly exceeded 10 billion was written.

“Yeah. Of course, I deducted all the taxes and labor costs, and of course, I omitted the amount for Abel too. That’s the final amount. It’s a good amount, right?”

Hugh said that, with a grin on his face as he sat back in the chair deeply.

“I didn’t expect this much … I guess I can play around all I want for about a year.”

“No, just how extravagant do you spend your life?”

Hugh retorted to Ryo’s joke.

“Well … unless I build a ship, I guess I will be able to live comfortably.”

“Ship?”

“The one I saw in Whitnash …”

“That … will need another digit more.”

Hugh sighed and shook his head.

“Eh……”

“That construction cost is 370 billion Florin …”

“That’s expensive …”

“Well, that’s expected …”

The two sighed at the same time.

Such a ship was not made by an individual.

Ryo decided to go for luxury because he came to the guild and got some money.

Yup. It was a meal at the guild cafeteria.

The peak hour for reporting results to the guild had passed and there were some people in the dining room for dinner.

While he was looking for a place to sit, there was a person who saw Ryo from a distance and waved his hand.

It was Amon from 『Room No. 10』.

Of course, Niels and Etho were also at the same table.

“It’s pretty crowded, isn’t it?”

Ryo said while sitting in a chair.

“Ryo, it’s rare to see you in the guild.”

Niels said while eating a daily set meal.

“It’s kind of amazing that an adventurer doesn’t show up in the Adventurer’s Guild very much, isn’t it?”

Etho said with a smile.

He was eating something like a yakitori set.

“I was summoned today so …”

Ryo ordered a daily set meal.

“Ryo, you’re always staying at home tinkering with alchemy.”

Amon seemed to be having a pizza, which was a new menu.

“Pizza?”

Ryo doubled back to look at it twice.

In front of Amon was undoubtedly a pizza … it looked like a Margherita.

“Yes, it seems to be a new menu item, but it’s delicious. It was apparently popular in the Empire and it finally spread to the City of Rune.”

Amon cut out one-eighth and handed it to Ryo.

Ryo thanked him and took a bite.

It was unmistakably a Margherita pizza!

And …

“Delicious!”

“Right!? This is popular throughout the city.”

Ryo instinctively said and Amon nodded and agreed.

“We will be leaving the city for a request for a few days from tomorrow.”

So it seemed that was why they were having dinner at the guild cafeteria, which boasted cheap and delicious meals.

What did they do for meals normally …

“Cook our own food.”

After saying that, Etho laughed.

Well, if you live in a rented house with three people, that may be the cheapest option.

“We will be going to a village called ‘Kona’, which is about a day from Rune.”

“Kona …”

Ryo reacted to Amon’s explanation.

Yes, when he said ‘Kona’, he thought of Hawaiian Kona coffee …

When he was on earth, Ryo didn’t have anything he could call a hobby, but he loved coffee and used to drink different blends depending on his mood or the day.

As a result, he became particular with his coffee but ‘Hawaii Kona’ was one of his favorite top three.

It was Ryo’s father who introduced a coffee machine with a name similar to ‘Adventurer Delong’ to the company, which may have influenced Ryo’s love for coffee.

Because it brewed really good coffee … and was fully automatic!

“Yes. It’s a village that grows beans, which are used to create coffee, a drink.”

“Coffee!”

Ryo reacted to Amon’s continued explanation in a way that is incomparable to the previous one.

And when he saw that, the Swordsman leader looked a little troubled.

“Ryo, unfamiliar insects have recently started to infest the coffee trees and there seemed to be a monstrosity in the village. That’s why we received the request as we want to move up to D-rank or E-rank requests. … But …”

“But?”

The Swordsman Niels looked a little bitter as he trailed off.

“The village has made requests not only to Rune but also to the City of Kyradea, and it seems that a D-rank party has accepted the request there too …”

“Hmm? Then the guild would ask the village to withdraw the acceptance of one party, right?”

Ryo answered while remembering the request rules.

“Yes, but they said they wanted it to be solved as soon as possible and will pay both parties the agreed amount. And since it was a request from ‘Kona’, which is becoming a famous coffee brand, a special allowance was granted.”

“What political power.”

Ryo was astounded by Niels’ explanation.

Somehow, he had a preconceived notion that it was a village with an idyllic and laid-back atmosphere, but it may be different.

They negotiated with two adventurer guilds and made them acknowledge their claim.

“So, it seems that it became a battle between guilds before we know it …”

“When I received the request, it wasn’t like that at all. It took just a day to change completely.”

Niels’s words were supplemented by Etho’s troubled face.

“Somehow … it seems to be a battle we can’t afford to lose.”

“I understand! Sometimes there are battles that you can’t lose!”

Ryo sympathized with them.

Yes, a battle that defeat was not an option … it was a battle that they must not lose.

“The coffee they have sounds to be exceptionally delicious.”

Niels presented information as insurance.

“Seems to be the case~”

Ryo imagined the taste, the scent, and the scene itself, and made a happy expression.

“How about it? Would you like to come too, Ryo?”

And the decisive strike was sent.

“Yes, I’m going.”

At that moment, Ryo didn’t know that Niels’s, Etho’s, and Amon’s hands were all clenched under the desk.

All three knew from experience that most requests would be a breeze if Ryo was with them.

Moreover, this time, for some reason, it was a guild competition.

Failure was unacceptable.

They succeeded in obtaining an unexpected and powerful helper, and the three people from 『Room No. 10』 were relieved.