DAR Vol. 6 Chapter 23 Part 1

Chapter 23 – Magic Tube

The Kingdom of Nereus was a nation of the sea.

Most of its territory faced the ocean, and fishing was thriving. In exchange, the salty winds left crops stunted, so agriculture had never truly prospered. Long before the Kingdom of Nereus was even founded, coastal lands had been abandoned by countless nations. At best, a few fishing villages clung to the shore; it was treated as a remote backwater.

Although fish could be caught in the sea, they were not suitable for preservation. Transporting them elsewhere was difficult, and even if you processed them into salted goods, the labor of preparation and shipping ate away any profit. It was simply more lucrative to relocate somewhere less battered by sea breeze and farm instead.

Besides, this continent already circulated rock salt harvested from the mountains. The technique for extracting salt from seawater existed, but it was so labor-intensive that the end product cost more than rock salt, making it unviable as a true industry.

So the shoreline had long been dismissed as land without value.

That changed drastically with the development of large ships. The arrival of vessels capable of venturing into the open ocean transformed coastal life. With large ships, trade became possible. Moving by sea was faster than hauling wagons inland, and you could carry far more goods. Even places that had never interacted before became relatively easy to reach if you traveled by water.

As large ships spread, nations began constructing ports to serve as arteries of distribution. Cities grew around those ports, and once cities existed, the scale of trade swelled even further.

And where trade flourished, predators gathered.

When their numbers increased, they banded together, forming crews.

Pirates appeared.

They raided ships laden with goods, building strength, and eventually seized coastal lands suitable for living. Before long, they had forged a nation of their own.

That was how the Kingdom of Nereus came to be.

Plenty of people called it a vulgar country born of pirates, but in truth, it wasn’t particularly looked down upon. The origin of a nation, give or take, was always tangled up with conflict and plunder somewhere. Compared to wars that stripped land and people wholesale, piracy was almost quaint.

“Is all of this the Free Market?” Roa asked Kristoff, his eyes shining.

A night had passed, and Roa had come to the morning market being held in the royal capital’s central plaza. His only companion was Kristoff.

The twin magic wolves, Roo and Phi, and Dietrich had offered to come along too, but the crowded morning market forbade bringing familiars. Dietrich was under house arrest at the marquis’s estate, since there was a risk he might bolt. Coralde had gone to greet the city’s Merchants’ Guild, and Cornelia, together with Emilia, apparently planned to have the Sword Saint oversee their training. Bernhart had slipped off somewhere without anyone even noticing.

It was said the royal capital’s morning market began when sailors from trading ships started selling things they’d bought with their own pocket money in a corner of the harbor. Because of that origin, anyone could set up shop regardless of status, with nothing more than the space of a single mat. The goods on display ranged from this nation’s seafood and produce to foreign souvenirs, works of art, and even bizarre objects of unknown purpose.

Only one category was forbidden: anything tied to crime.

Normally it was held once a week, but in the month of the Sea Dragon Festival, so many visitors flooded in that it was held every day.

“Well, this is the biggest morning market in the royal capital,” Kristoff said, “but they’re held all over the city.”

“Wow… Even just here, there are more stalls than I can take in…”

Roa’s gaze darted restlessly as he surveyed the bustling, human-packed sea of vendors.

“They’ll be running until late morning, so let’s take our time.”

“Yes!”

At Kristoff’s prompting, Roa started walking as if he couldn’t wait another second. Following his curiosity wherever it led, he wandered from stall to stall, while Kristoff trailed behind, guarding Roa with casual ease and keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.

After a while…

“What’s this?” Roa asked, stopping in front of one stall and picking up a displayed item.

“That there’s a magic tube,” the shopkeeper replied.

He looked like a sailor, the sort with a faintly dubious air about him.

“A magic tube?”

Roa tilted his head at the unfamiliar term.

In his hands was a metal cylinder, thick-walled and heavy. One end was sealed with a different metal, and a handle that looked easy to grip was attached along the side.

“Even a guy with low mana can use attack magic with it. How about it? I’ll cut you a deal, so why not buy one?”

“Um… How do you use it?”

It looked like nothing more than a metal tube with a handle, hardly something that belonged anywhere near magic.

“You pour metal pellets into the tube, then set off magic inside it. The magic explodes, and the pellets fly out like earth magic. If you’ve got more mana, you can trigger fire magic or water magic inside, too. Either way, it shoots in whatever direction you point it.”

“Huh…”

Roa peered into the magic tube. It didn’t seem to have any special processing inside. The metal sealing one end looked like an alloy, and perhaps it was made from a material that conducted magic well.

“Isn’t it just a metal tube?” Kristoff asked. “Anybody could make this, right?”

Maybe his interest had been piqued as well, because he addressed the shopkeeper directly.

“Bought ‘em at the port in Adad. Supposedly it was made by some famous alchemist in Adad, whatever his name is. They said it looks simple, but it’s crafted with ridiculous skill. Apparently a blacksmith tried copying it, and the moment he detonated magic inside, the tube burst apart and he got badly hurt.”

That made sense. If you simply triggered magic inside a tube and let it explode, it wouldn’t be surprising for the tube itself to blow apart. Either the amount of mana it could accept was restricted somewhere, or there was some hidden secret in the tube’s construction…

Roa was utterly engrossed, scrutinizing the fine details, then tapping it lightly with his fingertips. He probably wanted to investigate it with magic, but activating magic on merchandise without permission could, depending on the situation, qualify as a crime, so he didn’t.

“…This is doing something incredibly groundbreaking for how simple it looks,” Roa murmured, his thoughts spilling out. “Instead of launching the magic itself, you’re using the phenomenon the magic creates to launch an object. If you do that, low mana really is enough. And if you’re launching the magic itself, you can refine the direction of force so even a small spell hits harder. Plus, you can aim just by pointing the tube, and you don’t need a spell formula to establish your aim anymore. But that might make it harder to hit. If you could make the projectile spin, like an arrow, would the accuracy improve? But then…”

“Big brother, if you’re that interested, just buy ‘em,” the shopkeeper said. “I picked these up because I thought they were neat, but folks in this country don’t seem to like clever little gadgets like this, so they don’t sell. Truth is, I’ve got about ten in stock…”

“I’ll buy them!” Roa shouted. “All of them!”

He cut the shopkeeper off before he could finish.

“Roa, you don’t need all of them,” Kristoff said, trying to rein him in. “Sounds like there are more than ten.”

“I want to take them apart to study them, modify them, and run experiments. Even ten might not be enough.”

Kristoff scolded him for wasting money, but Roa already seemed to have decided both the purchase and its purpose. Seeing that, Kristoff could only wear a wry smile.

Even if he tried to stop him now, Roa would buy them anyway. And it wasn’t like they lacked funds.

Roa didn’t seem to realize it, but he was extremely wealthy.

Coralde managed most of it, but the profits from the magic potions Roa created had become staggering. On top of that, Roa had also earned a considerable sum simply from adventuring and selling off the materials he gathered.

When it came to Roa and his familiars, who were inexplicably knowledgeable about the Magic Beast Forest, they could obtain valuable materials with absurd ease. Even the Nostalgia members who had traveled with them had found their purses growing pleasantly heavier from their share of the spoils.

“Huh? All of them? Really? But if it’s all of them, that’ll be expensive,” the shopkeeper said, looking worried. “Two gold coins…”

“That’s fine! I can pay right now—”

“Wait, Roa!” Kristoff snapped. “Don’t pull out that kind of money in a place like this! We’re going to keep looking around after this, aren’t we?! You’ll have pickpockets and fraudsters glued to you!”

Kristoff stopped Roa as he was about to produce gold coins on the spot.

The security here wasn’t terrible, but anywhere crowded like this, where money changed hands constantly, attracted criminals. If they got singled out, moving around would become a headache.

Normally Roa would understand that much, but he had gotten excited after finding something interesting and apparently forgot.

“Sorry. Then I’ll do it discreetly…”

“Yeah. I don’t want thieves eyeing me either,” the shopkeeper said with a grin. “Big brother, let’s make this deal nice and quiet.”

And so Roa acquired a dozen-plus magic tubes.

𑁋

While Roa and Kristoff were out in the city.

Uncle Gry and the twin magic wolves, Roo and Phi, were in an empty lot on the marquis’s estate.

It was a slightly elevated spot, and since it was private property, nobody else was around. The grass, neatly maintained and clipped short with care, looked like a carpet of green. From there, they could overlook a wide stretch of sandy beach and the vast ocean beyond.

Uncle Gry was sprawled out on a point even higher than the rest, right in the middle of it. He’d splayed his wings in a disgracefully lazy way, exposing his whole body to the warm sunlight.

A proper sunbath.

Nearby, the twins dashed around, chasing butterflies that drifted and fluttered through the air. Under the high sun, their fur shimmered softly, glittering with a gentle sheen.

That radiance suited the origins of their names. Roo’s red coat held a ruby-like brilliance, while Phi’s blue fur carried a clear, translucent light like sapphire.

Uncle Gry, by contrast, was more like white opal. A white luster that, now and then, mingled with green-centered iridescence.

“Yo! Looks like you’re bored too.”

The one who came over was Dietrich.

He was the only one who approached Uncle Gry, but farther away there were multiple knights posted as watchers.

They were stationed at a distance, arranged to surround the area, probably on alert for Dietrich trying to escape. And though Uncle Gry was a familiar, they still treated a loose Gryphon as dangerous, keeping their distance instead of coming closer.

<I am busy.> 

<Busy, yeah!>

<Busy busy!>

Even after being brushed off so curtly by the familiars, Dietrich didn’t care. Getting treated like dirt was nothing new. He walked right up beside Uncle Gry and then toppled forward onto the Gryphon’s belly.

At that instant, the watching knights collectively sucked in a sharp breath.

They assumed Uncle Gry had been made docile by the Subjugation Collar. Still, they’d heard the story from the Kingdom of Perdu about a Gryphon escaping from the hero party Crack of Dawn, and they were afraid that provoking Uncle Gry with unnecessary stimulation might send him berserk.

The moment Dietrich fell, he thrust out one elbow like he’d been aiming for it all along, and drove it down into the soft-looking part of Uncle Gry’s stomach.

There was a muffled, plush-sounding puff as the elbow sank in perfectly, but Uncle Gry didn’t so much as twitch.

“…You act like it hurts when Roa hits you. Why is it you don’t react at all when it’s me?”

Dietrich stared at the utterly unmoved Uncle Gry and complained, looking unimpressed.

<That brat, for all he looks like that, understands exactly where it hurts me. Even when he seems to be striking lightly, it truly hurts, you know. If you merely bumped the tip of your little toe, you would make a tremendous fuss, would you not? It is the same.>

“Is that really how it works?”

<It is.>

Dietrich straightened the elbow he’d been using and, just like that, let his upper body rest against Uncle Gry as he lay there.

<Roo too!>

<Phi too!!>

Seeing Dietrich settle in, the twins shoved their snouts into Uncle Gry’s belly and lay down beside him. After twitching their noses a few times, as if confirming Uncle Gry’s scent, they narrowed their eyes with satisfied little expressions.

The sea breeze brushed through the grass. The sunlight was strong, but thanks to the wind it felt pleasant. When you looked up, clouds drifted by, painting all kinds of patterns across the blue sky.

Time passed in an unhurried drift.

<…Sleepyhead. Are you bored?>

After who knew how long, Uncle Gry was the first to speak.

“With guards on me, yeah. Until I meet that vile queen, I can’t just wander around wherever I want.”

Dietrich pointed at the knights around them. When Uncle Gry followed his gesture and looked, the knights very obviously averted their eyes.

Dietrich was completely accustomed to it, but a Gryphon was a vicious magic beast that could make even knights flinch. Even knowing he was a familiar and wouldn’t harm humans, they couldn’t help staying wary.

If they were meant to fight, they’d steel themselves and glare back. But their role right now was monitoring Dietrich. And since Uncle Gry belonged to their guest, Roa, they had no intention of making enemies unless something actually happened.

So they looked away, signaling that they didn’t want to oppose the Gryphon.

<If you desire it, sleepyhead, I can let you escape. Those fools would not even understand what happened before it was over. They would not have time to blink.>

Uncle Gry wore a truly delighted, murderous grin.

They shouldn’t have been able to hear him, but perhaps they sensed the ominous shift in the air, because unease rippled through the knights.

“Don’t. Not right now.”

<Not right now, you say. Then does that mean there may come a time when it is necessary?>

“…Yeah.”

Dietrich murmured it while watching the clouds glide across the sky.

His face didn’t look like someone peacefully sunbathing alongside familiars. It was serious, even carrying a hint of melancholy.

Because he spoke quietly and barely moved his lips, the knights watching from afar would probably think he was just muttering to himself.

“…The audience with the queen is set for the day after tomorrow. Roa’s going too. Sounds like they want you guys to come along.”

<Oh? An audience. That means going to that little island?>

In the direction of Uncle Gry’s gaze, the island bearing the royal castle sat out over the sea.

“If the queen tries to force something unreasonable on Roa, I want you to take him and run.”

Emilia had said she hadn’t received any instructions regarding Roa, but Dietrich still hadn’t trusted the queen. All he trusted was that there were no orders given to Emilia, a royal guard knight.

The bad blood between Dietrich and the queen wasn’t something he could put aside so easily.

<I see. In that case, may I crush the knights and destroy that castle?>

“Do whatever you want.”

Dietrich said it as if it were nothing.

If there was a righteous pretext like Roa’s escape, the ill-natured Gryphon would casually smash a castle. He even had a prior offense of collapsing the Adventurers’ Guild simply because it annoyed him. He would absolutely do it again.

And Dietrich had no intention of stopping him.

<And after I flee with my brat, what will you do, sleepyhead? Even if you escape with us, you will never be able to return to this country again, will you?>

“…I’ll be free.”

<Fhm.>

Free. In other words, cutting ties with this country.

Uncle Gry narrowed his eyes, holding back a smile.

<You have comrades in this country, do you not?>

“Don’t you think they’d be happier if I was gone?”

Dietrich closed his eyes as if facing the blue sky, and spoke quietly.

It was the shape of his resolve.

<You lose yourself in rage when your comrades are hurt, and yet you care enough that their existence brings you back to yourself.>

Dietrich only answered with the faintest smile.

Dietrich didn’t lose his reason and unleashed his inborn savagery only when he was drunk. He also turned feral when his comrades were harmed. And what brought him back from that ferocity was, again, his concern for them.

Uncle Gry had seen it time and time again.

Seeing Dietrich’s small smile, Uncle Gry smiled softly in return.

Gently, only the wind calmed as it passed through.

Maybe because they’d been lying in the warm sunlight, the twins were filled with drowsiness, on the verge of falling asleep. Their eyes were narrowed so comfortably they looked ready to close at any moment.

With Roa gone for now, perhaps they were craving body heat, because they pressed snugly against Dietrich on either side.

For Dietrich, who almost never got them to come close except when they were playing, it was a rare moment of bliss.

<Truly, sleepyhead, you are far too soft on your own. That is closer to our magic-beast instincts than anything human. Though we would not do something as foolish as stepping aside for the sake of what we cherish. We protect what matters while also cherishing our own desires! Even if what matters is wounded or broken, it is still what matters, so there is no problem!>

“Don’t wound it, don’t break it. That’s exactly why Roa chews you out every time, you know? Learn your lesson for once.”

<I am a clever child. I am not like other magic beasts. I judge it properly so it ends at the level of being scolded, you see?>

“I don’t need that kind of ‘judgment’!”

Dietrich frowned, suddenly suspicious that Uncle Gry’s antics had been intentional.

It was true: no matter how much Roa scolded him, Uncle Gry always ended up forgiven in the end. Maybe it was thanks to Roa’s broad-mindedness, but if Uncle Gry was actually calculating that boundary, it was impressive.

Still, Dietrich snorted and decided it was probably just the ill-natured Gryphon’s favorite kind of sophistry, and let it slide.

“I wish I could be as cleanly detached as you. It’s complicated.”

<As though you possess a head fine enough to think so much.>

Uncle Gry snapped back with a spiteful quip, but he didn’t seem offended. If anything, he looked amused.

“…And another thing! Almost every woman in this country hates me!!”

It was a full-throated shout. He jerked himself upright as he yelled, and the knights nearby flinched, shoulders jumping at Dietrich’s sudden outburst.

“Even people I’ve never done anything to treat me like I’m dangerous!! I’m done with this! I’ll split from Kristoff and Cornelia and Bernhart, go somewhere nobody knows me, and start over!! I’ll live with Roa and Roo and Phi, and instead of some woman who kicks me, I’ll find someone who’s actually kind to me!!”

He rattled it all off in one breath, then slumped back down, letting his body rest against Uncle Gry’s belly again.

<Dietrich, noisy!>

<We’re sleepy-sleepy and you’re noisy!>

The sudden shouting drew complaints from the twin magic wolves as well. Only Uncle Gry narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

<…Sleepyhead, I know not whether that was to hide your embarrassment or to let the watchers hear you, but you are a shameful creature. And who granted you permission to come along? Spending time with my brat and Roo and Phi is my prerogative. You are not even counted.>

“Like your permission matters! I’ll go cry to Roa!!”

<Kh…>

With brutal practicality, Dietrich declared it.

No matter how much Uncle Gry refused, the decision belonged to Roa. If Dietrich could win Roa over, everything else could be forced through.

And Roa, if Dietrich came to him in tears, probably wouldn’t refuse.