It had been six days since they left the Magic Academy, and they were still quite far from Albion.
Even though they had been using Wind Magic along the way to help the horses run faster and more easily, it would still take about a month to reach Albion.
Normally—
They would need to first head to a transport city near Tristain's border, and from there take a magical airship to reach Albion floating in the skies.
However, Dak and Tabitha both had Pokémon and familiars capable of carrying people through flight, so they didn't need to follow that route.
They simply needed to travel to the land directly beneath Albion, then use their familiars to fly up.
It was more covert this way, and less likely to draw attention—allowing them to infiltrate Albion's royal capital undetected.
As for the time consumed during this journey, that was already accounted for in the plan between Dak and Dragon.
Dragon didn't want Wales to rely on Tristain's power to resolve the civil war, but he did believe Dak should accept Henrietta's request to earn her favor.
So they decided Dak should find ways to "waste time" during the journey and slow their pace.
If they arrived after a month or two—
Then, under Dragon's mentorship, Wales would likely have gathered a force strong enough to win the war with his royal bloodline and leadership charisma. At that point, whether Tristain intervened or not wouldn't matter.
But up until now, throughout the journey—
Dak hadn't found a proper opportunity to delay their progress. At best, he made a few too many pitstops—sometimes stopping to "pee" seven or eight times in an hour, which drove Agnes into fits of rage.
This was pretty much how their days passed.
Dak either taught Louise and Tabitha or intentionally teased Agnes to provoke her temper.
On this day—
Their carriage suddenly came to a halt.
"What's wrong?"
The three girls stepped out and froze as soon as they looked ahead.
The road was blocked by a village that had been submerged under water, forming a massive lake that now cut off their path.
"There was no lake here before. You can tell just by looking at the village."
Agnes frowned as she examined the scene before them.
For such a thing to happen within Tristain's borders without anyone noticing or reporting it was troubling. She had no idea what had happened to the villagers who used to live here.
"The water level is still rising."
Tabitha squatted near the edge of the water, silently observing the lakeside.
While the change wasn't visible to the naked eye, as a mage who also trained in Water Magic, Tabitha could sense the subtle fluctuations of water energy.
Dak, however, already knew what this lake was about.
Whether it was through his senses or his knowledge of the original story, he was well aware.
Still, he had no intention of intervening—
This was the perfect opportunity to waste time.
Given Agnes and Louise's identities—one a Musketeer Captain, the other a duke's daughter—they wouldn't just ignore something so abnormal happening within Tristain's borders.
They could report it and let the capital send someone to handle it—
But the round trip would take another two weeks, and who knew how much higher the lake would rise by then?
Water elementals... truly peculiar creatures.
Dak's green eyes gazed into the depths of the lake.
"Why is the water still rising? Shouldn't it eventually dry up?"
Louise was confused.
Riolu, however, wasn't thinking that far ahead. Feeling thirsty, he trotted up to the lake and bent down for a drink.
Splash—
Suddenly, a hand made entirely of water shot out from the lake and grabbed Riolu, pulling him toward the surface.
At the same time—
Several water pillars began rising from the lake. The one in the center grew tallest, gradually forming a distinct shape.
"Riolu!"
Louise didn't care what was going on—she raised her wand, ready to cast a spell.
Beside her, Tabitha had already begun chanting.
Agnes drew her sword, placing herself protectively between the mages and the lake.
"Stop."
Dak's voice finally rang out.
Tabitha instantly lowered her wand and quietly watched the lake.
Agnes frowned, glancing at Dak.
Though puzzled by his behavior, she knew his reputation well—if the great mage of Tristain wasn't acting, there had to be a good reason.
"But…"
Louise also paused, though she was clearly panicked.
Watching Riolu over the lake, she couldn't help herself and raised her wand again.
"Louise, if you cast that, you'll hurt Riolu too."
One sentence from Dak calmed her slightly, though it left her feeling downcast.
"..."
Louise lowered her head.
In that moment, she no longer felt proud of her rare Void Magic.
She would have rather awakened any of the four common elemental attributes.
"Teacher?"
"Don't worry. That thing has no ill intent. Riolu's just panicking. In fact, he can break free with Quick Attack anytime."
Dak calmly watched the creature forming over the lake.
Using a bracer engraved with magic runes as its bones, magical energy as its skin, and flowing water within a field of energy as its blood—an elemental lifeform born from water: a Water Elemental.
Water elementals could emerge from any body of water—oceans, rivers, lakes, even swamps.
Their moods varied depending on where they were born.
Among Water Mages, these were famous magical creatures—
Excellent familiars, on par with Fire Lizards for Fire Mages and Flying Dragons for Wind Mages.
Water elementals specialized in long-range attacks and had no melee capabilities.
They were fragile, but their powerful offense made them terrifying.
That's why Water Mages loved them—they compensated for Water Magic's lower damage output.
There were seven or eight of them now.
All of them guarded the central figure—one unlike the others.
(Uncensored appearance omitted due to review restrictions.)
She was also a water elemental—
But unlike the others, this one was of the royal bloodline.
The most obvious difference between royal and normal water elementals was their form—
They were typically long-haired nude women.
Riolu had calmed down by now.
He realized he wasn't hurt—in fact, he felt oddly comfortable.
He looked around and found himself cradled in a pair of warm water arms. The strange humanoid creature before him was studying him curiously.
Riolu stared at her face, then leaned in and gave it a couple licks, swallowing some of the water droplets.
"Gandalfr... it's been a long time."
A soft, ethereal voice rang out—the Water Elemental Queen was greeting the Riolu in her arms, her tone oddly nostalgic.
She had stared at him for a long time to be sure—
This dog was Gandalfr.
For her, this was one of the most interesting things to happen in over six thousand years.
She'd seen at least forty to fifty generations of Void familiars—
Not once had any of them stopped being human.
But now, this one had turned into a dog—
Still humanoid, but definitely a dog.
As one of the earliest beings to exist in this world—
Even Brimir, the founder of magic, had to respectfully call her Ancestor.
Back when Brimir developed the five major schools of magic, the elemental kings of the four elements played crucial roles.
The Water Elemental Queen could even be considered one of Brimir's teachers.
"Hmm…"
Dak frowned slightly as he listened to her.
Riolu clearly wasn't the same Gandalfr she was referring to—
So was she talking to the power of Gandalfr?
"This lady…"
"You may call me Sarasa, human."
Sarasa gently placed Riolu back on the shore, not at all bothered that the little one had drunk several mouthfuls of her water.
The water molecules within her body were no ordinary liquid. They were infused with special power, capable of enhancing the Water Magic affinity of Water Mages and magical beings alike.
To those without Water affinity, it would only slightly improve resistance to Water Magic.
"Excuse me, is the rising water level... your doing?"
Louise, relieved by Riolu's return, wiped his mouth with her sleeve as she asked.
"Yes. I intend to flood the entire continent."
"What?!" x2
Louise and Agnes cried out in shock—even Tabitha adjusted her glasses, visibly shaken.
"Why?! If that happens, humans won't have anywhere to live!"
"What does that matter to me? It was your people who stole what belonged to me."
Sarasa's voice turned cold, clearly displeased.
"May I ask what was taken? Perhaps we know about it."
"King Tristain I was once a friend of mine. On his behalf, I lent my people's symbol of royal authority—the Ring of Andobari—to his descendants for disaster relief."
"The ring wasn't returned? I'm acquainted with Princess Henrietta and—"
Louise was interrupted before she could finish.
"It was returned."
"But during its return, another faction appeared and seized the ring."
"I've decided to reclaim it—but leaving water weakens me greatly. So I plan to flood the continent and retrieve my ring afterward."
After hearing the full story, the group finally understood the situation.
Louise frowned deeply and fell into thought.
(End of Chapter)
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