A little more than half a day after Serge’s attempted assassination, when the night had grown late and the day had changed, at an hour when most people were asleep, when thick clouds veiled the moon and the stars, within the dark city of Gimuru that awaited the coming of dawn, twinkled small lights. Twinkle, twinkle, the lights flashed, and then with a thunderous roar like that of lightning, the people were roused to a morning still too early.
“What!?” [Man]
Shaken awake by that thunderous roar, a man found himself looking around in confusion. When his eyes found themselves looking outside the window, shock took him, but it lasted only a few seconds before he jolted.
“Hey! Wake up! Everyone, wake up!!” [Man]
“What’s all the ruckus for? Don’t you know how late it is?” [Woman]
“Now’s not the time to be sleeping! The house across is on fire!” [Man]
When the wife heard that, she immediately rushed to her child, who was still rubbing his eyes on his bed, while the man ran outside to call out to the neighbors. In the blink of an eye, confusion and fear spread among the residents, screaming and yelling for help as they stood around the burning house.
That was the kind of sight that quickly spread as early dawn greeted Gimuru.
“Water! Open the water tanks! Hurry!” [Resident 1]
“Is there anyone missing!? Wake anyone still sleeping even if you have to hit them!” [Resident 2]
“Get the children somewhere safe!” [Resident 3]
“Someone call the guards!” [Resident 4]
“I-It’s terrible!” [Man 2]
“We can see that for ourselves, thank you! Hurry up and move!” [Resident 5]
“T-That’s not it! It’s not the fire. I mean, it is the fire, but… There’s a fire in the store across too, and there are other buildings on fire too. It’s not just here! They need people there too, so we can’t get help! The guards are running everywhere! They can’t come help right away!” [Man 2]
When a man gasping for breath after running here told them that, the neighbors that have been watching the fire became even more perplexed. An expression of despair surfaced on them as realization dawned on them that the fire reaching their own house was just a matter of time.
It was then—
“Clear the road!”
—That the ‘voice of a boy’ and the ‘sound of water’ – loud enough to drown out the surrounding noises – reached them. When the people that heard that turned to its direction, a powerful stream of ‘river’ could be seen flowing on the distant road, atop which was a ‘boat’. Moreover, atop the boat could be seen two people, one of which was a ‘boy’ dressed in strange clothes.
With everything presented before them, the identity of that boy couldn’t be clearer.
No sooner than the acquaintances that happened to be there called out, did the powerful stream and the boat Ryoum was riding on pass through the cleared road to slip right in front of the burning building. In the blink of an eye, the powerful stream carrying the boat rose high up into the sky, pouring onto the building like a waterfall… Or so it seemed, but then the snow and mud piled up on the ground gathered together as well to enclose the building.
It was as though a giant slime was trying to swallow the building, and after enveloping the building, the muddy water wriggled several times. And each time, the fire would grow weaker. In just some dozen seconds, the great fire was extinguished.
Seeing the threat before them dealt with, a look of relief surfaced on the people gathered. But at the same time.
“Hey, you!” [Man 2]
A man impatiently called out to Ryouma, who was still atop the boat. That was the man that told the people gathered here about the dire state of the town. With a desperate look, the man ran to the boat Ryouma was on, and started screaming.
“Just what is happening!? Aren’t there fire all over the city!? You work with the guards, right!? If you know something, then tell us! I’m grateful that you took out the fire, but don’t you think the way you did things was a bit too rough? What if there were still people there— Eek!”
The man was starting to rattle on and on, but then he suddenly backed away. At the end of the man’s gaze was Ryouma’s unreadable, inhuman eyes. With the calamity already quelled, the surroundings had once again become dark. Because of that the only one who noticed those eyes was the prattling man, but his abrupt reaction made the others notice them as well.
“Boss, your eyes are scary. I know it’s hard controlling your spell, but…” [Yurdum]
“Sorry, must’ve seemed like I was glaring.” [Ryouma]
Yurdum, who was with Ryouma on the boat, interjected from the side, prompting him to make a response not only for the man but for
“There’s no one inside the building. I confirmed it beforehand with my magic, so please be at ease. As for the current situation, the only thing I know right now is that ‘fire have broken out all over the city’. Believing that taking out the fire first takes priority above all else, I jumped into action as soon as I could. However, my security company is currently working with the guards and the adventurers guild to investigate the matter and address the fire.”
With the threat right before them gone and those words, their anxiety lessened, but it was not enough for them to be at ease. But Ryouma wasn’t done.
“I won’t ask you to relax! In fact, please be aware that we are in a crisis, and act with safety first in mind! Moreover, if possible please help in evacuating others and in the efforts to extinguish the flames as well! The more help the better! Let’s do our best to get out of this crisis together!” [Ryouma]
With a voice that wouldn’t be drowned out by all the commotion, Ryouma gave a deep bow.
At that, the people that were confused finally started moving.
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