Water Magician

Volume 2, Part 4, Republic of Mafalda

((Normally, when moving between cities like this, there would be a group of noble daughters who are being attacked by bandits and monsters, and you can help them and create a good relationship with the local influential people… but nothing happens at all.))

((Hey, if such a thing happens frequently, you can’t call that a decent country, right? That would mean that public order had completely collapsed…))

((Sheesh… Abel has no appreciation of the fleeting nature of beauty.))

((What the heck are you talking about…))

Ryo’s pitying thoughts and Abel’s retort.

Those were really common sights.

Inside the carriage headed for the Republic of Mafalda from the Holy Capital of Marlomar.

Of course, the carriage was chartered, so Ryo elegantly sipped coffee… and had such disturbing conversations with Abel through ‘Soul Resonance’.

That said, with plenty of money, fragrant coffee, and as a robed magician, he must be one of the top passengers in the carriage!

((Is that so?))

His Majesty the Swordsman King, who was not there, raised doubts, but he didn’t care.

As long as you display such an atmosphere, others will see it like that.

Put on a worthy face, and then the world will value you!

In the afternoon, Ryo finally crossed the border of the Republic of Mafalda and was about to enter the country.

He crossed two countries from the Holy Capital of Marlomar, but compared to them, border security there seemed to be extremely strict.

((Abel, very strict border security is in place.))

((Hoho. If I remember correctly, that Republic is the only country that goes against the wishes of the Western Church, right?))

((Well, rather than say it goes against their wishes… they practice complete separation of religion and politics.))

((Fumu… honestly, is it possible to establish a country that way?))

((What do you mean?))

((Governance of the nation requires reason through law, emotion through religion…))

What Abel said was, in a sense, the basics of historical national governance.

Even on Earth, the idea of ​​separating the church and the state was advocated… but strictly speaking, such a nation does not exist.

Like a communist country…

Or when the president of a democratic country swears an oath, they place their hands on the Bible… so there is not even one millimeter of separation between politics and religion.

That said, religion is not bad.

((The theory of governance that Abel learned is actually surprisingly realistic. Religion itself is not a bad thing at all. But what you should be careful of is if religious forces intervene too much in politics. Please keep an eye open!))

((Su-sure…))

A strict separation of church and state is impossible, and in fact, there are not many countries in history that can be said to have succeeded in doing so…

Nonetheless, it would be easier to govern a country if there was a certain degree of separation between politics and religion.

Well, there were also cases where the emperor himself tried to incorporate religion into the country, like in the last days of the Roman Empire.

By the way, if you delve deeper to think about what it means for the people… it’s going to be a complicated story.

While Ryo was thinking about such things, the border inspection reached Ryo’s turn.

The driver of the carriage got off, and after some formalities, there was a knock on the door.

“Please enter.”

“Excuse me.”

When Ryo said that, the door opened and a guard entered.

It was a fairly large carriage.

“Please do not be offended, it is my duty to ask this. Do you have a border pass issued by the Republic or an identification card?”

A very polite question.

An arrogant security guard and a difficult exchange, resulting in the use of great magic to force his way through the border… Ryo, who had imagined something like that, was taken aback.

((Hey, if that happened, you would be in trouble, Ryo!))

Somewhere, a King was saying something like that.

By the way, Ryo, of course, did not have a border pass issued by the Republic.

What he had at hand was…

“Then this.”

He showed him the ‘Holy Seal’ that he had borrowed from the time he went to the West Dungeon town.

Up until now, even when passing through two countries, there was no problem with that ‘Holy Seal’.

But he was at the Republic of Mafalda…

The guard’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m sorry. The Holy Seal will take some time to pass through examination.”

His tone was polite, but the content of his reply was harsh.

“Eh… well, how long would it take?”

“About a week.”

“So long!”

Words came out of his mouth unintentionally.

“Hmm…”

Ryo was at a loss.

Then he heard gospel!

((Wouldn’t your Duke of Rondo’s plate work just fine?))

((You’re right!))

The guard was trying to summon his comrades outside.

“Ah, then this.”

Ryo hurriedly handed over the identification plate that was hanging around his neck like a necklace.

“Huh…? Oh, were you a noble? Wait a minute.”

After the guard said so, he spoke to someone outside.

“Bring me the inquiry board.”

A few minutes later.

“Kingdom of Knightley… Duke of Rondo… Pre-premier Duke…? Your Excellency, please excuse the delay. The inquiry is complete, please enter.”

“Sure, thank you for your hard work.”

Ryo entered the Republic of Mafalda.

“The Premier Duke of the Kingdom of Knightley? When you say Knightley, the Central Countries… why is such a guy here… Ah, a mission from the Central Countries was traveling to the Holy City, right? But, the Premier Duke? In person? Well, he did show his identification plate, so it was the Duke himself… But he showed the Holy Seal first. I don’t understand… Burley, what do you think?

“No idea… even if you ask me… For now, we have no other choice but to monitor the situation and see how it goes.”

The capital of the Republic of Mafalda, the official residence of the head of state, and the office of the head of state.

A conversation between Head of State Columbano della Russo and Supreme Advisor Lord Burley.

The Head of State, Columbano, is 190 centimeters tall and weighs 90 kilograms.

Rather than calling him the head of the Republic, it would be more fitting to call him a frontline swordsman.

He is in his late 40s, has dark skin and short-cropped hair… his dark brown hair has already begun to mix with white.

And his most distinctive feature is probably his left eye… he wears an eyepatch over it.

In a way, he might be more suited to be a pirate boss than a frontline swordsman…

Columbano was originally a man of the sea.

Conversely, Supreme Advisor Lord Burley was sitting on the sofa.

He is said to be nearly eighty years old, but his eyes are still sharp.

His long white hair is tied back, and it can be said that his face gives off a sense of intelligence.

If you look closely, you can find a large staff used by magicians nearby…

“However, it’s certainly a surprisingly unpleasant timing.”

“That’s true……”

Head of State Columbano let out a huge sigh.

Then, he ran his fingers across his temple.

It was his habit when he’s thinking about things he dislikes.

“At this time, when we’re on the verge of war…”

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