Chapter 16: The Watermill and the Master Key

The watermill. It resembled a giant gear, its size comparable to a house, or even larger. Most were made of wood, and their characteristic creaking sound was delightful.

Creak, creak…

She gently pushed the stopped watermill, and it slowly started moving. She loved this sound.

“You said you wanted to see the watermill, but I guess you really did want to see it.”

“That’s possible. I understand.”

She heard whispers from behind but ignored them. Enjoying the sound of the watermill was her priority.

Watermills were very helpful. They connected two bodies of water at different heights and assisted with various tasks using the power of the flowing water. They were like gears, but powered by water.

“Um, shouldn’t we stop her? She seems to be getting pulled into the watermill…”

“…Nah, she’ll be fine.”

Windmills were similar. Unlike watermills, which were powered by water, they were powered by wind. And unlike the exposed watermills, they were attached to the tops of buildings and rotated inside. Still, in this world, both were made of wood, so windmills also produced the pleasant sound of rotating wood.

Creak… creak…

Hmm, the sound was lovely. Perhaps because it was made by an archmage, the sound was even more pleasing. Where was the source of this sound? Inside? Then if she went a little further in, she could…

“Wahhh?”

Splash.

“Ah, she fell in after all!”

“We have to save her!”

“Rui!”

“…It has a very powerful formula. It pulled me in, even though I have mana.”

“I definitely didn’t fall into the pool because I was curious. There was a miniature mana storm, and I lost my balance…”

“…Raphilia, do those actually exist? I don’t know much about magic, being a knight, but you know a bit, don’t you?”

“…Do they?”

“Anyway, thank you for saving me, Hero.”

“Mm…”

“But don’t misunderstand. I’m not interested in the watermill itself.”

Achoo.

“Rui, I get it, so let’s dry your hair now. I’ll dry it for you…”

“Lia, can you take care of Rui? I need to change my clothes.”

“Ah, okay!”

“Come to the village chief’s house when you’re done. The client is waiting.”

The hero, who had even taken off his armor because of her, wrung out his wet clothes and went upstairs.

“I can do it. Mmmph.”

“I’ll do it. Stay still.”

Her clothes under her robe were completely soaked, so she had to change. Raphilia started drying her hair with a soft towel.

“Rui, was this also part of your plan?”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Raphilia started saying strange things.

“Because, um, you fell in, and now Aswell’s clothes are wet too.”

“So?”

“So, you deliberately did that to make him take off his armor and show off his physique, didn’t you?”

As if she would jump into a pool for that? She was about to retort,

“Or did you really like the watermill that much…?”

“…Actually, I did it to show you a nice view, Raphilia.”

But if she denied it, the only explanation left would be “she fell in because she was so fascinated by the watermill.” So she decided to agree with Raphilia’s claim.

“I-is that so?! As expected of Rui!”

She wasn’t sure what was so expected of her, but she was glad Raphilia bought it.

Thanks to Raphilia, she quickly changed her clothes, and they headed to the village chief’s house.

“Ah, you’re here!”

Behind the warmly welcoming Aria, she saw a man. A middle-aged man with a scruffy beard, as if he hadn’t groomed it in a long time.

‘But those eyes…’

They were filled with melancholy, as if he had five thousand stories to tell. She grabbed Raphilia’s sleeve and discreetly stepped back.

The village chief and the hero soon entered the house.

“Hero’s party, thank you for accepting our request!”

He started with formal greetings, then went on about how the village had been in despair because the previous mages couldn’t fix the watermill.

“…So, Winston here has been working hard, but we haven’t seen any results.”

“Winston. He’s a third-rate mage.”

Third-rate? What did that even mean? Was there a special reason he couldn’t advance to a higher rank?

Fortunately, the hero, noticing her intense stare, asked,

“Third-rate…?”

“…That’s all I am. I can’t handle any magic beyond third-rate. More importantly, Hero, are you going to repair the watermill…?”

“Ah, no. The mage in our party will… Rui?”

“I’ll fix it.”

She glared from behind Raphilia. Winston chuckled.

Oh, he was laughing?

“Well, if she’s in the hero’s party, she can probably fix a watermill easily. Ask me if you have any questions. Otherwise, leave me alone.”

With those words, Winston left the village chief’s house.

“I-I’m so sorry, mage. Please forgive Winston’s rudeness.”

“Rui, he seems like someone with a story… Rui?”

“How dare he provoke me.”

She had planned to fix it quickly because of their schedule. But now that he had challenged her, she would fix it at lightning speed and make him grovel with gratitude.

“Let’s go.”

“W-what? Rui?”

“If you help me, Hero, we can finish quickly.”

This wasn’t just a simple repair request; it was a battle against a third-rate mage who didn’t know his place. She took out her pen and started copying the watermill’s structure into the air.

“Rui, what can I do?”

“Just stay still for now.”

She would give him something to do when the opportunity arose. Until then, he could just sit there and cheer her on.

“There are no visible problems, and the watermill itself doesn’t seem to have any defects…”

She moved her pen, dismantling and reassembling the three-dimensional image of the watermill, analyzing it from every angle. She had to identify the problem clearly to proceed smoothly.

“It’s best to preserve the original materials as much as possible…”

Now it was time to examine the formulas inscribed on the watermill. She dispelled the golden image and walked over to the real watermill.

“…Hero?”

“Ah, sorry. I thought you were going to fall in again.”

The hero suddenly grabbed the hood of her robe. He thought she was going to fall into the pool again? Seriously?

“Hero, don’t be surprised.”

“What?”

She touched a specific part of the watermill, and a burst of multicolored light erupted. She felt the hero’s hand, which was holding her hood, flinch. He was trying to hide his surprise, but she had already noticed.

“I made the formulas visible. These are the formulas inscribed by the watermill’s creator.”

“Ah, I see…”

“Are you surprised?”

“…No?”

“Hehehe.”

The magic formulas that appeared resembled a fountain, spraying outwards. The shape of these formulas varied depending on the mage. Hers were like swirling whirlwinds.

“I see why the previous mages failed.”

“Really?”

“Yes. All the magic characters in the formula are distorted to make them difficult to decipher.”

She could see traces of the previous mages’ attempts to decipher the formulas. They all gave up within the first ten characters.

“The pen won’t work for this.”

She recalled the gold-inscribed pen. And for the first time in a long time, she took out her staff.

“Is that…?”

“It’s my staff.”

She rarely used her staff after developing the pen. The pen itself could function as a small staff and was much more convenient. But she kept the staff because she needed it for advanced formulas like this.

The staff was a matte white, adorned with golden lines and patterns, with a blue crystal at the tip. Two white rings, one large and one small, orbited the crystal.

“I’ll only tell you, Hero. This staff’s name is Master Key.”

She named it Master Key because it could be used for most types of magic, but the real reason was related to her Unique Magic. She could only use her Unique Magic with the Master Key.

“It’s a beautiful staff.”

“Thank you.”

Praise for her staff was praise for her. She held the Master Key with both hands and closed her eyes.

“Open.”

Ching.

The two rings responded to her command and started spinning rapidly.

“Analyze. Decipher. Repeat. Automatic.”

She input the four formulas and aimed the staff at the watermill. A platinum light emanated from the Master Key, enveloping the formulas.

“We just have to leave it like this.”

“Huh? That’s it?”

“Yes. It’ll take care of the rest. I just have to stay here and watch.”

“I see…”

“You didn’t need to come with me, Hero. You can go now.”

“But you said you had to wait.”

“Yes. I have to wait.”

She could continue her research with her pen while waiting. It would be beneficial for the entire party if the hero spent this time bonding with the heroines…

“I’ll wait with you.”

“…?”

But the hero’s words completely derailed her plans.