In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 14
Page 15
Guess they’re similar here, too... Doesn’t matter if it’s the regular world or the Reverse World, they’re the same kind of people. It reminds me of that time Yulong attacked Hannock.
“What can you tell me about this Holy Empire?”
“It’s an extremely authoritarian nation, they have a holy emperor who sits at the top, but he’s basically a puppet. The actual political power lies in their senate, and they’re the ones who ordered this invasion.” Even that sounded similar to Yulong. First an Empire of Heaven, and now a Holy Empire... Geez. Although in Yulong’s case, the emperor held all the power alone.
“Triharan is also one of the few nations that makes use of Soldats in its military. In terms of sheer numbers of military-grade Gollems, the Holy Empire only falls behind the Gardio Empire and the Isengard Magitechnocracy.”
“Other than those three, there aren’t really any other nations that use Soldats.”
That just makes it the weakest Soldat-using nation, then! Ah well, I guess it is what it is.
Still, I didn’t exactly want to interfere. If you considered every time I’d done that in the past, nothing good usually came of it. Then again, I didn’t really need to worry about my social status in the Reverse World.
“I don’t really think it’s my place to butt in without at least knowing more details. I’d be fine with ending a war, but only if I learn more about it.”
“Very well. You can talk to the king of Primula and hear the situation from him, then. There’s not much time, though. The battle between the Primula Knight Order and the Holy Empire’s army has begun.”
Then there was no time to lose. I didn’t want more people to die just because I was taking it easy. It didn’t matter if it was the Reverse World or not.
“Alright, then let’s go quick. [Levitation].”
“Wah?!”
“Whoa?!” I took the woman and the wolf floating up into the air with me. Since I was moving anyway, I decided to bring in Yae and the others once I made it to Primula.
“We’re about to fly up in the air, alright? Don’t move too much. It won’t be dangerous, but you might wanna close your eyes. It can be a little scary the first time.”
“Flying?! What?!” I didn’t give them a chance to protest before casting [Fly] and blasting thousands of meters into the air.
It wouldn’t take long to reach the destination if I went full-pelt.
My two passengers shrieked in horror as I accelerated toward the Primula Kingdom. For some reason, they were making horrified expressions and looked like they were crying. That’s when I realized I hadn’t actually made wind-blocking barriers for either of them.
It was a pain to set up on the go, so I just cast [Prison] around them and quickly set it to prevent wind pressure from passing through, and maintained an oxygen level similar to that of the ground.
That way I’d be fine to go at my full speed.
Elluka was screaming something at me from inside the [Prison], but I paid her no heed.
So long as I maintain my speed, it should only take about five minutes to get there...
Thus, I flew away like a missile, breaking the sound barrier in the process.
◇ ◇ ◇
“...S-Scary... Too scary...”
“Gwuuuh...” Elluka was looking down at the ground while muttering to herself, while Fenrir was simply flat on the ground, twitching.
Come on, you babies. It wasn’t that scary. Just think of it as riding high up in the sky in a supersonic aircraft made out of glass... Actually, that does sound scary. Even though I thought I’d saved time by making it to Primula in just five minutes, they’d been suffering from motion sickness for a full ten.
“...Is this really one of the most renowned Gollem Technologists in the world?”
“I-I am, I assure you...” Hilde, who I had called through a [Gate] earlier along with the others, looked over Elluka with a disapproving face. Her doubt was valid, with those thick glasses, tattered clothing, and grumbly disposition, she didn’t exactly seem like a genius.
“Oohh... He is so fluffy, he is...”
“Are you really a Gollem? You don’t look the part at all.”
“M-Miss, I need to inform you that I’m a mighty wolf... Please do not treat me as a house pet...”
“Hm? Are you? Sorry, then.” Yae and Elze were frantically petting Fenrir, but let up when he asked them to stop.
I’d introduced my three fiancees to the duo here, but I wanted them to get up and get going already.
“C’mon, we gotta go to the castle. The fight started already, didn’t it?”
“Ah... You’re right... We need to hurry!” Elluka quickly scrambled up and adjusted the glasses on her face.
Primula’s Capital City was known as Primulet, and we weren’t too far away from it.
When we arrived at the city limit, Elluka flashed some kind of card to the guards there, and they immediately brought us a six-wheeled Gollem carriage. It seemed like she definitely had connections with the Primula royalty.
We hopped on the Gollem carriage and the knights started taking us along the road to the castle.
I looked out along the streets and saw people with misery cast over their faces. It wasn’t surprising, they’d probably just found out they were at war.
The first thing I noticed about the castle up-close was that it was far bigger than the one back in Brunhild. We were greeted by a broad-shouldered, bearded man decked out in fancy clothing. He came charging at us with a smile on his face. He was also extremely fat.
It was honestly comical to see a man of his size running as fast as he could.
“Miss Elluka!”
“Ah, Grand Chamberlain Every.”
“What a pleasure to see you, it’s been too long!” Grand Chamberlain Every looked to be in his fifties. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath and then shook hands with both Elluka and Fenrir. Although in Fenrir’s case it was really more of a pawshake.
“Thank you for coming. His Highness will be so pleased to see you. You’ll be able to bring the Primlarge to its fullest potential, no?”
“Elluka... What’s the Primlarge?”
“That’s this country’s royal Gollem. It’s a legacy model. I stop by every few years to run maintenance on it.” Every turned his eyes to look at me. I had been a bit rude by butting in just there.
“Hm? Who is this?”
“He’s an assistant of mine. In fact, if things go to plan, he may be able to repel the Holy Empire’s army.”
“Wh-Wh-Whaaaat?!” Grand Chamberlain Every’s eyes shot open and he sprawled his arms out wide in a ridiculous pose. He would’ve put a kabuki actor to shame with those moves. He was so ridiculously expressive that I had to hold back my laughter.
“Could you arrange a meeting with the king? Ideally somewhere private... We have a complicated story to tell him.”
“Very well! Please wait a moment!” Every wheezed slightly, then patted his chest. After that, he took off running back into the castle. Seeing him totter off like that, I really couldn’t help but be reminded of a nursery rhyme character... He was very much a Humpty Dumpty.
As I thought rude things about the chubby old man, Elluka turned and looked into my eyes.
“Touya. Do you know why I believed your story?”
“Hm? Isn’t it because I showed you my Frame Gear? And something to do with that black crown you mentioned?” I was curious as to why she’d brought this up all of a sudden.
“Those were factors, true... But there was another reason. This country. You see, of all the nations in the world, this country has the oldest history. Five-thousand-and-two-hundred years ago, there was a world war that ravaged this planet. This country is the only surviving nation that immediately sprouted up after the war.” I remembered hearing about an ancient world war. If I recalled correctly, it was started by two major superpowers that enveloped the world by the end. Something about Gollems running wild and ruining everything.
“You see, this nation has a legend. They say that five-thousand or so years ago, in the ashes of the ruined world... A man appeared. This man spoke a tongue nobody else understood and wielded magic nobody could comprehend. He was eventually accepted by one of the small tribes, and with them managed to conquer and unite the other minor civilizations that sprouted up. He was the founder of this country. But according to the royal family, he lay on his deathbed and left us with a series of cryptic dying words. He said ‘I am sorry for keeping this from you... But I actually came from another world.’”
“What?!” Elluka’s words shook me.
The first king of this country was from another world? What the hell? That can’t be...
“This country is called Primula, after the tribe from that legend. But the name of the royal bloodline is something else entirely. The surname of this country’s royal family is Palerius. They’re all descended from the first king, a man named Lerios Palerius.”
“Palerius?!”
Alerius Palerius... That was the name of the Sage of Hours, a man who lived in Partheno long ago. He was a master of space-time manipulation and successfully hid Palerius island from the world.
But... There’s no way he could’ve used it. Didn’t Doctor Babylon say that his gate didn’t work...? No, wait... It was that it just didn’t have enough magic power.
But... Hold on... If the black crown could pull things from the other world, and maybe visit the other world... Could Palerius have come here? This is too much to take in.
“Is that name familiar to you?”
“...The Palerius part, at least. That’s the name of a space-time mage who lived in my world five-thousand years ago. But his forename was Alerius, not Lerios. There’s a landmass in the world I’m from named Palerius island, and the descendants of Alerius live there.” If the royal family was really part of the Palerius Bloodline, then that would be interesting...
At the very least it would mean that the people of this kingdom were distantly related to Mentor Central from Palerius island. But there was still a discrepancy in the timeframe. If this bloodline started two-hundred years before the Phrase invasion in the regular world... Did he somehow travel back in time, or something?
“...Hold on a little... It might be better if I bring someone from that era over...”
“Do you mean Babylon-dono, do you?”
“Yeah. I think she’d be better here. She might have more to add than we would.” Elluka seemed confused by my exchange with Yae, so she butted in.
“From that era? What do you mean?”
“Sorry, can you just sit tight a moment? I’ll be back very soon.”
I left a very confused Elluka behind and teleported myself to Babylon in the regular world with my divinity.
I walked into the Hangar and found several Minibots carrying various tools and attending to their duties. I saw Monica in one of the open garages, she was replacing Gerhilde’s shoulder armor.
“Hey, Monica. You seen the doc?”
“Hm? She’s like... Right over there, and stuff.” Monica pointed in a direction, and that’s exactly where Babylon was. She was completely passed out... On the floor, no less... She looked extremely unsightly.
She had a child’s body, so this kind of thing would be cute if I didn’t know the truth about her. “Ufu... Hehee... You got some good panties, missy... Mind if I see them...? Yeah... Take them off... That’s right... Bend over... Ufu... Ahaha...” She was muttering something decidedly un-cute in her sleep. “Wake up, dummy. It’s an emergency.”
“Huh?” I shook the sleeping, grinning creep by the shoulders to wake her up. She looked at me with half-lidded eyes before reaching out toward me.
“Mm...”
“Gah!” Before I knew it, she grabbed ahold of me and pressed her lips against my face. She’d scuttled up my body and wrapped her arms and legs around me, I was practically immobilized by her grip.
Her tiny tongue probed into my mouth, intertwining with my own as she licked and sucked at me. Wh-What the hell?! Where did you learn this kind of advanced shit?!
“Hhghh... S-Stop!”
“Whuh?” I broke her away from me and tossed her to the ground. That was... Seriously dangerous...
“Hm...? Where’d my cute little honey go...?”
“You were asleep, you idiot.”
Doctor Babylon looked around in a half-asleep daze. Apparently, she’d been dreaming about french-kissing a girl... I set all that crap aside and explained the current situation, then took her to the Reverse World with me.
“Sorry for the wait.”
“Huuuuh?!” Elluka and Fenrir weren’t too bothered by the fact that I’d suddenly materialized in front of them, but Grand Chamberlain Every almost bent ninety degrees backward and threw out his arms in an exaggerated jazz-hands gesture. Elze had to hold back her laughter at the sight.
“Don’t worry, Every. This man can use teleportation magic.”
“A-Ah, I see. Forgive me.” His breath was a little ragged, but Every managed to compose himself. I felt like if he was born on Earth he’d probably be cut out for making reaction videos.
“Is this child someone from the other world as well, Touya?”
“That’s right. She’s a doctor named Regina Babylon. She’s the creator of the Frame Gears.”
“But she’s so young!” Elluka stared at her in stunned silence. That wasn’t too surprising. At first glance, she just looked like a twerp in an oversized outfit.
Doc Babylon already had [Translation] cast on her, so communication would be simple enough. I decided to introduce the two properly.
“Doc, this is Elluka. She’s a renowned Gollem Technologist. This is her Gollem companion, Fenrir.”
“Most interesting. Oh yes... I quite like the sound of you. I’m Regina Babylon, the pleasure is all mine. I’d quite like to have a discussion with you after all of this.”
“I’m Elluka. Actually, I’d like to have a conversation with you, I’m most curious about the technologies of your civilization.” The two of them shook hands while attempting to conceal sinister grins on their faces. I wondered what that was all about...
“Hey, Touya... Why are they both making that face? It’s creepy...” Elze picked up on it too. I couldn’t tell if they saw each other as rivals, and were grinning in a two-faced way... Or perhaps they were happy they’d found a new source of relatively unknown knowledge. Part of me felt like I’d just mixed two elements that should never have interacted.
“A-At any rate, now that we’re all gathered... We should head to see the king!” Grand Chamberlain Every, who seemed somewhat shaken by the atmosphere, ushered us toward the castle.
As we walked down the hallway, I stopped to ask Babylon if she’d heard of anyone named Lerios Palerius before.
“Lerios... Yeah, he was old man Palerius’ second son, I think. He worked to assist his father, along with his brother. They were pretty into the whole magitech stuff. From what I understand, he died at a young age and his remains weren’t recovered.” But now I knew the truth. He hadn’t died at all. He’d been blown to another world and managed to become royalty there.
As weird as the story was, I actually felt a bit of kinship with the man. My story was basically the same.
We continued through the hallway until we came to a heavy door with two guards standing in front of it.
Grand Chamberlain Every walked up toward the door and had it opened for us. We were checked for weapons, but I had Brunhild in my [Storage], so that was fine.
Yae and the others also had their weapons in the [Storage] pocket of their engagement rings, so they were let through without a word as well.
The door opened into a fairly simple room, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t
pleasant. It looked regal and felt well aged.
There was a man on the opposite side of the room, he stood up from his desk and walked over toward us.
He looked to be in his forties. He was relatively well-built, but was no beefcake. He basically had well-defined muscles along his thin frame.
He had short brown hair and a very neat mustache that flowed into a long beard. He looked like a pretty cool guy. Atop his head was a plain golden crown, nothing fancy.
That meant he must have been the king of Primula. Which in turn made him a descendant of Palerius.
“Good day, Elluka. It has been some time.”
“That it has, Your Highness.” The two of them greeted each other like old friends and went to shake hands. He wasn’t speaking to her like a king would to a commoner.
The king of Primula looked from Elluka toward me.
“And this is the one you said could halt the Holy Empire?”
“That’s right. But more importantly, I think he could decipher the stone tablet that the first king left behind. He’s from the Otherside.”
“He’s what?!” After hearing Elluka out, the king of Primula audibly gasped. He looked at me with focused eyes and spoke up.
『Ђтмzт/іоіцо кzттт/аэоці ЂкѓтЎми/іаіоаіі ѕѕтм/оіэц ѕѓЂиик/оэааіа?』
“Huh?” I didn’t understand what he was saying, and apparently, that made the king annoyed. His eyes narrowed and he was about to open his mouth... But then the same language was suddenly spoken by someone next to me.
“『ѕѓЂмЂ/оэаао ц』. Is that the language that your first king left behind? I’m afraid that there’s practically nobody in my world now who speaks Parthenese.” Doctor Babylon grinned. Oh, that makes sense. I could’ve spoken it if I used my translation spell though...
Seemed like it was the right call to bring her with me.
“Aha, I see... Is that what you call it? We only know it as the Bygone Tongue, and it is passed down in our royal family. You need to learn it to be able to take the throne, as is tradition.”
That was interesting. It was likely that the first king believed that his father would be able to complete the dimensional disruptor and bring the people of Palerius island to the Reverse World, so he left the language behind...