In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 2

  “Wait a sec, Lyon, why wasn’t I given clothes similar to yours...?” Regardless of whether or not my outfit looked good, I had to ask. Though, I guess it was for the best. I’d feel pretty low if I had to stand next to him while wearing the same suit. My fragile heart would receive a crack each time someone compared me to this handsome devil.

  “Er... Sir Touya... you haven’t seen Olga around, have you?”

  “Can’t say I have.” Lyon tried to casually ask me about Olga, trying to put on airs and hide the fact that he was anxious to see her. He has a point, though... It’s kind of weird that I haven’t seen the other guest of honor anywhere. Well, she’s probably just not here yet. Hope she gets here soon though, there’s only so much grinning I can do at fidgety Lyon over here.

  “Touya!” The moment those words reached my ears, I felt someone hug me from behind. I turned around and looked down to see a twitching pair of small, fox-like ears.

  “Well, if it isn’t Arma.” I patted the head of the small foxgirl. She was wearing an adorable dress. When I looked behind her, I saw a well-built gentleman with white facial hair. There was a pair of ears poking out of his hair and a long, thick tail trailing behind him. Could this guy be...

  “A pleasure to meet you. I am Olba, Arma’s father.” Called it. I shook the hand he extended, then took a moment to look at both the man and his daughter. Apparently, the hair on their ears and tails also turned white with age...

  “Nice to meet you too. I’m Mochizuki Touya. Ah, Touya is my given name.”

  “Hoho, so you’re from Eashen, then?” It’s been a while since I’ve heard that one.

  “I-I am Lyon Blitz, a-a knight from the first order of B-Belfastian knights!” Get it together, Lyon... Lyon shakily shook Olba’s hand right after I did. Guess he couldn’t help it. Arma’s father was also Olga’s father, after all.

  “You have my heartfelt thanks for protecting my daughters.”

  “N-No need for that, sir! I-I was merely following orders!” Lyon, please. There’s no need to freak out that much, man... With no intention of helping Lyon out of his sticky situation, I decided to begin some small talk with the old fox.

  “What do you do for a living, Olba?”

  “I’m a merchant. I deal in various high quality goods, some of which come from Belfast.” A merchant, eh? Various goods...

  “Recently, I’ve been trying to get my hands on this new game called ‘shogi.’ I’d quite like to sell it here. I hear the king of Belfast himself enjoys it quite a bit.”

  “Hmm? Shogi?” How did news of the game spread out this far? As it turned out, Olga wrote about it in one of the letters she sent him, and it wound up catching his interest.

  “I just so happen to have a shogi set with me. Would you like it?”

  “Oh, could I really take it? I’d be most grateful. I’ve wanted to see it with my own eyes for a while.” Luckily for him, I still had the shogi set I made during the trip.

  “No problem. I’ll make sure you have it by tomorrow. Though, I have some business to take care of, so... Lyon, could you bring it to Olba? Olga already knows the rules, so I’m sure she’ll teach you both.”

  “H-Hm?! Me?!” Once I brought him into the conversation, Lyon began to panic once again.

  “Lyon’s father is General Leon, one of the king’s most trusted aides. I hear he’s one of the king’s top picks for shogi opponents, as well.”

  “Hoh? A son of the General Leon?! Oh my, I would be really glad if you visited our home. There’s so much I want to ask you.” Olba spoke gleefully to Lyon, a full smile across his face. When it came to personal background, the young knight was a fine match for his daughter. I quietly hoped he’d make a good impression on the old fox. Well, whether they’d get married or not depended entirely on how the lovebirds felt, so I might’ve been doing something unnecessary in the end.

  “Yes! I’ll be sure to come and visit you tomorrow, then!” Lyon positioned himself like a proper soldier. The guy was as needlessly serious as ever.

  As I worried about the extremely diligent knight, the people gathered in the palace grew a bit noisier

  What’s all the fuss about? I looked over to the entrance of the hall, where I saw His Beastliness, Olga, Yumina, and the rest of the girls.

  Olga was clad in a gaudy Belfastian party dress, while Yumina and the rest were wearing costumes that reminded me of Indian saris. Elze’s was red, Linze’s was blue, Yae’s was purple, and Yumina’s was white. Though different in color, they all looked really good. Kohaku was walking alongside them.

  “Oh, hey again, boyo. You’re looking pretty good. I almost mistook you for a Mismedian noble.”

  “Er, thanks... I guess.” The beastking stared at me with a grin on his face. This feels kinda awkward... I don’t really know how to deal with situations like this at all.

  I looked to my side to see Lyon intently looking at Olga in her fancy dress. Oh my... I could see a familiar hair ornament shining in her hair. I think it’s safe to say he has a shot with her at the very least.

  “I love your outfit, Touya. You look wonderful,” Yumina said, lavishing me with praise.

  “Yup. It just works.”

  “...I-It shows a different kind of charm...” Linze muttered.

  “Amazing, Touya-dono! It’s very flattering on you.”

  Everyone seems to think I look pretty nice... You guys better stop it or I’ll blush!

  “You all look really good, too. Oh hey, can I take a photo?” I took out my smartphone and brought up the camera. Once I got them all in frame, I took the picture, making my phone emit a flash.

  Surprised by the burst of light, the Mismedian soldiers posted next to the palace walls placed their hands on their swords. Uh-oh, guess the flash is a no-no.

  “What was that?” His Beastliness looked at the smartphone in my hand. Well, guess I’d have to explain it sooner or later...

  “Sorry, this is one of my Null spells. I can use it to record what I see and look back on it later.”

  “Hoh? Sorry, I don’t really understand.” I showed him the photo I just took. The four girls were on it, lined up and smiling

  “Oho! A spell that lets you draw pictures right away, eh? I’ve heard of someone with a similar spell over in the Refreese Imperium! Is it possible to take this picture out, though?”

  Hmm... so the Imperium has someone who can do something similar to me? Now I’m a little curious about what kind of person that could be... Putting those thoughts aside, I decided there was no need to give a full explanation of how photos worked.

  “I can actually take it out, yeah! I just need a piece of paper and something to write with.” The beastking had someone bring me what I requested. I looked at the photo I took and cast [Drawing] to transfer it to the paper. Soon enough, the blank paper displayed a discolored, sepia-like version of the photo showing the four girls. It was like one of those old, monochrome photos. I could have colored it, but this much was enough to get the point across.

  “Incredible! That’s amazing, kid— er, Sir Touya! Could you draw a picture of me as well?”

  “Sure, no problem.” Since he was right there, I didn’t have to use the camera. I simply cast [Drawing] while using him as reference.

  When I gave him a photo... well, sort of a photo, of him doing a cool pose, he was completely overjoyed. But it very quickly got out of hand. Caught in the flow of the situation, I drew out Olba’s family, after which countless random party guests asked me to draw them, too.

  A single drawing took less than ten seconds, so I had no qualms about doing it over and over, but there were a number of people who weren’t satisfied with their poses or something and took multiple tries to satisfy. What am I, a Polaroid camera?! I’m getting tired... C’mon already.

  Lyon took advantage of the chaos and had me draw him next to Olga. I had no reason to refuse, of course. But still, when I did that one I felt less like a Polaroid camera and more like a photo booth.

  After I
finished up with the requests of the more important guests, I ran out of the party hall to take a rest. I noticed a couch in the corner of the corridor, so I plopped down onto it and tried to relax. That was pretty easy, considering how silent the place was compared to the party.

  As I blankly stared at the corridor up ahead, something strange walked through the place where the corridors intersected.

  “What the—” An expression of disbelief passed my lips.

  There was one thing I noticed about the... thing walking down the corridor in the distance. To be blunt, it was a bear. Well, sure, the country of demi-humans was bound to have some bear beastmen. I’d actually seen quite a few of them at the party. The issue wasn’t that, but the fact that the thing I saw was not a beastman. It was a stuffed bear toy.

  I couldn’t say for sure, but it seemed about fifty centimeters tall, and no matter how many times I re-evaluated what I was looking at, it was clearly a plush toy bear... Why is there a toy bear walking around... Am I more tired than I thought I was?

  Suddenly, it stopped and looked in my general direction. Oh cripes, it’s looking me dead in the eye!

  Staaare...

  Staaaare...

  Staaaaare...

  Staaaaaare...

  Hasn’t this happened before...? What? The bear was moving its arm, clearly beckoning me over.

  Is it trying to ask me to come with it? Should I actually follow it? I pondered for a moment and decided to oblige. I reasoned that if things started to look bad, I could use [Accel] and get out of there.

  The waddling bear led me to a room not so far from the party hall. It was short and stubby, so it couldn’t reach the doorknob. Undeterred, it skillfully jumped up and spun the knob to open the door. It headed inside, but not before beckoning to me again.

  Guess it wants me to keep following... I entered the dimly-lit room and saw moonlight beaming in through the window. The room was spacious and properly furnished.

  “Oh? You brought over quite a strange guest this time, Paula.” Perplexed by the sudden voice, I started looking around. Moments later, I noticed a girl sitting on a red chair in front of the window.

  Age-wise, she seemed close to Yumina and Arma. She had white hair tied in twin-tails and eyes of gold. Wearing a frilly black dress, black boots, and black headdress, she looked like a proper gothic lolita. Normally, my eyes would be fixed on her clothing, but I couldn’t keep them from shifting to the things behind her.

  A set of thin, semi-clear wings, shimmering in the moonlight. They weren’t like those you’d see on birds, more like those of an insects. It was safe to assume that she was a fairy.

  “So? Who might you be?”

  “Ah, I’m Touya. Mochizuki Touya. Touya’s my given name.”

  “Born in Eashen, I take it?” Oh, how I’d love for that to stop. Well, it’s similar enough, so I can’t really say much else...

  “I see. So you’re a guest of this party. The famed dragon slayer, yes?”

  “Dragon slayer? Well, I mean... I guess that’s not wrong. And you are?”

  “Oh, do forgive me. I’ve forgotten to introduce myself. I am Leen, the Clan Matriarch of all fairies. And this little darling here is Paula.” Clan matriarch?! This girl?! The surprise made my words catch in my throat, to which Leen giggled, clearly amused.

  “Despite appearances, I am far older than you. Longevity is but one of the main characteristics of the fairy race, after all.”

  “You’re older than me?! By how man—?” Wait, I better stop right there. It’s definitely not appropriate to ask a woman her age. Leen, however, didn’t seem to mind my train of thought.

  “Well, I’m not too sure... I’m at least six centuries older, that much is certain.”

  “Six centuries?!”

  “Thinking about this is a bother, so just assume that I’m six-hundred and twelve years old.” W-Wait, that’s a pretty major assumption... I can’t believe this petite-looking girl is over six centuries old... No holds barred in this world, I guess. That said, now that I know her age it’s easier to accept she’s the Clan Matriarch.

  “Do fairies age slowly?”

  “...That isn’t the case, no. We merely stop aging when we reach a certain age. Normally, it happens when we reach the appearance of a human in their late teens or early twenties, but it came earlier for me. That’s all there is to it.” I could see her pouting as she muttered those words. I figured she wasn’t too happy with the body she was stuck with for eternity. Man, no matter how I look at her, I can’t see her as anything other than a person Yumina’s age.

  As if to comfort Leen, Paula clambered behind her and patted her on the head.

  “So, about Paula... is she some kind of contracted familiar?”

  “She isn’t, actually. She’s a genuine stuffed bear. She can only move thanks to my Null spell, [Program].”

  “[Program]?”

  You mean like a computer program or something? Is this bear a robot?! “The Null spell, [Program], allows the user to give certain orders to inorganic objects and make them act accordingly. For example...” She took a chair from the side of the room and brought it over to me. Leen held her hand before the chair and focused her power, making a magic circle form under it.

  “Begin [Program]/ Motion: Two Meters Forward/ Starting Condition: Someone Sitting/ End [Program].” The magic circle on the floor quickly faded away. Once Leen sat down on the chair, it slowly moved about two meters forward before stopping.

  “Oh, I forgot to set the speed. But you get the general idea. It allows me to give magical orders to objects.”

  Yeah, I think I get it now. A name like [Program] is more than appropriate for this one. Even if it’s limited by the programming, the ability to make objects move on their own is super useful.

  “So, can you make Paula fly by adding an order that forces her to?”

  “Something like that is impossible, I’m afraid. It isn’t that great of a power. [Program] only allows for simple movements. Though flight would likely work fine for small model birds.”

  Alright, I think I understand better now. Seems like the spell has some reasonable limits. Doesn’t make it any less useful, though.

  “I’ll have a go at it.”

  “Sorry...?” I focused my magic on the chair. A magic circle formed on the floor, and I began to prepare my own [Program].

  “Begin [Program]/ Motion: Five Meters Backward at Standard Human Walking Speed/ Starting Condition: Someone Sitting/ End [Program].” Once the magic circle disappeared, I quickly tested the program by sitting on the chair. It began moving backward at a slightly higher speed than before and stopped after five meters. Yup, this is useful.

  “What... What did you do just now?” Leen was staring at me, blinking hard and slow.

  “Well... I used [Program], didn’t I?”

  “Why are you phrasing it like a question...? No, forget that for now. You were able to use [Program] just like that?”

  “Erm... ahaha, I guess so...” She looked at me with great suspicion in her eyes.

  Staaare...

  Staaaare...

  Staaaaare...

  Staaaaaare...

  This happened with Paula already! They say pets resemble their owners, but I don’t know if that’s quite right here... Soon enough, she heaved a sigh and folded her arms.

  “There’s a lot I’d like to ask you, but I’ll leave it for another time... I told Paula to bring any interesting humans to me, and she didn’t fail me in that regard. You might even be a better find than Charlotte was.”

  “Charlotte?” I couldn’t help but react to the familiar name.

  It can’t be the same Charlotte, can it? “Yes, one of my disciples. I hear she’s Court Magician in Belfast now. Oh. I guess it could. Wait, then, hold on... That means...!

  “Ah! So you’re the demonic teacher that made her cast spells until she collapsed, then forcibly restored her magic and made her cast more spells until she collapsed again, right?!”

&
nbsp; “What?!”

  Oh man, she’s scaring me. Please don’t glare at me like that, I’m fragile. I’m not the one who said it to begin with! S-Sorry? Should I say sorry?! I should say sorry!

  “Well, never mind that... Charlotte will be getting a slap next time I see her, though. That aside, Touya, your magical talents are really quite remarkable. Besides Null, what other elements do you have the aptitude for?”

  “All of them.”

  “...Well, at least nothing will surprise me anymore.” After another long sigh, Leen pondered something before slowly opening her golden eyes. She looked over at me and clasped her hands together.

  “Very well, then. You shall be my new disciple.”

  “Come again?” The twin-tailed gothic lolita made her wings quiver as she smiled in my direction.

  ◇　◇　◇

  Yesterday, the matriarch of the fairies, Leen, told me to become her disciple, but I politely refused. Seriously, who would willingly work under someone so relentless? I’m not a masochist or anything, you know? Still, she seemed pretty annoyed by my rejection.

  Later on, the party reached a calm end. We returned to the rooms we were given and went to sleep on our soft beds. It’d been a while since I slept on something nice, so it took some time for me to fall asleep. Before I realized it, however, it was already morning and I was well rested.

  Alright, there’s something I wanna try out today! I browsed several sites on my phone and used [Drawing] to get transcripts and pictures of just about everything that looked useful. Think that should be just about everything...

  Once I was done with the light breakfast they brought me, I gathered the bundle of papers I prepared and got Kohaku to join me in going to see Chancellor Glatz.

  I told him that I wanted to leave for a bit, so he gave me a medal that doubled as a permit for crossing the castle gates. He also asked me if I could use [Drawing] to make a portrait of him. In all honesty, he was the one person I hadn’t expected to request one.