Plus, there was the fact that I’d be ascending as a God eventually, too... I was really just scared about how to tell the people close to me about my extremely unusual circumstances. I didn’t know what they might say.
“Ah! No fair, Yumina! You can’t monopolize Touya! Aren’t we sisters-in-arms?” Lu entered the room and saw the two of us. After fussing a little bit, she sat on my opposite side and hugged up to me much like Yumina was.
“Goodness me... I didn’t really monopolize him for very long.” Yumina stuck out her tongue, smiling softly.
I had two beautiful flowers, one in each hand. I began to feel embarrassed. It wasn’t quite as frightening when it was just one-on-one.
“Ohoho, oh my... Are you having a good time with your harem, Master? You shouldn’t forget about me and my sisters, you know?” Cesca walked in after Lu sat down, bringing her usual sardonic commentary in tow.
“What do you mean by that...”
“You should pat our heads... Or hold our bodies close to yours. Or get some rope and bind us real tight... Then spank us. Rip our clothes off, ah... Mh... A-And pour candle wax all over our squirming nude bodies... Mmh!” Cesca’s breath grew ragged. She started to writhe. She was a complete lost cause.
“D-Does Touya like that kind of thing...? Uhm... I-I’m inexperienced, and it’s embarrassing, but if he does, I-I could do it...”
“Y-Yes... Me too... I-It’ll be my first time, s-so be a little gentle... But I’d d-do that...” The two girls by my side blushed deep crimson, muttering absolute nonsense all the while.
“DAMN IT!!! My tastes aren’t like that at all! Don’t listen to her!” Leave your fetish crap outta this, Cesca! I forced the pervy robo-maid out of the room. For some reason my manhandling just made her breathe even more heavily.
“Mm!!! More, please...”
Quit moaning! Quit it!!!
◇ ◇ ◇
“This is-a one of the Phrases’ soundwaves. Here is one of-a the Intermediate Construct-a sounds, and one of the Upper Construct-a sounds. These-a sounds can be hard to hear, but they’re clear as day before they come out! But if we use this machine we should-a have no trouble identifying them.” Parshe, clad in her shrine maiden garb, sat in the storehouse flipping through various floating screens. She’d been doing a lot of research into Phrase wavelengths since the last battle.
“So we can use this to determine where they’ll come out and when, right?”
“Ah... That’s-a quite the tall order, but maybe. We can measure the spatial-a tear, figure out how big it is, and how fast it’s widening. We might-a mess up by a range of about two or three days, but it should-a be close enough.” Two or three days was a fair bit when dealing with enemies like the Phrase, but it still seemed acceptable enough.
“So we can use this data to create some kind of Phrase-detecting radar, right?”
“I can-a probably do it, yes. But don’t expect-a the range to-a be so good.” Even being able to sense them was a boon, regardless of range restrictions. If we made multiple radars, we’d be able to cover more ground as well. I decided to talk to Rosetta about it right away.
She was in the middle of making Sue’s Frame Gear, but the radar definitely took higher priority. If we knew where they were gonna be coming out, we’d be able to adapt and defend.
I went up to the Workshop to talk to Rosetta about making a Phrase Radar, but she got angry at me when I brought it up.
“No, sir! I’m just one person, sir! I can’t simply do this, then that, and then this and that at the same time!!!” Let me correct myself. She actually got kinda furious. Still, it was understandable. We didn’t exactly have a surplus of workers. There was a good deal of minibots, but she could’ve probably done with more support.
“Indeed. It seems you’ve come to me.”
“...Indeed I have.” In the end, I went to the Rampart to ask Liora for help. Though it was more of a case of me having no real alternatives. I couldn’t ask the clumsy moron or the book-obsessed moron to help with a delicate matter.
“Very well indeed, then. I did indeed work as Doctor Babylon’s assistant for a good deal of time, so this should not indeed pose a problem.” I was right to rely on the eldest sister of Babylon. She at least had a level head. I wanted her to ease Rosetta’s burden, if only a little bit.
“Where’s Noel?”
“She is indeed asleep.”
“Surprise, surprise... Oh, Crea made her this boxed lunch. Give it to her, would you? There’s some for you, as well.” I passed over two hand-wrapped lunches to Liora. Liora’s was a standard size, but Noel’s was about five times the size of an average person’s lunch. Her gluttony was enough to put Yae to shame, after all.
All Noel did was eat and sleep, so I was surprised she didn’t get fat. Though, that was probably because of the fact that she was a humanoid machine.
“You have our most indeedilous gratitude. We may not require food to function, but we do indeed appreciate the taste of a well-cooked meal.” Liora gave me a little smile. Liora, Noel, and Fam didn’t really come down to the surface all that often.
On the contrary, I would’ve preferred if Parshe didn’t stray down... Just the other day, she burned up one of the curtains in the castle hallway. Her clumsiness was far too much trouble.
I headed back down to Brunhild Castle, where I came across Sakura and Kougyoku.
Sakura’s memories were still completely absent, but it kind of seemed like she didn’t really care all that much.
I’d never lost my memories before, so I couldn’t exactly judge, but it struck me as odd that she didn’t seem to be all that interested in who she used to be.
I always had one of the Heavenly Beasts accompany her when she walked around due to her unknown identity, but I’d recently felt that it probably wasn’t a necessary measure any longer.
“Ah, Grand Duke. I’m glad you’re here!”
“Hm? Did you need something?” Sakura rushed over to me. She seemed a little more panicked than usual. It was definitely rare for her to have anything other than a neutral expression on her face. She suddenly grabbed my hand and started running along with me in a certain direction. It was definitely out of character for her.
“Wh-What’s going on?!”
“There’s an ill person, my liege.”
“Huh?” Kougyoku caught up by flying alongside us. So it seemed like Sakura was worried about this unwell person.
“We found a collapsed individual on our walk around the castle town. We brought them to the Silver Moon, but the situation is rather precarious due to their rare illness.”
“What illness?”
“Demoderma. It’s a sickness that only afflicts demonkin. Though it doesn’t have a high rate of infection and can only spread through direct contact, we must keep all demonkin in Brunhild away from the patient. Demoderma causes several horrible symptoms, and death is certain after about a month.” Sakura, still yanking at my arm, explained the situation.
You sure know a lot about this... Did you read the medical textbooks in our castle’s Library or something? Guess we’ve got another book maniac like Fam.
Regardless, a sickness that affected demonkin could only mean one thing... The patient was one of them as well.
“But what does this have to do with me? Shouldn’t you just ask Flora?”
“Demoderma counts as an affliction, but it’s almost impossible to cure. Still, that Null magic of yours, [Recovery]... it may be able to, well...”
Now I understood. My [Recovery] spell was made for dealing with afflictions like poison and paralysis, as well as any abnormal bodily conditions like blindness or deafness. I even theorized that kidney stones could be removed with it, too. Cancer was even a possibility, but I didn’t know anyone in this world with it.
Even though I could do all that, I was still incapable of curing the common cold... I didn’t really know why, so I didn’t think it affected diseases. But I’d been informed that it just might work with
demoderma.
If that was the case, we needed to hurry up.
I wondered why I wasn’t summoned telepathically, though. I was later told by Kougyoku that Sakura suddenly started dashing toward the castle when she found out. She must’ve been too concerned to think.
I opened up a [Gate] right in front of Sakura, and we were at the Silver Moon in a flash.
Fleur guided us up the stairs and we ended up in the furthest room on the third floor. There was a girl laying in bed there.
Her body was wrapped in a torn-up cloak, bandages covering almost all of her skin. Her skin looked like it was originally brown, but it was crusting and flaking into a reddish-brown mess and falling down on to the bedsheets below her. The flakes looked thick, and almost metallic. Her silver hair looked completely disheveled and dirty.
Her face was covered entirely by bandages, but I could tell she was a woman. Her chest was bound, but her large breasts rose up and down as she gasped heavy-yet-shallow breaths.
Good lord, she looks awful... Her skin’s either peeling off or red and sticky...
“Is she even alive...?”
“Demoderma is a disease that gradually hardens the body. The skin peels off, becomes thick and coarse, and peels off again... Eventually their entire body seizes up and becomes so stiff they can’t even move. After that comes... death. There’s still time to save her, though. Please, use your magic.” At Sakura’s behest, I hurriedly used [Recovery] on the girl.
The girl’s skin was wrapped in a soothing light, and her skin quickly peeled away. I thought something had gone horribly wrong until I noticed her skin regenerating healthily afterward. Healthy tan flesh peeked out from between the bandages. It was a complete success.
While I was at it, I cast [Refresh] and revitalized her. And with that, she’d be able to regain her physical strength.
Fleur removed her bandages and wiped the girl’s face down with a wet towel. She was uncovered, revealing a brown-skinned girl with pointy, knife-like ears.
“A dark elf...”
“Yes...” Sakura nodded. She had ears much like Guildmaster Relisha’s. However, this girl’s skin was an oily brown, and she had long silver hair.
“Dark elves count as demonkin? Does that mean Elves are demonkin as well?”
“Hm? No... Elves and dark elves are completely separate races. They look similar, but are quite different. Elves excel at magic and have fair skin, while dark elves are more adept at physical techniques and have darker skin.”
“Do the species have some kind of deep rivalry or mutual hatred, too?”
“Not to my knowledge...” Seemed I was wrong on that count. Reality was, after all, quite different from my superficial knowledge of fantasy tales.
The girl was incredibly beautiful, though. I wondered if elves were simply beautiful as a racial trait. Hmhm... Most interesting...
“A-Ah... I’m about to wipe her body down...”
“Yeah, sure thing. Make sure to get any flakes of hardened skin off her.” I nodded to Fleur. It’d be best to get her looking her best as soon as possible, after all. However, Fleur didn’t move to start her work at all. Instead, she just kept staring at me for some reason.
Something on my face...?
“Uhm... W-Well, Your Highness... I’ll need to strip her down, so...” Fleur’s nervous words finally clicked in my head.
Ah, wait! Don’t misunderstand! I just didn’t realize! It’s not like I’m trying to peek on her or anything! I swiftly turned a smooth one-eighty and walked the hell out of that door. There was a rumor going around about me being a lusty king with eight fiancees, I didn’t want to make that any more credible! I left the Silver Moon, entrusting the dark elf’s safety to Fleur and Sakura.
“Good grief...”
“Your Highness!” I turned toward the voice, only to see a band of demonkin knights charging my way. Samsa the ogre, Lushade the vampire, Lakshy the alraune, and the two lamias, Mulette and Charette.
“I-Is that girl okay?”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it. I cured her disease, so she’ll be up and about soon.” It seemed like my voice gave everyone some measure of relief. They all heaved deep sighs and patted their chests.
Isn’t this an overreaction? Is it just because she’s a demonkin too?
“Do you guys know her or something?”
“No, she’s just a fellow demonkin, that’s all. We have to stick together. Racism and persecution is rife in the lands outside Xenoahs, after all. Besides, demoderma is a terrible sickness...” Lushade muttered anxiously.
It was a sickness that only affected demonkin... She was probably wearing those bandages not to obscure her face, but for the sake of other members of her kind. She’d wrapped herself up to minimize the chances of infecting another...
“But still, something must’ve happened for a dark elf to stray from our demon kingdom...”
“What do you mean?”
“Dark elves, much like vampires, are a species that prides themselves on longevity. Most of the nobility in Xenoahs are dark elves or vampires, you see.” So that meant the girl in the Silver Moon was probably several decades old. She only looked to be about twenty, though.
As I muttered in confusion, Lushade told me he was over sixty as well. What the hell?! Aren’t you only twenty-something?! Didn’t you say you wanted to join Brunhild so you could be more independent? Do vampires still live with their parents at sixty or something? I didn’t really understand demonkin all that much.
From what I understood, noble demonkin suffering from demoderma in Xenoahs were cared for by humans or demi-humans and basically put under house arrest until they died a month or so later.
I wonder if that dark elf got the sickness on her journey or something... Coincidentally, she managed to make it to Brunhild, but she surely would’ve died if she hadn’t made it here...
Something niggled at the back of my mind, though... Was this really just a coincidence?
◇ ◇ ◇
“Ooh...”
“So these are ours...?” Yae and Hilde let out happy noises as they looked up at the two Frame Gears before them.
One of them was large and purple, somewhat resembling a samurai. It was based on the look of traditional Japanese armor, with a crescent moon on its helmet. The helmet was like the one worn by Date Masamune, a legendary warlord from the Sengoku Era. The Frame Gear itself was equipped with a waist-mounted odachi, and a wakizashi. Both of these traditional Japanese blades suited Yae’s style. There were also thrusters on its legs for increased mobility.
I’d also fit its magical ability slot with an [Accel] enchantment, allowing incredible speeds. She’d be able to dash through the battlefield and cut enemies to ribbons with boundless precision.
What it lacked in defense, it more than made up for in sheer power and agility. The Phrasium blades would ensure nothing was free from its cutting force.
This was Yae’s very own Frame Gear. I christened her Schwertleite.
Next up was the orange Frame Gear. It was more of a traditional armor-clad knight, primarily orange but with black decorations. It wielded a huge shield and a mighty longsword. If Yae’s was a Frame Gear built for speed, then Hilde’s was a Frame Gear built for defense.
It had what almost looked like a dorsal fin on its back. The fin would transform into an enormous broadsword for emergency battles against Upper Constructs. I used [Modeling] to ensure it could extend to almost triple length.
This was Hilde’s personal Frame Gear. I named her Siegrune.
Both girls climbed aboard their Frame Gears and began to test various functions. They swung their swords, ran around, and basically made sure everything was operational.
“The reaction speed is far better than it is inside the Knight Baron, it is... It feels almost as though I am moving my own body, it does.”
“The power is far beyond that, too... Now I know I’ll be able to fight an Upper Construct!”
“Don’t get ahead of yourselv
es, now. Remember, the enemy could have all kinds of stuff up their sleeves. Your greatest weapon is being prepared for the worst.” These new Frame Gears were far from unstoppable. I wanted to make sure Yae and Hilde’s Frame Gears could withstand that energy beam attack I’d seen twice now, but I wasn’t entirely convinced they’d even be capable of tanking something like that.
We’d been consolidating our data, though. And I was hoping we’d have enough to make Sue’s Frame Gear capable of that defensive feat down the line.
We finished up the field testing for Siegrune and Schwertleite, then headed back to the castle. After that I met up with Sakura and Kougyoku. We went off to the Silver Moon to meet the girl again. An employee from the Silver Moon had dropped by to tell us that the dark elf girl had finally woken up.
We’d been informed that she was fully cured and had no further abnormalities. She’d even been eating well. I decided I should go see her just to be certain, though.
I knocked on the door and entered the room to find Fleur sitting on a chair, and the dark elf girl sitting upright in her bed.
As soon as Fleur introduced us and explained who we were, the dark elf girl immediately hopped out of bed and bowed her entire body on to the floor.
Hey, hey! That’s a little much!
“I have no words to convey to you the gratitude in my heart. Never in my life did I believe I’d meet one of your station, much less be healed by him. If you might accept me then I, Spica Frennel, pledge lifelong servitude to your house.”
Wait, seriously?! That’s way too much! Although I guess I did save your life, so maybe this is normal...
“Honestly, that’s really not necessary... You don’t need to worry so much. I’m just glad you’ve been cured. If you’d like, I can take you back to Xenoahs.” I’d briefly been there, even if just in the skies. Opening a [Gate] there wouldn’t be a problem.
“No... I... have no place in that country. I was actually hoping to find employment in this nation. It’s difficult for people of my kind to find work in other nations, which is why I came here.” She laughed wryly after speaking. I wondered if she had a reason not to go home. From what I understood, dark elves were distinguished nobles in Xenoahs for the most part.
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 9 Page 8