In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 9

by Patora Fuyuhara

Wait, I totally forgot about the crown prince of Regulus.

  That’s not my fault, though... He’s so forgettable! His name was uh... Lux, right.... Right?

  Holy crap. I’ve actually forgotten his face. He’s a nice guy, but he has left absolutely zero impression.

  I mentally apologized to Lux, then moved on from that train of thought.

  “So, you had something to discuss?”

  “Right, yes... Uhm, ahaha... It’s about my marriage to Ellicia, y-you see... We haven’t actually told Regulus about it.”

  “Wait what? Wouldn’t that typically be the first thing you do?”

  What, did you propose just yesterday or something? I guess I can take you over there if you want.

  “I came to this country in order to study the mechanics of magic. The King of Felsen gladly decided to mentor me, and... over time, as I came to him for advice, well...” My sister-in-law to be looked down with a red face. I still didn’t exactly understand what had happened. Did she seriously just fall in love with this old weapon fanatic just because he kept teaching her? I know the phrase “whatever floats your boat,” but this girl’s boat sure floated in an unusual direction.

  Still, a princess studying magical mechanics in a foreign land was unusual to begin with.

  The King of Felsen turned to me and, with a surprisingly meek expression, spoke up.

  “Look, lad... His Majesty the Emperor of Regulus entrusted me with his daughter. She was sent here for true and legitimate academic reasons, aye? I don’t regret taking her as my fiancee, but... I can’t help but feel I’ve undermined his trust somehow. That’s why I thought perhaps you could help me smooth things over, understand?”

  I understood well enough. There was always the chance that the Emperor said something like “How dare you corrupt my little girl! It’s war! It’s war, damn it!” I didn’t expect that kind of response from the calm and collected person I knew, though.

  But still, he’d have two minds about it. He’d have to think about it as an emperor, and as a dad. Things were settled simply enough when I got engaged to Lu, but this situation was a little different.

  “Well, ultimately, you can’t not tell him, right? There’s no real choice here. You just need to get it together and tell him the full story. I can send you to Regulus right now.”

  “J-Just out of the blue like that?! M-My heart... My heart isn’t prepared!”

  “If you continue to stand in one place, you’re never gonna take any steps forward. Have you never heard the saying that there’s no time like the present?”

  “N-No, I haven’t...”

  Oh... Does that proverb not exist here? Oh well. I sent a letter through a Gate Mirror to arrange a visit to Regulus.

  The Knight King looked at me with mild concern in his eyes.

  “Are you sure this is fine? Can you really take away the King of Felsen like this?”

  “It’d be a pain if Felsen’s administration made out like I kidnapped him, yeah... Maybe I should have Regulus come here?”

  “But then, what about the safety of the Emperor?”

  “Hey now, nothing like that’ll happen while I’m around.” Naturally, I planned on bringing their guards over, too.

  I asked the King of Felsen if they had any rooms suitable for hosting a small audience, and he had his men prepare one immediately.

  We’d finally let him say “Please entrust me with your daughter!” His partner wasn’t all that much older than me, though... Felt a little weird, to be frank.

  The King of Felsen ran off in a panic, desperate to change into something fancier. But, for some reason, he got stuck at the door.

  “Th-The door! The door! Something’s wrong with the door!”

  “Y-Your Majesty... P-Push the door, don’t pull!”

  “Wh-What?! Oh, right!” He wrenched open the door with a furious force and started barreling down the hallway. He looked absolutely frantic.

  “Is he gonna be okay...?”

  “Hehe... Don’t worry, that side of him is adorable.” I forced a smile in Ellicia’s direction. She was open about her love, which was nice, but...

  I think you and I have different standards for adorable, miss...

  After I thought about it a little more, I realized those two weirdos were probably perfect for each other.

  ◇　◇　◇

  “I see... So that’s the story?” The King of Felsen and the second princess of Regulus, who was red in the face and glaring at the floor, sat before the Emperor of Regulus.

  “If you had asked to take my daughter as a mistress or concubine, I certainly would have felt differently... But a legal, binding marriage that ties the fates of our nations together? I understand.”

  “Father?”

  “Th-Then you mean...”

  “I have no reason to refuse this, no. But... Touya?”

  “Yeah?” The Emperor turned his gaze towards me. I was seated at another table with the Knight King.

  “Could you please use your magic to prevent noise escaping this room?”

  “Huh? Sure...?” I cast [Silence] to completely soundproof the area. I couldn’t help but wonder what the Emperor wanted to say, though.

  “It’s done. Not a word will get out.”

  “Very well. Then, Touya... Have you discussed that matter with the King of Felsen, yet?” That... matter? Oh, the stolen Frame Gear?

  “No. I haven’t brought it up yet. I didn’t really think it was appropriate, given the circumstances.” I personally didn’t think the King of Felsen was the one behind the robbery, but I figured there was still a tiny chance. I hadn’t reached my decision, but it seemed like the Emperor was keen to have us discuss it.

  “Well, I must say that I cannot allow Ellicia to be engaged to this man until the matter is resolved. You understand, yes?”

  “Well... I mean, I understand, but still...”

  “Er... Wh-What matter, exactly? Y-You won’t allow us to marry? If I’ve done something wrong, please tell me! I’ll set it right immediately!” The King of Felsen stood up and immediately began panicking. I told him to sit down and began explaining the situation.

  I told him about the battle in Roadmare, about how Frame Gear pieces were stolen, and about how the trade route pointed toward Felsen as the perpetrators.

  “What...? I assure you, my nation would never do such a thing! We’d never take advantage of a battle like that... Please, believe me!”

  “We do believe you. I don’t think you were personally responsible for it, not at all. But we do believe that the ones who are live in this nation. Do you have any idea who could be behind it?” This time, Reinhard stood up to reassure the man. It seemed to work. What was important was that the King didn’t think we were suspecting him in particular.

  In response, the King of Felsen began stroking his beard and thinking to himself.

  “If I were to think about people that wanted to make use of ancient technologies... My mind would immediately go to Gordian, the Golden Order... Perhaps...?”

  “What’s this Gordian?” I suddenly butted in, since that word stood out to me. I’d heard of the Gordian Knot in my own world, after all.

  “Felsen is the magic kingdom because we research all manner of magical techniques, yes...? There also exists magic that society would brand as taboo, however...”

  “Taboo magic...?”

  “Indeed. Taboo magic includes unbreakable curses and sacrificial magic that may cause wide-spread disaster. It’s a form of magic that can lead only to ruin. Hence the name, taboo. Forbidden.”

  Curses and cataclysms, h-huh...?

  “Felsen explicitly forbids the research of taboo magic, but there are still those that indulge. These people attempt to revive ancient techniques and make use of them, out of sight. This is the purpose of Gordian, the Golden Order.”

  “I think I understand... So you’re saying these fellows are the most likely ones to have taken Touya’s Frame Gear?”

  “Perhaps, but all I c
an do is guess. Their purpose is not just to revive taboo techniques, but also how to recreate powerful and dangerous artifacts from the old world. I’ve been told that their members include mages, craftsmen, engineers, merchants, and more scholarly types.” The Emperor of Regulus and the King of Felsen nodded to one another as each spoke. Meanwhile, I was getting a little uneasy.

  The reason for that was simple... I... can use taboo magic, I have a lot of it...

  Babylon’s Library held a lot of those ancient tomes, after all.

  I didn’t realize just how dangerous those books were... I’ve even used some of those spells... P-Plus, I cursed some guys, as well...

  I decided not to say anything. I knew it would be best to keep my trap shut and have an eye out for anything unusual in my own magic research. A big part of me felt it was a little too late to be careful at this point, though.

  Still, the cataclysmic spells I knew didn’t need sacrifices or anything. They took a monstrous amount of magical power, that was for sure, so they couldn’t ordinarily be used unless thousands of people channeled them at once. In a crowd like that, it wouldn’t be surprising to have a few people collapse from magic exhaustion. It felt to me like people probably exaggerated those stories over the years, giving the spells the modern reputation they had now. Still, they were definitely strong enough to sink small islands.

  “Touya, can you use your tracking magic to find members of this Gordian organization?”

  “Only if I know their faces... Otherwise, it’d have to be features I could recognize at a glance.” I quickly responded to the Emperor’s question. The main issue was how many magical barriers they had in Felsen. Even regular homes had rudimentary ones in place. It wasn’t like I could go door-to-door either, and I had no idea if the culprit was actually in the area.

  “It’ll be hard to find them, I think. They don’t move in the open because they were watched with scrutiny at one point. Or rather it’d be more appropriate to say that Gordian... the Golden Order... was already destroyed in the past.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Twenty years ago, Gordian made a bold attempt to resurrect ancient taboo rituals. But my big brother, Leold Frost Felsen, gave his life to prevent them from gaining too much power. It was formally reported as a magical accident to the other nations, but... the truth is my brother died in the battle with Gordian. They blew themselves up and took his life with theirs.”

  “The late king went there by himself?” Reinhard spoke up in a curious manner. I could understand why he was questioning it. I couldn’t think of a reason why the leader of a country would go directly to such a dangerous place. That would typically be something left to one’s guardsmen.

  “Well, to tell you the truth... the one in charge of Gordian was a close friend of my big brother. He never expected that a man he considered family would be at the forefront of such a wicked order... My brother was a man with a strong and righteous sense of justice. He likely wanted to right the mistakes he felt responsible for.” I could feel the sadness in his voice. Ellicia looked at him with mournful eyes. I could definitely feel the love and concern she had for him... but I still felt as though they were more like parent and child.

  “But wait... if you believe that Gordian has revived, then who could be at their helm?”

  “That, well... Only one person comes to mind. I don’t know where he is right now, or what he’s been doing with his life...”

  “Who?”

  “Galzeld Goldie. He’s the son of the former Gordian leader, Garland Goldie.”

  “The son, huh...? It definitely wouldn’t be unusual for him to succeed his father.” The whole idea of a society dedicated to resurrecting taboo artifacts and spells... It was a little weird to me, honestly.

  The previous Golden Order might have had that kind of objective, but... There was a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that told me this Neo-Gordian wasn’t working toward the same ends. That was just a feeling I had, though.

  I was muttering to myself, so the Emperor of Regulus spoke up.

  “Nothing can come of this discussion if we know nothing about the enemy. However, I believe it’s in your best interests to be mindful of such individuals in your nation.”

  “You’re right, yes... Felsen will keep a dutiful eye, I promise. If I hear anything at all, I’ll let you know.” I gave three Gate Mirrors to the King of Felsen just in case he needed to urgently contact us. Through them he’d be able to send messages to Brunhild, Regulus, or Lestia. I gave the Emperor and the Knight King corresponding Gate Mirrors, too.

  The items I handed out caught the attention of Princess Ellicia. She kept passing papers through them and marveling every time they came back out.

  ...What are you doing? I didn’t have any right to be too surprised, since she came over to Felsen in pursuit of magical knowledge and all.

  “Alrighty... Now I have everyone’s permission, shall I start on the bridges?” I let the others know my intentions.

  “A-Aye, but... I know it’s bold of me to ask, but... it’ll truly only take three days?” Heh... Guess he really did find it hard to believe.

  Enlush Island was smack dab in the middle of the Rondo Sea, and it was positively teeming with monsters. Thankfully, the water current wasn’t too harsh, though. My plan was to raise up the bottom of the sea in key strategic areas and have those pillars serve as the foundations. Then, I’d use Babylon to bring over the bridge pieces and build it like that.

  The bridges would be really long, so I figured I’d need to place a few rest stops along them as well, so I’d add broader areas where the bridge would be a bit wider. That way they’d be able to install stations with food and the like. If the countries put guards there, they’d be able to keep the peace along the trade routes. Installing toilets would probably be a good idea, too.

  Frankly, I wanted trains to be able to run along them, but I was planning too far ahead for that. I was definitely going to make the bridges broad enough to allow for tracks in the future, though.

  Alright, let’s get the foundations out of the way for now. I also had to do something about the number of monsters and magical beasts, so I decided to work on that while the Workshop prepared the bridge pieces.

  It wasn’t like when I founded Brunhild, so I couldn’t just kill them all. There were a ton of them, too.

  I figured the best thing to do would be to move several of them to my dungeons, and put the rest on Dragoness Island. The Dragons would probably be grateful for the food supply, and it would stop them from moving out toward other territories. Then again, half of them had been killed by members of my knight order, so they probably weren’t hurting too badly for resources.

  Okay, let’s get to work!

  ◇　◇　◇

  “I-Incredible...”

  “No way...” The leaders of Lestia, Roadmare, Ryle, and Felsen were all gathered at the edge of the bridge. They were staring across the seemingly endless horizon with mouths agape.

  It had been three days since I began. The bridges were all completed to schedule. Everyone had gathered in Lestia for the grand opening.

  “I enhanced the raw materials you all provided and put them to use on the bridges. They’re extremely robust, so they should be able to handle weather and time just fine.”

  “How many years do you imagine they’ll last?”

  “I’m not sure precisely, but I think they should hold for about a thousand years or so.”

  “A thousand...?!” Doge Audrey stared in disbelief.

  The stone bridge in front of us was plenty sturdy, and it was constructed in a simple arch design. I was absolutely confident that even several mages firing a barrage of [Explosion] magic at it wouldn’t cause it to crumble. I’d taken great care in strengthening it, after all.

  I teleported everyone over to the rest stop, which was a large area that spread out in all directions. There were various structures there, including benches, washrooms, and small houses.


  “There are rest stops like this every few kilometers. You can easily set up food and drink vendors in them. If you post guards here, then travelers should be able to relax and rest, too.”

  “Indeed. Travelers and traders are gonna be paying to cross it, after all. It’s not likely we’d get any thieves or bandits, but guards should patrol to prevent disputes.” The King of Felsen nodded slightly. Everyone took their personal guards with them and freely walked around the rest area. There were little plots of shrubbery and flowers here and there, as well. I wanted to go for a comforting, natural look.

  After everyone was done, I took us to Enlush Island.

  “See this down here? I haven’t just put stone markers in the ground for no reason. These stone posts mark territorial boundaries. This place used to belong to Lestia, but now everyone gets a piece. I’ve placed these markers here to designate the individual territories, so don’t forget.” I projected a map into the air and showed an image of the whole island. They were free to build settlements on their own territories, of course. It was their land. I didn’t really feel like interfering too much in those matters at all. If they made settlements, or combined all four into one big settlement, then that had nothing to do with me. I thought it’d be nice if they could make a trading hub, though.

  “W-Weren’t there many ferocious magical beasts on Enlush Island...?” The King of Ryle nervously glanced around as he spoke. He was a small, fat man with a long white beard. I remembered being informed he was partially dwarven. When I pictured a dwarven man in my mind, it conjured up the image of a hardy, stubborn man who worked well with his hands and could drink you under the table. The King of Ryle, however, was completely different. He was gentle, mild, couldn’t handle his booze, and quite clumsy.

  I’d never actually met any dwarves in this world, but I heard a lot of them lived in Ryle. Those ones, so I’d been told, matched up more closely to the traditional image in my mind. I definitely wanted to meet them sometime.

  “I’ve wiped out pretty much every magical beast on Enlush Island. The ones that are left aren’t very threatening.”

  “Wiped... out?”

  “I warped most of them to an island full of Dragons. They’re probably being eaten right about now.” The King of Ryle shook his head in disbelief.