Either would be fine since Elfrau would be saved, but I should go in person. I don’t want to cause an international incident. Plus there’s some stuff I wanna test out. Also, I don’t wanna be known as the gold-rank guy who relies on his Frame Gears to fight all the time, so I’ll just go by myself this time. I should take some time to actually fight using my body once in a while, otherwise Moroha and the others will always be physically ahead of me.
“Alright. I’ll take it. Send me a message with the location, got it?”
“Got it, thank you. I’ll do that now.” I closed the call with Relisha and immediately called Kousaka to inform him of my trip to Elfrau. He seemed surprised, I kind of figured he’d be used to it by now.
Hearing him get like that reminded me of this old show about an older man who served a feudal lord. The man would sigh in disbelief every time his master would leave the castle without permission to do something crazy. I used to watch reruns of that show with my grandpa.
It was kind of funny that Kousaka and I had that kind of relationship the characters in the show had.
“This Behemoth Snorra Wolf... It sounds interesting, take me with you.”
“You wanna come, Leen?” This was a job for a gold-rank adventurer, but Leen seemed pretty keen on coming with me, so I didn’t see why not.
To be honest, Leen’s magical mastery probably put her at gold-rank in terms of skill anyway.
My smartphone chimed to signal the new message from Relisha; it was the exact location of the Snorra Wolf. The Elfrau military had been tracking it, apparently. They were keeping their distance from it because it could smell them if they got too close.
The plan was to use [Gate] to move Leen and me to the little bit of Elfrau I had been to in the past during my search for the Babylon pieces. After that, we’d both use [Fly] to get to the snow plains.
“[Gate].” We left Fam behind in the library and came out in Elfrau. Holy hell is it cold!
“B-Brr... C-Come forth, Fire... A Cozy Cloak Scatters Down: [Warming]!” Leen immediately cast a spell to heat us both up to a comfortable temperature. I really thought I was gonna die for a second...
It was unreasonably cold in Elfrau. A little detail I had completely forgotten about, apparently!
“Good grief... You really are a fool, aren’t you?”
“Y-You went through the portal unprotected too, Leen...!”
“...That aside, where’s the Snorra Wolf?”
Hmph... Don’t just brush off my comments! I grumbled a little as I opened up my map and determined my current location.
“Let’s see... We should track the Elfrau soldiers first.” I’d never seen a member of the Elfrau military before, but I was certain I’d be able to recognize one at a glance. I was correct. They appeared on my map after I ran the search.
I held Leen in my arms and invoked [Fly] to head straight for their location, I saw several of them in a forested area near the snowy plains.
We landed next to them swiftly.
“Hm?!” The Elfrau soldiers wore heavy winter coats and hats that resembled Russian ushankas. They immediately pointed their weapons at me in confusion.
“I’m Mochizuki Touya, the grand duke of Brunhild. The queen of Elfrau has requested I come here to kill the Snorra Wolf. This is Brunhild’s court magician, Leen. Who’s in charge here?”
“The grand duke of Brunhild?!” My feet slowly sank into the snow. I definitely wasn’t dressed for the weather at all. I sighed quietly and pulled my card out of my pocket.
“A golden guild card... Goodness...”
“If you want further proof, should I produce a Frame Gear?”
“No, no... Not necessary... I have heard that the queen sent out for aid. I am the man in charge here, the name is Alexei.” A man stepped forward from the group of ten, he was a full head taller than the rest of them. They seemed to accept me pretty readily, but I wasn’t sure if they really believed what they were seeing.
From what I was told later, Alexei’s father worked at the guild office in Elfrau and often talked about me due to my high rank. They’d been paying attention to me without me even realizing.
Either way, I passed him my guild card so he could confirm it.
“So, where’s the Snorra Wolf?”
“Just north of here. It has eaten many Brudboars out on the plains, and is currently resting.”
Brudboar...? Oh, I think I heard of them, those white wild pigs. Seems like this Behemoth isn’t exclusively attacking humans, at least... But indiscriminately eating anything isn’t really that good either. The longer it stays, the more damage it’ll do. Better wrap this up.
“C-Captain! The Snorra Wolf is coming!”
“Say what?!” A soldier holding a pair of binoculars points to an area behind us. Then we saw it come into view. A massive white wolf, around twenty meters long, was kicking up snow as it charged toward us.
“Welp, alright then! Time to fight!” It wasn’t quite the size of the Behemoth I’d fought last time. But it was still far bigger than a man. I didn’t need to field a Frame Gear.
“Let’s go!” Leen jumped forward as if to guard the Elfrau soldiers, raising her hand and charging her magic at the same time.
“Come forth, Wind! Sorcerous Stabbing Squall: [Air Impact]!”
Leen invoked an ancient Wind spell, and the enormous wolf was stopped mid-charge and blown away. She’d evidently been brushing up on her ancient spells in the library.
“This is my first time using it on a living target... It’s less like a wall of wind and more like a bullet, fascinating. This has good defensive applications.” The tumbling wolf fixed its balance and stood up to face us again. It stared me down with golden eyes, howling loudly as its maw gaped open.
“Grawoooooo!” A large mass of ice began to form inside its mouth. It seemed like this was the special ability it had developed when it became a Behemoth. It roared again, sending the lumpy mass our way at incredible speeds.
Oh crap. That’s bad!
There was no way for me to avoid it, either. The soldiers were right behind us, after all.
“Burn forth, Wind! Gale of Flames: [Ignis Hurricane]!” A flaming vortex emerged from thin air, melting the chunk of ice into nothing. The spell I’d cast was one similar to [Fire Storm], but it was several times more powerful.
It was an ancient spell, known as a compound spell that fused both wind and fire affinities. Over time it’s likely that usage of the spell wasn’t well understood and became the basic Fire spell known as [Fire Storm] today.
Unless someone had both wind and fire in their affinities, they wouldn’t be able to use it. That brought with it a ton of disadvantages to offset its sheer power.
“Spark forth, Ice! Frozen, Jolting Maelstrom: [Vortex Mist]!”
“Grrrgh!” A sparkling mist began to rise around the wolf. If it touched the foggy mass, it’d be electrocuted. We’d immobilized it completely. The spell Leen had cast was a compound magic designed for incapacitation.
I didn’t want to use a Fire spell to finish it off, since that’d damage the value of the corpse.
There was a new spell I wanted to try out, but it required physical contact, so I had Leen disperse her spell.
The second the fog disappeared, the Snorra Wolf roared and charged straight for me. It was extremely fast, but not fast enough.
I used [Teleport] to warp to the beast’s side, then I delivered a [Power Rise] infused kick to its ribs.
“Graugh, awrhhh!” I heard a snapping sound from its body, then a dull crunch. Something inside it had broken. It fell to the ground, and I dashed forward to place my palm on its neck.
“Wither, o Dark! Sap Life From My Enemy: [Energy Drain]!”
“Grawooo!” The Snorra Wolf’s very life began flowing into me. It started to die, and my body started to heal. The effect on me felt much like [Recovery]. It was a little slower than a Healing spell, though. Probably because of how large the beast was.
“Grargh!�
�
“Hmph!” I jumped back to avoid the bite. It tried to get up, but its knees were weak. It was the end for the creature.
“Goodnight.” I unholstered Brunhild from my waist and fired true into the beast’s chest. A divine bullet pierced its heart.
“Awooo...” It raised a tiny howl as life slipped from its mouth. With that, the Snorra Wolf, terror of Elfrau, was dead.
I approached the wolf to ensure I’d finished the job, and sure enough, it wasn’t breathing anymore.
“That [Energy Drain] is quite the frightening spell...”
“You need to keep contact to make it lethal, you know? It was probably meant to be more of an incapacitating spell, like my [Paralyze].” Leen had no aptitude for darkness, so she couldn’t use the spell. Yumina and Sakura were capable, but they had no interest in learning about stuff like that.
Wh-Whoa, what’s with that fur?! It’s unbelievably soft! It’s nicer thank mink, holy shit! I mean, I’ve never actually touched mink, but it’s softer than what I imagine mink to be! This is gonna sell for a lot!
“G-Grand Duke... Th-The Snorra Wolf...”
“It’s dead. You can come out now.” I offered words of reassurance to Alexei and his men, most of whom were hiding behind nearby trees. A few of them ended up slumping to the ground in relief. That wasn’t unreasonable on their part.
Now all I had to do was show proof of my deed to the queen. I’d head to Elfrau castle, show off the corpse, and be on my merry way.
I stashed the dead Snorra Wolf in [Storage], and then traversed Alexei’s memories with [Recall] so I could get information on Elfrau’s capital, Slanien.
Then, I opened up a [Gate] that took us straight to Elfrau’s royal castle.
It was seriously beautiful to see from the outside.
“We’re in Slanien...?”
“So quickly...?” I asked for Alexei and his men to take me through to the castle.
Elfrau castle was pretty gothic-looking in general, and it was smaller than most of the castles I’d seen. It still had Brunhild castle beat in terms of size, though. It just exuded elegance. It felt prim and proper.
We walked to the castle courtyard, and I took the Snorra Wolf’s corpse out from [Storage] as proof of my deed.
The castle guards stared in awe and disbelief at the size of this wolf.
Just as I was about to pull out my phone and call Relisha to report my success, I heard a voice call out to me.
“You are Brunhild’s grand duke, are you not?” I turned to face a woman with long, blonde hair. Two soldiers stood on either side of her. She wore elegant furs in pale cream tones and wore a beautiful circlet on her head. It was adorned with green gemstones.
The thing atop her head was far too gaudy to be called a tiara, yet far too meager to be called a crown. It shone bright like a diamond.
She looked to be in her mid-twenties, and her emerald eyes were trained on me.
“...Right. I’m the grand duke of Brunhild, Mochizuki Touya. This is Leen, my court magician. You must be the queen of Elfrau, I presume?”
“Indeed. My name is Fortuna Tierra Elfrau, queen of the Elfrau Kingdom. We are indebted to you for coming to our aid.” Though the queen was thanking me, my eyes were focused on another part of her body entirely. Her pointy ears. They were the same ears that Relisha had.
The queen of Elfrau was, in fact, an elf.
Aren’t Elves forest-dwellers...? I know I’m not huge on fantasy, but still...
Oh, duh... The elf in Elfrau probably comes from elf. Although... Are there many elves around here? I guess it’s too soon to judge.
“Shall we? I have tea prepared for you.”
“Ah, right.” I followed after the elven queen into Elfrau Castle.
Elfrau castle was pretty warm, which led me to believe they’d cast some kind of heating spell on the place. There weren’t any fireplaces in sight, after all. Nothing I could remotely identify as a heater in the big guest room I’d been led to. Either way, they clearly had some kind of magical climate control. It was nice, like air conditioning.
I’d been to a few castles in my time. Belfast, Mismede, and Regulus to name a few, but they all paled in comparison to the beauty of Elfrau’s. It felt like a masterwork, as if not a single inch of the place was wasted. It’s as if it was designed to be luxurious and gaudy, but also intimate and delicate.
In a sense, it felt more like the glow of silver than the shine of gold.
I sat down on a nearby sofa with Leen, and a maid came into the room with some tea. The queen sat nearby. She also brought a small pot of jam and a little serving spoon for each of us.
That definitely reminded me of what I’d heard about Russian tea. I read about it a while ago, apparently you’re supposed to enjoy the tea by taking a little spoonful of jam and then sipping the tea while it’s still in your mouth. I watched the queen’s movements, and she did just that.
I didn’t quite know how to do it, but I gave it a shot. I took the sweet jam into my mouth, and then washed it down with the comparatively bitter tea. It was an interesting combination of flavors and wasn’t half bad at all. Leen also took her tea this way and judging from her expression she liked it.
“Firstly, I would like to express my most esteemed gratitude for your slaughtering of the Snorra Wolf. Given the sudden circumstances, I truly appreciate your swift handling of the situation. Rest assured that you will be fairly compensated for your deed.”
“Ah, thanks. It was nothing, really.” The queen looked like she was about to go into a full-on bow, so I quickly tried to dispel that kind of atmosphere.
She seemed to notice, and she flashed me a smile.
“It was little Relisha who told you, right?”
“Hm? Are you familiar with her?”
They are both elves, I guess... Wait, is that racist? Hmm, maybe I got contacted so quickly because the queen’s an elf... Hmm... Maybe.
I kept on with my jam and tea as I pondered the intricacies of elf relations.
“Well, I suppose you could say I am familiar with her. She’s my niece, the daughter of my little sister to be precise.” I almost spat the tea and jam out right there and then.
Niece?! Relisha’s aunt is the queen of Elfrau?! The queen let out a soft chuckle; it seemed she’d caught on to my surprise.
“Relisha is my niece, yes. But she’s not affiliated with this country. It’s somewhat amusing, and it’s a sensitive topic these days, but... Don’t you find it a little strange that I, an elf, am queen of a nation?”
“Hm? Ah... W-Well, I suppose.” She had me figured out, I’d been wondering.
“Elfrau was founded a little over a thousand-and-two-hundred years ago. The land was harsh and inhospitable, but we were given hope by a lone adventurer. He united with the Frau Clan, remnants of a ruined older nation, and founded Elfrau with his own hands.”
“An adventurer? Who...?”
“Heheh... His name was El Carterede. He was the first king of this nation, and my husband.”
“What?!”
Husband?! But that’s... She’s seriously that old...? That’s older than Leen. No, like twice as old...! Geez, lady. You only look like you’re in your twenties.
“The name of this kingdom, Elfrau, comes from his name and the clan that followed him. After he died, there was only myself. I was an adventurer, and I knew what I needed to know about governance. The elder of the Frau Clan also supported me, so I took the mantle of queen. Since then, I have reigned over this nation. All to honor my husband’s legacy.”
“What about succession...? Forgive me for being rude, but your children?”
“We had none. There was many a time that I have lamented that fact... If we could’ve only had a child before he passed.”
Well, I guess succession issues weren’t such a big deal for long-lived species like elves. It’s the same for Xenoahs, I guess... Though the overlord does have a tentative heir, so it’s a bit different.
...What about m
y kingdom, though...? I turned to Leen, pondering the future of my nation.
If I end up becoming a god properly, then I probably won’t die of old age... I might end up reigning forever... Frankly, it might be better if I pass on the mantle to my son and retire forever to Babylon or something.
Though, I don’t know which one of my wives will give birth to a son... I guess if he, or his son, or his son’s son, does a bad job, I’ll descend from the sky and kick his butt.
“It must be a harsh duty, reigning for so long.”
“It isn’t as tough as you might expect. The Frau Clan are a gentle and peace-loving people. They speak their mind, but not in a cruel or impolite manner. Everyone here has a fairly open policy and a broad mind. We’re typically free of major disputes, and the land is so barren here that we’re not at risk of other nations coming to attack us. There might be little arguments here and there, but I’ve been queen long enough that solving them is a trivial matter. I also have a team of capable advisers.” She had been there since the founding of the nation, so it wouldn’t surprise me if she was somewhat of a necessary symbol for the country at this point.
Elfrau was around the same size as Ramissh, but most of the land was uninhabitable. The uninhabitable land was the dominion of an Ice spirit, but it was through keen negotiation and proof of skill that the spirit allowed land to be granted to the people who would go on to found Elfrau.
Apparently, the queen herself was the one who negotiated with the spirit. Leen informed me that Elves had an innate affinity for nature, and thus could appeal more to the supernatural.
It seemed that if anything happened to the queen, then the contract would be broken and the kingdom would regress to a land of inhospitable ice and snow. A permanent frosted wasteland.
Still, it was interesting to hear more about spirits. This was the third time I’d heard or seen about them, the first being the incarnation of darkness in Ramissh, and the second being the tree spirit back during the Pruning.
I wanted to meet with this one sometime, too.
“Ah, yes. About that Snorra Wolf... Would you mind selling its remains to us?”
“To you?”
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 11 Premium Page 8