"Scary… Flying is scary…"
"Unuuuu…"
Elka the golem engineer was squatting down on the floor while murmuring something, while Fenrir was lying down besides her without moving an inch.
Was it that scary? It's just something like riding in a high-speed aircraft made completely out of glass high above the clouds… Maybe it was a bit scary? (Note: I see you havn't completely thrown away your humanity yet, Touya.)
And just when I thought we're making good speed by making it to Primula Kingdom within 5 minutes, they've been staying in that state for the past 10 without moving.
"Get on with it and guide me to the castle already. Hasn't the battle already started?"
"Ha! That's right. I've gotta hurry!"
Dr. Elka returned to her senses while pushing up her glasses that were falling off.
We're currently in a side alley a stone's throw away from the Primula Kingdom capital, Primulet. If we start walking from here, we can reach the capital immediately.
(Note: I've been wondering, but did Fuyuhara sensei give up on naming the cities in the Reverse World… Well, can't blame him.)
When we arrived at the capital gates, for some reason, after Dr. Elka showed some kind of card to the sentries posted there, they immediately prepared a six-wheeled golem carriage for us. Apparently her statement that she was acquainted with them wasn't a lie.
We got onto the golem carriage and headed straight for the royal castle while being guided by knights belonging to Primula.
I looked out at the streets we were passing by, and as expected when there's a war happening, the people all had shadows on their faces.
When we arrived at the castle, which is bigger than the castle in Brunhild, a bearded man with a broad physique wearing expensive clothes came running towards us. The sight of him running with all his might despite his plump body shape is slightly comical.
"Elka-dono!"
"Oh, Grand Chamberlain Evry." (Note: Ah, my nemesis. New names.)
"It's been a long time."
The man being referred to as Grand Chamberlain Evry, who I estimate to be around his fifties, stopped adjusting his breath in front of us and exchanged handshakes with Elka and her companion Fenrir. Handshake it is, but to be honest all I can see is Fenrir offering his paw to the man…
"Thank you so much for coming. His Majesty would be happy as well. With this, the Primrage can fight with all its power."
"Primrage?"
"A golem for the exclusive use of the royal family of Primula. It's a Legacy, see. I've been doing maintenance on it once every few years."
Evry-san turned his eyes towards me who had interjected without much thought.
"And, may I inquire as to who this person is?"
"A helper. If things work out well, he may be able to stop the assault of the God-Empire's armies."
"Wha-wha-wha-what did you say!?"
Grand Chamberlain Evry solidified in a pose that would flatter any kabuki actor with his eyes wide open. This person's every movement is comical, isn't he…
"Can you arrange a meeting with His Majesty as soon as possible? If possible, at a private location. It might turn into a complicated story, after all."
"I understand. Please wait a moment!"
Grand Chamberlain Evry ran away after hitting his own chest with his fist and then coughing. That person really reminds me of that, the Humpty Dumpty from Mother Goose.
"Touya-kun, do you know why I believed in your talk from earlier?"
"…? Isn't it because I showed you guys Reginleiv… The Frame Gear earlier? And also, was it the [Black Crown]? Wasn't it because you knew its abilities?"
I tilted my head at Dr. Elka who suddenly said that.
"Those are true, certainly. But there's one more reason: the existence of this country. This country holds the oldest history among all countries that exist in this world currently, you see. It's one of the new countries that sprouted after the devastation caused by the Ancient World War 5200 years ago, and the only one that had survived to this day."
The Ancient World War… It was a war that was started by two ancient kingdoms which dragged in other countries eventually, wasn't it. If I remember correctly, it was said that the entire world was once destroyed due to the fierce fighting in which various golems were deployed.
Losing its civilization and the advanced golem-making technologies that it once had, the world was revitalized slowly by the survivors together with the few golems that remained active… Or something like that?
If it's 5200 years ago, that means it happened before the Surface World was destroyed by the huge Phrase invasion, huh.
"There's a legend in this country, you see. 5000 years ago, in the world that had been destroyed, a man appeared in this land which was being fought over by various tribes at that time. That man spoke the language of an unknown country, and wielded magic which was never before seen in this world. That man was welcomed in by one tribe, and steadily conquered the other tribes in the region. That was the first king of this kingdom. Apparently, he left the following words to the people he was close with before passing away: 'I am someone who came from a different world'… Or so."
"Wha…!"
Wait, the first king of this country was from another world!? That's…
"The name of this country, Primula, was the name of that tribe in the story. The king's name is different. The surname of the royal family of this country is 'Palerius'. The name of the first king was 'Relios Palerius'."
"Did you say 'Palerius'…!?"
Alerias Palerius. The Sage of Time living in the ancient Paruteno Kingdom 5000 years ago. A user of spacetime magic, and the one who made the barriers present on Palerius Island.
What is going on? The dimensional gate he was making at that time and left on Palerius Island was incomplete… No, it was mostly complete, wasn't it. There was only the problem of the massive magic power required to activate it, and nothing else bars that from connecting to the Reverse World.
Or perhaps, when the [Black Crown] appeared and then left the Surface World back then, had it brought someone with it back to the Reverse World?
"You have some ideas as to that name, don't you?"
"… I know the name Palerius. He's a spacetime magic user who lived in our world 5000 years ago. His name was 'Alerias' though. There's also an island over in our world named the Palerius Island, and the descendants of Alerias as well as his disciples are currently living there."
It's likely that the ancestor of this Palerius royal family is a son, or perhaps a grandson of Alerius.
If that's so, that would make them distant relatives to Mentor Central of Palerius Island, I suppose.
"This… It might be better to bring someone who's lived through that period here."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
"Sorry, but do you mind waiting here for a bit? I'll be right back."
I left Dr. Elka, who's tilting her glasses with an incredulous look, and moved back to Babylon in the Surface World with [Dimensional Transfer].
Upon transferring myself to the [Hangar], the familiar sight of the mini-robos bustling around, carrying tools and materials and performing other tasks, entered my eyes. I can see the figure of Monica who's doing maintenance on the shoulder of Elze's [Gerhilde] standing in one of the opened garages.
"Sorry, Monica, but can you tell me where the professor is?"
"Nn? Ahh, if it's the professor you want, she's over there."
The professor was there at the place Monica was pointing to with her spanner. Sleeping on the floor with a slovenly face… Really…
Her appearance is that of a child, so this could be a heartwarming scene if one looks at it normally, but…
"Munya munya… Uhihi, you have some cute pantsu there, ojou-chan… Just taking them off for a bit won't hurt… Yes, raise your legs like that… Uhihyohyo…" (Note: you know, I'm kinda glad to see some classic Regina after a while, lmao)
There's not a single speck of dust in this scene that's heartwarming!
"Oi, wake up a little. It's an emergency."
"Nn?"
I shook the shoulders of the professor who's still smiling slovenly and half-dreaming to try to get her to wake up, after which she looked at me with unfocused eyes and slowly stretched her hands out towards me.
"Nn-"
"Mugu!?"
All of a sudden, she held my head with some kind of hold and overlapped our lips. Before I could peel her off, she held my torso with both of her legs in a body position that was clinging to my upper body, making it hard for me to move.
During that, her small tongue invaded my mouth and began freely rampaging within. What is this fearsome tongue technique… Scary!
"Nn-, stop it already!"
"Fugya!?"
I forcefully broke her hold on me, and threw her onto the beddings on the floor. That was dangerous… In lots of ways…
"Are…? Where are my cute girls?"
"You were half-asleep…?"
The professor scratched her head while sitting up and looking around. I'll not comment on the fact that her partner in the dream had been a girl…
(Note: apparently, Touya didn't notice that the professor had used plural phrasing. Well, it's best for a protagonist to stay innocent, I guess?)
For now, I told her concisely what's going on, and together with the professor, returned to Primula Kingdom in the Reverse World with another [Dimensional Transfer].
"I've kept you waiting."
"Nowaaaaa!?"
Elka and Fenrir weren't too surprised by me to had suddenly appeared in front of them, but Grand Chamberlain Evry, who had been there as well, bent backwards with an over-the-top reaction.
"It's ok. This person is capable of using transfer magic."
"W-was that so. My apologies."
Even while still breathing a bit roughly, the Grand Chamberlain managed to regain his former appearance. This man should work as a reaction artist or something…
"And, is that child someone from the other world as well?"
"Yea. Professor Regina Babylon. She's the one who had developed the Frame Gears."
"This child!?"
This time it's Dr. Elka who looked at Professor Babylon with shocked eyes. Well, it's to be expected. She has the outward appearance of a young girl wearing an oversized white coat, after all.
I've casted [Translation] on the professor before, so conversation shouldn't be a problem. I'll introduce them to each other for now.
"Professor, this here is the engineer Elka and her guard golem, Fenrir. If it's regarding golem technology she's apparently one of the best in this entire world."
"Hohou. That sounds promising. I'm Regina Babylon, nice to meet you. I'd like the chance for us to have a deep talk after this."
"Elka. I'm the one who wants to have that talk, see. I'd love to hear all about the technologies of an ancient magic civilization."
The two of them exchanged handshakes while having similarly suspicious smiles on their faces. Wait… Have I perhaps set up the meeting of two person who should never meet each other? … The warning label "Do not mix" that is often seen on detergents and similar things floated up in my head.
"In, in any case everyone is gathered now. Please come this way, the King is waiting for you."
Grand Chamberlain Evry, who still looks to be a bit shaken, guided us into the castle.
While walking along the corridors of the castle, I tried asking Professor Babylon about the first king of this country, "Relios Palerius".
"Relios… Ah, he was the second son of Elder Palerius, I believe. He was studying the art of magic engineering like his brother and serving as an assistant to his father. I heard that he had died young…"
Not only did he not die, but he had flown to another world, and become a king there.
It's a weird story, but since I'm also in a similar situation, I started to feel some weird sense of familiarity to him.
In front of the door at the end of the corridor we're walking on, two strong-looking knights can be seen.
Grand Chamberlain Evry opened the door for us and let us into the room. Of course, we were checked to see if we were holding anything similar to a weapon, but my Brunhild was stored in [Storage] beforehand so there was no problem.
The inside of the room was furnished in a simple and yet elegant, regal and yet sturdy-looking way that also showcased a strong feeling of history.
A man who was sitting on a chair behind the table in the back of the room stood up and came towards us.
He looks to be around his forties, and while solidly built, doesn't have a very big body shape. One of those lean-types, so to speak.
With his short brown hair, magnificent moustache and beard, and his face, he falls considerably in the range of a cool older man. And on top of his brown hair is a simple-looking golden crown.
This person, then, must be His Majesty the Primula King. A descendant of the Sage of Time "Alerias Palerius" in other words.
"It's been a long time, Dr. Elka. I'm glad you came."
"It's been a long time, Your Majesty."
The two talked to each other in an intimate tone and exchanged handshakes. Instead of a King, I'd say he was interacting with her as a friend on equal terms.
His Majesty the Primula King's line of sight then shifted from Dr. Elka to me.
"And is this the one who you said could stop the advance of the God-Empire's army?"
"Yes. He might also be able to decipher the stone tablet left by the first king. He's apparently someone who's from the "other" side that Your Majesty once told me about."
"Wha…!"
The Primula King swallowed his saliva upon hearing the words of Dr. Elka. The eyes looking at me changed in their intensity, and before long he slowly opened his mouth.
"{htmzt/ioiuo kzttt/aeoui hkrtymn/iaioaii sstm/oieu srhnnk/oeaaia?}" (Note: lifted right from the raws.)
"Wha?"
For an instant, the King's eyes narrowed at me who could not understand what he was talking about at all. However, in the next moment the same kind of words came out from beside me.
"{srhmh/oeaao u.} Was that the language left by the descendants of Elder Palerius? It's regrettable, but the number of people who can still speak that Ancient Magic Language in our world is basically nonexistent, you know?"
The professor smiled lightly while speaking to the king. Ah, so it was the Ancient Magic Language, huh? It's not like I can't speak that language if I use translation magic though.
It was the right call bringing the professor along, huh.
"I see. Ancient Magic Language, was it? It was only known as "ancient language" while being passed down our royal family. If we can't learn it, we cannot take over the throne, you see."
Heh. Perhaps the first king had always believed that his father, Elder Palerius would manage to complete the dimensional gate and bring everyone on Palerius Island to this world.
Even if the generations pass, someday… I guess he can't help it for thinking that way.
Probably, like the people we met on Palerius Island, he had also thought that his world beyond the island's barrier was destroyed by the Phrase.
The Primula King, who was his descendant, walked before me and presented his hand. He seems like quite the frank person, this king.
"I welcome you all. The King of Primula, Rudios Primula Palerius."
"Brunhild Dukedom Sovereign, Mochizuki Touya. And this is Professor Regina Babylon."
I shook the outstretched hand of His Majesty the Primula King. I can't tell if the color of surprise that filled his expression was due to my title as a king, or the name of the professor, or perhaps both.