All I could hear was the rattling of our shaking carriage. We were following
the road as we rode a chain of three wide wagons, each drawn by two horses.
The one at the front contained five knights from Belfast, while the one at the
back had the same amount of Mismedian soldiers. They were guarding the
carriage in the middle, which had my party, Mismede Ambassador Olga, and her
little sister Arma in it.
Linze and Elze sat up front, while the rest of us were in the midst of a heated
battle inside the passenger car.
"Grr... there, it is!" Yae flipped over one of the many face-down cards. And,
sad as it might've been, it had a number different to the revealed one.
"How unfortunate. The correct answer was here and here." It was Yumina's
turn. Without hesitation, she turned over two of the cards... which were the
two of spades and hearts. She took both of them off the table.
As Yumina, Yae, and Arma played a game of memory match using the cards,
Olga and I were facing each other in shogi.
Doing nothing but letting the carriage shake us was boring, so we had taken
out the shogi set. Then, I used [Drawing] to print out some paper and combined
it with [Modeling] to synthesize thin wooden boards to create a set of cards.
It would've taken too long to teach them the scoring hands for poker and the
like, so instead I just brought up a simple game of memory. However, Yae was
quite inept when it came to recalling things, so she had lost every single round.
"I was defeated again, I was..."
"Seems like it's not your game, Yae." With a wry smile, I moved one of my
pieces.
"And that's checkmate."
"Agh...!" Olga glared at the board. It was hopeless. There was nothing she
could do.
"So I was defeated, too... You are far better at this than me, Touya." Olga
complained, clearly looking sour. Truth be told, as far as shogi players went, I
was among the weaker ones. Still, I'd taught her how to play mere moments
ago, so of course she lost. Honestly, I was afraid of just how much better than
me she'd become after a few more games. Therefore, I took the liberty of
ending it and taking the victory with me before that happened.
"Yae, let's switch. Try playing against Olga."
"Very well. Dolan-dono taught me how to play shogi back at the Silver Moon,
so I might have better luck here, I might..." Taught? Looked more like he just
forced you to play with him to me...
"Alright, how about we try something other than memory now?" After
switching with Yae, I shuffled my handmade cards, added one joker, and began
explaining the rules of another game to Yumina and Arma. It was a game where
tactics were the key to victory — the extremely advanced game of old maid.
"Fgahh..." Kohaku was sleeping peacefully in a corner of the carriage.
Upon learning the rules, the two quickly grew enthralled with old maid, while
Yae and Olga, who were evenly matched in skill, glared at the shogi board with
great intensity. That was how we spent our shaky journey to Mismede.
"And so, the cat beastman in boots became a noble and lived happily ever
after." The end of my campfire story was greeted by roaring applause from
everyone listening. I couldn't help but blush a bit. It started off as a little tale to
tell before we slept, but I got caught in the moment and made it into something
grand.
"That was so nice, Touya!" Arma excitedly spoke up as the ears above her
head twitched excitedly. I could also see that bushy tail of hers pleasantly sway
side-to-side.
"It was a wonderful tale, Touya. I have to ask, though. Where did you learn
it?"
"Ah, I got it from a bard who once visited the place where I used to live." I
answered Olga's query with a simple white lie. The Mismedian soldiers
gathered around the fire seemed to enjoy it, too. A story of a cat beastman in
boots who saved his master and did lots of great deeds. A creature skilled with
a blade, and sharp of mind.
With the discrimination beastmen faced, I'd assumed such feel-good stories
where they met prosperity were few and far between. Though, I did hope they
excused the extra dramatization I added.
"Touya knows many other stories."
"Really?! Please tell more of them, Touya!" Yumina's words made Arma's
eyes light up. The little foxgirl excitedly bent toward me. I'm glad the two of
them get along so well. Guess it must be easy to talk with someone around your
own age.
"That's it for today. Wait for more tomorrow." With a smile, I gently rejected
Arma's request.
Suddenly, one of the smaller Mismedian soldiers stood up and placed his
finger near his mouth, signaling everyone to be quiet. The ears on his head
were twitching. They look like... rabbit ears? Guess he's a bunny beastman.
"We have several people approaching our position. They're stealthily closing
in... We're their target, no doubt about it." His words made the other soldiers
silently unsheathe their blades, and sharpen their senses. They were about to
do their job, basically. They entered a defensive formation meant to protect
Olga and Arma. The Belfast knights also left their carriage and began observing
their surroundings.
"Who are they?" I inquired.
"Probably just bandits. No threat on their own, but trouble in great numbers."
The one who answered was the captain of the Mismedian military escort group.
He was a wolf beastman who specialized in dual-wielding blades.
«Master, there are definitely people in the vicinity searching for us. I don't
believe they're friendly, either. As the wolf said, they're likely bandits.» Kohaku
spoke in a voice that only I could hear.
Bandits, eh? Guess it's time to investigate.
I took out my smartphone and ran the map app. It displayed the surrounding
area. Alright... a simple search for "bandits" got a bunch of pins to drop on the
map. Whoa, there's quite a lot of them.
"Eight to the north, five to the east, eight to the south, and seven to the west.
There are twenty-eight in total."
"You can sense them too?!" The captain turned to me in surprise. We were
outnumbered. Not like we couldn't win, but we probably wouldn't come out
unscathed.
"...Guess I can try it now." It was a chance for me to test a specific application
of one of my spells. By all accounts, it should work, but...
"[Enchant]: [Multiple]." I buffed the map app with a Null spell that allowed
the continuous abbreviation of chants and simultaneous activation. One by one,
I tapped the bandit markers on the screen, setting them as my targets. It was
kind of a pain, but I was done in no time, really.
"[Paralyze]." With that, I unleashed the spell on everyone my app had
highlighted. A moment later, I could hear several groans and thuds from the
surrounding woods.
"Ugh!"
"Ngh!"
"Gyah!"
"Hhgh!"
"Ahgh!" A vivid array of voices rang out, and then came the sounds of
collapsing men. Apparently, it worked.
"Wh-What did you do?"
"Used a paralysis spell. They should all be immobilized now, I think..."
"What, all of them?!"
"If there aren't more than twenty-eight, then yeah." Due to the way my
[Search] spell worked, my targets were only people I'd personally judge as
"bandits." In other words, if there were normal people who merely looked like
bandits to me, they'd be caught by the spell, too. But that was quite unlikely,
given where we were. I still decided to use [Paralyze] though, just in case.
Didn't want to hurt any bystanders.
The soldiers and knights entered the woods and dragged out the collapsed
bandits. Twenty-eight of them in total, as I expected. Each had a lizard-shaped
tattoo on the back of their hands, which was likely a symbol of their gang. They
were all partners in crime, no doubt about it.
"Amazing! You took out so many in a mere moment..." Olga muttered, clearly
dumbfounded.
"Good thing none of them had any magic-warding talismans on them. Spells
like [Paralyze] get blocked by even the slightest amount of magic resistance." I
was glad they weren't prepared for something like that.
Even if they were, there were several other problems with this method of
mine. For one, I was lucky they weren't moving much, because it was way
harder to lock on to a moving target. Also, the targeting process itself was
pretty darn tedious.
"Well, that worked out. I didn't expect anything like that to happen, though,"
the guard captain lightly muttered.
"Honestly, it's all because of that guy who heard them coming. He was
definitely impressive."
"Oh, you mean Lain? He's a rabbit beastman. You won't find a better pair of
ears." The captain laughed as he dragged a bandit off and looked over at the
rabbit-eared boy. He was a small and meek guy with silky red hair. Looked
about my age. Ah, so he's called Lain. Oh, by the way, the wolfish captain's
name was Garm.
"Paralysis should last about an hour for humans. What do we do with them?"
"Well, were we in Mismede, we could take the simple approach of killing
them before things get messy, but I guess that's not how things go here." Garm
called over to the captain of the Belfast knights. The one who came over was a
blond youth in clattering full plate armor. Dang, that guy's handsome...
Lyon Blitz, a knight belonging to the kingdom's first order. Twenty-one years
old. He was the son of Leon Blitz, and I still had trouble believing he and that
general were related. Though he definitely was the second son of the general,
the earnest and diligent Lyon was completely unlike his eccentric father.
After listening to Garm's explanation of the situation, Lyon took a moment to
ponder before proposing his solution.
"For now, let's tie them all up and send a mounted messenger to the next
town to bring some guards over. They should come by morning, so we can just
hand the bandits over to them and resume our journey. What say you?" Garm
didn't seem to have any objections, so our course of action was decided. We
bound and gagged the bandits. Just to be on the safe side, I also used earth
magic to dig some holes and bury them, leaving only their heads exposed. With
the paralyzing magic still active, it looked like a small field of limp heads. This
looks kinda surreal...
"We shall take care of the ruffians, while Mismedian soldiers will watch out
for any outside threats. I leave the princess to you, Sir Touya." Lyon whispered
those words into my ear.
It just so happened that, aside from my group and Olga, he was the only one
who knew that Yumina was the crown princess of Belfast. No one else seemed
to have met Yumina before, so there was no need to worry about her identity
being exposed. Even the rest of the Belfast knights had never worked at the
castle.
Lyon was also the only one aware of my tentative status as Yumina's fiance. I
wasn't informed of anything of the sort, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was
tasked with protecting her.
"Sir Lyon, I apologize for causing trouble." Olga came to him and expressed
her gratitude with a bright smile on her face. The young knight entered a
flustered state in response.
"Ah, n-no need for that. Th-This is merely part of my job! Don't mention it,
really!" His cool attitude completely gone, the golden-haired youth's face
turned red as he spoke to Olga. Looking at him, the foxy beauty giggled in a
bemused manner.
Ohoho... So that's how it is. I slowly backed away, making sure they didn't
notice me. Standing behind one of the carriages, I silently observed as the two
made some gleeful small talk.
"Ah, young love."
"Yes, it is indeed beautiful..."
"Yep, sure is."
"Such a wonderful thing..."
When did you guys get here...? The twins, the samurai girl, and the princess,
with Kohaku in her hands, were all right next to me, watching the two as I did.
"Does Olga-dono know how Lyon-dono feels about her, I wonder...?"
"I'm sure she does. Unlike a certain someone, she doesn't seem very dense,"
Yumina said. Huh? What're you guys looking at me for?
"...Density is one thing, but I also think that Touya is far too kind to everyone
he meets," Linze muttered.
"Oh, I totally agree," Elze proclaimed as she nodded her head.
"I'm not sure what to make of that attitude of his, I am not." Yae chimed in,
uncertain.
"Do you even know what we're talking about?! Sit down!" Elze suddenly
yelled at me, clearly angry for some odd reason.
"Wh-What?!" I don't understand. What's this all about? Unable to resist
them, I was forced to sit down and be exposed to a ridiculous amount of
unreasonable scolding. Why, though? With most of their words just flying over
my head, the strange event continued into the dead of night.
◇ ◇ ◇
"You're kidding me, right? This isn't a river; it's a whole ocean..." Water.
Marine blue as far as the eye could see... Though, I could make out the outline
of the opposite shore if I squinted hard enough. It reminded me of when I went
to Aomori as a kid and could see Hokkaido from Cape Omazaki. So, this river
was about as wide as the Tsugaru Strait...
After six days of journeying, we finally arrived at Canaan — the southernmost
town in the Kingdom of Belfast. The plan was to take a ship and cross over to
the Mismedian town of Langley.
Naturally, being a town that connected the two kingdoms, Canaan had a
significant number of demi-humans. With dog and cat beastmen being a given,
there were also some who had wings sprouting from their backs or horns
adorning their heads. Not to mention the dragonfolk with scales covering
certain parts of their bodies and thick tails trailing behind them. From what I
could tell, the humans and demi-humans around those parts coexisted just fine.
Once we reached the riverbank, which looked more like a harbor, by the way,
we saw a great number of boats. However, all of them were quite small. I could
see some medium-sized barges, but none that really stood out in terms of size.
They were all sailing boats, but none had many sails on them, making them all
look extremely plain. I was told that the passengers were always joined by users
of wind magic who could get the boat to the other side in about two hours, so
such simple designs were actually optimal. Considering how gentle the river's
current was, I could fully understand the reasoning.
Okay, so we'll leave the carriages here and cross over to Mismede by boat.
Apparently, there was another carriage waiting for us on the other side.
We left the actual boat-hiring to Olga, Garm, and the other Mismedians. On
the side of the road, not too far away from the boat, there was an open-air
market.
"Oh, that's a handicraft stall."
"And this one here sells silks... Wow, you can find lots of things here." Arma
and Yumina looked at the wares being sold. Well, this is the last Belfastian town
before Mismede, after all... Guess it makes sense that there's a bunch of
merchants hawking souvenirs.
"Oho? Touya, look at that..."
"Hm?" I followed Yumina's gaze and saw Lyon standing before a jewelry stall.
It sold various accessories such as brooches, rings, and necklaces. He had a
strained, pensive expression on his face as he stared at their wares. Huh, I
thought he was off sending a letter to the royal palace.
Instead, he seemed to be seriously considering which accessory to purchase.
But those trinkets were meant for girls, so... Ohhh, I get it. So that's how it is...
"Hey, Lyon. Getting something for your family?"
"Eh? S-Sir Touya?! W-Well, I was just, uh, m-my mother, she's... Yes! I was
thinking of getting something for my mother..."
"Heh..." His oh-so-splendid complexion made it very clear that it wasn't for a
member of his family. Also, there was something really off about buying
souvenirs for a Belfastian in Belfast, rather than waiting until we got to
Mismede. But, at least for the moment, I decided to spare him the
embarrassment and keep any such comments to myself.
"Boy, sure is a good assortment here. Oh, actually... Arma, how about you
pick something? I'll buy it for you. It'll be a little present to remind you of
Belfast."
"Really?! Wow!" Arma quickly and joyfully chose one of the brooches. It had
the shape of a bunch of grapes, but the "grapes" themselves were replaced by
neatly-placed purple crystals. The fox and the grapes... Man, this reminds me of
that old fable.
"It really suits you, Arma."
"Ehehe... thank you so much!" Arma smiled broadly as I paid for the item.
Alright, here's my chance to help Lyon out.
"Does Olga like brooches like this, too?"
"Hmm... Sis prefers flowery designs. Like, uh, she really loves elius flowers.
I've seen her buy a bunch of them." As she spoke, Arma pointed toward one of
the accessories on display. It was decorated by cherry blossom-like flowers. A
little plain, but still quite pretty.
Lyon, eavesdropping on us, smiled a little. Bingo.
"Right then, I'll be off. Don't take too long to get back to the boat, Lyon.
We're setting off soon."
"Ah, of course. I'll be there in a moment." A few moments after we left the
scene, we turned around to see Lyon buying the elius hair ornament and getting
it gift-wrapped.
"Excellent work, Touya." Yumina praised me. Guess she noticed my
handiwork. The sister of the young knight's beloved, however, seemed quite
clueless.
"Although, I would have liked it if you also bought me a present, Touya."
"...Sorry."
"Well, I'll be satisfied so long as I get a ring on my left ring finger eventually."
With a bright smile on her face, Yumina wrapped her hands around mine. Darn
it, Touya. You should've bought her something! That alternative's too scary...
As such thoughts spun through my head, we returned to the boat.
"That was fast."
"It was only two hours, after all, it was." Elze and Yae left the boat while
carrying the box containing the large mirror meant for the Kingdom of
Mismede. They were followed by Arma and Yumina, who carried our baggage.
Then came Kohaku and finally there was me, carrying Linze.
"...I'm so sorry, Touya."
"It's fine, no worries. I don't mind at all." She got seasick about an hour into
the journey. It was clearly because she was reading. The boat itself was pretty
steady, after all. I tried using [Recovery] on her, but it didn't seem to have much
effect. Strange, since it was clearly a negative status ailment.
Wonder why it didn't work... That aside, how come she's fine with carriage
shaking, but not boat swaying?! Then again, I knew people who could handle
cars, but still got seasick, so this is probably similar.
Once off the boat, I took a good look around Langley. We were now in the
country of demi-humans — the Kingdom of Mismede. Not like the mere two
hour journey resulted in some massive change, but compared to Canaan, the
town in Belfast, this one had significantly more demi-humans than humans.
There were stalls, just like on the other side, but just about every merchant
was a demi-human. And they were so varied, too. It was quite a sight.
"The town's bigger than I expected."
"...That's probably because it's heavily influenced by Belfast." Still on my back,
Linze replied to my mumbling. As we eyed the town, Olga led us to three
carriages, which looked about the same as the ones we left in Canaan.
"What do we do now, Touya? If Linze isn't well, we can always stay here for
the night and move out tomorrow." I could make out some concern in Olga's
voice.
"Ah, I-I'm fine now. I got better once we left the ship." Linze slipped off my
back. Suddenly, Elze came up to her and whispered into her ear.
"You could always ask him to carry you a little more, Linze."
"Wh-What are you s-saying, Sis?!" She suddenly grew flustered, yelling at a
volume she likely didn't intend. She was looking away from me, so I couldn't see
them so well, but I could tell her ears were red. Getting carried must be
embarrassing or something, I guess.
"Then, let us leave in an hour. I'll send a letter to His Majesty the Beastking."
"Ah, th-then I shall accompany you. There's no telling what could happen,
ma'am!"
"You are right indeed. Do join me, Sir Lyon." She smiled at him and the two
walked away. Well, that's enough to make anyone feel all warm and fuzzy. It
felt like I could finally understand those obliging people who found their
vocation in arranging formal marriage interviews.
"Mister Touya, once we leave, we won't come across any large towns for a
long while. You should buy everything you need here." Garm, the Mismedian
captain, explained the situation to me. We decided to spend an hour stocking
up for the trip.
Kohaku, Yumina, and I went to buy an assortment of things, such as
emergency rations and tea leaves. What was that...? I looked around and
sharpened my senses. Did I just imagine that...?
"What's wrong?" My strange behavior got Yumina's attention.
"Nothing... kinda. Felt like someone was watching us. Probably just imagined
it, though."
"Sure it isn't just someone curious about Kohaku?" In Mismede, white tigers
were considered sacred. Even capturing them was a serious offense, let alone
hunting them. If I put a collar on Kohaku and dragged the little furball with a
chain, I'd be sent to the gallows without a trial. We had to make it obvious that
he was following us of his own free will. Though, that was a bit troublesome as
well.
«No, my lord... You're right. There is someone observing us. Specifically, the
two of you, not me. They've completely concealed their presence now,
however.»
Kohaku's words made me look around again. Who could it be, then...? I should
be on my guard, just in case.
We went on to buy ten or so fruits I had never seen before. They looked like
pears, but were orange in color and had the smell of apples. After that, we
returned to the group. Everyone else had already met up at the carriages, so we
were the last to arrive.
"That's everyone, then. Let's head off." At Olga's words, the knights and
soldiers entered the carriages at the front and back. The rest of us filed into the
one in the middle. Elze and Yae sat up front, and when the rest of us were
about to step into the carriage, I noticed the cherry blossom-like hair ornament
glimmering in Olga's hair.
"Oh, that's a fine piece of jewelry. It really suits you, Olga."
"Eh? RReally? Thank you very much." Yumina noticed it as well, and when she
praised it, Olga gave a bashful smile. I guess Lyon gave it to her when they went
out together. Good for him.
"I'd love to receive something like that from my beloved. I believe that
expressing feelings through such trinkets is part of being a true gentleman. Of
course, I have nothing against those who prefer to show it in their behavior, like
through an embrace, or..."
"Well alright, let's get going!" The conversation was heading down a
dangerous path, so I rushed into the carriage.
Yumina might actually be the type to hold grudges, I didn't expect that...
Damn, I really messed up by buying something for Arma, but not for her. Still, I
can't bring myself to embrace her instead... I've gotta think of an alternative.
Wait, no... if I get her something, then the other girls will notice too. Won't be
good if they take it to be proof of my love or something. Maybe it'd work if I give
them all gifts and present it as thanks for everything until now?
When I got inside the carriage, I took out my smartphone and began an image
search for the latest accessories back home in my original world. Figured I'd get
some inspiration for something to make with [Modeling].
◇ ◇ ◇
Once we left Langley, the surroundings grew shockingly different. Unlike
Belfast, there were a lot of overgrown plants all over the place, and the road
was rough. Our carriages were slowly making their way through a place that
was less of a forest and more of a jungle.
I could totally see why people said that Mismede had far more monsters than
Belfast. Woodlands like this were the perfect habitat for them. Every now and
then, I could hear the howls of creatures I couldn't hope to identify, but it
seemed like they were just part of everyday life in this country.
From what I'd heard, the high amount of monsters didn't really have much of
an impact on life in the settlements, though. That was because the forests were
already full of creatures fit to be prey for the bigger ones. The monsters didn't
need to dig up people's fields to find something to eat.
However, every now and then, villagers who went out hunting ended up
having an unfortunate encounter with a monster or two. In those cases, the
people were the intruders, so they had to be prepared to be attacked. Wonder
if there's some bear-warding bell that could keep them away or something...
"Doesn't seem like we'll make it to Eld village before dusk." I checked my map
app and saw Eld on the road from Langley to the capital, right beyond this
forest. Just as Olga said, at the speed we were traveling, it was too far away to
reach before sunset. Plus, I didn't like the idea of heading there in the dead of
night, either.
"Mismede is like a colony composed of several individual clans. Towns and
villages here are still made by separate clans just doing what they do. And, just
as there are clans that have friendly relations with each other, there are also
those that can't stand one another. His Beastliness included, there are seven
clan leaders responsible for gathering the distant races."
According to Olga, the seven Patriarchs each represented a type of demihuman: there were the beastmen, the winged races, the horned races, the
dragonfolk, the dryadic people, the aquatic races, and the fairies, too. And, as
things were, the Patriarch of the beastmen — the beastking — was the current
ruler of this country. That might've been because beastmen were the majority
race, so it was easier for the country to function.
Also, even though the king's seat was hereditary, the other patriarchs held a
great amount of power. Guess they were comparable to influential nobles. In
any case, Mismede, being an emerging nation, seemed like it had a number of
problems going on.
The sun was slowly hiding behind the horizon. I realized it was a good idea to
start making camp while it was still light out. We would not go any further
without resting first.
We stopped our carriages at a wider part of the road and began setting up
our camp. Once the firewood was gathered and a bunch of well-placed rocks
turned our campfire into a little stove, we began making food. I contributed by
cooking up a large pot of vegetable soup. Minestrone, to be precise.
When the sun completely set and night truly blanketed us, we could hear lots
of noises from the forest. There were probably lots of nocturnal animals.
"I'm a bit scared..." Yumina inched herself closer to me as she nervously ate
my soup.
"Basic beasts won't come close as long as Kohaku's around. Hell, even
monsters should notice, so there's no need to worry. Giant insects and Slimes
are another story, though." Kohaku transmitted those words into my head, so I
was just quoting what he said to me. In response, Yumina pulled the little tiger
into a tight embrace.
"Thank you, Kohaku."
"Worry not, Mistress. It will be fine as long as I'm here." Kohaku whispered in
such a way that no one but Yumina could hear. In response, Yumina smiled
widely and patted the tiger's head.
Some people were taking turns keeping watch while we ate, and due to how
unfamiliar the lands were, the Belfastian knights seemed really tense.
"I'll go pick up Yae and Elze. Kohaku, look after Yumina and Linze."
«Understood.» I walked away from everyone near the campfire, entered the
large carriage, and used a [Gate] to return to my home back in Alephis, the
Royal Capital of Belfast.
I appeared in the living room to find Elze and Yae enjoying some chill-out
time. Standing not too far from them was our super-butler, Laim.
"Oh, is it time already?"
"Why the rush, Touya-dono...? My hair still needs to dry, it does." Yep... They
went home just to take a bath. We gave them thirty minutes, so that people
wouldn't get suspicious and grow aware of the fact that I could teleport.
We were able to magically create water, so we just told the others that we'd
fill a tub and heat it up with hot rocks, but in reality, they were taking a normal
bath back at home. They decided to go together so that one could keep a
lookout while the other bathed, or so the story went.
"Come on, let's head back before someone notices that something is off. Did
anything happen today, Laim?"
"Nothing worth mentioning, sir. Ah, yes, I almost forgot. Julio was thinking of
making a vegetable garden. What do you say about that?" A vegetable garden,
huh... Dedicating land to growing fresh veggies sounds good to me...
"Gotcha. He has my permission. Let him do whatever he wants."
"As you wish, sir." With that settled, I soon realized that I couldn't see Lapis or
Cecile anywhere. What're they up to...? I asked Laim, who said that Lapis
already went to sleep due to business in the marketplace early in the morning,
while Cecile went to see a friend who was visiting the capital.
"Is there anything you wish for me to tell them, sir?"
"Nope, I was just curious. Alright you two, let's go."
"Okay!"
"Indeed." I opened a [Gate] and traveled back to our carriage with the girls. It
only took a moment for me to realize that something was off. The forest was
overflowing with the cries of countless animals. It was completely different
from when I left. The sounds were on another level entirely. I ran out of the
carriage, quickly finding everyone else. The soldiers and knights were
brandishing their blades and looking out for any hint of danger. What the hell
did I miss?!
"Touya!"
"What's going on here?"
"We don't know. The animals in the forest suddenly started panicking."
Yumina ran up to me, completely perplexed. Soon after, the rabbit beastman,
Lain, looked upward.
"U-Up in the sky... S-Something huge is heading our way!" Everyone followed
his gaze. As sudden gusts of wind rustled the treetops, I saw something large
glide through the night sky. What on not-Earth was that? I could only make out
a dark silhouette, but the beastmen, having eyes that could see in the dark,
clearly saw what it was.
"A Dragon... Why is it here of all places?!" Garm spoke words that conveyed
his evident confusion as he stared straight up into the sky. His eyes were open
wide, clearly showing his lack of understanding.
A Dragon? A giant, winged... lizard? A Dragon flew over us just now?
"B-But why would there be a Dragon here?!" Olga rushed to her sister,
speaking in a frantic voice as she cradled the little girl.
"Huh? Is it not normal to see Dragons in this area or something?" Arma
looked scared beyond belief, but I had to get an answer from her sister.
"D-Dragons... They normally inhabit the Sanctuary Grounds in the middle of
this country. That's their territory. No one's allowed to go there, and Dragons
don't terrorize the people as long as no one intrudes on their land. That's how
it's supposed to work, but..."
"Did someone enter the Sanctuary?!" Olga's words made Garm's voice turn
rough. So this might be the Dragons' reaction to trespassers in their home... This
is bad. In their eyes, it's probably justified anger. If they believed their land was
being invaded, they were only acting how you'd expect them to...
However, Olga shook her head, clearly denying that idea.
"No, that's not the only explanation. Every few years, Young Dragons appear
in our settlements and wreak havoc. Even if we cut down the adolescents that
leave the Sanctuary, the others never come over to avenge them. That's
because they are the intruders in that situation. That being said, though..."
"Can you beat a Dragon?" Garm turned to answer my question.
"If we had a hundred of our best, like the elite royal soldiers, it might be
possible. But any attacks that don't critically injure them only make them even
angrier."
What? A hundred of Mismede's best soldiers? And even then, it "might" be
possible...? Are Dragons really that strong? That aside, if this Dragon really is
just some teenager running wild, it means that even the proud flying lizards
have unruly brats among them, huh? I can't think of anything more irritating.
It's basically a living natural calamity, right next to tornadoes, tsunamis and
volcanic eruptions in terms of disaster potential.
I took out my smartphone, started the map app, and ran a search for
"Dragon."
A number of pins dropped down somewhere in the middle of Mismede on the
map. Guess that's the Sanctuary Grounds, then... So that means this lone pin
over here is the Dragon that was just above us. Hm... it's gradually moving
toward... Oh. Crap.
"Hey! The Dragon's flying straight for Eld...!"
"What?!" Everyone was shocked at my words.
"Why's it heading to Eld of all places?!"
"There's a large pasture south of the village. Is it aiming for the cattle,
maybe?" I had the thought that maybe if the Dragon ate some cows or sheep,
it'd be satisfied enough to spare the village. Garm quickly dispelled that theory
with a harsh truth, however...
"Once it gets itself a taste of meat, the Dragon will just strike again. And when
it comes to Dragon food, we're as good as any cattle. Well, I'm sure some
Dragons have individual preferences, but my point still stands."
At the rate things are going, the village is gonna be wiped off the map. Hmm,
my Smartphone Strike has a limited range... With this much distance between
us, nothing I try will work.
"What do we do? Our mission is to protect the ambassador. We cannot allow
ourselves to let any harm come her way."
"Khh..." Lyon's words made Garm grit his teeth. To a man that serves his
country, orders from higher-ups were absolute. If we were to go to the village
and something happened to Olga, it would become an international incident.
However, having half of our guards stay behind and making the others go save
the villagers wasn't a great idea, either. And I'd never visited Eld, so I couldn't
create a [Gate] to fast travel there. What am I supposed to do?
"Do you not have something you can do, Touya-dono...?"
"The problem is exactly that, Yae. I don't." I folded my arms and began
thinking. Unlike the soldiers here, we aren't obligated to do anything. We aren't
under any orders; we simply took a quest from the guild. And protecting Olga
wasn't a part of that arrangement at all. Our only role here is to deliver the fake
teleport mirror to Mismede...
"Wait...!" Right, that's our task! I took the mirror from the inner carriage and
leaned it against the outside of the carriage. The mirror itself was as big as the
door, so it was hard to pull out quickly.
"Touya, what's this?" Lyon looked at it with a puzzled expression on his face.
In fact, just about everyone was tilting their heads in confusion.
"Err... right. This is my Teleport Mirror. It's one of two. The other is in the
royal palace back in Belfast, and you can get there in an instant by using this
one as a door. I was thinking of letting Olga and Arma take refuge in the palace
while we deal with this situation. What do you think?"
"I had no idea you had something so powerful..." Olga muttered.
"Our job is to get it to the Kingdom of Mismede. King Belfast himself gave us
permission to use it in emergencies." I spoke all the lies I could think of. I told
them that it could only be used for one round trip per day and that it couldn't
handle crowds of people. I spent most of my rant trying to talk about how safe
an item it was. Most of my appeal was directed toward the Mismedian soldiers.
"Understood, then. We will use this to take refuge in the royal palace. While
we're gone, please do your best to protect the villagers in Eld."
"Very well, ma'am. Touya, do what you have to." Garm gave a nod upon
hearing Olga's decision.
"Got it. Now, Olga, Arma, Yumina, and... Garm, would you like to confirm
what's on the other side with your own eyes?"
"M-Me? I don't know if I, uh..." Garm sounded a little concerned. I placed my
hand on the mirror.
"[Gate]." Careful that they didn't hear me, I spoke my magic word. The portal
of light appeared a few centimeters in front of the mirror. This is actually a
much better method than having to use [Enchant] on the thing so soon. We're
not at the Mismede Palace yet, after all.
The first to enter was Yumina. She was followed by Garm, Arma, Olga, and
myself, after which the portal silently closed. Standing in Yumina's room in the
palace, I turned around to see the connecting mirror. Good thing we prepared
this in advance.
"So... th-this place is...?"
"Belfast's royal palace, yes. Alright, Yumina. Go and explain the situation to
His Majesty."
"Very well. Be careful, Touya..." I briefly clarified where we were to Garm,
who was so dumbfounded his mouth was hanging open, and told Yumina to
handle the rest.
"Hey, Garm. Did that ease your mind a little? We've gotta hurry back now."
"Ah... y-yes. Time's wasting, you're right!" Just as I did the first time, I created
a [Gate] a few centimeters in front of the castle's mirror and passed through it.
By the time we returned to the woodland, everyone was ready to move out.
"Alright, you lot! The ambassador is safe now! We will now move to protect
the villagers of Eld from the Dragon!" Seeing that their captain had returned
safe and sound, the beastmen let out an enthusiastic roar in response to his
orders. I watched them as I walked over to Lyon.
"What about you and the knights, Lyon? There's no obligation for Belfastians
to help out here..."
"If I were to claim that this was no concern of mine, my father would surely
strike me with a fiery fist. We're helping too, naturally. I am certain His Majesty
would will it as well." Lyon declared his resolution with not a hint of hesitation
in his voice. Apparently, the soldiers had already discussed the matter at hand.
Works for me.
My map showed that it would still take a while for the Dragon to reach the
village. Nonetheless, we had to hurry. Lucky for us, this beast seems to be a bit
slow. If we go as fast as our carriages can manage, we'll get there about an
hour after the Dragon makes contact.
Desperately hoping that we'd be able to avoid any fatalities, we jumped into
the carriages and rode off at full speed.
◇ ◇ ◇
The village was a sea of flames. People were running, screaming, and
stumbling in a panic. A Black Dragon was flying above the carnage, vomiting
fireballs upon the settlement like the place was some kind of playground.
It had mighty, robust limbs, a long, scaled tail, and large, menacing wings that
sprouted from its back. Its red eyes, shining in the darkness of night, made it
seem as though the Dragon was deriving some kind of sadistic pleasure from
the destruction below.
"Prioritize saving the civilians! Carry those who can't move to safety!" Garm
barked orders to his men. The beastmen hastily began helping those who
couldn't move due to injury and pulling out people buried under support
beams, burning wreckage, and other such debris.
"You heard him, men! Let none be left behind!" By Lyon's command, the
Belfastian knights joined the beastmen in helping the villagers.
"Alright, we have to lure that Dragon away from the village." I'll get that
scaleface's attention and have him glide away from here. With any luck, that'll
give Garm, Lyon, and their men all the time they need to evacuate the villagers.
It's a basic plan, but that's probably for the best right now... The men's mission
was to protect Olga. They couldn't afford to lose their lives to some random
Dragon attack. Also, our target was high up in the sky. Standard weapon attacks
wouldn't reach it. It was all up to magic users like me and Linze.
"Strike true, Light! Sparkling Holy Lance: [Shining Javelin]!" A single ray of
light tore the veil of night asunder. However, the Black Dragon gracefully
evaded it and puked out another fireball.
"Ghh! [Boost]!" I buffed my physical abilities and hastily switched positions.
The fireball hit the ground and created an explosion that only served to spread
more flames.
This is bad... If we keep fighting here, it's only going to result in more damage.
"Kohaku!"
"Very well!" In response to my call, Kohaku reverted to its true form.
"Linze, hop on!"
"O-Okay...!" I climbed on to Kohaku's back, pulled Linze up to me, and made
her sit up front. With that, we sped off away from the village.
I turned around to see the Dragon spew a number of fireballs in our direction.
We rode Kohaku through the grove as the tiger skillfully evaded the onslaught.
Good, we've got that brat's attention now.
I brought Linze with me because she and I were the only ones capable of
fighting the Dragon while it remained in the sky. We just need to take out its
wings... Once we manage that, the real battle will begin.
We came out of the grove and entered a wide pasture. A good place to fight.
There was nothing to block our sight or hinder our movements. The collateral
damage would be much smaller here, too. It didn't have any good cover, but
beggars couldn't be choosers...
"GRRrrRrraAaaAaAAGGGHhhH!!" The Dragon let out a deafening roar. In
response, Kohaku suddenly began to snarl furiously.
"Impudent whelp! You dare insult my master?! You are naught but an
airborne newt!"
"Huh? You can understand that noise?" Surprised, I dismounted Kohaku as
the tiger began translating the Dragon's words.
"It said 'How dare you try and spoil my fun, you insolent worm. I'll rip you to
shreds and eat the gristle off your charred bones.' What a disgraceful creature...
You snot-nosed brat, you cannot even speak a civilized language! I swear, this is
among the many reasons why I so despise the Azure Monarch's kin!" Expressing
more fury through expression than I thought a tiger capable of, Kohaku glared
up at the Black Dragon in the sky.
"...'Spoil my fun'? So you're telling me it attacked the village as some kind of
prank? What a selfish little..." I could totally understand if it was looking for
something it needed to survive, or if it was exacting revenge for the defilement
of the Sanctuary Grounds. If it was something like that, I had planned on chasing
it off with a little pain. But now it turns out that this thing came and attacked
the people for nothing but its own amusement?
I refuse to hold back against something so sinister.
"Linze. I'll bring it to the ground. Get ready to slice off its wings."
"U-Understood, then..." Linze gave me a slight nod. I focused my magic and
cast a Null spell.
"[Multiple]!" Several magic circles appeared around me, all aimed at the
Dragon. One became two, two became four, four became eight... Once the
number crossed the triple digits, I cast my next spell.
"Strike true, Light! Sparkling Holy Lance: [Shining Javelin]!" In a flash, the
Black Dragon was assaulted by a barrage of one hundred and twenty-eight
sparkling lances. I couldn't use high quality magic yet, but I was unmatched
when it came to quantity. It was much like not being able to use bazookas, but
being skilled with machine guns.
"GRrrYyYAaaAaAGGhH?!" The Black Dragon tried evading the shining
onslaught, but dodging a hundred and twenty-eight of them seemed far too tall
an order. Many of the projectiles dug into its body, drawing blood from its
wounds and causing it to slump to the ground below.
Unfortunately, it quickly got up and spread its wings in an attempt to rise
again, but Linze didn't allow that to go through.
"Come forth, Water! Feel My Blade, Both Cold and Clear: [Aqua Cutter]!" A
sharp edge of compressed water went flying toward it. With a slicing sound,
about half of one of the Dragon's dark wings was sheared off, and it fell to the
ground with a crash.
"GHhhrRRraAaAHHhH!!!" The Dragon released a louder roar this time, one I
assumed to be out of pain instead of an attempt to speak. It tried to get up and
fly again. But alas, unable to balance itself, the Dragon fell to the ground
moments after taking flight. We had taken its ability to fly away.
The Black Dragon suddenly glared at us with those intense red eyes. I could
feel hatred swirling and brewing within them as it opened its maw. The motion
was unlike the times it launched fireballs at us. I had no idea what it was trying,
but I knew it was bad news. Taking Linze into my arms, I double-checked that
[Boost] was still active before speeding across the ground on my enhanced legs.
Seconds later, the Black Dragon opened its mouth, unleashing a flow of
burning crimson that quickly engulfed the area. It spread from its mouth like a
flamethrower's nozzle.
Guess it has different types of flame breath. We were unable to get closer to
the Dragon, and that new menacing blaze was doing a good job of keeping us at
bay.
Linze tried launching another [Aqua Cutter], but the wall created by the
beast's fiery breath reduced its power and dispersed any damage it could've
done.
Suddenly, a silhouette dropped from above the Dragon.
"Hyah!" It was Yae. As she fell, she sliced into the Dragon's right eye.
"It's [Boost] time!" Following Yae's display, Elze jumped out of a grove,
gathered all her might, and launched a fortified strike into the Black Dragon's
side.
"GHhRRraAaAHhH?!"
"Ow... damn it! Its hide is way too tough!"
"At least this one does not regenerate as the crystal creature did, it does not!"
Complaining here and there, Yae and Elze distanced themselves from the
Dragon.
With its eye lost, the beast became enraged and released an onslaught of
fireballs and blaze flows at the two.
"Whoa?!"
"We must get back, Elze-dono!" Yae and Elze hastily retreated. The fire that
appeared behind them lit up the whole area.
With the Dragon's attention shifted to the girls, I looked for an opening, took
out my katana, and closed in on it. With a quick jump, I landed a katana drop
strike on the head of the repugnant reptile.
What followed was a snapping and clanging sound... Even with the effects of
[Boost] amplifying my body, my attack did nothing but let out a metallic sound
and break my katana in half.
"Gah...!" This guy's tough as nails... I should've followed Yae's example and
taken out its other eye.
The Black Dragon bent its head in my direction, its sole eye fixing itself on me
and narrowing. Moments later, the raging beast gaped its maw and readied
itself for another blast of flaming breath.
Well... shit. Just as I thought my end was nigh, a knife flew in out of nowhere
and dug deep into its left eye.
Screaming in pain after losing its second eye, the Dragon threw its head
backward and released an unrestrained flow of flame.
"[Slip]!" Seeing an opening, I magically reduced the friction of the ground
around the Dragon, making the senseless beast lose its balance entirely. Its
gargantuan, heavy body suddenly came crashing to the ground.
Man, that was close... That [Slip] spell of mine is super useful... Just a shame
it's useless against enemies in the air. That knife was a real lifesaver, though.
Yae must've thrown it. I'll have to thank her later. Actually, hold on... wasn't Yae
on the opposite side of where the knife came from? Well, whatever. I'll worry
about that later.
The Dragon let out another furious roar. I had already lost my katana. Just as
one would expect from a Dragon, it wasn't an easy foe to do battle with. I
needed something with more penetrative power. In that case...
"Yae, Elze! Buy me some time! Linze, build a giant ice wall in front of me!
Kohaku, you make sure that no harm comes to her!" Linze quickly began
focusing her magic and speaking the incantation.
"Come forth, Ice! Eternal Frozen Ridge: [Ice Wall]!" A thick barrier of frost
materialized before me. It was beautifully clear and without any visible faults.
Perfect for what I was about to do.
"[Modeling]!" I placed my hand on the ice and began reshaping it. The object
I was making wasn't complicated at all. Magic ice was harder to melt than
normal ice, but I was changing its shape without heating it, so that was really an
unrelated piece of trivia.
After a few seconds, I reformed it into the shape I needed — a large, icy
magnifying lens. Complete with a stand that wouldn't let it fall.
"[Multiple]!" Small magic circles started appearing and expanding, all
pointing toward the lens. One... Two... Four... Eight... Sixteen... Thirty-two...
Sixty-four... One hundred and twenty-eight... Two hundred and fifty-six... Five
hundred and twelve!
"Strike true, Light! Sparkling Holy Lance: [Shining Javelin]!" All five hundred
and twelve spears of light were fired into the lens. They were absorbed and
refracted, focusing into a single point. I quickly used [Modeling] on the lens to
fine-tune its thickness and set the focal point onto the Black Dragon.
"Eat this!" In a flash, a strange sound pierced the air. When I looked at the
Black Dragon, it had a gaping hole where its chest once was. Soon enough, the
beast tumbled forward and fell to the ground, making the earth tremble
something fierce. The fresh blood flowing from its chest painted the
surrounding field a vivid red.
"We really beat that thing?!"
"We did it, Touya-dono! We did!" Elze and Yae cheerily ran up to me. And
Linze, riding Kohaku, wasn't far behind them.
"Well done..."
"I'd expect nothing less from my master. Truly, I can rest at ease now." As I
exhaled a sigh of relief at Kohaku's words, the lens I built suddenly shattered
into countless pieces. Whoa, that scared me!
But, moments later, another fright came. A shadow cast itself upon the
ground. I looked up to see yet another Dragon floating in the sky and blocking
out the moon.
"What... another one?!" This one was considerably larger than the one we'd
just killed. It had red scales and a white mane trailing from the back of its head
to the tip of its tail. Its horns were thick and its tail long.
As we stood there in perfectly reasonable confusion, the Red Dragon, still
floating in the air, began to talk.
"I have no intention of fighting you. This child of my people seems to have
caused much trouble. For that, I sincerely apologize."
"Wait, you can talk?!"
"I am the Red Cragon, he who rules the Sanctuary Grounds. I came to bring
back the unruly youth, but it seems I was too late." The Red Dragon surveyed
the fresh corpse with a sad expression, then slowly closed its golden eyes.
So that was the reason it came here, huh? I'm sorry, if you were a bit faster it
could've been different, but...
It was kind of hard for me to say anything at that point, so Kohaku took a step
toward the Red Dragon.
"Red Dragon. If you ever meet with the Azure Monarch... tell it to properly
discipline its kin."
"What? This presence... but that cannot be... The White Monarch?! Why are
you in such a place?!" The Red Dragon was completely taken aback. I stared at
Kohaku in utter blank, confused amazement. Was there even more to this tiger
than I was unaware of?
"I see... So the Black Dragon was defeated by none other than the White
Monarch. I can see why it stood no chance. What a foolish child it was..."
"Do not misunderstand. Your foolish ilk was exterminated by my master,
Touya. The brat had the gall to insult this venerable young man. This end result
is but a natural consequence of arrogance and idiocy."
"What?! A mere human is the master of the White Monarch?!" The Red
Dragon directed its golden eyes toward me. It was clearly having trouble
processing this information. Shortly after that, it gently landed on the ground,
lowered its whole body, and bowed its head.
"I humbly request you pardon my insolent manner... I also hope you can find
it within your heart to forgive us for this Black Dragon's actions. If possible, I
would prefer the punishment—"
"Hey, enough of that. It's fine so long as you understand, but you're not
getting a second chance, understand? Make sure it doesn't happen again by
telling your kids to behave."
"Of course, sir. By all means. I will return immediately to the Sanctuary
Grounds and voice what must be said. If that is all, I shall take my leave now.
Thank you." The Red Dragon stood up, bowed once more, and spread its wings
before taking flight. It made a circle above us and disappeared toward the
south.
"Goodness gracious, how vexing... This is why I so detest that Azure
Monarch." Mumbling some complaints, Kohaku popped back into tiger cub
form.
The White Monarch and the Azure Monarch didn't seem to have a very good
relationship. Wonder if it had something to do with one being a tiger and the
other a Dragon. Wait a sec... I looked around to see that the three girls were on
the ground.
"What's wrong with you all?"
"What's wrong is that... we couldn't move..." Elze spoke in a slightly hoarse
voice. Ah, it was probably similar to Yumina's condition when I initially
summoned Kohaku. That Red Dragon was probably among the more powerful
ones. I wondered if he too was a bearer of the Mystic Eyes. They certainly were
exotic and golden enough.
"Touya... were you really not scared at all through that?"
"Yep. I was just fine."
"That feels somewhat unfair, it does..." Well, what am I supposed to do about
that? Not like I can control whether or not I'm affected by stuff like that. It's
probably just another of God's gifts.
Now that I think about it, no matter how scared I've been, there's never been
any time I was petrified with fear.
As those thoughts ran through my mind, I cast some Healing magic on the
girls.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Sheesh, I'm tired." I spread myself out on the grass and got comfy. The sun
rose from the eastern sky, blinding my eyes with light. It's dawn already...?
After we beat the Black Dragon, we had to do a lot of running around the
village. Linze used magic water to put out the fires, Elze searched around for the
injured, and I restored them using Healing magic. Also, by the time I realized
that I could've just run a map search for "injured person," we were already
done. No one died in the event, but the village was basically reduced to rubble.
The financial cost was great indeed.
"Ah, Sir Touya. So this is where you were."
"Ah, Lyon. Great work today." The good knight approached me. Apparently,
the situation was cooling down. I could even smell some food being made for
the victims.
"I must say, though, to defeat a Dragon with only four people... I am far past
surprised. In fact, I'm simply deep into that feeling where you lose the ability to
fully articulate a comment."
"Well, it was only a Young Dragon, so it wasn't super strong yet or anything.
That's probably the only reason we won." I explained that part to him, but
conveniently left out everything regarding the Red Dragon. Suddenly, the wolf
captain, Garm, came over to us.
"Oh, Mister Touya. What do you intend to do with the Dragon?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, just think of the ingredients. Selling it would net you a great amount of
coin. Though, transporting it would be a problem..."
"You're telling me I can sell the Dragon's corpse?" Apparently, draconic
scales, claws, horns, fangs, and bones were great weapon and armor crafting
materials, while the meat was rather delicious. It seems dead Dragons were
extremely expensive commodities. And since I was the one to defeat the Black
Dragon, I had the right to decide what to use it for. Hmm, in that case...
"The villagers can have it. It should help them get back on their feet."
"All of it?! To them?!"
"Mister Touya, do you know what you're saying?! The price of a Dragon is
staggering! That carcass alone would not go for anything less than ten royal
coins!" Ten royal coins? Seriously? It was worth more than a hundred million
yen?! Awesome! I'll definitely keep it in tha— Oh. Damn. Right as I was about to
reconsider my decision, I saw the villagers huddled together in my peripheral
vision. Crap, they heard me.
"...I-IT'S A SMALL PRICE TO PAY TO HELP THIS LOVELY VILLAGE. I TRULY HOPE
THEY USE IT WELL." I couldn't retract my statement, so I forced out a sentence
that made me seem far more benevolent than I actually was. I bet the truth of it
showed on my face, though.
"I think I speak for all of Mismede when I say this. Thank you, Mister Touya."
"Hah... indeed. Just as father said, you are truly a man of fine standing. I
cannot help but admire you, Sir Touya." Gazes of appreciation and respect
converged upon me. No. Stop. I was just keeping up appearances... I could only
hope that the girls would tolerate this mistake.
I used the fake teleportation mirror to bring Olga, Arma, and Yumina back to
us, and Olga didn't hesitate before thanking me. Most of her gratitude was for
defeating the Dragon and saving the village, but I had nearly nothing to do with
there being no fatalities. That was likely due to our escorts doing a good job.
Speaking of those guys, they were completely exhausted and getting some
well-deserved sleep next to the carriages. And honestly, I really wanted to join
them. As if to deny me that luxury, however, an old beastman hobbled over to
us, supporting himself with a stick.
"I am Solum, the village chief. I would like to give you my earnest thanks for
defeating the Dragon that attacked our village, and giving such great support to
our restorative endeavors." By "support," you mean my generous donation,
right? Man, did I screw up by just handing it over... But with the village in this
sorry state, they'll need anything they can get. Ah whatever, no use crying over
spilled milk.
The chief called over some villagers who were carrying something. What's
that? Looks about one and a half meters long... A big black curved cone? Oh,
I've seen this thing before.
"This is one of the Dragon's horns. Please take it for yourself."
"Huh? But I..."
"We hear you damaged your weapon. You can use this horn to craft a new
one, or sell it and buy something already made." Well, he's not wrong. Guess I
should just take it, then. Once the chief passed it over, I couldn't hide my
surprise at how light it was. Despite that, I heard it was far harder than the
finest steel. I began to understand why a creature as large as that could actually
take off from the ground.
As far as I was aware, the only materials stronger than Dragon parts were
hihi'irokane, mithril, and orichalcum.
Either way, I graciously accepted the horn and walked away from the village
chief and the rest. To be honest, I was close to collapsing from exhaustion. But
by some miracle, I was able to drag myself to the carriage. Looking inside, I saw
Elze, Linze and Yae sleeping peacefully. I couldn't really join them, so I simply
slumped down and spread myself out on the grass next to the carriage.
"Here, Touya. A blanket." A moment later, Yumina came over with something
I really needed. Perfect timing... I gave her my thanks and covered myself, all
while trying to prevent my eyelids from drooping there and then.
Ah, sweet warmth... I couldn't hold it back any longer. My eyes closed and
drowsiness set in.
I woke up to see Yumina with the wide open sky behind her. Still not fully
aware of my surroundings, I looked into her eyes as she stared at mine.
"Are you finally awake?" I could feel something soft under my head as I heard
her say that... Wait, is my head on her thighs or something? I rolled off to the
ground to escape the situation. How long was I sleeping like that?! I hastily got
up and noticed the villagers and now-awake guards who were grinning and
looking at me like I was something adorable. Whoa, this embarrassment is next
level. Resting on a girl's thighs in front of a group of people...?! I'd be lying if I
said I didn't find it pleasant, but it's still way too embarrassing, man!
"Oh. He's awake."
"...S-Seems like you slept well."
"Indeed. He looked quite satisfied, he did."
Chills ran down my spine. I fearfully turned around to see the reason for that.
Three girls, silently standing there with full smiles on their faces. Their eyes,
however, reflected no joy at all. W-Wait a sec, are they mad at me?
"Err... did I miss something?"
"Nope." "No..." "You did not." They were clearly lying. I could see it on their
sulking faces.
"Now now, ladies. Let's leave it at that! The results of rock-paper-scissors are
sacred. No grudges allowed, okay?"
"Geez, I know that much..."
"Mhm..."
"This is rather vexing, it is..." Yumina made a little clap and spoke words that
made the three look away and calm down. What was so important that they'd
get mad at losing rock-paper-scissors over it?
"Mister Touya, you should begin getting ready to depart. We have to report
what happened here to the capital." Garm came over with Olga in tow, telling
us to get prepared. It broke the uncomfortable air, so I used the opportunity to
head to the carriage. The stares boring into my back were distracting, but I
pretended not to notice.
«Kohaku, what exactly happened while I was sleeping?» I telepathically spoke
to Kohaku, who seemed to be inside the carriage. I figured the tiger might know
something, after all.
«Well... How should I put this...? I suppose you could say that there was a
catfight.»
«Huh?» I had no idea what that meant, but it was clear that no one other
than Yumina was in the best of moods. I had to do something about that... Aha!
Struck with a sudden idea, I went to the chief's house and made a little trade
to acquire a certain something.
As the carriage shook and rattled, I exhaled a sigh of relief while looking at the
satisfied girls. There were silver bracelets shining on Elze, Linze, Yae, and
Yumina's wrists.
They were made by me, of course. I bought some silver objects from the chief
and used [Modeling] to reshape them into bracelets. The design was based on
one of the more moderate ones I found on the internet. Once my work was
done, I gave one to each of them, to express my thanks for everything up to
that point.
They seemed pretty surprised at first, but none of the girls hesitated to take
theirs. From the way they looked at the bracelets every once in a while, I could
easily tell that they liked them. Though, the occasional grins were a tiny bit
unsettling, honestly.
"Olga, how long will it take us to get to the capital?"
"We should reach Berge in just over two days. Touya, you should get a
weapon in one of the towns along the way."
Good point. Garm told me the best place to get a weapon crafted from a
Dragon's horn is the capital city. But being unarmed until then probably isn't
smart. I mean, sure, I can fight just fine with magic alone, but being without a
weapon at my side makes me feel a bit helpless. Hm? Wait. Can't I just use
[Modeling] to shape the horn myself? No, wait, I shouldn't risk screwing that
up...
"Well, it's only two days, so I'll just make due with magic." No point in buying
a weapon if I'm just gonna use it for two days. Berge is the capital city anyway,
so it'll have way better goods. Olga suddenly seemed to remember something
and pulled a cloth-wrapped object out of her bag.
"I just remembered, the village chief gave this to me." Olga passed it over,
and I instantly realized that it was a cloth-wrapped knife. It was black, singleedged, slightly curved, and had a length of about twenty centimeters.
"What's this...?"
"Hm? I heard it was found in the Dragon's eye... Isn't it yours?" Oh, it's that
weapon. So the chief retrieved it, huh? I took the knife from Olga, wrapped it up
again, and tried passing it to Yae.
"Here you go, Yae."
"Hm? But that is not mine, it is not." Huh...? If it's not Yae's, then Elze, maybe?
It wasn't Elze's either. Linze? No, she couldn't even hold something like this
properly. Whose knife is this, then? Weren't we the only ones there? Did
someone help us from the shadows? That means they weren't our enemy, but
it's still super creepy...
«Kohaku. Was someone other than us present during that fight?»
«There was someone there. I could sense a presence at the top of a tree in
the grove. No, there were likely two, actually... I sensed no killing intent, so I
had assumed them to be mere villagers.» I telepathically confirmed it with
Kohaku. Apparently, it was certain that someone was observing our battle with
the Dragon. Why, though? I suddenly recalled that someone was watching
Yumina and me back in Langley. Could it have been the same people?
That wasn't something I could figure out just by thinking about it. I examined
the knife, but it didn't seem like anything in particular stood out.
For the time being, I decided to keep the blade on my person. Not having its
sheath was a real pain, though.
Seriously... who could it have been?
◇ ◇ ◇
"Hah... so that's how it is..." That was all I could say upon catching sight of the
pure white royal palace in the capital of Berge. To be blunt, it reminded me of
the Taj Mahal. The all-marble tomb a certain emperor built for his beloved. That
huge white building with a name meaning "Crown of the Palace."
Well, I said it reminded me of it, but there were a number of small differences
too. When compared to the townscape, built primarily of sun-dried bricks, the
palace really stood out. If I had to describe it, I'd have said that it felt as though
an Indian palace got mixed into the world of the Arabian Nights folk tales.
As our carriage ran through the town, I couldn't help but notice just how
undeveloped it was compared to Belfast. Even so, the inhabitants didn't
disappoint when it came to liveliness. Many species walked the streets, creating
a nice hustle and bustle. Various cultures mixed, merged, and developed in a
single direction. I could only assume that it was the way the town was supposed
to appear.
We left the streets, all lined with tall buildings, and crossed the long bridge
toward the palace. Once we were over the town's waterway, we entered the
palace grounds.
The five of us, along with Olga, left the carriage and met up with Garm, Lyon,
and their eight soldiers before making our way through the garden. It was a
beautiful sight. I could see birds frolicking around, and I even noticed some
squirrels staring at us from up in their neatly arranged trees.
We went up a long staircase and entered the palace interior. Bright sunlight
fell through the skylight windows, only to become even brighter upon hitting
the white marble floor.
Surrounded by ornate pillars, we followed the corridor going through the
middle of the courtyard until we reached a large, ornate door.
The soldiers posted next to the door opened it for us with a loud creak.
Sunlight shone through the windows and fell upon a large red carpet.
Standing at either side of this carpet was a royal audience of various demihumans. All of them were dressed in gaudy clothing, so I assumed them to be
the ministers of the country or something along those lines. Some were horned,
others were winged, so they were definitely a vivid group of people.
Beyond the audience, seated on his throne up high, I saw the ruler of the
country.
Beastking Jamukha Blau Mismede. Apparently his beastman subspecies was
Snow Leopard. At a glance, I thought he was in his early fifties or so. His face,
surrounded by white hair and a beard, gave off a regal aura of power and awe.
From his sharp, feline eyes, I could feel an indescribable force and even a little
bit of mischief.
We gathered before the beastking, making sure to bend our knees and bow
our heads.
"My liege... I, Olga Strand, have made my return from the Kingdom of
Belfast."
"Hmph. Well done to you." The beastking gave her a light nod. Then, he spoke
to Garm and Lyon, who were kneeling right behind Olga.
"Garm... and you, Belfastian knight. I am most pleased by your success in
protecting Olga."
"Thank you, Your Beastliness!" "Thank you, Your Majesty!" Following those
responses from the two, the beastking looked at me and the girls, squinted his
eyes, and adopted a faint smile.
"So, you are the ones sent by Belfast's king, I presume? It has reached my ears
that, despite being few, you were able to slay the Dragon wreaking havoc in Eld.
Is this true?"
"Yes. You have heard correctly. I was unable to participate, but the other four
besides me were indeed the ones who felled the Black Dragon attacking Eld."
Yumina stood up, confidently and resolutely answered the beastking's question.
"...And who might you be?" The girl showed no hint of apprehension at being
in the presence of nobility. In addition, she looked at the ruler with unwavering
eyes, so naturally it would make someone like him slightly suspicious.
"Pardon my late introduction. I am Yumina Urnea Belfast, daughter of
Tristwyn Urnes Belfast, king of the Kingdom of Belfast." Her words caused a stir
among just about everyone present. That was only natural. The crown princess
just appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Olga and Lyon were aware of the
situation, but Garm couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock.
"My... what business brings the princess of Belfast into my domain?"
"This is to show just how important we consider this alliance with Mismede.
Here is a message from my father. I humbly ask that you read what he has
written." As she spoke, Yumina took out a letter and handed it over to him.
When did she get that...? Oh right... she probably got it when I had her return
to the Belfast palace during the attack.
With a reverent dignity about him, one of the beastking's aides took the letter
and brought it over to him. After removing the seal and running his eyes over
the paper, the ruler of Mismede looked at Yumina and smiled.
"Interesting... I think I understand the situation. Give me time to consider
what I've just read. Don't worry, I'll be sure to give you my response soon
enough. Until then, feel free to make yourselves at home in my palace." The
beastking passed the letter over to his aide.
"Right, now we've got the formalities outta the way... There's something I've
been wanting to ask." The beastking's tone suddenly switched to a lighter one
as he looked over at Kohaku. Well, it makes sense he'd be interested in that...
"Is that white tiger with ya?"
"That's correct. It is Touya's... servant, of sorts."
"Rawr." Kohaku gave a short response, as if to affirm what she said. In
Mismede, white tigers were considered sacred. There was a thing or two to be
said about calling Kohaku a "servant," but since I didn't use a collar or a leash or
anything like that, no one seemed to mind too much.
The beastking spent a moment looking at Kohaku before slowly shifting his
gaze to me.
"...How very interesting. So, a white tiger-taming hero downed a Dragon, eh?
Geheheh, s'been a while since my blood's boiled this hard! So then, boyo!
Wanna spar with me?"
"...Huh?" A small sound leaked from my mouth, signaling my confusion. The
ministers surrounding us heaved a collective sigh of resignation as well. Wait...
what?!
There was a gigantic arena behind the white palace. It reminded me a bit of
the Roman Colosseum. Man, this country is way too inconsistent.
I'd been inexplicably brought there for a duel with the beastking. Why is this
even happening?
"Do forgive us, good Touya. His Beastliness is the type who cannot resist
fighting anyone he thinks is strong. In all honesty, we are quite troubled by it,
too." Chancellor Glatz turned to apologize to me. He was an avian with gray
wings. By his looks, I'd say that he was in his late forties. He was clad in a robe
as dull as his wings. His mustache stuck out prominently too.
"I would be truly grateful if you gave him some serious pain! Fight with all
your might, please."
"Wait, hold up! Isn't he your king? Are you sure you're okay telling me to do
that?" I looked at Glatz with obvious confusion in my eyes. Soon enough, the
people next to him began backing him up.
"We do not mind. Fight as you please. His Beastliness always looks down on
the importance of state affairs! There are times when he just disappears and we
find him training with the soldiers, overpowering every single one of them!"
"There was also that time when he got an idea for a new weapon and just
walked out to the blacksmith's! It ruined our schedule and caused me so much
trouble!"
"Don't forget when he said something about starting a grand tournament...
Did he even consider the budget?!" Damn... the ministers of Mismede really
have it tough, huh? The king of this country is kind of a weirdo, I guess. Well, it's
not like Belfast's king is much better in that regard, but still...
Pushing those thoughts aside, I took a wooden sword and headed for the
center of the arena. The audience was made up of my friends, the Mismedian
ministers, and a number of Mismedian soldiers, all ranked captain and above.
The beastking was wielding a wooden sword and shield. I had the opportunity
to take a shield, but I turned it down. I was no good at using them and preferred
to be agile anyway, so it was fine.
"The fight will last until one side receives an injury that would be fatal with
real swords or if one side admits defeat. The use of magic is also permitted.
However, offensive magic aimed directly at your opponent is forbidden. Do
both parties agree to these rules?" The referee, a horned fellow with dark skin,
explained the rules to us.
No offensive magic on the opponent, huh? Hm... that narrows down my
options a bit. Still, the state ministers told me to go all out, so I guess I shouldn't
hold back.
"Hey uh... are you sure you want to fight me?"
"Heheheh. Of course, and don't you dare hold back! Consider this a real
battle. Use all you have and try to win!" I asked him for confirmation, and His
Beastliness replied with a full smile. Man, is he really serious here? His body is
really well built... Not the kind I'd expect for a man of his age, honestly. He's
probably done some serious training.
Guess I don't have any other option. If he's so serious about it, it'd be rude not
to go all-out. I'll just take the liberty of treating this as a real battle.
The horned referee raised his arm high and took a look at both fighters before
speedily casting his arm down.
"Round one. Begin!"
"[Slip]."
"Wha-?!" The beastking fell over in a way that was almost magnificent. I
quickly closed the distance between us and placed my wooden sword against
his neck.
"Alright. That's a wrap."
"W-W-Wait a sec! This ain't fair! What was that all about?!"
"It was my Null spell, [Slip]. Non-offensive magic isn't against the rules,
right?"
"No no no! That's cheating! That's not allowed! It wasn't even a proper duel!"
His Beastliness childishly protested. Seems he was unable to accept the
outcome.
Well, he does have a point... But all things considered, that's the most efficient
way of taking down an enemy, isn't it? Well, so long as I'm up against an enemy
that can't fly.
"I want a rematch! No magic this time!"
"Hmm, well... what do you think, Chancellor?" I looked at Glatz and the
ministers surrounding him. They seemed pretty confused at first, but once they
realized why I brought them into the conversation, a few of them developed sly
grins.
"Well... We would prefer it if you refrained from delaying our governmental
affairs any further."
"G-Glatz! Don't say that! This won't take long! I promise! Just give me a
moment, okay?!"
"Hmm... I'm not sure if I should..." His Beastliness ran over to the Chancellor
and they began to talk about a few things. I could hear the beastking say things
along the lines of "I'll be more serious, I swear!" and "I'll be where I have to,
promise!" over and over.
In response, the ministers gave him several conditions, which made him drop
his shoulders in resignation. Still, he ended up agreeing to whatever terms they
had given. Did I just do something bad...?
"Sir Touya. If you do not mind, we would like you to have another battle with
His Beastliness!" The beastking took up a position opposite me as Glatz asked
for another round. He sounded a lot happier this time... Is it just me or does the
king look a little annoyed?
"That spell is forbidden this time. Got it?"
"Got it." We readied ourselves once more. And again, the referee raised his
right arm before swinging it down.
"Round two. Begin!" The beastking attacked me the very moment the duel
began. I faced him head-on and twisted my body to gracefully evade the blow.
Then, after backing down a bit, I charged toward him.
"Come forth, Sand! Obstructing Dust Storm: [Blind Sa—]."
"You're slow." The beastking leaped to me with the speed of a bullet and
bashed me with his shield, forcing me to reposition myself. Crap, he interrupted
the spell! I parried his wooden sword, launched a feint attack, and backed away
again.
But it was no use. He predicted my movements and lunged right where I
retreated. He went for my chest. I somehow evaded his attack, but he followed
it up with an attack against my throat.
The second thrust surprised me, but I was able to bend my head in a way that
caused him to merely scrape my ear. Whoa, that was close! Backing away was
a bad idea... I've gotta go on the offensive!
"[Multiple]!" Small magic circles began to form on the ground around my
legs.
"Hm?!" The beastking halted his charge when he saw them. Though just
about anyone would do that, honestly. Hook, line and sinker! You fell for my
bluff!
"[Boost]!" I used magic to buff my physical abilities and quickly utilized my
explosive speed to close in on the beastking. Victory is mine!
"[Accel]." The beastking suddenly whispered something. The moment the
words escaped his lips, his large body disappeared. My blade came down on
nothing but thin air.
"Wha—?!" Dumbfounded, I suddenly felt someone behind me. I ducked down
by reflex alone and saw the beastking's wooden sword fly above my head
horizontally. I rolled away from him and adjusted my stance. What the heck was
that?!
"You were able to dodge that, huh? Not bad at all, boyo."
"Was... Was that a Null spell?"
"You're right. It was my own Null spell. I call it [Accel]."
I knew it. So it's a spell that accelerates your movement... No wonder I
completely lost sight of him! What's more annoying is that I don't know
anything about it. Does it have a time limit? Does it boost his muscles?
"How does it work?"
"It simply makes the body a bit faster. That's all there is to it. Though, when
used, it creates this magic barrier around the body that eats magical energy like
crazy, so you can't really keep it up for long. Normal humans can't even see the
speed I move with when it's up, so I've gotta hand it to ya for being able to
dodge that." Ah, so it's just a simple acceleration spell, then. The magic barrier
was probably there to protect the body from the high speeds.
"I see. I get how it works now. That's a good spell you have there."
"It is, isn't it? I'm pretty prou—"
"In fact, I like it so much that I'm gonna use it too! [Accel]!" And, just like that,
I used the beastking's signature move against him. In but a moment, I dashed
past the beastking and my wooden sword cleaved through thin air.
Huh? Aww shit, I messed up the timing. Could've sworn I aimed at his torso,
but I was way off. This spell's gonna take some getting used to... I tried to move
a bit, but my own perception of speed couldn't keep up with my body.
"Wha—?! You just... But... that's my—!"
"Wow... it's harder to control than it looks! I won't miss again, though." I
kicked into hyperspeed and closed in on the beastking once more. He cast
[Accel] too, and we began an extremely fast exchange of attacks, dodges,
backsteps, and parries. The barrage of his attacks was as fast as lightning, but
my defense wasn't far behind. I was quickly getting used to the speed. I could
only assume that the spell accelerated my brain power and reflexes, as well.
Our battle in this supersonic world felt just about normal for the both of us,
but it was probably extremely hard for normal humans to see.
However, I had a trump card. I'll just combine this [Accel] spell with...
"[Boost]!" With a flash, I gained even more speed! Magical acceleration
stacked on top of my enhanced leg muscles. I reached a speed bordering on
divine. No naked eye could follow my movements. Though it lasted only for a
moment, I had completely exceeded the limits of [Accel] alone.
"How?!" In less than a heartbeat, I was behind the beastking, pushing the
wooden sword against his neck.
"Checkmate."
"...I'm not sure what that word means, but it seems I've lost." His Beastliness
raised his hands and accepted defeat. Accepting his admission of defeat, the
referee raised his right arm.
"The winner is Sir Mochizuki Touya!" Following that declaration, everyone in
the arena's audience began applauding. In truth, I had expected a barrage of
booing and jeering, mostly because I had just defeated the country's king, but
apparently my worries were unfounded.
"I didn't expect you to know how to use [Accel] as well... I had extreme
confidence in that spell, so I became a tad conceited. I guess I should rethink my
strategies!"
"Well... maybe? Hahaha..." I laughed it off. Null magic was personal magic.
People who could use the same Null spell were few and far between. Though, I
heard that those from the same lineage might've had similar spells. Regardless,
it was only natural for the beastking to be unprepared for my display. It was
basically foul play.
Shame I didn't get to use any elemental magic. I can't cast spells properly if
the incantation is interrupted... Though that was rarely a concern for mages.
They were nearly always backline fighters anyway. Still, it'd be really convenient
if there was a way to use elemental magic without having that pesky
incantation in the way...
Come evening, there was a minor party in the palace. The guests were mostly
Mismede's ministers, the elite nobles, and important merchants. From what I
could tell, it was meant to celebrate Olga's return and to welcome Yumina,
since she was the princess of Belfast and all.
It wasn't a proper feast, so attire didn't matter all that much, but it just so
happened that I ended up in formal wear.
Both my upper and lower body were covered in white, but the vest coat they
gave me was black. Then there was a broad, navy blue sash. All I needed was a
turban and I'd look like some kind of Sinbad or Aladdin cosplayer.
The party had a buffet, so most of the attendees were taking bites from the
selection and enjoying some small talk.
The guest of honor, Yumina, still wasn't there. Neither were Elze, Linze, or
Yae. They're probably getting changed into their formal clothes. They won't be
in any trouble, Kohaku's looking after them anyway.
"Hey there, Sir Touya. That looks really good on you." Champagne in hand and
clad in a snazzy tailcoat rather than the usual armor, Lyon came up to me with a
greeting. Being the son of the baronial Blitz family, he was probably used to
fancy events already.
"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 nono.
"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.