Ultimately, I was relieved to have the full support of Yae's family, but now I
had to go and visit Linze and Elze's family.
"H-Honestly there's no need..." Elze was hesitant for some reason. It seemed
that Elze and Linze had sent a letter off that roughly explained the situation.
They said they were engaged to the same man, that the man was the ruler of a
country, and so on.
Their uncle, who was the younger brother of their mother, owned a farm in a
small village called Colette. The village was in the Refreese Imperium, close to
Belfast's borders. Elze and Linze lived there until they were twelve years old,
when they left in pursuit of independence. Apparently they didn't want to
burden their aunt and uncle with too many mouths to feed.
The people of this world sure are independent... In my old world, there are
people who leech off their parents well into their twenties... and some that
would act as though that was normal.
In any case, if they'd already explained the circumstances, I wanted to at least
go and greet the family. I asked them if they'd like to use [Fly] with me and
blast off, but they said it was too frightening. Geez, after all the trouble I went
through to learn this spell, too...
In the end, I just bit the bullet and used [Recall] on Linze to see Colette
village, and then we all went there through a [Gate].
I could see what looked to be an orchard off in the distance. There were red
fruits dangling from the trees.
The area very much felt like the countryside. There was a big fence erected
around the perimeter, though.
I wondered if wild boars came along and ruined crops or something... There
was a large house with a red roof in the distance. It was very big, and had a
well-aged, rustic feel to it.
"Been a long time since we've been here..."
"It hasn't changed a bit." We wandered over toward the red-roofed house,
while the two girls stared at the scenery. There was nostalgia clouding their
eyes, so I figured this must be the place.
Two people were tending the field in front of the house. One of them, a man,
raised his head and peered over at us. He was wearing a stereotypical farmer's
straw hat.
"What...? Elze? Linze?!"
"Yo, long time no see, Uncle Joseph!"
"It's been a while, uncle." Elze and Linze raised their hands to wave at him.
The other person who was tending the field, a young woman, raised her head
as well.
"Elze, Linze?! Well butter my biscuit, you're home?!" Her face blossomed into
a beaming smile. She charged across the field and pulled the twins into a big
hug. Her hair was long and brown, all tied up into a braid. She only seemed to
be about twenty... Is this seriously their aunt?! "Heya sis. We're home!"
"We're home, Emma. It's nice to see you again."
"Geez Louise, you two never came back even once. Even after ya promised
to!" Elze must've realized that I was very much left out here, because she
parted from the embrace.
"Touya, this is sis. Her name's Emma, though. She's uncle's daughter, and our
cousin." Cousin? Hm, I see... She does kinda look similar to them... I wonder if
Elze and Linze'll grow up to look similar to her.
As I got lost in thought, Elze and Linze's uncle removed his straw hat and
strode over. He had beady eyes and white hair, he looked to be around fifty
years old as well. He gave off the vibe of a simple country bumpkin, but not in a
bad way.
"Ah, I'm happy y'both decided ta come back a bit. Everyone's gonna be real
happy. Who's this nice lookin' fella with you, anyhow?" Their uncle looked at
me, then Linze, then Elze. He crooked a brow.
"We sent that letter, didn't we? This is Mochizuki Touya. H-He's uhm... ah... hhaha... h-he's our uh... f-f-future hu... huh...!!"
"He's our fiance." The two turned beet red as they gave my introduction to
their uncle. Geez, you two... if you start going on like that you're gonna make
me blush as well!
"...Oh. The letter... right. So this feller's from that Duchy of Brunhild that
everyone's been gabbin' on about these days?"
"Indeed. I am the grand duke of the Duchy of Brunhild. My name is Mochizuki
Touya. Touya is my given name. I'm indebted to Elze and Linze for their kindn
—"
"Wh-Whaaaat?!! Oh my goodness me...!" Their uncle suddenly dropped to
the ground and prostrated before me. What the hell? I only reached out for a
handshake.
"Ahhh, damn it. This is exactly what I thought was gonna happen...!"
"...Typical." Elze and Linze looked at each other with wry smiles. They let out
little sighs. Their uncle refused to budge from his prostrated position, he looked
like he was quivering, even. I didn't really know what to do, when suddenly
Emma started to speak.
"Pops here is pretty uncomfortable and weak-willed when it comes to nobility
an' such. Apparently somethin' happened when he was a kid so he gets like this
whenever there's someone of a higher status nearby." What, wait... don't just
brush it off! This is beyond "uncomfortable!" He's clearly concealing some kind
of traumatic event! Seriously! I'm concerned about what happened to this guy
when he was little!
"Y-Your Most Esteemed Highness, Sir Mochizuki Touya. I am so privileged and
emboldened by your presence in my humble home. I am so sorry, I don't have
anything to amuse you with, but I respectfully ask that you keep calm... please
don't punish us for our transgressions." This is... weird. Really goddamn weird.
Does he think I'm some kind of ticking time bomb? I turned my head to Linze
and Elze, raising a brow at them. They just kind of shrugged and did nothing.
Little help, guys?
"Oi, dad. You're offending him. Get up already."
"O-Offending him?! I-I'm so sorry, milord! Please forgive me, have mercy!" He
rocketed to his feet with a boundless energy and began to talk in a fluster. Now
I understood why Elze was so reluctant to bring me here. This guy was
something else. I decided not to torment him any further, and moved aside to
talk with Emma.
"Sorry... I came here to introduce myself to the family, but is he going to be
alright?"
"Don't sweat it. Pop's just like that. Everyone'll be real happy to meet you,
honest. Come meet momma an' the others, too." The others? I was caught offguard by what she said, and before I could process the meaning...
"They were telling the truth! Elze and Linze're home!"
"Welcome baaack!"
"Hurray!! The sisters're back! It's Linze an' Elze!" Whoa... The rambunctious
little tykes came flooding over and embraced the twins. One... Two... three... six
little kids! Two boys and four girls, it looks like.
I stared on, dumbfounded, while Emma gave a little laugh.
"These are my brothers and sisters. Going from oldest to youngest, there's
Sheena, Allen, Kurara and Kirara, Allan, and Reno. They all have an older
brother, who's just a bit younger than me, his name's Aaron. But he left for the
big city a while back." Eight kids, for reals? That poor uncle... It now made sense
why Elze and Linze decided to leave so young, they must've felt like they were
further burdening an already bustling household. Just thinking of the food
expenses this place must've had made my head spin.
Aside from Allen and Allan, they were all girls. Kirara and Kurara looked like
they were twins, too. Back in my world they'd say that a family with twins
typically had a lot of twins in it. I wondered if the same was said in this one.
I looked over toward the house, and a stout, chubby woman came sauntering
out.
"Well I'll be damned... is that Elze and Linze?! Get over here, you
rapscallions!"
"Auntie Lana!"
"Yes, it's us. We're home, Aunt Lana." Elze and Linze both ran up to the
woman and gave her a big hug. It was their aunt, apparently. She was a chubby,
portly woman. But she exuded a lot of character.
Lana patted the two on the head with a warm smile, then she turned to me.
"You must be Touya, then. You're exactly as the two described you in their
letter... you certainly seem quite a good man! Ohoho, the two of them certainly
described their beloved fiance quite well."
"A-Auntie Lana!"
"...Keep that secret, we mentioned so in the letter." The two of them turned
beet red as they voiced their irritation to their aunt. I was curious about what it
was they'd written, but opted not to pursue it. I had a feeling it'd just get me in
trouble.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Mochizuki Touya. Touya's my given name."
"My name's Lana. I'm the twins' aunt. You're rather humble for royalty, aren't
you?"
"Ahaha... well, I can't really afford not to be. I haven't exactly been noble for
long, anyway." Unlike her husband, Lana seemed a bit more confident. She was
really friendly and quite the chatterbox. I wondered if this was a case of polar
opposites attracting.
"I was nervous when I heard that the two of them would be marrying into
royalty, but it seems my fears were unfounded. I can see it in their eyes that
you're a good man."
"Thank you for your kindness." Lana's words put me at ease a little. Just then,
a little boy who looked to be about seven years old (I think his name was...
Allen, or something.), tottered over and tugged at his mother's apron.
"Mommy... is that man royalty?"
"Sort of, sweetheart. He's the grand duke of Brunhild. A country far away
from here."
"Wow... is he strong? Can he beat up the Thunderbears?"
"...Thunderbears?" I recalled them as being magical beasts that fired lightning
from their bodies. They were a monster usually assigned to Blue Rank guild
members, so they were two tiers lower than my Silver Rank.
"Are there Thunderbears around here?"
"Ah, there've been some alleged sightings lately. They say that lightning
strikes have been firing out in the dead of night lately, up in the mountains. The
crops have been damaged by the occasional fire, so the villagers in the area
pooled their money and put out a quest in the guild." I didn't even consider that
there'd be problems like farms being collaterally damaged. That sounded like an
issue that could become pretty dire if it went unchecked. Not only that, but if
the monsters were close enough to damage the fields, then it'd only be a
matter of time before people started getting hurt, or worse. I wondered how
many monsters there were. I remembered hearing that they were solitary
animals and didn't group up much. It was likely there'd just be a couple of
them, and maybe some cubs.
However, I'd heard about a special type of Thunderbear that had a strange set
of spines running along its back from head to tail. It somehow used this to
command other Thunderbears.
If one of those things was involved, it could easily create a large group of
Thunderbears. In that case, the quest would immediately jump to a Red Rank,
which is a far cry from blue.
"When exactly did you submit the quest to the guild?"
"Three days ago. We don't have a guild here, so we forwarded the request to
the nearest large town, Senka. We're fairly sure the quest should be available in
the guild by this time tomorrow." Assuming the quest was received and
accepted the following day, it'd still be another three or four days until the
adventurer who took it actually arrived in the village. I decided to strike while
the iron was hot, and prevent further calamity. Contacting the guild afterward
would be fine, surely.
"I'll take care of your Thunderbear problem."
"Your Highness, really? Are you sure you'll be alright?"
"I'll be fine. Despite my appearance, I'm a Silver Rank adventurer, after all." I
took out a small silver card from my pocket and showed it to Lana, who looked
positively dumbfounded. Naturally, I wasn't going to take the reward money
from the village, either. I decided to defeat it quickly and get outta there.
"Do you want us to come, too?"
"No. You and Elze have a lot to discuss with your uncle and the others, so I'll
tackle this one solo." I declined Linze's offer and floated up into the air with my
flight magic. The children looked up at me, gasping in amazement and putting
their hands over their mouths. With their wonder backing me, I turned toward
the mountains and flew away.
After landing up on the mountains, I pulled out my smartphone and ran a
search for Thunderbears. There were more than I was expecting. Too many.
More than you'd expect for a regular gathering, anyway. It made me believe
without question that a specialized Thunderbear should be around there.
Though, despite the likelihood, there was no way to be certain. With the
number of bears up here, the village was actually pretty lucky to only be slightly
damaged. The damage to the farmer's fields wasn't as bad as it could've been,
that was for sure. Plus, nobody had actually been attacked by a bear, either.
The surrounding wilderness was probably full of small animals, berries, and
nuts, so the Thunderbears didn't need to forage in civilized lands.
"Alrighty, let's get this over with..." I ran a target lock on all the Thunderbears
in the area. But then I paused. The resources from the Thunderbears would go
to waste if I killed them all with a mass spell.
Thunderbear pelt was quite valuable, as I recalled. Their liver was also an
ingredient in a fast-acting and potent medication. Their meat was a little tough,
but wasn't entirely awful either. If I burned them all up with a spell, I'd probably
lose their pelts entirely. That wouldn't be economically intelligent of me.
I decided that the best way to kill them was with a bladed weapon, because
stabbing them would damage the fur the least. Then I changed my mind, and
decided it might be smarter to poison them, or perhaps suffocate them, or
cause them to go into cardiac arrest. I didn't think my paralysis spell was strong
enough to induce heart attacks, though.
"Confirm the number of Thunderbears in the region."
"Calculating... Twenty-three bears. Cubs included." Cubs or not, I couldn't
afford mercy. Didn't want to run the risk of the little guys growing up and
causing havoc. I felt slightly uncomfortable, but... that's life.
It'd probably be best to shoot them right in the hearts, one by one, huh... I
figured it'd only take about an hour to end all of their lives. As I pondered the
best way to effectively take them out, I popped open a portal to the first bear.
"Hrmph... That was quite the hassle..." The specialized Thunderbear was a lot
tougher than I expected, and didn't really give me much room to attack it. I
couldn't aim anywhere except for the heart, so I had to dodge a bunch of
lightning bolts that fired at me from all angles. It was really tough to avoid, but I
ended up defeating it in the end. I put it in [Storage] with the rest of the bear
corpses.
And, just like that, the mountain was free of Thunderbears. Now all I had to
do was head to the guild. Firstly, I needed to exchange the raw bear parts for
money. And secondly, I had to inform them that the quest set by the town
needed to be cancelled. Though, it probably wouldn't be a cancellation, since
the quest likely hadn't even reached the guild board yet.
"Uhh... what was it called, again? Uhh... Right, Senka. The town of Senka." I
looked it up on my map. It was due west.
I triggered my flight magic and began heading there immediately. Truly, it was
among my most convenient of spells. If I was on the ground, I could probably
reach the same speed with [Accel Boost], but this method was easier. That
being said, [Fly] was slightly slower and didn't increase my thought processing
in the way [Accel] did. Both spells had their pros and cons, it was just up to me
to employ them at the right times.
As such idle thoughts rolled around my head, I eventually saw a town through
a clearing of clouds. It was Senka.
I'd cause a fuss if I ended up landing in the middle of town, so I landed just a
bit outside of the place. Then, after confirming the location of the guild on the
map, I headed right into the bustling streets.
The guildhouse in Senka was considerably smaller than the one in Belfast's
capital, but the interior was actually quite nice. The quest board, as usual, was
up on a far wall with several jobs posted. I gave it a sidelong glance before
heading to the reception desk.
"Welcome! How may I help you?"
"I'd like to sell some materials I've harvested from some monsters. Also,
there'll be a quest coming in from Colette village tomorrow. I'd like to cancel
it."
"I don't quite understand." The receptionist eyed me suspiciously, so I
presented her my guild card and explained the situation. She was surprised to
see a Silver Rank, but believed my story.
After that was dealt with, I lined up the Thunderbears outside and had them
check the quality. I set aside two Thunderbear corpses to bring back to the
village as evidence, as well.
"Th-This will take us a little while, is that alright?" I didn't mind, there were a
lot. It was just one of those things, it'd be unreasonable to complain. I decided
to kill time by looking around the guild. Making my way over to the quest
board, I browsed a few requests.
"Hm... A Mega Slime... in a cave to the east, huh." All the girls in my party
loathed any species even remotely similar to Slimes. I'd fought many a monster
and demon since I came to the new world, but slippery slimy monsters like
Ropers and Slimes were ones we rarely encountered.
As I idly browsed through jobs, someone came through the guild entrance.
Many adventurers were coming and going, so I didn't think much of it, but...
then I did a double-take.
"Well then, if it isn't Touya. What brings you here?"
"Ende...?!" It was him. The monochrome boy. With his pale complexion, his
snow-white hair, his signature white scarf and his dark outfit...
"What are you doing here, Ende?"
"I should ask you the same, shouldn't I? I just got back from wiping out a King
Ape that was rampaging in the area." Ende smiled wryly at me, and gave his
answer. I knew what he was talking about. They were a large, monkey-like
monster. They weren't very intelligent, that was for sure. At least the ones I'd
fought hadn't been.
"No, those details aren't important. There's a lot I need to ask of you, Ende."
"You have something to ask me? I mean, go right ahead, but please give me a
moment. I need to turn in the quest, after all." I watched Ende go to the
reception desk and hand his guild card over. It was red. After pocketing his
reward, we went to a corner area in the guild and sat down.
"What did you want from me, Touya?"
"The Phrase. I want to know what they are." Ende looked like he was deep in
thought, but eventually started to talk.
"Regarding the Phrase... there are things I can tell you, and things I cannot tell
you. Are you still fine with that?"
"...That's fine. Just tell me what you can." Ende leaned forward in his seat and
began to talk to me.
"You may find this hard to believe, Touya. But the Phrase are not entities
native to this world. It would be more appropriate to call them visitors that
came to this world from another."
"Visitors? They're a little hostile for that, aren't they? Seem more like
invaders to me."
"I don't think calling them invaders is quite apt. They have no invasive
intentions. The only reason they're in this world is to find their leader."
The Sovereign Phrase. That's what Ende told me last time. That it was the goal
of the Phrase to locate their leader.
"Then why are they killing people?!"
"...Please understand that from this point, there are details I'll have to
exclude. The thing that keeps a Phrase alive is the core. So long as the Phrase
Core is intact, the creature will not die, and it will slowly absorb residual magic
from the atmosphere until it can eventually regenerate its body. The Phrase are
here to find the Sovereign Core. Because that core is somewhere in this world.
They're killing humans in an attempt to find and reclaim it."
"But that doesn't make sense. What does finding the Sovereign Core have to
do with killing people?"
"The search is precisely why they're killing people. Because the Sovereign
Core is inside the body of someone living in this world."
That sounded insane to me. The Sovereign Core was actually inside a person?
"It's not only limited to humans, either. It could dwell within a beastman, one
of the demonkin, any creature with a reasonable degree of intelligence could be
housing the Sovereign Core. It's currently in a dormant state. For all intents and
purposes, it's in a state of near-death. While the Sovereign Core is dormant, it
latches on to a lifeform's body and gestates within it, waiting for the next stage
of its life cycle. The Phrase noticed the 'waves' being pulsed out by the dormant
core, and that's why they know it's in this world. But they can't discern the
exact position, because there are too many noises drowning the signal out.
They can't hear the noise of the Sovereign properly over the sound of the
beating of its host's heart. Therefore, they slaughter humans with reckless
abandon, all in the name of clearing the obstructive noise."
If what he was saying was true, that was insane! The Phrase would just keep
killing until they eventually plucked their leader from a corpse.
"Just what the hell are the Phrase?"
"Originally, they were beings that evolved and lived on another world. But,
after some time, their leader disappeared. Since then, they've been traveling
across worlds in pursuit of the Sovereign Core, in order to regain their leader.
The Sovereign has its own intentions and agenda, as well. They're coarse, and
unrefined creatures. Their methods are brutal, I know. But you have to
understand, they aren't acting out of malice, but raw instinct."
The situation reminded me of bee and ant hives, and how the colony moved
according to the Queen. They were definitely gathering here like something was
attracting them. But I wondered what Ende meant when he said that the
Sovereign had an agenda. "When the Sovereign Core crosses to a new world, it
will infest the body of someone who lives there. Little by little, it will absorb the
life force and magic from that person, and then warp into a new host when its
previous one reaches the end of their life. This process repeats until the
Sovereign Core has absorbed enough power to travel to another world."
"...So that's it? The Phrase come here seeking the Sovereign Core, killing
indiscriminately in the process, and then they'll follow the core to the next
world along after it leaves?"
"That's about the gist of it, yes." That was absolutely insane. I couldn't believe
what I was hearing. They were like locusts moving from crop field to crop field,
draining it of life. They recklessly traversed worlds, harvesting the people within
and moving on. To make matters worse, they didn't even seem aware of their
destruction. They were just doing it because it was their job. It wasn't even a
case of good or evil to them. They were just running on instinct.
"...Ende, you said you were hunting for the Sovereign Core as well. Does that
mean you've killed humans?"
"Don't be silly, now. I wouldn't want you to get the wrong impression. I'm
simply waiting for the core to finish its cycle and transition to the next world,
and then I'll follow. Don't lump me in with the monsters." Ende's intentions
were completely confusing to me, I couldn't get a read on him at all. I wondered
if he was perhaps some kind of guardian assigned to the Sovereign Core... That
didn't change the fact that the Sovereign Core being here was the reason why
everything was going wrong, though.
"What was that thing about the boundary of the world?"
"Hm... that's a bit of a stickler to explain. Let's try to think of it like a staircase.
Each step is connected to the step immediately above and below it, right? You
can take one step no problem, but going ten steps at a time isn't possible, right?
You can consider the height between steps to be the gaps between worlds. In
order to get ten steps higher, you have to go up all the steps between the one
you're on and that ten-step goal... though you might be able to skip a step or
two along the way. Worlds right next to each other have common features, but
worlds far apart are vastly different. But that aside, usually there's a barrier in
place that prevents beings from crossing to other worlds. So you shouldn't even
be able to make a single step." I felt like I understood his explanation for the
most part. There were common features between my world and the world I
now lived in, so they probably weren't too many steps apart.
"I might've mentioned something like this, I don't remember... but the
boundary is not like a wall. It's more of a translucent membrane. Small and
harmless things generally go unregistered and can pass through freely. That is
the reason why the Sovereign Core expends all of its reserved power to travel,
letting it float through in its death-like dormant state. It's an ability only the
Sovereign can make use of." That made sense enough to me, at least with the
information I had. I wondered what it physically felt like, to pass through to
another world in your own body...
"It shouldn't normally be possible to break through the boundary line, but...
making a rip is possible, and an individual creature could force its way through.
If that happens several times, eventually the rip will get bigger and bigger, until
the boundary falls and can no longer do its job, allowing anything to spill out.
That's what happened five thousand years ago." That was the Phrase Invasion
that Doctor Babylon had told me about. She said the world was on the verge of
destruction... Now it all made sense.
"Back then, the boundary line was somehow repaired, and the threat of the
Phrase vanished. The remaining Phrase were all vanquished, and this world was
spared the fate of many others. I also aided in hunting the remnants." It was
then that I knew Ende was not human. He was absolutely not an ordinary
person, and he spoke so lightly and familiarly of events that transpired five
thousand years ago.
But his words made me wonder just what it was that had restored the
boundary line, it seemed Ende wasn't sure either, and that made me all the
more curious.
"I thought I'd be able to take it easy a while, but things started getting noisy
again. The boundary line barrier is starting to come unfurled again. It's barely
holding, but it'll only be a matter of time before the high-tier Phrase break
through it. I can't tell you if that'll happen in a year or fifty years, though..."
"Ende... are you an ally or an enemy of humanity?"
"Hm... I wonder about that one. I've been hunting the Phrase, but it's been
more of a way to kill time than anything else. If the boundary breaks down, I
might sit it out and let nature take its course. That being said, I don't much feel
like being an ally of the Phrase." I couldn't understand Ende's intentions at all,
much less his motivations. I decided to let it go, because at the very least he
wasn't sleeping with the enemy.
"I have something I need to take care of, now. Can we consider our chat
concluded?" Ende stood up and made for the exit.
"...Just one last question. Ende, who or what are you?"
"Me? You can just call me a 'drifter.' See you around, Touya." Ende walked
out of the guild, leaving me only with those words.
The Phrase's mission, the Sovereign Core... the Boundary Line...
I learned a lot of crazy stuff from Ende that day. When the reality of the
situation set in, I realized that things were actually pretty dire. Five thousand
years ago, the crisis was averted because the boundary barrier was repaired...
But what about this time? Could the Phrase even be stopped? They were clearly
going to kill humans indiscriminately in their search for the Sovereign Core. It's
not like this world had much in the way of opposition for them, either. We
didn't have any of the advanced technology that the world had back then, so if
they appeared in waves we'd be completely screwed.
As these uncertain, uncomfortable truths milled around in my head, I received
my money from the receptionist and left the guild.
◇ ◇ ◇
"And that's the situation. Do you know much about it?"
"No, I cannot say that I do. As I said earlier, I am not always keeping an eye on
all places. But there are indeed races that travel across worlds. Naturally I do
not interfere with those species, either. Though, it would be another story
entirely if another God was causing trouble or something..." On my way back
from talking to Ende, I tried calling up God to ask about what I'd discovered.
But, as I'd expected, he didn't really know anything at all. As usual, the people
of this world would have to solve their own issues.
The situation was by no means dire just yet, but I knew that I'd have to start
making preparations should the worst come to pass.
I reasoned that the most efficient way to deal with the issue would be using
the power of Babylon. Doctor Babylon had prepared a final weapon, the Frame
Gear, for the final clash against the Phrase. I had a feeling that the weapon
would be necessary if I wanted to repel their resurgence.
That course of action left me with two methods. I had to either procure the
blueprints from the storehouse, or the product itself from the hangar.
As I recalled, the parts of Babylon remaining were the hangar, the library, the
storehouse, the rampart, the tower, and the research laboratory. I had a one in
three chance of getting the one I wanted if I found them at random.
"I should probably start picking up the pace of my search, huh..." I flew back
to Colette village as I pondered my next course.
"A Frame Gear, sir?" After returning from the village, I immediately went up
to the workshop to talk with Rosetta. The Doctor had created the Frame Gear,
so I was certain that Rosetta had to at least be slightly familiar with it.
"Yeah, how do they work exactly?"
"Just about anyone can operate it, sir! The proficiency is determined by both
the pilot's magical affinity, and their personal affinity for the Frame Gear model,
sir! That being said, it'd be a challenge to get it to move very well without any
training, yessir!"
Makes sense... That means if I can mass-produce them, we'd definitely be
looking good. I mean, she raises a fair point about the individual skill of the
pilots, but... we'd definitely be able to repel the Phrase if we had a giant robot
army to oppose them.
"Mass production of the Frame Gears would prove difficult, sir!"
"Huh? Why's that? Can't we just copy it in the workshop?"
"The amount of materials needed is pretty crazy, I won't lie. On top of that,
creating a single, very basic model Frame Gear in the workshop would take an
entire day at least."
That sucks... A whole day for one robot? That's only thirty Frame Gears in a
month. I mean, thirty giant robots is definitely a lot, don't get me wrong, but...
According to the Doctor, there were like tens of thousands of Phrase during the
attack back then! I don't feel so good all of a sudden...
"How many robots were in the hangar when you lost contact?"
"Let me think... I must confess, sir. I was not involved with the other Babylons
as much as my own. But, as far as I understand it, there should be seven
completed Frame Gear models within the hangar."
"Seven, seriously? How did they plan on taking out the Phrase with so few...?"
"We were about to begin mass production of the Frame Gears, sir... but the
Phrase vanished just as soon as we had drawn up plans to build a second and
third workshop." Rosetta spoke up, disappointment evident in her voice.
Huh, so there were plans to make the workshop bigger? Well, that at least
explains why there aren't many Frame Gears. The crisis resolved itself entirely
before they even had a chance to start responding properly.
All I could do in the meantime was gather the necessary materials. As I exited
the workshop, Cesca and Flora came walking over from the alchemy lab. The
two of them carried a basket that held several medicine bottles.
"What's that, medicine?"
"Uhuhu... these are some general-use medicines for colds, headaches,
stomach aches, and other common ailments, see? There wasn't much in the
way of medication in the castle, so I whipped up a batch, you see?" Flora, still
clad in her nurse outfit, answered cheerily.
I'm still not used to seeing this kinda thing outside of a hospital...
So she was making medicine. Even with my restorative magic and utilities like
[Recovery], there was still stuff I couldn't quite relieve.
Wait a second...
"Flora, do you need the alchemy lab to make medicine?"
"Heavens no. This is just regular medicine, you see? I don't need such
complex facilities for this. I used the facilities here to refine them and increase
their potency, see? I can still make them the regular way, but they'd be less
effective and it would just take me a little longer." That meant other people
should be able to make use of the alchemy lab facilities too... If we could
produce medicine, then that was another export we'd be able to use for trade.
Headaches, digestive problems, sinus blockages... these kinds of issues
affected people the world over. Selling remedies probably wouldn't make us
obscenely rich, but it would definitely help us race in some extra income. I
decided that we should dedicate some resources to harvesting the raw
materials for the medicine, so that they could be refined within Babylon.
I told Flora my idea, and then instructed her to teach some of Tsubaki's
subordinates about how to refine the ingredients and make the superior
medicine. They were ninjas, so they obviously would've had a basic medicinal
knowledge already, so I picked out the most medically inclined of them and
assigned them to the alchemy lab. With that, we were ready to begin mass
production of refined medicines.
I headed back to the castle with Cesca and Flora, and immediately went to see
Leen so I could consult with her about what Ende had told me.
If we wanted to get technical, Leen was only the ambassador to my country
from Mismede, but I considered the Phrase to be an issue that transcended
national borders.
"...So there's a Sovereign Phrase... an invasion from another world... and a
world boundary, you say?" Leen sat back in her chair, letting a heavy sigh
escape her mouth. She was clearly surprised. Paula stood next to her, arms
folded.
"I've lived a very long time indeed, but this is the first I've heard of such
things... Usually I would ask you to stop joking around, but... the evidence here
is overwhelming, so I'll unhappily concede that you're telling the truth."
"Well, there's always the possibility that Ende fed me a bunch of lies. I'm still
trying to figure out if that's the case."
"Regardless, there'll be people that won't believe it even if it is true... Right up
until the Phrase begin tearing their families apart, that is."
She was right. There'd definitely be some who, even if they acknowledged
that the Phrase existed, would only view them as a new species of monster.
We'd only met three types, after all. The Cricket Phrase in the ancient ruins, the
Manta Phrase in the Rabbi Desert, and the Spider Phrase in the Sea of Trees...
Ah, there was also the snake one that Leen and the soldiers had encountered in
Mismede.
It was possible that there were more Phrase in the world that Ende had killed
already, though.
If we sat around twiddling our thumbs then we'd be dead the moment the
boundary failed. We'd need to make preparations before it was too late.
Those preparations currently hinged on searching for the remaining Babylon
pieces, and collecting the raw materials required to build a Frame Gear.
"We've been trying to find information on ancient ruins, that much is sure.
Please allocate more resources to the hunt. I've found many structures, but
most of them are just abandoned buildings without anything of note within
them. It's somewhat disheartening to constantly fail, understand?" Whoops...
right... in the end, only Leen's subordinates had been sent out to look. I should
probably actually send some guys out to do that too.
After bidding goodbye to Leen, I went to visit Kohaku and the other beasts to
ask if there'd be a creature suited to summon for scouting operations.
"If you assk me, it ssshould be the oness that fly up in the sssky, no? They're
very fassst, and can go to a great many placess." Kokuyou made an interesting
proposal. I hadn't considered summoning birds for the hunt, but they were
definitely versatile enough.
"Master, it would take quite some time to contract with each and every bird
individually. Might I recommend forging a pact with the one that governs the
entire race instead?"
"Hm. Sango... You're proposing our liege summon that one?" Kohaku cut in
on Sango's speech. I wondered just what they were referring to. "The Flame
Monarch. The same as us, a monarch with wings. One that controls fire. If you
summoned and successfully contracted with the Flame Monarch, you'd have
thousands of birds immediately at your disposal."
I see... Kohaku's the leader of the beasts, Kokuyou and Sango collectively lead
reptilian creatures... They can summon and control monsters of this type
without any real problem, and generally make use of them. That power is mine
by extension. Though the control doesn't stretch to magical beasts like
Thunderbears or King Apes.
So basically, it's the bird version of that.
"What kind of person is the Flame Monarch?"
"Despite their moniker of roaring fires, the Flame Monarch is kind and calm.
Of us, they are the one with the noblest character." Kohaku began to speak well
of the bird, but Kokuyou suddenly butted in with a sly grin.
"Are you ssssure? I'm fairly certain that I'm the one with the bessst
perssonality here, sweetie."
"Be silent. You're quicker to boil than a pot."
"You take that back, bitch!" Just like that, Kokuyou was brought to boil. What
an apt comparison.
After the two of them calmed down, I decided to call upon the Flame
Emperor.
I drew up the summoning circle in the courtyard and began to focus my dark
magic. Eventually, a black mist began to form in the air around us. Kohaku and
the others began to channel their own magic into the fog. I focused my magic
even further, and the misty fog became thicker.
"Thee who governs the scalding summers, and the roaring flames. Thee who
governs the shores of lakes, and the southern winds. I implore you, present
yourself before me." The fog began to swell with tremendous magical power,
and a cylinder of roaring fire emerged from the magic circle. The vortex blew all
the fog away, and eventually dispersed to reveal a huge, red bird.
It was about the size of a horse. It looked almost identical to what I could only
describe as a Phoenix. This was the Flame Emperor.
"Ah, it's you fellows. How nostalgic, it has been some time."
"Indeed it has, Flame Emperor."
"Long time no sssee, flamey baby."
"A flashy entrance as ever, Flame Emperor." The Flame Emperor's voice
sounded a bit like a gentle young woman's. She definitely seemed calm and
regal, without being aloof. Kohaku might've been right about her.
"Was it you that summoned me, boy?"
"That's right."
"This man is our lord, Mochizuki Touya." The Flame Emperor made an
expression that I assumed was bird for 'surprised.' But, after some time spent
gazing at me, she closed her eyes.
"So be it. As the master of the White Monarch, and the master of the Black
Monarch, I know now that you will likely qualify for any challenge I give you. Let
us make a contract. I will become subordinate to you, there is no need to test
you, for you have already passed. Mochizuki Touya, my liege... grant unto me a
name."
What...? That sure went smooth. She doesn't want anything from me? That's
a first. But I'm definitely not gonna complain about it. Kohaku was right about
you, lady... you're the best of the lot as far as character goes.
I still had to think of an name, though. I had Kohaku, Sango, and Kokuyou, and
they were all named after precious stones, so... I knew what I had to do.
"Kougyoku. That's the name I've chosen for you. It means Ruby, a crimson
stone. How about it?"
"Kougyoku... I'll readily accept it, then. From hereon, that is my name." With a
poof, the Flame Emperor transformed herself into a small bird, around the size
of a parrot, and landed on my shoulder. That size was much more agreeable to
me. She wasn't likely to cause chaos as a tiny bird.
At any rate, I decided to actually do what I had set out to do to begin with.
I loaned Kougyoku's power and summoned about a thousand birds at the
same time. They were all different size and species, but I sent them all off to the
four corners of the sky regardless.
I telepathically ordered them all to inform me if they came across any
suspicious-looking ruins, monuments, or facilities. I hoped from the bottom of
my heart that they'd find something, and fast.
It was all up to them at that point, all I had left was my hope.
◇ ◇ ◇
Some time had passed since I'd sent out my avian scouts, but none had
reported back with anything of note. The boundary of the world was on the
verge of tearing, and there was nothing I could do...
Even though God managed the worlds, he definitely had it rough. I hated that
some people had the audacity to blame him for being inattentive. If you have a
big collection of books and a bug starts eating through one of the pages of one
of them, how would you know until you checked again? It's not like he could
keep an eye on a specific page just in case there might've been a bug nibbling at
it.
"Can't you use your search magic to look for that Sovereign Core, Touya?"
Once again I sighed toward Elze.
"How many times do I have to tell you? I can't find something that I haven't
seen, especially not if I only have a vague grasp on what it actually is. If I even
knew its shape or size or something it might help me form a mental image, but
it's inside a human to begin with, so there's no way of me working that out."
My search spell definitely wasn't accurate. It depended on my subjective
criteria, after all. Let's say there were two people in front of me. If one was a
woman, and the other was a man who had used magic to disguise himself
perfectly as a woman, the search spell would still list him as a woman.
If it was a guy who had poorly disguised himself as a woman, it would judge
him as a man, though, because that's what I'd see him as. That being said, it
would sometimes slip up and judge a woman as a man if she had a particularly
strong jawline or mannish features...
In other words, it only searched by my own standards. Also, a strong enough
magical barrier could negate it. I could search for things that were "similar,"
but... How would I even know what was similar to the Sovereign Core to begin
with if I have no initial frame of reference? If I walked over to a rock and
asserted to myself, "This is the Sovereign Core," then I'd probably get results for
that term all over the world wherever there were rocks like that one.
"At any rate, it's not like I can take care of it that easily." I muttered quietly as
I used my reshaping spell in the middle of the training grounds. It's not like I
could do anything, so there was no point moping. Instead, I focused on
reshaping the leather in my hands.
"Milord, what's this?" Before I'd noticed him there, Logan was talking to me.
He had a wooden training sword in one hand, and was wiping his face with the
towel he held in the other. He was, of course, referring to what I held in my
hand.
"This is a glove, Logan. I was thinking of teaching the children in the town how
to play baseball."
"A... glove?"
"For catching, I mean... bah, here, I'll just show you instead." I took out a ball
I'd made earlier, threw it against the castle wall, then caught it in my glove
when it bounced back. I hadn't worn a baseball glove since I was in elementary
school, but the feeling still... fit like a glove.
"This is how you play, see? You gotta catch the ball. Usually the game has nine
players facing off against another nine, though."
"Huh..." I made another glove and gave it to Logan. We tried to play a basic
game of catch. He missed the first few times, but quickly got the hang of it. I'd
noticed it a few times, but the people of this world were definitely quick on the
uptake.
The other soldiers started looking at us with envious eyes as they finished up
their training. Sensing that, I had the ball and glove copied in the workshop and
the copies were distributed to everyone. Vice-Commander Nikola smiled wryly,
but their training was done for the day so he couldn't do anything. I still felt a
little sorry, for some reason.
I started counting up the amount of people there were. We had enough for
baseball, so I decided to ask if they wanted to play. They might even end up
finding it fun, I hoped.
I took everyone who had free time along with me, and I created a baseball
field to the west of the castle. I constructed the bases, a batter box, and a
pitcher mound.
I crafted new bats, mitts, and protectors for everyone, then taught everyone
the basic rules of baseball. I didn't actually know the rules that thoroughly,
though, so I made a point to consult the final details on my smartphone later.
For the time being, I decided just to wing it and take the position of referee.
The game finally began, and I watched them go at it.
To be blunt, it went terribly for the most part. There were a ton of strikeouts
and dead balls. Nobody ran properly, and ended up walking to the bases. But,
gradually, they began to get the hang of it. They started hitting the ball properly
with the bat. They were finally displaying the finesse I'd have expected from
experienced swordsmen. And, as the offense grew, the defensive players began
to shine as well.
They kept screwing up to begin with, sure. There was a lot of fumbling around
and falling. But, through trial and error, they gradually improved their form. I
was pretty surprised by how well they ended up doing, but then I remembered
these men were all soldiers at near-peak physical fitness levels. These guys
were very proficient athletes.
I popped open a portal and called the children from the town over. I'd
decided that the soldiers had begun playing well enough to deserve a proper
audience. I briefed them on the rules as I made some spectator stands for them
to sit in.
"You hit it, go for it!!
"Run!"
"Do your best, team!" The kids got into the spirit of the game and began
yelling and cheering. The Knights began to cheer on their respective teams with
newfound vigor.
"What're you doing, dumbass?! Throw it to first base!"
"Look up at the ball, put your hand up!"
"Switch places, switch with me!!" The knights, for the most part, were
actually jeering at the enemy teams. I wished they were a bit more childishly
innocent, like the kids.
I didn't really go into the rules too deeply, so people started making blunders
here and there that I wasn't entirely certain about. I had to learn more about it
later.
"Well, just so long as they're having fun..." As everyone got absorbed in the
action, I started finishing up the stadium. I finished an outfield fence, a
scoreboard, and a net to catch any stray balls. I was quite proud of it, when all
was done.
It was getting dark, so it was about time to call it a night. I left the baseball
equipment with the knight order and told them they were free to play in the
stadium when they had time to kill. As for the kids, I made smaller equipment
for them to play with when they visited. I didn't make any special facility for
them, or anything. There was more than enough land for them to play amateur
baseball on.
The next day, off-duty knights began making frequent trips to the stadium in
order to play. They'd already split off into several teams, from the looks of
things. They were even setting up little leagues. Their teams had the names of
monsters, like "The Griffins" and "The Salamanders," which made me think that
the people of this world really weren't all too different from the people of mine.
Whenever there was an issue with the rules, people would come and consult
me about it. But every time they did that, I had to look it up on the internet. I
decided to cut out the middleman and just make a rulebook, but there were a
few problems.
I could use one of my spells to transcribe the text into paper, but that also left
the issue of converting Japanese into this world's language. Not to mention the
fact that I'd need to sift through everything to remove confusing words like
"America" or "Major League," I didn't want people getting really muddled.
Eventually, as the regular townsfolk began showing an interest in baseball as
well, they all started to come up and watch the games be played. Some of them
started joining in after a while as well. And, sensing the opportunity to make a
pretty penny, the Mismedian merchant, Olba, negotiated with me for the sales
rights to baseball and baseball accessories.
I agreed to the deal, since I didn't really see a reason to decline. He would
produce them elsewhere, and a percentage of the profits would make their way
back to my country. It was very much a similar deal to the one we'd made about
the spinning tops. Back then I wasn't sure about the widespread appeal, but the
spinning tops had become a hit with kids in several nations, so it was possible I
was about to begin a baseball craze too.
At the monthly alliance meeting with the other western national leaders, the
loud cheering from the station caught the attention of the emperors and kings.
The moment I showed them the source of the excitement, they fell head over
heels for baseball.
I offered each national leader a set of baseball equipment, though it was
more fair to say that they all bothered me for some. Each country created a
national baseball team. And, just like clockwork, the game became very
popular. Baseball as a sport became a casual activity in almost every developed
nation. Who could've seen that one coming?
When people had free time, they'd band together with their friends and form
teams, and then they'd play against other teams. Their family members and
other friends would watch them play. It seemed like cheerleading was starting
to naturally catch on as a consequence as well... It didn't look like professional
baseball leagues were far off, if I was honest.
I never quite expected it to blow up to the extent that it did, but Olba told me
it was his intention and anticipation from the beginning.
"I had no idea it'd be this successful..."
"Your Highness, it's something you began, so naturally it would be a smash
hit. If you'll pardon the joke." Olba answered me with a small chuckle. He was
right. I'd completely forgotten how devoid of entertainment this world was.
There wasn't really much variety in general life, let alone sports. That was
honestly a little sad, if you asked me. It made me wonder if I'd be able to sell
anything if I marketed it as a "fun game."
"Now then, if you have yourself any other bright ideas... please do not
hesitate to ask my company for assistance in sales and distribution..."
"Mm, well, I actually have a lot of ideas right now. But I'm not sure if they'll all
sell..."
"Ohoho... How very interesting..." I saw a devious glint in Olba's eyes just
then. That was probably his senses as a trader. I decided to make use of that
keen eye.
"But, that aside for a minute... I'm going to need metals. Copper, iron, silver,
mithril, orichalcum, and hihi'irokane... Can you use your trade connections to
get these at decent prices?"
"Metals, eh? Well, I think there's a particular trader who can get me these on
the cheap, yes. How much do you need?"
"I need them indefinitely, for now at least. From now on, please use my cut of
the profits from any inventions I give you to purchase these materials for me." I
decided to start preparing well in advance for the Frame Gear, that way even if
it needed a ton of materials it shouldn't be a problem. I decided to start
stockpiling. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get enough materials to make a Frame
Gear if I only focused on gathering materials alone.
"It seems you must have a sufficient reason, then... I'll begin searching for the
relevant materials. Color me intrigued."
"Thanks for your understanding. So then, on to the goods. They're called the
yo-yo, the hula-hoop, the hopscotch, and the ball-and-cup."
"I've never heard of these before. Can you tell me more?" I made a yo-yo and
tried to use it in order to show Olba how it was. The plastic types were the best,
but I had to make one out of wood. I ended up crafting the other toys too, and
demonstrated them all to him one by one.
With that, I'd secured the funds to acquire materials for the Frame Gear. I felt
a little bit awkward using sales proceeds of other people to fuel my project,
though. I decided to kill a Mithril Golem later on to make myself feel better, it
probably wouldn't be much of a challenge compared to the first time I went up
against one, though...
At any rate, things were starting to look up.