A barrage of bullets rained down upon the remains of the Steel Battalion that
were scattered around the wastes. These bullets were being fired at a rate of
several-hundred-per-second from a Gatling gun attached to the right arm of a
great, dark mecha. Leen's Frame Gear, Grimgerde, was ready to roll.
Nikola's Knight Baron had a similar Gatling gun, but Leen's was a little bit
different and had a broader spread, so it was still pretty unique.
Grimgerde's chest piece distorted, causing the two Gatling guns installed
around the center to blow a conflagratory hail of bullets.
Then, both of the shoulders opened up on either side, revealing missile pods.
They promptly began to fire out into the air. In tandem with this motion, hinges
on the legs opened up to reveal yet more missiles, and they shot out their
payloads as well.
Each fingertip on the left hand was also spewing machine gun fire, and the
Vulcan rotary installed on the Frame Gear's head was firing off at full pelt as
well. It was truly a hail of bullets, like something out of a sci-fi movie.
"Good lord, how horrifying..." We'd been using broken units from the Steel
Battalion as target practice, I'd simply pulled them out of [Storage], but the full
force of Leen's Grimgerde was reducing them to scrap metal in a matter of
seconds.
Grimgerde finished firing and finally came to a halt. I could see steam rising
from its form, a testament to just how hot it had become in the process.
"How many bullets was that...?"
"Only around fifty-thousand, so not many, sir."
Not many... Seriously? I looked at Rosetta, positively speechless. I didn't really
know what to say at all. The thing was downright unstoppable. I had doubts
even Elze's Gerhilde or Yae's Schwertleite could do anything against a head-on
barrage like that... Even if their phrasium armor helped defend them, they'd still
sustain serious damage.
I was pretty sure that Sue's Ortlinde Overlord would be able to take it,
though.
"Well, sir! It's good, but there are drawbacks! After a full-power volley like
that, the Frame Gear will need to enter a few minutes of cooldown in order to
restore itself to full functioning order, sir! That'll create an opening where it's
vulnerable to attack, yessir it will."
"Indeed, Rosetta's right. The Frame Gear is also designed in such a way that it
eats through magic at an enhanced rate. Leen should be okay, but I think only
she, you, and Linze would be able to handle a Frame Gear of this type." Rosetta
and the Professor raised some fair points. Magic fatigue was something we'd
have to be careful of. It was, after all, pretty much the same thing as
continuously invoking the [Explosion] spell.
"It's so hot!" The hatch on the Frame Gear's stomach opened, and Leen
hopped out with Paula in tow. Paula toddled out of the opening and rolled on
to the ground.
You okay there...?
"It's like a sauna in there, good grief!"
"Ah, sorry sir! Sorry, ma'am! I forgot to install a cooling unit for the cockpit!"
Rosetta grumbled to herself.
Geez, you dummy. That's dangerous. If the cockpit ended up superheated,
she'd bake in there like an oven-cooked chicken!
"Also, I could barely hear the radio in there, it was such a racket..."
"Hmm... So we should soundproof it too, gotcha. I'll set it so you can toggle it
on and off based on the situation." The cockpit was right next to the twin chest
Gatlings, so it was no wonder she hated the noise.
This Frame Gear was definitely our greatest work as far as large-scale damage
went, but it had the disadvantage of catching friendly units up in its fire as well.
It wouldn't really be good for group deployments, so we'd probably want to
only use it for cases where it was one versus many.
"This is certainly the best Frame Gear I've ever piloted. But it's still pretty slow
to handle..."
That's because it's almost as heavy as Sue's Ortlinde! It has to be, in order to
withstand the shock of firing so much.
Whoooooosh...!
"Hm?" I looked up into the air and saw a blue fighter jet flying overhead.
It began to slow down and descend, transforming into a more humanoid form
as it landed.
It was Linze's Frame Gear, Helmwige.
The chest hatch opened, and out popped Linze. Helmwige was a Frame Gear
with sharp angles to it. This allowed it to easily shift and convert into a jet
plane. The idea was inspired by a mecha anime I'd seen.
"How was it? Are you used to flying it yet?"
"I believe so, at least a little... I didn't get too fast with it, though." Linze
flashed me a stiff smile. If she got used to piloting Helmwige, then she wouldn't
be able to complain about me bringing her along with [Fly].
"Well, sir! Ma'am Leen and ma'am Linze are effectively equipped with their
Frame Gears, sir! What about the Frame Gears still needed for ma'am Lu,
ma'am Sakura, and ma'am Yumina?" Rosetta flashed me a salute as she listed
off the names.
"Doc Babylon didn't decide on which one to make next?"
"I suppose Sakura would be the next one if I was to decide. I'd like to make it
a support-type Frame Gear that transmits sound. Magic is ineffective against
the Phrase, but using sound-based support magic on allied Frame Gears? That
would be valuable. We'd be able to increase Frame Gear speed and durability
that way. We'll make a Frame Gear that can project her voice to the entire
battlefield."
"A support-type Frame Gear with a focus on area-of-effect, sir!"
Hmm, it's kind of like my [Multiple] spell, only more broad. Well, back in the
olden days they used to raise the morale of soldiers by playing war music, right?
I guess it's the same principle this time, just with vocal magic.
"Alright, then get to work on Sakura's Frame Gear."
"Copy that." I sent Grimgerde and Helmwige back through to Babylon with
the Doctor and Rosetta. I, on the other hand, went through a portal back to the
castle with Linze and Leen.
The day's testing was over.
But I completely forgot about Paula...
After I returned to the castle, I passed by the training field and saw a bunch of
exhausted newbies on the ground. They'd been training to their limit.
Moroha's intensive boot camp had ended a little while ago, but they were still
dedicated to their morning and evening training.
Most of them were still being put through the wringer by Moroha herself
every morning and evening. They passed the exam, though, so naturally, they
were all prepared to give it their all.
"[Mega Heal], [Refresh]." I healed all their wounds and got rid of their
fatigue, too.
They all noticed me as soon as their fatigue vanished, and every one of the
newbies bowed in my direction.
"Good work, twerps! Morning training's over and done! Get showered, get
fed, and take up your posts!"
"Yes, ma'am!" The knights all filed away from Moroha and headed toward
their gender-separated shower rooms.
They had showers and an enclosed bath that I'd created by magically
transporting water from a natural hot spring in one of Belfast's mountain
ranges.
I was granted permission by the royal family, of course. I even installed a bath
in the Belfast royal castle as thanks.
That reminded me, I wanted to talk to Kousaka about building a proper public
bathhouse.
The newbies had already been assigned to their duties. Those in the castle
guard would deal with entertaining visitors and would also be expected to fight
or detain intruders. Those assigned to the town watch were expected to patrol
the castle town and help out any citizens. The ones assigned to our intelligence
corps were to train their social skills and focus on data-gathering.
Those more suited for clerical work and agricultural reclamation had already
been sent over to their positions.
On top of those duties, we decided to have most of them train in the Frame
Units, just in case.
We had over two-hundred knights, and the vast majority of them knew at
least the fundamentals of piloting a Frame Gear. We exempted Samsa the ogre
and the lamia sisters from this training, though. They couldn't reasonably fit
into the cockpit. Also, the non-combatants, such as the office workers and
farmers, didn't have to do Frame Gear training either.
We had no idea when the Phrase would appear next, so preparing for the
future was the wisest choice. All we had to do was keep on working.
◇ ◇ ◇
"A fishery, huh?"
"Yup, a fishery." I sat in my office, mulling over Kousaka's most recent idea.
By fishery, he meant a way to catch a bunch of fish. I don't know when he got
the idea, but it was true that there wasn't much in the way of seafood in our
country.
"Do you plan on catching fish from the river?" Brunhild was landlocked and
had no seas bordering it. We did, however, have a big river running through our
territory.
"Not the river, no. My idea was to have the fishermen collect large hauls from
the sea, and then sell them for high profit."
"Huh? But we don't have any sea access..."
"Hm? Of course we do. On the other side of those dungeon portals."
"Oh!" He was right. The dungeons on the other side of the portals in Brunhild
were beneath a nexus of islands. That was Brunhild territory, too.
We'd be able to harvest plenty of fish over there. There was no access to salt
water in Brunhild's main living area, so it'd probably sell well. I wouldn't mind
getting me some sashimi, either.
"I see, I see. Good idea, then. So you wanna build a harbor on one of the
islands?"
"Quite. The islands are small, so we likely won't be able to create anything
huge, though. Plus, there are magical beasts on some of the islands, which
could pose an issue."
Hmph... I guess I could go chase them all down until there aren't any left, and
then sell their raw materials... But I'd feel a little bad taking away opportunities
for adventurers. Then again, I don't think there are any fishermen who would
work under such dangerous conditions.
"What if I erect a barrier that repels magical beasts?"
"That would do nicely. We'd need to do further investigation, though. There
could well be aquatic menaces to deal with as well." That was a fair point as
well. We didn't want any of our fishing boats getting trashed by sea-based
monsters.
In the end, I decided to summon a Kraken or a Sea Dragon, and give it the
order to hunt down any potentially dangerous monsters or beasts in the area.
"What about the fishermen themselves?"
"I'll handle all of that. I can't say for sure just how rich in fish the seas around
those islands are, anyway. I'll need to run preliminary checks." I decided to
permit it, provisionally, at least.
I guess I'll summon a Kraken or a Sea Dragon or something tomorrow, then.
I'll summon a Sea Serpent, actually. One like the Dragon who helped me out
near the Kingdom of Egret. Then, he can stay around the islands and act as their
protector. If it's one of Luli's subordinates, then it'll be just fine.
While I'm at it, I'll have him keep any weird looking ships at bay, too. I don't
want another case of slavers coming in. It was bad enough the first time.
I checked over the various reports on my desk after Kousaka left. The voice of
the people was pretty important when you were ruling over them, so they
needed to be heard.
Guildmaster Relisha would also send me information on current events
around the world through the smartphone I'd given her.
"Man, if this was back on Earth, then I could've just browsed the world news
online..." Each national ruler had a smartphone, and often they would send me
their own information as well. The emperor of Regulus sent me formal
information about the engagement between his daughter and the king of
Felsen, and the king of Belfast sent me information about how Prince Yamato
was finally walking. He'd attached a little photo of the kid, too.
Conflicts across the continent had slowed down considerably since the
founding of the alliance. Everyone was starting to find common ground.
Whenever two countries had a dispute, they'd often turn to me to find the
middle ground, too.
Belfast and Mismede were quickly growing their relationship, and Regulus
and Roadmare had never been on better terms. Even Ramissh was ending its
anti-immigration policy, and Lihnea was establishing friendly relations with
Palouf to the north. Things were looking up.
I looked over these letters and noticed a distinct pattern, however. Phrase
activity was on the rise in almost every nation. It was mostly just Lesser
Constructs, so they were taken care of by parties of red-rank adventurers.
Hm... What rank was I when I killed my first Phrase, anyway... Huh... Wait a
sec...
Something suddenly came to mind, so I opened up my smartphone and
projected my photo gallery into the air. I scrolled back to a photo I'd taken long
ago. Sure enough, the writing on the wall that I'd been unable to understand
was still there, preserved in the shot.
It only just occurred to me that I could decipher this with [Reading]. I'd need
to know what kind of language it was, though. It was possible that Fam would
know more. I decided to hop up and head to the library for more information.
Still, if the language didn't exist five-thousand years ago, she could be in the
dark about it. But it was true that the language wasn't known to any native
Belfastian, and the ruins didn't have their origins in Belfast either. It was worth
a shot.
But still, that only raised more questions... Who made those ruins? Why build
such a place? How did the Phrase get sealed down there to begin with?
It was no good, I couldn't stop thinking about it.
I headed straight toward the library in search of Fam.
◇ ◇ ◇
"I have never seen any language resembling this in my life." I spoke with Fam
about it, but she gave me a pretty curt reply.
"They vaguely resemble the Hidden Letters of Arthema. It's certainly not
Parthenese... These letters definitely didn't exist before the collapse of Doctor
Babylon's civilization."
"So the language must've been invented after civilization collapsed back
then?" Leen, who was reading a book, suddenly chimed in from across the
room. Paula wasn't around, for some reason.
"The issue is that this language is a blind spot, an anomaly in the
understanding of my library, and your world. I hypothesize that such letters
were used only by a small group who died out relatively quickly." We'd found
the ruins in the former capital of Belfast. But the letters weren't Belfastian at
all. It was possible that this small group had created the underground ruins, but
for what purpose? And what did it have to do with that sealed Phrase? "What
were you saying about the Hidden Letters of Arthema?"
"It is a language I cannot read. The language was used by a small culture that
didn't leave behind any written evidence. I have only come across parts of their
writing in tangentially related works." That was a bother. It was possible that
the culture's descendants were the ones who made the ruins, though. So it was
worth a shot. I decided to try deciphering it.
"[Reading]: Hidden Letters of Arthema." The letters slowly became
recognizable after I cast the spell. I could understand them at least partially.
It kind of felt like vaguely understanding Chinese through knowledge of
Japanese kanji because of the shared lettering.
Though it was possible that the letters used here would have different
meanings to the letters used in the original Arthema language.
karen, meant something akin to
"lovely." It could be used to describe a pretty girl. But if you read the same
lettering in Chinese, it would be interpreted as kho-lien, and
would mean something more like "pitiful." That's what my grandpa told me, at
least.
The writing here felt like a similar kind of discrepancy. I could make out bits
and pieces of the words, but not whole sentences.
"Our red... The glimmering monster... Sacrificed... City... Uh... Tiny? Black,
and... Knight? Black Knight...? Time and space... Repaired... Returned... Er, no...
Left... Repeating... Corpses...? Spilling...?"
"Red and black? What's that all about?"
Hmph. This is a bit difficult. The glimmering monster is probably the Phrase.
The city is probably the former capital. But what's the Black Knight? A Frame
Gear? Sounds like a Knight Baron... But what about the small part?
Given that it says our, I guess the guy was writing on behalf of all the people
at the time, but that doesn't answer much. No idea what the red part after our
is all about... Maybe they meant to identify the group? Like our red-haired clan,
or something...?
The repaired part has my attention, though. Did they fix the world's boundary
somehow?
From what I could vaguely conclude, this red tribe might have had the ability
to repair the world boundary. It might've even been an artifact or something.
"I didn't really learn anything."
"You did not." The Phrase had definitely appeared a thousand years ago and
destroyed the former capital. That much was certain. Someone must have
defeated them back then or at least held them back enough to repair the
boundary protecting the world.
I wanted to know what the deal was.
"How about you, Leen? Know anything about Belfast's situation a thousand
years ago?"
"I'm afraid I've got nothing. We Fairies didn't venture out from our own home
territory for quite a long time. I doubt even the current elders would know.
Belfast's history isn't recorded up to that point, as far as I'm aware." It was no
good. I was hoping there'd be some really ancient fairies. Sure, five-thousand
years would be unreasonable, but I'd thought maybe some of them could've
lived for a couple thousand years.
It seemed like species with longevity mostly kept to themselves in this world,
so they were useless to learn global history from. They were the kinds who
simply didn't get involved with others.
The Demon Kingdom of Xenoahs was a prime example. They didn't ask, they
didn't tell.
It was just one of those things. I couldn't do anything about it.
All I could do right now was continue doing what I was doing. Doctor Babylon
and the gynoids were working on the Frame Gears, while Lain and Moroha were
working on whipping our knights into shape. All I could do for the time being
was... Well, negotiate trade with Olba and try to increase funds. That was a little
depressing, I thought I was more valuable.
As I pondered such things, my phone began to vibrate. It was Guildmaster
Relisha.
"Hey, 'sup?"
"Sorry to bother you, I know you must be busy... But there's an emergency!"
"Hm? What is it?"
"A Behemoth has emerged."
A Behemoth. Also known as a mutated beast. Magical beasts that very rarely
appeared, but they were always monstrously huge. I faced off against
Scorpinas, a twin-tailed scorpion Behemoth a while ago. Naturally, I defeated it
in a Frame Gear.
"It's in the Elfrau Kingdom, more specifically in the Snorra ice plains. The
creature appears to be a mutated Snorra Wolf." Behemoths often gained
special abilities alongside their massive size. I didn't know if the ability caused
them to gigantify in the first place, or if it was a byproduct of gigantification.
When I fought against Scorpinas, it could shoot fierce, biting acid from its tail.
Regular scorpions could only muster up a weak venom.
From what I understood, this Snorra Wolf possessed a strange power as
well...
"The queen of Elfrau has called for aid against the Snorra Wolf, but the
situation is dire. It's already caused massive casualties to the Elfrau military. The
guild has also lost several red-rank adventurers and one silver-rank. It destroyed
a village two days ago, and shows no sign of stopping."
"It beat a silver-rank? Seriously?" There were only a few people in the world
on that level. I only got there after achieving the titles Dragon Slayer, Golem
Buster, and Demon Killer.
I got to gold-rank after killing Scorpinas, but that was mostly thanks to my
Frame Gear.
I wondered if the silver-rank guy was hoping he could kill it and become the
next gold.
"This request comes directly from the queen of Elfrau. How should I
respond?"
"It's a quest to me as a gold-rank adventurer, right?"
"That's right! Any gold-ranked adventurer can take it, since it's a formal guild
quest. The reward is vast, a hundred royal gold coins. They also say you can
have anything from the royal treasury! But at this rate, there won't be anything
left in Elfrau to save."
Hrmph... It's not like I have an obligation to save them or anything. I'm not the
only gold-rank in this world, either. There's that old retired perv, so he could
take it...
Damn it, if I don't do it, then innocent people are gonna get hurt.
If I'm thinking practically here, I should send two or three Frame Gears to take
care of it. Then I wouldn't have to go. Ah, but if I do that it won't be me acting
as an adventurer, it'll be me acting as a grand duke... People will assume I
ordered my knights to intrude on Elfrau and take it out.
Either would be fine since Elfrau would be saved, but I should go in person. I
don't want to cause an international incident. Plus there's some stuff I wanna
test out. Also, I don't wanna be known as the gold-rank guy who relies on his
Frame Gears to fight all the time, so I'll just go by myself this time. I should take
some time to actually fight using my body once in a while, otherwise Moroha
and the others will always be physically ahead of me.
"Alright. I'll take it. Send me a message with the location, got it?"
"Got it, thank you. I'll do that now." I closed the call with Relisha and
immediately called Kousaka to inform him of my trip to Elfrau. He seemed
surprised, I kind of figured he'd be used to it by now.
Hearing him get like that reminded me of this old show about an older man
who served a feudal lord. The man would sigh in disbelief every time his master
would leave the castle without permission to do something crazy. I used to
watch reruns of that show with my grandpa.
It was kind of funny that Kousaka and I had that kind of relationship the
characters in the show had.
"This Behemoth Snorra Wolf... It sounds interesting, take me with you."
"You wanna come, Leen?" This was a job for a gold-rank adventurer, but Leen
seemed pretty keen on coming with me, so I didn't see why not.
To be honest, Leen's magical mastery probably put her at gold-rank in terms
of skill anyway.
My smartphone chimed to signal the new message from Relisha; it was the
exact location of the Snorra Wolf. The Elfrau military had been tracking it,
apparently. They were keeping their distance from it because it could smell
them if they got too close.
The plan was to use [Gate] to move Leen and me to the little bit of Elfrau I
had been to in the past during my search for the Babylon pieces. After that,
we'd both use [Fly] to get to the snow plains.
"[Gate]." We left Fam behind in the library and came out in Elfrau. Holy hell is
it cold!
"B-Brr... C-Come forth, Fire... A Cozy Cloak Scatters Down: [Warming]!" Leen
immediately cast a spell to heat us both up to a comfortable temperature. I
really thought I was gonna die for a second...
It was unreasonably cold in Elfrau. A little detail I had completely forgotten
about, apparently!
"Good grief... You really are a fool, aren't you?"
"Y-You went through the portal unprotected too, Leen...!"
"...That aside, where's the Snorra Wolf?"
Hmph... Don't just brush off my comments! I grumbled a little as I opened up
my map and determined my current location.
"Let's see... We should track the Elfrau soldiers first." I'd never seen a
member of the Elfrau military before, but I was certain I'd be able to recognize
one at a glance. I was correct. They appeared on my map after I ran the search.
I held Leen in my arms and invoked [Fly] to head straight for their location, I
saw several of them in a forested area near the snowy plains.
We landed next to them swiftly.
"Hm?!" The Elfrau soldiers wore heavy winter coats and hats that resembled
Russian ushankas. They immediately pointed their weapons at me in confusion.
"I'm Mochizuki Touya, the grand duke of Brunhild. The queen of Elfrau has
requested I come here to kill the Snorra Wolf. This is Brunhild's court magician,
Leen. Who's in charge here?"
"The grand duke of Brunhild?!" My feet slowly sank into the snow. I definitely
wasn't dressed for the weather at all. I sighed quietly and pulled my card out of
my pocket.
"A golden guild card... Goodness..."
"If you want further proof, should I produce a Frame Gear?"
"No, no... Not necessary... I have heard that the queen sent out for aid. I am
the man in charge here, the name is Alexei." A man stepped forward from the
group of ten, he was a full head taller than the rest of them. They seemed to
accept me pretty readily, but I wasn't sure if they really believed what they
were seeing.
From what I was told later, Alexei's father worked at the guild office in Elfrau
and often talked about me due to my high rank. They'd been paying attention
to me without me even realizing.
Either way, I passed him my guild card so he could confirm it.
"So, where's the Snorra Wolf?"
"Just north of here. It has eaten many Brudboars out on the plains, and is
currently resting."
Brudboar...? Oh, I think I heard of them, those white wild pigs. Seems like this
Behemoth isn't exclusively attacking humans, at least... But indiscriminately
eating anything isn't really that good either. The longer it stays, the more
damage it'll do. Better wrap this up.
"C-Captain! The Snorra Wolf is coming!"
"Say what?!" A soldier holding a pair of binoculars points to an area behind
us. Then we saw it come into view. A massive white wolf, around twenty meters
long, was kicking up snow as it charged toward us.
"Welp, alright then! Time to fight!" It wasn't quite the size of the Behemoth
I'd fought last time. But it was still far bigger than a man. I didn't need to field a
Frame Gear.
"Let's go!" Leen jumped forward as if to guard the Elfrau soldiers, raising her
hand and charging her magic at the same time.
"Come forth, Wind! Sorcerous Stabbing Squall: [Air Impact]!"
Leen invoked an ancient Wind spell, and the enormous wolf was stopped midcharge and blown away. She'd evidently been brushing up on her ancient spells
in the library.
"This is my first time using it on a living target... It's less like a wall of wind and
more like a bullet, fascinating. This has good defensive applications." The
tumbling wolf fixed its balance and stood up to face us again. It stared me down
with golden eyes, howling loudly as its maw gaped open.
"Grawoooooo!" A large mass of ice began to form inside its mouth. It seemed
like this was the special ability it had developed when it became a Behemoth. It
roared again, sending the lumpy mass our way at incredible speeds.
Oh crap. That's bad!
There was no way for me to avoid it, either. The soldiers were right behind us,
after all.
"Burn forth, Wind! Gale of Flames: [Ignis Hurricane]!" A flaming vortex
emerged from thin air, melting the chunk of ice into nothing. The spell I'd cast
was one similar to [Fire Storm], but it was several times more powerful.
It was an ancient spell, known as a compound spell that fused both wind and
fire affinities. Over time it's likely that usage of the spell wasn't well understood
and became the basic Fire spell known as [Fire Storm] today.
Unless someone had both wind and fire in their affinities, they wouldn't be
able to use it. That brought with it a ton of disadvantages to offset its sheer
power.
"Spark forth, Ice! Frozen, Jolting Maelstrom: [Vortex Mist]!"
"Grrrgh!" A sparkling mist began to rise around the wolf. If it touched the
foggy mass, it'd be electrocuted. We'd immobilized it completely. The spell
Leen had cast was a compound magic designed for incapacitation.
I didn't want to use a Fire spell to finish it off, since that'd damage the value
of the corpse.
There was a new spell I wanted to try out, but it required physical contact, so I
had Leen disperse her spell.
The second the fog disappeared, the Snorra Wolf roared and charged straight
for me. It was extremely fast, but not fast enough.
I used [Teleport] to warp to the beast's side, then I delivered a [Power Rise]
infused kick to its ribs.
"Graugh, awrhhh!" I heard a snapping sound from its body, then a dull
crunch. Something inside it had broken. It fell to the ground, and I dashed
forward to place my palm on its neck.
"Wither, o Dark! Sap Life From My Enemy: [Energy Drain]!"
"Grawooo!" The Snorra Wolf's very life began flowing into me. It started to
die, and my body started to heal. The effect on me felt much like [Recovery]. It
was a little slower than a Healing spell, though. Probably because of how large
the beast was.
"Grargh!"
"Hmph!" I jumped back to avoid the bite. It tried to get up, but its knees were
weak. It was the end for the creature.
"Goodnight." I unholstered Brunhild from my waist and fired true into the
beast's chest. A divine bullet pierced its heart.
"Awooo..." It raised a tiny howl as life slipped from its mouth. With that, the
Snorra Wolf, terror of Elfrau, was dead.
I approached the wolf to ensure I'd finished the job, and sure enough, it
wasn't breathing anymore.
"That [Energy Drain] is quite the frightening spell..."
"You need to keep contact to make it lethal, you know? It was probably
meant to be more of an incapacitating spell, like my [Paralyze]." Leen had no
aptitude for darkness, so she couldn't use the spell. Yumina and Sakura were
capable, but they had no interest in learning about stuff like that.
Wh-Whoa, what's with that fur?! It's unbelievably soft! It's nicer thank mink,
holy shit! I mean, I've never actually touched mink, but it's softer than what I
imagine mink to be! This is gonna sell for a lot!
"G-Grand Duke... Th-The Snorra Wolf..."
"It's dead. You can come out now." I offered words of reassurance to Alexei
and his men, most of whom were hiding behind nearby trees. A few of them
ended up slumping to the ground in relief. That wasn't unreasonable on their
part.
Now all I had to do was show proof of my deed to the queen. I'd head to
Elfrau castle, show off the corpse, and be on my merry way.
I stashed the dead Snorra Wolf in [Storage], and then traversed Alexei's
memories with [Recall] so I could get information on Elfrau's capital, Slanien.
Then, I opened up a [Gate] that took us straight to Elfrau's royal castle.
It was seriously beautiful to see from the outside.
"We're in Slanien...?"
"So quickly...?" I asked for Alexei and his men to take me through to the
castle.
Elfrau castle was pretty gothic-looking in general, and it was smaller than
most of the castles I'd seen. It still had Brunhild castle beat in terms of size,
though. It just exuded elegance. It felt prim and proper.
We walked to the castle courtyard, and I took the Snorra Wolf's corpse out
from [Storage] as proof of my deed.
The castle guards stared in awe and disbelief at the size of this wolf.
Just as I was about to pull out my phone and call Relisha to report my success,
I heard a voice call out to me.
"You are Brunhild's grand duke, are you not?" I turned to face a woman with
long, blonde hair. Two soldiers stood on either side of her. She wore elegant
furs in pale cream tones and wore a beautiful circlet on her head. It was
adorned with green gemstones.
The thing atop her head was far too gaudy to be called a tiara, yet far too
meager to be called a crown. It shone bright like a diamond.
She looked to be in her mid-twenties, and her emerald eyes were trained on
me.
"...Right. I'm the grand duke of Brunhild, Mochizuki Touya. This is Leen, my
court magician. You must be the queen of Elfrau, I presume?"
"Indeed. My name is Fortuna Tierra Elfrau, queen of the Elfrau Kingdom. We
are indebted to you for coming to our aid." Though the queen was thanking me,
my eyes were focused on another part of her body entirely. Her pointy ears.
They were the same ears that Relisha had.
The queen of Elfrau was, in fact, an elf.
Aren't Elves forest-dwellers...? I know I'm not huge on fantasy, but still...
Oh, duh... The elf in Elfrau probably comes from elf. Although... Are there
many elves around here? I guess it's too soon to judge.
"Shall we? I have tea prepared for you."
"Ah, right." I followed after the elven queen into Elfrau Castle.
Elfrau castle was pretty warm, which led me to believe they'd cast some kind
of heating spell on the place. There weren't any fireplaces in sight, after all.
Nothing I could remotely identify as a heater in the big guest room I'd been led
to. Either way, they clearly had some kind of magical climate control. It was
nice, like air conditioning.
I'd been to a few castles in my time. Belfast, Mismede, and Regulus to name a
few, but they all paled in comparison to the beauty of Elfrau's. It felt like a
masterwork, as if not a single inch of the place was wasted. It's as if it was
designed to be luxurious and gaudy, but also intimate and delicate.
In a sense, it felt more like the glow of silver than the shine of gold.
I sat down on a nearby sofa with Leen, and a maid came into the room with
some tea. The queen sat nearby. She also brought a small pot of jam and a little
serving spoon for each of us.
That definitely reminded me of what I'd heard about Russian tea. I read about
it a while ago, apparently you're supposed to enjoy the tea by taking a little
spoonful of jam and then sipping the tea while it's still in your mouth. I watched
the queen's movements, and she did just that.
I didn't quite know how to do it, but I gave it a shot. I took the sweet jam into
my mouth, and then washed it down with the comparatively bitter tea. It was
an interesting combination of flavors and wasn't half bad at all. Leen also took
her tea this way and judging from her expression she liked it.
"Firstly, I would like to express my most esteemed gratitude for your
slaughtering of the Snorra Wolf. Given the sudden circumstances, I truly
appreciate your swift handling of the situation. Rest assured that you will be
fairly compensated for your deed."
"Ah, thanks. It was nothing, really." The queen looked like she was about to
go into a full-on bow, so I quickly tried to dispel that kind of atmosphere.
She seemed to notice, and she flashed me a smile.
"It was little Relisha who told you, right?"
"Hm? Are you familiar with her?"
They are both elves, I guess... Wait, is that racist? Hmm, maybe I got
contacted so quickly because the queen's an elf... Hmm... Maybe.
I kept on with my jam and tea as I pondered the intricacies of elf relations.
"Well, I suppose you could say I am familiar with her. She's my niece, the
daughter of my little sister to be precise." I almost spat the tea and jam out
right there and then.
Niece?! Relisha's aunt is the queen of Elfrau?! The queen let out a soft
chuckle; it seemed she'd caught on to my surprise.
"Relisha is my niece, yes. But she's not affiliated with this country. It's
somewhat amusing, and it's a sensitive topic these days, but... Don't you find it
a little strange that I, an elf, am queen of a nation?"
"Hm? Ah... W-Well, I suppose." She had me figured out, I'd been wondering.
"Elfrau was founded a little over a thousand-and-two-hundred years ago. The
land was harsh and inhospitable, but we were given hope by a lone adventurer.
He united with the Frau Clan, remnants of a ruined older nation, and founded
Elfrau with his own hands."
"An adventurer? Who...?"
"Heheh... His name was El Carterede. He was the first king of this nation, and
my husband."
"What?!"
Husband?! But that's... She's seriously that old...? That's older than Leen. No,
like twice as old...! Geez, lady. You only look like you're in your twenties.
"The name of this kingdom, Elfrau, comes from his name and the clan that
followed him. After he died, there was only myself. I was an adventurer, and I
knew what I needed to know about governance. The elder of the Frau Clan also
supported me, so I took the mantle of queen. Since then, I have reigned over
this nation. All to honor my husband's legacy."
"What about succession...? Forgive me for being rude, but your children?"
"We had none. There was many a time that I have lamented that fact... If we
could've only had a child before he passed."
Well, I guess succession issues weren't such a big deal for long-lived species
like elves. It's the same for Xenoahs, I guess... Though the overlord does have a
tentative heir, so it's a bit different.
...What about my kingdom, though...? I turned to Leen, pondering the future
of my nation.
If I end up becoming a god properly, then I probably won't die of old age... I
might end up reigning forever... Frankly, it might be better if I pass on the
mantle to my son and retire forever to Babylon or something.
Though, I don't know which one of my wives will give birth to a son... I guess if
he, or his son, or his son's son, does a bad job, I'll descend from the sky and kick
his butt.
"It must be a harsh duty, reigning for so long."
"It isn't as tough as you might expect. The Frau Clan are a gentle and peace loving people. They speak their mind, but not in a cruel or impolite manner.
Everyone here has a fairly open policy and a broad mind. We're typically free of
major disputes, and the land is so barren here that we're not at risk of other
nations coming to attack us. There might be little arguments here and there,
but I've been queen long enough that solving them is a trivial matter. I also
have a team of capable advisers." She had been there since the founding of the
nation, so it wouldn't surprise me if she was somewhat of a necessary symbol
for the country at this point.
Elfrau was around the same size as Ramissh, but most of the land was
uninhabitable. The uninhabitable land was the dominion of an Ice spirit, but it
was through keen negotiation and proof of skill that the spirit allowed land to
be granted to the people who would go on to found Elfrau.
Apparently, the queen herself was the one who negotiated with the spirit.
Leen informed me that Elves had an innate affinity for nature, and thus could
appeal more to the supernatural.
It seemed that if anything happened to the queen, then the contract would
be broken and the kingdom would regress to a land of inhospitable ice and
snow. A permanent frosted wasteland.
Still, it was interesting to hear more about spirits. This was the third time I'd
heard or seen about them, the first being the incarnation of darkness in
Ramissh, and the second being the tree spirit back during the Pruning.
I wanted to meet with this one sometime, too.
"Ah, yes. About that Snorra Wolf... Would you mind selling its remains to us?"
"To you?"
"Yes. Snorra Wolf pelts are extremely high-quality, and they're an uncommon
item. If you could, we'd ask you to part with it in exchange for compensation. I
think you'll find our offer more than generous."
"Sure, no problem. I can imagine it'd be needed more here than elsewhere
anyway." I wondered if she actually just wanted a nice fur coat, but I didn't
think too hard about it. The Snorra Wolf's meat was apparently tough and
gross, so it was no big loss to me.
"Thank you, then. If you could give us a little time to prepare your reward, I'd
appreciate it. In the meantime, I believe you were promised a treasury grant."
"Ah, yes."
Oh, right... Part of the reward was to take an item from the royal treasury.
The queen guided Leen and I down to the basement, and we finally came to
the treasury. There were a lot of items arranged orderly on shelves and in fancy
cabinets. There were items that could immediately be recognized as treasures,
but other items that simply made you blink in confusion.
I asked about various things, but there wasn't really much that caught my eye.
I was fairly sure that most of the stuff collecting dust in Babylon's storehouse
was more valuable than the things in here, after all.
Leen seemed a lot more engrossed than I, she was asking about all kinds of
things.
She looked down at one particular item and beckoned me over.
"Take a look at this."
"Hm...? What's... Oh!" What Leen had shown me was some kind of ax. It was
a little special, though. It was a heavy battleax with a red tint covering it
entirely.
But that wasn't what had caught her eye about it. It was the writing inscribed
on the handle.
It was the exact same lettering I'd seen back in Belfast. It absolutely
resembled the Arthema lettering, but was slightly different, just like the words
in the ruins. There was no mistaking it, this ax must have had some relation.
"Your Highness, what is this?"
"Ah, this was a gift given to us by another clan when Elfrau was founded."
"What clan was that?"
"If memory serves, they were the Arcana Clan. They referred to themselves as
the Red Folk. In their culture, the color red was regarded as sacred."
The Red Folk... That must be it, then. This matches up perfectly with what I
could piece together earlier.
Leen prodded me with her elbow as if to tell me to connect the dots already.
But I already did in my head!
"[Reading]: Hidden Letters of Arcana." I quietly invoked my linguistic spell.
What does this say... Dusk... Judgment...? I don't get it.
There wasn't much writing here, so I thought I'd be able to get it. But it
seemed like this language was slightly different as well. That was kind of a
problem. Arthema... then Arcana... Somewhere along the line, the tribe and
their language must have slightly changed, and it might have changed again
before they wrote the stuff in Belfast.
"Does this weapon have a name?"
"Ah yes, I believe this one is called the Twilight Condemner. It amplifies the
strength of the wielder at least tenfold."
Twilight Condemner... So my reading wasn't too far off, but it wasn't fully
accurate to the meaning. Damn, translation sure must be a difficult job. It looks
like a handy ax, but I don't really need it.
"Do you know if any of the Arcana Clan's descendants exist nowadays?"
"I'm not sure... They were a nomadic tribe, you see. I wouldn't be surprised if
there were living remnants or descendants of the tribe, if they successfully
found a good place to settle." Apparently, the queen hadn't met the Arcana
representatives in person, it was only her husband who had. I tried asking about
Belfast, but she had no knowledge of the country's state a thousand years ago,
either. Elfrau was pretty far from Belfast and Regulus, after all.
Hmph... Well, even if this isn't a perfect lead, I should count myself lucky to
have this much info on the Red Folk already.
"Would you perhaps like the ax?"
"Ah, no... I was just curious about its origins... Hey, what's this thing?" I
pointed toward a nearby pendant. It was a small oval, around three centimeters
in diameter. It resembled a pearl more than a diamond or gem.
"Ah, this is an artifact known as the Lifeblesser. If a woman wears it during
intercourse with her partner, then it massively increases the likelihood of her
conceiving a child. For some reason, no matter how I wore it when my husband
was... with me, it never bore any fruit. We did lend it to our household
retainers, and they easily produced heirs, however... It's possible there are
certain criteria you need for it to take effect."
Hm... Sounds like the guy might've been shooting blanks or something...
Obviously, I didn't say that out loud.
Still, this is kind of a perfect item in a way, isn't it? If a couple wants a kid but
hasn't been able to have one, this would really save them. Then again, it's not
like it guarantees pregnancy, just makes it more likely. I feel like if this kind of
thing was sold on the market, people would look at it suspiciously. Well, it's
clearly an artifact since it's full of magic power at least, but I can't tell its
effectiveness at a glance.
"You know, Grand Duke... You do have many fiancees, don't you? Perhaps
you ought to think about producing an heir soon enough." The queen offered
me some advice, probably from her personal experience.
One of those fiancees is right next to me, you know... Leen sort of leaned in a
bit, desperately trying to act calm, collected and indifferent. She was clearly
interested.
Hmm... Don't tell me that the reason I have a bunch of kids in the future is
because of this thing... Well, no... I'll have nine wives, so if you think about it like
that then at least nine kids is kind of a given.
I glared down at the pendant in front of me. I didn't really want my kids not to
be born, and I was comfortable with having a child with each of the women in
my life.
"Would you like it, then?"
Hmmm...
◇ ◇ ◇
"And that's how I got this thing, Duke Ortlinde."
"Ohoho!" I was at the Ortlinde estate, sliding the Lifeblesser across the table
toward the good duke.
In the end, I chose the pendant, said my goodbyes to Elfrau, split with Leen,
and headed straight for his estate.
Leen went back to the castle, and I was fairly certain all my wives-to-be would
know about the Lifeblesser before the day was up.
Well, I had no plans on using it yet at any rate.
"So you want to give this to me, lad?"
"Tentatively, yes. The queen gave me it, so it's mine to do with as I see fit.
Before I even think about using it, I'd like you and your wife to test it out."
"Ahaha... Then we're your experimental subjects, hm?" He wasn't exactly
wrong, honestly. Though apparently, it had worked for dozens of people in the
past without any negative effects, I was still curious to see it with my own eyes.
When Sue joined Brunhild as my bride-to-be, Ortlinde was left with no heirs.
In a way, I felt like I owed him, so I thought I'd help him make another one.
"You have those uh... vigor pills I gave you the other day, right?"
"Ohoho, yes I do. I gave a few out to some gentlemen I know, and they were
quite shocked by the results."
Well duh, anyone would be. They could make even the most wrinkly old fogy
sexually active and virile again. And it's even worse if you give it to a young guy,
since apparently they can go to town on a girl for three days and three nights
non-stop with them.
"Would you perhaps be interested in selling those pills to the general public?"
"Not right now, no." I didn't really want Brunhild being associated with big
dick energy. We were just a fledgling nation, so it'd be bad for our image. I
didn't want people calling me Pervy Duke, either.
"Anyway, I'm lending this to you for now. It'll work if your wife wears it during
the, uh... act. There shouldn't be any weird side-effects either, so I'll let you
have it for a year and see what happens."
"Is it fine for us to borrow one of Brunhild's national treasures? If it's just
testing, then we needn't keep it for the whole year, right?"
"Mm... Honestly, I still have my personal doubts about its effectiveness, so I
wanna see. It's not really a proper treasure of Brunhild, either. We haven't used
it. I'll register it as a national treasure once Sue's little brother or sister gets
born, right? Plus, it'll help out the Ortlinde household, so it's the least I can do."
To be honest, it would be impossible to prove whether or not any pregnancy
was caused by the item. I had my reservations about it, or maybe I just wanted
it to be fake... Hmph.
It's gonna be a serious hassle proving whether or not this thing actually works.
Is it even worth it? I sighed slightly, mulling over such thoughts as I looked over
at the smiling duke.
◇ ◇ ◇
I headed back to the castle, only to be greeted by Kougyoku flapping her
wings around the corner. I extended my left arm and let her perch there. She
was in her small parrot-like form, so the weight wasn't that bad.
"A message has come from one of my subordinates I sent to the island. But
there's something you need to know..."
"Hm? What is it?"
"Well, to be blunt. The island is swarming with Behemoths."
"I'm sorry, what?!"
Behemoths? S-Swarming? What? I expected some evolutionary differences,
but an island full of giant beasts is a little much...
"Are there any people there?"
"Yes. There are several locations on the island with erected barriers not even
the Behemoths can breach. Within these barriers are towns with living people
inside. There are four in total, one in each cardinal direction. In the center of
the island, there's a large structure that resembles a temple, connecting them
all."
Whoa, there are really people there? I bet the Sage of Hours is behind this,
given that it must have taken serious magic to put up barriers like that.
"What does the barrier do? Negate magic?"
"Not quite. It disperses magic. And there's an effect applied to the sea that
causes vehicles and people to lose their routes."
I see... So the barrier cuts off magic at the source, interferes with artifacts, and
even leads ships astray? Guess that explains why stuff would crash or lose their
way in the area.
It meant that [Gate] was probably possible for me, since having my magic
disrupted a little wasn't too big of a problem for my deep reserves.
I had a better understanding of the mysterious island thanks to that intel. I
was amazed people were living there, but now I had to figure out what to
actually do.
Kougyoku said it was swarming with Behemoths, so it was totally this world's
Galapagos.
I was super interested, as the mystery of the place wasn't lost on me. But on
the other hand, I was conflicted about actually interfering with them.
They might not have known anything about the outside world, after all. I
didn't want to create an incident by intruding on their territory.
"Hm... What to do." If I were a tyrant, I'd simply invade it under the banner of
expanding my territory. Or I could go in with attempts to open up trade, like
Commodore Perry and his black ships.
Come to think of it, 1853 was the year that all went down, right? There was a
mnemonic way to remember it, but I can't quite recall...
Even if I go in there and tell them I'm a ruler from a foreign land, they might
not entertain me. If I don't handle the situation right, they might even try to kill
me. Unless I leave an impact that has them thinking I'm someone amazing or
someone worth talking to, they probably won't give me the time of day.
There was always the option of going in with about a hundred Frame Gears...
But I wasn't so fond of that, since I'd just be doing what Commodore Perry
did. I didn't want to threaten them, but I almost felt like I might not have a
choice.
Then, there was the matter of whether or not it was right for me to take this
action alone. From a trade perspective, Hannock, Elfrau, and Palouf probably
wouldn't be interested in trading with them. Xenoahs was a no, as well.
Honestly, I wasn't even sure if there'd be merit in opening up trade with them
to begin with. Well... ultimately, I decided it was too soon to tell.
"Nothing we can do right now. Just keep up the scouting through your
subordinates for the time being. Collect info on their culture, and what kind of
society they have. Remember to be safe, though."
"As you wish."
It would be nice if the Sage of Hours left behind something of magical
importance...
He could've left a secret behind on that island.
I still didn't know what to do with the island, but if there was any possibility of
something like that, then I'd have to confront them someday. Even if there was
nothing there, I'd have to investigate.
When it came to saving the world, there was no such thing as a wasted
venture.
I affirmed my resolve there and walked down the hall.