The second day was well underway.
The baseball finals and the shogi placement matches were going on during
this day. In the morning there'd be the semi-final matches with Lestia vs
Mismede at stadium one, and Belfast vs Regulus at stadium two. Then, in the
afternoon, the winning teams would face off against each other in the final
match.
There was also going to be a third-place match around lunch. We made sure
the teams didn't get worn out, though. There were plenty of stamina potions on
hand from Flora and the alchemy lab.
The shogi matches were going to be going on from morning until night. We'd
had a startlingly large number of participants, more than we'd scheduled for.
Shogi did have time limits to the moves, but the rules were overly
complicated. I decided that we'd just give each player a maximum of two
minutes to make their turn.
We were able to enforce this through the use of magic shogi pieces that
turned grey after one minute, and then black after two. It was pretty simple.
If they played the turn before the piece turned black, they'd be safe.
Otherwise, they'd forfeit.
We also had an hourglass to show players exactly how much time they had
left.
Honestly, I wished for the tournament to go on a proper schedule, but there
were way more participants than we'd anticipated. Shogi was a game that cared
not for age or gender, so all kinds of people decided to give it a try. I was sure
that there'd also be people who would want to draw out their turns as long as
possible so they could think.
Either way, the preliminaries would be concluded today, and the winners
would end up going against each other and the special players I'd invited on the
third day.
The hall room was crowded with participants and spectators alike when I
arrived. A few of the invitees, like Dolan and the young king of Palouf, were
already keenly observing some of the matchups.
I personally didn't care all that much about shogi, so I was content just to
walk around a bit.
One of the participants had intentionally flipped the table over when he was
about to lose, but we had specialized shogi boards that recorded the positions
of each piece. His attempt was completely in vain... Disqualified, of course.
Some people really had no manners at all.
Old man Naito was in charge of overseeing these matches, but he was clearly
hungover from his partying the previous night.
"Yeah... Pretty sure he's still a little drunk, actually..."
"It still seems that everyone is enjoying themselves, it does. Look over there,
an older man is happily playing with a younger opponent, he is..." Yae pointed
over toward what was probably a grandpa and grandson playing a match of
shogi together. From the looks of things, the kid was giving the old man a
serious run for his money.
"Oh, that reminds me, Yae... Is it fine for you to be away from Jutaro?"
Yae and Hilde had ostensibly signed up for security detail with their families,
so I was curious why Yae was here instead of walking around with her brother
like Hilde was with her own.
"My brother will be working hard in the tournament tomorrow, he will. That
is why he has been training in the grounds since this morning, he has. I do not
wish to bother him, so... I... I thought I would join you today, Touya-dono..." Yae
blushed slightly as she interlaced her fingers together. I certainly had no reason
not to go along with her, so I was flattered.
"Alright, should we check out the baseball stadiums? It should be about time
for the teams to be decided."
"A-Ah... W-Well, in that case... could I go and change my clothes first, could I?
I would like to meet you at the Silver Moon, I would..."
"Huh? Sure, I guess...?"
Yae nodded and began making a beeline for the castle. I didn't really think
there was a need for her to change... But she was probably self-conscious about
being sweaty from her morning training.
I started heading toward the Silver Moon, but stopped when someone tugged
hard at the hem of my coat. I almost tripped over.
Just as I turned around to complain, I noticed it was the tiny little boozehound
gremlin... Suika. Just what the hell did she want?!
"...Just what are you doing?"
"Touya brooo... The god of alcohol needs your helppp... Money... Money me
now... I need money... Karina took my booze! Gimme money! It's a sin not to
get smashed during a festival! Auuugh!" Suika started to loudly grumble as she
clutched on to me.
Let go already! Your nose is running! I figured since she was the god of alcohol
she could make her own booze out of nothing, but that wasn't the case. Since it
required divinity, she wasn't allowed to do that down here. As far as her powers
went, she had advanced analysis allowing her to identify any booze she drank,
and she also had the ability to remain sober no matter how much alcohol she
ingested. She didn't really have much in the way of practical powers, it seemed.
Then again... I wonder if she can use the drunken fist style... That'd be scary...
"Don't you have a magic cup that can produce infinite liquor? It's one of your
sacred treasures, isn't it?"
"Don't gimme thaaat! That cup can only make sacred wine! I'm sick and tired
of drinking iiit, aaagh! I don't wanna drink that! I wanna drink the different stuff
in this festival! There's stuff from all over here! C'mon! C'mon!" Suika started
stomping her feet like a child. I could understand her feelings, but I wished she
acted a little more adult... She was supposed to be a divine being, after all. Did
she have no pride as a goddess?
They said that you couldn't win an argument against kids or drunks, and sadly
she was both.
Ah crap... People are looking at us...
I sighed quietly and squatted down so my eyes were level with hers.
"You can drink after the festival is over. If you stay sober and help the maids
out, we'll arrange it so you can drink some varied stuff afterward, alright?"
"That's all you had to say, Boss! I'll drink nothing if it means I can get what I
want later! Promise! I'm going sober from now on!"
It was honestly a little weird to see someone who resembled a child talking
about going sober. But frankly, it was whatever. I was just glad she wasn't
gonna be annoying anymore.
"Alright, then. Is that fine? Just... take this with you for the time being, okay?
It should tide you over." I opened up [Storage] and took out one gold coin, and
a bag of beef... Or rather, dragon meat jerky. Then, I passed them over to Suika.
The one coin would be enough of an allowance for her, and I was sure she'd
spend it on booze. Cheap or pricey, alcohol was alcohol to her.
According to Suika, even the taste didn't matter all that much. She said that
even bad booze had its own nuance and flavor, which was something I couldn't
wrap my head around. I was honestly curious about why she wanted to savor
the various drinks at the festival when she'd probably tried them all before
anyway, but I couldn't be bothered to give her the time of day. Still, with that
much, it'd be fine for her to last the three days. At least that way I didn't have
to worry about her hounding me again.
"Woohoo! Thank youuu! Thanks so much, Big Bro!" Suika gave me a quick
peck on the cheek and toddled away rapidly in the direction of the liquor store.
Buying her affection sure didn't take much...
After leaving her behind, I headed on to the Silver Moon, which was far more
crowded than usual.
It was just before noon, and the dining hall was absolutely packed with diners.
The guests were being kept waiting even longer than they were on the first
day... It was probably understaffed because Dolan had gone to watch the shogi
matches.
It wasn't usually so busy, so just a couple of wait staff were enough to handle
the crowds on an average day.
I poked my head into the kitchen and saw Micah desperately working on dish
after dish. She was clearly fighting her own war in there.
"Hey there. Need any help? Pfft."
"Ah, come in, come in! I'm really busy, sorry! Could you take this order to
table three, please?!"
I had actually been joking when I said that, but it looked like she'd seriously
taken me up on the offer. She immediately thrust a tray of soup, meat, and
fried veggies on me. What, seriously?! There's no way I can say I was kidding
now... I'll look like an asshole! I took out the order to table three, lining up the
dishes in front of the guests. As I finished up there, another diner raised their
hand and waved me over.
"Hey there, get us a tato stew, a veggie salad, and a grilled polo."
"Huh? Ah, right... Tato stew, veggie salad... Grilled polo. Got it."
Alright, that's the order memorized... Wait a second. I'm not a waiter, damn
it!
I returned to the kitchen and gave the order to Micah. She then handed me
another tray and sent me back out.
Wait a second, damn it! I tried to speak up, but I was silenced by the intensity
of her gaze. She was practically screaming at me with her eyes. If this was a
warzone, then Micah herself was a terrifying warlord.
Not even I could stand up to her in this place, grand duke or not.
I sighed in defeat as I took the next order out to the designated table,
internally lamenting my own fate.
"Milord?! What are you doing...?"
The voice came from Lanz, one of our knights. He'd just walked into the room
and spotted me. Oh, is he here for lunch? Or maybe he's here to see Micah...
Either way, this is my out!
"Lanz! I hereby give you a royal order!"
"H-Huh?! Y-Yessir!"
"For the rest of today, you need to work here at the Silver Moon! You're
under command of Micah! I'll let the knight order know. You need to take
orders and carry out dishes. This is a vital duty, Lanz!"
"Huh? But... Ah... Yessir!" Lanz gave a salute and then dashed into the
kitchen. I was pleased to see how dutiful he was. Made sense, since he was
from Lestia and all.
Almost immediately he came out wearing an apron, carrying dishes to tables
and taking as many orders as he could.
Don't think badly of me for this, Lanz... Just use it as a chance to get closer to
Micah.
I didn't want to be used for waiting tables anymore, so I hightailed it out of
the Silver Moon and left Lanz to his fate.
I waited near the entrance for Yae and sent a text to Lain about what Lanz
would be doing for the rest of the day. It seemed like he wasn't really needed
for training or anything, so it was all good.
Dolan's gonna be busy tomorrow too... Micah should definitely post a parttimer notice in the guild or something... That'd probably get her some extra
hands.
"I-I am sorry for making you wait, I am."
"Ah..." I turned to the voice and saw Yae. She was wearing a beautiful yukata,
and her hair was tied up.
Her yukata was light purple and had flowers printed up the side, they were
morning glories. She wore geta sandals and had a blue obi tying it all together.
In short... she looked stunning.
"Y-You said this would be a festival, did you not? So I asked my mother to
have my brother bring it, I did... D-Do you like it, do you?"
"Ah... It really suits you, Yae. I don't know if I can put it into words, but... you
look great..."
"A-Ah, is that so, is it?"
There were other people wearing yukatas in town today as well, that was
because Brunhild had a lot of immigrants from Eashen living in its land. In this
world, yukatas were traditionally worn during Eashenese celebrations.
However, Yae looked the most at home in her yukata of anyone else I'd seen
all day. I'm probably biased since I love her, though...
"I had to leave my katana behind, I did."
"Well, that makes sense..."
A katana and a yukata... It wouldn't have looked all that good if she'd gone for
a more boyish look this time around. I was glad Yae had opted to be more girly,
rather than looking like a lordless samurai.
"Do not worry, do not. I am concealing a dagger in my bosom."
Of course she is.
"Alright then, let's head toward the stadium. The finalists have probably been
determined already, come to think of it. The consolation match is probably
going on."
"Ah, very well... A-Ah... Touya-dono...? May we hold hands, may we?" Yae
nervously held a hand out to me, and I took it with a firm grasp. We were both
clearly embarrassed, red flushes on our faces, but we happily continued on
through the town.
I honestly had no idea that this event would attract so many people.
According to the day one report, a bunch of people had set up tents outside
town because they couldn't get accommodation. We probably needed more
inns if we were gonna do this again.
We've got a lot of accommodation as it is, so... maybe we should just have
special inns that are only open during the festival period?
We arrived at stadium two in time to see the ongoing consolation match that
would determine third place. The results of the qualifier match were being
displayed on a large signpost.
"Stadium one's winner is Mismede, and stadium two's winner is Belfast..."
"That means the consolation match is between Lestia and Regulus, it is." That
seemed about right. We entered the stadium to find the match at its third
inning. The score was still zero on both sides. Regulus was up to bat.
Just as we sat down, a cheer erupted from the batter's box. I looked up and
saw the white ball soaring through the sky. Oh, it's heading this way...? Oh, it is!
Oh, it landed.
Laughter and joy rang out through the stadium in a flash. It was a spectacular
home run!
The batter raised his arm into the air as he walked the bases. Regulus had a
lot of heavy hitters, probably the best ones in the entire world.
The score was now at zero to two. The match seemed like it was just getting
into the swing of things, and it felt like the other team could make a comeback.
We both decided to watch the game for a while...
In the end, Regulus continued to hold a two-point lead and Lestia just couldn't
catch up.
Thus, third place had been determined.
All that was left now was the final match between Mismede and Belfast in
stadium one.
"I wonder who will win, I do."
"Mismede's definitely better in terms of physical strength, but they'll need
more than that to win. Belfast has a pretty well-rounded team. They have a
decent offense, defense, and speed."
The audience began filing out and heading over to stadium one, it seemed like
most of them were planning to hit the final match too.
We went that way as well, bumping into the Belfast party on the way. They
were wearing their badges and probably looked like regular people to
onlookers.
Yumina was speaking to her father, who had apparently been at the shogi hall
until recently.
"You've come to see the finals, right?"
"Yes, but I did want to keep on watching the shogi... Touya, my lad... Next
time we do something like this, please adjust the schedules better. It's been a
rather hectic day for me."
I nodded quietly toward the king. Frankly, you should be thankful I managed
this... It was a last minute plan I pulled outta my ass!
Seemed like the king of Belfast wanted to see as much of the shogi as he
could due to the fact that he'd be participating on the following day.
Duke Ortlinde stayed in the shogi hall, since he'd be participating in the next
day's tournament round as well. I wondered if Sue would get bored of hanging
around him and seek us out...
Yae and Yumina were chattering together when suddenly...
"Uncleee! Touyaaaaaa! Oh! Yumina and Yae too!" Sue came charging toward
us at full speed, accompanied by the Ortlinde family butler, Leim. She scuttled
up my back like a bug and held on tight.
She definitely showed her more childlike side when she acted like that... Still,
it was adorable.
"So you came after all... Did you get bored of watching shogi?"
"Yes, I did! It was just people doing boring stuff and clapping! Father was just
watching the game board and mumbling to himself the whole time. No fun at
all...!" Sue puffed out her cheeks and pouted. She was certainly more actionoriented. It was probably annoying for her that shogi was more of an analytical
game. Either way, her joining us was fine by me. I was fine with us all checking
the baseball out.
Sue descended from my back and turned her attention to Yae.
"That's so pretty, Yae! Is that a key mono? Uh... Kim oh no?"
"This is a yukata, it is! We wear them during festivals in Eashen."
"It's certainly beautiful, though... Shall we all prepare yukatas of our own for
the next festival?"
"I like that idea, Yumina! I wanna wear one, yeah!"
"Then I will learn more from my mother, I will. This one was made by her, it
was. Linze-dono may be able to help in that regard, as well." I idly listened to
their girl talk as we walked toward the stadium.
The final showdown was about to commence.
◇ ◇ ◇
They dashed. Second base... then third... and a reckless charge for home
plate!
The ball was pitched like a laser beam as it hurtled its way toward the catcher.
Mismede's runner was contending with Belfast's catcher, and it was looking
close as hell...
A cloud of dust was kicked up between the two as the runner slid toward
home base... The entire crowd was ripe with tension, falling silent as they
waited for the call. The silence was shattered by the referee's voice.
"SAAAAAAFE!"
A cheer burst out from the crowd. The Mismede players ran off the benches
and began to lift up the runner who had managed to reach home plate.
The finals had been in a fierce tie for the last nine innings, with scores trapped
at one each side. But now Mismede had finally brought it home with a final
score of two to one.
Thus, Mismede had won the world's first international baseball tournament.
Belfast came in second place, with Regulus in third.
Confetti and silver tape streamers were launched overhead, celebrating the
team's victory.
Man, that was a great match... Both teams really gave it their all.
Thunderous applause rang out into the stadium, drowning out any other
sound. After that came the awards ceremony.
I was the leader of the host nation, so I presented a commemorative trophy
and shield to the team captain, and then medals to the other players.
I worked off a system similar to the Olympics, in that the type of medal
differed based on rank. Third place received hihi'irokane medals, second
received mithril medals, and first place received orichalcum medals.
Usually, in the Olympic Games, the participants would receive a cash bonus
from the host nation, but I left that up to their home countries this time.
The trophy and medals were all engraved with "First International
Tournament" on them. Even if there were nations that didn't participate, it was
still the first one... I was hoping that more countries would participate in any
future celebrations like this.
The audience was still excited, and they continued to lavish praise in the form
of a standing ovation to the participants. I decided that as a special bonus, the
winning team would be allowed to celebrate their victory in Brunhild Castle. I'd
bought food and alcohol out of my own pocket, and decided to treat them to a
lavish feast. I hoped that they wouldn't pop the corks off the champagne or
anything... I didn't want the room becoming a mess. Then again, I didn't think
this world had that kind of custom, so it would probably be fine.
Thus, the baseball tournament came to a close without any major incident.
It was almost four in the afternoon, and the shogi placement matches were
still in full swing.
Yae, Yumina, and Sue tagged along as I headed back to the shogi hall.
There weren't as many people in there as there were in the morning. Most of
the winners and losers had probably already been determined.
"Oh, Father!" Sue quickly singled out Duke Ortlinde and headed toward him.
"Well, seems Mismede won the baseball tournament, hm? Word already
spread here."
"Bit of a shame for Belfast, indeed."
"Well, there is meaning in both victory and defeat, Brother. Second place is
more than enough reason for us to be proud of our homeland."
The match really could've gone either way, and everyone watching the finals
knew that as well. It was a well-earned victory and a close match.
"And how are things here?"
"Rather well, I must say. There are some formidable players in the running
here... Frankly, people I'd rather avoid matching up with, even."
It was interesting to hear him express concern like that. Including the invitees
and the people who had passed, there were a total of thirty-two participants in
the third day's games.
Provided all went smoothly, a winner would be determined by the evening...
Still, I was curious about how the pressure of playing several consecutive
rounds would affect peoples' performance. It would've been good to increase
the time between matches a little, but we had way more participants than I had
expected... They'd just have to put up with it.
Our plan was to use a screen to broadcast the matches, so more people could
get to see it. I'd be helping Monica and Rosetta out with the screen installation
before the matches started.
It was gonna be tough work, but it had to be done. My smartphone began to
vibrate, so I took it out of my breast pocket.
"Ah, please excuse me..." I waved off Yumina and the others before using
[Teleport] to reach a church on the outskirts of town.
"S-So he's coming tomorrow?! Wh-When?"
"Midday, I think. Could be sooner or later though, it really depends."
I was talking to the pope about the message I'd received on my phone. Her
breathing suddenly became ragged and unhinged... She was really freaking out.
She gonna be okay? She's pretty old, so I'm scared she's gonna have a heart
attack or something... Isn't she like... sixty, at least? Well, it's not like I'm gonna
ask... That'd be rude.
"Wh-What shall we do, Your Holiness?"
"Calm yourself, Phyllis. There's nothing to be gained by getting ahead of
ourselves..."
The templars accompanying them had no idea what we were going on about,
so they just kind of stared blankly for a bit. Only Cardinal Phyllis understood the
implications of what was being discussed, which caused her to lapse into an
anxious set of motions. I guess it made sense. I was the outlier here for treating
a visit from God Almighty so casually.
Karen muttered to herself as the two Ramissh ladies fussed with each other.
"This is kind of strange, you know? The god of worlds coming down into the
mortal realm... That hasn't been observed in millions of years, you know?"
He came down once already, though... Well, technically that was more like an
avatar... so it would be more appropriate to say that the last couple times I
encountered him in this world, it was just a portion of him... His power must be
seriously immense.
I didn't know if he was going to do the avatar thing again, or actually hop into
a human body and come down like the other gods did.
"I-I hope we don't upset him... If we wound up being responsible for the
apocalypse, I..."
"That's not gonna happen. He takes a non-interference policy, remember?
Please don't get worried about him coming down, he's just here to relax a bit."
I tried to calm Phyllis down before she got ahead of herself again. I wondered
if she'd really be alright... She definitely wasn't behaving how I'd expect a
cardinal to behave.
"Besides, my sisters and I are gonna be here, okay? Nothing will go wrong."
"A-Ahh... Actually, that whole matter with the servile god is still up in the air,
so... I hope he's not mad at me, you know?" Karen sighed and folded her arms.
He might be... It was your job to take care of that NEET god, wasn't it? And
now he's gone and gotten himself absorbed by that wicked godbeast, and he's
completely out of our hands...
They might've been able to help me defeat it during the last encounter, but
Karen wound up making her and Moroha late to the rendezvous...
The wicked godbeast hadn't done anything since then. That was good news in
some regards, but it was also concerning. The weak Phrase constructs were
coming through here and there and were typically defeated by high-ranked
adventurers.
But yeah... I was dawdling too much. I really needed to find a way to repair
the world boundary.
It was technically possible, I was sure of it. The Reverse World that Old Man
Palerius was studying was likely the key to it all.
My current running theory was that one of the Gollems from the Reverse
World might have been brought to this world by one of Palerius' experiments...
And it might've had some kind of special power.
It was possible that by using that power, Palerius could've repaired the
barrier. But I had nothing but a hypothesis to go on, there.
As I pondered to myself, I suddenly heard a loud noise... Like an animal
yowling in the distance. Is that a cat?
I turned around and saw dozens of cats stampeding towards the church. WhWhat the hell?!
They continued to meow over and over again as they leaped at me. It wasn't
as if they were attacking me, it felt more like they were trying to get me to
follow them... But to where? I used a [Gate] to grab Kohaku from the castle.
She could understand the cat's language, after all.
The cats immediately calmed down in the presence of the White Monarch.
"So, what's up?"
"Ah... It seems that Mr. Mittens is engaged in a duel... They're asking that you
stop him and break up the fight."
"That cat's having a duel?! With who?!"
"...The overlord of Xenoahs."
YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!
The saber and rapier clashed, sending sparks flying. Mr. Mittens unleashed a
flurry of blows toward the overlord. But the demonkin would not be so easily
beaten. He used his saber to parry the jabs and moved in for a horizontal slash.
However, Mr. Mittens was an agile cat, and he deftly avoided the blade.
"Enough of this, Sir Cat!"
"No way I'm putting this fight on paws! I can't at all say I'm fit to guard Lady
Fiana if I can't even manage this much!" Mr. Mittens grinned a Cheshire grin
and narrowed his eyes.
Both of them approached each other on the empty school grounds as the sun
set in the distance behind them. They kicked off the ground in tandem,
shortening the distance between them... They were both poised to land killing
blows, when...
"[Slip]!"
"Gwah!"
"Meow?!"
My magic made them both fall on their butts instead. Those two were
completely stupid.
I let out a sigh as the two people... Or rather, person and animal, rolled
around and nursed their wounded tailbones.
"Just what do you think you're doing, Overlord?"
"A-Ah! Grand Duke?! I-I promise you there was no ill intent, I was merely
trying to ascertain the strength of the cat defending Fiana!"
Fiana was the headmistress of the Brunhild Castle Town School, and Mr.
Mittens was a cat that had been summoned by Sakura in order to act as a
helper.
He said he wanted to gauge the cat's might, but something about that
seemed fishy to me. It was more likely that he was just jealous of the fact that
Mr. Mittens had the attention of the daughter and former lover that spurned
him.
Still, he didn't seem to be going all-out. He didn't even use any magic.
Sakura's magic was intensifying rapidly, probably due to the divinity she was
receiving due to her proximity to so many gods. I hadn't been able to verify it,
but I strongly suspected that she outclassed the overlord now in terms of
magical potential. It was possible that Mr. Mittens, being one of her summons,
was also becoming unnecessarily powerful due to association with her magical
biorhythm.
Either way, Mr. Mittens was probably at fault here for agreeing to duel a
world leader.
Sure, the overlord was stupid for fighting too, but the whole situation was just
so messy I didn't wanna think about it.
"Wanna explain yourself, pussycat?"
"M-Meow! The princess told me not to hold back my claws when the overlord
appeared! I was only following orders! She told me to try and break his legs!"
"Whuh?!"
The overlord clutched at his chest and fell to his knees. ...C'mon man...
Melodrama much?
Clearly, he'd been emotionally damaged by his daughter's lack of care. But
this guy was a total wreck, honestly... I was a little bit frightened by the sway
Sakura seemed to hold over him.
If Sakura and I ended up providing a grandchild for him... Then, that child
might someday turn to him and call him "annoying"... He'd probably die of a
heart attack there and then.
"...Did you finish him, Mr. Mittens?"
One of the classroom windows opened up and Sakura poked her head out.
She seemed pretty nonchalant about the fact that she'd just ordered a
supercharged cat knight to break her dad's legs, but... well... she did have the
blood of the overlord in her, and she was technically a demon...
The moment she appeared, the overlord sprung up from his slumped position
and charged toward her.
"Farneeeeeese! I'm finally here, please! I won't be here much longer! Let me
talk with Fiana just for a little!"
"Mother is busy right now. Leave, Overlord!" Sakura slammed the window
shut with a thud.
Couldn't you have put that in kinder terms...? The guy's basically gone pale
from shock!
"Grand Duke... Does... Does my daughter hate me, perhaps?"
"Nah... I'm sure she'd have been a lot crueler if she really hated you that
much... I can't say it for sure, but... I don't think she despises you."
"You dare say that this isn't cruel?! My very heart threatens to burst forth
from my chest!"
To be honest it was hard to tell what Sakura was thinking most of the time.
She probably didn't hate him so much as she just didn't care all that much
about him. She definitely didn't seem to want to speak to him. They didn't have
a father-daughter relationship when she was growing up, so she didn't have any
time to form a bond with him. She didn't really view the overlord as her dad,
more of a weird old man that just started following her around.
There was definitely a vast distance between the two of them... And I
wondered if I'd be able to close it at all.
"I know how the situation looks, but Fiana and Farnese... It broke my heart to
abandon them, I promise you... I did it for the sake of giving them a happy, safe
life... She was born without the horns of my lineage, you understand? Even
though she had the overlord's blood, she didn't have the horns... There was
simply no way the nobility of my country would allow her to take a seat in my
palace... They would've made her life a living hell. Fiana's, as well. I wished for
her to stay an arm's length away, as a regular girl... If I could turn back time, do
it all again... I would be a stronger man, and I would've let them stay... I
would've protected them! But it's beyond my control now, what's done is
done."
Geez... That's pretty rough... Surely Sakura can understand that there was
more to it than him simply abandoning her and her mother...
To be honest, Sakura probably wasn't avoiding the overlord out of scorn for
what he did, she probably just didn't want to dig up painful memories for
herself and her mother.
Even if that was the case, it made it no less difficult to deal with him. Plus, I
was often put in the awkward position of getting him to leave.
I sighed quietly, wondering how to usher him away when Fiana walked out
from the school with Sakura in tow.
"A-Ah! Fiana...! It's been so long..."
"Indeed it has, my overlord. I hope you find Brunhild to your liking..." Fiana
greeted the glum demon with an earnest smile, causing Sakura to do a shocked
double-take.
Sakura, your jaw just totally dropped open.
"I'm sorry for the trouble and grief my daughter must have caused you.
Please find it in your heart to forgive her."
"Ah, n-no... It's okay... It was really my fault, I showed up out of nowhere... I
came here earlier, but Farnese turned me away..."
"Is that so?" Fiana turned a surprised glance to her daughter, causing Sakura
to look away in shame. Seems like Fiana hadn't been told anything about it.
"...I simply thought he would be an obstacle to your daily duties, Mother...
You were quite busy preparing for the assembly..."
"Assembly?" The overlord quirked his brow slightly.
Ah yeah, even I forgot about that. "She's talking about how they're gonna
invite all the kids in town to the school tomorrow. They're gonna tell stories and
have little events, so even illiterate kids can have fun."
"Oh..."
Books weren't very cheap in this world, and a massive amount of people
weren't capable of reading. Storybooks weren't very common for kids, either.
Stories were often told by traveling bards or professional storytellers, so the art
of telling a story was still kind of theatrical in most nations. There were also
plays, but usually, they were a little bit expensive for kids to pay.
Plus, a majority of the plays had been performed so many times that most
people in the world already knew the stories.
I had a few eBooks downloaded on to my phone, so I employed Linze and
Sakura's help to localize them into this world's tongue.
We had to change certain terms though, this world didn't have stuff like cars
or traffic lights, for example. Fortunately, we didn't need to change much of the
fairy tales I'd downloaded.
I'd wanted to do another puppet show, but we didn't really have much in the
way of staff... Linze had to attend to her family, anyways.
As I was thinking to myself, the overlord suddenly spoke up.
"Alright! Let me help with this assembly, please!"
He suddenly blurted out a befuddling sentence before patting himself on the
chest.
...Man, what is this guy thinking...? I'm not gonna call him annoying out loud,
but there's such a thing as too eager.
"No, we couldn't possibly ask that..." Fiana attempted to get out a gentle
rejection, but the overlord butted in and continued talking.
"Really, it's no problem. You're busy, aren't you? I'll help you out, far better
than this pussycat, here."
"Meow dare you! I'll have you know that I'm an esteemed helper!"
Proverbial sparks flew from the glare shot between demon and cat. I
wondered if I'd need to make them fall on their butts again. Still, this might be a
good chance here... They could start patching up their relationship.
In the end, he was only helping his daughter and ex-lover out, so it didn't
count as a foreign national aiding Brunhild or anything... Plus, he was wearing
the disguise badge. This seemed like a good idea, it could possibly even warm
Sakura up to him a little more.
Alright, guess I'll smooth this along a little. I turned to Fiana and spoke up.
"If he wants to help, I say let him. We are a little understaffed, after all."
"Be that as it may..."
"Plus, he could learn something that might be put to use in Xenoahs as well,
you know? If you think about it, it's like a cultural exchange."
"That's right!"
The overlord nodded quickly as if to suggest that was his plan all along. He
was certainly a piece of work, but I admired his enthusiasm.
Sakura looked a little bit frustrated and decided to disregard what I said.
"Mr. Mittens will do more than enough for this... He can even read books..."
"Sure, he can read books, but he constantly meows and replaces words with
cat puns, doesn't he?"
"Meow dare you say such a thing! I'm pawsitive that I can read just fine!" Mr.
Mittens yelled out loud, completely proving my point. I decided to test him.
"Alright, then say the following sentence. 'I can speak just perfectly, I'm not
kidding. Perhaps you were just wrong, friend.' Say it back."
"Ha! I can speak just purrfectly... I'm not kitten around! Purrhaps you were
just wrong, fur-end! Oh... Oh no."
Thus, my point was fully proven. Mr. Mittens fell to the ground, defeated.
Sakura pouted.
"Look, even putting all that aside, there's no reason to say no to an offer for
help. You want the assembly to go well, don't you Sakura?"
"I do... Fine, he may help..." Sakura reluctantly accepted the offer, causing the
overlord to break out into a huge smile.
"Just make sure to stay out of mother's way... And don't scare the children, or
teach them anything odd..."
"I promise! Trust me!"
Fiana looked between the two with a gentle smile on her face. It's a little
subtle, but they're almost acting like father and daughter... Oh, that's right.
"Fiana, could you stand over here a sec?"
"Hm? Here?"
"Yep, and you stand here, Overlord. Sakura, you go between them. Stay still,
okay?"
"Okay...?"
I made them stand next to each other with Sakura between them, then
crouched down a little and brought out my smartphone.
"Alright, say cheese!" A little sound came from my smartphone as I took a
photo of them.
All I had to do was pull some paper out of [Storage] and use [Drawing] to
print it out.
It was possible to use [Drawing] to print stuff without a photo, but having a
visual reference on hand made the results more accurate. Doctor Babylon said
she was going to make an artifact that worked similar to a photocopier that
other people could use, but for now, she was focused on interdimensional stuff.
Once I finished printing out three copies, I handed them to each of the people
in front of me.
"Goodness..."
"Oh... Amazing!"
"Hmph..."
The three of them each reacted very differently to the photographs in their
hands.
"G-Grand Duke, may I take this picture home with me?!"
"Yeah, go ahead. Use it to remember today."
"Thank you so much...!"
The overlord was practically jumping for joy, but Sakura's expression was
much more subdued. ...Please don't cut him out of the photo, he's literally
standing right there.
Sakura didn't go that far, thankfully, she just made a grumpy expression
toward her overexcited dad. I could understand her feelings at least a little... He
was jumping around like a little kid, but from what I'd heard the guy was meant
to be over 100.
Fiana was glancing down at her copy with a warm smile on her face.
Oh, right...
I took out one of the white mass-produced smartphones from [Storage] and
handed it over to Fiana. She seemed like she deserved one, given that she was
basically in charge of the country's education. Sakura would be able to show her
how to use it.
The overlord asked about the phone and, when I explained it, asked for one
as well. I told him that it was only for Brunhild government workers and
members of the alliance... so he said he'd have Xenoahs join at once. Pick a
better reason to join than wanting a phone, old man...
Xenoahs had been pretty isolated for a long period of time, so it was probably
a good thing if they opened up more to other nations... Still, I seriously had a
problem with "I want a smartphone" being the reason to kickstart all that. The
overlord claimed that Xenoahs was actually looking toward opening up talks
with other nations ever since Yulong collapsed, but I wasn't quite sure if I
trusted that...
Whether or not Xenoahs would join the alliance wasn't a decision I could
make alone, we'd figure all that stuff out after the festival.
Given recent events, we'd have to consider inviting other countries like
Hannock, Felsen, Ryle, Elfrau, and Eashen... Ah, I couldn't forget Palerius Island,
either.
We were probably going to have to change the name at this rate. It would all
depend on whether or not the nations actually accepted our invite, though.
I let out a sigh as I considered just how complicated things were going to end
up becoming.
◇ ◇ ◇
The third day of the festival had begun.
The shogi tournament had begun in the morning and was well underway.
We had four large monitors installed to project a total of sixteen games at
once to a wider audience.
We sat watching from afar, eating miso soup and boiled potatoes. We were
seated on some chairs near a couple of food stalls. The food tasted really good.
The radishes were crisp and the potatoes were soft, creating a delicious
dynamic. Eashenese cuisine was definitely my preference, in the end.
"The shogi finals and the fighting tournament preliminaries are today, right?"
Yumina, half-way through a potato, turned to ask me that question.
"Yup. Belfast, Regulus, Refreese, Palouf, and Roadmare are all participating in
the shogi finals. Mismede, Felsen, Lestia, and Eashen are participating in the
battle tourney." Oh yeah... I guess old man Baba and Yamagata are
representing Brunhild, too...
The knight king of Lestia was probably the guy who'd end up winning, but
given that magic was allowed, the beastking could use his [Accel] to give his
foes a real run for their money.
This town was full of adventurers even on regular days, so it wouldn't surprise
me if we had some strong no-name contenders showing up as well. There'd
probably be a few people who joined up just to test their own abilities too.
"What's your plan for today, Touya?" Lu noted down exactly how those
potatoes were steamed so well before turning and asking me a question.
"Well, I'll have to announce the winners for the shogi and battle tourney later
on... So I guess I'll be going around to a few places today. Ah, I gotta stop by the
church later, too." I wasn't too worried about the fighting tournament since
Moroha and Karina were there acting as referees, and Nikola had a keen eye on
the shogi tournament as well.
"What about you two, anyway? Belfast and Regulus are participating in the
shogi finals, right?" Knight Commander Gaspar was sort of representing Regulus
in the fighting tournament too, but he was there incognito.
Having a knight commander enter a free-for-all tournament probably wasn't
the best look for a nation, so it made sense to have a disguise. If I recalled
correctly, General Leon of Belfast would be participating too. It'd be fine, I
figured. They wouldn't get found out.
"Father and his friends will be participating in shogi, that's true... But I needn't
worry about them. My plans are free."
"That's right. We both have free time today... So we thought we'd spend it
with you." Ahh... That's why you guys brought me out here this morning. Well,
that sounds good to me.
We paid for our food and handed over the empty bowls back to the stall
owner, then headed out on a walk.
Lu and Yumina both snuggled up close to my sides, Lu taking my right, and
Yumina taking my left. It was a bit difficult to walk with them clinging to me like
that, but... They were happy, so I had no real cause for complaint. There's no
way I could just shake them off or something...
They'd both certainly grown since we met, they were a little taller... But their
petite builds still made them look incredibly young.
Though, from what I could feel against my arms... There hadn't been much
growth in an important area...
To be honest, onlookers would probably think of us as an older brother and
his little sisters.
"Touya?"
"Hm? Ah, it's nothing." These girls had sharp senses, I couldn't let them know
what I was thinking about.
"Oh." I suddenly heard a tune and realized that Sousuke must have been
playing his piano at the clocktower. It was a western song...
My taste in music had been heavily influenced by my grandpa, so I liked a lot
of the oldies. I liked music from the 1950s and 1960s the most. In turn, I ended
up showing Sousuke those kinds of tunes, and he took to them well.
The song he was playing right now was a popular rock and roll piece from the
1950s. The original was so well-liked that they were included on the golden
records on the Voyager spacecraft, which was then sent out into deep space.
There was this movie that had the protagonist ride this car that was also a
time machine. He ended up playing the same song on a guitar during a school
dance in the past. That was a pretty good movie.
Everyone listened to the song and moved their bodies to the rhythm, it was a
sight to behold indeed...
I looked a little closer and noticed more people on the stage than just
Sousuke, they were playing string and percussion instruments alongside him.
"Huh..."
"It's a travelin' band. They were passin' through and thought to join. They
accompanied him yesterday, too." One of the nearby food cart operators spoke
up to explain the situation to me. I recognized the voice so I turned to see who
it was... It was none other than the god of agriculture, my uncle Kousuke. Wait,
why are you here?!
"Ain't it obvious? Sellin' food made with my produce. I wanna get in on the
festival too, y'know?" Kousuke grinned a little. The food cart had curry... Or
rather, cully, and rice. Next to it was a big box of fresh veggies. I noticed a young
man next to him, studiously peeling carrots and potatoes over and over again.
"Oh! You're uh... Charon, right?"
"H-Huh? I-I mean... I am Charon, yes... But..." He looked at me, unsure of who
I was. That was probably because of the badge. It didn't affect Kousuke, but it
was turned on right now so I was in disguise. I quickly shifted it to a deactivated
state.
"Y-Y-Your highness?!" Charon went wide-eyed and confused as he stared me
down.
He was one of the knights who joined our order around the same time as
Lanz.
He came from a line of herbalists, which made him pretty knowledgeable
about plants and natural medicine. That's why we assigned him to Naito's
charge and had him help with agricultural development.
"This lad's plenty promisin', you know that? S'why I asked him to help me
today." That made sense. I could definitely understand why Kousuke said that.
During the knight exam, he managed to survive because he could identify which
foods were safe to eat, and which plants he had to avoid.
I wondered if that made him a beneficiary of Kousuke's divinity as well, then...
It definitely couldn't be a bad thing to be favored by him.
"Is it just you two running this cart, then?"
"Nope. We got that Lakshy lass helpin' out as well. She's out fetchin' the
seasonings. She can't be around open flames, after all... So the cookin' is down
to us." Lakshy was an Alraune, a demonkin descended from a plant-like lineage.
It made sense she'd need to avoid fire. She was also part of the agricultural
team, so she probably had the god of agriculture's blessing as well.
I gotta admit, I wanna try some of this... But I already had the potatoes
earlier...
Before I forgot, I moved in to whisper into Kousuke's ear.
"Ah, right... This afternoon in the church..."
"Karen already told me 'bout it. Don't worry about me, alright?"
"You sure? It'll have been a while since you guys met, I'm sure..."
"Been a couple thousand years, but fer a god that ain't all that different from
a day or two. If I wanna meet him, I'll go meet him. Don't need to, though."
Well, fair enough. If that's how he sees it, then that's how he sees it.
We left the main square and looked over the stalls that lined the various
streets.
"Ooh..."
"This totem is a popular icon from northern Regulus." Lu explained the little
wooden figure I was looking at. It was a sculpture of a Thunderbear holding a
weird fish in its mouth.
My world also had craftsmen who made stuff like this, but they'd been on the
decline in recent years...
"Ohh, this is..."
"This is a little doll used as a charm. It's said to symbolize happiness for an
entire family line." It was a doll that looked kind of cylindrical. You could pop it
open horizontally, and a smaller doll would be inside it. Then you could pop
open that one to reveal yet another smaller doll inside, and so on... Until there
was a teeny tiny doll in the middle that didn't open.
It was certainly similar to something I'd seen before. Specifically, those
traditional dolls from Russia. This one was a lot simpler in design, though.
Going around the stalls and seeing the various wares was pretty interesting.
There were trinkets similar to stuff from my world, as well as stuff that looked
completely different. We spent the entire morning wandering around and
aimlessly buying this and that.
Around lunchtime, we decided to head towards the church.
The church was located a little out of town. It was on a small hill and was
managed by two people from Ramissh, a priest and a pastor. But currently, two
more people from Ramissh were there.
They'd been wearing the badges I'd given them to mask their looks, but it was
the pope of Ramissh, Elias Altra, and one of the cardinals of Ramissh, Phyllis
Rugit.
There were people in the area who looked like adventurers, but they were
actually just the templar guards of Ramissh going incognito.
Brunhild didn't really have any people who believed in the god of light that
Ramissh preached, but given that Phyllis and Elias were technically preaching
the word of God Almighty now, you could call me a believer too.
Still, I felt weird worshiping someone who was basically like a grandpa to me
at this point, so I'd never really gone into the church.
We entered into the church and heard the pope giving a sermon about
something that had happened in Ramissh.
Her story was called "The Miracle of Isla."
So the story went, the god of light had descended into the Holy City of Isla
one year ago, and vanquished the evil spirit of darkness that was trying to
consume the city and its people.
The story ended up being spread around the world because there were
several eyewitnesses, including those that didn't even subscribe to the Ramissh
faith.
Many people thought it was nonsense, but a large number of people couldn't
deny what their eyes had shown them.
That being said, the story was actually based on a trick I'd pulled.
Ramissh had been doing good since then. Apparently, all the ill-intentioned
people who had done all manner of bad things in the name of god had all been
cast out of positions of power, too.
The pope finished her tale, and the crowd slowly dispersed.
I was about to walk over and greet them, but she and Phyllis actually ended
up dashing towards me.
"G-Grand Duke! Is he here already?!"
"Uhh... No... Not yet." The two of them seemed disappointed by my words.
"Relax, you guys. He's coming soon, alright?"
"I am here, actually."
"Wuh?!" Someone next to me started talking, which scared me.
I turned around and saw that it was none other than God Almighty, the
master of worlds himself. He had a gentle expression on his face and was
dressed plainly as ever. Woah, that scared me! You gods have gotta stop just
popping up like that! "Gah! Don't scare me like that. Wait, how long have you
been here?"
"Hmhm... I used a little teleportation magic a while ago. Ah, it has been a
while, you two." The god of worlds addressed Her Holiness the Pope, and
Cardinal Phyllis. Both of them immediately started to bow down to him in a
frenzied panic, but he stopped them in their tracks.
"Please consider your social positions, ladies. It would be improper for ones
such as yourself to bow to an old man. I do not mind it, so it is fine."
"A-Ah, okay!" Most people wouldn't know their status due to the badges they
were wearing, but both of them were too fussy anyway, so this was fine.
Moroha and Karen had told them to stop revering them too many times to
count.
Still, given that he'd come here using teleportation magic meant that he
wasn't here as an avatar right now. He'd likely humanized himself like the rest
of my divine family.
"Um... Touya? Who's this?" Yumina tilted her head slightly in confusion. Lu
had a puzzled expression on her face as well.
Oh geez... How do I explain...
"Good day, my dear children. My name is Mochizuki Shinnosuke. I am young
Touya's grandfather."
Shinnosuke, huh... That's pretty straightforward... You even have the Japanese
term for god right there in your name... What's with "young" Touya, though?
I smiled awkwardly as Lu and Yumina opened their eyes wide in shock.
"Touya's... Grandfather? But how can that be? Touya's from another world..."
God Almighty brought his finger to his lips and gave a knowing wink towards
them both. They seemed to understand the meaning of his motions. I hoped
that they'd realize he meant he was the same as Karen and Moroha.
"A-Ah, then... Please forgive me. I am Yumina Urnea Belfast. I am one of nine
with the privilege of being Touya's fiancée."
"A-And I'm Lucia Leah Regulus! I too am engaged to Touya, sorry for our
lateness in introducing ourselves!"
"Not a problem at all. Goodness me, you are both rather beautiful young
women, are you not? Young Touya here must be quite happy, engaged to the
likes of you." He smiled gently towards them as they bowed their heads. Heh,
seems like they're thankful for the compliments... They're getting all blushy. So
cute...
"So you're capable of using teleportation as well?"
"Ah, yes. That I am. I can use most forms of magic."
"That certainly seems fitting with Touya's family..." Wouldn't surprise me if he
has all attributes and next to no magical power limitations... Actually, he
probably has no limits at all.
"Ah... World G—ramps... Gramps. Did you see Karen already?"
"Gramps? Aha... Gramps... I like that. Ah, Karen? Karen... Ah, yes! Of course, I
know who you mean. She is my grandchild too, after all. I have yet to talk with
any of them, but I am sure we will soon." Yumina and Lu gave each other a
curious glance. Given how he was acting, that seemed fair.
They knew I was from another world, but they probably had no idea that this
guy was the god to end all gods.
"I was thinking of looking around town for a little while after I talk a little with
the pope today. How does that sound?"
"What about the church?"
"A-Ah, well! That's fine! We'll be open later in the afternoon, too!" Phyllis
nervously replied, while the pope nodded her head repeatedly. I wondered if
they'd actually be fine... The two of them were certainly tense.
I wondered what they'd talk about...
◇ ◇ ◇
When the world had only just been created, spirits and magic were already
around.
They acted as limbs to the gods, forming the world's contents and bringing
forth many aspects of nature.
The spirit of the water filled the world's oceans, while the spirit of earth
created the land and soil. The spirit of fire caused volcanoes to erupt, while the
spirit of wind caused hot air to blow around the atmosphere.
The spirit of the forests raised trees and dense woods, while the spirit of light
brought illumination to the world. The spirit of darkness brought night, and the
peace of silence.
From the miraculous feats of these spirits sprung forth creatures linked to the
primordial aspects of nature, and the world found itself populated.
Fairies, Heavenly Beasts, holy spirit trees, and so on... It was said that among
the last of these creatures to be born were humans, along with demi-humans
such as beastmen, dwarves, and elves.
The god of this world, satisfied with his creation, ascended back to heaven
and left it to the newly born people.
This world was a paradise for the people to make all their own, so he thought
better than to remain.
"But why did god return to heaven?" A little boy sitting on the front row
asked a question after hearing Shinnosuke's sermon.
"Because he believed that we should make this world into our own. If you rely
on god to save you whenever there is strife, you cannot forge your own path. A
child must become independent of his parents to become an adult." In short,
gods couldn't interfere with the mortal realms of their own creation. That's
exactly why I couldn't be reborn into my old world. My world didn't have any
method to bring back anyone from the dead, so it could only have been seen as
a miracle.
If I'd died in this world, then resurrecting me might've been a possibility. After
all, there were magical ways to resurrect people here. The death risk was much
higher on average.
"The lord god on high has entrusted us all with this world. I am sure he would
be happy to know that each and every one of us is trying our hardest to make
this world a better place." God Almighty looked over the crowd of people
attending his sermon. He was wearing a priest's robe that he'd borrowed from
the pope.
"Do unto others as you would want done to you. Do anything you can, no
matter how little. That alone is enough. Kindness is a solid foundation. All are
equal in the eyes of god. Men, women, children, adults, princes, and paupers.
We can all live full lives. That would make god happiest." He bowed to the
crowd before leaving the front area.
Huh... So the spirits really helped the gods form the world? I've only met that
one in the forest and the spirit of darkness in Ramissh... I didn't realize they were
that powerful.
Did they lose their power over time, maybe? Or maybe they lost the power to
shape the world after the gods didn't need them to? They don't seem all that
primordially mighty now, at least...
Especially the spirit of darkness... I beat him pretty easily. Then again,
apparently spirits are immortal, so he'll probably come back eventually.
"Thank you for the sermon. It was fascinating..."
"Ah, not a problem at all. Typically I only have conversations with other gods
about their difficulties, so it was nice to talk a little." Elias and Phyllis were
already gushing over god's sermon.
"No, it was truly amazing! Thank you so much, we'll ensure that future
generations chronicle the tale and take it to heart!"
"Well... You may do as you wish, but I do not think it was all that
interesting..." God Almighty smiled softly towards the pope. You know, old
man... You probably don't realize it but you've basically just given this world a
solid creation myth.
"Where are you headed after this, gramps? I was thinking of introducing you
to the others."
"I am not quite sure... I was going to ask if you could let me stay here for a
night, so I could meet the others this evening. For now, I would like to look
around town. Could I get someone to guide me?"
"I'll do it, you know?!" Karen suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere to butt
in on our conversation. What did I say about you gods and your instant
transmission nonsense? Just show up normally for a change!
God Almighty smiled toward Karen, apparently completely unbothered by her
sudden appearance.
"It's been quite a while, my dear. Are you in good health?"
"I get to have a pretty fun day-to-day thanks to you, you know? I'm gonna
show you around, so don't worry about it... How about you stop intruding on
Touya's date, grandpa?"
"Hmm? Ohh... I see. I did not realize I was intruding. Please forgive me, my
children."
"N-No, it's fine..." Lu and Yumina both turned red in the face, waving their
arms in a flustered panic.
Still, I was thankful that Karen was taking care of him now. Even if something
happened, they'd be more than enough to look after themselves.
Plus, it went without saying that Phyllis, the pope, and the Ramissh
guardsmen would be accompanying them as well.
Yumina, Lu, and I all left the church and headed towards the shogi hall. The
first set of games had just ended, and the second rounds were all beginning.
There were a lot more people there than there were in the morning and a lot
of people who'd already finished their games. The monitor displayed the names
of the winners and losers.
"Uhhm... Aha, looks like things are coming along..." Barral and Simon from
Reflet, the emperor of Refreese, and the doge of Roadmare had all lost their
matches. Everyone except the Reflet citizens had pseudonyms listed, though.
"Ah, my father has been defeated..." Lu muttered to herself after noticing her
dad's name up there.
If I recalled correctly, his enemy was the king of Palouf. It seemed like the kid
was kicking ass.
I looked around and saw two people sitting on some chairs in front of a
monitor. They were the leaders of Regulus and Refreese.
We approached the group.
"Good day. Shame about the bad luck."
"Oh, Touya! I actually had quite a bit of fun. I'd like to hold a tournament like
this next year..."
"It's a shame that I lost, but I managed to learn a bit about my own
shortcomings. I won't lose next time." The two of them didn't seem to mind
their losses, so I was glad.
I looked to the monitor and saw a silver general tile being moved across a
table. The monarchs both let out mixed tones in response to the sight.
"Who's this?"
"It's the match between the king of Belfast and the king of Palouf. It's a rather
interesting battle."
Huh... I see... It kinda looks like the king of Belfast is having a tough time. No
wonder he managed to beat the emperor of Regulus. I looked carefully as the
young king moved his silver general piece...
"Isn't it gonna get taken by the king of Belfast's rook?"
"No, this is a tactical invitation. It's a move that could be a trick, or destroy
the balance of the game. If you don't look with a keen eye, it could be seen as
reckless..." I looked back at the monitor after the emperor of Regulus spoke.
Man... I really can't follow this at all...
The speed at which people in this world improved tactically was actually
pretty incredible, but this was also a world that lacked much in the way of
entertainment. That meant they could focus on their individual failings with
little distraction, and keep on going until they overcame them.
Their enthusiasm was something to be envied, really. I was already
completely outclassed by the top players in this world.
It seemed like the shogi tournament was still going to last a while longer than
we'd expected... So we decided to go and see the combat tournament in the
meantime.
◇ ◇ ◇
In the arena, six fighters were mercilessly clashing against each other.
They were attacking, rolling, defending, dodging, slashing, thrusting, and
jabbing at each other. One after another, they collapsed to the ground.
Any fallen participants were immediately teleported out of the arena where
our trained medical staff could get ahold of them.
We had a lot of things installed in the combat arena to protect the lives of the
participants, the teleporter was only one such method.
The last two participants standing clashed their blades. One was an
adventurer with a greatsword, and the other was an Eashenese man wielding a
katana.
I recognized the Eashenese man. It was Kokonoe Jutaro, Yae's brother.
We'd supplied the weapons for the tournament, but that didn't always help.
Even with a blunted edge, a greatsword could inflict debilitating wounds or
even death.
Well, so long as the death wasn't instant we'd be able to help the person
recover. Plus I trusted Moroha as referee to stop the match before anything
lethal happened.
Jutaro kept on nimbly dodging the blows from the greatsword.
The greatsword guy was the one who seemed to be putting the most pressure
on his foe, but Jutaro was clearly looking for gaps. Just as I'd expected, he took
advantage of a lull in his opponent's movements to lunge forwards.
He danced like lightning and struck his katana into the chest of the
greatsword guy.
The man fell to the ground with a resounding thud and teleported out of the
battlefield.
"Match over! The winner of the G Block is... Kokonoe Jutaro!" The audience
went crazy with clapping and cheering as Moroha announced the victory.
Jutaro bowed his head before heading off towards the participant waiting
room.
"He didn't even break a sweat..."
"My brother is skilled, he is." Yae proudly grinned and nodded towards
Yumina's statement.
Yumina and Lu had accompanied me to the arena, where we'd met up with
Hilde and Yae.
The preliminaries were going well. Half of the winners had already been
determined. There were so many participants that we ended up going for a
battle royale structure.
"Did the knight king... Did Reinhard already qualify?"
"My brother was part of the A Block, yes. He's downstairs in the waiting room
watching the other matches." Hilde pointed down to where the winners were
all socializing.
Oh, right... I guess Yae and Hilde's brothers might end up fighting each other...
Which one should I cheer for? I can hardly cheer for them both...
"Anyone we know qualified as well?"
"Commander Gaspar, General Leon, and Baba did!" Dang, even the old guy
did... I hope he doesn't overdo anything.
Still, it wasn't too surprising. The guy was a member of Takeda's Elite Four. I
was sure he could even give Reinhard a run for his money.
"Ah, Touya... Look..."
"Hm?" I looked over and noticed a familiar face amongst the participants of
the H Block.
It was a girl with slightly darker skin and pointed ears, with scales on her body
here and there. She had two draconic horns pointing out of her head, and a
thick tail around her back.
"Ahh... I didn't know Sonia was here." She was a draconic fighter, an
adventurer. A friend that we'd met back during the Pruning in the Sea of Trees.
She also helped us out against the heavenly emperor of Yulong a while back as
well.
Apparently, she continued dungeoneering across the world as an adventurer,
and she'd even been to Brunhild's dungeon islands a few times. I wasn't too
surprised she was participating, since she started traveling the world in pursuit
of martial prowess anyway.
That probably meant Rengetsu would be participating too. He was the staff-
wielder with the bald head. If I recalled correctly, the two of them were
traveling companions who had similar philosophies on battle.
I was remembering them fondly when the match began, and the arena
immediately turned into a veritable melee.
Sonia smacked an ax-wielding man with her gauntlet, almost knocking him
out of bounds immediately.
Just as he was about to recover from the staggering blow... A second, invisible
impact sent him crashing out of bounds. He was disqualified immediately.
This was part of Sonia's power... And what a fearsome power it was.
In the end, Sonia was the winner of the H Block's warriors, and she carried on
to the main contest. Leon from Belfast fought very similarly to her, but I had a
feeling she might have been even more skilled than he was...
Either way, victory had a lot of factors to it beyond mere skill.
"I wanted to join as well, I did..."
"As did I..."
"C'mon you two... Don't get sad. We're needed here for the important act of
keeping people safe, got it?" Yae and Hilde seemed downtrodden, so I put on a
smile and reminded them of how important they were.
That was my outward reason, but in all honesty, I was worried about letting
them participate in a tournament like this... I wouldn't let Elze do it, either.
They had the blessing of various gods shining on them, after all. I didn't want
first, second, and third places being dominated by Brunhild. The event might've
been seen as boring, or even rigged if that happened.
"Seems like the tournament's going fine, anyways... Let's look around a little
more. Oh, maybe we could visit Sakur—"
Just as I was suggesting to the others about something to do, one of my
summoned beasts deployed a telepathic message to me.
"...Sorry, something came up. I gotta bounce."
"Huh?" I was unable to answer their confusion as I used [Teleport] to leave
the arena.
I landed in a back alley so I wouldn't cause any attention, before coming out
into the main street.
I pushed my way through the crowd and saw a man wearing a black bandana.
He was being followed by one of Kohaku's subordinates, a little mouse. That's
how I knew it was the right guy.
I stood in front of the bandana-clad man.
"Somethin' wrong, jackass?"
"Yes. Please return the thing you have in your pocket."
"No idea what you mean."
"The stolen purse. Hand it over." The man clicked his tongue and sneered,
before pulling out a knife and pointing it right at me. What a moron he was...
He'd have had a better chance if he tried to flee.
He lunged, so I dodged the knife and grabbed his hand before twisting it and
holding it upwards. I bent his arm backward, which caused him to squeal out in
pain and reflexively lose his grip on the knife. It fell to the ground alongside him
when I let go.
"H-Hey, you bastard! The fuck?!" You're the one who started it. I sighed as the
little mouse pulled out the purse from the man's breast pocket. It was made of
very fancy material, certainly a pay grade above this ruffian's.
According to the mouse's message, he'd swiped the purse from a traveling
trader. I was the closest one to the area, so I was fine to deal with it.
Some of our knights heard the fuss and came over to arrest the guy.
The man immediately started kicking up a fuss and tried to frame it as if I'd
stolen his purse, but I used [Recall] to project an image of his crimes into the
air, directly from the memories of the little mouse. Once he realized I was the
grand duke of Brunhild, all his protests fell silent.
The knights then took the thief along with them. Then I ascertained who the
purse actually belonged to in the first place. There was a lot of money in it, so I
needed to be sure it got back to its rightful owner.
I used the mouse's memories again to find out who the victim was.
I opened up my map and easily found the guy, he was in front of a stall just a
little bit down the street.
I headed down there and saw a plump-looking trader arguing with an older
woman. The mouse's memories were in black and white, so I didn't realize just
how blindingly red and gaudy the merchant's clothes were. No wonder the thief
thought this guy was an easy target.
"Whaddya mean you have no money! Were you trying to dine and dash...?!"
"I-I wasn't! I just... I must have lost my coin purse, or maybe I was
pickpocketed!" Welp, better deal with this before it gets any worse... It could go
south.
"Excuse me. Is this your coin purse?"
"Hm? Ohh! I-It is!" I handed it over to him. Thank goodness.
I explained the situation to the woman who ran the food stall, and she happily
took the payment from him.
"Thank you so much! You really did save me..." The man bowed to me. I was
actually pretty curious about him.
His red clothes were really interesting, as was his turban. He was a plump
fellow but he seemed in decent shape for a man who must have been in his
forties. All of that combined, along with his black beard, kind of gave off the
image of a stereotypical Arabian merchant. But more than any of that, what
caught my eye was the color of his skin.
His skin was a darkish red, even darker than Sonia's. He was just... Reddish, it
was bizarre. It made me want to ask...
"Excuse me, sir... Could you be one of the Red Fol... Er... Of the Arcana Clan?"
"Oh? You know of my people?" I knew it... The ancient clan that revered the
color red... The people that sealed a Phrase beneath Belfast's old capital, and
left behind a message... The ones that visited Elfrau a long time ago, too... I
knew this guy was related to them!
After hearing the story from Elfrau's queen, I tried to find them, but I hadn't
had any luck.
I had no idea what a person from the Arcana Clan would look like at a mere
glance, after all. My magic wouldn't be able to find people I only had a vague
idea about.
I noticed an amulet around his neck that resembled a Celtic coat of arms. That
could've been a clue... It was certainly something tangible I could use for my
[Search] spell, provided it was a family emblem or something.
"Ah... Well... If you're from the Arcana Clan, then can you answer a question
for me?"
"Hm?" I used [Storage] to pull several printouts for him. They were
photographs of the letters I'd found on the wall beneath Belfast's capital,
during the first incident in which I encountered the Phrase.
It was my hope that he'd be able to read the lettering. I handed them over
and he looked them up and down with a raised brow.
"These... These are words passed down in the Arcana Clan for years and
years... There's almost nobody in the world who'd be able to read these."
"Damn... So you can't either..."
"That's not what I said at all, actually. My grandmother was a priestess of our
people in the olden days, and she taught me the words. I'd say that around five
people exist nowadays, myself included, who can read them." That's not
many... Apparently, the letters were only used for the most important of texts,
so they weren't utilized often enough for them to have been well-preserved.
That made sense, even if it was a shame.
"Uhh... Let's see... It says... Our people, the Red Folk, record this history. The
glimmering monsters spilled forth from the pit and made sacrifices of our
people. As the city was about to fall into ruin, two tiny knights were summoned
by our venerable leader. A Black Knight, and a White Knight. Through time and
space itself, they launched the glimmering beasts. They repaired the pit and
returned from whence they came. We left a glimmering husk here so that,
should this incident ever repeat... This corpse may stand as warning. Do not
allow life to spill back into its husk, lest it rage once more..." I was mostly
confused by what I'd heard.
The glimmering monsters were clearly the Phrase, and the pit they came from
was probably a tear in reality.
But... I had no idea who these Black and White Knights were supposed to be...
Also, that warning about not giving life to the husk was moot, since I ended up
doing that back then.
"Where did you find this?"
"In some ruins beneath Belfast's old capital city."
"Fascinating... It was said in my clan that some of our people separated and
migrated in that direction... These words were likely left behind by them." The
Phrase had invaded Belfast over a thousand years ago. They probably left this
message behind to warn the next generation... But then why was it buried and
forgotten...? It was possible that they were just following instructions and
gradually over time the information was lost... But the ruins were used
specifically to house a dead Phrase, to seal one in there... That wasn't the main
matter of concern, though.
What was written in the ruins was likely true, at any rate. The Phrase had
invaded the capital and caused a major catastrophe...
Then they were saved by individuals who seemingly drove the Phrase back.
The Black and White Knights... They were the key to all of this. I wondered if
they were a duo who had been called from the Reverse World... Or maybe they
were literally just two knights.
The mystery was still in pieces, and I had no idea what most of it meant. It
seemed like I had no choice but to go back to the Reverse World for more clues.
"Thank you so much, you really helped."
"Not at all, really. That money was vital to my operations in this country, so it
would've been a heavy loss. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
Apparently, the Red Folk, the Arcana Clan, had been nomadic until they finally
settled on an island between Hannock and Xenoahs.
Apparently, the clan lived in harmony with the demonkin who were native to
that island.
The merchant, who was named Polunga, left the island as a young man and
became a wandering merchant. He'd been traveling the world ever since. His
purpose in Brunhild was to acquire unusual goods that you couldn't get
anywhere else.
In order to thank him a little more, I introduced him to Olba Strand's
company. That place dealt in oddities a lot, after all.
I said bye to him after that, but I was still thinking about what he said...
"Two knights... Hmm..." Man, I really have no idea what it was talking about.
Guess I can't do anything with that info for the time being.
"Ah, hey! Touya!" I turned around and saw Yumina and Lu pushing their way
through the crowded streets.
"Good job finding me." I hadn't teleported that far away, but the two tracked
me down pretty fast. I asked them how they knew where I was, and they just
kind of glanced at each other with an awkward expression.
"Well, how do I put this... Lately, I've just sort of... known? I've just sort of had
a vague idea of where you are. Lu has, too..."
"It's a little vague, yes... But I have a small idea in my head of where you are
at all times... It's the same for the other girls, I believe..." Wait, what! When did
you all get mental Touya detectors?! Is this because of my divinity? I guess it
would only make sense for abilities like that to get stronger over time... Kohaku
and the other Heavenly Beasts can do something similar.
Still... I'm not sure if I'm keen on having them know where I am at all times...
Isn't that a little awkward? What if I was having an affair?! N-Not that I would,
haha... "Where's Yae and Hilde?"
"They were more interested in the tournament. Elze joined them as well."
They were the mighty trio of my household, so it made sense they'd spend a lot
of time together.
Elze, Yae, and Hilde made up the fighter clique... Linze, Leen, and Sakura
made up the mage clique... So that meant that Yumina, Lu, and Sue must have
made up the royal clique... But then again, Hilde and Sakura were royals too.
We headed off to the storytelling event that Sakura and her family were
hosting. Apparently, a group of street performers had joined in to entertain the
kids with re-enactments of the stories. I also took care of a few troublemaking
drunks.
The overlord was there, reading to the children with a... Frankly terrifying
visage. Several of the children were crying. Sakura berated him for upsetting the
kids... I had no idea why he thought putting on a creepy voice was a good idea.
I didn't want him to notice us and keep us held up, so we swiftly moved on
back to the shogi hall.
We arrived to find all four monitors displaying the same image. It was the
final match.
"Ohh... It's the king of Palouf, and he's up against Dolan!" A lot of the people
in the audience were surprised.
It was the king of Palouf, Ernest Din Palouf. He'd registered under the fake
name Ernie Palous.
Thanks to the badge he was wearing, the audience saw him as someone
completely different, but he still had the appearance of a child to them.
The idea of a ten-year-old boy beating several adults and advancing to the
finals? No wonder they were all so shocked.
"That kid really is a genius... Rachael is one thing, but together they're
incredible..." I looked through the crowd and saw Rachael watching his game.
The Paloufean guards were there too.
Rachael had a tense look on her face, she was totally enthralled. Now and
then she'd turn to Duke Rembrandt and ask for an explanation of what was
going on. She seemed worried about the boy.
Meanwhile, the young king was focused entirely on the game. Whether that
was because he knew she was watching or not remained unknown.
His opponent was Dolan, owner of the Silver Moon in Reflet, he was glaring
down at the board with narrowed eyes. His expression was scary even on a
good day. Scary enough to make a little kid run away crying.
His pieces were greyed out, meaning his time was almost up. He quickly
extended his hand and moved a silver general diagonally to the right.
The boy furrowed his brow at the sudden motion. Dolan grinned as he flipped
the hourglass over. The colors of the pieces returned to normal, and it was the
boy's turn.
"Who'll win...?"
"Mm... It looks like Dolan's winning." I spoke my thoughts to Lu, but I wasn't
entirely certain of them. The tide of the battle could've been turned quite
easily.
The audience quietly exchanged their opinions on the matchup as the time
limit continued to tick downwards.
The two of them were exuding an aura so intense that even those who knew
little about shogi couldn't help but be drawn in.
The colors of the pieces began to shift, signaling the approaching end of
Ernest's turn.
He moved his hand, bringing his horse diagonal.
His pieces reverted back to their regular colors. He flipped the hourglass and
stared Dolan down.
Dolan's expression turned downright grim. It seemed as if the young king was
backing him into a corner... But I also wasn't sure.
Yeah, I really can't follow the match, I should hire a commentator next time.
Dolan moved his piece, but he was clearly stressed out by the move. The
atmosphere was so tense that nobody in the audience raised their voices at all.
Nobody cheered for either side... They simply watched the two locked in
mortal, psychological combat.
◇ ◇ ◇
"...I resign," Dolan sighed in defeat, causing the Paloufean audience members
to cheer out in joy.
King Cloud of Lihnea quickly joined in on the clapping alongside Ernest's older
sister.
Rachael burst into tears, leading her father to softly comfort her. She was
probably extremely relieved that Ernest won... The pressure must've been too
much. The boy himself slumped back in his chair with a drained expression on
his face. He did everything he could, and now the mental fatigue was hitting
him... He was just a kid, after all.
Dolan folded his arms, frowned, and closed his eyes.
It was a shame he was defeated, but he still got second place. He was
extremely talented and probably learned a lot from the event.
"...The beginning of next year."
"H-Hm?" Dolan opened his eyes and began murmuring towards the young
king. The king suddenly leaned forwards and tried to fix his posture.
"We'll hold a shogi tournament in my hometown at the beginning of next
year. Wanna participate? Won't be as flashy as it is here... But we can settle our
score then..."
"A-Ah, yes! Of course! I will!" Dolan then extended his hand, which the young
boy quickly grasped.
Dolan... You might not be aware of this but you just invited the king of an
entire nation to Reflet.
Either way, it seemed the two of them had formed an unbreakable bond, one
unaffected by age or social status. He'd probably need the badge for the Reflet
tournament, too.
The war was now over. Now all I had to do was handle the award ceremony...
I would be handing over a shield and medal to the winners, just like the baseball
tourney.
The grand champion was Ernie Palous, who was secretly King Ernest Din
Palouf. Second place went to Dolan from Reflet. And third place went to a guy
whose name I already forgot. He was a commoner who just tried his darndest.
Each of them smiled with the medal around their necks. The king of Palouf's
medal was made of orichalcum. He gazed at it with stars in his eyes.
He was clearly happy. The medal was tangible proof that he won on his own
merit, and hopefully, it'd be a source of confidence for the kid.
"Congratulations."
"A-Ah, thank you! I'll treasure this for the rest of my life..." He was almost on
the verge of crying.
The award ceremony wrapped up and everyone started to leave the stage.
Just then, Rachael ran up towards Ernest and almost bowled him over with a
massive hug. That was amusing.
"You did it! You did it!! I knew you could, Ernie!"
"Hh... R-Rachael, y-you're... Squeezin..." The boy began to gasp for air as his
face turned blue, Rachael continued to squeeze him in sheer joy. I couldn't tell
if the scene was heartwarming or mortifying, but I was happy he had someone
who cared for him that much.
The shogi tournament was over, which only left the fighting tournament.
Then the festival would end with a closing ceremony.
The festival seemed to have gone without a hitch. Amazing, when you
considered how quickly I'd slapped it all together.
And... Right on cue, as I was quietly cheering about how things had gone
well... My smartphone began to vibrate.
It's Relisha... Why do I have a bad feeling all of a sudden?
I picked up the call.
"Oh, 'sup?"
"Grand Duke, it's Relisha. We've detected a large-scale Phrase emergence
event. It's in the eastern territory of what used to be Yulong. They number up
to a thousand, but we haven't detected any Upper Constructs." That was bad
news... But it'd been a while since we'd heard anything from the Phrase.
"Are there any nearby population centers?"
"The closest town is Feihang, around fifty kilometers away... But nobody lives
there, it was abandoned when Yulong collapsed. Those that do live there would
only be outlaws."
"When are they coming out?"
"Tonight, approximately five hours from now." Tsk... That's annoying... So like
10 pm at night, huh...
If it was five-hundred to a thousand of them, and there were no Upper
Constructs, then thirty Frame Gears would do fine. Based on the battles so far,
even with numbers of up to a thousand, the Intermediate Constructs only made
up like ten or twenty percent of the forces at most.
If we rolled out a group including the girls and their Valkyries, the fight would
be easy enough.
I finished up my conversation with Relisha before calling Rosetta and Monica.
I told them to prepare for a small-scale deployment.
Come to think of it, this is the first night-time battle against the Phrase...
Doesn't the Storehouse have something we can use to help out...? I guess I'll
speak to Parshe about it...
Seemed like I had a long night ahead of me...