"Oh, it connected! Amazing! There's barely any lag at all!"
"Naturally, it was all thanks to my hard work of course. Linking up the
Dimensional Disruptor proved more tricky than I'd initially expected, but it
seems to be working well."
I could hear Doc Babylon's voice through my smartphone's speaker. Even
through a voice-only call, she was exuding raw, smug energy.
I was standing on one of the peaks of Drakliff Island in the Reverse World,
while she was working in Babylon in the regular world. We'd successfully
achieved cross-world instant communication, which was a pretty impressive
feat in its own right. I could understand why she'd be smug, even if I couldn't
see her making the expression I imagined.
This technological leap meant we could now act quickly if the mutants
appeared in the Reverse World.
Part of me wished that the Reverse World had an adventurer's guild, though...
It'd make things a lot easier. What I needed was an organization that specialized
in collecting and distributing information... I wondered if maybe there was
some kind of ninja clan hanging around, like Tsubaki's people back in Brunhild.
Est from the Red Cats would probably know something like that, since they
were an underground organization.
I was planning on giving mass-produced smartphones to her and Nia, so I'd
ask them when we crossed paths.
"I'll be off for a while, then."
"Best of luck."
"Ping."
"Pong."
"Pang."
Shirogane bowed, causing the three maid Gollems behind him to bow as well.
The three of them were definitely growing more human-like in their motions. I
was pretty impressed by their learning capabilities.
Now, Nia and the others...
I pulled up my smartphone and looked them up. Hm? They aren't at the
abandoned fortress, and they're not at the underground hideout either... Did
they get a new base?
The place was a little north of the abandoned fortress we'd encountered last
time, within the Kingdom of Strain.
I used [Gate] to move to the old fort's courtyard. I could've used [Teleport]
but I didn't exactly want to chance a repeat of the incident I went through with
Nia last time... I didn't think it was likely to happen again, but I just didn't want
to tempt fate.
I walked through the portal and out the other side.
"Wuh?!"
A young man, perhaps a bit older than me, jumped up in shock and drew his
weapon. The red bandana on his head told me that he was a member of the
Red Cats.
"Wh-Wh-What are you doing here?! Who are you?!"
He didn't seem to have any idea who I was, and he looked scared out of his
wits.
"I'm Mochizuki Touya. I'm just stopping by here on my way to see Nia. I don't
mean any harm."
"Y-You know the boss?"
"Yeah, I guess. Is Est around, maybe? What about Euni or Euri?" The bandanaclad man immediately turned around and ran into a building, then came out
with a ponytail-wearing girl. It was Euni.
"Yo, long time no—"
"Touya! You came just at the right time! We need your help!" Euni suddenly
cut off my greeting and began pleading instead. I wondered what had
happened.
"Boss and Est are in the middle of a fight! You gotta help them!"
"Wait, what?!" They're in a fight? Did the kingdom's knights attack them or
something?
"They're to the north, in Ripto village! Those golden devil things appeared!
There's a ton of them! Boss is fighting there, alongside the prince of Panaches...
Even though they have two crowns, there are way too many monsters for them
to handle!"
What?! The mutants? And a lot of them? Shit, this ain't good... I took out my
smartphone and projected a map of the area, centering it on Ripto village. Then
I ran a search for the mutated Phrase.
Thud, thud, thud. Pinpoints landed all over the map. There were roughly a
hundred of them. Frankly, I was relieved, I was expecting thousands of them...
But that didn't exactly mean I could relax either.
"Two crowns should be enough to handle that many, right?" I remembered
reading in the newspaper that the prince of Panaches had taken out a group of
mutants with his crown, so I wasn't worried about it all that much.
"Boss and the prince have crowns that aren't really great against groups of
enemies! Plus, if she's fighting to protect the people, she won't be able to go
all-out with Rouge either!"
I remembered Rouge's power. It was the red crown that served Nia. It had
monstrously destructive capabilities and could control flames. It asked for its
master to shed their blood in payment.
That definitely wasn't a power made for fighting multiple enemies. Plus, the
more enemies, the more blood she'd have to spill. In the worst case scenario,
the blood loss could even kill her.
Nia couldn't fight at full power because she'd put her own life at risk, and she
couldn't go too powerful or she'd put all the people at risk. It was a truly
terrible dilemma.
"Alright. I'll head over."
"Thanks so much!"
A single use of [Teleport] would easily cover that kind of distance. I quickly
nodded to Euni before warping off to the battlefield.
I landed at a good vantage point, a hill overlooking the town. The sight I gazed
upon was one of black smoke and ruined buildings. I saw a group of a hundred
mutants laying waste to the town. Most of them were Lesser Constructs, but
there were a few Intermediate ones dotted around too.
Using a Frame Gear for head-on combat would be ill-advised, since it'd only
cause more damage. That was why I went with something else.
"Reginleif!" I invoked [Storage] and summoned my Frame Gear.
I jumped right into the cockpit and set my smartphone down on the main
console. I then made Reginleif fly into the sky and activated the Fragarach
systems.
The plated wings on Reginleif's back detached and began orbiting the Frame
Gear.
"Mode Change: Dagger!"
"Fragarachs shifting to Dagger Mode."
Each of the board-shaped Fragarachs split into four smaller segments. In the
blink of an eye, twelve orbital devices became forty-eight blades.
"Gladius!"
The swords glimmered on my command. All forty-eight daggers started
dancing through the air, piercing through the mutated Phrase below.
I didn't know exactly where their cores were, so I just had the projectiles
pierce them in multiple points at once. I also made sure not to cause any
damage.
It only took a short amount of time for all the Lesser Constructs to crumble
under my assault. There were only Intermediate Constructs left.
Suddenly, one of the remaining mutants, one shaped like a monstrous
centipede, shot a particle beam cannon blast in my direction.
I tried to maneuver Reginleif to dodge it, but something suddenly jumped up
in front of me. It was a small, blue humanoid Gollem.
It looks similar to Nia's Rouge... Is this the blue crown, then? Not that I really
needed saving... But still. The thought counts.
It held its arm up against the incoming beam of light and bent the light back.
The blast was deflected into the sky at an angle. Huh. What was that?
It was kind of similar to my [Reflection] spell... At least it looked that way at a
glance. I wondered if that was what the Gollem's skill was. Guess it... Saved me?
I guess.
I willed several of the crystal daggers to pierce the centipede mutant, and
after a few slices, its body began to melt into gross goop. Three left.
"Mode Change: Blade."
The daggers began forming into several longswords until there were twelve of
them in total. I launched four of the blades against each of the remaining
mutants.
A sound of screeching metal rang out into the air as the mutants were run
through and disposed of in no time at all. Black smoke began to rise from their
bodies, and they melted into goo.
That was that.
I used my camera to survey the town, and found it was mostly in ruins.
Unfortunate, but there was nothing I could have done.
I quickly spotted Nia and Est. They seemed fine, as did Rouge and Akagane.
I set down Reginleif in front of them, then hopped out of the cockpit.
"Touya?! That was you?!"
"Sure was. I went to the fortress to find you, and Euni told me to assist. Glad
to see you guys aren't any worse for wear."
"What... Forget about that a sec... Where'd that massive Gollem come
from?!"
"It isn't a Gollem. It's a Frame Gear, and... Uh, forget it. I'll explain later."
I needed to sort out the roaring fires around the town before carrying on the
conversation.
"Man, what a pain... Descend, O Water. Blessing of the Heavens: [Heavenly
Rain]!"
Raindrops kept falling on my head, and then they kept falling everywhere else
as the clouds spread out from above me. I quickly moved under a nearby
building, and the light drizzle turned into a heavy downpour. After a short
amount of time, the clouds vanished, and the sky looked as though there'd
never been any there to begin with.
"That should take care of the fires."
"Amazing... You really can do anything, can't you?"
"You're like the sorcerers of legend..."
Est and Nia looked up at the sky in bewilderment.
[Heavenly Rain] was an ancient spell that allowed you to determine radius
and amount of rainfall based on your own magic power. According to Leen,
most people would only be capable of casting it over an area the size of a small
dining room.
That meant the spell would be useless to most people, but it wasn't to me.
Either way, it probably became a lost art because of its lack of functionality, it
was just pointless as a spell.
If you needed a bit of water, then casting [Water Ball] would be more than
enough. But I definitely found it handy for emergencies, and also crop watering.
"Wait, forget the magic. Tell me about that Gollem!"
"It's not a Gollem..."
Nia started yelling, and Est simply looked on at Reginleif with curious eyes.
Rouge and Akagane also seemed inquisitive.
I wondered how to best explain the situation to them. I didn't exactly want to
lie to them, but it'd probably take a while to explain. We needed to go back to
the fortress if they wanted the full story.
"Truly magnificent!" A loud voice suddenly called out from behind us. I turned
around and the sight I saw was enough to turn my expression into a deep,
troubled frown.
The man in front of me was the absolute visual embodiment of the word
"prince." He had short golden hair in a bob cut, with a little crown sitting atop
his head. He wore a small, blue cape on his back. His legs were adorned with
white tights, and he had puffy striped pumpkin pants.
If he was a cute little boy then the look would be novel, and adorable... But he
wasn't. He was clearly around my age... so it looked weird, and forced. I didn't
know what to make of him at all. He looked just like he'd leaped out of a
storybook.
He was likely the prince from Panaches. The small blue Gollem that used the
reflection-based technique was standing next to him.
"Truly, truly, truly magnificent! Such strength, such poise! My body quivers in
anticipation!"
The pompous, exaggerated prince began lavishing praise upon Reginleif. He
was certainly... hyperactive.
"...Who is this?"
"That's the prince of Panaches. Robert Tell Panaches. He's also the contractor
of the blue crown, Distortion Blau."
"He's a dumbass prince. Nothing more."
Nia grumbled quietly, following up Est's more formal answer. I could sort of
understand what she meant. He didn't exactly look normal.
"You there! Are you perhaps this beautiful Gollem's master?"
"Not exactly? I mean, it is mine..."
The prince took his gaze away from Reginleif and began quickly stepping in
my direction. He grinned broadly and moved using his whole body as if he was
trying to dramatically assert dominance. He reminded me of an
overenthusiastic actor.
"I see! Most curious! Then you have my thanks, my most astute and honest
thanks! I've no idea what might have happened if you hadn't arrived! Could I
please hear your name, my friend?!"
"U-Uhh... It's M-Mochizuki Touya..."
"Mochizuki Touya, you say?! Has a nice ring to it! I am the crown prince of the
Panaches Kingdom! Robert Tell Panaches! But please, we are friends now, so
just call me Robert! Ever since I was a child I have had very few friends, you see!
I'd appreciate it if you completely ignored my magnificent, royal, gilded blood!
Please ignore the silver spoon in my mouth! It isn't important! My brilliant
lineage is simply unimportant!"
Robert took both of his hands and tightly grasped one of my own, shaking it
like an excited child. His eyes practically had stars in them... I was a little
annoyed.
He didn't seem like a bad guy. He was just too... eager? He was way too fired
up about everything, so I wasn't too surprised to hear he didn't have many
friends. I definitely couldn't understand his weird fashion sense, either.
"Hey, idiot. Let go of my friend's hand."
"Why, he's my friend too! Is there a problem?"
"Yeah there's a problem, it's you! I don't wanna know anything about you!"
"Now now, Nia Belmot! Don't limit your friendships! I'd like it if we could get
along better, too!"
"Don't be gross, asshole! I don't wanna hear it, dumbass prince!"
"Goodness me... The red crown's master is certainly a shy one, isn't she?"
Nia glared at him like he was a piece of crap she'd just stepped in, and he was
innocently smiling back at her. I had no idea what was going on here at all. I left
their argument... If you could even call it that, and talked to Est.
"He's certainly a character, huh?"
"That's one way to put it. Regardless, he'll shut down soon."
"Shut down?"
As if to answer my question, Robert suddenly stopped speaking. His eyes
immediately closed, and he faceplanted into the ground as if he'd just had his
batteries removed.
Wh-What the hell?! Did Nia get a surprise hit in while I wasn't looking? I got
closer to check what was going on, and... I heard him snoring. The mad lad had
straight-up fallen asleep.
"That's the price the blue crown claims. The blue crown controls spatial
distortion. Much like how Nia must offer up her blood, the contractor of Blau
needs to offer up his own consciousness. He's forced to sleep."
Spatial distortion? Guess that explains how it bent away the beam. Still, that's
quite the compensation... Sleeping doesn't actually seem all that bad, though.
"The blue crown can bend space and teleport much like you can. I'm not sure
if I'm convinced of its uses, though... The contractor always falls unconscious
within an hour of activating Blau's power."
"How long is he gonna be asleep for?"
"Depends on how many times he used the powers. If I had to make an
estimate, he'll probably be out for two days this time around."
Two whole days? That definitely sucks. I'm not even sure if it's worth the
trade-off... Hell, if he falls asleep in the middle of a fight he could die. I wonder if
he'll fall into an eternal slumber if he uses it too much... Guess that'd make him
more of a Sleeping Handsome rather than a Sleeping Beauty.
Wait, what do we even do with him? As I pondered to myself, the small
Gollem by his side picked him up and hoisted him over his shoulder. Seemed
like it would carry the prince home.
"Prince!"
"Master Robert!"
Two knightly-looking people came running toward us from the town. One was
a man, and one was a woman. According to Nia, they were his escorts and were
never seen away from him.
It made sense that he'd have people with him, since he fell asleep at random
based on his power usage.
The blue crown, Distortion Blau, turned away from us and began walking
toward them with the prince in tow.
"Hmm... So that's red, purple, and now blue... Are there no ordinary crown
contractors, I wonder..."
"Did you say something?"
"No, nothing at all." I was lucky Nia hadn't heard my muttering. She probably
wouldn't have liked me musing about her being abnormal. I needed to take care
of what I said out in the open, lest I invite danger.
Nia and Est were technically bandits, so they couldn't hang around for too
long. I called Reginleif back into [Storage], and then fired up a [Gate] to bring us
back to the abandoned ruin.
◇ ◇ ◇
"To be honest, I have trouble believing this... But believing it would answer a
lot of questions."
"Huh... I thought you were strange to begin with, Touya... But this whole tale
makes you even stranger."
"Gimme a break."
I was in the fortress hideout with the Red Cat leaders. Currently, we were
seated in a tent within the main courtyard.
I told them the whole story. About how I was from another world, about how
I was royalty, and about how the mutated Phrase had appeared in the other
world as well. I told them about my intentions to take care of the threat.
All four of them were here. Nia, Est, Euni, and Euri. They all had equally
confused expressions as they sat around the table.
"So... Those metal devils... Or rather, these mutants... They're going to keep
on appearing?"
"I'm afraid so, yes. In my world, we have a league of nations that keeps the
whole world in the loop, but there aren't any similar countermeasures here.
That's kind of what I'm hoping to fix... We were lucky there weren't a lot of
them. But if a large group appeared, they could take out a whole nation."
"Th-This wasn't a large group? How many is, then?"
"They could appear in the tens of thousands. In the end, no country will be
able to stand up to them all... Not even the ones in my world could do it alone,
which is why we're working together."
When faced with an extra-terrestrial threat, the entire world really has no
choice but to start working together as one. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a
world left to rule over.
I didn't think getting nations in the Reverse World to co-operate would be
much of a cakewalk, either. There was that whole Primula issue earlier, too.
"Wh... Hold on a second here... Tens of thousands? There's no way we could
face off against them!"
"Nia, Est... You remember that Frame Gear thing I showed you earlier? They
were originally designed to combat the Phrase, the species that these mutants
derived from. We have hundreds of them standing at the ready."
"Hundreds of that thing...?!"
That wasn't strictly true. It wasn't like I had hundreds of Reginleifs in reserve. I
couldn't show them the other models, since I didn't have any on standby in
[Storage].
"So, what's your next step?"
"I want to gain an audience with any person or organization that can help me
gather information on this side. I already have ties in Primula and Triharan, but
that's not nearly enough to cover the whole world."
"Would other countries even believe you? Even if they hear you out, they'll
probably just laugh when you say you're from another world..."
Euri was right. Primula believing me was due to extremely specific
circumstances. But even if they didn't believe me at first, they'd have to
eventually. When the mutants attack their towns and slaughter their people,
they'd have no choice but to believe.
I didn't want it to come to that, though... I wanted to co-operate with nations
before they were brought to the brink of collapse.
"Hmm... Well, I do know of an information brokerage..."
Oho, great. I knew I could count on Est... Wonder who the broker is.
"Alright? What place? Do I know it?"
"It's Papillon."
"Wait... Papillon? Don't they run the black market?"
That was the place I'd gotten the three Etoiles. If I recalled correctly, the
criminal organization that managed the black market was known as Papillon.
Nia had said it was a vile organization that did anything in the pursuit of cash.
"Papillon is actually in the middle of an inner conflict right now. After the
attack by the purple crown, they sent out several assassins and failed multiple
attempts on the contractor's life. In retaliation, the purple crown and its master
killed all the leaders of the organization."
Fanatic Viola, I think it was called... And its master was that psycho chick,
Luna.
Wherever they went, carnage followed. I had no interest in seeing them
again.
"Papillon split into two groups as a result. There's a group that operates
above ground, and one that operates underground."
Est explained that the above-ground group managed inns and brothels as its
main source of income while offering shady spy services like information
gathering and rumor manipulation under the table.
The underground group, on the other hand, was dealing with more dangerous
jobs like assassination, thievery, arson, and trafficking. The black market fell
under their jurisdiction.
The leader in charge of the above-ground branch and the leader in charge of
the underground branch had been openly arguing ever since the overall bosses
were killed. Tensions were apparently reaching a fever pitch.
"The previous leader had no heirs, so the successor is expected to be one of
the two sub-leaders... Right now they're engaged in a bitter feud about who
should take over."
"Huh, I see. So I should go after the above-ground leader."
"Right. They're masters of information gathering. Papillon's inns are spread
out all over the world, and they have a presence in every major city."
That sounded good to me. A network that wide would probably rival the
adventurer's guild.
"...Wait, Est. The leader of Papillon's above-ground department..."
"Indeed... She's Silhouette Lily... Also known as Kageyuri."
"N-No way! We can't send Touya into her clutches! The poor guy'll be sucked
dry!"
Nia began flailing her arms as her cheeks turned red. I wondered what she
was getting worried about. It was just a lady, right?
"Is she scary, or something?"
"...Yes. Kageyuri is primarily in charge of Papillon's brothels, and she's a
notorious woman... She's rumored to be undefeated in terms of seduction,
causing man after man to fall... I've met her once before, and she's truly what
I'd define as a man-eater..."
Hmm... A brothel master? Well, it can't be that bad. It's a little ominous, but it
should be fine.
"Kageyuri isn't exactly adept in terms of fighting power compared to the
underground boss, but she makes up for that in sheer number of subordinates.
If you can get her on your side, she'll be invaluable."
"So, how do I meet her?"
"We'll use our connections to find out where Kageyuri is right now. After
that... Well, you can just go and meet her, I suppose."
Is it that simple? Something feels weird here. I don't exactly want to get into
trouble...
Little did I know that trouble was quickly becoming a lifestyle for me.
◇ ◇ ◇
I found myself to the north of the Kingdom of Strain, in the commerce-based
city of Cantere.
I headed straight for the red-light district and found myself at the highestrated brothel in town. It was a gaudy-looking place called the Moon Parlor. It
was lit up like a grand pavilion. There were bits of neon decor here and there,
too, glowing in all kinds of different colors. I hadn't exactly come here as a
customer, but there was still a nervous lump in my throat.
"...I bet this place ain't cheap..."
I wondered how much it'd even be for a night. Maybe a platinum coin? It's
not like I couldn't afford it... But I wasn't here as a customer... I definitely wasn't
here as a customer. There were some stairs leading up to the main entrance,
with two burly guys in suits standing at the bottom. I was seriously intimidated
just being near them.
Still, nothing would come of anything if I just stood still, so I moved onward. I
didn't want to loiter around, that'd just look shady.
I braced myself for the glare of the bouncers and started ascending the stairs.
I opened the door and found myself in a long hallway lined with stained glass
windows. At the end of the hallway was a man at a desk. He wore all black and
had a bit of a slimy smile.
"Welcome to the Moon Parlor, friend. Is this your first time?"
The man had a short beard and looked to be around thirty. His smile seemed
painfully sweet. No matter how you looked at it, his smile was a businessman's.
I was bad at dealing with guys like him.
"I'm a first-timer, but I'm not here for pleasure. I'm here to see Silhouette
Lily."
"...If you're not seeking pleasure, friend... Then leave. Before you find pain."
The smile was wiped clean from his face, and he stabbed me with a sudden
threat. Judging from his response, I was in the right place.
"She's here, right? I just want to talk to her. I won't be long."
"Hey, knuckleheads! Get this putz outta here!"
The two bouncers from the door came down the hall toward me. One of them
stretched out a beefy arm and attempted to grab me. I responded by touching
his hand and invoking [Paralyze] instead.
"Gwuh?!" He fell to the ground, and I quickly cast the same spell on the other
guard. They were kind of just doing their jobs, but I didn't want them in my way.
"Bastard! Are you one of Zabbit's cronies?!"
The bearded businessman unsheathed a concealed dagger and swung it
toward me. I had no idea who the hell Zabbit was supposed to be. It was
possible he was the guy in charge of Papillon's underground branch, though.
"Never should've come here!"
"[Slip]."
"Gaaah!"
The man suddenly stumbled over the ground itself and did a beautiful
backward somersault. His dagger slipped from his hands and embedded itself in
a part of the wall. That thing was sharp! I guess even being part of surface-level
operations didn't make him any less of a crook.
"I don't know any Zabbit. I just want to meet with Silhouette. Let her know I
need to see her."
"Urgh..."
The man glared daggers at me from the floor. He wasn't interested in
cooperating, but I didn't exactly want to tear the place up.
Suddenly, a woman's voice called out from above us both.
"My, my... I'd appreciate it if you didn't raise more of a fuss."
"M-Ma'am?!"
There was a woman standing at the top of the curved staircase on one side of
the hall, she slowly made her way down. She had long hair and hazel eyes, and
seemed to be around twenty years old. Her body was... Curvy in all the right
places, and pretty well-proportioned. The white cheongsam she wore hugged
her figure, and the white lily-shaped hairpin she wore helped tie the whole look
together. But the look itself wouldn't have been possible without the natural
beauty she radiated.
This must've been Silhouette Lily, the Kageyuri.
She was definitely as gorgeous as the rumors said, but she was the kind of
beautiful that would make me hesitate. For some reason, I felt like I needed to
have my guard up around her.
"So you're Silhouette Lily?"
"That is the case, yes. I don't know who you are, sugar. It's awfully rude to
visit a working girl without a prior reservation. I'm rather busy."
"I'm sorry for that, but I'd been informed that trying to arrange a meeting in
advance probably wouldn't have gotten me one anyway."
"And who told you that?"
"Est, of the Red Cats."
My response caused her to raise a brow, and her expression softened slightly.
Silhouette Lily then smiled and continued down the stairs.
Ohh... Her legs are totally bare... And her thighs are kinda peeking outta the
dress... Ghh... I'm weak against women like this...
"Seems you aren't one of Zabbit's tools, then. What do you want with me,
boy?"
She came down the stairs fully and walked over to me with a crooked grin
spreading across her cheeks. But I wasn't paying attention to the gorgeous
woman in front of me. I'd sensed something else. I whipped out my smartphone
to confirm my suspicions, and my intuition was right.
"...Before that, can I ask something? There are around fifty people
surrounding the building right now. Did you schedule a group meeting, or are
they uninvited too?"
"Huh?" Silhouette blinked in confusion. At that moment, the stained glass
windows lining the hallway shattered, and a few men jumped into the building.
At least I thought they were men. They were just humanoid. Thin Gollems
with clothing wrapped around them.
They had ruler-length blades jutting from their wrist mounts. The Gollems
completely disregarded me and the desk clerk and attempted to slash at
Silhouette.
"Boss!"
The prone guardsmen cried out, unable to do anything. Their voices alerted
me in time to channel my magic.
"[Shield]."
I raised my hand and thrust it in Silhouette's direction, casting an invisible
barrier between her and her attackers.
"What is this...?" Silhouette stood there in confusion as the Gollems were
deflected. They continued to smack against the barrier with their weapons, but
it was pointless.
"Confine, o Ice! Everlasting Confinement: [Eternal Coffin]!"
After my chant finished, ice began to sprout up beneath the three Gollems,
and in seconds they were trapped inside rectangular pillars. It was an ancient
spell I'd recently looked up in the library, they wouldn't be able to escape.
Silhouette looked around in confusion before moving toward me from behind
the pillars.
"...Did you just do that?"
"Should I not have?"
"No, I just... You saved my life... That was extremely dangerous... And those
Gollems... Oh... Wait, did you say we were surrounded?"
"We are, yeah. Want me to take care of them? I'll do it if you listen to what I
have to say afterward."
"...Very well. If you can really handle them all, then that's the least I could
do."
Ha! Gotcha! That's a verbal contract! Alright, time to take out the trash.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Alright, I guess that's that." I stood outside the Moon Parlor's entrance,
surrounded by collapsed black-clad men. They were all on the ground, of
course... And their Gollems were sealed in frozen pillars.
I just want to be clear here, none of the men were dead. I didn't even scrap
their Gollems.
A bunch of thuggish-looking men came out of the Moon Parlor and dragged
the unconscious men away. Part of me hoped they were going to hand the guys
in to the authorities, but I also knew that was a naive expectation.
These guys were definitely not random, innocent citizens. Hell, their outfits
basically reminded me of some kind of criminal secret service getup. Not to
mention they all exuded a threatening aura. That kind of made them secondrate, in my opinion, but it wasn't like they were trying to be subtle so it didn't
make much of a difference.
They were probably going to torture the unconscious attackers and find out
who sent them. I had a feeling they already knew who the mastermind was, but
it never hurt to break a few fingers to be sure.
"...You really managed it. Tell me, are you one of the Red Cats?"
"I'm not, no. But I am a friend of theirs."
Silhouette's voice reflected the fact that that she was still in shock from what
she'd just witnessed.
"...Hmm. If he's really attacking me so brazenly, it seems the time for peaceful
negotiations is over."
"Who, Zabbit?"
"Yes. Zabbit Grandt... He handles the underground affairs of Papillon."
That was about what I had expected. He probably considered Silhouette to be
a pain and wanted to kill her... Although, given how weak these guys were it
was probably meant to be more of a message to her.
She's really beautiful, after all... If the guy was really that scummy, he'd
probably think of it a waste to have her die.
"He's been harassing us more recently and has even done horrible things to
the girls that work for me. Many of the girls have been emotionally wounded by
his vile commands, as well... That man is a pig, and he's been unspeakably
cruel... I love the women that work for me, so I'd rather have them shake their
hips in pleasure than shake their whole bodies in fear."
If that was true, then it was pretty despicable. I didn't like the idea of such a
brute trying to take out Silhouette.
Still, the situation was getting pretty dangerous... Now that this intimidation
attempt had failed, he could actually end up trying to kill her.
"Now, as I promised... I'll talk to you. Please, come this way."
Silhouette led me back into the Moon Parlor. Once I made it inside, I saw a
large crowd of people gathered in the foyer.
"Wh-What?!"
I froze up on the spot when I saw them. They all stared at me. There were a
few guys standing around, but most of the people were girls... And all of those
girls were in varying states of undress.
Some were wearing skimpy dresses, allowing me to see their underwear...
Some of them weren't even wearing bras. Holy crap were... Were they with...
clients? D-Doing it...? Doing... that?! Augh! W-Wait, some of them aren't
wearing clothing at all!
"Wooow! You're, like, so strooong..."
"Thanks for saving us. Oh gosh!"
"Mmh... How about I give you a little present as thanks? Wanna spend the
night between my legs, sugar?"
"Hey, don't just offer him that! You should let him slip into something
comfortable first. Like me."
"O-Oh! N-No, ladies, please! I-I have some... I have some stuff to attend to,
please!"
The girls started grabbing at me, pulling me back in no matter how many
times I tried to escape their clutches.
Oh no... What's that nice smell? Hh... What's that soft feeling against my
back?! What the hell? Did someone just kiss me on the cheek?! Wait, why is my
arm wet? HELP!
"That's enough, girls. Back to your bedrooms, I have business with the boy."
Silhouette clapped her hands together and the girls begrudgingly returned to
their rooms. Some of them were grumbling and muttering things like "No fair,
the boss gets to hog him..." Some of the guys went into the rooms with them,
too. Presumably, they were customers.
I'm glad it's over.
"Are you alright, hm? Seems you were a little... Overstimulated. Are you
perhaps unfamiliar with the touch of a woman?"
"...N-No comment."
I sheepishly looked away from Silhouette, who was giggling up a storm. ...That
really caught me off-guard. It was a bit too much for me to handle.
The air was a little awkward for a while after that, but we finally made it to
the top floor of the brothel. We passed through a pair of heavy doors and came
out into a fancy-looking room. From all the luxurious furnishings, I could've
easily confused it for a royal bedroom. Not even the rooms back in Brunhild
castle were this nice.
I sat down on the couch and looked around the room. When I looked up I
noticed there was a skylight installed, giving me a full view of the full moon.
There was a little black cat curled up on a pillow next to me. I assumed it was
probably Silhouette's cat.
"Would you like a drink? A real drink, I mean... Or are you the kind who
prefers fruit juice?"
"I'll take the juice, please."
Silhouette shrugged and brought a couple of drinks to the small table in front
of the couch. She then sat on a chair opposite me. Her drink fizzed and bubbled
quietly, it resembled champagne.
"So, what exactly do you want of me? I haven't even heard your name yet,
you know."
"Oh... Sorry about that. I'm Mochizuki Touya. Right now... I guess I'm a visitor
to this area."
"A visitor? Very well. I'll hear you out."
With her permission, I laid out the general outline of what I wanted, and why.
I told her about the golden monsters that would randomly appear around the
world, and the fact that I could detect their emergence. Then, I told her I
wanted her organization's help in installing these detectors and informationgathering.
"Golden monsters, eh? We've definitely heard eyewitness reports of these
things all over the place. I tend to hear things before anyone else does... A
country lost an entire village to them, you know. Another country lost an entire
squad of battle-equipped Gollems to them as well. I do find it hard to believe
that they're invaders from another world, though."
"You're certainly well-informed..."
"Of course I am. I'm the head of all Papillon's espionage, after all. It's my job. I
hear everything in this world, before anyone else. From major incidents in
governments and politics to minor rumblings in thuggish crime families."
I was impressed, but not terribly surprised. It would make sense that most
towns in most countries would have brothels or inns, and some of those would
probably be operated by Papillon to some degree.
If members of Papillon joined the staff there, or if they were the managers of
the facilities, then gathering local information would be incredibly easy. That
information would then be passed on to Silhouette. It was doubtful that every
town in the world fell under Papillon's shadow, but it was highly likely that the
majority of them were at least slightly tainted.
"And what would I gain for helping you, exactly?"
"...I mean, you'd get advance warning on when the mutants, er... the golden
monsters, would arrive. It'd let you evacuate faster."
"That doesn't sound especially enticing... And it's not like they'll emerge near
my towns every time, right?"
She wasn't exactly wrong. From a partnership perspective, it was obviously
more for my benefit than hers.
But when the mutants began attacking more, she'd surely see the benefits...
Not that I wanted it to drag out that long. It'd be too late if she only realized at
the end.
I wondered what she'd stand to gain, or even what she'd want. She probably
had something in mind already, given the sly grin on her face.
I sighed quietly as I realized what she was waiting for me to offer.
"...Fine. I'll handle the Zabbit guy. Is that enough?"
"Hehe... I like smart little boys... Things run much smoother when you know
what a woman wants."
Her sly grin warped into a full-on smile as she crossed her legs. I quickly
moved my gaze upward, as her cheongsam dress almost offered a glimpse into
the void.
"Hmm... Now you have me curious. Could you have been involved in the
incident between Primula and Triharan the other day?"
Heh, she even knows about that? Then again, there were a lot of eyewitnesses
so I guess it's not that shocking...
I didn't have anything to hide, so I told her about how I supported the
Primulan government, abducted the heir, and captured the head of the senate.
I also told her I planned on cooperating with both countries going forward.
"So you can use teleportation magic? That's quite amazing... Could you
perhaps grab Zabbit and bring him before me?"
"...I mean, yeah. I probably could. But what would you do? Kill him and
become Papillon's sole leader?"
If Silhouette wanted to handle responsibilities like assassination and more
morally messed up stuff, then I needed to reconsider whether I wanted to work
with her or not.
Papillon wasn't exactly like the Red Cats, they weren't doing things in the
name of chivalry or justice. I wasn't asking them to go completely straight and
clean up their acts, but I couldn't overlook the really criminal stuff.
Silhouette must have noticed the shift in my expression. She leaned back and
gave a dismissive wave of her hand.
"Me? Papillon's leader? No thanks. In truth, I'd like to sever ties with that
branch entirely. If they hadn't started hassling us, I'd have left them alone and
continued with my work... But Zabbit is a man of great greed and ambition, and
he won't be satisfied unless he has his fingers in my pies too."
"So you just want to handle inn management and brothel-running?"
"Not at all. In this world, money is power. And information is an incredible
currency. I plan on continuing our intelligence operations, but not for overtly
malicious purposes. If I used the information for extortion, it'd probably be
against corrupt nobles or crooked merchants."
That made sense. She wasn't exactly shedding all criminal activity, but I could
tolerate what she was describing to me. It was basically the same as what Nia
and the Red Cats were doing anyway.
"For the time being, then... would it be enough to disable the underground
portion of Papillon?"
"Mm... I suppose? What are your ideas, Mr. Mage?"
"Well, I could take the easy method and place a curse on them."
"...That got dark all of a sudden. What do you mean by a curse?"
Silhouette raised a brow. I could understand her suspicion, but a curse was
the easiest thing for it. I could simply curse him in a way that prevented him
from taking action against us.
Then again, that wouldn't exactly work, since I didn't know all the members of
the group.
"Do you know where the Zabbit guy is?"
"You won't have to go far. He's in this very city. He lives in the tallest tower in
the northern sector."
Silhouette stood up and pulled back a curtain. I looked out the window and
saw a massive tower that shone out into the night.
I'd noticed it on my entry to the city. I'd actually thought it was a clock tower,
but my guess had been wrong.
It reminded me of the Ryounkaku. It was a twelve-story building that had
been around in Asakusa from 1890 to 1923. I'd read about it in my history
books during school. The tower I'd seen in the books wasn't quite so needlessly
gaudy-looking, however.
I couldn't believe the creep was this close to us.
"Pretty flashy and self-indulgent for a criminal's home, isn't it?"
"As far as most people are concerned, he's just a merchant. Publicly, I'm just a
brothel owner as well. We need cover identities, in the end. The citizens aren't
aware of the true extent of our activities. Not even the merchants he does
business with are aware he's a devil in disguise."
This guy was sounding slimier by the minute. Like a villain that only cared
about himself. He was a far cry from the nobility of the Red Cats.
"Some of the girls who work at my brothel were homeless before I found
them. I've heard stories from them that he has a bad reputation as an abuser of
homeless people... It's like a game for him, teasing the lives of others..."
Silhouette's face turned sullen, but the tension was broken by a knock on the
door. A maid appeared and apologized for the intrusion, before speaking with
Silhouette. She quickly left after a brief exchange.
"What's up?"
"We have a confession from our attackers. They came here on Zabbit's
orders, with the intention to threaten me. They were also told to kidnap me if
the chance presented itself."
Well, that's that then. Guess I don't have to hold back against the guy.
"Can you tell me some of Zabbit's personal features? Physical features would
be good."
"Hm? Well, uhm... he has wiry hair and a mustache. Oh, and he wears goldtrimmed glasses. He's over thirty, and definitely looks middle-aged... He has a
golden walking stick, too! And his eyes are super leery, like he's undressing you
with them!"
I felt like the last point was probably something exclusive to his interactions
with Silhouette, but it was enough information to go off on.
I projected a map into the air and ran a search for Zabbit. I received exactly
one hit based on the criteria, and it was a person in the highest room of the
building.
Silhouette seemed surprised by my map, but I couldn't be bothered to
explain. Hmm... The distance is about that far, and the angle is... Hmm...
"Alright, be back soon."
"Hm?"
Without stopping to explain, I used [Teleport] to warp straight from
Silhouette's room to Zabbit. My vision warped and I found myself facing an
older-looking man with wiry hair. He was just about to tuck into a thick steak.
"Wh-Huh-How?!"
His mustache was wide and wiry, kind of like catfish whiskers, he was wearing
a gaudy-looking changshan and had unnecessarily golden glasses. There was no
doubt about it, he had to be Zabbit.
I immediately judged him to be the guy I was looking for, so I wordlessly
walked over and grabbed him by the neck, then used [Teleport] to bring us back
to Silhouette's room.
"Guh!"
"Eek!" Zabbit groaned as I threw him to the floor, and Silhouette shrieked at
our sudden appearance.
There we go, abduction accomplished. Barely took me any time at all.
...Maybe I'm getting a bit too used to this, though... This is the second time in
this world that I've basically kidnapped someone... I'm a good guy, I swear!
"Wh-Who are you?! Where am I?! Don't you know who I am?!"
Zabbit scowled and yelled as he pointed the fork he'd been holding at me. It
still had a chunk of meat on the end of it. After a short amount of time, he
noticed Silhouette, and his eyes narrowed. He turned his hate-filled voice
toward her.
"I see... So this was your doing? You stupid bitch. Had you shut up and obeyed
me, I'd have let you keep your job... But you really have a deathwish, don't
you?"
"I've said it once, and I'll say it again. I'm not going to work for you. Please
refrain from bothering me and my workers again. This is your final warning."
"Pfft. There can only be one leader of Papillon, harlot. If you won't obey, then
you'll simply die. Hey, you!"
I blinked in confusion and cautiously pointed toward myself. What, me?
"Eliminate this slut. I'll give you all the gold and whores you can dream of. I'll
even let you be one of my trusted aides. And if you work hard, you might even
rise in the ranks of Papillon and—"
"You really are a moron."
"Gwaugh!" I pulled out Brunhild and fired a paralyzing bullet into his gut. He
keeled over and faceplanted into the floor.
"D-Did you kill him?"
"Nope, just paralyzed him. He's basically unharmed, and he's completely
conscious. He just won't be able to move for a while."
I used my foot to roll Zabbit over on to his back. His eyes were glancing
around in fury. He was conscious, so he'd be able to see, hear, and feel
everything going on. I crouched down at him and glared at him, speaking to him
as coldly as I possibly could.
"Hey, scumbag. I'm about to place a curse on you. So long as you behave, like
a good boy, you have nothing to worry about. The conditions are simple. Don't
do anything against Silhouette and her people, ever again. Don't get involved
with her affairs, either. Not only you, but your subordinates too. If even one of
your cronies does something, the curse will trigger. Your entire body will slowly,
permanently, be paralyzed... Eventually, the paralysis will creep into your rotten
heart, and make sure it never beats again. Got it?"
The fear in Zabbit's eyes was starkly visible. He had evidently gotten the
message.
"So long as you abide by the rules, the curse won't trigger. Just go about life
honestly and properly, okay? If any of your subordinates harass Silhouette or
her people, even of their own volition... Even if you didn't ask, the curse will
start spreading across your body. Better keep your men in check, creep."
The conditions seemed pretty fair to me. It was all simple enough. I didn't
think it was an especially harsh curse, given the man's crimes. Hell, he could
easily reduce the chances of the curse triggering just by relocating his base of
operations to another city.
"Brand, o Dark. Sinful Brand: [Guilty Curse]!"
The curse was applied, and a small insignia appeared on Zabbit's forehead. It
was the mark of his curse.
I used [Recovery] on him to relieve his paralysis. The moment I undid it, he
hopped up in a seething rage.
"Y-You wretch, what did you do to me?!"
"Uh, I just told you, dude. I cursed you. Are you sure you wanna hang around
here? I'm pretty sure you're violating the curse conditions just being on her
turf."
"A curse?! Bullshit! Nonsense, that's... Wh— My... My fingers... Why can't I
feel my fingers?!"
Zabbit clutched his right hand as his face paled. The curse activated once. If he
didn't hurry and leave, it'd keep going. Frankly, I was fine with having him suffer
a bit of it, due to the things he'd done to Silhouette's people so far. Plus,
actually feeling the effects would make it more real to him.
I opened up a [Gate] to the room where he'd been enjoying his steak and
kicked him back through it. It wouldn't be as fun if he just died there and then.
With that, my mission was accomplished.
There was no way he could mess with Silhouette now, not unless he wanted
to die. He also had to make sure his cronies didn't try to start anything either.
Plus, he couldn't exactly explain what had happened, either. If his people
knew about the curse, then there could be some who'd bother Silhouette just
to keep triggering the curse. He'd only be able to tell people he truly trusted,
but I doubted he actually had people like that.
"Well, that's the end of that chapter. He shouldn't cause you guys any more
trouble, I think. If he wants to maintain his hold over Papillon's underground
stuff, then he'll have to do his best to ignore you and leave you alone."
Silhouette stood and stared blankly at me for a while. When she finally
finished processing what had happened, she gave me a timid nod.
"...That is quite the curse. So then, we're freed from the shackles of Papillon...
With a curse like that they'll actively be avoiding us. This is incredible... It was a
problem that had been on my mind for so long, and you took care of it so
easily."
Silhouette seemed utterly amazed. I didn't know what to say, so I just
shrugged a bit.
"I've held up my half. You gonna work with me now?"
"Definitely. Just let me know what I have to do."
Awesome. Now I have the support of a massive information network in the
Reverse World. Now all I have to do is gain access to an army that can physically
fight the mutants.
There's no Babylon in this world, either... It's really just trouble after trouble
for me...
"B-By the way... Do you have any plans this evening? Would you perhaps like
to play a little downstairs? I'll let you have the entire facility for the night, if you
like..."
"Hm? Play?"
I didn't really understand what she was getting at, but then I saw the coy
smile on her face and the gears started to turn in my head. She was
propositioning me.
"If you want, I'll let you use me, too..."
Silhouette leaned forward in a way that revealed her cleavage. Whoa, nope!
Abort mission! This is too much!
"N-No. No! Oh goodness, look at the time. It's quite late, huh? Let's go over
the details of our business partnership later on, then! See you!"
"What a shame..."
I used my divinity to escape her seductive gaze, then warped straight back to
Brunhild.
I was definitely bad with girls like her... The sexy older types... I felt like she'd
chew me up and spit me out.
Not that I disliked them... I just needed to be clear about that. I didn't exactly
have an issue with people like her... They were just scary.
...Geez, what a day...
◇ ◇ ◇
Several days had passed since I cursed Zabbit on behalf of Silhouette.
Without so much as a word, the man and everyone related to him suddenly
vanished from the city.
It was understandable why, since he wanted to minimize any chances of
encountering her or her people.
His gaudy tower had its lights switched off due to the sudden disappearance
of its owner.
I had a feeling it wouldn't take long for it to regain its luster, though. There
were many merchants in this city, and surely one would want to live
somewhere so unnecessarily luxurious.
Silhouette had no plans to take up residence there, at any rate. Her group also
formally broke off from Papillon and rechristened their organization. They were
now the Black Cats.
The name was similar to the Red Cats, and I think that was an intentional
decision on their part. On the other hand, it could've just been named for the
little cat in Silhouette's room. I didn't know for sure. It also seemed like they
were now self-proclaimed rivals to the Red Cats, since they operated similarly.
I was in the middle of passing various items to Silhouette.
"So this is the device that can detect those golden monsters...?"
"Yeah. They can report how far the emergence point is from the devices, and
in what direction. They can also predict when they'll emerge, so you can
arrange evacuations. I'd like you to give one to each of the inns and brothels
under your control, and get in contact with me whenever you get a reading."
Silhouette nodded along as I explained how the devices worked. She raised
her brow in curiosity as I passed her a mass-produced smartphone. It only had
my number on it.
I planned on giving phones to Nia and Est, but I didn't want Silhouette and Nia
getting into phone contact with each other. Apparently, Nia had something
against the brothel owner.
Est might've been able to make use of contact with Silhouette, but frankly, I
didn't want to chance it. Both Est and Silhouette were cunning, so putting them
together in private communication felt dangerous.
"Very well, then. I'll abide by our arrangement. I certainly can't renege now
you've given me this. It seems like you weren't lying about how much of a
worldwide threat they are, too... I'll be sure to contact you if we detect any
emergency events, so don't worry about that. Now... Could I perhaps ask that
the young women beside you calm down a little bit? They are aware that
there's nothing going on between us, right?"
Silhouette grinned and jabbed a teasing comment in the direction of Yumina
and Lu. The two of them were clinging tightly to either side of me.
"I-I know you aren't a bad person, but you're a threat to us. Please
understand."
"I-Indeed. Touya is ours, and we don't exactly like the idea of him being led
astray by you or your people... A-A-And don't you think you're showing a little
too much skin?!"
"You're certainly well-loved, Touya... I'm jealous."
"
ahaha... i could do nothing but laugh awkwardly. i was trapped between a rock and hard place.
After I'd returned from the Reverse World, something bad happened.
Apparently there was a lipstick kiss-mark left on my cheek, and the smell of
perfume was also noticeable. The girls, understandably, lectured me on why I
shouldn't be visiting brothels.
I was able to defuse the misunderstanding pretty quickly, but they still
decided that I had to have people accompany me whenever I visited Silhouette
and her establishment.
They really had no confidence in me. It was true that this place kind of riled
me up, though... They probably noticed the place got me a little excited. But I
couldn't help that. In case they hadn't noticed, I was a guy.
"Well, I can understand being upset about your guy hanging around my
establishment... Still, it seems like you guys are all virgins, huh? So... Some of
our girls and customers get off on being watched... Would you like to have a
little look at them in action? It might prepare you better."
"Wh-What?! H-Have a look?!"
"A-Action?! What kind of action?!"
The two of them began shaking their heads rapidly. Their faces were
completely red, and it looked like steam was about to shoot out of their ears.
Silhouette grinned broadly at the sight... She was clearly having fun at their
expense.
Geez, the two of them are really sheltered... so it's not like they're good with
adult situations. Hell, it's not like this world has a porn industry like my old world
or anything... Wait...! I nervously stared at Silhouette, then glanced at the
smartphone in her hand. Regret began to seep through me at the core.
...Th-The camera function on that thing... can record videos... And I know from
my old world that sex sells... Don't tell me I accidentally started an adult video
industry here... N-Not that I've seen any adult movies or anything! I'm underage.
That would be immoral.
I turned my attention back to the two girls, I didn't want them passing out
due to the blood rushing to their heads or anything.
"Fufu... Their innocence is really delicious."
"C'mon now, quit teasing them... They're innocent girls. They can't handle it."
"Oh, and you're saying I'm not?"
"Are you saying you are?"
"Not in the least."
We chatted a little further but eventually, we left the Moon Parlor behind us.
The girls remained embarrassed the entire time we were there. After that, we
headed off to the Red Cats, since there were a few things I needed to sort with
them.
"Oh? Someone like you has a fiancée, Touya? Hell, you have two of them?
Nice work, man! You must be a real ladykiller."
Nia latched on to that little detail just like I'd expected. Her eyes were
practically glittering as she probed my fiancées for information like a gossiping
old lady... She was certainly irritating.
What'd she mean by "someone like you," anyway?! She didn't have to be so
damn rude.
"Actually there are nine of us. We'll all be marrying Touya at some point in
the future."
"N-Nine?! Th... That's way too many! What are you, royalty?! Wait... Yeah,
you are royalty! Is that kind of thing normal in the other world?! What gives?!"
Yumina's reply seemed to shock Nia, who responded by folding her arms and
firing out rapid commentary.
...Nope, it's definitely a lot there, too. The king of Egret has like, seven, and
that's considered a lot. Though I did hear that the piggy guy from Sandora had
over twenty before he died.
"Putting that aside... These smartphones of yours... Is it really alright for us to
have them? We appreciate it, but they seem to be quite sophisticated..."
"Yeah, I want you to have it. You'll need it in case of an emergency. It has
functions installed into it like a notepad, a map, and even a calculator."
Est was skimming the user manual when she apprehensively asked us if it was
really okay, but I said it was fine. Behind her, Euni and Euri were playfully taking
selfies together with their own phones.
We'd swung by the Red Cat fortress hideout to give the four of them massproduction models. That was the primary purpose of the visit, but I also wanted
to ask about something else.
"...I know it's kinda rude to ask for something in return, but I might need your
help."
"Hmm? If it's something we can actually do, we'll do it for you!"
Nia was the leader so I felt like I was going over her head by asking Est about
it, but... Est was basically the leader anyway.
I left the tent and took out several large oval-shaped capsules from [Storage].
They were each about the size of a mini-van.
"What are these?"
"They're called Frame Units. Yumina, Lu, could you demonstrate?"
"Yes, of course."
"Leave it to us!"
The two of them hopped up and, as if very used to it already, opened up the
Frame Unit hatches and got inside. After a few moments, a low rumble came
from the powered-up devices, and a large screen was projected into the air in
front of them. It seemed like they'd chosen the Great Plain level.
On the holographic display, we watched a Shining Count and a Knight Baron
materialize out of nothing and land on the field. Yumina was in the Shining
Count, while Lu had taken the Knight Baron. Unlike the Frame Units in the
castle, these ones didn't have the relevant data pertaining to their Valkyrie
Gears.
"Ohh! Those must be like that giant Gollem!"
"This is... The thing from the other day?"
"Wh-Wh-Wh-What are those things?! How are we seeing them?! Where are
they?!"
"Wow..."
All four of the girls showed varying degrees of interest. There were also some
generic Red Cat soldiers staring at the screen with their mouths hanging open.
"These are Frame Units. They're virtual reality training devices, designed to
give you piloting experience for the Frame Gears."
The battle on the screen had already begun. The white knight piloted by
Yumina brought its sword against Lu's black knight, but a shield swiftly blocked
the hit. Lu then used the momentum to thrust forward with her halberd, but
Yumina deftly ducked away from the hit.
"I'll be letting you guys borrow these, so please have everyone in the fortress
train using these... Just treat it as a leisure activity."
"...You intend to prepare us for battle using the real things, don't you?"
"I hope it doesn't have to come to that, but... Yes. It'll probably have to
happen in the future. I think preparing you to wield something that can protect
your world is a good thing, in the end."
Est stared at the ongoing battle for a while in silence, and then she nodded.
"We'll take them and treat them as a leisure item, then. If we can learn how
to pilot these Frame Gears of yours, we might not need you to swoop in and
save us like last time."
I passed a manual to Est. It was less of a manual for Frame Units specifically,
and more for Frame Gears in general.
The battle on the screen ended with Lu's victory. She was definitely better
than Yumina when it came to close-range fighting situations. That being said,
the fight was a close one. I wondered if Yumina's future sight had improved,
given that she'd managed to hold her own so well...
It had been a while since she mentioned her power to view the future. When
she last talked about it, it wasn't exactly very useful, but if it continued to
develop then it'd be a valuable asset.
I wondered if the other girls were also experiencing personal changes as their
own individual potentials began to blossom, too...
The Frame Unit hatches opened up, and the girls clambered out.
"Alright, me next!"
"Ah, Nia... There might not be much point to you practicing with that thing, so
there's no need to overdo it."
I stopped Nia as she charged toward the Frame Unit. She turned around and
glared at me like I'd just slapped her in the face.
"Are you mocking me?! I wanna learn right away!"
"No, that's not what I meant. Elluka has been working with one of my
researchers to develop a Frame Gear based on Gollem technology. From what I
understand, only legacy Gollems are gonna be capable of operating them, so
we'll probably want you to train using the new system we're developing instead
of this one. That's why there's no real point to you practicing with the Frame
Unit, is all."
I looked toward the small red Gollem next to Nia. I was hoping that we'd be
able to make something that could fully bring out the potential of a crown
model like Rouge.
"Well, okay... But there's no problem with me practicing in this until then,
right?"
"I mean, I guess not. Go ahead and play."
"See?! It's fine! Hey, Lu! Show me how this works!"
Nia grabbed Lu by the sleeve and dragged her toward one of the pods.
"...She seems quite the lively person."
"...That's just a polite way of calling her an idiot. Even Est agrees with me on
that."
Yumina was clearly trying to keep her regal poise about her. I just shrugged
and sighed.
Euri and Euni went into two of the other pods as well. They seemed just as
excited as Nia to give it a try. Lu hopped into the third, and Nia into the last one.
Then they began their first lesson.
The four girls appeared on the screen. They began basic motions like jumping,
crouching, and moving in different directions. They looked a little unsteady, but
I was sure they'd pick it up. It was basically the same for our knight order.
Now all I needed to do was pass on Smartphones to the leaders of Primula
and Triharan. I figured I'd bring Mentor Central... Or rather, Queen Palerius, to
visit Primula as well.
It was a pretty wild story to think about. Both descendants of the same man,
both became royalty in two different worlds...
If you put it in perspective, this was basically a family reunion five thousand
years in the making. That was kind of a big deal... Though to be honest they
probably wouldn't have much in common besides ancestry.
Actually, that reminded me, Elluka said something about a stone tablet that
had been passed down the Primula royal family. It was possible I'd be able to
decipher it, so I wanted to take a look.
I quietly pondered to myself as I watched the virtual Frame Gears training
together on the display.