"Hm... Yes, there's no mistaking it. It's the army we saw
on the way here. Like, the number or whatever?
Umm...twenty thousand three hundred and forty-eight. Of
them, uhhh...two thousand and thirty-seven are equipped
with Gollems. They all seem to be of the same type, color
aside, so it's fair to assume they're factory models. There's,
like, no flying types among 'em. Estimated time of arrival,
ten minutes or so."
"Got it. Stay on standby for now."
I ended the call with Monica, who was still floating above
us in stealth mode. Then, I shook my head over at the queen,
who still sat anxiously on the nearby couch.
"There's been no mistake from your men. There's a
twenty-thousand-strong army heading our way right now.
They'll be here in around ten minutes. Oh, and the banner
they're hoisting has some kind of purple serpent on it."
"Then it is Marquis Bellius. He's an ally to Duke Blueson,
the man who currently occupies the capital. Well, ally may
be overselling it. Bellius is effectively Blueson's
subordinate."
Apparently, this Duke Blueson was the leader of the
largest clan that opposed the queen, contesting her claim
with the fact that royal blood also flowed through his veins.
He took over the royal capital, ousting the queen in the
process, and now the citizens there were being oppressed
beneath his tyrannical rule. He probably wanted to make a
show of things for any other clans who might've sought to
take the city from him.
"How many men do you have here?"
"Five thousand or so. It would take at least two days for
reinforcements to arrive," the guard captain answered my
question. That meant we only had about a quarter of the
enemy's forces. If we had reinforcements, we could probably
handle a siege...but it didn't look likely.
"That sirpent man again? He tries too hard!"
"What's that, Steph? You know him?"
Steph, who had been listening in on our conversation,
finally let out a little grumble during a lull in the discussion.
"He tried to attack the queen earlier! But we all grouped
together and chased him away. He yelled at me, though!
Said, um...die, you little shit? Fack you! Or something..."
"Okay, he's dead."
...He called my five-year-old daughter a little shit AND
said 'fuck you'? I'll kill him. Wait, no. He can't repent if I
just murder him... I should give him a taste of hell first,
really grind that punishment into him...
"Grand Duke, please calm down. I can sense your childish
bloodlust from here... It's not good for the children."
"...H-Huh? What bloodlust. H-Ha ha, just kidding...
Whatever I was thinking, I was just kidding..."
"A-Ahem..."
Sakura's words made me notice that both the queen and
my children were leaning a little bit away from me. My
thoughts must have been clear on my face.
Gimme a break, guys... I wouldn't really do anything
crazy to him just for swearing at my kid... Well, maybe I
would. Just a little. Only a little, though.
"I'll fight him again. Let's go, Gold!"
"Understood."
"Hey, wait!"
Steph began toddling out of the room with Gold in tow.
"I can take care of this. Steph, you wait with Sue."
"You can, dad?"
"Father, don't go overboard..."
I wanted to show I was a dependable dad, but Yoshino's
comment kind of made me feel like I was being doubted.
I won't go overboard. I'll just drive him off, it's fine.
"W-Will it be all right with you just going on your own?"
"Don't worry about that. I've driven off armies like this
before, so it's not something I'm unfamiliar with. Give me a
little bit, I'll be back soon."
I brushed off the queen's concerns before projecting my
phone's map into the air in front of me.
"[Multiple]. Target lock. All members of Marquis
Bellius's army."
"Understood."
Small red dots started appearing on my map as each
individual member of the army was targeted. Given how
many of them there were, it took a little while. Thankfully, it
was pretty easy to track them all, since they were all
marching in formation.
"Target lock complete."
"Hmm... Activate [Gate] beneath their feet. As for the
destination... Let's drop them by the plains near Primula's
border."
"Acknowledged. Awaiting input."
I retraced Gungnir's path along the map, determined the
right spot near Primula's border, then tapped where I
wanted the portal to open.
"That should do it."
"Hm?"
The queen raised a curious brow. It wasn't unreasonable.
I doubt she could even wrap her mind around what I'd just
done.
After a few moments, a flustered messenger charged into
the room.
"Y-Your Majesty! News from the scouts! Th-The enemy
army has...vanished! They're no more! Swallowed up by the
ground itself!"
The queen, along with the knights who'd been in the
room, slowly turned their heads toward me with slack jaws.
"E-Erm... Grand Duke, did you...?"
"Yep. I sent them somewhere closer to the mountain
range that borders Primula. It'll take them a few weeks to get
back here, most likely."
"Well, that's not overboard by your standards."
"See? Told you..."
Sue giggled slightly, and I took a small sip of my tea. It
was quite nice.
"I thought Steph's magic was obscene...but I see now that
yours is far beyond even hers, Grand Duke..."
The queen seemed completely stunned, but she turned
and advised her soldiers not to completely lower their guard.
Heh. You're finding it hard to believe, right? That's fine
by me. This kind of thing happens all the time.
"So, about that regalia of yours..."
"Oh, yes. The regalia is the proof of rule in Rephan. It's
been handed down from each monarch to the next, as is
tradition. Unfortunately, two generations before me...during
my grandfather's time, there was a dispute over the throne.
The regalia vanished during this dispute, and it hasn't been
seen since."
"If you had it, would that Blueson guy leave the capital?"
"If I hold the regalia, then the clans currently neutral to
my plight will pledge their support to me. With that
overwhelming support, Duke Blueson will have significantly
less power in comparison. I'll request his surrender at that
point, and I'm sure he'll accept the offer."
The regalia was, in effect, symbolic of the monarch's right
to rule. Its absence gave more credibility to Duke Blueson's
rebellion, so its return would hypothetically be enough to
make him fall back into line.
But what if I couldn't find the regalia for the queen? It
wasn't like I was capable of finding everything in the world,
after all. If it was gone from the world entirely or masked
with some kind of ward, I wouldn't be much help.
"What does the regalia look like? Is it a holy sword or jade
seal, maybe? Or some kind of sparkly tiara?" Sue asked the
question that was on my mind. I needed to know what it
looked like before I could even think about finding it.
"Oh, no. The regalia of our nation is a musical
instrument."
"An instrument?!"
Those words suddenly brought Yoshino snapping to
attention. Sakura, who was sitting right next to her, quirked
a curious eyebrow as well. I could understand their interest,
given their passion for music, but they were freaking out the
queen, so I had to quietly gesture for them to calm down.
"By musical instrument...do you mean a functional
instrument? One that actually makes sound?"
"Yes. It's a small metal instrument, a vertical flute. It's
known as Stella's Flute."
"Stella sounds like me! Steph!"
"He he, it does sound like that a little bit."
The queen smiled at Steph's excited interjection.
Steph and Stella, huh? I guess they're kinda similar.
The queen went on to explain that members of Rephan's
royal family were taught to play the flute from a young age.
On the day of crowning, it was customary for the new
monarch to play a song on Stella's Flute for the people of the
nation. Those in attendance would listen to the music and
gain an understanding of what kind of person their new
leader was.
Huh, is it like a pressure test? Like if they botch the song,
then the people will know they've got a weak ruler? Or
maybe it's more of a personality thing...like the song choice
can give you an idea of what a person is like?
"Then, Your Majesty, did you play the flute as well?"
"Stella's Flute was lost by the time of my coronation, so I
didn't play it, no. I can still play the flute, though. I have
been taught since childhood."
Yoshino's question prompted the queen to walk over to
the nearby fireplace and pick up a small instrument that had
been on display above the hearth. It was a wooden flute that
was around thirty centimeters in length. The queen placed
the end piece in her mouth and began to play. The tones she
created were slow in tempo and pleasing to the ear.
Obviously, the song was unfamiliar to me, but I found myself
drawn in and relaxed by the sound.
Once her performance came to an end, everyone in the
room applauded.
"That was incredible. I didn't know you were such a
talented musician."
"Oh, no... Anyone in my family could play to that level..."
The queen was incredibly modest, but even I could tell
with my untrained ears that she was clearly beyond the level
of your average professional.
Sakura and Yoshino were murmuring to each other and
fidgeting. Apparently, the performance had inspired them to
do something themselves.
"We'd love to play for you as well, Your Majesty!"
"Huh? Yoshino? Sakura? I don't think we should..."
"I'd be happy to hear. In fact, I'd be honored to listen to
Brunhild's music."
I tried to tone down my wife and daughter, since they
were teetering close to rude in terms of etiquette, but the
queen allowed it.
Hmm... It's not really Brunhild's music, though. It's more
like Earth's music.
Yoshino tapped a few things on her phone and created
semitransparent instruments from thin air. That was a
feature of her performance magic.
Huh... Guitar, bass, and drums?
"You play too, father!" Yoshino exclaimed as she passed
the bass guitar over to me.
"Huh?! Me too?!"
Wait, I'm not really very experienced with the bass...
Plus, what are we even playing? I can only do the bass a
little, you know?
Yoshino told me that we'd be playing a song I learned
from my grandfather.
Hmm, I can probably do this one. I've practiced it a lot in
the past, so maybe... I might end up messing up during the
quiet parts, though... Okay... Let's try plucking these strings
a little... I should be fine? Maybe?
I glanced up from my bass guitar and suddenly noticed
Sousuke sitting in front of the drums.
...Hey, when did you get here, exactly?
I looked over at the queen, who seemed extremely
confused. She simply shook her head as if to let us go ahead
with our nonsense.
"Let's go!"
I began plucking the strings to form the rhythm. The bass
line was super lively in this one, and Yoshino's guitar
brought out the good feelings of the song even more.
Sakura's vocals added to the mix in perfect harmony.
The song was by a band that the King of Pop was a
member of when he was just a child. It was their debut
single, which rapidly hit number one on the USA's charts.
The band ended up being the first group to debut with four
consecutive number one hits, which was a monumental
achievement. The bass was one of the best parts of that song,
at least in my opinion. It functionally served as the vital
backbone of the whole thing...
Ugh... It's too hard to keep up with Yoshino and Kousuke!
Sue and Steph sat on the couch, clapping along to the
sound of Sakura's voice. The guards and even the queen
began following suit.
The title of the song, "I Want You Back," might've had a
little more meaning in the context of the queen's search for
the regalia. I didn't think Yoshino had thought that far ahead
when she picked this song, though. It was probably just a
funny little coincidence for me to enjoy.
Somehow, I managed to see the song through to the end,
and everyone applauded.
Whew... I could only barely keep up with that daughter
of mine...
"That was spectacular! I didn't understand those words at
all, but I could feel the heart behind them!"
Yoshino blushed as the queen praised her, giggling faintly.
Sakura simply stood and gave everyone the peace sign. I
looked to see what Kousuke was doing, but he wasn't there
anymore. Had he seriously just teleported here, played the
drums, and left without explanation?
"Oh, sorry about the detour there. Back to the main topic
at hand, could you describe the flute to me? If you can tell
me any finer details, I'll have a greater chance of locating it."
"There are actually some photographs of it. Please give me
just a moment."
The queen fumbled around a desk drawer in the room
before producing some photographs. Photos weren't
uncommon on the western continent, as Gollem camera eyes
had existed for centuries. The photos the queen had shown
us were very old, however, as evidenced by their sepia tint.
Given that the flute had gone missing around two
generations ago, though, that didn't surprise me.
There were two photographs. One depicted a young boy
about Steph's age. He held a flute in his hand. The other was
a family photograph featuring a group of people standing
around a flute, which was boxed and in the middle of the
room.
"The boy here is my grandfather. He's holding Stella's
Flute."
Ho ho ho... This is your grandfather as a young boy?
This photo must be a hundred or so years old, then...
Unfortunately, the flute in the boy's hand had no real
defining features. All the picture told me was that the flute
was around the same length as the one the queen owned.
"And what's this family photo?"
"This depicts my grandfather, along with his parents and
his younger brother... My granduncle. It was my granduncle
who would enter a feud with my grandfather for succession
rights to the throne. My grandfather won the dispute, which
resulted in my granduncle setting their estate on fire in an
act of suicide. It was only a while after the blaze that Stella's
Flute was found to be missing."
Hmm... Maybe the granduncle hid it away somewhere?
"Did your granduncle have any children?"
"He did, but they were executed as a result of the political
conflict. The loss of the flute was discovered only after that
purge, so nobody was able to ask his side of the family for
any information..."
Hmm, I get it. Since the regalia isn't the kind of thing
that would be brought out often, I bet the grandfather only
noticed the flute was missing when he needed it for the
coronation ceremony, finding the box to be empty or
whatever.
Apparently, the loss of the regalia caused a huge stir
across Rephan. It was probably the equivalent of Japan
losing the Three Sacred Treasures or Britain losing the
Crown Jewels. No doubt any such incident would incite
mass panic.
I glanced at the flute in the photos. The queen's
grandfather was blocking part of the flute in his grip, and it
was a bit of a grainy image, so I couldn't quite make the
whole thing out. The family photo wasn't much better, but I
could kind of make out the general shape.
"You mentioned it was made of metal, right? What kind?"
"Orichalcum."
Whew, a flute made out of orichalcum? That's definitely
the kind of thing people would consider sacred, yeah...
Crazy durable too... So we can probably rule out it being
broken or burned. Though it's not impossible that it was
melted down and used to make something else, given how
rare that metal is...
I didn't think anyone who knew the true value of the
nation's regalia would do something as stupid as melting it,
though.
Ahhh, whatever. Let's just try searching for it.
I took out my smartphone and pulled up a map of the
country. It could have been taken out of the nation's
borders, but I figured it would be wise to start local.
"Run search. Stella's Flute."
"Searching... Complete. Displaying."
A single dot lit up on the map.
Hell yeah! Only one hit?! Then it's gotta be it! Wait, but
that location...
The queen must've noticed my unease.
"I-Is there a problem?"
"Well, not exactly. I think I've found it, but... Here. Look
where it is..."
I projected the map into the air so the queen could
understand my reservations. With that, everyone in the
room could see where the regalia supposedly was...
"Th-The capital?! Rephancia?!" the queen shrieked.
Yep. Just as I thought. It's the capital. The regalia's in the
royal capital, enemy territory... But what does this mean?
"Could that Duke Blueson have gotten his hands on it
before you, Your Majesty?"
"No, that's simply impossible. If he had Stella's Flute in
his possession, he'd have made a spectacle of it long ago and
forced me to step down," the queen replied to Sue's
question. That could only mean one thing.
"Stella's Flute is in the capital. It's deep in enemy
territory, right under their noses...and they have no idea it's
there."
"Ugh..."
The queen clutched at her chest as I came to the
conclusion she'd obviously reached as well.
Damn. I shouldn't have said it so bluntly. The queen was
in the capital for years without realizing it too...
"Grand Duke, please have more tact..." Sakura shook her
head and told me off.
"Sorry..."
W-Well, you know what they say...to see what is in front
of one's nose needs a constant struggle.
"Where in the capital, Touya?"
"Hmm? It's, uh... Let's see... Just gotta zoom in... Right
here... Oh?"
My smartphone map zoomed in on the precise location.
The dot of light showed that the flute was in a specific
building...and even I could understand at a glance what the
building was.
"Wh-What?! The royal castle?! A-After all these years of
searching, it was there?!"
The queen stared at the map with an expression that I
could barely read.
Oh crap, she's gonna lose it.
I could understand how she felt, though. It was kind of
like when you lost your wallet, or your passport, and you
started tearing up your house looking for it in a panic. You'd
retrace your steps looking on the streets for it, and you
might have even filed it as missing with the police...and then
it was in your back pocket the whole time.
"Why?!"
"Umm... Sorry..."
The queen cried out, so I instinctively apologized. Still, I
knew she wasn't really shouting at me or anything. She was
just staring at the map in disbelief, yelling out of sheer
exasperation.
"Why didn't we find it in the castle?! Why didn't we just
look harder while I was there?! Why?!"
They were probably looking wherever you told them to
look. I get it, but please calm down.
"Isn't it good we found it, at least? Try to look on the
bright side..."
"I'm happy, obviously! I'm really happy, yes! But, ohhh,
I'm so upset! I'm about ready to flip my lid! Sheesh! Augh!
Raaargh!"
The queen clutched at her own head and stomped her
feet. Not even the guards in the room knew what to do.
"Why is the queen all stompy?"
"These things happen when you're a grown-up, Steph."
"Really?"
"Really. These things and a lot more..."
"Being a growned-up sounds tough..."
Sue and Steph quietly watched the queen have an absolute
meltdown. I felt sorry for her. She'd obviously been under a
lot of stress. She hadn't been the one to lose the regalia in
the first place, and she'd probably been living under
constant scrutiny from others due to her not having it.
The whole thing made me think about Brunhild, though.
We didn't have any proof of royal status, after all...
...Maybe my smartphone? That's kind of a sacred
treasure at this point, though. I guess I can't leave it behind
in the mortal world when I pass on. If one of my
descendants ends up being a jackass, they could spawn a
wicked god with it or something. Oh, you know what would
be a good idea? Brunhild, my gunblade! I'll give it to Kuon
when he inherits the throne. Silver might get a bit mad
about it, but that's not my problem...
I was lost in thought by the time the queen finally
recomposed herself.
"I apologize for that...outburst."
"Don't worry about it."
Seriously. I've been there. Think most of us have,
honestly.
◇ ◇ ◇
Queen Rephan cleared her throat as if to brush away the
entire miserable rant she'd just subjected us to.
"So tell me, where exactly is Stella's Flute?"
I zoomed in a little more to answer her question, but all I
could really see was that it was just in a certain area of the
royal castle. The map was only a map, after all. It wasn't like
I could see any real details about the room just by zooming
in enough. If I went to the capital, I could probably pinpoint
it more directly using [Search], however.
The queen looked over the map, tilting her head in
thought.
"This area... If I recall correctly, it's just a small corner of
the castle... Nothing particularly important, at least. Has the
flute really been there this whole time?"
"Are there any hidden passages or secret rooms there?"
Sue suddenly raised a question. It was a reasonable thing to
ask. Royal families had secret passages and escape routes
built into their homes all the time, so it was practically a
tradition. Even Brunhild Castle had a secret escape route. It
was an underground passage located right behind the
throne. It was placed there so we could make an easy
getaway in case something seriously bad happened right on
our doorstep. Obviously, it was the kind of thing I hoped I'd
never have to use, but I'd be a fool not to have one.
"There are some hidden passages in the castle, but none
in that area... Or at least, not to my knowledge. The maids
would have surely found it though, since they clean every
inch of the rooms they're assigned... I can only conclude it
must be hidden away somehow."
It wasn't exactly a very big instrument. You could easily
stash it in a fireplace or behind a bookshelf, especially since
it was just a small metal tube. Thus, the queen's granduncle
might have had his family stash it somewhere out of the way
in the castle, thinking they could come and get it later on.
But of course, the family was executed in the ensuing
political purge and it ended up being stuck in its hiding place
for over a hundred years. Kind of a pointless story when put
like that, really.
"So we know where the regalia is, then? What next?"
"If we can reclaim the royal capital, we can take the
regalia as well. We must drive out Duke Blueson at once!"
"I've got this! Leave it to Steph and Gold!"
Steph followed the queen's remark with a triumphant
proclamation...but I wasn't so convinced. I didn't really
think it was a good idea for us to get involved in a foreign
civil war, or at least, not involved any more deeply than we
already were.
Wait, though... As far as anyone knows...Steph isn't my
daughter. She's just a relative. In other words, Steph's
involvement isn't Brunhild's involvement. It's just what
she's doing. I guess with that in mind, it'd be fine if Steph
wants to help take part in the civil war... No, no! Hey!
That's not a good idea, stop convincing yourself it's okay!
You can't just let your little girl take part in a military
operation... Well, I mean, take part in a military operation
again! She's already done it before, but...she can't do it
again...
I was grumbling quietly to myself when Sakura suddenly
set down her teacup and spoke, saying, "Your teleportation
magic may be getting rusty..."
"Hm?"
"That [Gate] you cast earlier. Are you sure it took your
targets to the right destination? Maybe you should try using
it again."
Huh? No, I'm pretty sure it worked. Why are you
doubting me now? That's one of my most used spells, so it'll
be fine.
"Why not try warping something around the capital?
Many, many somethings. Scatter a bunch of rocks around
the capital, why don't you? It'd be good practice."
A bunch of rocks? In the capital? Why would I do
something dumb like... Oh? Ohhh... I get it.
"Got it. Yeah, you're right... I guess my magic training's
been off a little lately. There are a lot of loose stones around
this fortress that might work well, so how about I practice
and send them all to the capital? I'll need to take care not to
send any people or animals along with the stones, of course.
Wouldn't want to warp them right into the capital."
If I laid it on any thicker, I'd be winking. Hopefully, they
understand what I'm getting at here.
The queen's expression shifted in surprise as she realized
my implication. The guards around her noticed as well.
"G-Grand Duke, when do you intend to practice such a
thing?"
"Hmm, I've got some things to attend to right now. Maybe
three days? Would you prefer day or night?"
"Night might be better, for the sake of the citizens and
all... Would you mind if we observed your training? I
wouldn't want to crowd you."
"Oh, by all means, bring as many soldiers to watch as
you'd like. Just be careful, okay? They'd best keep back. It'd
be awful if they got caught up and warped away with the
stones."
The queen and I spoke in veiled terms, but it was plainly
obvious what we meant. If any of the queen's soldiers
happened to get teleported off, that would be a simple
accident. I warned her that her soldiers had better keep
back, so if they ended up being swept to the capital along
with the stones...well, that was Rephan's business. I couldn't
be responsible for that.
"Mmm... The queen and dad are talking weird. I don't get
it..."
"Steph, there are many things you'll come to understand
when you're an adult."
"Really?"
Sue smiled and brushed a hand through Steph's hair as
she replied, "Really."
With our conversation over, the queen sent out a message
to her soldiers. She ordered her guard captain to rally as
many men as he could within three days.
I had no issue leaving the actual fight to the people of the
country.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Steph! You're back!"
"Welcome home, Steph."
"Home at last, I see."
"Yay! Sisters!"
"I'm here as well, you know...?"
"Yay! Big brother!"
When Steph arrived at the castle, all the children came to
welcome her. They must've all been worried, since they took
turns ruffling her hair and hugging her.
One of my children was more excited by the sight of the
gold Gollem, however, even brushing Steph off to run
toward it.
"Th-This is the gold crown! My goodness, it follows a
similar design specification to the others in its E-series, yet
you can plainly see that the magic engraving is done in such
a way to specifically block magical interference..."
"Why am I not surprised?"
I watched Quun inspect every inch of the gold crown and
raised my brow. To be honest, I was impressed by her
interest. Leen was less enthused, however.
Lu clapped her hands together, catching the attention of
all the excited children.
"Okay! I know we're all excited about our latest addition,
but it's nearly dinnertime! Everyone, go and wash your
hands!"
"Yippee! Mama Lu's cooking, yaaay!"
Steph stomped off to the washroom like a rhinoceros.
...Please don't use [Accel] indoors like that... You're
gonna bump into someone and cause a horrible accident.
I made a mental note to warn the castle staff and
residents about the possibility of being struck in the halls by
a living battering ram.
I was about to go wash my hands when Sue stopped me.
"Touya. Did you recover Steph's phone?"
"Oh, not yet..."
I can't just leave it, but it's a pain to go get... I wish my
kids were a bit more responsible with their stuff. How
many have lost theirs now? Elna, Linne, Kuon, and Steph...
That's almost half of them! Talk about irresponsible.
I briefly considered designing some kind of smartphone
case that they'd be able to wear around their necks.
"Let's see... It should be in the forests to the south of
Rephan..."
I searched for it on my phone and that was precisely
where it was.
Hmm... Never been there, so I'll have to use [Fly] or
[Teleport]. Guess I could use [Recall] on Steph if I
wanna [Gate] there.
I shrugged and decided to just go there myself.
"Oh... Wait a second. Is it moving?"
I zoomed in on the map and stared at the little blip that
represented Steph's phone. It was moving. Someone must've
picked it up, which meant I definitely needed to get it before
it became a bother.
I used [Gate] to warp myself to Rephan again, then cast a
quick [Teleport] to the forest where Steph had dropped her
phone.
Okay, this should be the place... Where's the phone at?
I walked through the woodlands, consulting my map
every now and then. It was almost dark, so I wanted to just
grab it and go.
Steph's phone was moving, just like before...which made
me wonder what kind of person could've picked it up. Why
were they out here in this gloomy place? It was moving in a
bit of an erratic pattern, so was the person lost? Would I
have to save them? I started to pick up speed, running
toward my destination...and the little blip on the map
started moving toward me as well.
"Hey, lucky me. Guess we'll cross paths soon..."
I stopped running as I got closer. There was some kind of
rumbling coming from the ground in front of me... The
ground itself was trembling more forcefully by the second. I
looked up and noticed birds flying away.
Something's coming this way...but Steph's phone is right
on whatever this is... Oh, is it a monster? Did it eat her
phone or get it stuck to its side or something?
I waited in the depths of the tangled forest to see what
would emerge...only to be confronted by a massive spider.
"Kyashhhaaaaaaaaah!" the spider, jet-black and as large
as a bus, screeched loudly as it came barreling toward me.
Spikes were jutting out of its body, and each of its eyes was
deep red. It was creepy as hell.
Get away! Gross!
"[Shield]."
"GFSHAAAH!"
I conjured an invisible wall, bringing the beast's charge
grinding to a halt. It staggered on its long, slender legs, but
gradually regained its composure.
"Shyaaah!"
It spat up some kind of foul-looking liquid from its
mouth, but that was also deflected by the formless barrier in
front of me. The spider seemed frustrated by that. It leaned
back on four of its legs and began to furiously swipe at the
shield with the other four.
Ugh. This thing's disgusting. My grandpa always told me
not to kill spiders because they're helpful little guys, but this
thing? This thing helps nobody.
I decided it had to die.
"Billow forth, Ice and Lightning! Electrifying Ice Fog:
[Voltic Mist]!"
"BYGHAAAH!"
The spider was struck by a bolt of lightning from within
the compound spell's cloud of smog. It died immediately.
Damn, did the lightning scorch it black? It's honestly
hard to tell. It was black from the start...
"Well, at least it's dead... But what about the phone?"
I cast [Search] to check the location.
...Yep. Figures... Ugh... I have to fish it out of this thing's
stomach? Annoying...
My mass-produced smartphones were made of a special
alloy and enchanted with [Protection], so it would've
definitely been resistant to whatever kind of acids were in
the spider's guts... But seriously? I was supposed to take
something this disgusting apart and search for the phone
myself? No way in hell.
Oh, wait. I can just take this to the guild and have them
do it for me...maybe?
"Wait, no. I can just use [Apport] to pull it to me."
Obviously! Why did I forget I had that spell? I could've
just done that before the fight even started! What a
dumbass I am sometimes... Okay, hold out my hand and
cast the... Wait, should I? If I use [Apport], will only the
phone appear in my hand? Or...is it gonna come out
covered in juices and other horrible slimy stuff...
I remembered using [Apport] to pull an arrow from a
man's body once, and it came out with the blood still on it...
With that in mind, I shook my head and put the giant spider
in [Storage]. Better to be safe than sorry, after all. This was
a matter better left to the professionals. I then glanced
around for any other creepy crawlies before opening up a
[Gate] to Brunhild's adventurer's guild.
◇ ◇ ◇
"I see you've brought us another ridiculous beast..."
Guildmaster Relisha couldn't help but mutter as she saw me
pull the giant spider out of [Storage]. I'd never seen this
kind of creature before, so I just assumed it was something
native to the western continent. But apparently, it was
another one of those ancient species that had slipped
through time.
Relisha brought out an old scroll and spread it out across
a nearby countertop. The spider illustration on it looked
identical to the dead one I'd just hauled in.
"It's an ancient arachnid species known as the Atla-Nach.
It's a species of monster that was said to cause chaos during
ancient times on account of its rare, yet explosive mating
periods."
"Ancient times? So it really is another one..."
"That's right. It was previously believed to be extinct.
Nobody's seen one of these creatures in the last two
millennia...but now we're getting more common reports of
long-dead creatures resurfacing in every corner of the
continent. Please tell me, Grand Duke... Just what is going
on in the world?" Relisha asked as she looked at me, her
sharp eyes indicating she knew something was afoot.
Hrm... I should probably be honest here. There are
bound to be more weird monster sightings from here on
out, after all.
I explained to Relisha that space-time distortions were
happening and that monsters from the distant past were
now emerging in our era.
"Then you're saying these kinds of sightings will only
increase?"
"It should eventually calm down and subside. We're just
kind of in the thick of it right now..."
My words seemed to put Relisha at ease, if only a little.
Given how frequent the sightings had become, she could at
least take solace in the fact that it wasn't going to last
forever.
"Your Majesty, is this what you wanted?!" a burly guild
member, still in the middle of taking the spider apart, asked
as he held up a phone he'd plucked from the spider's guts.
He'd wiped it down with a cloth and it looked good as new.
What a considerate guy! It still kind of smelled funky,
though, so I cast [Clean] and the smell was gone in a flash.
I made a quiet mental note not to tell Steph where I'd
recovered her phone from...
Once I'd returned to the castle, the children were all
finished with dinner and everyone was relaxing in the living
room. I noticed a distinct absence of Quun, however. Gold
was gone as well, so presumably, she'd taken him up to
Babylon. I could only hope that Doc Babylon, Elluka, and the
professor would keep her from doing anything too out of
pocket...
Hmm, now that I think about it... I found that ancient
monster in the same forest where Steph met Gold... Is that
just a coincidence? Does that mean there's a space-time
disruption in that area, maybe? Wait, could it be that Gold
came through time from the past as well? I should probably
have Doc Babylon investigate this stuff, and then I should
also...
"Welcome back, daaad!"
"GWUBGH!"
Steph catapulted into my stomach, leaving me stumbling
backward and just barely on my feet.
P-Please don't use...[Accel]...at home...!
"Got my phone?"
"...Yep, I found it. Here you go. Don't lose it again!"
"Yay! Thanks!"
Steph took her phone from me, then dashed back to Sue's
side.
Hey! Don't use [Accel]! Someone's gonna get hurt...
"Good work out there, Touya."
I rubbed my sore tummy as I took a seat in the living
room. Yumina smiled and brought me some fruity water
before sitting down by my side.
"Everyone's finally here."
"It sure is noisy with nine more people around..."
"That just means it's lively, Touya. Besides, this is how
things are going to be in the future. Better to get used to it
now, don't you think?"
She had a point. The day was fast approaching when this
kind of hustle and bustle would be an ordinary part of our
life.
I'm glad everyone's here, but we'll have to send them
back to the future at some point... I wonder when Granny
Tokie's gonna let that happen. I should ask...
For the most part, the timequake's effects weren't too bad,
but the wicked devout and their traces of divinity made
some elements too unstable. In other words, I had to take
out the wicked devout if I wanted to safely send my kids
back to the future. It'd be hard to say goodbye to them,
though, since I knew it'd still be a while before they'd
actually be born.
I quietly resolved to make as many fun memories with
them as possible before we had to part.
◇ ◇ ◇
Three days later, I "accidentally" sent over thirty thousand
soldiers directly to Rephan's royal capital during a "training
exercise" that had "gone wrong."
After some time had passed, I flew over to the capital and
found that Duke Blueson and his forces had completely
surrendered to Queen Rephan, giving the city back to her.
What other option did he really have, though? Tens of
thousands of enemy soldiers had basically materialized right
around him in the dead of night...
Under Blueson's rule, the citizens of the capital were kept
under strict curfew. Thanks to that decree, everyone was
indoors and no noncombatants came to harm.
Once the news got out, the night rang out with cries of
freedom and support for the queen. The duke must have
really been putting the squeeze on the people because their
relief was palpable. He'd probably feared some kind of
uprising.
Thus, the capital of Rephan was retaken in a conquest
virtually free of any bloodshed. Though, that wasn't the end
of it. Until the queen held the Rephan regalia in her hands,
history could just repeat itself.
The queen impatiently urged me to help, so I pulled up
my phone map and began to track down the regalia's
location. I walked down a hall in the castle and stopped at
the crossroads of a T-shaped hallway.
"Should be around here..."
There were two rooms near this hallway. One to my left
and one to my right. Further down one side of the hall was a
staircase to the second floor, and further down the other side
was a window that peered out toward a courtyard.
It definitely wasn't out in the courtyard, so I could only
assume it was in one of these two rooms.
I should just use [Search] directly instead of through
my phone.
"Okay, [Search]! Wait, huh?"
"Wh-What is it?" the queen noticed my surprise and
anxiously asked what was wrong.
It's not in either of these rooms at all. It's down this
hall...on the stairs?
The staircase was set in stone with an old wooden
handrail along the side.
It's not on the stairs... Wait, the...handrail?
I narrowed my eyes and carefully looked over the
handrail...and one of the wooden support posts on it
shocked me to the core. I was staring right at it. I twisted the
post, heard something detach, and the rail sank downward
about ten centimeters. I then pulled it upward and removed
the post from the broader structure, which broke off with no
issue.
...Oh boy.
The decorative wooden post was, in fact, completely
hollow on the inside. I had to admit it, this was a creative
hiding place. How would anyone ever even think of finding
something in here?
I handed the broken wooden post to the queen. The
regalia was the symbol of this country's royal authority, so it
didn't seem right to directly handle it as an outsider.
The queen took the post into her shaky grasp, slowly
tipped it upside down so the hollow opening faced her hand,
and then...a tiny metal flute slid out into her palm. It was
exactly the same as the flute I'd seen in the pictures.
"A-Ahhh! This is it! Stella's Flute! F-Finally! It's finally
returned to us! G-Grandfather! We've got it back! We found
the flute!"
The queen sniffled and sobbed as she held the orichalcum
instrument to her breast. The knights around her were also
moved to tears, each of them trying their best to remain stoic
as a flood of emotion overwhelmed them. I could
understand what a big deal this was for them.
I was just glad we'd found the damn thing. With any luck,
this would end Rephan's civil war.
◇ ◇ ◇
The queen stood upon the castle's rampart and began to
play the flute. I cast a Null spell, [Speaker], and amplified
her performance so it could reach the citizens gathered
outside the royal gates.
News spread that Stella's Flute, the royal regalia of
Rephan thought to have been lost for almost a hundred
years, had been recovered. The clan lords of Rephan were all
aware before long. One by one, the neutral clans all swore
fealty to the queen. Her active enemies gradually began to
back down as well.
From what I'd heard, Duke Blueson nearly burst a blood
vessel in the royal dungeons when he found out that the
queen had recovered the flute in the very royal castle he'd
been occupying. He must've been frustrated knowing that it
was right under his nose the entire time.
If the regalia had fallen into his hands, it might've been
the queen who was imprisoned instead... And if that had
happened, I probably would've at least assisted in exiling her
somewhere more comfortable.
Still, that wasn't how things went down, and it seemed
like Rephan's internal war was over.
"Venerable Grand Duke Brunhild. I must give you my
heartfelt thanks for all you've done."
The person speaking to me and bowing their head was not
the queen, but her son. He was a man with dirty-blond hair,
who looked to be around thirty. His tall build and sturdy
demeanor suggested he was a military man.
He'd actually been in the middle of rallying an army to
take back the capital while I was doing my thing. In that
regard, I'd kind of stolen his thunder a little. I felt a bit bad.
"See?! I told you my dad was the bestest, Mister Frank!"
"That you did, Steph. He's certainly a marvel."
I awkwardly cleared my throat as Steph puffed her chest
out with pride and the prince offered up a weak smile. I
wasn't sure what to think about her so casually calling a
member of foreign royalty "Mister Frank," but Steph was
royalty herself...so maybe this was just a normal way of
acting for her.
"I can only hope that this will bring true peace to
Rephan."
"There's still a little issue that needs to be fixed, but it
should all be done away with by the time Frank succeeds the
throne," the queen replied to Sue, smiling and taking a sip of
tea. Her son only looked slightly uncomfortable at the
mention of his future succession.
The issue was that he couldn't play the flute. By the time
he was born, the regalia was already long-lost, so he did not
expect to have to play the flute in order to succeed his
mother. Sure, the regalia was already lost when the queen
was born, but her grandfather still ensured she had the
proper training and education that he'd received as a boy.
Now that the regalia was found again, it would only be
natural that they'd reinstate the tradition of the successor to
the throne playing the flute on his coronation day. If Prince
Frank were to give a horrendous performance, it could break
apart a slowly mending nation with unease. Because of that,
his mother informed him he'd need to play the flute every
single day until he'd mastered it. Traditions sure could be
rough...
"I'd be quite happy to join your alliance, Grand Duke, but
until things are more unified and settled in Rephan's
borders, I'll have to refrain from committing."
"That's fine. It's not like we'd be forcing you to join. Still, I
think it's important that we have a network where we can
exchange information about what's going on around the
world. That way, we can all respond to that information in
whatever way we deem the best. So even if you're not a
member, it's fine if you just want to hear what we have to
offer information-wise. What you do with that info is down
to you."
Though the alliance was an alliance, it was really more of
a conference for gossip or chitchat. Sometimes conflicts
between nations could be avoided with an easy conversation,
so I wanted as many countries as possible to come together
in discussion to make things easier for everyone. Sometimes,
I did have to intervene in stuff with brute force, but I usually
got something out of it, so it wasn't too bad.
I gave a quick primer on the wicked devout to the queen
and Prince Frank.
"Any settlements along the coast should take precautions.
It'll depend on the situation, but if you find yourself
struggling to fight back, then it would just be better to flee.
Otherwise, people will just die for no good reason."
"A coastal settlement destroyed by a massive Gollem, you
say...? How horrid..."
The one-eyed Gollem, presumably created by the wicked
devout, had attacked Rhea not too long ago. This was
alarming to the queen, as Rhea bordered Rephan. However,
it was even more alarming because Rephan's border was
almost entirely coastal. It'd be foolish not to heed my
warning in this case.
I provided her with about a dozen gate mirrors to send
out to coastal settlements in case of emergency, then handed
over two mass-produced smartphones. I didn't know if I'd
make it in time if something happened, but it was better
than them not having a line to me. At the very least, I'd be
able to help them rebuild.
The queen said she'd attend the next international
gathering as a tentative member, advising me that she
couldn't offer much in the way of cooperation due to her
nation's instability. I said that was fine. She'd gain a lot just
by being able to hear from the other countries.
Thus, the Kingdom of Rephan was put in safe hands. And
with that over, I had something I needed to investigate...
Something that had been weighing on my mind for quite
some time...
◇ ◇ ◇
"In summary, this is absolutely the gold crown. But it's
very different from the other crowns, from its construction
to its general vibe. Really, it's a crown in name only," Doc
Babylon puffed a cloud of smoke from her pipe as she spoke.
We were looking at the gold crown, Gold, as it was on the
workbench in front of us.
Elluka suddenly spoke up and added, "The magic
engravings all over its chassis are remarkably intricate. I can
understand most of it, but some functions are alien even to
me. If I were to put it in metaphorical terms...I guess it'd be
like having a toothbrush for a shoe. It might have some
purpose, but it doesn't quite add up visually."
...A toothbrush for a shoe? What the hell does that even
mean? Aren't you supposed to be some kind of genius
Gollem engineer, Elluka? That just sounded dumb... Well,
whatever. I guess the whole point is that they don't fully
understand what his functions are.
I remembered hearing that there was a fine line between
genius and idiocy, and I couldn't help but feel I understood
that saying as I looked at the supposed geniuses in front of
me.
"Performance-wise, it's no different to your standard
crown Gollem. But the Q-Crystal that operates its Gollem
skill system and general motor control has a unique
structure I've never seen before," Elluka stated as she
pointed toward the Gollem's head.
The Q-Crystal was basically a Gollem's brain. It controlled
skill activation, communication, and movement. In other
words, so long as the Q-Crystal was intact, you could restore
just about any Gollem by putting it into a new body. There'd
still be issues, though, since the machine might not adapt to
its new form very well.
"Q-Crystals typically have quirks that betray who created
them. Thus, there's no doubt to me that this is one of Chrom
Ranchesse's creations," the professor stroked his white
beard as he offered his input.
"There's a part of this Q-Crystal that I can't properly
analyze. It's completely covered up, but it probably pertains
to the Gollem's skill. In your world, I'm pretty sure they'd
call it a black box, Touya."
"Didn't Gold say he doesn't have any crown skills,
though?"
"And he very well may not. A crown skill is something that
requires compensation from the contractor. There's no
reason why he couldn't have other skills available to him.
Norn's black crown has a crown skill that allows it to
manipulate space-time and parallel worlds, but it has an
ordinary skill that functions much like your [Storage] and
requires no compensation."
That made sense. So crown skills were different from
regular legacy Gollem skills, and crown Gollems could have
multiple...
"So there's no skill that needs compensation? Nothing
that would cause harm to Steph?"
"Not that I can see. Though you never know, if the hidden
skill I can't access is something like self-destruct, then there
could always be collateral damage."
That sounds bad!
"I'm sure the young miss was joking. Gold here is still a
Gollem, after all. He couldn't initiate any skill that would
bring his contracted master to harm."
I let out a relieved sigh as the professor spoke.
Damn brat... Don't scare me like that!
"What stands out to me is that this Gollem doesn't have
any past data logs. If it did, we'd be able to learn a lot more."
"The data might have been formatted when Steph
contracted with it... I wonder what kind of things would've
been in there?"
"It could've been valuable data from Chrom Ranchesse
himself... Perhaps this Gollem was something of a research
assistant? Oh, what a horrible waste..."
The three of them moped and sighed as they lamented the
loss of information that may or may not have existed.
Whoops, did my kid do something bad?
"At any rate, she's safe, right? There's no risk to Steph
from being contracted with Gold?"
"As far as I can tell, she's fine. It'd only be about as
dangerous as Kuon's contract with Silver, you know?
Depends on what she does with it."
That made sense to me. In the end, all I cared about was
making sure there was no price my daughter would have to
pay...and it seemed like there wasn't one.
I didn't want Steph to be too worried, so I decided to take
Gold back...but then, a thought struck me. When Steph and
Kuon went back to the future, would they take Silver and
Gold with them? I didn't care if they did, but I wondered if
it'd be an issue... Then again, even if that removed them
from the world for a while, I had a guarantee they'd show up
again down the line...so it was probably fine.
"Silver said the Gold crown was based on artificers, just
like Silver himself, but I can't really see any artificer
elements in Gold..."
"Artificers come in many shapes and sizes. They range
from gargoyles to mimics to slimes. Even Gollems
themselves could be considered artificers, from the right
perspective. If it lives through magic and is an artificial
creature, it's an artificer."
Q-Crystals enabled thought, action, and a simulation of
nervous control. If those were components related to
intelligent life, then a Gollem could be considered an
artificer... That was true. Kind of made them closer to the
regular Golems on the eastern continent than I'd thought.
"In Silver's case, he has a pseudo-personality imbued into
his sword that makes him more chatty than usual... Does
Gold have anything like that?"
"Nothing in my [Analyze] cast dredged anything similar.
The only other thing I couldn't quite wrap my head around
was the material it's made of. They must've mixed
something into the orichalcum plating, something I don't
quite understand."
Doc Babylon tilted her head and crossed her arms in mild
annoyance. So the golden gleam wasn't just orichalcum, eh?
It was some kind of alloyed metal.
"Could it be mixed with a slime, perhaps?"
"...An orichalcum and slime alloy? That's ridiculous... Or
wait, is it? There's the infamous metal slime, after all...so
maybe this world has an orichalcum slime, and then..."
My stupid comment caught the doctor's attention, so I
had to clarify I was referring to something fictional from my
world.
Crap. I've gotta be careful with stuff like that.
"Hey, where's Quun?"
She'd been so interested in Gold earlier, but now she was
nowhere to be found. Just where was she?
"She's in the hangar with Monica. It seems they're
running some fine-tuning on Val Albus."
Val Albus was the Over Gear for the white crown, Albus.
Doc Babylon and the others had been keeping it a secret
from me, so I hadn't even gotten a peek at it yet. Bunch of
spoilsports, they were...
"Actually, now's a good opportunity. Let's give Touya a
proper look at Val Albus. Touya, bring Yumina along, would
you? Albus as well."
Oh? You're actually going to show it to me? I guess
grumbling internally really pays off. That means it must be
close to completion, huh...? And I guess they want Yumina
to come along because of her temporary contract with
Albus.
Yumina would presumably be piloting Val Albus
alongside Albus, much like how Norn piloted Leo Noir...so it
would be better to show it to her sooner rather than later.
I called Yumina on my phone, and it didn't take long for
her to show up with Albus in tow... But for some reason,
Kuon was with them as well. Well, it was less that he'd come
with them, and more like Yumina had dragged him by the
hand. Poor little guy.
"I wanted to work on one of my dioramas today..."
"Hush! It's better to go out and see new things once in a
while! You'll ruin your eyes if you keep squinting at such
small things in your room, Kuon!"
The other world leaders liked the diorama of Brunhild
Castle so much that they'd commissioned my son to make
dioramas for them as well. And so, he spent any free time he
had in his room constructing them. Allis was quite bothered
by this as it took away from her time with Kuon, and she'd
taken to blaming me for it.
Yumina was right, though. It wasn't good for him to be
cooped up in his room all the time. I didn't want him to
become some kind of shut-in.
We headed for Babylon's hangar with a reluctant Kuon
trailing behind us.
"Kuon, is Val Albus around in the future?"
"It is. I've ridden in it a few times, actually."
Really? I thought it could only be piloted by Yumina.
Maybe she let him hang out in the cockpit? I guess there'd
be space in there for a kid.
We headed into the hangar and walked down a different
hallway to the usual one that led to the Frame Gears. I didn't
realize the place had so many hallways... Doc Babylon
opened up the door to a space I'd previously assumed was
simply disused, and the sight that greeted me brought a
single thought to mind immediately.
"A space battleship?!"
I could only describe what I was looking at in those terms.
It was massive. Babylon's hangar was enchanted with
space-time compression, so it was bigger on the inside, but
the vehicle in front of me was far bigger than I could've ever
anticipated. How many hundreds of meters long must it
have been? Surely it wasn't a kilometer long...but it was
massive nonetheless.
Even the galaxy-class space battleships I'd seen in old
American sci-fi dramas weren't nearly as big as this thing.
Why, they rarely topped seven hundred meters in length,
and I was fairly sure this thing was bigger than that. It was a
pure, sterile white. I looked more closely, and then I realized
what it was. It was a whale. A white, mechanical whale.
"This is the Super-dreadnought Over Gear, Val Albus. It is
fully flight capable, fully dive capable, and capable of
transporting multiple Frame Gears within the interior. It's
also outfitted with a variety of armaments, and in theory, it
is our most versatile war machine."
It can fly? Seriously? Wait, I guess Babylon itself can
fly... That was probably really simple to implement...
"I personally wanted it to be able to transform into a
Frame Gear far larger than the Ortlinde Overlord...but that
was ultimately deemed impractical. It would be too much of
a strain on the Gollem and reduce overall durability."
I feel like a Frame Gear that massive would do more
harm than good... It could probably cause a deforestation
crisis or a tsunami just by taking a step... What kind of stuff
could it do if it launched an attack?
"I knew it would be for underwater use, but to think it can
fly as well..." Yumina mumbled as she looked up at the white
machine with awe-tinted eyes. I wondered about the
practicality. Wouldn't something this loud be noisy as hell in
the sky?
"It utilizes the same concealment magic as Babylon, so
you needn't worry about it being noticed. Though we'll have
to deactivate the cloak if we enter a combat scenario."
Can't attack if it's using the cloaking field, huh? But that's
good. We're basically undetectable so long as we don't
engage.
"So wait, does this thing work with G-Cubes?"
"No. Val Albus is primarily powered by a spirit kiln. I ran
an analysis on the one Quun got from Rhea's treasury, then
built an enhanced version for this Over Gear. We take in
ambient spiritual power from the spirits in the atmosphere
around us, and then we amplify that power through the kiln
in a similar way to Babylon's tower for use as a power
source. We do have G-Cubes installed onboard, but that's
really more as an emergency backup."
...So this thing's powered by elemental spirits? Seriously?
Spirit power was definitely more potent than just using
ambient magic. You could easily see that by comparing a
regular fire spell to a fire spell used when borrowing a fire
spirit's power. I guess we needed that kind of extra juice if
we wanted to make something this big move around freely.
"Come this way, I'll show you around."
A ramp jutted out from the whale's belly, and Doc
Babylon led us inside. It was surprisingly bright in there,
probably because the halls and rooms were lined with
lightstones.
I'd originally envisioned a metallic interior like the kind of
bleak metal hallways you saw in sci-fi shows, but it was
actually more like a luxurious hotel on the inside. The
entrance opened up into a big lobby room lined with a
luxurious red carpet. It even had decorative plants. Hell,
there was even a chandelier peering down from the ceiling.
"Step on this."
"A magic circle?"
"It's a big vehicle. Just walking around would take too
long. This'll instantly transfer us to the bridge."
A magic circle stood in the corner of the room. We all
stood on it, and Doc Babylon channeled some magic power
into it via a nearby wall.
The scenery around us changed in an instant. I hadn't
even felt the move, it was that seamless. The area we were
now in was much more like what I'd originally expected it to
be. We were in a room that resembled the command bridge
of your typical space battleship. A large monitor sat at the
front of the room. There was a higher seat in the middle of
the room for the captain to sit facing it, flanked by rows of
seats with control panels and screens in front of them.
Various panels and buttons lined the walls too, some with
faint lights and beeping sounds coming from them.
I knew I shouldn't have shown her so many anime and
sci-fi movies... This is basically just a mishmash of a bunch
of them.
"Oh? Father, Mother Yumina...and even Kuon. So you've
finally come to see it?" Quun, seated in the captain's chair,
said as she turned around to peer at us. The chair was bigger
than she was, so I hadn't noticed her at first.
"Done with the final checks?"
"All done. Just need to do the final process tuning, and we
should be good to go. Oh, is that why you brought her?"
"It certainly is. Let's give it a test run. Come, come.
Yumina, you sit right here. Albus, you sit in the one below."
I noticed a smaller seat immediately in front of the
captain's chair. Albus sat there, and Elluka connected a
plug-like device into his back.
Quun hopped down from the captain's chair and Yumina
took her place. Suddenly, a visor came down from the ceiling
and fit itself around Yumina's head.
"Well? How is it?"
"Huh?! A-Amazing! I can see multiple angles at the same
time!"
"Val Albus has a vast network of cameras. They're
currently linked to your vision through the helmet you're
wearing, Yumina. We can patch the camera feed through to
the front monitor as well."
As if to illustrate Doc Babylon's point, the big monitor in
front of us flashed on. It showed a view of what was in front
of Val Albus, a set of massive shutters in Babylon's hangar.
"No image issues. Very good."
"No problems with the ether lines either."
"Yumina, can you fire up the spirit kiln? Just order Albus
to do it."
Elluka had stationed herself at a nearby console and was
now guiding Yumina on how to get the Over Gear up and
running.
"Um...Albus? Fire up the, um...spirit kiln?"
"Understood. Firing up spirit kiln."
The consoles on the bridge all began to light up and emit a
low whirring sound. I felt a slight rumbling across the room
as the image on the monitor began to shift. Val Albus was
rising.
"Stealth magic activated, field deployed. Monica, open the
shutters!"
"Copy that!" Monica, overseer of the hangar, exclaimed as
she opened up the shutters. The sight of a cloudless blue sky
came into view, along with the Melicia Mountain Range that
straddled Belfast and Regulus in the distance.
"Okay, Albus...start moving forward slowly... Er, he'll only
listen if you tell him, Yumina."
"Oh, um...Albus, slow advance forward."
"Understood. Advancing."
At Yumina's command, the great white whale began to
soar through the sky-blue ocean above the clouds