In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 15 Read online

  Interlude I: The Guardians of Brunhild

  I am a tiger. My name is Kohaku. That name means “noble protector.” It didn’t always mean that, but it means that now. That’s what I decided it means. I’m not just any tiger, either. I have command over mammals and earth-dwelling beasts. For I am the White Monarch, a Heavenly Beast.

  My master is Mochizuki Touya, grand duke of the Duchy of Brunhild. He’s quite an incredible man.

  This country was made from the ground-up by him... It’s no exaggeration to say that I am one of the guardian beasts of Brunhild itself.

  There are four others like me, as well. Together, it is our duty to keep peace in this nation. Even today, I have just knocked out two attempted food thieves.

  “Amazing work, Kohaku... You really helped us out. We’ll handle it from here.”

  “Of course. Do your best.”

  I was speaking with a knight of Brunhild as he arrested the perpetrators. He and his cohorts served my master as well, so in a sense, I could consider them kin. Though... their connection wasn’t quite as a deep. I was directly bound to him, after all.

  The residents of the town were often fearful of my true form, so, for the time being, I maintained the adorable form of a tiger cub. If anything, it was useful. The women and children of the town felt safe, and any criminals knew that if they caused trouble, they might end up facing the wrath of my hidden might.

  There were a few people staring at my exchange with the guards, they must have been foreigners. Everyone in town had already gotten used to the fact that I could talk. Before he ascended to royalty, my liege asked that I not speak very often. But according to him, it was fine to talk now.

  “Oh, it’s Lanz and Kohaku! Are you working hard?”

  “Hm? Ah, hello there, Micah.”

  “A-Ah, h-hello there! Y-Yes, we’re just clearing up a crime scene! Kohaku here took down a pair of dine-and-dashers!”

  Standing before myself and the stammering knight was a young woman clad in an apron. He red hair looked rather pleasant. Her name was Micah, she managed the Silver Moon Inn. She was someone my lord had met quite early on in his journey. I was also respectful toward her due to her kindness toward him. She was also quite the cook. I always knew that when I visited the Silver Moon, there was a good chance I’d eat well.

  “Oh my, you’re working hard... Please come to see me later on, okay? I’ll cook you my finest meal.”

  “Th-Thank you! I-I’ll be sure to, of course!”

  I didn’t understand what was wrong with the young guard next to me. His breathing had grown uneven, and his face was getting redder. I wondered if he was perhaps afraid of me, but that couldn’t be it... He’d been talking to me normally not long ago. I was a bit confused.

  “A-Alright, I’ll be on my way then! Time to take the perpetrators t-to the prison, and such!” The young man and his fellow guards walked off with the criminals. Thieves were nothing but a blight on Brunhild, if you asked me. Personally, I’d have been happy ripping them to shreds, but my lord wouldn’t want it that way. That was why I followed as I was ordered.

  “Oh! It’s Kohakuuu!”

  “Really? Where is she?”

  “Ack... This isn’t good... It’s the children... Micah, I’ll be on my way. You take care.”

  “Not easy being popular, eh? Eheh... See you soon, Kohaku.”

  I said my goodbyes to Micah and dashed into a nearby back alley.

  As soon as I turned the corner, I jumped from wall to wall and clambered up to the roof. I looked down and saw the children looking here and there. They’d lost me.

  They were good kids, but I didn’t have time for them. I was very busy, after all.

  I waited a while, and they finally gave up their frantic search. I quietly asked for their forgiveness.

  Mm... The weather is quite nice today... And the breeze is good up here. Maybe I should take a little catnap...

  “Kohaku.”

  “Gwah?!”

  Suddenly hearing my name was so surprising that I almost fell off the roof. Fortunately, I managed to hold on and stop just at the last second. That was seriously dangerous... I looked up to the source of the voice, and my eyes met with a flaming bird staring down at me.

  “Kougyoku! Don’t startle me like that!”

  “Don’t be so rude. I saw you... Fleeing from children so you could take a little nap, hm?” Crap... She saw that?

  Kougyoku... She was another Heavenly Beast. Much like me, she was summoned by Mochizuki Touya, so we shared him as our lord and master.

  She was the Flame Monarch that ruled over airborne creatures. The birds were useful to our lord due to their recon abilities.

  It was regretful to admit, but she and her kin were far more useful in that regard than me and my own. I could summon mice to investigate houses more closely, but her birds-eye view would always have the upper hand. Not to mention the fact that birds could easily travel across borders unnoticed.

  Kougyoku’s dependents could easily look for issues in the town, but their eyes and ears expanded across the entire nation.

  The birds kept an eye on the surrounding countryside and mountains. We didn’t exactly want highwaymen or bandits holing up anywhere near our territory, after all.

  “And what if I was? Did you drop by just to comment?”

  “No, not exactly. I just saw something that made me anxious. A carriage came rolling through town a bit earlier. The man who came out claimed to be a traveling merchant, but he looks... Extremely uncouth. The men he claims to be his escort also look troublesome, as well. I don’t know if I should judge them solely on their appearance, but it still seemed odd.”

  “Hmm... Maybe they’re thugs in disguise?”

  “It is a possibility, or I could just be judging without reason.”

  There had been an incident in the past where some criminals had disguised themselves and made their way to Olba Strand’s store. They attempted to rob it.

  The products in this town weren’t found very often in other parts of the world, so it wasn’t unusual to have different merchants come through.

  The interesting items were all invented by our master, and there were also other valuables like weapons and armors crafted from materials found on the Dungeon Island we had access to.

  Apparently, the crooks had heard about these goods and came in late at night to steal them away.

  We’d been made aware of this immediately, and we had the knights charge straight in and take the men into custody. Fortunately, no harm actually came to Mr. Strand’s storefront.

  It was unfortunate, but this kind of thing was happening more often as of late.

  Our lord was very young for a world leader, and he’d had his start as an adventurer. A lot of criminals around the world wrongfully assumed that he was a foolish and incredibly lucky child who had gotten this territory by chance. By extension, they believed that would make his country an easy target for plunder.

  For the most part, they came and were promptly dealt with, all for the sake of a few trinkets.

  Our dear master was certainly troubled by the influx of these fools.

  “Alright, then... We should keep an eye on these guys.”

  “I’ll be counting on you, then. Farewell,” Kougyoku said as she flapped her wings and took off. I’d be fine to follow up on these strangers... Right after my nap.

  That was what I wanted, at least... But I knew I had work to do. I leaped from the rooftop and headed toward the school. Usually, I’d have avoided that place, but today there were no classes, so I knew I wouldn’t be assaulted by the hordes of little kids.

  When I arr
ived on the school grounds, I saw Fiana pegging up some laundry. Hmm... I don’t see the little creature anywhere...

  Fiana was the mother of Sakura, and Sakura was one of my lord’s betrothed. That meant her status exceeded mine. I was careful not to be rude, as a result.

  “Oh my, Kohaku. Good day to you. Can I help you?”

  “Good day, Miss Fiana. I am sorry for the sudden intrusion, but could you tell me where I might find Mr. Mittens?”

  Mr. Mittens was an obnoxious little creature that Sakura had summoned, and he spent his days helping out Fiana. That meant he could typically be found by her side. Because Mr. Mittens wasn’t one of my lord’s direct summons, I couldn’t telepathically communicate with him. That was most inconvenient.

  “D’Artagnan? He’s over there.” I looked over to where Fiana pointed and saw him curled up and napping on a two-person swing that had clearly been constructed for the children.

  “Zzz... Meow...”

  Why you little... Sleeping on the job, eh? That’s no fair... When I wanted to take a catnap I was woken by Kougyoku... As I grumbled quietly, Mr. Mittens opened up his eyes and slowly looked around. He might’ve sensed my frustration.

  “...Meow...? Wh-What?! L-L-Lady Kohaku?!” Mr. Mittens found his hair standing on end. In a matter of seconds, he swung back and forth and propelled himself into the air, landing perfectly on the ground.

  “...You have plenty of free time, I see.”

  “N-Nonono! Y-You’re just mistaken, I promise! There’s no claws for concern! It was just a slow day, and I happened to be taking a brief break! That’s all there is to it!” Mr. Mittens began to frantically spew excuses. To be honest, that just made him look way more suspicious, but there was no point in calling him out. I decided to leave it be.

  I relayed to him what Kougyoku had told me, and told him to look into it.

  “Very well! Athos is on his way here, so I’ll go out and look into it after he agrees to escort Lady Fiana in my stead. I’ll lend you my aid as soon as I am able.”

  “Mm. Fine, then.”

  I said goodbye to Fiana and continued on my way. Even though he was Sakura’s summon, I did like that Mr. Mittens worked closely with me.

  Now... I have time for a little nap while he gathers information.

  “Ooh, it’sss Kohaku. Hello there, darling~!”

  “Good day, Kohaku.”

  “Tsk...”

  “No need to tsssk at usss!”

  Sadly, my nap was over again. Another annoyance, or rather... a pair of annoyances, had gotten in my way.

  It was a turtle and a black snake, swimming through the air toward me. Collectively they were the Black Monarch, and they were other Heavenly Beasts that my master had summoned. Sango and Kokuyou.

  “What do you want?”

  “How very rude... We found sssomething interesssting, ssso we thought it appropriate to report.”

  “Hrmph...”

  Kokuyou’s words annoyed me a little. This guy wasn’t exactly as gentle and womanly as Kokuyou was, so I sometimes felt a little tense around him.

  “Our kin found this object along the side of the road.”

  Sango dropped something near me. Hm...?

  It just looked like a tree branch. But then I noticed the scent wafting from it.

  “...Beastwood.”

  “Exactly. A wicked piece of material that can drive magical beasts insane.” Beastwood was formed when trees or other plants sprouted from the corpses of dead magical beasts.

  The scent of the wood would waft out and cause wild creatures that smelled it to fall into a trance, they’d approach the tree and be consumed by it. It even sucked the nutrients out of people.

  Branches from these trees could be treated in a chemical solution to preserve them.

  Then they could be burned like incense, and they’d give off a unique aroma. Unfortunately, this aroma would cause any nearby monsters with a large amount of magic in their bodies to go berserk.

  Anything under its influence would become insanely violent. They’d lose all sense of pain and fight until they died.

  It was a very dangerous piece of equipment to use and was often employed by experienced monster hunters. They’d burn a piece and toss it into the lairs of powerful creatures, causing them to fight each other until they died.

  But it was still risky. If used in a crowded area it could cause creatures to charge and rampage together in a group.

  In the worst case scenario, it could trigger a stampede... It was the kind of thing that could be used to level an entire town.

  “Do you think this is suspicious?”

  “I certainly think it’sss rare for goodsss sssuch asss thisss to appear on the highway.”

  “Beastwood causes hysteria in whoever it affects, so it could’ve just been dropped by an airborne creature...”

  It just looked like deadwood at a glance. Most people would have just walked on past it. It was highly likely that it had just made its way near Brunhild by chance over time.

  However, one did have to take into account the possibility that someone was aiming to damage Brunhild by actively employing it.

  “I don’t think we need to worry. Our lord made a protective barrier that keeps monsters out of the town anyway.”

  “Ssstill... We can’t dissscount the fact that thisss may be an act of terrorisssm.”

  Kokuyou sounded angry. I was angry as well, to be truthful. Even if it was in vain, it was possible someone had tried to harm our lord’s nation. It was also irritating that the perpetrator must have assumed our lord was careless enough not to erect countermeasures for attacks like that. Though, to be fair, even if there were no barrier I was confident that I and the other Monarchs could have taken care of runaway monsters.

  I asked Sango and Kokuyou to check on the integrity of the barrier, just in case. One couldn’t afford to neglect these things, after all.

  “Should we inform our master of this?”

  “I’m not so sure just yet. I think we should just check for ourselves right now. If we bothered to include him in something like this, it’d just be the same as admitting our own ineptitude.”

  Plus, I had a feeling this could be connected to the strange merchants Kokuyou mentioned. I decided to wait on Mr. Mittens and see if he had anything to report later on.

  If I found out they were planning something strange, I’d simply annihilate them.

  I couldn’t forgive anyone who would seek to harm Brunhild. They’d have a firm reminder of just who it was they were messing with!

  ◇　◇　◇

  After parting ways with Kokuyou and Sango, I made my way back to the castle. I was getting a bit hungry, after all. I poked my head into the kitchen to see if there was anything for me to nibble on.

  “Yellowfish simmered and prepared successfully!”

  “Good work! Get around to setting the plate!”

  The kitchen was filled with cooks, it was as fearsome as a battlefield in there. I saw Crea, the head cook, and Lu, scrambling around the kitchen like true professionals. Lu seemed like she was struggling to keep up.

  It was busier than usual today, for some reason. I quickly realized it was because the other world leaders had gathered together in the castle.

  I wasn’t allowed to walk into the kitchen itself, so I could only peek inside. Nobody wanted fur in their food, so it was understandable.

  “Oh, Kohaku? Are you here for lunch? Please wait a moment.”

  “Of course.”

  As I stood by the kitchen entrance, Renne, a young maid in training, spoke to me.

  After a short while, Renne came out with my meal on a tray. She was carrying it with both hands. On one side of the tray was omelet rice and sashimi, prepared by Lu. On the other side were several slices of meat and cheese.

  “Are you eating on the balcony?”

  “Yes. I appreciate your help.”

  Renne walked along with me and took my meal out on to the balcony outside the dining roo
m. When the weather was nice, I liked to eat in the courtyard, or on the balcony. Today I happened to feel like eating on the balcony, though. I thought it was the best place to soak in the sunlight.

  “...Hmph.”

  “...Hrmph.”

  There was another person out at the balcony table. The sight of her caused my bright day to turn a little darker.

  “Eating out here, Kohaku?”

  “I could ask the same of you, Luli.” I narrowed my eyes at the Dragon sitting opposite to me. She looked like a baby, but much like me, she was a Heavenly Beast summoned by my master.

  I hated her guts, to be frank. I didn’t like talking to her, and she always gave me a headache. I was hungry, but the sight of her made me want to leave my lunch behind.

  I silently stared at my meal, ignoring the dragon as best I could. I took a bite. It was wonderful. I was happy that the quality of meals had risen considerably in recent months. The food alone was enough for me to be thankful that my master had called me to this world.

  “Kougyoku visited me not long ago...”

  “Hm?” I raised my head and turned to the Dragon as she spoke. I wondered what Kougyoku wanted with Luli.

  That irritating Dragon was in charge of looking after the castle, and her dependents would occasionally watch the skies around the immediate area.

  “She said that there are suspicious people in town. Isn’t that supposed to be your job? Have you been lazing around?”

  “Oh, that’s no big deal. I currently have a very talented individual scouting out information.”

  “Oh, is that right? Are you sure you’re on top of it? If you’re shirking your responsibilities our lord wouldn’t like that very much, would he? Are you sure you’re not just napping and eating instead of taking care of this country?”

  “Silence! I’m trying to enjoy my meal and you’re ruining it with your prattle!”

  “Ha! That’s all you care about, isn’t it? Sometimes I wonder if you even... Bwah!”

  “Hold your tongue, you little... Gwah!”

  Renne walked toward us both and grabbed us by our heads. H-Hey, knock it off!

  “C’mon you lot... If ya keep on like this then Touya’s gonna get proper mad at you, right? Enjoy your lunch instead.”