In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 4 Page 10

  “The thought that those scoundrels had so much as a drop of royal blood in their veins makes me want to vomit.”

  “That trace blood connection of his was from following his family tree back over a thousand years, wasn’t it? By that point you’re literally just strangers.” Thinking to protect Yumina’s feelings from going the same way, I offered my opinion. The fact was that if you traced back two people’s family trees far enough, you were bound to find some kind of connection between the two eventually. Well, with the exception of myself, who was just dropped into the world by God one day.

  “At the very least, I believe this shall put an end to any harassment from other dissenting nobles for the time being. I shan’t dare to think of any foolish enough to follow the marquis’s example.”

  “That almost makes it sound like I’m the one personally responsible for bringing the marquis to justice...”

  “That is essentially what you did, is it not?” It looked more to me like he dug his own grave. All I really did was take the king to meet him, after all.

  I felt that the most credible form of evidence would be the kind that came straight from the culprit’s mouth. All I had to do was get him to talk about it openly.

  My original plan had been to record the marquis’s confession to all of his crimes on my smartphone and present that as evidence later, but when the king caught wind of my plans he insisted that I take him along to witness the truth with his own eyes. I felt I would probably never get used to this ridiculous king’s antics.

  “And when you snapped at that moron of a child, it sent chills down my spine. Yumina is a fortunate girl indeed to have met a man who cares so intensely for her as you do, my boy.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Can we please drop that subject...?” Just thinking of that outburst made me red to my ears. I had completely let the situation get to my head when that happened. Yumina tried to pry it out of me, but what I’d said was far more vulgar than anything this girl ever needed to hear, so my lips were sealed.

  “Staaaaaare...” Don’t even count on trying those eyes on me this time. I shan’t breathe a word of it.

  “Touya, my boy. If you truly do care for my Yumina so much, then I believe the best way to go from here would be for you to make a child with her! Well, I’m sure you two’ll be getting to it sometime soon, regardless!”

  “Your Majesty, please cease and desist!”

  “Father!” Yumina, beet-faced, screamed at the top of her lungs, loud enough to blow out one’s eardrums and echo throughout the entire castle building.

  I, too, was undoubtedly red as a tomato, but that was neither here nor there.

  Chapter III: Trouble in the Empire’s Heart

  “The Regulus Empire has been acting strange as of late...” I had finished a guild quest with Yae, so we went to a coffee shop. Logan was there, and he made a passing comment.

  “Strange? How so.”

  “Hm... how should I put it. Much like Belfast, they’ve split their military force into a standing army and an order of knights. The army is for offense and defense against other countries, while their order is for domestic security and patrolling their capital. But lately their standing army has been actively recruiting a lot more people, even though they’re not at war with anyone.”

  “Do you think they’re gearing up for invasion, do you?” Though Yae had asked the question to Logan, it was Rebecca who turned and answered him.

  “I doubt it. They say the emperor is bedridden with sickness. His son, the crown prince, isn’t even twenty years old and is in no state to be running national affairs, either. There’d be no reason for them to start a conflict.” I didn’t know that their emperor was ill. Regardless of their internal situation, it was good to know it wasn’t in their interests to start a war.

  They wouldn’t start anything on this side, at the very least. Belfast, the Kingdom of Mismede, and the Refreese Imperium were all on good terms. That meant the west and the south territories immediately adjacent to Belfast were covered. Regulus definitely had no way of going up against three other nations at once.

  “Then, once the emperor passes away, will the empire have to worry about being invaded by others, will they? It could be why they’re bolstering their army, it could.” Yae had a point. Belfast had no such intentions, but they were old enemies dating back over twenty years. It was only logical for them to be cautious.

  There was the Roadmare Union to the east of the empire, as well as the Ramissh Theocracy to the south.

  “I think every country’s aware that there’d be no real point in fighting the empire these days. Even if they aren’t as strong as they used to be, they’re still pretty sturdy. Well... if Refreese, Belfast, Mismede, Roadmare, and Ramissh attacked all at the same time... it’d probably be an easy win.”

  “Then again, dividing the territory after an effort like that would be a whole other battle in itself!” Logan chuckled in response. Well, if sparks ended up flying, I was sure we’d be able to take care of it. Not that I expected any trouble from them.

  Yae and I left Rebecca and Logan, then headed back to Moon Reader. Once again, I had received a fresh request for a new title to purchase. I was a little wary, but I did some research and found it was a serious adventure tale, not some dodgy smut.

  As it turned out, the book was only available in a certain place... The Regulus Empire.

  “Well... I suppose I should go and look into picking up that title. What about you, Yae?”

  “Linze-dono is on the second floor, she is. I will invite her to come home with me, I will. It is time to eat soon, anyway.” Linze had been spending most of her free time here recently. Luckily, she had moved on to more interesting genres like history and general fiction.

  But, if left to her own devices, she often spent whole days reading, so I asked Yae to check on her from time to time.

  I decided I’d visit their capital, just to take a look.

  I opened up a [Gate] to Gallaria, Heart of the Empire.

  “Wh-What the hell is going on here?” The scene that had appeared before me was not a peaceful city, but a roaring sea of flames and mayhem.

  For a moment, I thought a fire had simply broken out nearby, but this was clearly something else entirely. Everywhere I looked, civilians were fleeing, people were screaming, buildings were erupting into ruin. I was completely taken aback. Just what had happened here? I invoked [Gravity] to lighten my weight, then further amplified my body with [Boost]. I jumped up right away to the roof of a building, realizing I needed a better vantage point.

  “Hey, hey...” I saw civilians scrambling and trying to flee, while soldiers clad in black uniforms ignored them and marched toward the castle. There was a line of men clad in black armor, royal guards and knights, trying to prevent the uniformed men from carrying on. There were blades clashing here and there in the streets. I had no idea what was happening.

  I heard a shriek from nearby. I ran along the roof to see where it came from, then caught sight of two soldiers in dark military uniforms who had a knight cornered. The knight was bleeding profusely from the shoulder, having clearly lost the use of one of his arms.

  While it was true I didn’t know the circumstances, I had to stop them from continuing. I couldn’t just stand by and watch a man die, no matter who he might be. I hopped down behind them and fired off some paralyzing rounds.

  “Guh!”

  “Gah!” The two soldiers fell down instantly. The injured knight suddenly fell to his knees as well.

  “You okay, man?!” I cured the man’s injuries with Healing magic. He was only barely conscious, however. The man needed rest. His eyes were unfocused, too. It was likely the result of blood loss.

  “Just what the hell happened here?!”

  “The army... betrayed our glorious emperor..” The knight uttered a few words and fell unconscious.

  The army rebelled...? W-Wait, does that mean there’s a military coup going on?! For the time being, I
slung the man over my shoulder and carried him into a nearby house. It was deserted, so I assumed the residents had fled. I plopped him down on a bed and applied more healing magic. I stopped when I was sure he wouldn’t die.

  After that, I left the house and jumped up to the roof. I needed to get a feel for the situation.

  “Search. Display the two factions in two different colors!”

  “...Search complete. Displaying. Royal knights are displayed in blue, one thousand, one hundred and sixty-five units. Army soldiers are displayed in red, twelve thousand, six hundred and fifty-four units.”

  Almost ten times as many. The situation before me was absolutely insane. The map was dyed a deep red.

  I looked around for more fires, but it seemed that this district had it the worst.

  What should I do, though? Should I just leave? It’s not like I have any obligations in this country. I can just return to Belfast, leave the situation as is, and report to the royal family back home. That would be the easiest thing to do, but...”

  “I guess I can’t leave like this...” I didn’t even know why a coup was happening in the first place. I figured they were after the emperor’s head.

  “I’ll head to the castle... Maybe I can offer the emperor refuge in Belfast if I get to him in time.” The emperor was sick, but I could move the bed too if push came to shove.

  I dashed across the rooftops. As I got closer to the castle, more conflict came into sight. Both the royal guard and the army were clashing against each other and getting in my way. I shook them off and continued my course.

  I didn’t know a single thing about the Regulus Empire. It could be that the army was fighting for a righteous cause, that they were opposing a wicked emperor. Honestly, I had a few moral questions about my involvement in this whole situation, so I once again briefly considered just leaving and letting it all work itself out.

  If the emperor was out of the picture, then the conflict would be settled, and I might be able to peacefully talk to whoever started the coup. Not like I had a choice in how to deal with the situation at that point. If the emperor was indeed wicked, then it might even be for the best.

  “H-Hm... Is this the castle gate?” The castle gate was already broken, which meant the army had invaded. I figured I should hurry. As I was thinking, part of the castle detonated. I was shocked by that, but then I noticed the various fireballs flying around of the impact site. Magical artillery. I hadn’t even considered how dangerous that could be.

  I made my way over through the castle gate. Security was... definitely lax. But that wasn’t exactly surprising. It’d be impossible to patrol at a time like this.

  I ran through the royal garden, then made my way to the second floor balcony. From there, I made it into the castle itself through an open window.

  “Well, I don’t know where the emperor’s room is...” I couldn’t use the search function to find it, either. I wouldn’t be able to determine which room belonged to the emperor. If he wasn’t bedridden, I’d have just searched something like “throne” to find him.

  I decided there’d be no point fretting about it any further. I decided to leave the room.

  As one would expect of the emperor’s castle, it was extremely gaudy and well-decorated. I opened up a particularly large, ornate door, and someone fell from the inside.

  “Whoa!” The person that fell out was a female knight. She had been leaning against the door before I moved it. Although she wasn’t moving, there was still a fight in her eyes. She surveyed me as if to ask, “Who are you?” which wasn’t a surprise.

  She looked to be around her mid-twenties. I didn’t notice any clear injuries on her, until I looked at the back of her neck. Hidden behind her blonde hair was a needle lodged in her skin. I carefully removed it and pulled it up in front of my face. It seemed to have a strange substance in it.

  I wondered if it was poison, so I looked around for enemies. I only saw one fallen soldier in the inner hall, so I wasn’t entirely sure of the source. Either way, I had to heal her.

  “I’m gonna heal you now, alright? I’m not an enemy, so please don’t attack me after I’m done!” I briefly introduced myself to make sure she wouldn’t panic, then invoked my healing magic.

  “[Recovery].” Soft light enveloped the woman. She got up and slowly opened and closed her hand, seemingly confirming her own strength had returned. After that, she pulled out two blades and slashed at me. What the hell?! That wasn’t part of the deal!

  “[Gravity]!”

  “Gah!” I grabbed her arm and invoked my weight alteration magic. I was in a panic, though, so I used a little more than I expected. She began to collapse under her own weight until it almost looked like she was groveling on the ground. I reduced the weight until she was at more of a crouch, then spoke to her normally.

  “I told you I’m not the enemy, so why’d you try to attack me?!”

  “Name yourself immediately! If you aren’t in the royal guard, then you’re with the army, right?! If you’re with the army, then you’re the enemy, right?! That means I need to slay you!”

  Does this woman have brain problems? Seems like she doesn’t understand a thing.

  “First of all, I’m not with the military. I’m not even wearing a military uniform! On top of that, if I was with them, why would I have saved you?!”

  “W-Well, that makes sense...”

  “I’m not even from this country! My name is Mochizuki Touya. I live in Belfast, I’m an adventurer. I traveled to the Heart of the Empire and accidentally got caught up in this mess! As for why I’m here in the castle grounds, I came in to try and help any of the royal family. I have transportation magic, so I was hoping to evacuate with any important people.” As she listened to me, the female knight’s expression changed. It slowly shifted from concern to hope.

  “You have transportation magic... really?! If that’s so, could you help me?!”

  “Sure, but could you maybe promise not to attack me again?”

  “Very well. I swear, upon both of my blades.” I canceled my spell and she stood up. She shook off the sluggishness and moved her body a bit, then looked toward me as she sheathed her weaponry.

  “Touya, was it? My name is Caroline Rillettes. Please call me Carol, though. I belong to the Empire’s Third Order. I’m a Second-Class Knight.” I didn’t really know what that meant, but I nodded regardless.

  Carol seemed to have been fighting with soldiers from the army, but was struck down with poison as soon as she turned her back. As I expected, grasped in the dead soldier’s hand was undoubtedly a blowgun just short of ten centimeters in length.

  “We must meet with His Majesty the Emperor at once! Come, I shall lead you to him!” It was then that I noticed the crest on the hilt of her blade. A griffin, a shield, two swords, and laurels... I felt like I’d seen that somewhere before. Carol hurried on before I could dwell too deeply on it, so I dashed to the castle alongside her.

  Knights, soldiers, and other were strewn around the courtyard. All dead, bleeding into a collective pool of gore. The area reeked of fresh blood. This is bad... If the place is in this state, it’s not likely that the emperor is safe.

  I went ahead with Carol, but my mind was already full of the worst possible scenarios.

  After running up stairs for a while, we eventually reached a grand hallway.

  Carol moved straight forward, but I suddenly stopped. I could hear a faint screaming.

  I stopped for a moment and concentrated. Explosions... the cries of warriors... clashing weapons and... there it is... A woman... no, a young girl... I can hear a girl’s voice!

  “Search! A young girl within a 100 meter radius! Anyone who might be trying to hurt her, too!”

  “...Search complete. Displaying.”

  The map displayed a room at the far end of the hall. Got it... Straight ahead!

  I kicked open the door and burst into the room. I surveyed the room, finding a man in a military uniform. He was straddling a young gir
l with silver hair. His left hand was wrapped around her neck, while his right was just about to pierce her breast with a knife.”

  “Huh?! Who are— Gyuuuh!!!” My surprise entry made the man hesitate, so I took the chance to launch a paralysis bullet at him. That was seriously close! She would’ve died if I got here even a second later! The man collapsed on the spot, falling on top of the girl.

  “E-Eek?!” The girl shoved the man off her and scrambled away to the corner. She clutched her own body, trembling. That wasn’t exactly surprising. She had just survived a murder attempt, after all.

  “You okay?” I wanted her to be calm, so I tried speaking in a gentle manner. The girl realized my intentions and looked me in the eyes.

  Her eyes were a full, deep jade, and her skin was white as porcelain. She wore a beautiful white dress, but her silver hair was a little messy. She looked close to Yumina’s age. The fact that this man had tried to murder a child of all things was despicable.

  Upon closer inspection, I noticed her clothing was slightly torn. She had cuts on her exposed skin. If I didn’t do something quick, she’d end up scarred.

  “Come forth, Light! Soothing Comfort: [Cure Heal]!” I suddenly invoked a Healing spell, but her reaction was a fearful one. Luckily, when the soothing light wrapped around her arms, her expression changed to one of wonder.

  “Wh-Who are you...”

  “I’m Mochizuki Touya. Just a traveling adventurer, really. Not affiliated with your country or military.” I chose my words a little more carefully. I didn’t want her to freak out or attack me like what had happened with Carol.

  “M-Mochizuki... Touya.”

  “Can you walk?”

  “I-I can.” I took her by the hand and helped her up. Hm? I didn’t think about it until now, but... who is this girl, exactly? Her clothes are quite high-quality... Could it be that... No, she couldn’t be.