In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 8 Read online

  “Wonderful. Thank you so much.” Yumina and Leen smiled at each other and gently shook hands. There wasn’t even any room for me to comment at this point. I didn’t have any personal reason to oppose what had been decided, but still... Well, Leen was mature, dependable, and very cute, so I figured it’d be alright.

  If Yumina was the de-facto leader of the fiancees, then Leen would definitely fit in as the vice-commander.

  Still, that brought the number of brides to eight. That meant I was one step away from completing the set. I couldn’t help but wonder if the situation would’ve gotten this far if that damned doctor had just kept her future-telling to herself.

  It kinda felt like Yumina and the others were eager to accept girls until the total came to nine... They probably couldn’t relax until all nine were found. Still, they didn’t accept Pam, so they were at least putting some thought behind it.

  “Leen is now a sister in arms, she’s one of Touya’s fiancees, and our kindred spirit.”

  “H-Huh...? A-Aha... Y-Yes, I suppose I am.”

  “Now... Just where were the two of you this evening?”

  “Eek!” A funny noise came from Leen’s mouth. The other five surrounded her, emanating a silent pressure from their smiles.

  “W-W-Wait just a moment! L-Ladies, you’re misunderstanding, I promise!”

  “Out until the early hours of the morning... Just the two of you... What else could it have possibly been, what else?” Paula flailed her arms in response to Yae’s interrogation, as if to say “Hey! I was there too y’know!” But she was completely ignored. The twins came around the fairy’s sides, staring daggers into her.

  “I-Is it possible that...”

  “Y-You two did... it?!”

  “What?!” Both I and Leen yelled out in unison. Do you mean THAT?! Wh-What the hell?! Leen went red as a beet. So did Elze and Linze.

  “Wh-Wh-Wh-What are you even saying?! O-O-Of course nothing like that went on!” Leen went into a panic while her face got even redder.

  Hah... That’s a pretty cute reaction... It’s a response more fitting the size of your body than the number of your age, though.

  The encroaching girls, upon seeing Leen’s freak-out, eased up a bit.

  Leen was in a state of panic and couldn’t speak, so I explained the events of the evening in her stead.

  “Well, that’s understandable... But you should have sent a message to the castle if you were going to be this late.”

  “Ah... I-I’m sorry.”

  “Plus little Kohaku and the others let you relay mental messages, don’t they?”

  “Oh. Right.” It had completely slipped my mind. I’d been running all over the place without making use of that at all. I didn’t send a single message home to the castle, so the girls were probably worried sick or wondering where I was.

  I had blindly believed there was no reason to worry, but that had been a little bit of selfishness on my part.

  I didn’t want to upset the people precious to me. Quite the opposite, in fact. I decided to be more mindful going forwards.

  “We wouldn’t know what to do if you went and left us behind, idiot.”

  “That is correct, it is. Let us know if you are doing something dangerous, yes?”

  “You already wrecked that empty house, remember?” Elze, Yae, and Linze let out quiet sighs. You’re seriously still going on about that?! I-I just thought I could control a fireball like a missile... It’s not my fault!

  I wondered if this was how a drunk man felt after returning home to be yelled at by his wife. I felt pretty whipped, regardless. I definitely didn’t want to be a domineering husband, I respected the independence of the girls. But still, I was clearly causing upset to Yumina and the others. They were all on good terms with each other, too. I hadn’t heard of a single squabble between them. That made me the problem.

  “At any rate, just contact us if you’re staying out late, alright? We’re not going to keep you on a leash, just keep us informed! Alright?”

  “Y-Yeah, I got it...” Each one of them berated me more after that, until I finally got to go to my bed as the sun rose. They made me promise a lot of things, but the whole thing just felt like an unjust punishment.

  Individually they were all sweet and soft, and I felt calm when I stood by their side... But when they ganged up on me I was utterly defenseless. I wasn’t given any room to speak at all. It seemed like it was one of those things I just had to shut up and accept.

  Man, I’m beat... Zzz...

  After I woke up, I headed over to Kousaka and told him what had happened the day before. He immediately set to work on a rough draft of laws based on the ones in Belfast. The more specific ones would require my approval, though... I decided to save that for later...

  This world was socially on the same level as the Edo period, they had death penalties and exiles in place. Other countries used forced labor like mining, but there were no mines in Brunhild.

  Apparently most countries used capital punishment because of troubles caused in the nations that abolished it. If you simply banished a violent criminal, there was a chance they could cause trouble in another country. That being said, I didn’t think just killing people was an ideal way to go about it.

  Those slave collars were powerful artifacts used to punish criminals, and I approved, but only if they were put on people who had committed serious crimes. I wondered if I could modify one.

  If we synced our laws up with Belfast’s, Javert would definitely be killed. That honestly seemed fair, given his litany of foul deeds. I couldn’t just give him a slap on the wrist, he’d been trafficking humans.

  The main issue was what to do with the slaves and sailors on his ship. I figured I’d have Yumina use her Mystic Eye to check over the slaves at least. I’d free the good-hearted ones.

  I headed towards the Silver Moon while thinking that over. I was a little worried about the adventurers that I had helped free the day before. Didn’t want them suffering from trauma or anything due to their ill treatment.

  I went in and spoke to them, and fortunately they had all resolved to continue adventuring. I told them to be more wary in the future. There was no need to rush, after all. It was better to slowly become stronger.

  I told them to head over to the guild to get their cards back. Part of me felt a little guilty, but I was just glad they were safe.

  I slept in till noon so I decided to have my breakfast/lunch at the Silver Moon. Lop’s group ended up joining me for the meal.

  They seemed apprehensive at first, but quickly settled in once I ordered five full lunches from Micah.

  “Hm... There’s a dungeon near your home village, then?”

  “It’s nothing like the island dungeons, but yeah. It’s more like a cavern. There’s a ruin inside it, though... We used to play in there when we were little kids.” That sounded a little dangerous to me, there could’ve been dangerous wildlife in that cave!

  “We’d found Giant Bats and wolves now and then, but the four of us managed to take care of them. I think those victories helped make us a little overconfident... But we’ve learned a little more humility after exploring a real dungeon.” Fran spoke up, more of a mutter than anything. Wolves were certainly a far cry from Goblins and Kobolds. Intelligent monsters that used weapons were different from mindless beasts, after all. Still, that meant Lop’s party had joined the blue-rank idiots despite their fear. I was sure they’d become promising adventurers.

  “Well, just don’t overdo it. Learn from your mistakes. Also, don’t let people sucker you in with sweet words. There’ll more often than not be an ulterior motive there. Every rose has thorns, and nothing in this world comes for free.” The four of them nodded slowly. It seemed like they’d taken the lesson to heart. Really the fact that other adventurers had come and told them about a good hunting spot should’ve been a red flag. There’d have been no benefit to potentially decreasing their own gains by inviting newbies over. A certain amount of doubt was sure
ly healthy, but at the same time it was important to trust others a little.

  “Uh-Uhm, Your Highness... Can I ask something about this little guy...?”

  “Hm?” Eon, the party’s mage, showed the little white mouse that I’d summoned. I had completely forgotten about him.

  To be honest, I was still worried about them. It’s why I decided to leave the mouse with them. He was a summoned magical beast known as a Snowmouse. I had heard they were quite powerful in groups, but I wouldn’t have believed that by looking at one alone.

  I didn’t actually know if this world had basic household mice, actually.

  The Snowmouse had a magical passive effect known as Enhanced Senses. It allowed the person nearest to him to sense danger, preventing ambushes and other incoming disasters.

  “I’ll let you guys take care of him. He’s pretty smart, and he can tell when there’s trouble around. Also he has a mental link with me, so you can talk to him and send messages to me in an emergency.” Eon smiled and nodded as I spoke. It seemed like she’d taken a liking to the little guy. I was pleased to see they were getting along. That being said, I didn’t want a bunch of dumb messages being beamed into my head daily.

  We finished up the meal and parted ways. The Snowmouse, now perched on Eon’s head, waved at me. Huh... I guess he really is smart.

  Something in the lunchtime conversation had piqued my attention. The cave that the four of them had mentioned... The ruins they mentioned made me think that it could be related to Babylon.

  They were from Pyton Village in Regulus, if I recalled correctly. I searched on the map and it wasn’t all that far from Brunhild. I was surprised that it was so close. The scout birds I’d sent out had probably missed it.

  Or perhaps they just weren’t able to see into the cave because they were high in the sky... No, that couldn’t have been it. I had heard that birds were about the same as humans at night, vision-wise. They just didn’t act at night because food was more scarce. There were still nocturnal birds like owls, though.

  It was more likely that they’d just overlooked it. I’d find out for sure once I actually got there.

  I invoked [Fly] and sent a message to Kohaku to inform the girls I was off investigating. They’d all gotten upset just the night before, after all. I didn’t want to be lectured for two days in a row...

  Well then, guess I better check it out!

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  Pyton village was in the southwest of Regulus. It was a pretty plain and quiet village nestled in some mountains near the Belfast border. It gave off the image of a peaceful quiet little mountain town.

  I didn’t want to cause a fuss or alert the villagers, so I landed in a nearby forest and pulled up my phone to look for the cave. I found it fairly close by.

  “Huh, it really was near. I guess that makes sense, though... Those kids did play here.” The cave was just a little ways up a rocky area near the town. Wasn’t very big, either. The entrance was narrow, only one person could go through at a time. It seemed more like a thin tunnel than a cave, but once I got inside it opened up a bit.

  It would probably be more apt to call the cave an entrance to the inner ruins. There were probably other entrances once, they must’ve just been covered by various means over the years.

  A Giant Bat attacked me after I walked a little further in. Naturally it died in seconds. Hm... The kids beat these things up? Guess they really are weak... Doesn’t look like it’d be able to do much damage.

  After a while, I found an obsidian cube.

  One side was around seven meters tall and wide. It was cold to the touch, as well. There was no doubt in my mind. This was a Babylon ruin.

  “Alright, then... There’s gotta be a way to get inside this thing.” I inspected the cube thoroughly. I couldn’t find anything like a switch that might open it up, though. There wasn’t any groove on it like that other time, either. I wondered what the secret was. I mused that perhaps there was a wall that would let me pass through if I touched it... But alas, no luck.

  “Hmph... What’s with this thing...?” I considered using [Modeling] to force a hole open... But I couldn’t shake the feeling that it would end poorly. This was something I needed to do on my own. But, no matter what... I couldn’t find anything resembling a way inside.

  I prodded here and there, but I was rapidly running out of ideas.

  “Oh, come on... I’ve tried everything. Every side, even the top! What else is... Oh.” No way... Beneath, maybe? I dug a trench using earth magic, careful not to let the cube fall or move. Then I jumped down and inspected it from below.

  Gotcha. The bottom of the cube had a small dot indent in it, kind of like a ‘one’ side on a die.

  “This should be it, then...” I touched the dot with my hand, and I found myself being pulled into the cube.

  I looked around and found the regular spellstone pillars. It was dark, but the familiar shine of each stone was there in the black.

  There was something unusual, though. The teleportation circle was on one of the walls, rather than the floor. The six pillars were also jutting out sideways from one of the walls.

  “Waiiit a second... Shouldn’t that be the floor, then? That means I entered from the side...” I figured they’d made some kind of mistake when the cube was placed in the cave. It was stupid to have the entrance be below to begin with, it honestly seemed like an error. When I thought about a six-sided die, I remembered that if the ‘one’ side was below, then the ‘two’ side would be on the side. They must’ve mistakenly placed the wrong side down, which meant I had to crawl under and through the single dot.

  “Ugh, come on... Don’t make dumb mistakes!” I used [Fly] to keep myself on the circle and then poured my magical power into the pillars. After that I stood sideways, feet planted firmly on the side of the wall. It felt weird as hell. I’m not a ninja! This doesn’t suit me... N-Ninja Arts... Wall-Stand Jutsu! Pffft...

  I added the final touch by pouring Null magic into the circle. It lit up in a flash, and just like that I was teleported away.

  “Welcome to the Babylon’s s— raughuhgh!”

  “Huh?!” The light began to fade when I suddenly felt a dull pain in my stomach. I’d been headbutted. Gah?! An ambush?! From what I could discern, the terminal gynoid had recklessly ran over towards me, tripped, and smacked her head into my belly.

  “Awawa! Forgive-a me! I was so excited to-a finally meet you that I went and slammed-a right into your side!”

  “Fine, fine! Just get off me already!” The girl had knocked us both to the ground and she wouldn’t stop muttering. It was pretty embarrassing because she was still on top of me. The girl had... assets. Not quite as impressive as Flora’s, but impressive all the same. It was awkward.

  “I’ll get-a right up. Whoa, whoa!”

  “The hell are you doing...?” The girl stood up and immediately began wobbling all over the place. And then she did it. She stumbled and, with all the weight of her body, brought her foot down on my crotch. “HNNNGH!” Nhhh.... Mhhh.... Khhh....?! Hhh...! I fainted. There was nothing else I could even do. It was the single most powerful attack I’d ever received in this world and the last. It hurt more than a direct hit from a Phrase. Oh-Oh God... W-Will recovery magic work...?! Nngh... Gh... [R-Rhh... Refresh]...! Gah! I c-can’t focus! My jewels... My jewels!

  “Mamma mia. Are-a you okay?”

  “Ngh... Nnnhho...” I grit my teeth together and bashed my fists against the floor. It hurt. I was breathing heavily, I was sweating profusely. I’m... Done... It’s... t-too much...

  Eventually the pain subsided and I staggered to my feet. Then the girl looked at me and saluted. She was shorter than Cesca, or at least I thought so at a glance. She smiled and opened her mouth.

  “Let-a me introduce myself! Welcome to the Storehouse of Babylon! My-a name is Lileleparshe! Just call-a me Parshe for short.”

  “IT’S YOUUUUUU?!”

  “Eeeeeek?!” I’ve finally found the madwoman! She’s the on
e who let that immortal jewel thing fall down and ruin the Takeda house in Eashen! She’s the one responsible for the Blockbracer and Drainbracer helping that guy who started the coup in Regulus!

  I’d heard about her clumsiness from the other Babylon sisters, but now it was my precious jewels that learned the truth first-hand. “Sit your ass down little lady! You need a stern talking to!”

  “Wh-What! Why is-a this happening-a to me?!” I wondered if she was even aware of the trouble she’d caused. I decided to explain exactly what she’d done.

  I told her about the suffering of the people on the surface as a result of the artifacts she’d carelessly let drop. Then I told her about all the troubles she’d gotten me into as a result.

  “Are you sorry?!”

  “Aah... I-I’m-a sorry... I wasn’t aware of-a the troubles I’d caused!” Parshe let her shoulders sag. She knelt on the ground with sad eyes, and her ponytail trembled slowly. Maybe I had gone too far.

  “Just... Take more care going forwards, alright? All the other gynoids were concerned about the Storehouse.”

  “Hmm? You’ve-a met other Babylon terminals?”

  “With the exception of the Research Lab, I’ve met them all. Let me introduce myself, I’m Mochizuki Touya. The other Babylons have accepted me as their master.”

  “Wowee... Then I guess I’ll do-a the same. Roger that... Airframe-a Number Twenty-Six, Lileleparshe, presents herself to you! Treat-a me well, Master.” Parshe stood up and smiled once more, flashing a salute. That sure was a quick one-eighty. I wondered if she’d really reflected on her mistakes. Parshe quickly moved up towards me, almost making a lunge for my face. Uh oh. I know that move...

  It was the eighth time at this point, I no longer had the will to resist. It was inevitable, so I took it. I gave up on resisting, so I stood there and waited for it. Then Parshe stomped on my toe.

  “Ow-mmmf!” Her tongue slipped past my lips and began swirling around in my mouth. But that’s not what I was moaning about. It was my foot! She was crushing my foot! This girl was standing on her tip-toes to kiss me and she was crushing my goddamn foot! My big toe felt like it was gonna crumble! Why the hell are you this clumsy! Is this even clumsiness?! You’re a walking disaster! “That’s-a complete registration! Your genetic information has-a been stored in my banks, Master. The Storehouse now-a officially belongs to you... So why-a do you look so uncomfortable?” Parshe tilted her head to the side in confusion. What the hell do you mean why! You just stomped the hell out of my toe! I sat on the ground clutching my poor foot. I considered invoking [Shield] around her as a precaution.