In Another World With My Smartphone_Volume 6 Read online

  “Could you make like... ranged weaponry? Like a bow?”

  “I could, sir... but I sincerely doubt it’d do much against the tough carapace of a Phrase, with all due respect sir. It might work if you get in close and fire full-force, sir! But that would defeat the point of range.” Oh, good point... guess long-range is useless. Well, that sucks.

  “Then how about a melee weapon with long-range capabilities? Like a weapon with a big iron ball on a chain that you can wave around or something.”

  “You mean a morning star, sir? That’s doable.” I was pretty sure that morning stars weren’t that flexible and were kind of more like melee weapons, but I let it go. It was probably just how it was in this world.

  After leaving the workshop, I headed off to the alchemy lab to check on the Eashen girl.

  But, as fate would have it, Lu denied me access.

  “Her injuries will likely be cured by tomorrow, but... It’s uncertain when she’ll regain consciousness.”

  “Hrmph... it’d be bad if she was traumatized or something...” Judging from those wounds, she’d definitely been attacked by somebody. In an ideal world, being brought so close to death wouldn’t leave any lasting mental scars, but... I knew it likely wouldn’t end that way.

  “Ah, Touya. Take this.” Lu passed me an object. It was a small medallion, about ten centimeters in diameter. It was made out of a shining metal, and looped around it was a silver string.

  “The girl was wearing it around her neck. It might help us identify her, somehow...” The medallion had a complex engraving on it, which had clearly been done by someone with extreme skill. The other side was completely flat and unblemished. On the front side, I couldn’t really make out what the carving was, but it kind of resembled the sun. It didn’t seem like a family crest or coat of arms, at least.

  I decided to hold on to it for the meantime.

  There was nothing much more to do, so I returned to the castle. As I wandered through the halls, Lapis showed up.

  Lapis and Cecile had been serving my family since way back when we were living in the Belfast mansion. They were formal residents of Brunhild now, of course.

  While the two served us in Belfast, they stayed with us ostensibly in the name of the Belfast Secret Service, Espion. But when my engagement to Yumina was formally announced, they quit and became our full-time maids in Brunhild. For now, Lapis was Brunhild’s head maid.

  “Your Highness, we need to talk.”

  “Hm? What’s up?”

  “I’d like to see about increasing the staff here. Myself, Cecile, Renne, and Cesca are not enough to properly clean all the quarters and entertain all possible guests...” That was reasonable. I could see where she was coming from. It was unreasonable to expect the four of them to take care of every duty from cleaning, to entertaining guests, to taking care of us. From what I’d heard, some members of Tsubaki’s intelligence corps helped out here and then, but they also had their own jobs to do.

  “Sure thing, then. I’ll see about getting some more staff. How many were you thinking of?”

  “We’d need to hire about ten more maids, I think. We need servants to take charge of laundry, the women’s quarters, parlor maids, and kitchen duty. The ones assigned to the kitchen will directly serve Head Chef Crea, and the ones set to work in the parlor will directly serve Cecile.” That was quite the increase in staff, but I felt it was well-warranted.

  “We won’t be hiring through the Maid Guild, either, but going through personal hiring and referral. We’d like for you to conduct the final interviews, Your Highness. In addition, Renne and Cesca will be assigned as the maids responsible for serving your needs directly.” Hm... Renne I don’t mind, but... I’m a tad uneasy having Cesca with me. Then again, it’d be better to have that pervy robo-maid serving me directly, rather than having her bother guests.

  “I’ll also take charge in regards to training the staff in necessary combat measures.”

  “Wait, combat training?! Is that a thing you guys need?”

  “We can never know where the enemy may be, Your Highness. A weak-willed girl who can’t provide support is a failure of a maid. A true maid is equipped to deal with every possible situation.” Lapis bowed her head, smiling softly. Maids sure had it rough, apparently.

  I suddenly remembered that Angie from Lihnea was also a skilled melee fighter, so I wondered if studying battle tactics was just something maids did around here.

  Well, it was good to have maids that also knew how to take care of themselves, so I gave it the go-ahead.

  I wondered about Renne participating in such things, so I asked just to be sure.

  “Renne is being taught well by Cecile already. The ruffians around here won’t be able to hold a candle to her splendid dagger technique.” Just what are you training her in?! Have you been teaching her weird stuff while I had my head turned? What a frightening bunch they were...

  I had a sneaking suspicion that maids in this world were something else entirely.

  ◇　◇　◇

  “I know it’s strange, but it’s simply Touya being himself...”

  “...Good grief... I know that’s how it is, but we should really consider ourselves lucky...”

  “Hm... how so?” I’d accidentally found myself listening in on a conversation between the Emperor of Regulus and the King of Belfast. They were both looking up at the Chevalier while chatting with one another.

  “Well, think about it this way. If the lad were too ambitious or reckless, he could’ve easily wiped any of us off the map. He’s in a position of extreme power, and none of us could really resist him if he put his mind towards hostility.”

  “Hm, perhaps, but... I don’t really think he’d be the sort to make a turn like that. Goodness, what kind of person must you be to expect something like that?” The Emperor of Refreese and the King of Mismede also interjected. It was hard to tell if I was being praised or criticized, honestly.

  “Touya is not the ambitiously hostile type, I can assure you. I know he is kind and just, and he is most assuredly our friend and ally.” Her Holiness the Pope of Ramissh spoke up with a calm expression on her face. In a way, she was the only person in the room to know my true nature better than anyone else. That being said, I definitely wasn’t the holy messenger she thought I was. Unfortunate as it may have been, I was no angel.

  “That aside, this thing is incredible... Can it really move?”

  “Indeed it can. It functions similarly to the Frame Units.” Cloud, King of Lihnea, was gazing up at the Frame Gear with amazement in his eyes.

  I’d gathered all of the western allied leaders in Brunhild to show them the Frame Gear. The knight bodyguards that each leader brought with them stared up at it with amazed or shocked expressions. Wasn’t too surprising, all things considered.

  “So... What is this thing for?”

  “I suppose you could call it a hobby of sorts... for now. But formally, you could consider it an anti-Behemoth measure.”

  “Ah, the Behemoths. Yes, this thing could definitely reduce the damage done by those beasts.” The King of Belfast nodded confidently, as if he agreed with the usage. The reality of the situation was different, of course.

  I couldn’t afford to let the world leaders know just yet, so for the time being I’d only let Guildmaster Relisha in on the truth about the Phrase. Her intelligence network was valuable enough for me to bring her into the fold on the subject. Plus, I saw no point in getting foreign entities involved in situations that may or may not end up actually happening. Not to mention the fact that I had no real proof, either.

  I decided that for now the best course of action was to make quiet preparations, so that if push came to shove... We’d be able to deal with the situation. I had to consider what was best for everyone.

  Revealing the Frame Gear to the public was a necessary step to this end.

  “Hm... Touya... Could we perhaps take it for a ride?”

  “Yes, of course! Riding it is a matter o
f grave importance!” Both the King of Belfast and the King of Mismede stared at me with passion in their eyes. Their unsettling gazes were focused entirely on me, silently screaming “let us ride it” at me.

  “Well... I don’t see why not, but... I believe it would be better to have a guard ride it first, to ensure safety. Don’t you agree, Gaspar?”

  “Hm...? Me?” The one-eyed military commander of the Regulus Empire, Gaspar, looked over at me with a curious expression. All the guards here had ridden the Frame Units in the playroom, after all. It was for that reason that I didn’t think they’d have any issues handling the Frame Gear.

  “Don’t worry or anything. I installed a special feature in case of unexpected circumstances. There’s an emergency stop function.” I had an emergency stop installed on the Frame Gear as a safety measure. It was operated from my smartphone, and functioned by limiting a Frame Gear’s movements. So, for example, if Gaspar were to decide to use the Frame Gear to attack everyone in this room... he wouldn’t be able to move at all. Not that I expected a good man like him to do such a thing.

  Gaspar clambered up and boarded the Chevalier, after acquiring the Emperor’s permission, of course.

  “What do you think? Not too different to a Frame Unit, is it?”

  “Yeah... You’re quite right, I’m familiar with the controls.”

  “Well then, by all means. Give it a shot.” I communicated with Gaspar through a receiver module, and told everyone around the Frame Gear to stand back.

  I heard the familiar start-up whirring, and the heavy knight gear sprung to life.

  After Gaspar’s successful run, there was a small dispute about who would get to ride the Frame Gear first, but otherwise there wasn’t much of anything to worry about. All the leaders (with the exception of Her Holiness the Pope) had the chance to pilot the Frame Gear, and... surprisingly, they all operated the thing with a great deal of finesse.

  I also made a promise to loan out the Frame Gear to nations under attack from Behemoths. I also decided to give each nation six Frame Unit simulators each, so the countries could train pilots. That way they wouldn’t have to rely on me.

  The reasoning I gave them was that six simulators each would allow their knights to both relax and practice.

  The real reasoning was, of course, quiet preparation for the potential Phrase invasion. If they were being trained for war without knowing, it wasn’t going to hurt them.

  Because Belfast and Regulus both had vast territories, the appearance of Behemoths in their land had a statistically higher chance of happening. I’d agreed to lend them the Frame Gear in times of need because of that. Ramissh and Mismede also bordered the Sea of Trees, so it was possible a Behemoth could charge out of the woodlands and start wrecking them, so pledging my aid there was fairly logical as well.

  Lihnea wasn’t really likely to come under assault from a Behemoth... so it wasn’t likely they’d ever need my Frame Gear support. But hey, the worst case scenario could always happen, so I pledged to protect them as well. A Behemoth could always rise out of the ocean, after all.

  I was pleased to hear that every country in attendance accepted my terms with little protest, and all seemed content.

  I was worried they might demand I make them their own Frame Gears or try to integrate the technology into their armies or something, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

  I was informed that the girl I’d rescued back in Eashen had finally woken up, so I headed straight for the alchemy lab. By the time I got there, she was no longer in the Lazarus Capsule, and was instead staying in the lab’s bedroom. She was sitting in bed, wearing light, pajama-like clothing.

  Her right hand, resting atop the blanket, had regenerated entirely. I couldn’t see her leg, but I assumed it was in the same pristine condition as well.

  I noticed that her hair, which I had initially believed to be pure white, actually had the tiniest tint of red to it. It made her hair the faintest pink, like the shade of a cherry blossom. I hoped it wasn’t an ill omen, like her hair being sullied by blood or something.

  “...Ah...” The moment she laid eyes on me, a little voice creaked past her lips. She seemed like she recognized me.

  Flora, seated on a chair nearby, waved over and greeted me.

  “She’s regenerated fully, has she?”

  “Ah... S-Sorta... y’know...” Flora frowned softly, and her reply sounded a little off as well. I wondered what was wrong. “W-Well... the girl’s... lost her memories, you know?”

  “What?” According to Flora, the girl had no memories of anything up until the point where I saved her. She couldn’t remember her own name, where she was born, or even why she was so wounded.

  “This isn’t a side-effect of that regenerating treatment, is it...?”

  “That’s impossible, you know?! Maybe if it was her brain being regenerated... But memory loss due to regrowing a hand and a leg?! That’s absurd, you know! Perhaps you’d like to test it out yourself, you know? I know! I’ll chop your little pecker off and dunk you in a Lazarus Capsule!”

  “C-Calm down!” Don’t be a dumbass! I’m not gonna go that far just to test a pet theory! ...Plus if it really was a side effect, I’d lose my memories too! That aside... how much does she know?

  “Do you remember me?” The girl lazily nodded her head forwards. So she definitely still had her memories of me saving her. Right after that, she went in for the regeneration treatment, so it was far more likely that the attack on her life itself is what caused the traumatic memory loss.

  “What’s your name?”

  “...I am unsure.”

  “How’d you get hurt?”

  “...I do not know.” Guh... What happened here...? I probed her memory for a bit after that, asking her questions about this and that. Her general understanding of the world, common sense, reading, writing, numbers, and Eashen were all intact. She was also knowledgeable about Belfast and Regulus.

  But all of her personal memories were gone. She didn’t know her name, where she was born, when she was born, her likes and dislikes, or her familial situation. As a last-ditch effort, I tried applying [Recovery] on her again, but it was useless.

  “Hm... I’m sure you’ll get your memories back one way or another.”

  “...You...”

  “Me?” The girl on the bed turned to look right at me, her light purple eyes gazing through my very being.

  “...Who are you...?”

  “Ah, I’m Mochizuki Touya. I’m the Grand Duke around here... Here being the Duchy of Brunhild.”

  “...Grand Duke...” The girl showed a surprised expression for all of two seconds, then immediately returned to a neutral expression. She didn’t seem to have much in the way of emotional range.

  “...This is Brunhild?”

  “That’s right, yes. I brought you here from a rocky region of Eashen, since your injuries were so great.”

  “How...?”

  “I used transportation magic.” Her eyes once again widened for a brief two seconds. Then the neutral expression set in again. It was kinda funny, in its own way.

  It would’ve been pretty bad to reveal the existence of the alchemy lab to an outsider, so I immediately used [Gate] to transfer the bedroom, everyone, and everything inside it inside a spare room in the castle.

  “What...?” The girl suddenly looked around the room, eyes darting as the scenery abruptly shifted. I figured that’d be enough for her to believe me about my transportation magic.

  With that, I decided that she could stay in Brunhild for the time being. With any luck, she’d get her memories back before long.

  I could always take her back to Eashen, but the fact that she had no memories, coupled with the fact that she was probably being targeted didn’t exactly bode well for anyone. Seemed I had no choice.

  “It’d be bad if you didn’t have a name, you know. Should we see about giving you one just in the meantime?”

  “A... Name... I’m... fine with anything. You decide,
Lord.” Hmm... bit abrupt, lemme think here... I think a more Eashen-sounding name would be better than a traditionally western name... Let’s see... Aha, got it.

  “Hm... How about Sakura, then?”

  “Sakura...?”

  “Your hair is a beautiful pink, so I gave you the name of the cherry blossoms in my home country. If you don’t like it, I can think of another.” It was a pretty simple name. But the girl shook her head, regardless.

  “Sakura is... nice. Thank you...” I noticed that Sakura, who seemed rather emotionally muted, was smiling just a little bit.

  ◇　◇　◇

  Quite a while had passed, but Sakura showed no signs of regaining her memories.

  In terms of physical health, however, she was fighting fit. Not a single blemish or scar remained on her skin.

  I tried to hand over the medallion that she had with her, but she just looked at it in confusion. Either way, it was hers, so I insisted she keep hold of it. I was hoping it might trigger some of her memories or something.

  I had suggested we go back to the valley where I’d found her, but she immediately and firmly refused. Couldn’t say I blamed her. Going to the place where you very almost died was bound to be traumatic.

  It almost seemed like she was actively avoiding having her memories return... I was beginning to wonder if she was actually fine being amnesiac or something...

  I’d never experienced amnesia myself so I couldn’t really put myself in her shoes, but I wondered if her personality right now was the same as it was before, and if that’d cause some kind of identity crisis down the line... Though I suppose that’d be more classed as a split personality disorder rather than an amnesia problem.

  I’d read a book somewhere that personalities worked like this. Let’s start by calling a person’s default personality A. If a person is having an exceptionally difficult time in their life, then A may create an ego named B. B will experience all the rough stuff, and only surface during times of stress, while A is protected from the harsh experiences. In a way you could call it a defense mechanism, something that protects the person by making them feel like it happened to someone else.