In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 4 Page 16

  “I-Is it finally over...?” I’m done, damn it... Harvesting materials from monsters is too difficult...! Every monster has different parts and different features with different values. It’s way too much to keep track of! Fangs, claws, hides? How am I meant to know what all of this is worth?!

  Partway through we quickly realized that we weren’t the best-equipped to be determining exactly what was worth what, so we called over Will, Logan, and Rebecca from the capital. We decided to give them half of the harvest, so they graciously accepted the job.

  I also called over my maid, Cecile, and my gardener, Julio. Then, I grabbed Lyon for good measure, because he was off-duty today. Honestly, it was a pretty decent part-time job for them.

  Lyon ripped, tore, and furiously shredded the monsters apart. Something made me think he seriously needed the cash. Something to do with Olga, perhaps... Was he getting engaged, I wondered. The polar opposite of Lyon’s enthusiasm was Lu, who was clearly struggling to take apart the dead animals. I decided to give her a helping hand.

  I was surprised by how well she took to it once she got a handle on it, though. She seemed to be pretty skilled in preparation.

  “You’re a princess, so it’s only natural. This is your first time doing something like this, right?”

  “Yes, it is. But I still want to do it to the best of my ability. I wish not to be a burden to you, dear Touya. I wish to be as much of a help as the others.” After she said that, I gave her a little pat on the head. She blushed a bit red. Heh, she’s a cutie...

  The third princess of the Regulus Empire, Lucia Leah Regulus, became my fiancee. At the same time, on Yumina’s recommendation, she came to live with me in Belfast.

  I thought the same around the time I met Yumina, but the princesses of this world sure had a lot of autonomy...

  She wasn’t wearing a big regal outfit like she was the first time I met her, either. She was wearing some more easily-manageable clothing.

  She wore a long-sleeved shirt with a big bow about the neck, and black tights under a white pleated skirt. At her waist, behind her back, were two holstered short-swords.

  From what I understood, Lu was a dual-wielder. It seemed she had learned a little about the style from Carol and developed a taste for it. Her magical aptitude was completely in the red, so no spells for her.

  Apparently Yae tried training her a little, but Lu just wasn’t compatible. Since twin blades were based on speedy and deceptive movement, it was only natural it wouldn’t mesh with Yae’s samurai style.

  I certainly wondered if she’d be fine with just two swords on her side... But I decided that it’d be better to wait and see her in action.

  “Well, now the really dangerous stuff is taken care of...” I fired up my map app again, just to be sure. Not a single hit registered in the area. Mission accomplished.

  However, I had a sudden thought and decided to run a search for humans in the vicinity. Sure enough, there was a whole bunch of them in the forest...

  Do people really live out here? It’s kinda dangerous, so I didn’t think this was a place someone could call home...

  “It’s likely a band of brigands.” Lyon let out a mutter as he looked the map over.

  “Really?”

  “From what I’ve heard there have been a lot of bandit attacks in the surrounding territories lately... Such a gathering of them is surely their main base of operations. They likely have a great price upon their heads.” The forest was huge, and dangerous, so logically it made sense as a place for cutthroats to hide. If there were enough of them, and they were tough, they’d be fine to repel the monsters.

  “...So what should we do?” Linze spoke up, as if she didn’t know already that we’d be clearing them out. This place was to be part of my territory, after all, so clearing out bad people was for the best.

  “Well, I’ll go take care of it.”

  “Mind if I accompany you?” Surprisingly, Lyon offered to tag along. I had no reason to say no, so I let him. We left the handling of the monster bodies to everyone else, and the two of us walked off to the hideout. It was only a thirty minute trip on foot, so there was no need to overcomplicate the travel method.

  “Heh, you’re after the bounty, aren’t you?”

  “H-Huh? Aah... ahaha, well... Guess you figured me out, Sir Touya.” Lyon chuckled a little, scratching the back of his head all the while. I could feel the desire to earn money emanating from him when he was stripping the monsters bare, so this was only natural.

  “Are you saving up for an engagement ring to get Olga?”

  “Ah, no... I-I’ve actually already given her one of those.”

  “You serious?!” I was completely taken aback. Talk about left field. He might’ve had it in mind since the beginning, but isn’t he moving things a little bit too quickly? It didn’t take me long to realize I was in no position to speak about that of all things.

  “Wow, man... congratulations. So then, why are you trying so hard to get money?”

  “Well, weddings are quite expensive... as will be cost of living after the fact. Ideally, I’d like to purchase a home for the two of us.” Lyon let out a slightly worried laugh, but he seemed happy all the same. I understood his feelings well enough, money was definitely necessary to maintain a happy married life.

  “Can’t your parents help you out?”

  “Ah, well... my folks believe in cutting your own path in life, and her folks believe that money is something you need to earn yourself...”

  Oh dear... The resolute natures of iron-clad military tradition and merciless mercantile tradition are both bearing down on him.

  “We both live with our respective parents right now, but... As I am the second son, I must move out after I marry.”

  “So will Olga be coming to Belfast?”

  “Her father needs a successor for his mercantile empire, but... I’m really hoping I can afford to call her over soon enough.” Lyon let out a small, irritated sigh. Hmph... I can loan him the cash, but that would probably make General Leon angry at both me and him, so I better not...

  “Oh, what about any of the stolen goods that the brigands’ll have?”

  “Ideally, we’d like to get those returned to their original owners. Anything other than that rightfully belongs to the ones that bested the bandits, I’ll say. There’s no real profit in rooting bandits out, so they usually manage to hole out for a good bit of time.”

  “So you’re saying their leader probably has a ton of money, right...?”

  “That’s what I’m hoping for, actually. Obviously I’ll return anything that has a known owner, though.” So if there’s nobody to claim the goods, he gets to pocket it. Makes sense.

  The map indicated a roughly-constructed hut at the forest’s edge. I assumed that to be their hideout.

  “So what bandits in this area have bounties?”

  “Three of them. A trio of thieves, all siblings.” I confirmed their presence on the map, three markers dropped down. Seemed that was all of the big-named bandits, though. Lyon drew the weapon that I’d made for him and morphed it into blade mode.

  I’m gonna leave this one to Lyon, I think... If I got involved, then he’d probably want to split the reward with me, and I’m fine with him having it all.

  In the end, Lyon wiped the entire camp of brigands out. Well, I say wiped out, but he used Stun Mode to paralyze them all. I thought they’d be tougher, given that they had a reputation, but it seemed I didn’t have anything to worry about after all.

  The bandits had accumulated a pretty big pile of loot, which I was quite pleased to see. With a smile on his face, Lyon bound up all the brigands and I opened up a [Gate] to the Royal Capital.

  I stashed all of their ill-gotten gains in [Storage], making a mental note to hand it over to Lyon later. After that, I crushed their miserable shack using [Gravity]. It would have been a pain in my ass if any other guys got the bright idea of squatting there, after all.

  After we returned to the other
s, it looked like they were pretty much done with the material harvest. We bagged them up and I put all the good stuff in [Storage], making a point to label two bags “Rebecca,” and “Cecile.” It would’ve been bad for them to lug around so much stuff, after all.

  We returned to the guild in the capital and headed straight to the trading desk. Immediately, I pulled a ton of stuff out of [Storage] and hefted it on to the counter. The amount of stuff was so obscene that the man at the desk had to take a few minutes to collect himself.

  While he figured out the value, I took Lu over to Prim’s desk.

  “I’d like to register this girl with the guild. There should be a notification from the Regulus Empire?”

  “Ah, yes! We did get that, but... D-Did you really suppress a military coup all by yourself?!”

  “Well, I didn’t quite do it alone, but... yeah.”

  “H-Holy... I-I almost can’t believe it’s true. I should have known that Moon Reader’s owner was such a magnificent man...” As Prim stood around admiring my accomplishments, another employee gave Lu the basic explanation, and Lu explained her reasons for becoming an adventurer. Naturally, I listened in. From what I understood, Lu definitely didn’t need to become a pro adventurer, but she couldn’t bear the thought of staying at home and being excluded from the rest, so she took it upon herself to become stronger.

  “Ah, please hand over your Guild Card.” I handed over the card, just as Prim asked. She stamped down on it with a different seal than usual.

  “This is proof that you took down a Greater Demon in the Regulus Empire. On behalf of the guild, please accept this new title. You’re formally a Demon Killer!”

  Dragon Slayer, Golem Buster, and now Demon Killer, huh? I’m just racking up titles like crazy.

  “With this, you have acquired three titles in total. This, combined with the formal recommendation from the Kingdom of Belfast and the Regulus Empire, means your Guild Rank has increased by one. Congratulations!”

  “Huh? Is that how it works?” The Guild Card she returned to me was a shimmering silver. It was really pretty. I guess the guild had no issue promoting me to this level after realizing the extent of my power, not to mention my political backing.

  “Well, this is certainly something special! It’s almost been two decades since our country had a Silver-ranked adventurer.” I was surprised it had been that long, but it was true that I’d never seen any Silver or Gold-tier requests on the job boards.

  “When you stand at Silver, and Gold above that, you typically receive quests right from the guild.” That made sense enough to me. It made sense to limit who could see such jobs, since they’d probably be sensitive or only be able to be handled by the most proficient of people.

  Lu finished registering and happily showed me her black guild card.

  I took Lu over to the trading area, and it seemed that the man had finally figured out how much everything was worth.

  Rebecca and the others from Sandora seemed extremely pleased by the unexpected boon. Cecile and Julio also looked very happy. That was to be expected. They’d all come out of this quite well off, after all.

  The portion for myself, and the portion for Lyon, had been set aside and handed to us as I left the guild. The bandits were apparently apprehended without any trouble. Lyon had to report it in solo due to the bounty on their heads, but he was able to receive it without any hassle.

  The money from the materials, coupled with the money from the brigands... It was a pretty penny for Lyon, all-in-all. With that, he’d definitely have enough to secure his wedding at the very least.

  I suddenly realized that I should get Lyon and Olga a wedding gift. I made a mental note to ask the girls for suggestions later on.

  Interlude II: Grandmother and Granddaughter

  Even though I’d gotten land — or, rather, a country — from both Regulus and Belfast, I was still living in Belfast’s capital.

  The effects of the coup d’etat in Regulus were still being processed, so we had to postpone both the declaration of the creation of the new country and the announcement of my, Yumina’s, and Lu’s marriage.

  That was when a certain person visited my abode in Belfast.

  “It has been a while, Sir Touya.”

  “Welcome to Belfast, Carol.” The visitor was Carol. She was a knight from the Rillettes family and one of the “Twelve Blades of the Empire,” a group that had served Regulus since the first emperor took the throne.

  Due to a lack of notable achievements for many years, the Rillettes family was on the verge of collapse, but she was recognized for her “valuable contributions” during the coup and thus restored her family’s honor.

  I’d even heard that she was going to get an important position among the knights. And honestly, that made me feel uneasy.

  “So, what is your business he— Oh, it’s obviously Renne, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. May I see her?” A short while ago, it came to light that Renne, the ex-thief girl that works for us now, was actually the daughter of Carol’s elder sister, which meant that they were aunt and niece.

  It wasn’t completely confirmed, though, so it was necessary for me to get it all clear.

  I called over our head maid, Lapis, and had her bring Renne to the parlor.

  “Is there anything you are in need of, sir?” Either due to her being tense because of the guest’s presence or simply because she wasn’t used to saying those words, they came out somewhat weird. As that made me form a wry smile, I beckoned her over to me.

  “Renne. Can I ask you something?”

  “Wh-Whatever do you wish to know, s-sir?”

  “Oh, there’s no need to talk like that. Do you know your mother’s name?”

  “...Mum’s?” Visibly puzzled, she began to think.

  “Umm... I think it was ‘Steph.’ I heard daddy say it a lot when he was drunk. I didn’t ask him about it, though.” I glanced at Carol, who gave me a slight nod. No mistaking it, huh?

  “Renne, can you show me your pendant again?”

  “Eh? Okay, but why?”

  “It’s extremely important, so please.” The fact that that was said by Carol — the guest — made Renne somewhat confused, but she didn’t take long to remove the pendant from her neck and place it on the table.

  Just like it was when I saw it last time, it had the shape of a downward triangle and had a large wind spellstone inside it.

  Carol fearfully took it in her hands, turned it around, and examined the crest on the back.

  “There’s no mistaking it. This was in my sister’s possession. It’s a Rillettes family heirloom.”

  “You wot?!” Perplexed by her words, Renne began making excuses to Carol.

  “P-Pops told me it was a memento from mum! I-I didn’t steal, I—!”

  “I know. This belonged to my sister. So now, it belongs to you.”

  “Eh...?”

  “My sister’s name was Stephanie. Stephanie Rillettes. It’s more than likely that she was your mother.” As Renne turned stiff and her mouth opened due to surprise, I gently told her to sit down.

  “Listen, Renne. Your mother was the daughter of the Regulus Empire’s nobility. But she ran away from home after having a fight with her father. Then, she went on to meet your father and give birth to you.”

  “Th-Then this lady is...”

  “I am your mother’s little sister... That makes me your aunt. My name is Caroline Rillettes. I am a knight of the Regulus Empire.”

  “Aunt...” When Renne said that word, Carol grabbed hold of her chest as her face distorted.

  What the hell are you doing?

  “What’s wrong...?”

  “Well, it’s just that... It’s hard to put it into words, but being called that slightly stings...

  “Why? You are an aunt, aren’t you, auntie Carol?”

  “Stop repeating it! I know I am! You’re not wrong, but it’s just...!” With tears in her eyes, Carol began writhing.

  Man, she’s such a
pain. Though, it’s true that her age is kind of in the danger zone...

  “Renne. Instead of ‘aunt,’ please use ‘Carol,’ ‘Lady Carol,’ or something else along those lines... I know it’s a pain, but still.”

  “Eh? Then how about... Sis?”

  “Ah, that’s perfect!” Carol excitedly approved of Renne’s choice.

  ‘Sis,’ eh...? Well, she calls me ‘bruv,’ so I guess it’s appropriate.

  Apparently, the pendant Renne had was actually an Artifact. It was imbued with Wind magic that could only be activated by members of the Rillettes bloodline.

  We went to the garden, where Carol held the pendant in hand and spoke a keyword that caused a defensive wall of wind to appear around her.

  Is this a [Cyclone Wall] or what? Artifacts were tools that made it possible for those with no aptitude for magic to use spells, but one that could only be activated by a certain bloodline seemed like a rarity.

  I wonder if it’s programmed to do that or something. Should I assume that it’s like the fantasy RPG-favorite ‘sacred sword that can only be wielded by the descendants of the legendary hero?’

  As a final confirmation, I had Renne activate it, too, and it worked without a problem. It was clear that the blood flowing through her veins was that of the Rillettes family.

  Also, it didn’t do anything when I was the one to try it.

  “Renne. With this, it’s obvious that you’re a member of the Rillettes family. Meaning that you’re one of the Regulus Empire’s nobles.”

  “I-I see...” Renne looked completely befuddled. It was only natural. She didn’t know how to react to that. After all, she was a maid who’d just been told that she was actually the daughter of nobles.

  “So... what do you say? Do you want to go to the Regulus Empire?”

  “... I... I want to stay here.” Though low in volume, her voice was clear.

  “You’ll just be a maid here, you know? In the empire, though, you’d be a lady of a noble family. Wouldn’t that make you happier—?”

  “I’ll decide what makes me happy! I like living here. I love everyone in this place! That’s why I want to stay here forever! Everyone here is my f-family...!”