In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 10 Page 2

  “Human? Then... does that make Sak— Farnese’s mother a human?”

  “It does. Typically, a child born from the overlord’s lineage and any other species will always be a demonkin. However, it seems that Lady Farne is more like her mother, which makes her pretty much entirely human. It’s likely that her mother’s blood won out due to some freak incident, but still...” Spica opened her mouth to continue before glancing over at Sakura and closing it again. It seemed something was on her mind.

  According to Spica, Sakura’s mother didn’t want to become a concubine. Apparently if she had become one, she’d have been separated from her daughter. The women that the overlord took as his had their formal records erased, it seemed.

  After that, Spica went to live with Sakura and her mother. Ostensibly, she was a guest of the Frennel family, staying along with them. Apparently they lived a quiet and peaceful life together.

  However, things changed when Sakura turned ten years old. The overlord’s prongs had apparently been dormant within her, and they suddenly sprouted from her head. This caused no end of trouble and surprise for the overlord and the Frennel family alike. As Sakura’s horns increased in length, her magical power intensified as well.

  Regardless of gender or age, the successor of the overlord’s title in Xenoahs was determined by magical power and potential. And eventually, Sakura’s magic grew to the point where it was greater than the crown prince’s.

  Sakura’s mother didn’t want her to become the new overlord, but the noble houses were already plotting. Everyone looked at them with suspicious eyes, certain they’d usurp the throne.

  They all believed wholly that Sakura would succeed the title of overlord.

  The first and second princes lost their mothers to illness, so their extended families launched a very public support campaign. Sakura was considered a pest to them, after all.

  The overlord gave the Protean Eye to Sakura, so that she might protect herself. The artifact absorbed the magic of its holder in order to project an illusionary appearance around them. It was a temporary measure, until Sakura could become powerful enough to shrink the horns by her own power.

  But then one day, on a shopping trip, Sakura and Spica were attacked by a group of masked men.

  The men were skilled fighters and, although Spica had a blade, she didn’t have her shield on hand. From what I understood, she managed to acquire a makeshift shield and stall for time. Sakura escaped in the confusion, but the men launched a suicide attack and Spica fell unconscious.

  “Wait, those masked attackers...”

  “Indeed, I found out later that they were assassins from Yulong. I don’t know if they made a private deal, or if it was a government order.”

  I knew it... That reminds me, Sakura did help me that one time... Maybe that means she had a small resurgence of memories. That means her memories could come back someday... Yeah, I’d like that.

  “I woke up in my childhood home, and my father informed me that Lady Farne was dead. There were pieces of her body scattered across the courtyard. The sheer horror I felt when I held her severed arm and leg? Honestly, I’ll never forget it.”

  After that, Spica left Xenoahs. She was burdened with the guilt of her failure, it seemed. The Frennel family wasn’t formally disgraced for the incident. After all, Sakura wasn’t formally recognized by the state, so failing to protect someone who didn’t exist wasn’t a true failure.

  Spica refused to follow that logic, however. She was completely unable to forgive herself. That was why she abandoned her home.

  Spica followed the trail of those that had murdered her charge. It didn’t take her long to identify the masked men as Yulongese, and she made her way into the nation. As she headed toward the capital, the Phrase invasion began.

  Yulong was completely annihilated, and the ones behind the attack likely died without ever facing real justice. She then wandered aimlessly, without a master or purpose, until finally she was stricken with the illness that brought her to Brunhild. She apparently traveled to Brunhild in order to find a place to die.

  “Uh, let me cut your story short a sec. I have a few issues with it.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, first of all... I found Sakura with missing limbs, dying. That much is true, but... it wasn’t in Xenoahs. It was in the mountains of Eashen. If the assassins were from Yulong, then what reason would they have to kill her? And plus... Sakura didn’t have any horns or anything when I found her.”

  “Ah, uhm... Grand Duke? I, well... I can make them come out,” Sakura said, fidgeting as she quietly spoke up.

  “Huh?”

  She closed her eyes. Gradually, silvery horns began to sprout from her head. Sure enough, they must have been the overlord’s prongs.

  “I thought so. You managed to hide them?” Spica seemed to be aware of the phenomenon.

  “Why didn’t you mention this before, Sakura?”

  “I... Well... I was scared... about being different... I-I learned later on that there was no discrimination here, but... there was never a good moment to bring it up...”

  “Did you help heal Spica because she was a fellow demonkin?” Sakura nodded slightly.

  Wow... She even risked catching the disease? Ah, wait... Sakura didn’t actually touch her, did she? It was a Silver Moon employee that brought her to her room.

  Either way, the evidence was pretty damning. Spica was right. Sakura was Farnese Forneus, princess of Xenoahs.

  “Well, now we know, Sakura... Or uh, Farne. What should we do?”

  “Sakura is fine, thank you. It’s the name you gave me, Grand Duke. I like it quite a lot...”

  Well, if you say so. If Sakura’s fine with you, it’s fine with me. Probably better to keep using it anyway, just in case.

  “I still don’t have my memories, so my other name means little to me. I do not wish to return to Xenoahs, and I do not wish to seek revenge on those that attacked me... However...”

  “Hm?”

  “I wish to see my mother.” Sakura quietly muttered as she stared me down.

  “What about the overlord?”

  “I do not feel any connection to him, so that doesn’t matter.”

  Well... Okay. Her reaction made a bit of sense to me. Sounded like they weren’t terribly close, anyway. Sakura simply didn’t feel a need to talk to him. It didn’t really sound like the guy was a bad person or anything, though...

  “Where is Sakura’s mother right now?”

  “Likely still at our family home. After Lady Farne died, she collapsed out of strain, and she’s been bedridden since.” That was completely understandable. We definitely needed to show her that Sakura was alright. However, her memories were lost, so that would be an issue.

  “If only we had something that could restore memories... Even [Recovery] was fruitless. But maybe if we take you to Xenoahs we could stir your memories a bit.”

  If she walked around the place she grew up, then that might help. Seeing her mother would likely stir something, at least.

  Alright, guess I’ll just use [Recall] to peek into Spica’s mind, and then I’ll use a [Gate] to get to the Frennel... house from... Oh. Ohhh.

  “AM I AN IDIOT?!”

  “G-Grand Duke?!”

  “Wh-What happened?” The two of them looked at me in surprise due to my sudden outburst. Their glances were anxious, but I just felt like a total dumbass.

  “What the hell?! I’m a complete moron! There’s definitely a spell that can bring back memories! I’ve been using it the whole damn time! I’m such an idiot!”

  I thwacked my head against the table.

  Kill me now. Just kill me. I am such a dumbass. What the hell was I thinking this whole time?

  I had [Recall], which was a spell designed to delve into memories. The spell opened up the memories of another person and allowed me to read them freely. The memories I obtained from using it also allowed me to open up portals to places from the other person’s past.

&nb
sp; What I didn’t remember, however, was that the spell could also pull memories up to the surface. I was a fool to forget that.

  Think of it this way, an average person wouldn’t remember the items they saw on a lunch menu a week ago. Still, if I used [Recall] to peek into that person’s memories and see the menu, they’d also get that vision as well.

  Hell, the word [Recall] meant to recover something and bring it back. I couldn’t believe I’d been so ignorant. I deserved to be smacked in the face. Hard enough that I’d lose a couple teeth, even.

  “...I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, Sakura!”

  “That’s... okay. Really, I don’t mind.”

  Even if she didn’t care, I still felt like a dumbass.

  Why didn’t I think of this sooner?! Gaaah... I wish I could vanish right about now...

  ◇　◇　◇

  Someone’s chasing me.

  There’s a man... or a woman, perhaps? Black clothes... Curved sword... Sliced my back.

  I’ve fallen, and I try to stand, but... my leg! Sliced beneath the knee, I can’t get up. I raise my arm, but he swings again. It bites into my wrist, and crimson blood spills from the stump. I can only see red, it hurts.

  I’m going to die. I don’t want to die. Don’t kill me. I need to get away. Away from them. Away from this place. If I don’t escape, I’ll die...

  Sakura suddenly muttered a word that came to her from nowhere.

  “[Tele...port]!” In a flash, Sakura was submerged in cold water. She didn’t know what had happened. Her limbs flailed. She couldn’t resist the water current, lost her breath, and then fell unconscious.

  I was holding Sakura’s hands in mine, forehead pressed against hers. I had just witnessed her memories through [Recall].

  “I see... That’s how it happened, huh?”

  “...I remember. My name... Farnese... Farnese Forneus... I was attacked along with Spica, and I...” Sakura quietly muttered as if confirming the truth to herself.

  I had a vague idea of how Sakura came to be in Eashen. The fear of death likely forced her to acknowledge the dormant Null magic inside her, which meant that [Teleport] was her spell, and it moved her from one place to another. She teleported to Eashen and fell into the river there. Her horns probably vanished for a while due to the magic power it took to teleport away.

  “Are your... Are your memories back?” Spica quietly turned toward Sakura.

  “They’re vague, I’ll admit. But I know you, Spica. And I remember my mother as well. I remember... many things, now.”

  “Lady Farne...” Spica began to weep. Sakura saw this, and gently smiled toward her. However, I could feel her hands trembling.

  “Sakura... Are you scared of something?”

  “A... A little... I didn’t like remembering how... frightening it was.” Her face was pale, and she gave a small, forced smile. It wasn’t exactly surprising. My magic gave her vivid memories of being hunted down and nearly killed. She had her memories back now, but those were memories anyone would want to forget.

  “It’s okay, don’t worry. I’ll beat down anyone that tries to hurt you, Sakura, so please don’t be scared.” I tried to comfort her by gently ruffling her hair. The trauma she’d suffered was a harsh one, but I wanted to ease her burden in any way I could.

  “I-If... If it’s you, Grand Duke, then... I feel safe.” Sakura smiled, sniffled, and held on to me.

  A-Ah... Sakura? Y-You probably shouldn’t do that kind of thing... Spica’s giving me a really bad look right now... M-Maybe... W-Wait, wha— E-Eek! Who’s staring at me?! I slowly turned my head toward the door. I heard it creak open, slightly, then I could see the faces of eight girls lined up in a row. They stared in a vertical line. What the hell kind of frightening totem pole is this?!

  “The ninth... huh?” my fiancees muttered in unison.

  P-Please stop... Don’t act like that! Don’t look at me like that! C-C’mon!

  “Frankly speaking, [Teleport] is an unstable movement magic. Your [Gate] is a lot more accurate.” Leen was giving me a lecture as she sipped tea.

  “What do you mean by unstable?”

  “First of all, when you use [Gate] you’re moving to a place that you remember, right? But with [Teleport] you need to know its exact longitude and latitude. You can’t go anywhere already occupied by something tangible, and you can only move yourself. You might be able to move two people if you hold hands, but that’d be the absolute limit.”

  “So when she went to Eashen...”

  “It was entirely random, direction-wise. And the distance she traveled was as much as her magical power would allow her. If it had been another direction, she might have ended up in the sea, or the desert.”

  Welp... That would’ve been bad. She could’ve ended up at the bottom of the sea, or in a volcano, or a swamp. Seems like if you don’t have an exact handle on how this stuff works, you could end up in a dangerous place.

  “That being said, [Teleport] has good merits for short-range use. You don’t have to physically move through something like your [Gate], so perhaps you could use it to teleport behind an enemy as a surprise attack?” Makes sense. “Nothing personnel kid,” and all that, huh...? Guess it depends on how it’s used, though.

  I decided to give it a go.

  “[Teleport].” I immediately teleported from my chair to the corner of the room.

  Wow, this feels horrible. The sudden dissonance of visual change made me nauseous. I couldn’t imagine using it in battle unless I got really used to it. It didn’t really cause any physical strain, at least. Plus, there was always the option of chaining the attack.

  “What an absurdly powerful fiance we have... Goodness me...” Leen simply stared at me and shook her head. I was used to this kind of reaction at this point.

  “So, Saku... Uh, Farne. C-Can Farne use this spell?”

  “Sakura is fine, Linze. I can’t really use it right now, since I don’t exactly know how it works...” Sakura smiled at Linze.

  Hm... So she can’t understand the spell herself? Did she only manage to use it because of stress or something? Still, it managed to save her life, so it’s all good. I mean, she’ll get the hang of it with practice, right?

  “If she only awakened her Null magic, it means she doesn’t have a good feel for it. It’ll only work if you manage to use it in a certain manner. Still, that manner depends on the person, so it’ll take her a bit.” Elze butted in as she munched on a cookie. Apparently it had taken a while for her to get used to using [Boost], too.

  “So, what are we going to do... Will Sakura return to Xenoahs?” Lu cut right to the chase. That was definitely something we needed to address. Sakura’s feelings were important, but she was still the princess of Xenoahs. Illegitimate or not. She was the successor to the throne, but not officially... I kind of figured that if she stayed in Brunhild and we stayed quiet about it, nobody would necessarily have to know.

  Regardless of her choice, I figured she’d want to see her mother.

  “...I wish to stay here instead of Xenoahs. I’d like to live in Brunhild, with Spica and my mother.”

  “I-I feel the same, Lady Farne. I wish to serve Brunhild as I have been up until now. My elder brother will succeed the Frennel house, so there are no issues there.” Spica made her intentions perfectly clear.

  We couldn’t just harbor them, though. At the very least, we needed to speak to the Frennel family. And probably the overlord as well... Maybe. If he wasn’t married to Sakura’s mother, then I didn’t really think I needed permission. Even that aside, the thing about the Yulong assassins was really rubbing me the wrong way.

  I didn’t have any solid proof, but... I wondered if someone within Xenoahs had made a deal with them. A deal to have Sakura killed. Though, there were a few holes in that theory, like the actual involvement of Yulong. I didn’t know if they were paid off, or offered sensitive info... I didn’t understand where Yulong fit into the picture, really. Hell, Xenoahs was known for being closed off to de
aling with other nations, so it really might’ve just been an external attack.

  Taking all that into account though, it was most likely that someone in Xenoahs wanted Sakura dead. It’d have to be someone in a position of power, as well.

  Following logic, it’d be someone who wanted to keep her away from the line of succession... The first or second prince, perhaps...

  “Sakura, you don’t want to be the overlord, right?”

  “Absolutely not. Not even if it stopped the heavens and earth from switching places. Not if it stopped hell freezing over.”

  That’s pretty intense... I guess if she says that in public it might help? Wait, no, that might just make things worse. It’d be better if the world still thinks she’s dead. Hell, it might be a case of people acting in the interests of the princes without them even knowing. If they were even responsible to begin with, anyway.

  “Well, whatever the case, we have to go to Xenoahs... Or at least to Sakura’s mother. In other words, we need to go to the Frennel household.”

  “That’s right. We must speak with Lady Fiana about how to proceed.” Spica nodded her head. I decided we should go sooner rather than later.

  I took Sakura, Spica, and Kohaku along with me for the trip.

  I used [Recall] on Spica to obtain the relevant memories and then opened up a [Gate] to reach her family home.

  Spica went through first, and we followed dutifully after.

  The portal took us to the entrance of her family’s mansion. Spica nodded as if to confirm it was the Frennel family home. We didn’t want Sakura to be seen outside, so we ended up making the portal go directly into the building.

  There was a luxurious red carpet decorating the floor, and a beautiful painting caught my eye. It was an image of a man, a woman, three young boys, and a little girl sitting on a chair. Seemed to be family portrait, which meant that the girl was Spica. Her face looked pretty similar, at least.