In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 12 Read online

  It had two large trumpet-like horns that extended from the back and rested on each shoulder. They kind of looked like cannons, honestly... It was newly-developed tech that was designed to amplify Sakura’s music. They had offensive purposes too, though; they could amplify sound waves using air pressure... Or something like that, anyway. They could also retract out of the way when they weren’t needed. That would stop the massive things from impeding the Frame Gear’s movement when it was time to run.

  I left that garage and went to another one opposite. This one had a dazzling emerald Frame Gear inside.

  Rosetta was seated in the cockpit, and there was a small legion of mini-bots scuttling around it, helping her with this and that.

  This Frame Gear was Lu’s. It was a high-spec Frame Gear designed for guerrilla operations, Waltraute.

  It was capable of using various different kinds of gear, depending on the situation. It had close-quarters weaponry, long-distance weaponry, heavy weapons, or stuff to help with speed. Naturally, that meant that while it was a jack of all trades, it was master of none.

  It wasn’t as strong as the other Frame Gears, but it was still a Frame Gear. It had the strength to survive in battle against the Phrase, of that I was certain.

  Provided things went alright on the island, we’d be able to test out these Frame Gears by having them kill a couple Behemoths there or something. Either way, we’d be talking with them soon...

  I set off to meet with the Representative, and he was waiting there with a group of armored knights much like last time.

  I, in turn, just like last time, had brought around a hundred Frame Gears with me.

  “Good day, Representative Dyent. Have you spoken to the others?” I already knew the situation on their end thanks to Kougyoku, but I needed to feign ignorance.

  “I have. Everyone wishes to meet you, including Lord Central. We’ve also decided upon how we wish to handle our relationship with you. It may cause you some trouble, but would you kindly come to the Central Temple on the island with us?”

  “The Central Temple? Very well. We can go there with my magic.”

  “Hm?” I opened up a huge [Gate] to swallow up everyone in the area. We came out on a hill close to the temple. Kougyoku’s birds acted as my eyes for a while, so I’d seen the vast majority of the island. Therefore it was easy for me to open up a portal to anywhere on it.

  “Th-This...?”

  “We’re at the Central Temple...?! But how?!” The native knights looked around in confusion. They had seen my portal magic when I brought the Frame Gears over, but they mustn’t have ever expected to experience it themselves. Dyent looked a little unsettled as he ordered a messenger to walk to the temple. The other representatives had already gathered in there, apparently, so there was no issue for us to all go inside and begin negotiations.

  I sent about half of their knights back to the Southern capital with another large [Gate]. I didn’t want their citizens freaking out about their warriors suddenly vanishing or anything, after all. That would’ve been a pain.

  I left behind Lain and the other Brunhild knights and headed toward the Central Temple. I was going there with Doctor Babylon, Yae, and Kohaku. The latter two were ostensibly with me as guards, but I didn’t really need them.

  Doc Babylon rode on top of Kohaku’s back, her baggy white lab coat fluttering in the breeze. You should’ve asked Zanac for a better-fitting outfit...

  Eventually, we made it to the temple, a large cylindrical structure about six stories high. It kind of looked like a straight version of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The one on Earth was a little taller, though.

  Dyent led us up a stairwell and inside the main temple area. It kind of felt like an ancient ruin in terms of atmosphere. It must’ve been built during the ancient civilization’s heyday, around five-thousand years back.

  “This place is in excellent condition, it is.”

  “It’s likely enchanted against age and wear, much like my Babylon installations. Stopping the effects of time on an object wouldn’t have been much trouble for that old man...” Doctor Babylon gave a simple reply to Yae’s bewildered reaction. She raised a fair point. If the Sage of Hours had mastered Space-time magic, there was no reason to assume he wouldn’t be able to easily do something like this.

  We passed a couple of guards and headed up a spiral staircase, then walked down a long corridor. We opened up a large door and came out into a spacious room. It seemed to be a meeting room.

  There were two men and two women seated in the room. They were around a circular table, smack-bang in the middle of the place. There were also a few guards dotted around, too.

  Three of the people seated wore similar armor to Dyent. The people in that clothing consisted of a young man, an old man, and a young woman with red hair.

  They were likely the representatives of the other capital cities.

  The last person was clad in white robes. She leaned against a rough and knobbly wooden cane. Her hair was auburn and wavy, it went down to her waist. My best estimate was that she was in her late twenties. She smiled gently in our general direction. She looked a fair bit older than the other woman present.

  Yae and I entered the room, followed by Kohaku with Doctor Babylon on her back. Everyone looked surprised, but they calmed once no hostility was shown. That was only natural, really.

  The white-clad woman extended her arm toward me after standing up.

  “Good day, Grand Duke of Brunhild. I am Mentor Palerius, descendant of Alerius Palerius. I’m the one who guides the island. Their mentor, if you will.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Mochizuki Touya, Grand Duke of Brunhild.”

  I shook her hand firmly. She seemed to be the island’s general representative. Then, three others began to introduce themselves. The old, grey-haired man was the representative of the eastern city, Morgan East.

  The young, brown-haired man was the representative of the northern city, Sagitta North.

  Last but not least, the red-haired woman was the representative of the western city, Millie West.

  Including Dyent South, that made four cardinal directions, which their surnames happened to signify pretty clearly.

  It was possible that they were ancient titles that had slowly morphed into family names. I had no way of telling for sure, though. It was a little bit amusing, since their surnames were in plain English, but I didn’t really pay that any heed.

  I sat down at the table and began to explain to them all exactly what it was that I’d told Dyent.

  I projected the map up into the air and began to explain current affairs, global events, the Phrase invasion, why their island had so many Behemoths, and how to negate their barrier.

  “I told Dyent this already, but you can freely reject what I’m saying here. We’d like to co-operate with you all, but we don’t want to force you into an agreement. If you representatives ask that we withdraw, then we will leave and we won’t come back any time soon.”

  “Can I ask a couple of questions?” Representative Millie raised her hand. I nodded toward her.

  “Should we decide to reject your proposal, will other nations leave our island alone?”

  “Your island’s protective barrier is extremely powerful. The only reason we’ve been able to make contact with you at all is due to qualities unique to the Duchy of Brunhild. There’s no reason for you to expect any other visitors.”

  “And if we accept your proposal, if the barrier comes down... might we be at risk of invasion from other nations?”

  “They’d need a fairly large fleet of ships to even try taking this island, honestly... Let’s assume that a country did wage war on your island and invade. I don’t believe they’d be able to penetrate the barriers protecting your major cities. The Behemoth presence on your island would also make a land invasion difficult. I can’t say for certain, but I don’t believe you’d be at any immediate risk.” There’d be fewer Behemoths after the collapse of the barrier, but it would still take
the efforts of a traitor from within to take out the defenses of this island.

  That was just hypothetical, though. I didn’t believe the island had much in terms of worth. There wasn’t much in the way of farmland, and there was almost no productive capability going on either. They had mines, and such, but not enough to justify waging war.

  It was true that Behemoths were valuable, dead or alive, but fighting them would incur considerable losses.

  There was no nation around that had enough national power or naval power to invade the island to begin with. Well, it was possible Yulong might have tried it, but they were gone. Still, if they were around and they had tried it, it would’ve just been an excuse to trash them.

  I didn’t know much about Xenoahs, but I felt like they’d try to mop up Yulong territory first if they wanted to expand.

  Still, if the island truly had so little worth, I could understand people being confused about why I was reaching out to them. In truth, I just wanted to connect with them and find out more. It was ultimately up to the islanders whether or not they wanted to reach out to the world, though. I was of the belief that such a unique culture could offer a lot to the world, and vice versa.

  Plus, it’d be good for the people who were currently living in fear of Behemoths that roamed around freely.

  “Grand Duke, I’ve heard you’ll exterminate several Behemoths on our island if we remove the barrier. Is that true?” Morgan, the eastern representative, lobbed a question my way. I looked out the window shutters to my left. There was a Frame Gear standing by there, I began to speak as my gaze remained on it.

  “We fight against the Phrase with our Frame Gears. In terms of fighting, Behemoths make good target practice for the newer models. We’ll also take the carcasses back to Brunhild with us when we’re done, but we’d happily give you a cut. That’s because we’re asking you to allow us to hunt on your land...” Morgan began to think to himself as he slumped down in his seat. This time, it was Mentor Central who raised her hand.

  “Grand Duke, you spoke of removing the barrier around this island, but I must ask... Just how do you intend to do that? The barrier erected by Sage Alerius covers the entire island. There is an artifact in the basement of this temple that controls it, but the artifact itself is surrounded by several impenetrable barriers of its own...” I had expected as much. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small magical tool. It somewhat resembled a syringe.

  “This is an artifact that can nullify the effects of other artifacts. To be blunt, it can completely negate those smaller barriers protecting the basement artifact. If we use this item, we can completely strip the barrier around the island, and it’ll never return. This item can only be used once, though.” I put the Initializer on the table, and everyone seated craned their necks to look a little closer at it.

  I took it back, then held it out to Mentor Central.

  “You can have this. Whether or not it’s used is down to you.” I understood their apprehension. They still believed the barrier to be the only thing keeping them safe. It was only natural that they’d need time to think about it, they probably needed time to process what I’d told them.

  Mentor Central silently gazed at the item in her hand.

  “Hypothetically... could you use your abilities to emigrate only those who want to leave the island, Grand Duke? Would there be a nation out there that would accept migrants from this place?” That was interesting, I wasn’t sure if they’d ask that. What Mentor Palerius was suggesting was a situation in which the barrier was maintained, but those that wanted to leave could still choose to do so.

  “I could do that, yes. And I’m fairly sure there’d be nations willing to accept them... But I don’t suggest taking that approach. The people you send out there would have to start their lives again with nothing.” The threat of Behemoths would be gone, but they’d have a hard time adjusting to life off the island. They’d have no contacts out there, nor would they know what skills they’d need. It’d be even harder if they brought families.

  “Whatever you suggest to me is irrelevant, now. You have the Initializer tool. Whatever is decided will be your decision. You can choose to bring the barrier down, or you can choose to keep it up. We will respect your choice in the end. Please think it over.”

  “...Thank you. We will deliberate on this subject once more, I believe!” Mentor Central bowed her head to me.

  I decided it would be best to leave it there for the day. If they wanted to remove the barrier, we’d help them. If they didn’t, we’d leave them alone. Even if they decided to do it dozens of years down the line, that was their choice. But if they waited that long, I probably wouldn’t be able to help them as easily.

  Doc Babylon suddenly tugged at my sleeve.

  Oh, right. I totally forgot.

  “Actually, I wanted to ask you guys something.”

  “What is it? We’ll answer if it’s at all possible.”

  “The Sage of Hours, Alerius Palerius... I understand he left something behind? Something known as the Door? I’d like to see it, if possible.”

  “The Door, you say? That won’t be an issue. I will allow you to see it as thanks for granting us that magical tool. It isn’t exactly a state secret, so you should be fine...” Mentor Central smiled in my general direction, but Sagitta North suddenly butted in with a flustered look on his face.

  “Lord Central. There’s quite a risk in bringing an outsider to see Lord Alerius’ legacy, don’t you think...? If it were to be destroyed...”

  “We barely understand it ourselves, don’t be silly. It’s a five-thousand-year-old artifact. What would they have to gain by destroying it? In fact, I feel as though the grand duke may even have some insight as to what the Door does.”

  Central’s words silenced Sagitta fairly quickly. She was right, though. Doc Babylon and I had a spell called [Analyze], which allowed us to fundamentally understand how stuff worked. I probably wouldn’t be able to wrap my head around something so complex, but I had a feeling Babylon would know what was up.

  “Please, follow me. The Door is at the very top of the temple.” We began ascending the spiral staircase upward.

  I was curious about this Door. It was said to be something that would guide them to a new world, but I was curious to see if it was related to how the world’s barrier was repaired. I had no idea what it could be...

  We finally arrived at the top floor of the temple, it was an open-air atrium with no roof. It was raining outside, but it seemed that there was a barrier preventing any of it from hitting us.

  Several unusual geometric formations and shapes were scrawled into the ground, creating a massive magical circle that I didn’t recognize at all. The lines and formations all converged on one point in the middle of the atrium, that’s where the Door was.

  It certainly looked somewhat like a Door, but it was clearly not a standard one. More specifically, it more resembled a marble arch, except not made of marble. It kind of reminded me of a tinier version of the Arc de Triomphe in France. It was more person-sized. Above the arch was a what shockingly resembled a wattmeter, and elsewhere on the arch was a display unit that resembled a tachometer.

  Is it made of metal? It’s so majestic that I have a hard time believing it’s ancient... I guess it could have a protective enchantment like the rest of this place, though.

  “May I touch it?”

  “By all means.” I got permission from Mentor Central, then reached out to the object. It was cold to the touch, confirming my suspicions of its metallic composition. I could also feel the unusual streams of magical energy flowing through it as well.

  “It looks extremely sturdy, it does...”

  “Yeah... But it’s not mithril or orichalcum. I have no idea what kind of metal this is.” I shrugged towards Yae, who had also taken it upon herself to touch the weird arch. I tapped it a bit with my knuckles. That’s metal, alright.

  “Hmhm... It’s made out of chronium. I’ve never seen such a pure sam
ple, though...” Doc Babylon hopped down from Kohaku and gave it a few caresses. As she spoke, Mentor Central’s eyes went wide.

  “What an incredibly discerning eye... Grand Duke, just who is that girl?” Her response was natural, given that Babylon looked like a literal ten-year-old in an oversized coat.

  “Her name is Doctor Regina Babylon. She’s Brunhild’s primary magitechnician. Would you allow her to analyze the Gate with her Null magic? She’ll likely learn something new about it.”

  “Oh?! A-Ah... Y-Yes, of course!” She was probably more surprised about such a small looking girl being a foremost researcher than anything else. The four representatives behind her were just as bewildered, and they all trained their eyes on Babylon as she began to do her thing.

  She completely ignored their watchful eyes and laid both hands upon the Door. Her own eyes closed as she focused her magical power.

  “[Analyze].” She began trying to process the information in her head. Or at least, that’s what I assumed she was doing from all the muttering and mumbling that was now going on.

  I tried to use [Analyze] as well, but it took only a few seconds for me to give up trying to wrap my head around what I was seeing. I understood a few things, like how it was built and what it was made of, but that was about the extent. Ultimately my knowledge wasn’t specialized enough. I couldn’t make good use of the information. It was like having a regular old person see the schematics for an electrical appliance.

  “I certainly don’t recognize the magical formulas here. It goes without saying that it’s an incredible device, however. From what I understand here, it functions similarly to a [Gate], in that it functions as a space-time transfer device... I’m somewhat confused by the lack of co-ordinates, though. Or rather, I simply can’t sense the coordinates for the destination at all. The amount of magical power required to turn it on is also obscene, which effectively means...”

  I stopped listening to the rambling doctor and turned to ask Mentor Central a question.

  “Alerius Palerius left this behind, right?”