In Another World With My Smartphone_Volume 6 Read online

  “Yessir! This model is FG-09, sir!” she replied.

  Not a very catchy name, but I guess since it was discontinued they never had to put too much thought into it... I guess I can think of a better name for it now, though!

  Hmm... how about Grey? It’s colored that way, after all... but maybe that’d be more appropriate a term for an alien creature than a mech...

  Ah! How about Chevalier? It sounds cool, and it means Knight, so I’ll go with that.

  With that settled, I left the mass production to Rosetta, and the fuel creation to Flora.

  I exchanged a few parting words with Olba, and was getting ready to relax. But of course, it wasn’t that simple. I heard the rushing pitter-patter of medium-sized feet behind me.

  “Touuuuyyyaaaaaa!!”

  “Ughaah!!” I turned to the source of the voice, only to find myself the victim of a violent tackle. Ow, damn it! My mystery assailant knocked me over, straddled me, and grabbed me harshly by the collar. It was none other than Sue. That was confusing in itself, because I had no idea what she was doing in my country. The young heiress to the Ortlinde family stared right at me with raw ferocity in her eyes.

  “Touya! You will take me as your bride, understand? We will marry!”

  “Huhwhat?!” I was absolutely dumbfounded by what she had yelled. I thought she was joking at first, but her expression conveyed only absolute sincerity. She looked even more determined than Yumina usually did. Then again, Sue had traveled far and wide to cure her mother’s eyesight, so I shouldn’t have been that shocked.

  “Touya, you’re attracted to little girls, right? That’s what Cesca told me! It should be fine, as I’m the littlest girl you know!”

  “Wh—?! Don’t listen to that goddamn maid, she’s out of her mind!!” L-Look, I know every one of my fiancees happens to be young, but... there’s only one year of difference between Yae and myself, then a two-year difference between myself and the twins, and the age difference between myself and the princesses is four years! That’s not awful, right?!

  “My lady, please do not act so rashly. His Highness the Grand Duke seems perplexed.” Leim suddenly appeared from the shadows and took Sue aside.

  When the hell did he get here?! No, calm down... Obviously she wouldn’t have come all the way from Belfast alone.

  “Sorry, but can someone please explain what this is all about?”

  “The thing is, recently the young miss received a marriage proposal.”

  “I don’t wish to marry anyone but Touya! I’m turning that other guy down!” Engagement, huh? Well that came out of the blue. Oh, but then again, considering Sue’s social standing, I guess it makes sense? Sue’s eleven if I remember right, and I recall the king saying something about royalty generally deciding on their engagement partners by the age of fifteen. Plus, well, Yumina got engaged to me at twelve, so...

  “I see. So who did the proposal come from?”

  “The Kingdom of Lihnea’s First Prince, Zabune.” Lihnea? If I remember right, that’s north of Refreese... In other words, across the ocean.

  It was on an island called Palnea, which was split into two kingdoms, Lihnea being the southern kingdom of the island. Supposedly they were always getting into small military conflicts with the northern kingdom of the island, Palouf. If I remembered right, Lihnea had trade agreements not only with Refreese, but with Belfast and Regulus as well.

  “I think it might at least be worth hearing out their side of the story. Who knows, he might be a great guy.”

  “Would a great person propose to someone they’ve never met!? I refuse to marry the kind of man who would dare such a thing!”

  “How did Duke Ortlinde respond?”

  “He has not yet given an answer. Considering the relations between our two countries from a purely political standpoint, it would not be a bad thing for either of our sides.” That made sense, considering this proposal was coming from a prince and all. If Sue and that Prince got married, it certainly would improve political relations between the two countries. But that alone would basically just be a political marriage born only out of convenience.

  “Putting that aside, I’m amazed you brought Sue all this way just to tell me that. Does the duke know about this?”

  “He does... in a way. Yes, in a way at least... The young miss stormed off so abruptly that I was forced to leave behind a letter explaining the circumstances... And truth be told, I, personally, am against this proposal.”

  “You’re against it? How come?” If this guy was the first prince, that meant he was gonna be king someday, right? If Sue married that guy, then that would make her the future queen of that kingdom, directly linking the duke’s family into the other side’s royal bloodline. I couldn’t really see any negatives thus far.

  “Prince Zabune’s reputation is not a particularly good one. Especially when it comes to women. According to the information of Belfast’s secret intelligence unit, Espion, Prince Zabune has had his way with many nobles’ daughters and various castle maids. It is due to such rumors of him that he has not yet succeeded the throne despite being older than thirty already.”

  “Whoa whoa whoa, hold the phone! This guy’s over thirty!? And he’s proposing to an eleven-year-old girl!?” Is this seriously okay? That’s pretty much a whole twenty year age gap! I mean, sure, even back in my world you sometimes saw variety programs with stuff like “Age Differences! Would you believe it, his wife is thirty years younger than him,” but that was always about stuff like a fifty-year-old guy married to a twenty-year-old woman.

  But this is a thirty-year-old guy proposing to an eleven-year-old girl! Is even that normal in this world!? “Is this like, y’know, that kinda thing? Where they’d just be engaged for now, and then the actual marriage would take place once she’s grown up?”

  “I am afraid not. The prince wishes to get married the moment he receives an answer to his proposal. From what he has said, he met the young miss at a party held in Refreese between our friendly countries, and that he fell in love at first sight.”

  “I refuse to marry him, and that’s that!” Geez. Not like I’m in any position to talk, but... Is this guy a pedo prince or something? No, wait, according to the rumors he’d been raping other women, so I guess he’s not a pedo. He’s just a piece of shit. With a reputation like that, how can I even begin to trust him?

  “Touya, please! Take me! You don’t even have to treat me the same as Yumina. Just keep me by your side. Please, Touya?” Sue wrapped her arms around me as tightly as she could and, unable to bring myself to push her away, I just stood there with her. From all that I’d heard, I didn’t think this marriage would make Sue very happy at all. However, considering that this involved Belfast politically, it wasn’t something I could take care of just like that.

  “...I suppose I should go discuss this with everyone.” “Everyone” being the duke, the king, and my wives-to-be.

  ◇　◇　◇

  “Well, why not? It’s been a long time coming.”

  “I fail to see any problems that need discussing.”

  “You know, I always had a feeling things were going to end up this way anyway, I did.”

  “I’m happy that we’ll be gaining a new companion!”

  “You see, Touya? It turned out just like I told you it would, didn’t it?” You what? Why is every single one of you reacting like that!? I tried to consult with Yumina and the others about the Sue situation, and they all simply nodded and agreed.

  “E-Er well, we can come back to this later...” I couldn’t just accept it like that, but that was beside the point. That wasn’t the issue to begin with.

  “The issue is figuring out how to politely decline Prince Zabune’s proposal.”

  “Wouldn’t it just be fine to say she’s moving to Brunhild as a bride of the grand duke?”

  “That would cause repercussions for the Kingdom of Belfast. Prince Zabune is a persistent man who holds petty grudges. In the worst case scenario, he could end trad
e with Belfast once he ascends to the throne. That would be a crippling hit to our economy.” Leim frowned as he spoke. I didn’t really think the prince would be that petty, though.

  Still, what an awful state of affairs to get mixed up in... I was definitely against Sue getting betrothed to a villain like him. But I wasn’t entirely sure what we could pull out of our sleeves.

  Maybe it would be better if the other party changed their mind about taking Sue as a bride.

  “The problem is the rejection itself. Still, this is a state affair. Is it really okay to be listening to our suggestions?” Hrmph, what to do... I crossed my arms and let out a deep sigh, when Cesca suddenly raised her hand.

  “The most logical course of action would be to kill him and be done with it.”

  “Are you insane?!” You dumbass robo-maid, don’t go running your mouth! That being said, she had a point. It would certainly solve a lot of our immediate problems... it’d just cause more in the long run!

  “I would be more than happy to squeeze the life out of a pathetic, thirty-year-old idiot prince. A miserable little piece of pedophile vermin who toys with women to mask his own insecurities... he’ll bring no wisdom with age, only suffering. It is best to snuff him out before his flame spreads.”

  “...E-Easy there, Cesca... How were you planning on killing him, anyway?” Cesca’s scornful words took me aback for a moment, and then the other gynoids chimed in with their own contributions.

  “I’ll ready the sniper rounds, sir!”

  “Potassium cyanide would end him quickly and painfully, you see?”

  “Uhm, I would like, totally... put an end to the damnable fool with my pipe wrench.” Shooting, poisoning, and good old-fashioned bashing? Y-You lot scare me sometimes...

  I decided to ignore those dummies and get back to the point.

  “We should visit Duke Ortlinde’s estate first. I’ll explain to him how Sue feels and come up with something. There might be something we can do still.”

  “...Okay.” Sue nodded quietly. With that decided, I saw no reason to delay. I opened up a [Gate] to the Ortlinde estate in Belfast.

  “This problem is causing me a great deal of stress as well, I assure you.” Duke Ortlinde let out a deep sigh as he sank back into his couch. It was only him and myself in the room. Despite my status as grand duke, we skipped pleasantries. Though that was probably a faux pas at this point, I didn’t care.

  “Sue’s happiness is paramount to me. Therefore this engagement, if you’ll pardon my expression, can bugger right off! There is surely a limit to that brat’s audacity! Why, if the prince were in this room with me right now I’d punch him in the teeth!” I didn’t think he would literally punch the prince in the teeth, since that would cause an international incident, but I was getting concerned that Duke Ortlinde’s fatherly fury was welling up to unprecedented levels. In all honesty, I’d probably punch the prince as well.

  “From a purely political standpoint, it’s obviously a good deal. If anything, Belfast stands to gain more from the deal than Lihnea would. Noble engagements are often political, that’s simply how it works. From a perspective like that, my Sue getting married to him is actually better than usual.”

  “Yumina being engaged to me isn’t public knowledge yet, right? I’m surprised the proposal came to Sue and not her.”

  “Yumina currently has direct succession rights to the throne. Other countries would naturally assume she won’t be up for grabs to a foreigner. Though, we both know she really should be married already.” Makes sense. The current order of succession for the Belfast throne was Yumina, then Duke Ortlinde, then Sue. But if Queen Yuel’s baby is a boy, then Yumina would become second in line. If it’s a girl, the baby would become second in line.

  If other countries wanted to make a political marriage with Yumina, they would need to wait until the baby was born. If the baby was male, they’d be free to send proposals to Yumina, as she’d no longer be bound to the throne.

  That was how the story went, but it still sounded bad to me...

  “Oh yeah, he said he fell in love with Sue at a party in Refreese or something...”

  “Bah. What was she doing at a party anyway?!” Duke Ortlinde frowned, seemingly unable to direct his anger properly. I could understand his feelings. As a father, he could only be haunted by the prospect of a man in his thirties trying to make a move on his little girl.

  “Despite his age, if he was well-liked by the people I may have had room for consideration. But the more I investigated, the more I realized that this boy is no good. He will not be able to make my Sue happy.” I noted that Duke Ortlinde called him a boy, even though he was over thirty. Guess that showed what he thought of him.

  From what I’d heard, the prince was an indulgent animal. He freely toyed with maids and noble girls that caught his eye, and sent any knights that disobeyed him to remote, dangerous regions with half-assed excuses. He also lived as he liked in a complete lap of luxury, refused to pay his taxes, and demanded tithes from merchants. If a merchant refused to pay up, he would make it his mission to crush their business. And apparently his lechery was so debased that he’d routinely go around snatching up married women, playing with them until they broke, and then do nothing as their husbands committed suicide. But whether or not the suicide was assisted was up for debate...

  “Why hasn’t a prince like that been disowned?”

  “Wardack, Prime Minister of Lihnea, is the authoritarian leader. He basically manages all of their state affairs and holds all the real power. The rumors say that the king is just a figurehead at this point.” Wardack? Even the name sounds evil.

  “Wardack is the cousin of Zabune’s mother, Queen Dacia. He does whatever he likes using that as his defense. Queen Dacia, in turn, gives Prince Zabune anything he likes. It’s surely this kind of coddling that created the animal he is.” Hmph... It’s never good when all the power is held by one person. Sounds to me like the king can’t stand up to the queen, either... I better make sure that doesn’t happen to me!

  “What do you think should be done about the engagement, then?”

  “...What do you think we should do?” My question was shot right back at me. Naturally, I was against it. I didn’t want Sue to marry a monstrous creep.

  “...I could kill him?”

  “...Despite the fact that you’re joking, I wouldn’t be opposed.”

  “Haha... yeah...” Still, it was just a joke. That Cesca must’ve been rubbing off on me.

  That being said, it only sounded like bad news for Lihnea if that idiot prince became king. Oh, but it probably didn’t matter who succeeded the throne given that they were just a puppet leader for Wardack. Having that moron in control would just make it easier to control things.

  “We could avoid this situation if you take Sue as your bride, Touya, but...”

  “But what?”

  “The idiotic prince would surely direct all his wrath in Brunhild’s direction.”

  “Damn it.” There’d been no formal contact between the Kingdom of Lihnea and my Duchy of Brunhild, so I doubted there’d be much damage, but... I didn’t really want our first interaction to be tainted by his unbridled anger.

  “No good?”

  “It’s not like it’s no good, it’s just... I see Sue as more of a cute little sister at the moment... I’m also engaged to five other women!”

  “Heh, at the moment, you say? Then there’s a chance. Still, there’s really no reason why a monarch can’t have multiple wives, just so long as he has the means to support and love them all. Even the beastking of Mismede and the emperor of Refreese have concubines. In fact, the burning king of Sandora has twenty-six or so wives, I believe.” Seriously?! That’s a full-on harem! Then again, I guess even the Tokugawa Shogunate had a bunch of concubines in the inner palace, huh.

  “In fact, you may find yourself with a succession crisis if you don’t have more brides or mistresses...” Hmph... I mean, I guess, but... I feel like a succession crisi
s would be even worse if there were too many heirs.

  “What to do... to stop this... hm...” Duke Ortlinde went quiet for a while, and began to ponder seriously.

  “This would involve dabbling in the affairs of a foreign land but... we could place the second prince on the throne instead of that fool.”

  “A second prince? You mean there’s more than one?”

  “Yes, the child of a concubine. He lives in a shack near the palace, detached from the luxuries of that life. He’s said to be a wonderful young man, but one with deep-rooted shame. Still, even a regular man would be better than the idiot in line right now.” A different mother? That means he isn’t blood-related to Minister Wardack.

  He was probably lucky to be alive. Given his nature as the second prince, there’d likely be a camp that wanted him crowned instead of his older brother. From that perspective, he’d probably be considered a pest by Zabune, so I was surprised he hadn’t had him executed or something.

  “There were some noble families who suggested having the younger prince succeed, but Prime Minister Wardack silenced them. The second prince’s mother is also deathly ill and kept isolated from the world. He has nobody supporting him, so they can treat him however they want. They’re letting him live in squalor until he dies, or something to that effect.”

  That’s horrible.

  From what I was told by Duke Ortlinde, he was twenty-two years old but not yet married. Apparently the stupid prince wasn’t the only one in the family to live a long while without getting married, at least by this world’s standards.

  “So in order to have the second prince crowned, the first needs to be disowned, yeah?”

  “Yes, that’s correct.” This is a sticky situation. It’d be considered high conspiracy to meddle in the state affairs of another country like this... Plus, I’m a grand duke. I lead my own country! It’d be really bad if I got caught up in this!

  It was true that I had to consider my own political affairs. If I was exposed planning such a thing, it could spell disaster for my diplomatic relations with other countries...