In Another World With My Smartphone_Volume 5 Page 5

  “It would be good if we could export some kind of unique specialty. However, this land originally belonged to Regulus and Belfast, so it’s unlikely there’s anything of value around here. We may have to invest in technology to keep people drawn to us in trade.”

  “For the time being, I can manufacture some bicycles. It should help us earn some income to begin with, at least... Then, after a while, other countries might reverse engineer and make their own.” Bikes were pretty handy and unique in this world, but they were still inferior to horse-drawn carts for carrying stuff, and regular horses still beat them in terms of speed. Still, there was an undeniable demand for bikes, so I figured they’d take off if they were mass produced. That being said, I didn’t think any other nation would be able to make bikes quite as nice as mine.

  “Anyway, let’s try doing what we can for the time being. I’ll entrust you with agricultural and business administration for the time being, Kousaka. If it doesn’t work out, we can think of something else from there.” After my talk with Kousaka finished, I headed over to the training ground. My three knights were being put through the wringer by Baba and Yamagata, as usual.

  Since we still hadn’t formally created a knight order or anything like that, I had asked the two of them to step in as instructors.

  “Hey there, squirt. You done talkin’ with Kousaka?”

  “You’re technically a vassal of mine now, Baba. Isn’t it about time you stopped calling me that?”

  “Don’t be such a hardass. I’ll call ya ‘milord’ and such when the situation calls for it. I got enough social decorum to know when it’s needed.” Baba laughed loudly and slapped me on the shoulder.

  Damn it... There’s just no winning with him, is there?

  “Baba-dono might not change, but I’ll be sure to address you right, Chief!”

  “Yamagata, all ya did was stop callin’ him Touya and start callin’ him chief.”

  “Chief’s good, isn’t it? Sounds pretty important to me.”

  Well, I guess they could’ve used worse terms. Good grief... I’m not really good at dealing with these two, but I guess that’s not so bad.

  “I’m planning to go out and grab some supplies, since it’s already noon. I was thinking of having Lain and the others accompany me, since it could double as a training exercise.”

  “A hunting trip? Sure, but do you think they’re in any state?” Yamagata pointed over at the trio. They looked exhausted. Only Nikola was standing. It seemed like he was a young guy with a pretty strong will. The other two were collapsed on the ground. Nikola’s fox-ears were still drooping, though.

  “Come forth, Light. Breath of Vigor: [Refresh].” After the incantation, a soft light fell upon the three. Within a few moments, they hopped up, ran around a bit, did a few jumps, and swung their weapons with renewed energy.

  “I’m not tired anymore...!”

  “Was this your magic, milord?”

  “G-Gah... I’m not worthy! I’m not worthy, milord!” It was my fatigue restoration spell, [Refresh]. It didn’t cure injuries or heal illnesses, but it got rid of physical fatigue and restored stamina. If used, it restored people to peak efficiency, as if they’d had a good rest. It didn’t change the fact that these guys had definitely overdone it today, though. I didn’t want to have to use the spell too often.

  “Man, our chief’s really a crazy guy...” Yamagata called me crazy, but I think it was a compliment.

  “Now then, let’s get lunch. What do you guys feel like hunting? We could go for fowl, boars, crab...”

  Everyone suddenly yelled out crab in booming voices, so it was unanimous right away. That was easier than I had expected. Bloody Crab was on the menu that night. One was about the size of a truck, so I figured that hunting two was fine if I wanted to feed everyone.

  “Oh, let’s be careful when we hunt the Bloody Crab, alright? It’s regarded as a Red Rank monster on the guild system.”

  “What?!” The three of them seemed shocked, but that wasn’t too surprising. Red rank was the best most could hope to reach, so it was only natural for them to be shocked.

  “But don’t worry too much. The two old timers here will be helping you hunt it, so you’ll be just fine.”

  “We’re what?!” I smiled inwardly. You two didn’t think you’d be getting out of this, did you?

  Once the hunt was over, I lamented over how easy it was. I defeated one of them solo using [Gravity]. It took me about one minute.

  I left the second to the other five guys, just sitting back and watching, but I couldn’t just watch for too long, so I ended up supporting them with basic magic blasts and restoration spells.

  They fought with all their might for a solid thirty minutes, and the Bloody Crab finally fell. It was pretty hard for them. I should’ve considered the fact that none of them knew magic. That carapace on the crab was pretty damn tough, after all. I should’ve gone for a monster that was more suited to their attack style.

  “G-Good work...”

  “Ch-Chief... you’re incredible... Goodness me... You’re actually a monster...” Yamagata looked toward me, his tired eyes flickering with... what looked like fear. Don’t be so rude!

  The two ex-members of the Takeda clan were still standing, but their breathing was ragged. Lain and the others, on the other hand, were almost completely worn out.

  Just like before, I cast [Refresh] to bring them back from the brink of exhaustion.

  The two old men were definitely the real deal, taking out a Red Rank monster was no small feat. The three warriors with them were also considerably tough, having held out so long.

  I put both of the crab corpses in [Storage], then took us right back to the castle. From there, I went to the barracks and took the crabs out.

  That reminds me... do we have enough condiments and seasoning? If I remembered right, we had a limited amount of miso, salt, soy, and other such things, so we’d be fine for the time being. Still, I made a mental note to hurry up with the mercantile access route.

  I left the job of harvesting the crabs to the old folks and the other guys. Then, I headed off to build a highway that would stretch across to Belfast and Regulus.

  Due to my territory originally being fraught with danger, the current road stretched around in a massive detour. It was down to me to build a new highway that passed through Brunhild.

  It’d make the journey between Belfast and Regulus a much safer and shorter one. I decided to leave the original highway where it was, so people still had the option of bypassing my country if they felt like it.

  “Maybe I should set up a checkpoint on the border or something. It’d be a whole heap of trouble if some bad guys tried coming through...” I decided to connect the checkpoint to the existing road as well. That meant I’d have to modify the existing road between Belfast and Regulus, just a little bit, but it’d be fine since I had permission to build a road from both countries anyway.

  I used [Gate] to appear on Regulus’ side of the territory.

  “Wonder if I can connect this side to Belfast in one go... It’d be better if I could make a single one-shot straight road instead of a twisty, winding mess...” I used Earth magic to flatten the ground and smooth it out from Regulus to Belfast. Honestly, it was already enough for it to pass as a road, but I decided that it would be a bit lazy to leave it at that, so I paved it with smooth stone so carriages could come across it with ease. That would also help it stay intact during rainstorms.

  After that, I built two basic checkpoints at the Regulus border and the Belfast border. I’d have to come back later and make proper ones. I then applied the finishing touches, including signposts. The signs read “Duchy of Brunhild, this way!” I figured that was enough.

  Even with that set up, there wasn’t exactly much that would make travelers want to head toward Brunhild. The castle could be seen from the road, but it wasn’t really enough to make the average wanderer say “Hey, I should go check that out!”

  Still, it wasn’t
like my castle was a tourist attraction or a revenue generator anyway, so I decided to put Tsubaki’s ninja clan to work. I liked the idea of them manning something like a rest area, with food and drink. That way it could become a hub of gossip and information in the middle of two major kingdoms. Ideal for ninjas to work at if you asked me.

  That reminded me, I needed to make a road connected to my castle, too. I went and made a stone road that stopped at my castle gates. It was a simple repeat of the previous process, just on a much smaller scale.

  As I reached the castle, a pleasant smell wafted through the air.

  Smells like crab stew... Man, I’m hungry.

  It was decided that our new recruits would be taught how to make bicycles in the afternoon.

  I wasn’t going to be the teacher, though. That task fell to Rosetta. Mostly because she knew the details way better than me. It was better to leave it to her, after all. She began teaching everyone how to make them from scratch, without magic. That girl was definitely the terminal gynoid of the workshop for a reason. If she were an engineer in my world, she’d truly be of the highest tier.

  I entrusted Rosetta with the manufacturing process, and then decided to teach people how to ride some. After all, if nobody could ride them, then nobody would buy them!

  As I was teaching the ninja adults, their children mistook my bikes for toys, which wasn’t too unreasonable, so I ended up making a bunch of kid-sized bikes for them after they hounded me.

  The grown-ups and children alike mastered the art of bike-riding in mere minutes. Their balancing skills were on point... The ninjas of Takeda were a terrifying force indeed.

  ◇　◇　◇

  “Hoh, it’s really starting to take shape, huh?”

  “I know, right?” As I admired the shops lining the highway, old man Naito nodded in appreciation.

  Naito Masatoyoh, once one of the elite of Takeda, was in charge of everything in this area. Nothing about his appearance really stood out. He just looked like a regular old worn-out businessman.

  Currently, there was nothing but a cafe, a bicycle shop, a weapon shop, an armor shop, and a general store, but it definitely had the look of a shopping district.

  Further away from the highway, some houses were being built for the citizens. Actually, I had assumed the shops and houses would be built in an Eashen style, but that wasn’t the case. They were all brick buildings just like in Belfast or other western countries.

  “If we emphasized our foreign culture, it’d make people feel a little cautious,” old man Naito said.

  Travelers would drop in to visit every now and then, so the place was off to a pretty good start. The weapon shop stocked some rare and unusual swords for the area, as well as some shurikens. The cafe menu included some Eashen cuisine, as well as roll cakes, ice cream, pudding, and french fries.

  Some rich customers would even buy bicycles on a whim, so business must’ve been booming. If business kept up at this rate, the place would be a huge success. That said, there weren’t that many citizens living here, so the place probably could’ve managed even without business being too prosperous. As I considered the place’s future, a former Takeda soldier rode up to us on a bicycle.

  “My lord, a merchant claiming to be your acquaintance has arrived at the checkpoint.”

  “A merchant? What was their name?”

  “He identified himself as Zanac the clothing merchant.”

  Zanac, huh? He must’ve come a long way to get here from Reflet.

  “Okay. Let’s go.” I opened up a [Gate] and passed through to the checkpoint on the Belfast side along with the soldier.

  There, I saw a horse-drawn wagon loaded with unfamiliar clothing, and Zanac, who was clad in that very same style.

  “Yo, long time no see. Whoops, I guess that’s no way to talk to a grand duke, is it?”

  “It’s fine. Welcome to the Duchy of Brunhild.” He was the first person to show me kindness in this world. The fact that I became a duke didn’t change that. I shook Zanac’s hand before speaking up.

  “So, what brings you to this country? Business with the empire?”

  “That too, but my primary goal is to establish trade with this country. I would like to set up a branch store here. ‘Fashion King Zanac: Brunhild,’ seems fitting.” Ah. That made sense. That’d be a pretty big investment, though. We weren’t even sure people would come, so his idea seemed odd.

  “The way I see it... this is your country. If you built it, they will come. Meaning there’s no disadvantage for me if I secure an ideal location while the iron’s hot.” So that was his rationale. I had my doubts that a clothing store would do well at our current stage, but it would’ve been a problem not to have one. After all, clothes would get dirty and torn quickly and easily in the construction and agriculture rush, so honestly, it was a huge help to have a clothing store.

  We returned through the [Gate] to the center of town and introduce old man Naito to Zanac. The two of them worked out the land lot, the construction costs, the laborers and artisans, and other various business-related matters. I wasn’t an expert in those topics, so I let them handle it amongst themselves.

  Anyway... a branch store. Zanac was a real go-getter. He managed to expand all the way from Reflet. Though he did have some of my help.

  Speaking of Reflet, I wondered how Dolan and Micah were doing. Hold the phone. It took me a while to realize it, but this country doesn’t have an inn yet, huh? Honestly, I only really thought of this place as a passing point, but travelers and merchants will need a place to stay, right? Hmm... an inn sounds like a good idea. I’d prefer an inn that incorporates a restaurant and an information exchange area, too. Guess I’ll need professional help, after all. I decided that I might as well ask.

  “So, I was thinking of requesting a Silver Moon branch be built in my country.”

  “...Another request out of nowhere, eh.” Dolan crossed his arms and sighed. That made sense. I also realized it was a sudden request.

  “We’ll handle the inn’s construction. I want you guys to be in charge of its management. By that, I guess I mean I want to hire you as a manager.”

  “So that’s what you mean by a branch...?” Dolan tilted his head. Well, let’s not get too bogged down by the details.

  “So, you saying you want Micah to come to that little branch then, huh?”

  “Why not? I wanna go! It sounds fun!” Dolan covered up Micah’s mouth with an arm to the side as I sat across the table from them in the Silver Moon’s restaurant. It looked like Micah was ready to hop on board.

  “Hmm... But it’ll be tough here without Micah, you know?”

  “Oh, is that so? You can just ask Tania for help, can’t you? You have plenty of spare hands as it is already.”

  “H-Hey, you know how that woman is...!” Dolan suddenly burst into a panic. Tania certainly was something. She was that widow who lived on the north side of town. She’d greeted me several times. But... was she really that close to Dolan? I had no idea.

  “Wouldn’t it actually be better if I’m out of the way? Actually, can you even really refuse when the leader of an entire country asks you directly for help?”

  “Gh...! Fine, I get it! Go already! Just don’t come crying back to me!” Micah pumped her fist upon getting Dolan’s reluctant consent.

  I wanted to furnish the inn with a bathhouse, but there was a slight problem there... Getting the hot spring water from Belfast. It would’ve been improper to just take something from another country.

  Brunhild had a waterway, so I just needed to find a way to heat the water from there. It wouldn’t have the same effect as a hot spring, but it should have been sufficient for a bathhouse. I could blend in some [Refresh] and [Recovery] into the water, after all.

  For the time being, I took Micah back with me to where old man Naito was in Brunhild.

  “Oh, if it isn’t Micah. Are you setting up a Silver Moon here, too?” Old man Naito had been talking to Zanac, but looked over this way wi
th a smile.

  “I decided to create a state-run inn, so I brought over a manager.”

  “Oh, I’m a little envious. If you would like to have employee uniforms made, then kindly keep my store in mind.”

  “You’re a good businessman.” Micah smiled as if she had thought Zanac was joking. I didn’t think it was a joke, though... Those were the eyes of a predator on the hunt.

  I had old man Naito and Micah plan out the inn’s location. Since it was going to be state-run and all, I decided it’d be better to make it on the large side. We’d need enough space for a bathhouse too, anyway. I told Micah that I was going to prepare a room for her, so she should come to the castle later. Then, I left. As I strolled through the street on the way to the castle, children on tiny bicycles headed my way.

  “Ah, milord! Hello!”

  “Hello! Milord!”

  “Yes, hello.” The kids greeted me as they zoomed past. They sure seemed energetic. It was a good thing they liked those bicycles. It was hard to believe that those innocent little kids came from a shinobi lineage.

  I saw the kids off, and soon enough, I found a familiar girl running my way with something in hand.

  “Touya!”

  “Oh, Lu. What’s wrong?” Lu gasped for air as she handed me what she was holding. A two-tiered lunchbox and a thermos?

  “Here’s your lunch. Since you weren’t back by lunchtime and all...”

  “Ahh... I haven’t eaten yet, now that you mention it.” I took the lunchbox and headed to the shadow of a tree beside the road before pulling out a table and chairs out of [Storage].

  I opened up the lunchbox to find rice and a variety of side dishes like a meat and vegetable stir-fry, sautéed burdock root, beef and potatoes, some layered omelets, and boiled fish in soy sauce. The food was a little misshapen, though.

  “Huh? Did Crea not make this?”