In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 12 Read online

  I saw Yae bowing deeply in front of the Door, and Doc Babylon was frantically examining it. The representatives of the island were nervously watching them from afar.

  “I’m home.”

  “T-Touya-dono?! It is you, it is!” Yae scrambled to her feet, yelled with joy, and began squeezing me tight.

  Oof... That was almost Sue-tier...

  “I-I was so worried about you, I was... K-Kohaku vanished, she did. And then the call did not connect! I-I thought, sniff... I thought you had returned to your old wooorld, I did... Waaaaaah!”

  I’m sorry I worried you... I gently brushed Yae’s hair with my hand. She was sniffling and crying.

  “Hey now... There’s no way I’d abandon you... Hey, would I?”

  “Sniff... Y-You’re right...”

  “Hey, lovebirds. Sorry to break up a nice thing, but she wasn’t the only one who was concerned.” Doctor Babylon was glaring at me, fire in her eyes.

  “My bad. Sorry for the trouble.”

  “...That apology felt a little different to the one you were giving Yae just now. Did you really have to speak so monotone? Well, whatever. What kind of place did the Door take you to?”

  “Oh, right...” Mentor started to approach from the stairs. I had no idea what to tell them.

  Hmm... What should I say...

  “Another world...? The Door truly led to such a place?”

  Doctor Babylon went wide-eyed and shocked, so did Central and the four representatives.

  Ultimately, I decided to tell them the truth. It didn’t matter that much, since there was nobody but me who could activate it. Whether or not they believed me was a different matter, though.

  “I guess you could call it a Reverse World. It’s similar to this world, but has a few differences.” I’d taken a photo of Mr. Sancho’s map with my smartphone. I then used [Drawing] to create a printout.

  “So this is what Alerius Palerius meant when he was referring to the new world...” Dyent muttered quietly to himself. He was likely correct. Though, more accurately, it was Alerius’ disciples who attempted to use the Door to reach a new world and escape the Phrase.

  But none of them, not even all of them combined, were as talented as the original sage. They were unable to finish it, and that was why their descendants were trapped on the island.

  “So now you guys have even more options. You could stay on the island and continue your struggle against the Behemoths. You could remove the barrier and join with the outside world... You could mix up both, and send out those who would like to leave while keeping closed off from the world. Or, as a final option, you could pass through the Door to the new world instead.” The room went completely silent. I continued talking.

  “Let me make one thing clear, though. If you go to the new world, you can’t come back. I was lucky to return, but that was a one-off. You won’t get the same chance. The people on the other side don’t speak the same language, and I don’t know anything about their geopolitical affairs. If you guys come to a decision, I’d like to hear it soon enough.”

  It was a world with weird creatures in the wilderness, so it wasn’t exactly safe like modern-day Japan or anything. That being said, it was probably safer than this world. There wasn’t a Phrase threat to contend with over there, at least.

  “We can’t make a decision right now... May we consider it over the next few days?”

  “Alright, that’s fine. We aren’t in a rush or anything, just take care to consider all the factors.”

  I nodded toward Mentor Central after I said that. Their choice would have wide-reaching ramifications, so I understood why they needed time. A proper discussion was only natural.

  I decided that the best thing I could do for the time being was go home. I was totally pooped.

  ◇　◇　◇

  I returned to Brunhild, only to be accosted by everyone. I understood they were scared, but they didn’t need to squeeze so tightly...

  I summoned Kohaku and the other beasts and apologized for having them suddenly vanish. They were pretty shocked by what had happened.

  I also summoned Snow, the little rodent that belonged to Lop and his friends.

  “Sorry about this... Go back to your buddies, okay?” I sent Snow back with a little apology note, and he quickly ran off into the darkness.

  Hrmph... I don’t want this to happen again, so... maybe I should prepare some kind of reserve tank with my magic in it? If I can make some kind of mana battery that stores my magic, it should work as a reserve if I ever go out of range again...

  “So that Door took you to another world...? Given the Phrase, and your own story about where you come from, I understand, but... it’s still strange...” Yumina, clad in white pajamas, rolled around on my bed as she muttered.

  It wasn’t just her, either. All my other fiancees had invaded my room and were making my bed their new nest. They said they wanted to punish me for making them scared, so they’d all be sleeping with me... Not in that way, of course. It wasn’t time.

  The bed was a specially-made item for such situations like this, so it was extra big. Big enough for ten people to sit on it, at least. Even with the addition of the stuffed bear, there was plenty of space left.

  To be honest, the bed was way too big, in my opinion. That was why I usually slept on a smaller bed by its side, most nights.

  “Hey Touya, how was it on the other side?” Sue, wearing her own cute little yellow pajama ensemble, clung to my back, and asked a question. She was pretty stressed about the ordeal, so she was allowed to stay over tonight.

  “Mmm... I didn’t stay very long. I didn’t see much. I wanted to get home as soon as possible because I knew you’d all be worried.”

  “You were right, we were all worried.”

  “Extremely worried...” Linze and Sakura stared a hole into me with their eyes. I’d already apologized a ton, so I wished they wouldn’t blame me so much.

  “When Kohaku disappeared, I felt as though my heart was going to give out, I did.”

  “Me too! I didn’t know what to do when Yae called saying you were gone.”

  “We’re just glad to have you home safe.”

  Yae, Elze, and Hilde all expressed their fears as well. It wasn’t like I was responsible, though...

  “I’m confused, Touya... You managed to return to our world safely, but... Didn’t you say you couldn’t cast [Gate] at all?”

  “Ah... Well, Lu, uhm... about that...”

  “...What are you hiding from us?”

  I was hesitant to answer Lu’s question, and Leen had zeroed in almost immediately.

  Hrmm... Should I seriously tell them? I mean... It’s not like I’m not allowed to tell them, and frankly not telling them might just cause more trouble.

  I decided to tell them my biggest secret. All about how I came to this world, all about god, and all about what I was going to become. They thought I was joking at first, but gradually their expressions softened as I continued talking. They sighed slightly and looked at me with puzzled expressions on their faces.

  “I don’t even know where to begin here...” Elze looked shocked.

  “So you’re telling me that... not only are you from another world, Darling... but you’re also a god? Why do you never cease to surprise me...?”

  “This... honestly explains quite a lot...” Lu nodded to Leen, accepting my story entirely. I was a little surprised by how readily they were accepting it.

  “Then, does that mean your sisters are...”

  “Gods, yes. They’re not allowed to use their divinity down here, but they are from the divine pantheon.”

  “...This country really is rather crazy, isn’t it? I wonder if we’ll ever be defeated at this rate...” Leen let out yet another sigh.

  “Well, it doesn’t matter what Touya is. He’s still our husband at the end of the day!” Yumina put it bluntly, and the rest of the girls nodded in agreement. I was pretty amazed by my fiancees. They had a lot of guts to just accept i
t like that.

  I was embarrassed, even though it was nice to be accepted, so I curled up into my bed and tried to sleep.

  Yumina and the others were giggling amongst themselves, but I pretended not to hear. Sleepytime was calling.

  I was going to visit the gods after I woke up, to express my gratitude to them for rescuing me. I wondered what gift would be best to bring...

  According to Karen, I’d be able to use the Spatial Translocation ability if I focused my divinity, but I couldn’t do it just yet. Using it would allow me to jump to other worlds, apparently. Still, I wanted to get some kind of magic tank or reserve before even making another attempt.

  I began to ponder those things as sleep claimed me, and the darkness set in across the corners of my vision.

  Chapter II: The Wicked Godbeast

  The next day, I visited God Almighty. I brought along a few cakes that Crea had made, along with some of Lu’s homemade meals.

  “Sorry for the trouble again...”

  “I told you it was no bother, do not worry yourself. All I did was make a phone call and look around for you a little. However, I will accept your gifts with gratitude.” He smiled a little as he took the meals and put them in a small, compact refrigerator. I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn that the fridge he was using was some kind of sacred treasure...

  “Traveling to other worlds is not all that unusual in the grand scheme of things. There are those in other worlds who can even summon people from across space and time. Plus, there are even people who are born with the ability to move across worlds.”

  The whole being summoned to another world thing kind of sounds like a trashy light novel premise... Still, I guess that means there are other people like Ende out there too.

  “By the way, that world I went to... Do you know anything about it?”

  “That one? Well, to put it in simple terms, it exists adjacent to the world you currently reside in. Because of that, it has a lot of features that make it similar to your current world. That being said, it is not a situation where there are mirrored versions of people you know or anything.”

  So I guess the resemblance only goes so far as it having a similarly shaped world map, having monsters roam around, and magic as well... I’m glad it isn’t some weird inverse world where there’s a female version of me running around or anything.

  “That world was also ravaged by a great war, once.”

  “Wait, really? Was it the Phrase?”

  “It was not. It was just a simple world war. Their technology escalated to the point where it was inevitable. Their civilization was ruined. That happens to many worlds, actually.”

  Even back home we had myths and legends like Noah’s Ark, and Ragnarok. A lot of worlds probably died and then were reborn from the ashes.

  “Is it forbidden for me or anyone else to visit that world again?”

  “Hm? Not at all. I do not see a reason to prevent you from investigating that world further. There might have been an issue if you had taken some of those crystal pests, but you have taken care of that for now. There is no issue with it, it is only one of many worlds in the end.”

  So going back to the Reverse World is fine? Guess I can tell the islanders if they decide to make that choice.

  “...By the way, my sister told me I could use something called Spatial Translocation. Can I use that ability to go to worlds beyond that adjacent one?”

  “Spatial Translocation, you say... Ordinarily, you cannot use regular teleportation magic to go between worlds. This is because of the world boundary that wraps each world, which is near impossible to penetrate.”

  According to god, it was most unusual that I could use [Gate] to access the divine realm to begin with. He was pretty curious about how I’d managed to do it in the first place, but wanted to play it cool the first time. Or something like that... Still, the fact that the god of worlds didn’t even notice was a little worrying... If their security was so lax, no wonder that servile god got out.

  But maybe that was another god’s jurisdiction, and it was he who needed to pull up the slack.

  “Still, Spatial Translocation is different to typical transportation or teleportation magic. It is a divine technique that allows one to bypass the boundary.”

  “In that case... couldn’t I use it to return to my former world?”

  “It is possible, yes. But I would like it if you did not entertain that train of thought. You have already died in that world, after all. It would be most troubling if you were to suddenly appear, resurrected.

  That made sense, I didn’t really want to cause mass panic by coming back from the dead. Returning to my old world would just cause a bunch of trouble for the people who lived there.

  Still, I wondered if there wasn’t some way I could get a look at my old world again... Through people’s dreams, perhaps...

  “By the time you can use Spatial Translocation, you would be a fully-fledged god. I have told you that I think it would be best if you did not join our ranks so quickly. It will happen eventually, no matter what, so I think you should enjoy the leeway of your current situation for a little while longer.”

  He was right. I currently had the powers of the divine, but I wasn’t limited by their rules. There were things that only I could do due to my status as a demi-god. It was probably better to stay in my current grey area for a little longer.

  If I could come and go from that world freely, then perhaps the doc would be able to figure something out. She had already used [Analyze] on the portal’s structure, so I wondered if she’d be able to build another Door in Brunhild using the workshop.

  I pondered quietly as I enjoyed a nice cup of tea with God.

  ◇　◇　◇

  “A tank of reserve magic...? It should be possible, I suppose. I’ll make the tank while I build the Dimension Disruptor. They’ll share functions, after all, given they’re both meant to store vast amounts of magic.”

  “The Dimension what now? Are you seriously building another Door here?”

  “Isn’t that obvious? I don’t want to have to admit to borrowing the old man’s design, but it has some interesting applications.”

  According to Doc Babylon, the new doorway... or Dimensional Disruptor... would be ready in a mere three days. That was absurdly fast, even for the workshop. Then again, all the hard work in regards to getting it to work was actually done. She was just duplicating it based on existing results.

  I shrugged and decided to entrust her with it. I had my own matters to deal with, after all. Specifically, the problems contained in the report on the nearby coffee table.

  The Soul Eater was back at it again. Or, to be more specific, Crystal Skeletons had been spotted again. This time it was in Refreese, in a port city.

  It was a commercial city which had various traders coming and going at all hours of the day. Naturally, there were upstanding merchants and unscrupulous ones as well. But the corruption outweighed fairness in this case, from what I was told. It was a city dominated by the corrupt merchants and their money-makes-right philosophy.

  I couldn’t exactly use that to say that Refreese’s government was wrong, however. Greed was a driving force, an energy that could lead one to prosper. It just so happened that the force driving the prosperity was steeped in negativity enough to attract something terrible.

  It felt more like the Soul Eater was simply being drawn close by negative emotions at large. It wouldn’t necessarily appear in the places where those feelings were concentrated, it simply appeared in places nearby.

  It seemed to be moving at random. I could only hope that future attack sites would get in contact with us before it was too late.

  “The lack of Phrase attacks lately is a little unsettling...”

  “There’s nothing we can do for now.”

  “I just wish we could find that thing before it’s too late...” Yumina and Lu sighed quietly as they expressed their concerns.

  Kousaka took care of most domestic iss
ues, but there were also areas where some of my fiancees could chip in with their advice.

  Yumina and Lu were royalty, so they helped out with foreign diplomacy and domestic issues now and then. Still, I didn’t want to overwork them or anything.

  Everyone else was at the seaside today, Karen had invited them over. I wanted to go too, but I had this stuff to attend to. If I skipped it, I’d regret it later when more harm came to innocent people.

  “Where will it appear next...?”

  “Not Regulus, I hope... Ah, I mean... I hope it doesn’t appear anywhere! S-Sorry, I don’t want you to think I was prioritizing my birthplace...”

  “It’s okay. Regulus is still recovering its military since the coup. It’d be bad if they were hit now.” As I pondered, my smartphone suddenly started vibrating. It was Relisha. I wondered if something was going on with the guild.

  “‘Sup, Relisha?”

  “Your Highness! The creature, the soul-devouring one! It’s appeared in Yulong! It’s in Changyung, a southern city!”

  “What?!”

  Speak of the damn devil. Apparently, individuals from the Roadmare guild branch had gone to Changyung in order to establish a new guild. Their timing was a blessing and a curse, because of the horrors they discovered there.

  I couldn’t afford to let it go. I opened up my map and checked where Changyung was on the map.

  “It’s there... Alright, I’ll be back!”

  “I’ll come with you!”

  “Me too!” I opened up a portal to head out, but Yumina and Lu called and asked to join me.

  In all honesty, I was hesitant to take them to such a horrible and dangerous place, but they’d also trained under my sister. I couldn’t shelter them or take them lightly.

  It could become too difficult for one person alone. It was possible that the tables could be turned on me. It was possible that I’d have to sacrifice people, or something could go wrong... But...

  “It’s okay. We’ll listen to whatever you say, and we won’t overdo it.”

  “...Fine, then. I’ll be counting on you guys.”