In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 16 (Premium) Page 7

  “We appreciate your offer. Reviving Lowe is a generous act. But we serve our kingdom, we are not fit to stand at the top. We recognize only one ruler. Prince Lufredin.”

  “But...” The empress started to speak, but quickly stopped herself. Colonel was effectively asking them to return the prince to them... But I didn’t think that was something the empire would easily agree to. I decided to interject.

  “...Is it fine to talk like this without him being here? I feel like since this concerns him, he has a right to be involved in the decision.”

  “How is this even a decision? Why would he refuse to rebuild his homeland? The only one fit to be King of Lowe is Prince Lufredin. Hell, why would a prince without imperial blood inherit the empire anyway? That’s ridiculous!” First Lieutenant suddenly butted in, complaining about my request, but the emperor simply turned to Prime Minister Lancelo.

  “...Bring the boy here. We shall hear what he decides.”

  “Your Highness?”

  “It’s okay, Lancelo. It’s his life, in the end. My sin was interfering in his destiny to begin with.” The prime minister seemed like he wanted to argue against that, but he simply sighed and got up.

  After a short while, the prime minister returned with the young prince. He seemed a little confused to see outsiders, but walked over regardless.

  I could sense the emotion welling up from Colonel and his friends. They were probably remembering their old king as they saw his son in the flesh.

  “Father, mother? Did you need something?”

  “...Aye. We have something important to discuss.” The emperor walked toward the prince and knelt down so the two were at eye level. He then reached out and placed his hands on the boy’s shoulders.

  “What I’m about to tell you is entirely truthful, okay? It will affect the rest of your life, so please understand...”

  “...Okay.” The emperor began telling the entire story. He spoke of what happened ten years ago, of Lowe, of Isengard, and of the former emperor...

  The young boy continued to calmly listen throughout. I was honestly a bit surprised at how well he was taking it.

  This kind of thing would shock me to the core if I were him, but he seemed amazingly understanding. Even hearing that he wasn’t the biological son of his parents didn’t faze him, which made me wonder...

  After the emperor finished speaking, the prince looked back at him and spoke up.

  “...I already knew. I knew that I wasn’t your son. But I knew you still thought of me as one and loved me all the same.”

  “You... Knew?”

  “Eh? Lucrecion...? How?” The emperor and his wife went pale in the face. Even the prime minister and Colonel’s group seemed shocked into confusion.

  I had a feeling... That explained his calm demeanor, at least. He already knew the story, so it was no surprise. But I wondered how he’d learned. “Father... Please look here.” The prince raised his arm, flashing the golden bracer he wore. It was the suppressing bracer, the one that prevented his Mystic Eyes from manifesting.

  I looked closely and noticed it had a crack running through it. It was broken. “Oh...”

  “I was training about a year ago and received a blow to my wrist. That’s when it broke. I was told to treasure it, so I didn’t want to upset anyone by mentioning it... And then I started seeing strange things.” Prince Lucrecion went on to say that ever since his bracer broke, he’d see visions of the past when he touched objects. Apparently it was unstable and random. Not every object granted him visions, and sometimes it wouldn’t trigger more than once on the same object.

  He gradually came to realize that the source of his visions were his Mystic Eyes. His eye could see into the past. He couldn’t control the power, but it was a real power nonetheless. His eye wasn’t extremely strong or anything, but it allowed him to see things even dating back ten years.

  “Psychometry... He has Mystic Eyes that allows him to sense lingering memories associated with objects.” Leen commented casually. It’d probably be called the Mystic Eyes of Memory Perception. Even though it was a power that triggered randomly, it allowed the prince to learn the truth of his situation through sheer chance. He’d always admired his father’s sword from a young age, and he’d been given a vision of what happened in Lowe after picking it up without his father’s knowledge.

  “...When I learned I wasn’t your birth son, I was incredibly sad. I didn’t want to see it as true. But I also knew that you loved me. The love I felt from you was real, and I know I love you too. I may not be your biological son, but you are still my parents.”

  “L-Lucrecion...” Tears welled up in the emperor’s eyes as he embraced the child in front of him. The empress started to loudly weep as she walked over to hold her son.

  “Father. I do not have the blood of Gardio’s imperial family. If I ascend to the imperial throne, it would be a betrayal of our people. I know it’s hard, but you must find a more appropriate successor.”

  “...If you wish it...” The emperor, still teary-eyed, nodded. The emperor did have several sisters, so there were still candidates to succeed the throne. But I wondered what that meant for Lucrecion...

  “Then... Does that mean you’ll become the new king of Lowe once it’s rebuilt?” Yumina posed the boy a question, and he shook his head.

  Oh?

  His non-verbal response triggered visible frustration on the Lowe trio’s faces.

  “...I don’t have memories of them, but I am thankful to my birth parents for letting me come into this world. I feel sorry for your plight, but I am a boy who grew up within the Gardio empire. I want to continue living as Lucrecion, and become a man who lives within this empire. My parents are these two people, right here. I don’t expect my feelings to change, I’m sorry.”

  “But... What about the people of Lowe?! We’ve all been waiting for our prince!”

  “I can’t live up to those expectations, I’m sorry. Please try to find a way to elect a new leader, one that can lead a new Lowe.”

  Pity flashed in Lucrecion’s eyes as he answered First Lieutenant. For a ten-year-old, he was incredibly well-spoken and emotionally mature. What the hell were they feeding him?

  The boy had chosen his path in life, and I didn’t think anyone could put a stop to that.

  “Lucrecion... Are you really fine with this?”

  “I am. There are ways I can help make the empire great, even without ruling it. I wouldn’t want to disgrace our family, after all. I am your son.”

  “You’re... Ridiculous, you know that?” The emperor seemed like he couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. In response, the young prince smiled widely and embraced the older man.

  Colonel slowly walked over toward them and knelt down in front of the prince. His expression formed a soft-looking smile, unbecoming of a man as scary-looking as him.

  “...Stubborn as a mule. Headstrong, and unwavering... You’re exactly like your birth father... He’d be proud to know his blood flows through you.”

  “...Were my parents from Lowe... Were they good people?”

  “Yes. The best. They were warm, trusting people. They treated others so very kindly. That’s why... I’d like you to keep their ideals in your heart as you forge your own path, too.”

  “I... Of course... I’m sorry...” The prince looked down at the floor in response to Colonel’s words. Even if he didn’t remember them, they’d still loved him when they were alive. It would be sad if he didn’t carry any of that in his own heart.

  Alright, now we just need to see what’s gonna happen with Lowe...

  As I mused to myself, the nearby windows shattered. Several metallic-looking feathers had shot through the glass panes and embedded in the ground near the emperor, the prince, and Colonel.

  I stared at the metallic-looking things in confusion, but Colonel seemed to recognize them. A horrified expression dawned on his face as he tackled the young prince and pushed him away from them.

  “Get down!” Th
e feathery things suddenly expanded and burst. The room, enchanted with [Silence] broke out into a series of deafening explosions. Nobody outside heard a thing.

  The sudden attack took me by surprise, so I barely managed to react in time.

  The best move would have been to activate a [Prison] around each individual explosive, but in the end, I created a [Prison] that contained me and the others. Or more specifically, I created a [Prison] that centered around me and expanded until every other living person in the room was caught inside.

  Nobody was harmed by the feather-bombs, but they ended up taking out an entire wall. It gave us a good look at the courtyard below.

  “Ghh... That was close.”

  “That it was...”

  “Good save, darling... We could’ve died.”

  Leen wasn’t kidding. If I’d screwed up there, we definitely would’ve lost somebody. I was just glad we were all safe.

  “Oh my, oh me... Nobody dieeed? I faiiiled? No waaay! That’s super duper sucky... Geez.”

  A weirdly inappropriate high-pitched voice came from above. I looked up and saw a man floating above the courtyard. He was in his late thirties and wore some basic armor beneath a gray cape. There was a rapier hanging about his waist. Given his blonde hair and round glasses, I’d have assumed him to be a bookworm if I’d seen him under any other circumstances.

  He was floating in midair atop a flying disc, which I assumed to be some kind of artifact. Either way, that was what was keeping the skinny guy airborne. However, what caught my eye was the Gollem by his side. It was about one and a half meters tall. It had wings on its side instead of arms, and sharp talons at the ends of its feet. And its face was that of an owl’s...

  It was some kind of strange human-owl hybrid Gollem. It was dark gray, much like its master’s cape, and stood stationary in the air. It was afloat despite the fact that its wings weren’t moving.

  Wait... a Gollem with an animal head? Does that mean...?

  “You dare show your face here, traitor?! I’d recognize you anywhere, Gien Greed!” Colonel, who had stumbled to his feet, glared up at the man.

  “Hooh? Oh my, oh me... Landinner, is that you?! Dorf Landinner! Ahaha! You’ve been alive all this time? Goodness, what a touching reuniooon! Who’d have thought I’d meet one of my old companions here! Ehe!”

  “Don’t you dare call me your companion, bastard!”

  “Heeeh? You’re still flustered about thaaat? It’s been ten years, you big silly. Water under the bridge!”

  “How dare you say that, you worm! You’re the reason we lost our home to begin with! If you hadn’t sold us out to Isengard, then...” Colonel gnashed his teeth. He was seething. That meant this guy was the traitor who turned his back on Lowe and gave the secrets of the beast emperor Gollems to Isengard.

  “It was naive to think that the beast emperors would be your guaranteed ticket to safety, you big silly! Our king was toootally too old-school. He wasn’t thinking of expanding our territory, so things were oh-so-boring over there! Why would I wanna continue serving a tiny little country? Hm? How selfish of you, not to think of me and my prospects!”

  “You turned on us for a petty reason like that?!”

  “I just threw the baby out with the bathwater, silly! I’d considered killing the king myself and taking over, but I didn’t think I’d be able to hold my own against the other beast emperors, you knooow? But oh my, oh me... I can’t believe there was a survivor!” Gien grinned widely, prompting all three of the Lowe survivors in the area to stare the man down.

  Colonel took out his storage card and summoned his Gollem, Leopard, to his side.

  “...Meeting you here is no coincidence, you scumbag! It must be divine intervention or a message from the fallen... I’ll avenge them, here and now, by sending you to the grave!”

  “Hmm? The last of the beast generals wishes to face meee? I appreciate the invite, but I have something else to do right now! The witch-king has ordered me to kill Gardio’s emperor, okaaay? I gotta finish that first!”

  Several feather-shaped projectiles were launched by the Gollem at the man’s side. They were all launched in the direction of the Gardio emperor. The metallic feathers expanded and detonated, but my [Prison] prevented any of the damage from reaching its target.

  “Hmhm...? How weiiird, I don’t remember Leopard having any Gollem skills like that...”

  I used [Teleport] to warp behind Gien and rested my hand on his shoulders as I floated in mid-air.

  “Let’s ground this talk, okay? [Slip].”

  “G-Gyaaah!”

  I cast my spell on the floating disc’s surface, causing the man to stumble off it. He plummeted toward the courtyard. The owl Gollem quickly swooped down toward its master.

  “Eek!”

  At the last possible second before impact, Gien was caught by his Gollem and dropped gently to the paved ground.

  My attention turned from Gien to his flying disc. I stepped onto it and found myself pleasantly surprised. It felt pretty stable as far as surfaces went.

  “H-Hey, you meanie! That’s not yours!” Gien was yelling at me from below, but I didn’t care all that much. I just knew it’d be bad if he got access to the disc again.

  I shoved it into [Storage]. I had a feeling Doctor Babylon would appreciate it.

  “What?! Glaux, knock him down from up there!”

  The owl Gollem’s wings let loose barrage after barrage of feathery projectiles. I wondered if all of them were set to detonate once they hit me...

  “Come forth, Fire! Crimson Duet: [Fire Arrow]!” I used magic to call forth a surge of flames and burned all the feathers out of the air before they could detonate. All the feathers ended up blowing up before they could even get halfway to reaching me.

  “How did you do that...?!”

  “...Sure you’re fine paying attention to me? I’m not your foe here, buddy.”

  “Huh?!”

  The other beast emperor, Leopard, suddenly charged forward from the hole in the wall and moved to strike Gien. It had several long claws extended from its front paws.

  “Guh...! Glaux!”

  “Caw!” The owl Gollem morphed its wings into blades and leaped in front of its master, parrying Leopard’s strikes.

  In the west, owls were often seen as a symbol of wisdom, but in Japan and China, they were considered wicked animals that would consume their own family or masters to grow stronger.

  It was such an ingrained idea that the kanji for “owl” (梟) could also be found in menacing compound kanji words. For example, the word for a person who rose to power through bloodshed was created by taking the word for “hero” (英, which means great. And 雄, which means strong. Together forming 英雄,) and replacing the “great” with “owl,” creating 梟雄. Or that was what my grandpa told me, at least.

  As I watched the clash between the two Gollems, I was strongly reminded of that little fact. Gien had betrayed his own homeland in his thirst for power, much like the owls of my homeland’s legend.

  Apparently, the compound kanji for a decapitated criminal’s head on display was made by adding the “owl” kanji to the front of the kanji for “neck” or “head” (首), creating 梟首. It was based on the idea of nailing the bird’s corpse to a tree, so all could see its crimes.

  “Gieeen!”

  “Wuh?!”

  Colonel, who had made it down to the courtyard, slashed at Gien with his saber. Gien dodged it just barely and drew his rapier. He then lunged towards Colonel.

  Gien’s movements were startlingly deft. He managed to graze Colonel’s face in no time at all. A small stream of blood ran down the man’s face. Despite his strange looks, he was clearly a talented swordsman.

  I was about to support Colonel by casting a spell, but he turned my way and narrowed his eyes.

  “Don’t! He’s mine!”

  Damn... Now I can’t exactly do anything...

  Seemed like things were personal here, so there’d be no point in me a
ssisting... Even Yumina and Leen weren’t doing a thing.

  I looked back and found First Lieutenant and Sergeant watching Colonel without moving themselves. Seemed like there was really nothing for me to do.

  The room we’d been in had been enchanted with [Silence], but the courtyard wasn’t. The knights around the palace would surely be converging on us soon. So long as we took out the owl Gollem, Gien would have no means of escape.

  “Bwahahaaaaaah! Sure brings back memories, huh?! Remember how I’d train you in combat back in Lowe?! Ahahaaah! I don’t seem to remember you ever managing to beat me, come to think of iiit!”

  “Ghh!”

  Strike after strike bore down on Colonel, and wound after wound was carved into his body. Colonel had been forced into a defensive battle. He could barely get a single counter in.

  In a similar way, Glaux was running circles around Leopard as well. Glaux seemed to have lost its ability to fly once it morphed its wings, but it was still extremely mobile on the ground.

  Leopard was hardly a slow Gollem, but he was still just outmatched enough to be losing the exchange badly.

  Gollems and their masters tended to exhibit their best abilities when they were together... so maybe things would’ve been different if Colonel and Leopard were fighting alongside each other. Then again, if Glaux and Gien were fighting alongside each other, they’d probably be fiercer.

  “Take this, and this, and this! And thiiis! Is this really all you’ve grown in ten years?! You’re slow! You’re pathetic! I can read all your motions, brat!”

  “Gah...!”

  Gien sped up his strikes, causing Colonel to lose sight of the attacks entirely. New cuts were being opened all over his body. He’d been brutalized to the point where I was honestly shocked he was still standing.

  “Now then... I think I’ve played around enough, right? Time to put an eeend to you, boy! Why don’t you go say hi to the king of Lowe for me?!”

  Gien’s rapier slid along Colonel’s saber, and then flicked upward until the man’s weapon was thrown from his hands. It flew into the distance, spiraled into the air, and then landed blade-side-down in the dirt.