In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 13 Read online

I stood in front of the bandana-clad man.

  “Somethin’ wrong, jackass?”

  “Yes. Please return the thing you have in your pocket.”

  “No idea what you mean.”

  “The stolen purse. Hand it over.” The man clicked his tongue and sneered, before pulling out a knife and pointing it right at me. What a moron he was... He’d have had a better chance if he tried to flee.

  He lunged, so I dodged the knife and grabbed his hand before twisting it and holding it upwards. I bent his arm backward, which caused him to squeal out in pain and reflexively lose his grip on the knife. It fell to the ground alongside him when I let go.

  “H-Hey, you bastard! The fuck?!” You’re the one who started it. I sighed as the little mouse pulled out the purse from the man’s breast pocket. It was made of very fancy material, certainly a pay grade above this ruffian’s.

  According to the mouse’s message, he’d swiped the purse from a traveling trader. I was the closest one to the area, so I was fine to deal with it.

  Some of our knights heard the fuss and came over to arrest the guy.

  The man immediately started kicking up a fuss and tried to frame it as if I’d stolen his purse, but I used [Recall] to project an image of his crimes into the air, directly from the memories of the little mouse. Once he realized I was the grand duke of Brunhild, all his protests fell silent.

  The knights then took the thief along with them. Then I ascertained who the purse actually belonged to in the first place. There was a lot of money in it, so I needed to be sure it got back to its rightful owner.

  I used the mouse’s memories again to find out who the victim was.

  I opened up my map and easily found the guy, he was in front of a stall just a little bit down the street.

  I headed down there and saw a plump-looking trader arguing with an older woman. The mouse’s memories were in black and white, so I didn’t realize just how blindingly red and gaudy the merchant’s clothes were. No wonder the thief thought this guy was an easy target.

  “Whaddya mean you have no money! Were you trying to dine and dash...?!”

  “I-I wasn’t! I just... I must have lost my coin purse, or maybe I was pickpocketed!” Welp, better deal with this before it gets any worse... It could go south.

  “Excuse me. Is this your coin purse?”

  “Hm? Ohh! I-It is!” I handed it over to him. Thank goodness.

  I explained the situation to the woman who ran the food stall, and she happily took the payment from him.

  “Thank you so much! You really did save me...” The man bowed to me. I was actually pretty curious about him.

  His red clothes were really interesting, as was his turban. He was a plump fellow but he seemed in decent shape for a man who must have been in his forties. All of that combined, along with his black beard, kind of gave off the image of a stereotypical Arabian merchant. But more than any of that, what caught my eye was the color of his skin.

  His skin was a darkish red, even darker than Sonia’s. He was just... Reddish, it was bizarre. It made me want to ask...

  “Excuse me, sir... Could you be one of the Red Fol... Er... Of the Arcana Clan?”

  “Oh? You know of my people?” I knew it... The ancient clan that revered the color red... The people that sealed a Phrase beneath Belfast’s old capital, and left behind a message... The ones that visited Elfrau a long time ago, too... I knew this guy was related to them!

  After hearing the story from Elfrau’s queen, I tried to find them, but I hadn’t had any luck.

  I had no idea what a person from the Arcana Clan would look like at a mere glance, after all. My magic wouldn’t be able to find people I only had a vague idea about.

  I noticed an amulet around his neck that resembled a Celtic coat of arms. That could’ve been a clue... It was certainly something tangible I could use for my [Search] spell, provided it was a family emblem or something.

  “Ah... Well... If you’re from the Arcana Clan, then can you answer a question for me?”

  “Hm?” I used [Storage] to pull several printouts for him. They were photographs of the letters I’d found on the wall beneath Belfast’s capital, during the first incident in which I encountered the Phrase.

  It was my hope that he’d be able to read the lettering. I handed them over and he looked them up and down with a raised brow.

  “These... These are words passed down in the Arcana Clan for years and years... There’s almost nobody in the world who’d be able to read these.”

  “Damn... So you can’t either...”

  “That’s not what I said at all, actually. My grandmother was a priestess of our people in the olden days, and she taught me the words. I’d say that around five people exist nowadays, myself included, who can read them.” That’s not many... Apparently, the letters were only used for the most important of texts, so they weren’t utilized often enough for them to have been well-preserved. That made sense, even if it was a shame.

  “Uhh... Let’s see... It says... Our people, the Red Folk, record this history. The glimmering monsters spilled forth from the pit and made sacrifices of our people. As the city was about to fall into ruin, two tiny knights were summoned by our venerable leader. A Black Knight, and a White Knight. Through time and space itself, they launched the glimmering beasts. They repaired the pit and returned from whence they came. We left a glimmering husk here so that, should this incident ever repeat... This corpse may stand as warning. Do not allow life to spill back into its husk, lest it rage once more...” I was mostly confused by what I’d heard.

  The glimmering monsters were clearly the Phrase, and the pit they came from was probably a tear in reality.

  But... I had no idea who these Black and White Knights were supposed to be... Also, that warning about not giving life to the husk was moot, since I ended up doing that back then.

  “Where did you find this?”

  “In some ruins beneath Belfast’s old capital city.”

  “Fascinating... It was said in my clan that some of our people separated and migrated in that direction... These words were likely left behind by them.” The Phrase had invaded Belfast over a thousand years ago. They probably left this message behind to warn the next generation... But then why was it buried and forgotten...? It was possible that they were just following instructions and gradually over time the information was lost... But the ruins were used specifically to house a dead Phrase, to seal one in there... That wasn’t the main matter of concern, though.

  What was written in the ruins was likely true, at any rate. The Phrase had invaded the capital and caused a major catastrophe...

  Then they were saved by individuals who seemingly drove the Phrase back.

  The Black and White Knights... They were the key to all of this. I wondered if they were a duo who had been called from the Reverse World... Or maybe they were literally just two knights.

  The mystery was still in pieces, and I had no idea what most of it meant. It seemed like I had no choice but to go back to the Reverse World for more clues.

  “Thank you so much, you really helped.”

  “Not at all, really. That money was vital to my operations in this country, so it would’ve been a heavy loss. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” Apparently, the Red Folk, the Arcana Clan, had been nomadic until they finally settled on an island between Hannock and Xenoahs.

  Apparently, the clan lived in harmony with the demonkin who were native to that island.

  The merchant, who was named Polunga, left the island as a young man and became a wandering merchant. He’d been traveling the world ever since. His purpose in Brunhild was to acquire unusual goods that you couldn’t get anywhere else.

  In order to thank him a little more, I introduced him to Olba Strand’s company. That place dealt in oddities a lot, after all.

  I said bye to him after that, but I was still thinking about what he said...

  “Two knights... Hmm...” Man, I really have no idea what it
was talking about. Guess I can’t do anything with that info for the time being.

  “Ah, hey! Touya!” I turned around and saw Yumina and Lu pushing their way through the crowded streets.

  “Good job finding me.” I hadn’t teleported that far away, but the two tracked me down pretty fast. I asked them how they knew where I was, and they just kind of glanced at each other with an awkward expression.

  “Well, how do I put this... Lately, I’ve just sort of... known? I’ve just sort of had a vague idea of where you are. Lu has, too...”

  “It’s a little vague, yes... But I have a small idea in my head of where you are at all times... It’s the same for the other girls, I believe...” Wait, what! When did you all get mental Touya detectors?! Is this because of my divinity? I guess it would only make sense for abilities like that to get stronger over time... Kohaku and the other Heavenly Beasts can do something similar.

  Still... I’m not sure if I’m keen on having them know where I am at all times... Isn’t that a little awkward? What if I was having an affair?! N-Not that I would, haha... “Where’s Yae and Hilde?”

  “They were more interested in the tournament. Elze joined them as well.” They were the mighty trio of my household, so it made sense they’d spend a lot of time together.

  Elze, Yae, and Hilde made up the fighter clique... Linze, Leen, and Sakura made up the mage clique... So that meant that Yumina, Lu, and Sue must have made up the royal clique... But then again, Hilde and Sakura were royals too.

  We headed off to the storytelling event that Sakura and her family were hosting. Apparently, a group of street performers had joined in to entertain the kids with re-enactments of the stories. I also took care of a few troublemaking drunks.

  The overlord was there, reading to the children with a... Frankly terrifying visage. Several of the children were crying. Sakura berated him for upsetting the kids... I had no idea why he thought putting on a creepy voice was a good idea.

  I didn’t want him to notice us and keep us held up, so we swiftly moved on back to the shogi hall.

  We arrived to find all four monitors displaying the same image. It was the final match.

  “Ohh... It’s the king of Palouf, and he’s up against Dolan!” A lot of the people in the audience were surprised.

  It was the king of Palouf, Ernest Din Palouf. He’d registered under the fake name Ernie Palous.

  Thanks to the badge he was wearing, the audience saw him as someone completely different, but he still had the appearance of a child to them.

  The idea of a ten-year-old boy beating several adults and advancing to the finals? No wonder they were all so shocked.

  “That kid really is a genius... Rachael is one thing, but together they’re incredible...” I looked through the crowd and saw Rachael watching his game. The Paloufean guards were there too.

  Rachael had a tense look on her face, she was totally enthralled. Now and then she’d turn to Duke Rembrandt and ask for an explanation of what was going on. She seemed worried about the boy.

  Meanwhile, the young king was focused entirely on the game. Whether that was because he knew she was watching or not remained unknown.

  His opponent was Dolan, owner of the Silver Moon in Reflet, he was glaring down at the board with narrowed eyes. His expression was scary even on a good day. Scary enough to make a little kid run away crying.

  His pieces were greyed out, meaning his time was almost up. He quickly extended his hand and moved a silver general diagonally to the right.

  The boy furrowed his brow at the sudden motion. Dolan grinned as he flipped the hourglass over. The colors of the pieces returned to normal, and it was the boy’s turn.

  “Who’ll win...?”

  “Mm... It looks like Dolan’s winning.” I spoke my thoughts to Lu, but I wasn’t entirely certain of them. The tide of the battle could’ve been turned quite easily.

  The audience quietly exchanged their opinions on the matchup as the time limit continued to tick downwards.

  The two of them were exuding an aura so intense that even those who knew little about shogi couldn’t help but be drawn in.

  The colors of the pieces began to shift, signaling the approaching end of Ernest’s turn.

  He moved his hand, bringing his horse diagonal.

  His pieces reverted back to their regular colors. He flipped the hourglass and stared Dolan down.

  Dolan’s expression turned downright grim. It seemed as if the young king was backing him into a corner... But I also wasn’t sure.

  Yeah, I really can’t follow the match, I should hire a commentator next time.

  Dolan moved his piece, but he was clearly stressed out by the move. The atmosphere was so tense that nobody in the audience raised their voices at all. Nobody cheered for either side... They simply watched the two locked in mortal, psychological combat.

  ◇　◇　◇

  “...I resign,” Dolan sighed in defeat, causing the Paloufean audience members to cheer out in joy.

  King Cloud of Lihnea quickly joined in on the clapping alongside Ernest’s older sister.

  Rachael burst into tears, leading her father to softly comfort her. She was probably extremely relieved that Ernest won... The pressure must’ve been too much. The boy himself slumped back in his chair with a drained expression on his face. He did everything he could, and now the mental fatigue was hitting him... He was just a kid, after all.

  Dolan folded his arms, frowned, and closed his eyes.

  It was a shame he was defeated, but he still got second place. He was extremely talented and probably learned a lot from the event.

  “...The beginning of next year.”

  “H-Hm?” Dolan opened his eyes and began murmuring towards the young king. The king suddenly leaned forwards and tried to fix his posture.

  “We’ll hold a shogi tournament in my hometown at the beginning of next year. Wanna participate? Won’t be as flashy as it is here... But we can settle our score then...”

  “A-Ah, yes! Of course! I will!” Dolan then extended his hand, which the young boy quickly grasped.

  Dolan... You might not be aware of this but you just invited the king of an entire nation to Reflet.

  Either way, it seemed the two of them had formed an unbreakable bond, one unaffected by age or social status. He’d probably need the badge for the Reflet tournament, too.

  The war was now over. Now all I had to do was handle the award ceremony... I would be handing over a shield and medal to the winners, just like the baseball tourney.

  The grand champion was Ernie Palous, who was secretly King Ernest Din Palouf. Second place went to Dolan from Reflet. And third place went to a guy whose name I already forgot. He was a commoner who just tried his darndest.

  Each of them smiled with the medal around their necks. The king of Palouf’s medal was made of orichalcum. He gazed at it with stars in his eyes.

  He was clearly happy. The medal was tangible proof that he won on his own merit, and hopefully, it’d be a source of confidence for the kid.

  “Congratulations.”

  “A-Ah, thank you! I’ll treasure this for the rest of my life...” He was almost on the verge of crying.

  The award ceremony wrapped up and everyone started to leave the stage. Just then, Rachael ran up towards Ernest and almost bowled him over with a massive hug. That was amusing.

  “You did it! You did it!! I knew you could, Ernie!”

  “Hh... R-Rachael, y-you’re... Squeezin...” The boy began to gasp for air as his face turned blue, Rachael continued to squeeze him in sheer joy. I couldn’t tell if the scene was heartwarming or mortifying, but I was happy he had someone who cared for him that much.

  The shogi tournament was over, which only left the fighting tournament. Then the festival would end with a closing ceremony.

  The festival seemed to have gone without a hitch. Amazing, when you considered how quickly I’d slapped it all together.

  And... Right on cue, as I was quietly
cheering about how things had gone well... My smartphone began to vibrate.

  It’s Relisha... Why do I have a bad feeling all of a sudden?

  I picked up the call.

  “Oh, ‘sup?”

  “Grand Duke, it’s Relisha. We’ve detected a large-scale Phrase emergence event. It’s in the eastern territory of what used to be Yulong. They number up to a thousand, but we haven’t detected any Upper Constructs.” That was bad news... But it’d been a while since we’d heard anything from the Phrase.

  “Are there any nearby population centers?”

  “The closest town is Feihang, around fifty kilometers away... But nobody lives there, it was abandoned when Yulong collapsed. Those that do live there would only be outlaws.”

  “When are they coming out?”

  “Tonight, approximately five hours from now.” Tsk... That’s annoying... So like 10 pm at night, huh...

  If it was five-hundred to a thousand of them, and there were no Upper Constructs, then thirty Frame Gears would do fine. Based on the battles so far, even with numbers of up to a thousand, the Intermediate Constructs only made up like ten or twenty percent of the forces at most.

  If we rolled out a group including the girls and their Valkyries, the fight would be easy enough.

  I finished up my conversation with Relisha before calling Rosetta and Monica. I told them to prepare for a small-scale deployment.

  Come to think of it, this is the first night-time battle against the Phrase... Doesn’t the Storehouse have something we can use to help out...? I guess I’ll speak to Parshe about it...

  Seemed like I had a long night ahead of me...

  Chapter II: The End of the Festival

  “Your Highness, we’ve deployed them all.”

  “Roger that. Keep on alert until the warning signs show up.” I gave my orders to Commander Lain and looked up to the sky. There were stars everywhere, and not a single cloud in sight.

  Linze and I were sitting on the shoulder of her inactive Helmwige, looking up to the sky. Huh... Come to think of it, I don’t recognize any of these constellations at all.

  We were in the eastern plains of Yulong, barren land that stretched out wide before us.