Chapter I: The Encroaching Mutants
“Pirates, eh? That’s no good.”
“Quite... Right at the beginning of peak trade season, at that. If we end up missing this opportunity, it’ll be quite the financial blow... I’m truly irritated right now, if I must be honest.” Olba grumbled quietly to himself as his fox ears twitched and swished.
I’d dropped by the Strand Company building in Brunhild, and Olba happened to be there. We decided to have a small tea break in the back room.
The head office of the Strand Company was located in Berge, Mismede’s capital city.
Olba himself didn’t conduct operations out of Mismede, though, and most of their trade was primarily conducted via ships.
The Great Gau River connected Belfast, Regulus, Ramissh, Roadmare, Ryle, Felsen, and Lestia... So the ships he sent out would proceed down that route, which he called Route A. Lihnea, Refreese, Palouf, and Elfrau weren’t connected along the river, so there was a separate sea-based Route B for trade with those nations.
The sea-based trade route had currently been falling victim to pirates. They’d already lost several ships. That was a major cause for concern.
“We assume their hideout is on one of the islands along Refreese’s coast, but they’ve been pretty good at eluding us so far.”
“Can’t Refreese do anything about it?”
“Their naval forces have been keeping a keen eye, but... Well, it’s not like they can escort our ships all the way.” I took out my smartphone and pulled up the map of the sea from Refreese to Lihnea.
“Search. Pirate hideout.”
“Searching... Search complete. Displaying.” A few pings ran out as the pin markers landed on several small islands. There were six results in total. I wondered if that meant there were six hideouts that belonged to one band or six separate pirate crews.
“Oh my...”
“Yep, here’s the hideouts. I don’t think they’d have bothered installing any barriers, so this is probably the lot.” I used my camera to screenshot the map, then made a call to the emperor of Refreese.
“Ah, ‘sup. Is this the emperor? Yeah, calling about the pirates. Yep... Yep... Gotcha. Oh, sure. I’ve discovered their hideouts, so I’ll send you a photo of the map, alright? No, really... Don’t worry about it. Oh, really? Well, maybe later then... Alright, thanks. Glad I could help!”
And that was that.
“Refreese’s navy is headed to the hideouts right away. That should help, right?”
“Ah, I... Good grief... You just snapped your fingers and solved such a plague on my company... You’re really something else, young man...” Olba let out a heavy sigh as he sipped his drink. I was getting used to this kind of thing, so I just ignored it and sipped my own.
“By the way, Olba, I have a proposition for you.”
“Hmm? Your ideas are always welcome, Grand Duke... What’s on your mind?” I picked up my smartphone and played a video of the Dverg that Rosetta and the others had repaired the other day.
Rosetta was piloting it as it slowly walked toward a large boulder and picked it up.
“Hm...? Is this a Frame Gear? No, it’s smaller...”
“This is a magic construction vehicle created by the Dwarves. It’s called a Dverg. It’s inferior to the Frame Gears, but more than capable of manual labor. It’s still in the testing phase but I wanted to know if you’d be willing to invest.”
“Invest...? You wish for me to provide development funds?”
“That’s right. In exchange, the Strand Company will have exclusive rights to the machine and its sales. Not a bad deal, is it?” The Dwarves seemed fine with those terms. They said they didn’t care too much about profiting, they just wanted to show the world the marvels of Dwarven engineering.
They probably didn’t even give any thought to the problems that a national monopoly of that kind of tech could cause.
They only had one condition, which was that Olba would sell the machines to any country, all at the same price.
The raw material cost to construct one was definitely high, so it’s not as if any one nation would be able to amass too many. Not to mention the fact that I was the only one with access to the Workshop, so mass-producing them would be impossible anywhere else.
If the Dverg ended up becoming a globally-known product, it was possible that other Dwarves around the world could try to produce more on their own, so we needed a proper stake in the market.
“Hmm... I could certainly see this being profitable if my people had a monopoly on it...” Olba leaned forward and muttered to himself as he watched the video play.
“...Very well, then. I’m certainly interested, I just have concerns about the investment cost...”
“If you want to talk it over with the inventors, you can. They’re staying at the Silver Moon right now. They know about you, so you’d just have to introduce yourself.” Olba seemed a little surprised they were so close, but he quickly straightened himself up and smiled.
“My, my... You’ve already arranged so much. Did you not consider that I might have said no?”
“Not in the least. A shrewd guy like you, Olba? You’d always be on the ball with this kind of potential profit.”
“Hoho, I see. Well, you were quite right.” Olba grinned a little as his eyes narrowed on me. All I wanted to do was mediate between him and the dwarves, now all they had to do was iron out the rest. There was nothing in it for me, but I had a feeling that the Dverg would end up becoming a useful excavation and construction tool for those who couldn’t use Earth magic. In that regard, it would end up bettering the world.
Olba said he’d visit the Dwarves the following morning, so I said goodbye and left the building.
I opened up a [Gate] and headed up to the Babylon Garden. Doc Babylon and Rosetta were there tuning up the Dimensional Disruptor.
There were new parts installed around the gate’s arch.
“Did you finish the adjustments?”
“Basically, yeah. We can trigger it with a lot less magic than before, and we’ve removed the weight limitations. If I had a little more free time, I’d make further adjustments, but this’ll do for now,” Doctor Babylon said as she shrugged her shoulders and stashed her gear into the toolbox.
I touched the disruptor to test out her claims, and the meter filled up with far less effort than before. The new parts began to whir and spin.
“Did you finish making the mana tank for the other side, too?”
“That I did, yes. But that’s no big deal. Both Dimensional Disruptors are connected by Space-time magic, so improvements to one will be applied to the other.” Wonder if we should go to the other side, then... I did promise everyone they could come.
I needed to cast [Translation] on everyone first, though.
That spell was useful because I could use it to teach others languages that I’d absorbed.
I wasn’t able to communicate with dragons using it, though. Apparently, they communicated with some kind of unique telepathy.
To be honest, though, I didn’t really want to learn the languages of monsters and animals. I definitely didn’t want to hear the opinions of chickens, cows, and other livestock.
Either way, there was no point fretting. I had a trip to arrange.
I went to the Research Lab to pick up the new mana tank and reactivate the three etoiles. I’d noticed that the three of them were wearing petite maid uniforms, Tica had likely been responsible for it... But it did suit them, so it was okay.
Once I got back to the Garden with the three etoiles, everyone was already gathered and ready.
Even Sue had come, all the wa
y from Belfast. With the professor included, I wondered if all ten of us plus Paula and the etoiles would be alright over there.
I sent word to Kousaka and told him not to worry about our absence. Ideally, I’d want to be back in Brunhild by the evening, but there was no way of guaranteeing that due to the time dilation.
According to Doctor Babylon, her tune-up on the Dimensional Disruptor reduced the amount of time it took to traverse worlds, but we wouldn’t know by how much until we went and gave it a go.
I channeled my magic through the tank, and the Dimensional Disruptor opened up a portal.
“Well then... Let’s go... Could you maybe let go of my coat, though?” Everyone there was holding on to me tightly, except for Doctor Babylon. I could understand their unease.
“T-Touya-dono... I am simply afraid that we might be separated, I am...”
“H-Holding on to you is fine, right?” Elze and Linze were clinging to my right arm, while Lu tightly clasped my right hand. Hilde and Yae were on the opposite side, seizing my left arm as Yumina grabbed my left hand. Leen and Sakura were clinging to my waist on either side, and Sue had clambered up to my back... Paula was sitting on my head. I felt like a heavily-armored knight.
Still, I only had to bear with it while we passed through, so it would be fine.
We passed through the Dimensional Disruptor, slowly but surely. The sensation of walking through a rubbery material was there again, but it was easier to move through. It was probably because of Babylon’s improvements. We made it through and came out into the garden on Drakliff Island. I looked around and found myself rather surprised at what I saw.
There was a beautiful stone pathway leading from the portal and beautiful flowers in bloom all around us. The garden had been decorated since I last left, and it was clearly well-attended and gorgeous.
“Wow, this is so pretty!” Sue jumped down from my back and ran to the flowerbed. Yumina and Lu followed suit as Paula clambered from the top of my head.
Hm... Everyone seems fine, then... Guess the Dimensional Disruptor works well.
“Yae, there are so many dragons...”
“You are correct, Hilde-dono...” Yae and Hilde stood at the edge of the cliff and watched a group of wyverns fly by.
Well, this is a dragon island, so what do you expect? But... Who did that with my garden? Oh wait, could this be that silver dragon’s work...? “Greetings, everyone. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” As if appearing to answer my question, Shirogane suddenly came to greet us.
He was wearing a formal black butler suit with white gloves, and his long silver hair was tied with string. What the hell, man! You look really hot! Shirogane bowed his head to me. His posture was definitely on point. I grumbled quietly about how jealous I was of his good looks before introducing him to everyone.
“Everyone, this is Shirogane. He’s in charge of this house while I’m away. He might look like a beastman, but he’s actually a Silver Dragon that can take human form.”
“My name is Shirogane, indeed. It’s a pleasure.” Everyone stared at him with a look of confusion on their faces. Then I realized what I’d done. I’d forgotten to cast the linguistic magic on them, so they couldn’t understand a word he was saying.
“[Translation].” I cast the spell and everyone was suddenly able to understand him without any issues.
I then introduced all the girls as my fiancees, except for Doctor Babylon. She kept insisting that she was my mistress, but I refused to let that slide.
“So, what’s up with the garden?”
“Ah, yes! I was told I could do as I wished, so I did some decorating.”
So it was you, you sure are a dragon of many talents... I’m pretty surprised you have such a green thumb... But I guess Silver Dragons are just weirdos.
“Now then, please come inside. Right this way sir, and madams.”
They’re not married to me yet... But they certainly seem happy with his manner of address... Guess we’ve got ourselves quite the butler.
The interior was gaudier than it was when I’d left it. There was a Leylight stone chandelier, a magnificent carpet, a cupboard, potted plants, paintings, fully functional blackout curtains, and even several comfy beds. Everything had been arranged perfectly.
“You sure had fun, huh...”
“I’d never had the chance to shop in a human town before, so... Well, I went a little wild, but I thought your home would be best fitted with fine furnishings.” He certainly wasn’t wrong about the fine part, since everything looked amazing. I had nothing to complain about, at least.
“Touya, there’s even a library!” Linze had discovered a book-filled room, which certainly got her excited. Leen picked up a book and began flipping through it with curious eyes... Doctor Babylon followed suit.
“You bought books, too?”
“Of course. I haven’t had contact with humanity in over two-hundred years, so I purchased enough to really get myself up to speed.” That made sense. There were a lot of different genres, too. He’d picked up history books, technical manuals, war stories, and even academic textbooks. I even saw a couple of cookbooks... Which made me wonder if dragons even needed to cook. I left the library and headed to the living room. There was a big comfy couch and a table with a beautiful flower vase on top. There was a nice-looking clock on the wall, too. Not to mention the very fancy and expensive-looking chest of drawers up against the wall.
I sat down on the couch and practically sank into it, it was really nice.
“Please, do relax. I’ll bring tea.” Shirogane bowed and left the room.
“He’s a pretty good butler, huh? But I dunno if he’s as good as mine!” Sue grinned slightly as she sat herself down next to me. He wasn’t as talented at butlering as Leim, that much was sure... Laim would give him a run for his money, too.
“So, what are we going to do? We wanted to leave by the evening, right?”
“That’s right. I was wondering if you might take us to a capital city.” Lu sat down next to me as she answered my question.
Capitals, huh...? Well, there’s Allen... Or there’s Goldose... I guess I haven’t actually been anywhere except those places.
If we wanted to have a fun day out, then Goldose was the place to go, but I felt uneasy about that place since the attack on the black market. That’s why I decided that Allen was the best place for us to go.
I didn’t want to run into Nia or the Red Cats... So I hoped that they’d stay in their forest hideout for at least today.
I didn’t want my fiancees finding out that I’d peeked at her panties, after all.
“Is there something on your mind, Touya-dono, is there?”
“Ah, no... Nothing.” I smiled over at Yae, who was eyeing me suspiciously.
Alright, we’ll head off to Allen. The only people I know there are Mr. Sancho and the Red Cats, so I guess just strolling around the place should be decent fun.
We drank the tea that Shirogane brought in (it was great) as I explained my idea. Everyone except Doctor Babylon said they’d tag along. She wanted to make some final tweaks to the Dimensional Disruptor Mk. II and install the mana tank.
I also asked Shirogane to take care of the three Gollems. I didn’t really expect him to teach them anything weird, so I figured it would be fine.
They only followed orders given to them by their master, so I just ordered them to listen to Shirogane as well.
“We’ll be heading out, then. We expect to be back by evening.”
“Very well. Have a pleasant and safe trip!”
“Ping.”
“Pong.”
“Pang.” The three etoiles mimicked Shirogane’s bowing motion. That’s when I was certain that leaving them with him was probably a good idea.
I opened up a [Gate] to the capital city, Allen.
We came out into the main street and saw people and their Gollems walking by.
There was a man riding a Gollem that resembled a small Dverg, as it hauled a cart behind it
. Just as I watched them pass by, a massive, armored, two-and-a-half meter Gollem walked past us alongside a young knight.
“Oh my... It really is another world...”
“...Wow...” Hilde and Sakura murmured quietly as they watched all the different Gollems walk by.
The others timidly followed after me as I walked. We must’ve looked pretty backwater.
Paula’s tottering caught the attention of a few people, but they lost interest relatively quickly. People probably just thought she was another Gollem. Frankly, I was glad we weren’t standing out too much.
“I guess we should go visit Mr. Sancho... I could do with some money, after all.”
“Is he the merchant that helped you, Touya?”
“That’s right. I’ll have him buy some gold and silver from me.” The money I’d made from the Red Cats had mostly been used to buy the three Gollems, after all. We still had enough to eat well, but I wanted some more money so everyone could buy themselves a nice souvenir. More money was always better than less, in the end.
We arrived at Mr. Sancho’s store when I saw the man himself talking to a few merchants. Their faces looked a little dire.
“Ahh, it’s you, Tohya! Did you need something?”
“Good day to you, Mr. Sancho. I was looking to see if you’d buy, but... Is something wrong?”
“Ah, well... We were just discussing the incident, you know? They say someone got away from Geore Village just in time...”
“Hm? What incident?” I was confused, but Mr. Sancho just looked at me like he was surprised.
“You don’t know? But everyone’s been talking about it! It’s even in the newspapers...”
“Ah, sorry... I haven’t been here for a while.”
There are newspapers in this world? Oh, the Red Cats did have a comms device, so maybe this world has decent information technology... The regular world only has communication artifacts and horses...
Oh, I guess the other world does have bulletin boards for general news, though.
“Ah, I see... If you weren’t around the city, then it makes sense you wouldn’t know! Look here.”
Mr. Sancho showed me the paper. I looked at it with some surprise. It was stiff, and the paper quality wasn’t exactly very good. The printing looked neat, but the paper itself was about half the size of the newspapers back on Earth.
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 14 Page 1
