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

by Patora Fuyuhara

  I almost forgot to tell them one other thing.

  “You’ll be followed by an invigilator from the guild.”

  “Huh?! What for?!”

  “This is still part of the ranking test. They’ll be there to judge you all individually. But don’t try to show off, either. If you end up failing because of that, you’re gonna get hefty negative marks.”

  I answered Rose as best I could. I didn’t know why she was so surprised. The whole point of this was to evaluate them in the field.

  If things got too bad, the invigilator would also step in to help them. It’s true it was a proper quest, but it was also a test. I didn’t want anyone dying on my watch.

  “Any other questions?” The cat-eared girl, Mew, raised her hand slowly.

  “Tell me about the weed.”

  Some of the other wannabe adventurers looked confused as to why she asked that, but I just grinned toward Karina and Galen. Mew was more perceptive than I’d expected.

  “Spinfire weed is a plant that grows in high altitude areas, typically appearing between summer and fall. It has a strong aroma, which lends itself well to spicy seasoning in food. The monster species known as the Fire Lizards adore eating this plant... which means that wherever you find it, you’ll surely find a Fire Lizard nest.”

  When I finished speaking, some of the test participants had already gone white in the face.

  ■　■　■　■　■　■　■　■　■　■

  ■ Sarutobi Homura

  Aha... I expected something like this. I did not expect the grand duke to concoct an easy test...

  Most of the other participants did not seem all that shocked, but some did.

  Fire Lizards were giant lizards with copper-colored skin. They had the unique property of releasing a burst of flame all around their bodies when enraged. The Fire Lizard’s body-slam technique was especially dangerous when combined with its flaming skin ability.

  In Eashen, the creature was actually known as a Great Blazer, but I had never seen one before. There had never been any near my village.

  Hmm... I was told this mission was not going to be too difficult. I probably should have switched out with Shizuku or Nagi...

  Then again... That means I get two platinum coins too, right?! Ehehe... If I had that much money... I could eat all kinds of lovely snacks! I guess this is actually good news. I got pretty lucky!

  I grinned slightly, but the grand duke glared at me. Even though he had changed his outward appearance, his actions were still pretty much the same.

  Don’t worry, geez! I will do my job properly, I promise!

  Matters pertaining to the guild were not exactly explicitly related to Brunhild, but I was a member of the knight order, which was more like the grand duke’s private security force. Thus, all I had to do was follow my orders! I was just glad that the grand duke did not give us particularly hard jobs.

  If you ask me, boss-lady Tsubaki is the one who gives us the hard jobs. She works us to the bone! With such a harsh attitude, it is not any wonder that she is still single... Eek! What was that feeling just now?!

  I looked around in confusion, feeling a rush of killing intent directed right at me. Oh gosh... I do not know where... but the boss-lady is here somewhere... She is so darned scary, e-eep! How can I tell that she is glaring harder now?!

  “...Are you quite alright?”

  The cat-eared girl turned to me with a look of concern. She must have noticed that I was sweating a lot.

  “A-Ahaha... I am fine, yes! Very fine, thank you!”

  “...Okay.” The cat-eared girl turned back to face the three examiners. Gradually, the killing intent aimed my way wore off.

  Please don’t kill me... I assumed that she was going to be the invigilator that the grand duke had mentioned...

  Still, that girl... Mew-san, seemed to have been worried about me. It was possible that she had just found me suspicious, but she seemed to be quite a nice person.

  Internally, I noted, “Mew +1” on my mental scoring sheet... But it was not like her empathy was a good indicator of her skills as an adventurer.

  “The seven of you have until sundown in three days to deliver the spinfire weed. That’ll mark your quest as complete! Good luck.”

  The three examiners, the grand duke included, headed off. And then, the Guildmaster followed suit. Now, all we had to do was get to work.

  ◇　◇　◇

  The grand duke was gone, so it was up to us seven to figure out how to proceed.

  “Shall we all make our preparations before meeting in front of the portals in an hour or so?”

  “Hold it! When’d you start giving orders?”

  Abert started forming a plan when Garron cut in and started yelling. Guys like him were definitely annoying, I did not like it one bit.

  “I’m not giving orders, I’m just trying to help. Or do you want to figure out our next course of action?”

  “There’s no need for that. All we need to do is get to the island and grab that grass as soon as possible, right? I can do that alone. I don’t need you guys dragging me down.”

  This guy was sounding more and more like an idiot.

  “You dumb? If you fail, then we fail together. I’m not gambling two platinum on you.”

  The tattooed woman with the giant chest... or rather, Rose, started speaking down to Garron. Her way of speaking was a little cruel, but I generally agreed. Nobody was going to leave the hope for such a large amount of cash with someone they only just met.

  Surges-san, the staff-wielding man, began walking away. He completely ignored the others. I wondered what was up with him.

  “One hour, then. In front of the portals. See you there.”

  He muttered quickly before walking off. He was just as selfish as Garron, but not quite in the same way.

  The dwarf guy, Dom-san, then sternly walked off on his own. After that, Mew-san walked off as well.

  “In an hour, then.”

  “Gh...”

  “Hmph.”

  Garron, Rose, and Abert also parted ways. They probably realized that they were wasting time. I shook my head slightly and planted my hands on my hips.

  “These guys certainly seem like a whole lot of trouble...”

  “Adventurers are often quirky people with strange personalities. The higher the rank, the more eccentric they are.”

  “I see, I see... That makes sense. Guess that explains why the grand duke is ranked gold already.”

  “Karina, don’t just say whatever... That doesn’t make sense at all.”

  “E-Eep, Grand Duke?! And Karina-sama?!”

  I turned around to find the grand duke and his cousin Karina standing behind me. The grand duke had undone the spell on him and looked like his usual self. I quickly doubled back and bowed my head to him.

  “Wh-Wh-What do you wish of me?”

  “Nothing major, just wanted to wish you luck. You should know already, but your main mission here is to observe them in action, right? Don’t help them out too much just because you want the quest to go well, even if you become their friend.”

  “O-Okay.”

  That is a little rough...

  “What exactly constitutes too much?”

  “Like... if you became the main star of the party or something. Just don’t do anything too extravagant. You can’t afford to stand out. You need to be stoic and quiet, like a ninja.”

  Stoic and quiet?! I’m basically the worst at that!

  “Oh, this too. There’s three days worth of food in here, as well as some medication. It has [Storage] enchanted on it, so it can hold a lot.”

  The grand duke created a small magic circle in the air, then pulled a bright green rucksack out from it.

  Apparently, it was magically enchanted to have enhanced storage capacity. Plus, it was not heavy at all! I loved it. It also looked adorable.

  “Can I keep this?”

  “I mean... I basically gave you these supplies for the mission, ye
ah. Oh... you mean the rucksack itself? Sure, I guess.”

  “Yippee!”

  Ehehe... Shizuku and Nagi are gonna be so jealous.

  “Just remember to report in occasionally. Hide your smartphone, too. Don’t let the others catch you with it.”

  That was obvious! The only people in Brunhild with smartphones were those who had important jobs, people in positions of power, or those that had a connection with the grand duke.

  Connections were not just family-based, either. That also extended to his friends. The innkeeper of the Silver Moon had a smartphone, and so did Renne the maid.

  Of those three categories, I fell into the important jobs bucket. We ninjas were exactly that.

  Anyone aware of the smartphone’s existence would also know that anyone who had one was closely associated with the grand duke of Brunhild. That generally meant they would not mess with you.

  After all, this world was full of rumors about the grand duke. Some talked about how he mercilessly crushed the coup in Regulus, some said that he caused a beam of light to vaporize the former leader of Yulong, and others said that he had placed the king of Sandora in an infinite torture chamber. Those rumors sounded pretty silly to me.

  “Alright, then! As Brunhild’s Intelligence Corpswoman, Sarutobi Homura! I will do my best!”

  “Mhm, give it your best shot. Keep up the good work.”

  The grand duke smiled and nodded. I am gonna do my best!

  About an hour later, all seven of us were gathered at the portal. Everyone had some extra stuff with them. Dom-san the dwarf had the most, and I had the least. Or rather, what appeared to be the least. It was only a small rucksack on the outside.

  “Don’t go askin’ us to share food with you later. You should’ve packed better.”

  “Do not worry about me, hehe... I do not plan on making you give up anything you have, heh...”

  “Tch... Cocky little brat.”

  That guy was really annoying. I grinned and winked at Garron, but he just shrugged and turned around toward the portals. He clearly thought he was tough with that shield on his back.

  “Let’s move, then.”

  Abert carried on after Garron. Rose, Dom-san, Surges-san, and Mew-san headed off toward the portal too.

  There were three portal gates that led to the dungeon islands. Each gate connected to a different island. We were aiming to go through the portal that led to the island that housed the Amaterasu dungeon.

  “...Will you be okay without food?”

  “Mm? Oh, I will! I am going to be fine, I promise.”

  “I see...” Mew-san spoke up softly as she walked by my side. Her voice was more than a little distant, but she still seemed to be worrying about me.

  It seemed as though the guild had already gotten in touch with the gatekeepers. Once they checked our guild cards, we were let through without any issue.

  The gatekeepers were also members of the knight order. They knew me because I ate meals with them, and also from seeing me around town.

  They pretended not to know who I was until the others went through the portal. After that, they grinned and flashed a thumbs-up at me. I could feel their motivation. I shot them a thumbs-up back, hopefully communicating that I was gonna do my very best.

  As soon as I passed through the portal I came out into a mausoleum building and smelled the sea breeze drifting through. It wasn’t exactly an enclosed building or anything, it was basically a circular platform with a roof, supported by pillars instead of walls.

  ...I feel a little embarrassed that I never came to one of these islands before... I had always been too busy with missions or training to come to the dungeon islands. Not to mention the fact that I could not swim, either... That actively discouraged me from wanting to be near the seaside.

  It is really hot here, though... But I also heard that it gets really cold at night... I did not know there were places with such wild temperature variation...

  “Alright, let’s head to the area with the weed. There should be a bridge around here.”

  “No shit. Nobody needs you callin’ the shots.”

  Garron grumbled in Abert’s direction again. Abert heard him, but didn’t respond much.

  Surges-san took a map out from his breast pocket and mulled it over.

  “...About a kilometer to the north or so. The bridge’ll lead us to the little offshoot island with the spinfire weed.”

  The dungeon islands were actually made up of about seven islands. The three main islands were the ones with the dungeons on them.

  Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, and Susanoo were actually just the names of the dungeons, though.

  The islands were named by the grand duke. There was Sunday Island, Monday Island, Tuesday Island, Wednesday Island, Thursday Island, Friday Island, and Saturday Island. They had kind of weird names, but I was not in a position to complain.

  Amaterasu Dungeon was located on Sunday Island, Tsukuyomi Dungeon was located on Monday Island, and Susanoo Dungeon was located on Wednesday Island.

  So, with that knowledge in mind, we were on Sunday Island. The spinfire weed we needed was located on Tuesday Island.

  It was the second-largest of the seven islands and also happened to be connected to Sunday Island by a bridge.

  We walked for a short time before the bridge finally came into view. It was made of stone and stretched off far across the water.

  “That’s amazing.”

  “I heard that the grand duke of Brunhild built this bridge. It’s supposed to be enchanted with Fortification magic so it can’t wear down easily.”

  “I heard there’s a barrier in place around it. Something about preventing beasts and monsters from approaching it. It’s certainly something special...”

  Rose, Abert, and Surges-san all spoke out in awe when the bridge came into sight. All seven islands had been connected with bridges thanks to the grand duke. It would certainly take a while, but it was very much possible to walk over to any of the islands.

  Only Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday Islands had portals installed on them, though. So if you walked off to an island without one, you would have to trek all the way back.

  “Quit gawking, morons. Let’s go.”

  “Shut up, bigmouth. We’re going!”

  Rose snapped back at Garron’s provocation. I really wished that he would think a little more before talking.

  We all walked atop the bridge. The view was so nice that I found myself focusing on it instead of the group, and ended up trailing a little bit behind the party as a result.

  It is so hot here... Is that not a heat-haze over on the other end of the bridge...? Wow... I reached into my bag and grabbed a water bottle. After unscrewing the cap, I greedily chugged it down.

  Whew, that hit the spot... That was so cold, too... Ahh... According to the grand duke, anything within my rucksack was frozen in time. That meant things would remain at the same temperature as they were when they were put in. Food would not rot or spoil, either. You could not put living things inside, though... But small animal corpses would probably be fine.

  I put my bottle back in the rucksack, but caught sight of something in the sky. ...Is there something flying above Tuesday Island? Wait... That cannot be...

  I covertly triggered my mystic eye, taking care to ensure the other party members could not see what I was doing.

  My mystic eye gave me the power to see things at a distance. I could also see through relatively simplistic obstacles in the distance, too.

  The vision in my right eye magnified until... What the...?!

  I saw a Dragon. It had glimmering scales that faintly pulsed with light. Its tail was long, and its wingspan was broad. It looked like its forearms were fused with its wings, which meant it was more of a Wyvern.

  Wait... Wait... Why is there a Dragon on that island?! Wh-Wh-What do I do here?! Wyvern or not, a Dragon is still a Dragon, right?! There is just no way our party can hold our own against it. If I had my knight order gear, and Shizuku or
Nagi on standby then maybe... But not like this!

  I had heard that before I joined up, several members of the knight order fought against a whole Dragon army. They only managed to win because they used everything they had and had the support of the grand duke. I wondered how I would fare against even one of them.

  Given that Tsubaki was overseeing all of this, I needed to inform her right away. I pretended to wipe sweat from my forehead as I covertly typed a message on my smartphone.

  Beep

  ▼Wyvern in area. Pls advise.

  A reply came by pretty quickly.

  Beep

  ▽No issues with Wyvern. Continue mission.

  What...?! Does she mean we have to take it out ourselves? I guess being able to react to new dangers on the fly is definitely a good trait for an adventurer to have, but this is a little ridiculous.

  “Y’alright, lassie?”

  “Oh, I am fine, thanks...”

  “Divven’t keep yer feelins to yerself. We’d be in a reet bad pickle if ye collapsed’re summin.”

  Dom-san, the dwarf, spoke to me with mild concern on his face. He was a little rough around the edges, but he seemed sincere.

  It was the same with Mew-san earlier, too... It was likely that they considered me in need of babysitting since I was the youngest.

  I looked up and saw that the Wyvern was gone. With any luck, it was just passing by, and would not show up again...

  We headed off the bridge and stepped onto Tuesday island. Since we were no longer on the bridge, that also meant we were no longer protected by its barrier. Magic beasts or monsters could leap out at us at any moment.

  Surges-san paused for a moment and took out a magnetic rock to determine his location. They sold those kind of goods at the Strand company store, but my smartphone was a lot more accurate in terms of positioning.

  “It’ll be over there. Pretty sure the spinfire weed is located in that area.”

  He pointed his staff over at a rust-colored mountain in the distance. It was really far away. I was not entirely convinced we could even make it there in a single day. Suddenly, I sensed something.

  “Something’s coming.” Mew-san spoke before I could, alerting us to the incoming danger.

  Everyone took a combative stance and glanced around the area. A few bushes ahead of us rustled here and there. Something was alive in there.