“This... could actually be a material similar to spellstone.”
“Spellstone, really?”
“The properties of spellstones include magic amplification, build-up of magical energies, and the discharge of said energies. The monster absorbed the magical energies of others, and used it to regenerate itself... or perhaps it was more of a defensive ability... Regardless, it used the magical energy to attack as well. Amplification, build-up, and discharge... The three properties of a spellstone.”
Could it be that it had no ability to make magical energy of its own...? Was that why it was frozen in place in the ruins? But wait, magical energy flowed throughout the world. Did that blocked off room have some sort of anti-magic seal, then? The whole matter was an enigma wrapped up in an air of uncertainty.
“Shouldn’t we report this kind of thing to the guild, we should?”
“No. Given that this involved the ancient ruins of the former capital, we should probably inform the government directly. We should take this to the duke, I think.” Well, that made sense to me. It seemed a smart choice given the situation. With that, we were off to see the duke.
“[Gate].”
“I see. So there were such ruins at the old capital...” Duke Alfred folded his arms as though thinking, then leaned back in his chair. Sue and Duchess Ellen had gone out on a walk, so unfortunately I didn’t get to see them. We were let on through to the parlor where we gave the duke the gist of what had happened.
“Alright then. This situation may concern the royal family. I’ll arrange for a search party on behalf of the country to be sent out to investigate. Of course, we shall try and find out more about that monster, too.”
“Oh, umm, the underground ruins collapsed, so it might be a bit difficult to investigate...”
“What? Oh dear... I was curious as to what may have been written on that mural you mentioned...” The duke drooped his shoulders disappointedly. We did something bad back there... No, wait, we didn’t do anything! That monster wrecked the place, not us!
“Oh, the mural. Don’t worry, we might still be able to do that. I took a photo of it.”
“Pho-to...?” I opened up the picture in my smartphone’s gallery app and showed it to him.
“Wh-What in the world is this?!”
“One of my Null spells. It allows me to record images of things that I’ve seen.”
“I-I see... Always full of surprises, aren’t you?” Duke Alfred was wonderfully fooled by my white lie. I’m sorry, I apologized internally. It’s a bit difficult to explain, you see.
“If you give me some time, I can transcribe it for you.”
“Please do. This could just be the key to solving the mystery of the capital’s relocation a thousand years ago.” Oh, it seemed the people of the country themselves didn’t even know why the capital was moved.
I thought they would have left a record of such a huge event somewhere in some official archives. Then again, if he was right, then that record could even be exactly what we just found. It might even have had information about the crystal creature we encountered.
I’d grasped the creature’s weakness. I was confident I could probably beat it if we ever had to fight another one.
But I still couldn’t get something out of my mind. I had a feeling that the old capital being run down into that state had something to do with the crystal creature...
With a feeling of uncertainty over the whole ordeal weighing us down, we left the rest in Duke Alfred’s hands and departed from his estate.
Chapter IV: The Royal Family
A few days later, I finished transcribing the mural onto paper.
What came in handy during that was a little Null magic spell called [Drawing] that I learned. It allowed me to take anything I saw and replicate that perfectly on paper. In short, I became a photocopier.
In fact, I didn’t even touch pen to paper. The spell worked by conjuring up the symbols straight onto the paper, so I really was like an actual photocopier. I even had to look at the image on my smartphone’s screen in order to finish copying it down. The spell was less [Drawing] and more [Printing], not that I really cared too much about the name either way.
The important part was that with the spell, I had effectively acquired a printer. As a test, I took down several new recipes for sweets and gave those to Aer, and she almost exploded with joy. I was thankful that I was able to translate the words as part of the printing process, if I focused hard enough. The only downside was that I had to use [Search] to find the actual ingredient names one by one.
I’d learned to use one of the one hundred yen coins that I had been carrying to deal with anything concerning weight. Notice these things sooner, idiot, I told myself.
My next job was to deliver the mural transcript to the capital. I did ask the others if any of them wanted to tag along, but it seemed like the thought of meeting the duke again made them all too nervous, so they declined.
It was at those times that I really felt the difference in my perception of what a noble was, compared to how everyone else thought of them. I mean, there weren’t exactly any nobles back in Japan. Though, strictly speaking, there may have been some in the past.
I took the bundle of transcribed papers in hand and cast my trusty [Gate] spell. Stepping through the light, I arrived directly in front of the gate to the duke’s estate.
“What the—?!”
“Whoops, sorry about that...” The guard was startled by my sudden appearance. To tell the truth, I had been startling this poor guard like that every time I came to the duke’s estate. I kind of wished he’d just get used to it already, but that was still going to take a while from the looks of things.
Wait a sec... The gate opened and a carriage came out. Were they going out somewhere? I figured I had timed my visit poorly
“Touya, is that you?! Thank the heavens! Please, get in!”
“Huh? Wait... Wha?! What’s going on?!” The carriage door swung open and the duke swept down like a bird of prey, grabbed me by the arm, and whisked me up into the carriage in one movement. Seriously, what the heck?!
“To think you would appear with such impeccable timing...! You’re truly a godsend. I give Him my thanks.” The duke started fervently praying.
I mean, technically God did send me here, so... At any rate, the duke’s behavior was definitely not normal. I’d never seen him so frantic before. I wondered what in the world had happened.
“What happened, exactly?” At my sudden question, sweat appeared on the duke’s forehead as he answered in a rather panicked tone.
“My brother has been poisoned.”
...Come again, sire? Wasn’t the duke’s brother... the king? Was this a case of royal assassination?
“Fortunately, treatment was delivered swiftly, so he’s still hanging on... For now.” The duke’s voice came out trembling as he sat face-down, gripping his hands together tightly. I mean, his brother was on the verge of death. Anyone would be worried in that situation.
“Do you have any idea who the culprit could have been?”
“...There’s one prime suspect, but we have no proof. Surely you remember the incident where Sue was attacked, yes? I believe both of these crimes were orchestrated... by the same individual.”
“But why would they want to kill the king? Oh, hang on, could it have been an assassin sent from outside of the country or...”
“If only it were that simple...” The duke let out a sigh and raised his head. He wore a terrible expression on his face.
“Our Kingdom of Belfast is surrounded by three other countries. To the west is the Refreese Imperium, to the east sandwiched in the Melicia mountain range is the Regulus Empire, and to the south by the Great Gau River is the Kingdom of Mismede. Of these, we have been on good terms with the Refreese Imperium for a great many years.” I see, I see.
“As for the Regulus Empire, we signed a nonaggression pact after the war twenty years ago, but I cannot exactly say that we’re on good t
erms. It wouldn’t be strange if they launched another attack on us at any moment. Now, as for the Mismede Kingdom, this is where things get complicated.”
“Complicated how, exactly?”
“Mismede is a new kingdom that was established during the war with Regulus twenty years ago. My brother has been trying to form an official alliance with this new kingdom, partly to stave off the threat of Regulus, and partly to open up more trade routes between our two kingdoms. However, there are some nobles who are very displeased with his decision.”
“What’s their problem?” If the Regulus Empire could attack again any day, then it would make more sense to gain as many allies as possible before that happened. Maybe it wasn’t so simple, though.
“Mismede is a kingdom of demi-humans ruled by a beastman king. Some of the older nobles despise the idea of, well... forming an alliance with a kingdom like that.
“...Okay, but why?” These nobles would even go out of their way to obstruct things that would benefit the country just because they didn’t like the idea of an alliance with demi-humans? I couldn’t understand that reasoning at all. If they were simple beasts who couldn’t be reasoned with, then that was one thing, but the beastmen were perfectly capable of holding a conversation. And that little beastgirl Arma was such a nice kid, too.
“In the past, demi-humans were seen as an inferior race and were the target of much discrimination. They were treated like a race of crude savages. However, this all changed during our father’s generation. A law was created such that demi-humans no longer be treated as inferior or discriminated against. With that, the old ways died out, and demi-humans were able to walk around with their heads held high without worry. Even as we speak, there are plenty of them in the castle town itself. On the surface, discrimination against them is all but gone, but in reality there are still some nobles stuck in the past who refuse to treat them fairly.”
“Discrimination, huh...”
“That’s correct. Their opinions are that we should not have to join hands with a country of savages. Some even insist that we should simply destroy their kingdom and claim the land for our own. To the nobles of that disposition, my brother is a very big nuisance.” That made sense. So the culprits behind the assassination plot were probably those old nobles, but was it really necessary for them to go so far? I felt that it was all wrong. Could it really be so bad that they’d want to kill the king over it? Hell, if the king died, wouldn’t those nobles be the ones to suffer the most?
“Were my brother to die, the throne would go to his lone daughter, Princess Yumina. The older nobles are probably seeking to have the princess marry one of their sons or relatives in order to claw their way into the royal bloodline. After that, they would be free to abuse their power to purge all of the demi-humans from the country... I’m beginning to think that the ones who tried to kidnap Sue were not trying to twist my arm, but my brother’s instead.”
A case of “Do as we say if you value your niece’s life,” then. They wanted to cut off relations with Mismede bad enough to take hostages. The princess probably had strong guards protecting her, so they would’ve aimed for a relative like the king’s niece instead... And then they might’ve gotten carried away and demanded that the king marry his daughter off to one of their sons. Something about the whole thing just felt like the plot of a goofy evil mastermind from a cartoon or something. The culprit was probably a complete idiot.
If they were caught, they’d probably get the death sentence right away. I could almost picture them as the villain in some period drama. Like a greedy merchant or a corrupt magistrate, something like that.
“So, uh, what do you need me to do?”
“I need you to expel the poison from my brother’s body, by way of the same spell you cured Ellen with.” The spell that heals any status ailments, [Recovery]. That made sense. With that spell, not only the poison itself, but all of the effects it had on the body would be reverted to normal. That explained why the duke whisked me up into the carriage. And in such a rush, too.
While we were discussing all of this, the duke’s carriage pulled through the castle gates, across the drawbridge, and into the castle grounds. The duke then rushed me into the castle in a flurry, and we were greeted by a massive hall covered in bright red carpets. It was my first time in a castle. Everything there was massive.
From where we were in the center of the hall, I could see a pair of staircases to the left and right, curved around and leading up to the next floor. On the ceiling there was a brilliant chandelier, sparkling like stars in the night sky. It didn’t appear to have any candles, though. Was it infused with Light magic? The duke and I made a dash up the red-carpeted stairs and got up to a small landing where we crossed paths with a certain man.
“Well well, if it isn’t Your Highness the Duke. It is good to see you again.”
“Tsk...! Count Balsa...” The duke met the man in front of him with an intense gaze. He was a plump, thin-haired little man in a showy outfit. His appearance called to mind the image of a toad. The toad gazed at us with a large, slimy grin.
“You can rest easy. We’ve captured the one who tried to assassinate His Majesty.”
“What did you say?!”
“That’s right, it was the ambassador from Mismede. His Highness collapsed after drinking a glass of wine, and we later discovered that it was the very wine the ambassador had offered as a gift.”
“That’s absurd...” The duke’s expression changed. He clearly doubted what he just heard. If that story were true, then it wouldn’t just open a rift between the two kingdoms, it could easily lead to all-out war.
I really doubt that’s what happened. Doesn’t make sense for the other kingdom to do something like that.
“The ambassador is currently being confined in another room. We should have that filthy animal executed immediately. Chop off her head and send it back to Mismede, I say...”
“We shall do no such thing! These decisions are for my brother to make! You will keep the ambassador alive in that room until my brother comes to a decision!”
“Very well... You really do show far too much sympathy to the likes of a beastman... At any rate, I will see that she is kept restrained for the time being. However, if the worst should come to pass, I will not be able to keep the other nobles in check. They will likely all respond exactly as I wished to.” Count Balsa stood there with a repulsive smile on his face. I see... So he’s one of the old nobles who’re opposed to the king’s decree on the treatment of demi-human species. No, he could even be the very mastermind behind the poisoning...
From the way the duke was glaring at the toad, it seemed my guess was dead on the mark. Yup. This guy? Guilty. Case closed.
“Well then, allow me to be on my way. It seems things are about to get quite exciting around here.” With those words, the toad began to descend the stairs with a lumbering gait. Things were going to get exciting? Why, because the king was going to die? The duke’s hands were trembling with rage as he saw off Count Baldy. Alright, let’s give this toad a little taste of justice.
“[Slip].”
“Urrbuoah?!” The toad slipped magnificently and rocketed down the stairs with unparalleled grace. Nothing could stop him as he went tumbling down, rolling down the stairs until eventually his momentum catapulted him out onto the carpet of the bottom floor.
“Oof!” Upon reaching the bottom floor, the toad tried to put on a mask of composure as he tottered to his feet. The surrounding maids and the knights on guard duty were all trembling trying to suppress their laughter. Damn... He made it out mostly fine...
The blank-faced duke turned to me when he heard me clicking my tongue, and inquired of me.
“Was that your doing?” No words were necessary. I threw him a thumbs up with a smile as clear as the day blue sky. The duke was absolutely astonished with me at first, but eventually his face softened into a smile as well.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Now, we can’t keep dawdling
around here all day. We must make haste!” We resumed our journey up the stairs and proceeded down a long corridor. At the end of the corridor was a door guarded by the king’s strongest personal guards. The guards noticed the duke approaching and respectfully bowed their heads as they opened the large door behind them.
“Brother!” What I saw as I walked into the room with the duke was a gorgeous bed with a large canopy, bathing in the sun’s rays and surrounded by a number of people. All of the people in the room were gazing at the figure on the bed, most likely the king himself, with sorrowful expressions.
Gripping the king’s hand as she sat by his side was a young girl. Next to her was a woman sitting in a chair, crying. The others present were: An old man in gray robes with a grave expression, a jade-haired woman with downcast eyes holding a golden khakkhara, and a splendidly mustachioed man in a military uniform whose shoulders seemed to be shaking with rage.
The duke strode up briskly to the side of the bed and began talking to the old man in gray robes.
“What’s my brother’s condition?!”
“We’ve done all we can, but we’ve never seen these symptoms from any kind of known poison... At this rate, I fear the worst...” The old man closed his eyes and lightly shook his head. Just then, the king began talking in a very hoarse voice.
“Al...”
“I’m here, brother.”
“...I leave my wife and daughter... in your hands... The alliance with Mismede... you must...”
“Touya, please help!” I snapped out of observation mode and rushed to the king’s side. The military man made moves to stop me, but the duke held him back.
The king rested there, gazing at me with clouded-over eyes like a dying fish, and mouthed “Who is that?” in a wordless voice. Between his pale complexion, his dried out lips, and his incredibly faint breathing, he was the very picture of death itself. I had no time to waste. Focusing my magic, I extended the palm of my hand out to him.
“[Recovery].” A gentle light flowed out from my hand and into the king. Eventually the light petered out, and the king began breathing easily again. His complexion grew more and more healthy before our very eyes. After blinking a few times, the light returned to his eyes. Suddenly, he shot bolt upright in bed as if he’d been sleeping on a springboard.
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 1 Page 13
