In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 2

by Patora Fuyuhara

  “Yo.”

  “Gh?!” “Hm?!” My sudden arrival and nonchalant greeting left them stunned.

  At least, I thought it did. I couldn’t see their faces. They wore similar-looking black robes, and from the little I saw, the clothes under the robes were black, as well. The faces under their hooded heads were hidden by white masks. Not completely white, though, since there were strange symbols on the foreheads. For a moment, I thought they were the same on both, but then I noticed that one had a hexagon, while the other had a vertically stretched oval.

  “Er, hey... can you talk? I’d like to know who you are and wh—” Suddenly, the one with the hexagon took out a test tube-like object and threw it on the ground. In a flash, the surroundings were bathed in an intense light.

  “Khh...!” The flash momentarily blinded me, and once I regained my sight, the observers had vanished. They escaped? Ha, not likely! I took out my smartphone and ran a search for ‘masked weirdo.’ And there they were. The two were running through a back alley to the north. There’s still time to catch up, good.

  “[Accel Boost]!” Speeding myself up with magic, I ran across the roofs again. The view went by me with insane speed, and moments later, I could see the two running through the back alley.

  I went ahead of them and stopped in their tracks.

  “Mmph?!” “Gh!” I still couldn’t see their faces through the masks, but I was almost certain they were surprised. However, Hexagon Mask quickly reached for another one of those test tubes. Not this time!

  Without hesitation, I took out Brunhild and fired at the one trying to blind me.

  The sound of a gunshot rang out as hexagon mask fell to the ground. No protective amulets, huh? Too bad. Having lost an ally, oval mask looked at me, then back at the one on the ground, seemingly not knowing what to do next. That’s my opening. Another gunshot rang out through the back alley.

  “Alrighty! What now?” While they were still paralyzed, I tied them up with coils I made using [Modeling] and placed them against the wall of the alley. I could take their masks off and look at their faces, but with [Paralyze] active, they were still conscious. It would be pretty bad if they had some weird, cult-like laws that’d force them to commit suicide or kill me if I were to see their faces.

  “I’ll take away the paralysis, so don’t struggle, okay?” I gazed into their eyes and focused my magic.

  “[Recovery].” A gentle light embraced them both. That should’ve taken care of the paralysis. Now, if only we could have a proper exchange.

  “So, who are you two? Why were you observing me?”

  “......” Hmm... using their right to remain silent, huh?

  A moment later, I noticed that Hexagon Mask was making slight movements. Did I tie the wire too tight? No, probably trying to escape... It’d be quite a pain if they used some weird tool, similar to the flash bomb, to melt away the wire or something. To be on the safe side, I decided to remove their gadgets and whatnot.

  I placed my hand against Hexagon Mask’s chest.

  “Hyah?!” Hexagon Mask released a cutesy voice and I began to feel something soft in my hand. Once I realized what it was, I began to sweat all over.

  “Y-Y-You’re a girl?!” Hexagon Mask nodded slightly. I quickly withdrew my hand, but I could still feel the softness I’d held mere moments ago. Oh geez. My face was probably as red as a tomato. Wait... wasn’t that voice familiar?

  As I backed my hand away, I accidentally hit her and made the white mask with the hexagon fall to the ground with a clatter. The face under it was that of a woman I knew.

  “What the—?! Lapis...?” With a blushing face, my maid, who should’ve been at my home back in the capital of Belfast, gave me another nod.

  ◇　◇　◇

  “We are ‘Espion.’ Intelligence operatives acting directly under the command of His Majesty, the king of Belfast.”

  “The king?”

  “Yes. Our current mission is to protect the princess.” Lapis’ explanation was easy to process. With how he just handed her over to me, I always thought that the king’s attitude with regards to Yumina was a bit too relaxed, and this explained it all. He was looking after her from the shadows.

  Wait, I remember that time I heard something through the ceiling of the Silver Moon Inn... I thought it was a rodent or something at the time, but it could’ve been these guys. This “Espion” group sounds like a mix of traditional ninjas and modern spies.

  “Are you the only ones protecting Yumina?”

  “Nooo, there’s several mooore. All of them are girls, toooo.” My other maid replied with her usual needlessly stretched pronunciation. Cecile, who voluntarily removed her mask, was giving me a smile completely devoid of any fear.

  They’re all girls, huh? Well, since their protective detail required hiding up in the ceiling and similar places, girls were probably the better option as far as Yumina’s privacy was considered.

  “Wait, how long have you been following us? Since we were still in Belfast?”

  “That’s what our mission was, yes,” Lapis responded.

  “Now that I think about it, neither of you were home when I used a [Gate] to return there. I assume Laim is in on it, too, then?”

  “Yes, hee is.” Well, they sure had me fooled. I asked them some more questions, and apparently, they weren’t lying about being part of the Maid’s Guild. Maid skills were necessary for infiltration missions, so just about every female operative of Espion was also a guild member.

  “Ah, wait. So, the one who threw the knife at the black dragon was...”

  “That was Cecile, yes. She’s a knife-throwing expert.”

  “Eheheheeh. Oh, I’m not thaat good.” Cecile’s cheeks turned slightly rosy as she blushed. So, that knife was thrown by this... puffy girl? Never judge a book by its cover, I guess.

  Suddenly, Cecile grew a bit despondent and fearfully looked up at me.

  “Sooo, uhmm... are we getting fiiired?”

  “Hm? Why would you be fired?”

  “Well, sir, we’re your maids, and instead of fulfilling our duties, we’re here on another job entirely...” Oh, that. So she felt bad about working for the king while being hired by me, then.

  “No, I don’t plan on firing either of you. The king only gave the order because he was worried about his daughter, after all. Also, if I fired you, I’d also have to get rid of Laim.” Do you girls think I’m that petty...? I was pretty confident I had the emotional depth to sympathize with a father worrying over his little girl.

  The two heaved a sigh of relief.

  “So, what are you going to do now?”

  “We will keep on secretly protecting Princess Yumina... but before that, we have something to ask of you, sir.” This time, Lapis was the one to look up at me, readying herself to say something difficult. Man, I just can’t get used to being called sir...

  “Would you be kind enough to keep us a secret from the princess...?” Ah, since it’s a secret mission, being found out is obviously a huge problem.

  “If she were to find out about our protection, the princess would get reeeally mad at his Majesty.” Oh, never mind. The real reason is a lot simpler. Well, he acted as though he sent her off by herself because he believed in her, so the truth would make it seem like he didn’t believe in her at all. Gotta be tough to be a dad, huh...? I don’t mind keeping a secret, so it’s fine by me. I let them keep following their orders, walked away from them, and returned to Yumina.

  I told Kohaku all about it through our telepathic link. To Yumina and Linze, however, I just lied by saying that they ran away. Well, it wasn’t a complete lie, since they actually did run away once after blinding me. They gave me some strange looks, but I was able to fool them and we all returned to the palace.

  The following day, the kings of Belfast and Mismede were to have a discussion regarding the details of the alliance between the kingdoms.

  It was a proper summit meeting, but there was a minor bit of arguing over which sid
e would come over to the other. In the end, it was decided that Belfast would come to Mismede, so I placed the mirror meant for teleportation (officially, anyway) in the conference room.

  Besides me, the other people present were Lyon, the other Belfastian knights, His Beastliness, Chancellor Glatz, and a bunch of Mismedian soldiers led by the familiar wolf beastman, Captain Garm.

  I opened a [Gate] just in front of the mirror, allowing His Majesty and his younger brother, Duke Ortlinde, to pass through.

  The fact that a person actually walked out of the mirror surprised many of those present, but that didn’t last long, for it was time to give the king a proper welcome.

  “Welcome to Mismede, King of Belfast.”

  “Thank you for the invitation, King of Mismede.” They exchanged a handshake. It was time for matters of state. Being an outsider, I decided to take my leave.

  I headed out of the conference room and into the corridor. All I could do was hope that the two kings would get along.

  Suddenly, from one end of the corridor, I saw the stuffed bear, Paula, toddle along with her master, Leen. She was still clad in the same gothic lolita outfit as the last time we met.

  “Seems like the Belfastian king came over to say hi."

  “Yeah, just now. They’re having a conference in there.” I answered her while pointing at a nearby door, the only door with two guards standing by it.

  “Well, do you feel like becoming my disciple yet?”

  “How many times do I have to say no before you get it?” Refusing to give up after my first rejection, Leen had been asking me to be her disciple just about every time we met since then.

  Last time she said I could be a “provisional disciple.” Sounds too much like “provisional club enrollment” to me. Wait, isn’t that a lower position than regular old disciple?! Paula stood by her side, beckoning me forward with a small gesture.

  “Man, for a stuffed toy, Paula sure is lively... It’s almost like she’s alive.”

  “That just shows how many times I’ve used [Program] on her, doesn’t it? I’ve been setting her with actions and reactions to various situations for almost two hundred years now. She might as well be autonomous at this point. You humans cry when in pain and get mad when made fun of, right? Same principle.” Two hundred years...? So Paula’s behavior feels natural due to countless uses of [Program] over a long period, huh?

  Suddenly, I considered the possibility of creating a human-like doll via [Modeling] and then using [Program] to make a pseudo-android, but then I remembered that it took Leen two hundred years just for Paula. I wonder if we could copy and paste her programming...

  In response to my intense stare, Paula seemed to get a little uncomfortable. She backed off slightly. Oho, so even that kind of response is programmed too?

  “You said she’s over two hundred, but Paula sure doesn’t look it. Do you rebuild her regularly or something?”

  “That’s not the case, no. She’s under the effects of my Null spell, [Protection]. As the name goes, it’s a spell that, well, protects from certain things. Paula is protected against getting dirty, deteriorating, and getting gnawed on by bugs, among other things.”

  Protection magic, huh? I won’t lie, it’s pretty impressive that Paula still looks so good. Using it on clothing would remove the need for laundry, right? Hell, casting it on the body could remove the need to take baths... Though, that doesn’t seem quite right. Even if it protects from outside filth, it probably can’t do anything to the buildup of grime due to metabolic processes.

  “Wait, how many Null spells can you use, Leen? There’s [Protection], [Program], and the [Transfer] one that Charlotte told me about.”

  “Fairies have a high aptitude for Null magic. In fact, fairies that don’t have a single Null spell to their name are few and far between. I only happen to have four at present, however.”

  Four of the elusive Null spells, huh? That’s pretty amazing. But I guess I’m not really in a position to say that, given my own affinities. I can see why fairies are considered a species built for magic, though. Now I’m curious about what Leen’s fourth Null spell is.

  “Sir Touya? His Majesty, the king of Belfast wishes to see you. Please come inside.”

  Chancellor Glatz opened the door to the conference room and peeked out. Having no reason to refuse, I went in, which made both kings turn to stare at me.

  “Hey, Touya my boy. The talks went very smoothly. Thank you for all your help.”

  “Well, that’s good to hear.” The Belfastian king’s words made me heave a sigh of relief. My job was as good as done.

  “Very well. We shall now return to Belfast. We leave the rest to you. Thank you for your time, King Mismede.”

  Once they were done with their goodbyes, I secretly opened a [Gate] in front of the mirror and let the king and his brother leave. When they were gone, I began acting out our plan. With everyone watching, I took out a hammer and shattered the mirror into little pieces.

  “S-Sir Touya?! What are you...?!”

  “Ah, there’s no need to be upset. Just give me a moment.” Ignoring the flustered Glatz for a moment, I looked away from him and focused my magic on the fragments of the mirror.

  “[Modeling]” The broken mirror and wooden frame lost their original shape and turned into a number of small, oblong mirrors. Basically, I created some small framed mirrors approximately two centimeters high and fifteen centimeters wide. I picked one up and quietly enchanted it with [Gate].

  “These mirrors are connected to Belfast. Now, when you have something important to tell someone there, you need only put a letter into the mirror. Though both sides will still have to use official documents to confirm their authenticity.”

  “I-I see... So messages that normally take a twenty day round trip will now reach them in an instant? That is most convenient! I will make sure to use it to further our friendly relations.” I handed the little mirror over to the beastking, and he gave a small smile. With that, my job was done.

  Finally, time to head home... Even though I have such a nice place, I haven’t had a chance to live there properly yet. I feel about ready to take a long rest.

  ◇　◇　◇

  For the time being, Lyon and his knights decided they’d remain in Mismede. From what I heard, not having any Belfastians there could cause any post-meeting formalities to stagnate.

  There were those who insisted on protecting Princess Yumina on her way back to Belfast, but she did a good job refusing. Basically, she just told them to do their jobs.

  In all truth, however, them coming along would’ve been a problem. We were planning on getting home instantly using a [Gate] after all.

  Before we left, I gave Lyon a set of “Gate Mirrors” for sending letters. I thought the name I gave them was cool. They allowed people to keep in touch despite all the distance. If he gave one to Olga, he could talk to her even after returning to Belfast. Man, did he get fired up when I handed them over. To be honest, it was a little unsettling.

  I said my goodbyes to His Beastliness, Chancellor Glatz, Olga, and Captain Garm. Leen and Paula were nowhere to be seen, though, so I left without telling them anything. A shame, really, but there was nothing to be done about it.

  We left the palace and decided to go around town to pick up some souvenirs for Sue and the servants. While we did that, we also ran a final check of our things. All that was left was to open a [Gate] and return to Belfast, but...

  “Sorry, I forgot a souvenir I wanted to get.” I slipped a white lie to the girls, blended into the crowd, fired up my map app, and searched for the people I needed. Okay, up on this roof then? I activated [Boost], jumped up, and got myself right to where they were.

  “Eek?!”

  “Uwahh?! Ohhh, it’s just you, sir. Don’t surprise us like thaaat.”

  It was Lapis and Cecile, still wearing the masks from the other day. They were my maids, but their primary employer was still Yumina’s father — His Majesty, the king of Belfast.
>
  Apparently, His Majesty made Laim hire them, so I entertained the thought of docking or outright canceling their pay, but since they seemed to be skilled maids, I decided to let it slide.

  You’re definitely not getting paid for the next ten days, though! If you’ve got a problem with that, bill the king!

  “We’re about to use a [Gate] to return to Belfast. I figured I should send you two first.” With all the spying they’d been doing, they surely knew about my [Gate] spell already, so I figured I’d make the offer.

  “Whaaat? To Belfaaaast?”

  “Well, if we take the normal route home, we’ll get back ten days after everyone else... The princess would likely grow suspicious.”

  “That’s exactly why I’m here.” Smiling wryly, I opened up a small [Gate] for them. I walked through, they followed suit, and we all ended up back in our mansion. The living room, to be precise.

  “Welcome back.”

  My butler, Laim, was a bit surprised by our sudden appearance, but he quickly regained his composure and welcomed us home.

  “We’re back, Laim.”

  “We’re baaack!”

  “Please forgive us, the master of the house found out our true mission.”

  “So I see.” Lapis began to explain what could be easily deduced from this situation. In response, Laim could only offer a resigned smile.

  I had the two girls change into their maid uniforms and act as though they’d been here the entire time. Once they left to their rooms, Laim bowed his head to me.

  “Sir, please forgive me. His Royal Highness himself made me give the order to them...”

  “Well, I can understand a father worrying for his daughter, and it’s not like anything bad happened because of this, so I don’t mind it too much. Not to mention that it was probably really hard for you to refuse.” I had no intention of punishing him for such a minor slight. I wasn’t that strict.

  Sure, if this had connected to a life and death situation or made me lose something big, I would’ve reacted differently, but there was nothing for me to care too deeply about in this instance. Hell, if you looked at it from one angle, you could even say I had a new pair of guards watching my back... That might be a little bit of a stretch, though.