In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 17

by Patora Fuyuhara

  “I guess they’re both pretty inexperienced...”

  One party was a fairly spineless man who had been engaged to an abusive old hag, while the other was a recluse who only really cared about her tinkering. I had a hard time viewing these people as future leaders.

  “You should give them a little push, you know?”

  “Eh... I don’t wanna interfere.”

  “But if they get married without knowing each other better, they’ll have a shallow marriage, you know?”

  “I mean that’s true and all, but... Wait a minute, whoa!”

  I blinked in surprise at the sudden appearance of Karen. When the hell did you get here?!

  “I told you not to shield your presence before approaching me. You’re gonna give me a goddamn heart attack!”

  “My radar went off, that’s all. Although it was a faulty reading, since the couple isn’t really related to you this time, you know?”

  Karen, the god of love, frowned a bit. I wish that sensor of yours would break.

  “Still, I think a little push would be good for them, you know? Look, the awkward silences between them are getting longer. It’s gonna get bad real soon, you know?”

  Well, you raise a good point... But I can’t help but feel like a meddler here. I didn’t really want to do this.

  I opened [Storage] and pulled out an Ether Vehicle, then started up its engine. Karen promptly hopped into the passenger seat, even though I didn’t recall inviting her.

  The magical engine within let out a whirring sound as I drove toward the couple.

  “Ah?”

  “Grand Duke, what is that?”

  The duo didn’t seem especially interested in me or Karen. Instead, they were more focused on the vehicle I’d driven over in.

  The ones I’d given to them were based on Fiat 3.5 HPs, but the one I was driving was based on the Renault Type K.

  In 1902, the France-based company, Renault, won a race from Paris to Vienna with their Type K. The real thing could reach speeds of 125km/hour, but this one couldn’t go that fast. It was just a replica in terms of appearance, really.

  To be honest though, depending on how it could be tweaked, this engine could probably go faster. I just capped out the speed at some point, since the car’s core frame wouldn’t be able to handle a massive impact.

  I stopped the vehicle and stepped out before the duo. Technically, there were four of them if you counted the guards, but I couldn’t even see their faces.

  “This is a different model of Ether Vehicle, isn’t it?!”

  “Sorry, but could we take a look at the inner workings?”

  I nodded to Berlietta and opened the hood of the vehicle. The two of them stared in awe, almost crashing into each other as they rushed to see the insides.

  “Ooh... Three ether lines, I see... But I’ve never seen this kind of magic engine before...”

  “Isn’t this the kind of engine used in the Gardio Empire? By Gritten Corp, as I recall.”

  “It’s not. That one is slightly larger, and the mechanisms in this one are more intricate.”

  “Interesting...”

  The two escort knights simply shrugged and sat down nearby. The prince and princess were engrossed in an incomprehensible conversation.

  Magic engines were, as the name would suggest, engines that operated through magic. But it was very hard for a single human to provide the amount of magic power necessary to start it. That was why Gollems and their G-Cubes were necessary in the Reverse World.

  The Ether Vehicle worked in a similar way, only it had Ether Liquid for mana amplification instead of a G-Cube, which allowed it to flow into the engine and start it up.

  Depending on which engine was used, various things would change. For example, one might be more durable, less noisy, have better horsepower, or require less liquid. That was what they were finding the most interesting.

  “This is a new kind of magical engine made in my world. New vehicles are being created over there as we speak.”

  The Type K was made by Rosetta when she was bored. I felt like if Babylon or Elluka had made one, it would’ve been something absurd.

  There were a few factions like the dwarves, or the engineers from Felsen, that continued working on new models of Ether Vehicles around the clock. Doctor Babylon found them interesting, since quite a few unique designs were sprouting up.

  “I was thinking of hosting a race between all the Ether Vehicles that have been developed by different nations. It’d work as a testing track, basically. We’ll be running it as an experimental run on a track that we’re planning out right now.”

  Frankly, I needed to put some rules together, along with some health and safety standards. Didn’t want anyone getting hurt.

  The race would be about experimenting with how well the Ether Vehicles ran on a variety of terrains or under a variety of circumstances. I was sure it would be interesting. We could use magic to make the track safer, but also use that same magic to make the race more compelling from a viewer’s perspective.

  For example, we were thinking of floor panels that could slow down the racers for a while or tunnels that accelerated the driver’s speed. We’d also been experimenting with enchanting the seats with [Teleport], which would move the riders to a safe location if there was a sudden impact. It was basically like what we used in the Frame Gears. We decided to use them in the vehicles because they were much safer than airbags.

  “Would you two perhaps like to participate in the race? I think that—”

  “Yes! I’d love that!”

  “I can’t pass up on a chance like this!”

  The two of them nodded so hard I thought their heads were gonna fly off. They were a little too excitable for me...

  They wanted to know more about the Type K, so I handed them the blueprints that Rosetta had drawn up. Doc Babylon and I were lucky, since we could just use [Analyze].

  Though, Doc Babylon would get more out of it than me, since she had the actual technical understanding.

  “Interesting... I didn’t know it could be done like this.”

  “Hmm... But what about short bursts of magic through the piping?”

  “That’s handled by this part, see?”

  “Ooh... Perhaps if we cut out this segment and fed it through...” The two of them were in their own world now, so I turned and left the garden with my sister.

  “Well, at least they’ve found common ground to talk about.”

  “This is just the start, you know? The next step is getting them interested in each other on a personal level. It won’t be any good if their marriage is built on an interest in your Ether Vehicles, you know?”

  She had a point. The hobby alone wouldn’t be enough to keep them working as a good couple. But in the end, that was up to the two of them, and there were also other matters like circumstances lining up properly, and so on... I wasn’t really qualified as a love expert, but I sure was talking like one.

  We entered the house again and found the emperor and queen chatting casually.

  “Oh, Touya. How are they getting along?”

  “Pretty well, I think. They’re talking at least.”

  “Mm, I see. That’s good to hear.”

  The two of them sighed breaths of relief. It seemed to me like they were worried about their kids.

  I introduced Karen to the two of them as Shirogane poured us all tea. Then, I decided to go over the upcoming multidimensional summit.

  According to the queen of Strain, the Allent Theocracy had agreed to join, while the Lassei Military Kingdom was still on the fence. Apparently they found the whole story of another world hard to believe because they hadn’t suffered any attacks from the mutants, nor had they any refugees who had accidentally phased in.

  Still, I didn’t exactly want to wait until they’d been attacked for them to listen... I decided that convincing them some other way would be best.

  “I think it’ll be fine. If you show them your strength they’ll lis
ten.”

  “What do you mean, exactly?”

  “They’re a military kingdom, yeah? Their culture is all about individual strength trumping all. If you charge at them head-on and show them what you’re made of, they’ll definitely respect that.”

  A country full of musclebrained meatheads, huh...? I bet if I threw uncle Takeru in there, he’d rise to the top in no time...

  “Touya... I can tell what you’re thinking, you know? That would definitely be a bad idea.”

  “Tsk... I guess.”

  As usual, Karen could read me like a book. She was right, though. That course of action would lead to a major incident.

  The Panaches Kingdom responded positively, apparently mostly thanks to their prince. I kept hearing about how he was telling everyone what a good friend I was to him, but I didn’t recall befriending the guy... We just know each other! As casual acquaintances!

  Either way, it was decided that Triharan, Primula, Allent, Panaches, and hopefully Lassei would be joining us.

  As we continued to plan, I got a telepathic message from Kougyoku.

  《My lord, we have a problem.》

  《What’s wrong?》

  《The two of them are arguing.》

  “Huh?!”

  “Is something wrong?”

  The queen noticed my alarm and turned to me in confusion.

  “Ah, I’m sorry. I’m receiving a phone call... Excuse me a moment.”

  I took my smartphone out and pretended to start a conversation with the static on the other side of the line as I walked out of the room. After I left their line of sight, I used [Teleport] to warp straight to Kougyoku.

  “I told you already! We need to bolster the magic engine first! Then we design the main body of the car once we’ve established the limits!”

  “No way! You need to balance the car’s body first! If we ignore that procedure, then it’ll be totally unsafe!”

  “It’s not like I’m ignoring the safety procedures, I’m just saying that it’s better to specialize the vehicle than make it all well-balanced!”

  “That’s just gonna cause more trouble for the driver! Do you want poor handling? Because that’s how you get poor handling. It’s not like human drivers can respond like machines, duh!”

  The two of them were engaged in a shouting match. The two knights just sort of looked at each other uncomfortably, sitting at a short distance away.

  Apparently they’d had a falling out when they disagreed over which way to improve the Ether Vehicle.

  “Calm down, you two...”

  I tried to settle them both, but they simply stared at me with unified, furious eyes. It was terrifying.

  “Grand Duke, you agree with me, don’t you?! We need to increase the output of the engine first, so that the future models can incrementally have more horsepower! That would make Ether Vehicles even more powerful over time!”

  “He obviously agrees with me, that if such a thing happened, the high-specs would be completely wasted on the average driver! The best solution is to create a well-balanced vehicle that just about anyone can drive which will pave the way forward to more well-rounded models!”

  “Sorry, I don’t really know much about this subject...”

  I wasn’t even the creator of this car!

  “Fine then, Lupheus! I’ll prove to you that my theory is right during the test race! My vehicle won’t lose to yours!”

  “Very well, Berlietta! I’ll prove to you that speed doesn’t matter, it’s how you balance it!”

  Uhh... Guys, I haven’t even built the racetrack yet. There are gonna be more participants than just you guys, too...

  Clearly, I was misguided when I thought inviting them to race would be a good idea.

  “Okay, you know? I hope you two fight with all your heart, you know?! Make it a fair race!”

  “Wait, hey! Sis, stop! What are you doing?! Why are you encouraging this?”

  In a flash, Karen had appeared out of nowhere with her thumbs up. I didn’t want her making this bad situation any worse!

  “Goodness me... Love is born from conflict, you know? This is a good chance for them to get to know each other on a personal level.”

  “You sure? Seems to me it’s more like you just thought it’d be funny to watch them duke it out...”

  Even though Karen had whispered an excuse into my ear, I glared at her with suspicion. Still, she had a point... They were learning more about each other already... Sort of.

  I wonder if this is really gonna turn out okay... I looked at the two of them, glaring fearlessly at one another. I had no idea how to feel about all of this.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  “The track’s being planned to go one loop around Drakliff island. Are we good to add hazards and obstacles?”

  “This race is about testing the Ether Vehicles out, so yeah. We want different kinds of road conditions, and other environmental hazards.”

  ...The test was supposed to be the main part, but it seems like the race is gradually becoming the focal point.

  Doctor Babylon was the one designing the racetrack, since she was the one gathering the data. I was a little worried about having her in charge of it, but I was sure that it’d be able to suit our needs.

  We were in Babylon’s research laboratory, where she had the design projected up on a monitor. It looked normal at a glance, but I had my doubts...

  “Why does the road split here?”

  “That’s a shortcut. If the driver manages to navigate it well, then they’ll get a major boost. If they don’t? Well, I wouldn’t want to be them.”

  “And this part here? Why the gap in the road?”

  “That’s an area where they’ll need to jump. If their car can’t go the full distance, then they’re done for.”

  “...Why’s this part in the ocean?”

  “Oh, we’ll be putting a pier here. It’s part of the track where you can’t afford to go off-road. Eheheh.”

  I quietly reminded Doc Babylon not to go too far, while wondering if things were really going to be okay.

  I wondered how they’d be able to construct the course over on Drakliff island, but apparently, they were just going to transport mini fabricators from the workshop. The same kinds of things they used to make Frame Gear ammunition on the fly.

  The mini fabricators weren’t quite as complex as the original Workshop, so I had faith it wouldn’t be misused.

  “Regina! I’ve finished it!”

  Elluka walked into the research laboratory with Fenrir plodding along after her.

  Hearing that she was also helping design the track just gave me more anxiety.

  “Look, guys... safety is paramount here, okay? I don’t want anyone crashing badly and getting hurt.”

  “It’s fine, you silly boy. Even if their Ether Vehicle explodes into smithereens, I’ll ensure that no harm comes to the driver. Have a little faith in your lover, hm?”

  I’m not your damn lover, pipsqueak. I sighed, left the research laboratory, and left the grinning little doctor to her own devices.

  I went to the hangar to speak with Monica, and found her doing maintenance on an Ether Vehicle along with Rosetta and the minibots.

  “Oh, it’s like... totally you and stuff, Master. Could I trouble you to pass me that wrench?”

  I passed over the wrench to Monica, who promptly used it to tighten a bolt or two on a wheel fitting. She let out a deep breath before Rosetta tried turning the wheel itself.

  I looked further into the garage area and saw several chassis and basic vehicular frames with exposed magic engines. They were all Ether Vehicles with different designs and specialties.

  “All good here?”

  “Uhm, yeah. This isn’t really all that much compared to Frame Gears. We can like, totally get all this done even if we used a little bit of our free time and stuff. What about the doctor?”

  “She’s designing a weird-ass racetrack.”

  “Sir! We’ll make an Ether Vehicle so well
-refined that it’ll conquer any kind of track they throw our way, sir! Yessir we will, just you wait!”

  Rosetta puffed hot air through her nose as she stood tall, triumphantly gripping a spanner in her hands.

  The two of them were also planning on participating in the race. They were gonna be drivers, while Doctor Babylon and Elluka were sticking to course design. It seemed like they had a feeling of rivalry going on, probably because they were all in the engineering field.

  I didn’t write about it in the rules, but the two of them decided that they weren’t going to incorporate any Babylon tech into their Ether Vehicle.

  That was what I wanted, though. It would’ve been pointless to have some souped-up mega-car enter the race. It needed to be something that any engineer from either world could reasonably create... Putting aside the Ether Liquid, at least.

  “The dwarves are like, totally making their own stuff too, right? We cannot afford to lose to them!”

  Monica was referring to the group of dwarves that had built the Dverg. They planned on participating as well.

  I was looking forward to seeing what kind of unique vehicle they’d bring to the table, but I also knew that they’d be pitting it against a terrifying racetrack... I could only pray that nothing explosive would happen.

  Our head maid, Lapis, was also intent on participating. She was extremely good at handling Ether Vehicles, so we’d be able to collect really interesting data on her handling in the race.

  Nia, leader of the Red Cats, also forced her way into the whole thing somehow... She was the owner of the red crown, though... I hoped she’d be able to keep her road rage contained. If she didn’t, I was sure that Est would give her a stern talking to.

  The Ether Vehicles for Nia and Lapis were being designed by the hangar-dwelling duo. The cars didn’t look all that flashy, so I wasn’t too scared.

  Triharan and Strain were participating, obviously... But Felsen also wanted to participate.

  Felsen had always held a claim as one of the most advanced nations in the world when it came to magical engineering, and they immediately signed up to assert their dominance in the race.

  I figured having a good variety of participants would be fun, and it’d help us collect more data on different models... But I almost canceled the whole thing entirely when the nominated driver for Felsen ended up being the king himself.