In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 17

by Patora Fuyuhara

  Nia’s vehicle sped ahead, thankfully finding no real cats mixed in with the illusion. Lapis’ Swan accelerated after her. Once Monica returned to the Silver Star, it sped onward as well.

  The illusion trap was designed to stall anyone at the front of the race... What a heinous obstacle indeed.

  Vrrrrrr... Vrrrrrr...

  Prince Lupheus and Princess Berlietta finished their Ether Vehicle. It was a six-wheeler. The two-wheeled Strain had been merged with the Triharan.

  ...I get that you had to use elements of both vehicles to keep you both in the race, but this kind of looks dangerous...

  Also, what do I call this thing? The Triharan? The Strain? The Trihrain? Whatever... The Trihrain’s engine kept whirring, but it wasn’t turning on properly. The magical power inside was refusing to complete its circuit.

  “C’mon... Move!”

  “...Please!”

  Lupheus sat in the driver’s seat, desperate to channel magic power through the vehicle. Berlietta sat in the passenger’s seat, praying for dear life.

  Oh...? Is it...

  “It’s working!”

  “Wahoo!”

  The magical engine suddenly roared to life, particles of light began gently flowing from the muffler.

  “Let’s floor it!”

  “Yeah!”

  The six-wheeled hybrid vehicle, the Trihrain, began whooshing down the track at incredible speeds. It went so fast that it only took seconds for it to become a speck in my field of vision.

  “Wow, that’s fast... They’ve gone past the horizon already, you know?”

  “...Karen, did you just use some of your divinity...?”

  “Hm? I don’t know what you mean, you know?”

  ...Don’t play dumb with me. I know how badly that engine was failing. I sensed the divinity, too... Not that I know what you did.

  “The prayer of a young maiden can do wonders, you know? I guess that’s just the power of love.”

  Karen flashed a wink my way.

  ◇ ◇ ◇

  The Trihrain blasted onward, clearly making up for lost time.

  It blasted straight through the birdlime area in a flash. As the camera panned over it, I noticed the King of Felsen still wiggling around... I wondered why the hell he hadn’t just quit already.

  As for the kitten obstacle, it had already been revealed as a trick so they blasted straight through it.

  “Meow my goodness, the Triharan and Strain hybrid vehicle is plowing through the track like a kitty in a fish market! Meanwhile, the three up ahead have entered the final stretch!” The last part of the race was a straight road with a bunch of panels on the ground. Each panel had a question mark on them.

  There were quite a lot of them, so driving while avoiding them would end up eating into your time.

  I had used [Fly] to look down over the race, so I could see how cleverly it was all arranged.

  Everyone was likely picturing how I’d bitten the dust against the explosive trap earlier. Even if it wasn’t all that damaging, it looked a lot more serious than that... It was only natural the other racers would be afraid.

  “Oho! Looks like there are some lucky panels mixed in with the traps! If you drive over one, you may find an unexpected boon! Meow my, this seems too good to be true!”

  There’s no way anyone would be stupid enough to drive over a panel just because of that. That sounds suspicious as hell... Oh. Nia just did it. Of course.

  “Oh! The Red Cat has come to a standstill, shaming kittykind all over the world! Her penalty is sixty seconds of paralysis!”

  “NOOO!” Nia yelled out in frustration, practically tugging at her hair. Too bad for her... She probably figured it’d be easier to drive straight and hope for the best.

  Lapis in her Swan continued to weave past the panels, with Rosetta and Monica’s Silver Star in hot pursuit.

  The Swan was the first one to escape the panel zone, but the Silver Star refused to let up. They were practically neck and neck.

  They bumped into each other’s sides gently as they shot through the zone’s gate.

  “Meow my! We’ve got the final stretch now! It’s the last run to the finish line back where the race began! My whiskers are bristling in anticipation!” The two of them charged toward the finish, neither one of them relenting to the other. Since the finish line was right across from the seating area, I came back down to the ground and watched with everyone else.

  The two vehicles passed around the last corner and entered our field of vision. Guess they’re even... Wait, no! The Swan’s a little faster?! I guess having two people in the car is slowing the Silver Star down.

  Ohhh, and they’re going for it! They’re almost there! We’re about to find out who the winner is!

  Suddenly, just before the Swan and Silver Star reached the finish line... The road slanted down, forcing the two vehicles to drive underground and miss it entirely.

  “...Excuse meow?” Everyone stared in confusion at the sudden slanted road.

  What just happened? They vanished like a magic trick... The ground returned to normal after swallowing up the two drivers, prompting a sudden outburst of laughter from Doctor Babylon.

  “A real driver knows not to bank on your victory until you’ve won. Carelessness is the true enemy, in the end. One must always be wary of the darkness that— Ow! Owowowow! Touya, ow! Stop! It was just a prank, bro! Don’t bully me, I’m a little girl! You’ll develop a kink for it if you keep this up! Aaah!”

  “Shut it.”

  I gave Doctor Babylon the dreaded double-fisted noogie. That trap was in such bad taste that I couldn’t stand to think about what could’ve made her place it there... It had nothing to do with testing the vehicles at all!

  “Where did they go?!”

  “So long as they keep going through the underground portion, they’ll make it out the other side. Owie... Stop, stop! If you don’t let go I’m gonna start leaking... Nnh!” I had no interest in finding out what was going to start leaking, so I relented.

  Mr. Mittens stopped eavesdropping on us and started commentating again.

  “Um, well... Th-They’re safe! We know that much! Safe as a cat in a burlap sack! Ah, we were all distracted by the fuss, but the Triharan and Strain combo has made it to the panel zone!”

  I looked up at the monitor and saw the Trihrain weaving past all the trap panels while maintaining top speed.

  “Alright, that’s sixty seconds!”

  Nia was finally free from her penalty. Okay, good. Now she can... Wh— She’s driving toward another panel?! Is she stupid?!

  “Oooh! Bless my whiskers, the Red Cat has activated the clear panel! All the other panels have been wiped from the race!”

  “...Huh. She actually got the clear panel... There was only one of those, too. Lucky girl.”

  Doctor Babylon grumbled quietly to herself. I honestly didn’t believe she’d put in any panels with positive effects, so I was surprised.

  The Red Cat and the Trihrain sped on through the clear area.

  They went past the gate for the obstacle track and headed straight for the finish line.

  “Oh?! The Silver Star and the Swan made it back from the underground! They’re making a U-turn as fast as they can, just as the Triharan/Strain hybrid and the Red Cat make the final turn! They’re all rushing for the finish line!”

  Wow! We’ve got the Red Cat and the Trihrain from one side, but the Swan and Silver Star are coming in from the other! The finish line is right in the middle of them, this is neck and neck! Who’s gonna make it?!

  Only one of the vehicles could reach first place, and the winner was...

  “GOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!”

  Elluka waved a checkered flag as the four vehicles sped past the finish line and just narrowly avoided each other.

  “Wh-Who...? Who won?”

  “It happened so fast...”

  “What’s the call?!”

  The audience murmured amongst themselves, but I’d alrea
dy seen it thanks to my enhanced senses. Karen probably saw it too.

  “We’re putting a replay up on the monitor now!”

  Elluka played the replay, then left it on a freezeframe. By a teeny, tiny margin... there was a clear winner. The result was not one I had expected.

  “And the winner is... The Red Cat! Nia Belmot!! Bringing pride to kitties worldwide!”

  “Yahoo!”

  Nia pumped both of her arms in the air in celebration. ...Nia, you’re still driving. Hands on the wheel!

  The few members of the Red Cats in the audience cheered for their boss.

  The audience began applauding, but the queen of Strain shuffled over and whispered in my ear.

  “Grand Duke... This may be a tad late for me to mention it, but that Red Cat... I wondered...”

  Oh shit.

  I’m a dumbass. The Red Cats are wanted in both Allent and Strain... Why did I bring Nia here?! I-I’ll just have to play dumb.

  “...H-Huh? Whatever do you meaaan?”

  “...I see. Forgive my misunderstanding, I thought that they could’ve been members of a wanted gang of self-proclaimed chivalrous thieves that punish the unjust. My mistake.”

  ...There’s knowledge hiding behind that smile, lady... I can tell you’re on to me. Damn it, I should’ve at least had her change her car’s name.

  Lapis came in second place, while Rosetta and Monica came in third. Fourth place was taken by Berlietta and Lupheus.

  I walked over toward the two of them and gave them a wave.

  “Sorry you guys lost.”

  “I’m certainly not. It is a small shame we didn’t win, but I’m simply happy that we were able to see it through to the end. It was considerably fun.”

  “I concur!”

  The two of them smiled brightly, and it was then that I knew I’d made the right decision by inviting them. A smaller part of me felt like I’d just made things too complex and should’ve left them to it.

  “Princess Berlietta.”

  “Yes?”

  Prince Lupheus turned toward the princess and took her by the hand. Then, he knelt down on one knee.

  “You are a beautiful and ingenious woman. This experience with you has given me confidence that we can stand by each other with pride. If it’s okay with you, I would ask that you join me in Triharan, for I wish for you to be with me.”

  “...Y-Yes, of course...”

  Princess Berlietta squeezed the prince’s hand. There was a light blush on her face. I was certainly surprised by how forward he’d been.

  “My, my... Looks like it’s all coming together.”

  “Indeed it is. That’s a weight off my shoulders, I must say.”

  The queen of Strain and the king of Triharan nodded and smiled at each other. Apparently that was settled. Adversity strengthens the foundations of love, I suppose. Still, they did like each other from the start, they were just awkward.

  The race had finally concluded, so we cleared up and prepared for the afterparty. We had a special venue set up on the beach with delicacies from different nations. We’d even brought in royal chefs from both worlds, especially for the event.

  I just came up with it on the fly. I figured the nations could bond better over the food of their people. It’d also be a good chance for them to meet and greet a little.

  Lupheus and Berlietta formally announced their engagement and were met with congratulations all around. I was glad they’d done it here, since all the nations attending would definitely remember them.

  “All’s well that ends well, hm?”

  “Looks like it. Even if they end up bickering over small differences, I’m pretty confident they’ll both make it okay.”

  Yumina and I smiled over at the happy couple. I had a feeling those two were going to be just fine.

  “A little embarrassing that the event organizer was the first one out of the race, isn’t it?”

  “Ghh... That wasn’t my fault!”

  I grumbled a little in response to Elze’s teasing before the king of Felsen walked over to see me.

  “Good job out there today, lad. Shame we both missed our chance at a win, eh?”

  The king of Felsen sat down on a seat next to me. Apparently, he’d been so completely covered in birdlime by the end of the race that he needed to take a soothing bath afterward. He certainly seemed calmer than he was out on the track.

  “The race was most interesting. It showed me a lot of potential adjustments for the Ether Vehicles... I’m certainly eager to see how they continue changing from here on.”

  “I’m glad you had a good time.”

  “Aye, that I did... And the people from the other world... They ain’t so different from us, are they?”

  The king of Felsen looked over at the newly-engaged couple. Wait... he’s engaged, isn’t he?

  Oh yeah, that’s right. He’s actually gonna be related to me through marriage, since he’s engaged to Lu’s older sister... Ellicia, I think her name was. I guess I just erased that thought from my memory.

  “Oh right, I’ve gotten word from my country’s ministers a small while ago. It’s about Horn.”

  “What about them?”

  Wasn’t that the country on the verge of civil war? The king’s grandson and the king’s brother had opposing factions or something? I guess it makes sense Felsen would be in the know, since they share borders.

  “Both factions have tried approaching us for assistance, but we’ve committed to neutrality. Ideally, we’d want both sides to come to a peaceful agreement. It seems like they’ve finally taken our advice. They’re going to hold a conference with Felsen representatives as mediators. It’ll happen in three days.”

  I see. It makes sense to have a foreign mediator in attendance... Hopefully they can avoid a civil war breaking out.

  “I’d like you to join in on the meeting, Grand Duke. Something doesn’t sit well with me about this entire situation if I’m honest. The last king of Horn was a just and wise man, it makes little sense that he’d leave behind such anarchy... I think there has to be more to it.”

  The story allegedly went that the now-dead king of Horn had entrusted the nation to his younger brother. The reasoning was that he believed his son was unfit for rule. But that was only one side of the story. The prime minister argued that the now-dead king had mentioned wanting to make amends with his son, and never suggested revoking his succession rights.

  These two claims contradicted each other. Either the now-dead king lied to one of the parties, or one of the parties was lying. Then again, we couldn’t exactly rule out that the now-dead king was actually just stupid and did tell them both contradictory things.

  There was also that unsettling rumor Tsubaki had reported to me... Yulong’s black ops might have been involved in all of this. If they were working with the brother or the prime minister, things could get messy.

  There were even rumors that the organization had a Null-spell wielding assassin amidst their ranks.

  “Alright, I gotcha. I’ll participate in the meeting, no worries. I want Horn to join the league of nations and come for the multidimensional summit anyway.”

  “Wonderful, that’s a relief. Knowing you’re there, Grand Duke? I won’t have to worry as much.” The king of Felsen smiled and walked off.

  Hmph... Maybe I should see if Her Holiness the Pope can help me sniff through those lies. She has the mystic eye for it, after all.

  With the pope on my side, it’d be easy to determine whether the younger brother or the prime minister was lying. The polygraph test that Doctor Babylon had created would probably work too... But it’d be better to go with the subtle approach.

  I stood up and walked over toward the pope, who was seated at another table.

  Chapter IV: The Puzzling Horn Concerto

  The Kingdom of Horn.

  It was an agricultural country toward the east of the continent. It had temperate weather and fertile farmland, causing it to develop a unique farming culture. They
rarely interacted with other nations.

  Their fertile land was one of the main reasons for Yulong targeting them for invasion.

  Around a hundred years ago, Horn had additional territory to the north. Unfortunately, it was all seized by Yulong’s greedy hands.

  Horn reacted quickly to the attack, closing off all diplomatic relations with the Yulongese, and establishing a defensive pact with Felsen. For the following hundred years, they continued to tend to their land in isolation.

  It was nice to say that Horn was unique and pleasant, but isolation also meant cultural stagnation. They didn’t even incorporate any of Felsen’s culture into their own.

  The previous king of Horn, Tonam Da Horn, understood the potential dangers of this mindset. As did his son, Kamra Da Horn.

  Horn would remain the same unless something changed. Prince Kamra raised these concerns with his father. He asked that they become a more multicultural society, that they incorporate more from the outside world.

  Even though the king understood his son’s plight, he did not approve of such radical reformation. A wedge was driven between the two men, one that would lead them to frequently argue. They were both stubborn men with steadfast personalities, and thus neither side yielded.

  But then, tragedy suddenly struck the royal bloodline.

  The prince died in a tragic accident. One rainy day, he was stolen away at the mere age of twenty-one... tumbling off a cliff with his horse-drawn carriage.

  A massive funeral procession was held, and the entire country went into mourning. But salt was to be added to the open wound... As the king himself died only a week after the passing of his son.

  Some said that the stress of his job coupled with the loss of his son did him in. Others claimed it was the result of his declining physical health.

  Another large funeral was held, and the country mourned yet again. They had been battered and bruised on a national level, twice in such a short span of time.

  But the tragedies of the Horn Kingdom did not end here.

  The prince was set to inherit the throne once the king died... But that son was already dead. The standard procedure would then say that the prince’s one-year-old son, Kuoh Da Horn, would inherit the throne in his father’s stead.