In a Different World with a Smartphone (LN) - Volume 13 - Chapter 4

Chapter IV: Everyday Life 

A few days had passed since my voyage into the Reverse World, and we were holding a meeting of nations. 
Though it had such a fancy title, it was more of a gathering for us to eat, make merry, and build personal relations. It was really more like a house party than a political arrangement. I kind of wondered how I’d managed to cultivate that kind of atmosphere, but I didn’t mind it too much. So long as the world leaders were getting along, I was satisfied. 
We’d decided that Xenoahs, Palouf, and Felsen would be joining the alliance. We also agreed to change the alliance’s name to the League of Nations. 
Xenoahs would be represented by the overlord, Zelgadi von Xenoahs. 
Palouf would be represented by its king, Ernest Din Palouf. 
Felsen would also be represented by its king, Boulanger Frost Felsen. 
These three kings would be participating in the next meeting. 
Elfrau, Hannock, and Ryle were up next for consideration. After they were done with, I wanted to push for Eashen and Palerius to join us as well. I was going to head over to Palerius the following day, so I’d try to broach the idea then. 
“Whoooa... I-It’s shaking so much!” 
“C’mon Ernie, get up!” 
“Ahaha! Got you! Please don’t think poorly of me, King Palouf!” Three Frame Gears were projected on a screen in our game room. 
The king of Felsen, the king of Palouf, and his fiancée Rachael were playing in the Frame Units. The place kind of felt like an arcade. 
Everyone else was scattered around the room in various groups. Nothing formal seemed to be happening. 
Princess Ellicia, fiancée to King Felsen, was busy talking to the emperor of Regulus. He was her father, after all. Lu seemed to have joined in on their conversation as well. The overlord was showing off his new smartphone to his daughter and was desperately attempting to obtain her phone number... He wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was begging. 
Pay attention to your surroundings, Overlord... Sirius is giving you a look... Why’d you even bring him here as your guard if you were just gonna fawn all over Sakura? Bah... Well, I guess she’ll probably fold and give you her number eventually. Maybe. 

I looked over at a nearby table to find the doge of Roadmare talking to the knight king about some kind of matter. King Cloud of Lihnea and Princess Lucienne were enjoying each other’s company on the balcony outside. 
My sisters, specifically the god of love and the god of hunting, smiled over at the happy couple while the pope stood nearby. 
“Things are going pretty well, huh...” 
“Quite. Just a few years ago this kind of atmosphere was unthinkable... Ah, that’s riichi.” The king of Mismede and the king of Belfast were playing mahjong with me and the emperor of Refreese, enjoying a leisurely chat. 
“International disputes have been solved, for the most part. I can’t help but admit that I’ve been looking forward to our meetings more with each passing one.” The emperor of Refreese nodded along. 
Hmm... It’s my turn... I drew a new tile. Ohh... A Green Dragon! Now I just need to discard, but... Ack, this is tense... I’m toeing victory and defeat... I made my move. 
“Ron. That’s riichi. Got an identical set. Read them and weep, that’s haneman.” 
Hngh! My face fell as the king of Belfast let loose a crushing blow. 
“Oof. Seems I was saved by your move, Touya.” The king of Mismede turned toward me with a grin. Damn it! How the hell did you guys already manage to outclass me in both mahjong and shogi?! Thus I was the overall loser of the game. It sucked. 
“Hey there, Grand Duke! I must say this is rather fun.” 
“Well at least someone’s enjoying themselves...” The king of Felsen walked over toward me, having finished playing around in the Frame Unit. He’d won against a literal child... He probably should’ve learned to read the air a little. 
“Ah, Grand Duke... About what we discussed earlier.” 
“Oh, right. Yeah, there’s no mistake. It’s the same as ours.” 
“Hmm? What are you two talking about?” The three kings seated with me took an interest in what I was discussing with the king of Felsen. I decided to explain. 
“I received a message from the king of Felsen a little bit ago. It turns out that explorers in his country found some ancient artifacts underground. Well... Lemme show you.” I brought out my smartphone and displayed the pictures that the king of Felsen had sent me. It was a large object in an underground ruin. It was rather large compared to the knight standing next to it in the picture. 
“Ohh... This is the same kind of thing that Sue uses on her Frame Gear...” 
“That’s right. It’s a magic train. It’s a vehicle from the ancient civilization that can be used to ride around a rail at high speeds.” I nodded to the king of Belfast, who’d noticed the similarities to the vehicles that came with his niece’s Frame Gear. 
It wasn’t exactly the same as Sue’s Laevateinn, though. Her train didn’t require rails to run. 
“Rails, you say? Like the thing you had under the trolley cart?” 
“Ah, that was fun! Yes, I recall that...!” The beastking laughed along with the emperor of Refreese. That thing went a little fast... 
“Here... I made this miniature model as a demonstration....” I activated [Storage] and pulled out a small, eighty-centimeter track, and a miniature train toy. 
I set it all up and put the model on the rail. 
“Pour some magic into the little model, and see what happens.” 
“Like this...? Oh!” The king of Belfast put a bit of magic into the train, and it began to slowly move along the rail on its own. 
“The idea is that it’s a magical vehicle that takes magic power and changes it into dynamic energy. The model can move with a little bit of magic, but the larger one would require a lot more. The one they unearthed in Felsen can take in a lot of different people’s magic through different spellstones and run that way.” 
“Yes, the pictures seem explanatory... Our magitechnicians have said much the same thing, too.” The king of Felsen nodded in admiration as he watched the little toy move around the track. 
According to Doctor Babylon, the train in the photograph was one from Partheno. Felsen’s current territory was part of Partheno’s old territory, so I wasn’t too surprised they’d made a discovery like that. I wondered if the ruins they unearthed were a subway station or something. 
It could’ve been a situation where what was once a metro station was now a dungeon... 
“So, does that magical train move?” 
“No, it doesn’t... That’s why I asked the advice of the grand duke, here.” The king of Felsen responded to the beastking’s inquiry. Felsen was a kingdom renowned for its magitechnology, and its scientific advancements. But not even they could get the ancient train to start working again. 
I wondered if the researchers over there had given up. Doctor Babylon had come up with an answer, either way. 
“In conclusion, we need something similar to what the Frame Gears use. It needs a medium to transmit the magic power. It can’t just move on magic alone.” Something similar to the Ether Liquid we used in Brunhild was necessary. The lesser vehicles would move even with impure Ether Liquid, so that wasn’t a big deal. Still, Ether Liquid was like the blood that pumped through the body of a machine. It needed clear circulation. After enough time, it would deteriorate in quality and become completely useless. 
“I can make it move again, would you want to hand it over to Brunhild?” 
“I was wondering, actually... We could pay you... I think I’d rather learn how to reactivate and produce more magic trains in Felsen.” I wondered if it would be fine to just leave it to Felsen. Making stuff up in Babylon took up a lot of time and resources, after all. 
We did recently create a mana battery that helped circulate ether liquid... It was coated with Phrasium, too. I decided to just sell it to them and let them handle the production. I was sure the magitechnicians of Felsen would be able to handle it. 
“Can we make them in Felsen, then?” 
“I think you should be able to manage it. But you can buy the central systems from us, alright?” 
“Hoho... You’re getting rather shrewd, Touya.” The emperor of Refreese grinned. I didn’t mind, making money was fine. Besides, there was no need to teach outsiders about Ether Liquid or the mana batteries. Just selling them the equipment pre-assembled was fine. “Could we buy one of these trains from you, King Felsen?” 
“Hmm... Well, I need to be sure we can actually start producing them, first. I’ll buy some of this stuff from the grand duke for reference, first.” 
“If King Belfast’s in, then Refreese wants one, too!” Two magic trains had already been pre-ordered, apparently. Felsen could probably stand to make a decent profit from them. Mismede and Refreese would probably want in on it later. 
I set aside the mahjong tiles and spread a basic map out on the table. 
“First off, we’d want to connect Belfast and Refreese by rail. Then we’d want to extend that to Mismede if we can, and then to Regulus. We’d need a more formal discussion between all relevant parties, though. But yeah, I hope it works out.” If we had a few dozen mages that could handle Earth magic, it would probably be simple enough. Railroads were simple to construct, but they had problems that came with them. We’d need to make sure that public awareness of the railroads was made, so people didn’t sleep on the tracks or damage them. In a small country, it wouldn’t take long for word to spread, but in a larger nation like Belfast or Regulus, it would take some time. 
“Hmm... We’ll need to bring along some engineers from Felsen to teach us more...” 
“Or maybe we could send some of our engineers to study abroad.” The king of Belfast and the emperor of Refreese started to chat about their future plans. 
The beastking, on the other hand, turned to me while gazing at the map. 
“But what of Mismede? The Great Gau river separates us from Belfast... It’s not like we can just build a bridge or anything...” The beastking not-so-subtly stared at me. 
“...I’ll build a bridge.” 
“Come now... Don’t think too badly of me. I didn’t mean to pressure you.” Really? Cause it sounds like you did... 
“Ah, Touya... This model train... I was wondering if I could take it back for Yamato...” 
“Oh, sure you can. Gimme a minute... I’ll get him the other rail parts, too.” I opened up [Storage] and handed over some corner rails, S-sections, and other rail types to the king of Belfast. 
I wasn’t too surprised by this kind of request. Yamato seemed to enjoy toys, and I hoped he’d like this one too. 
It wasn’t much cost to me, so it was fine. I didn’t mind giving something like that to my future brother-in-law. 
The model train had been made out of a small spellstone with a few basic commands inscribed into it, so it wouldn’t be hard to mass-produce it with Olba’s help. It’d probably end up being entertaining for kids or collectors. I decided to keep that in mind for later. 
 
I was paying a visit to Palerius Island, in order to check on them after they’d made their country more open. 
“So you’ve seen an overall decrease in Behemoth attacks?” 
“For the most part, yes. They’ve been sighted a lot less in general, and we’re beginning a slow expansion of our residential areas.” I was speaking with Mentor Central in the central temple on the island. She’d certainly been busy with a lot, lately. 
“Palouf and Elfrau have been purchasing raw Behemoth materials from us, so we’ve begun to import goods using funds accumulated from those trade deals. We’ve also been making steps toward building a port near the southern city.” 
“Interesting. That makes sense, since there aren’t any proper places for ships to make landfall right now.” The island had been completely isolated until recently, of course. They had no need for ships until now. Even the trade vessels from Palouf had been anchoring themselves offshore and rowing in on smaller boats. That’s why a proper port was definitely needed. 
The fruits and other crops found on Palerius were selling for a high price, since they weren’t located anywhere else on the continent. The craftsmen on the island were also finding major success selling trinkets. 
Handicraft stuff was usually associated with the dwarves who lived in the Kingdom of Ryle. For the Paloufeans, buying such handicrafts from Palerius was much easier due to the closer proximity. 
“I was certainly afraid for what might become of my people once the barrier came down, but it seemed I needn’t have worried at all. Our life of fear has finally come to an end, and now that we can expand our residencies it seems like the island is on its way to a new age of prosperity. We are in your debt, Grand Duke... Truly, we are.” 
“Don’t worry about it. We managed to take advantage of the situation here to get good combat training against the Behemoths, so it worked well for our Frame Gears too. In my eyes, there’s no debt to be paid.” We smiled at one another and continued to talk here and there about lesser political issues. 
Once I got back from Palerius island, I decided to give Relisha a call. 
I’d gotten permission from Mentor Central to establish a guild branch on Palerius Island, so thankfully we’d be able to set up anti-Phrase defenses for them. 
Even putting the Phrase aside, Palerius island still had a lot of mana wellsprings dotted around it, which caused several strong monsters to appear. Even if they didn’t become Behemoths, there were still a lot of oversized monsters out there. 
Veteran adventurers and hunters would probably consider the place a goldmine for the job, so they’d probably flock there like they’d been flocking to the Brunhild Dungeon Islands. From there, the problem would begin to sort itself out. 
I ended the call and began to wander around the streets of Brunhild. I didn’t really have much in the way of plans for the day. 
The main street was crowded as ever. Olba Strand’s store had a lot of capsule toy machines lined up in front of it, and I heard them clunk and click as a group of children tried their luck. 
I found myself chuckling at the sight, since the kids gathering around made the store seem a little cheaper than it actually was. I wondered about setting up a small candy store... Maybe that’d be more of a suitable place for the capsule machines. 
Olba’s store, the Strand Company, had three shops in Brunhild. It was basically a hobby and toy shop rolled into one. They sold hula hoops, spinning tops, and other items like that. 
It was all for decent prices that even little kids could afford, though there were things adults could buy as well. 
“Touya?” My thoughts were interrupted by a voice, so I turned and found Hilde. She was clad in her knightly armor and wearing a Phrasium blade at her waist. Her gauntlets were hanging around her waist next to the sword, as well. 
“Hm? What’re you doing out here?” 
“Yae, Elze and I were on the dungeon island earlier. We just got back. They went down to the port to buy some fish, so we ended up parting ways... Now I’m here.” Oh, they went down there? I guess half a day isn’t enough to reach the bottom, though... 
The girls went to the Brunhild dungeons now and then to patrol the upper floors for danger. It was safe for the most part, but many unexpected things could happen in a place like that... That’s why I wanted them to stay on guard. Personally, I didn’t like them going out there so much. 
“Why didn’t you go with the others?” 
“I’m not so good at handling raw fish...” Hilde muttered. Huh... I see. 
The three of them were good friends, but they had different tastes in food. Yae and Elze were more than happy to chow down on regular, everyday dishes that anyone would cook at home. Hilde, on the other hand, ate more sophisticated dishes. 
That was just a byproduct of how she was raised, and it was just one of those things. That didn’t mean that Hilde wouldn’t eat with us, but often she’d have something alternative to Sashimi when it was on the menu. 
She did enjoy octopus and squid, though. Elze and Linze also enjoyed that, since it was a delicacy of Refreese. The twins definitely enjoyed the same foods. 
“Wanna go back with me, then?” 
“Yes!” Hilde smiled and walked up to me, gently leaning into my left side. 
I noticed her moving her hand a little and opening her mouth as if she was wanting to say something. Hmm? Oh... I see... 
“Do you want to hold my hand?” 
“A-Ah no... I-I just got back, so my hands are all dirty and s-sweat-eeeek!” She started blushing and mumbling excuses, so I just grabbed her right hand with my left and interlocked our fingers. Immediately Hilde began to quietly babble, and her face turned a deeper shade of crimson. 
“I don’t mind doing things like this, you know. You’re a lot more reserved than the others, Hilde... You can be a little more selfish now and then, don’t worry.” 
“A-Ah, yes... Thank you. I-It’s just how I was raised... In the knight order, we are taught that discipline is vital...” 
“You don’t need to worry about that with me. Right now you’re not Hilde the knight. You’re Hilde, my fiancée. We’re a man and a woman.” 
“...Y-Yes.” Her face reddened again, and she looked down. According to her brother, Hilde had been disciplined in the ways of the sword from a young age. She followed the traditions of Lestia to the letter and had a lot of rigid rules ingrained in her. 
She upheld values that included protecting the weak, being a shield for the people, and keeping a virtuous mind. 
She never really got to live like an ordinary girl. Honestly, I felt a little sorry for her, but I didn’t want to treat her any differently. 
Karen said that I was Hilde’s first love, which probably meant a great deal to her. 
We had a casual chat as we walked back to the castle together. Ordinarily, I would’ve just used [Gate], but the quality time was nice. 
“...Uhm, actually... There’s something I wanted to ask you, Touya.” 
“Hm? What’s that?” 
“That... Well... Ah... Do you... Do you love me, Touya?” I froze on the spot. Hilde stopped along with me, looking up at me with a heartbreakingly sad look on her face. She suddenly forced a smile and began waving her arms. 
“A-Ah, please forget it... I said something weird!” 
“...What made you ask that?” 
“I-I know I’m not as girly as the others... I know little other than the sword, and even our engagement was a result of what happened in Lestia... I sometimes fear that you don’t view me with the same affection that you do the others...” She nervously sputtered out her feelings. 
Man... You know, it’s a little late for me to be realizing this... But I need to be more proactive with my fiancées. I’ve had enough of being stupid, it’s time they know exactly how I feel. 
I stood in front of Hilde and grasped her tightly. It was through my own stupidity that she came to worry this much, so I decided to make my feelings properly known. 
“Like I said, you aren’t a princess knight to me. I don’t want the Lestian Princess. I want you. I want your happiness, I want to keep you safe, and I want to look after you. I love you, and that’s no lie.” 
“Ah...” 
“I love you, Hilde. I truly, madly do. Please don’t ever doubt it.” 
“O-Okay... I... I-I’m sorry...” Hilde began to sniffle, so I pulled her into a tight hug. 
Damn, I’m the worst. How could I make someone this precious cry like this? I can’t afford to keep up this nonsense... 

“Ohoho, you know? Here’s your chance! Go for the smooch!” 
“Eek!” 
“Gah!” Karen’s voice suddenly rang out of nowhere. I looked over my shoulder and sighed. Quit popping up out of nowhere! 
“Don’t startle us like that. What are you doing here?” 
“My Flirty Touya Radar went off! I couldn’t miss something as important as this!” Your what radar...? Knock it off... If you need to watch, then watch from afar. God of love or not, learn to read a goddamn atmosphere. 
“U-Uhm, Touya... Y-You’re hurting me... A little...” 
“Huh? Ah, sorry!” I’d been hugging Hilde a little too tight, so I pulled back. 
“It’s okay... I didn’t dislike it...” Hilde nodded slightly, her cheeks flushed. I felt my own cheeks reddening a bit, too... Though I wasn’t sure why. 
“Ahaha, how very steamy, you know? You two better make the most of lovey-dovey moments like this while you can!” 
“The hell’s that supposed to mean?” I felt like she was mocking me, somehow. Almost as if she was implying that my love would fade, or something. 
“Love and affection are distinct, you know? Love just happens for no particular reason, while affection needs to be nurtured. Both are wonderful, but they’re quite different, you know?” Hrmph... I get it, but I don’t feel all that convinced if you’re the one who’s saying it. 
“Well, you needn’t worry about it right now. You’ll know about it more when you’re older, you know?” 
“Tsk.” Guess I’m still a kid, huh... Bah, even grumbling is childish... 
“Hm? Is that Touya? What’s up?” 
I turned to see Elze and Yae coming up the hill. They were carting along a couple of buckets of raw fish. They must’ve been returning from the port. 
“Ah, Hilde-dono is here as well, she is. Wait... You are crying, you are...” 
“Wh... Touya! What’d you do to her?!” The two of them noticed Hilde’s damp eyes and began laying the third degree on me. The three of them were very close, so it’s not like I didn’t understand why they were concerned. 
“I-I didn’t do anything! Right, Hilde?” 
“H-He’s right. There’s nothing for you to worry about.” Hilde gave a half-hearted explanation to the two girls. But that just made them even more suspicious. 
I didn’t really do anything wrong. It was true that I’d made her cry, but I’d done my best to reassure her. I was a little embarrassed, all the same. 
“I’m not so sure I buy it.” 
“This is odd, it is...” 
“Hilde isn’t lying, you know? Up until now she and Touya were in the throes of lovey-dovey passion! Lots of hot feelings flying around... You know?” 
“H-Hey, sis! Don’t say crap like that!” Karen merely giggled before throwing me a wink. What did you do?! Were you planning for this?! 
“Grab him!” 
“I will, I will!” Yae and Elze grabbed me roughly by the arms and began dragging me toward the castle. Ow! Oh god! I’m pretty sure arms aren’t meant to bend like that! 
“U-Uhm, Karen...? Touya’s in pain...” 
“He sure is, you know? Touya needs to nurture affection with all his fiancées equally, after all. You’ve had some, so let’s watch as he nurtures some with these two. That’s love, you know?” 
“Y-Yes! You’re right!” Don’t let her trick you, Hilde! She’s just having sadistic fun! Look at her smirking! She’s smirking!! 
“We want to hear exactly what happened, we do.” 
“Yeah, you better tell everyone about it. Though I guess if we ask Hilde, she’d just tell us... We made a promise not to keep any secrets, after all!” 
You did? I didn’t hear about any promises like that... That means everyone’ll know exactly what I’ve done! That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but... Guh... I suddenly feel impotent... 
In the end, a man was powerless before a good woman that loved him. 
Thus, a man can only endure. 
That night, I was forced to confess my feelings to each of my fiancées. I was so embarrassed by the confessions that when I got back to my room that night I started screaming into my pillow and rolling around. 
Oh... Gaaah! Kohaku and the others were watching! This sucks! This is awful! Leen was recording it on her smartphone, too! Auugh... They made me say all that stuff... I even had to say it to Sue... Oh gggaaaaah!!! It’s not like they weren’t true, but being made to just say them like that?! I wanna die! 
Remembering it made me scream into my pillow even louder. ...Gaaaaaaah!! And thus, I tossed and turned in anguish, long into the night. 
 
“...What’s up, Renne?” I happened to see our little maid in the corridor, so I called out to her. 
She was carrying a lot of books above her head, so I was curious. She turned around to greet me back. 
“Oh! Oi, bru- Uhh... Brunhild... Duke! Grand Duke! Good morning to y— Aaaah!” A clattering sound accompanied several falling books. Given that she’d greeted me by bowing her head, that was inevitable. 
“Ahh... I messed up...” She grumbled as she picked up all the books. 
“What are all these books for?” 
“I’m doing uhm... Some special preparation for the Maid’s Guild.” 
“It’s only us two, you know... You can speak a little more casually. What’re you doing with the Maid’s Guild, anyway?” Renne was a street urchin in Belfast until I plucked her from the streets and hired her as an apprentice maid. We later found out that she actually had noble Regulus blood in her, but she ultimately decided not to go to her dead mother’s household. She wanted to stay here and continue her maid training. 
Brunhild was a small nation, but its maids were still expected to be up to standards. Etiquette, situational awareness, and other vital housekeeping skills were a must. Renne was still just an apprentice, so she only attended to our personal needs and assisted the other maids. 
She was fully committed, though. Even though she was only nine years old, she worked day and night to study for her Maid Guild exams. 
“Cecile was teachin’ me a new skill I could show off in my next exam, she was! Figgered that if I had these books on my head then it’d increase my balance and posture if I walked proper. Gotta be elegant and proper if I wanna make it...” 
“Makes sense. You’re taking this seriously... Don’t overdo it, though. Even if you don’t get the proper qualifications, it’s not like we’ll kick you out or anything.” 
“Mhm, I know! I wanna be a first-class maid for the sake of you and Brunhild! Cause I wanna be your head maid!” Heh, that’s a pretty lofty goal. Lapis is the current head maid, after all. It’ll take a lot to get better than her. Plus she’s pretty talented at fighting. 
“Oh right! Moroha’s been teachin’ me plenty, too! I know all about fighting, now!” 
“Is... Is that right...” 
Why am I only hearing about this now... I hope she didn’t teach you any weird swordplay techniques... Actually, wait... You should already know how to throw knives thanks to Cecile... And Leen’s been teaching you magic, too... Oh my... Oh no... We might actually be sowing the seeds for an unstoppable maid, after all. 

“You’ve been going to school too, right? A first-class maid needs a first-class education.” Renne attended the classes taught by Fiana, Sakura’s mother. Her classes were from nine in the morning until two in the afternoon, after which she came home to help the others. 
I kind of had my reservations about working such a little kid so hard, but she’d rejected every offer I’d given her for more time off. 
From her perspective, she wasn’t being worked too hard, and she saw it as necessary experience in order for her to reach her goals... So it seemed to be fine. 
“Shouldn’t you rest now and then, though?” 
“Mhm, I do! I get a good night’s sleep every night! If you ask me, bruv, you’re the one who’s gotta get ‘imself a better rest. Everyone gets plenty worried about you.” I didn’t expect to be told that by Renne of all people. Hrmph... Do people really view me as that much of a workaholic? I don’t really feel like I’ve been working hard enough, personally. Poor Kousaka’s been handling all the busywork. 
“Well, you’ve been working so hard, so... I’ll get you a present! What would you like?” 
“H-Huh? I-Is that alright...?” 
“Sure is. Consider it a bonus for trying so hard. What would you like?” 
“A... Bonus? Huh?” Ah, damn... I guess the concept of work bonuses don’t exist in this world. 
“Th-Then... I want one of those things that Sue has, but... Uhm...” Sue...? Oh, she must mean the smartphone. I remember giving one to Lapis and Cecile, but Renne didn’t get one. 
Hrmm... Should I really be giving a phone to a kid like her? Wait, I already gave one to Sue and they’re similarly-aged... Smartphones have handy apps like the notepad, too... The mass-produced ones also have handy dictionaries. You know what? Yeah, she deserves it. 
I opened up my [Storage] and pulled out one of the white mass-produced smartphone models. I also handed over a little user manual. If she read it through, she’d be able to have a good grasp of how the device worked. 
“Th-Thank you so much, bruv!” 
“Sure, but here’s a word of advice. You can’t take it to school. Also, if you lose it or somebody takes it... Tell me right away. I won’t get mad, okay?” 
“Okay!” Renne happily took the smartphone, and I gave her a pat on the head. 
If she brought it to school, that would cause complications. It could get stolen, or she might end up being ostracized for having something so unusual. Renne was a good kid, so I didn’t see her getting bullied... But it was always better to be safe than sorry. 
Even if it was a child that ended up causing trouble for Renne, we’d still have to scold them. She was our precious maid, after all. 
I registered everyone’s numbers into the phone, excluding the numbers for the other world leaders. That meant she’d be able to call me or Sue whenever she liked. 
“Good luck with your exams, just don’t overdo it, okay?” 
“Mhm! Thank you so much! I’ll look after it, promise!” She turned and began to trot away, but paused for a moment before putting the books back on her head and beginning a graceful walk. 
Oh, crap. I got held up... I need to eat before my meeting! I smiled on at Renne before turning and walking in the opposite direction. 
“Hey there, sorry to keep you waiting.” 
“Ain’t a bother at all, milord! I’m thankful fer yer audience.” A small group was gathered in the training grounds outside the castle, and their leader smiled before giving me a nod. 
He spoke coarsely, and he had a rough, bearded face. His muscles were positively rippling, he was absolutely a prime specimen of his race. 
Each member of the group had to have been one and a half meters tall at the very most. They were all men, too... At least I thought so... But I’d heard rumors that even the women of their species were bearded, so it was hard to tell. 
They were dwarves. A robust, mountain-dwelling people. A noble race of warrior miners, and craftsmen blacksmiths. 
This dwarven group had brought with them a letter from the king of Ryle. 
The king of Ryle, Burstra Durga Ryle, was descended from a dwarven bloodline. Apparently, Ryle was largely composed of Dwarven settlements. The delegation before me was a group from one of those hamlets. 
“So, what did you want to show me?” 
“Ah... It’ll be quicker if we show ya... Here.” 
The dwarves had a cart behind them. Whatever was on it was covered by a tarp, but they wanted me to see it. At their leader’s command, the dwarves began to pull the tarp away, exposing the object to the sunlight. 
“Oh...!” I recognized the thing under the tarp. It was a short and stout machine with long arms and short legs. It didn’t have anything above the neck area, and the cockpit area on its back was empty. 
It looked like one of the Steel Battalion, the knock-off Frame Gears built in Yulong. They’d been used to attempt an invasion of Felsen. 
Wait... Is that really one of those? It doesn’t look right... It kind of looks a lot cruder, actually. 
It was shaped like a car that had been cut down the middle, with the front half refitted into a torso, and then massive limbs coming out of the side and bottom... It was a rough construction. 
Regardless of what it was, it was clearly robotic. And it definitely seemed like one that could be piloted. I’d seen similar Gollems in the Reverse World, but they moved autonomously and just carried people. They weren’t things that could be piloted. 
“We call it the Dverg. We’ve been usin’ them fer engineering and ore haulin’. We ain’t really got any plans to sell them or make ’em en masse, though.” 
Dverg, huh... In this world, that was the name of the Dwarven ancestor species... I guess that’s a pretty appropriate name. 
But man... They made something like this? Those dwarves are something else. 
“It’s nice, but what are you showing it to me for?” 
“You got a giant warrior’ve yer own, right? I wanted to compare my Dverg here to one’ve yours.” 
Huh. Compare, huh? Should I...? I kind of hope they don’t get too disheartened... 
It was far too late to think about, but looking at the machine in front of me made me realize that their inventor, Bowman, must have actually been a legitimate genius. Still, he was an arrogant fool... Doc Babylon was enough of a moron, anyway... And she had more brains than him. 
I popped open a [Gate] and called down a Chevalier from the Hangar. 
It thudded on the ground, causing shockwaves to rumble out along the ground. The dwarves looked, slack-jawed, as it descended. I’d certainly caught them off-guard. 
“This is my mass-produced Frame Gear, the Chevalier. It’s the easiest one to handle out of the bunch. Oh, right. This is a slightly outdated model.” I couldn’t tell whether the dwarves had heard me or not. They were still silently staring, mouths agape, at the Chevalier before them. 
I wasn’t too surprised, though. Their Dverg was about four meters tall, and my Frame Gear was fifteen meters tall. It was like comparing a little kid with an adult. 
“Wh... Did... Didja unearth this machine underground’re somethin’?!” 
“Only the first few. The others, this one included, were created by my country. There are also a lot of other models we’ve developed since then.” Oh, whoops... I’m speaking a little casually here... I don’t want them to think I’m bragging... But I hope they got what they wanted. 
“...I’ve a request fer ya, Grand Duke. Please introduce me ta whoever made this thing. Now I’ve seen it, I can’t possibly take me fellows back without meetin’ that inventor.” 
“Hm? Ah... I mean, I guess so, but...” I think that’ll just make you guys feel worse... 
“Th-This little lassie is the one what made these?!” 
“Pfft, you guys aren’t one for manners, huh? But I guess I’ve heard all dwarves are like that, so it’s fine.” The dwarves were all standing, mouths agape, as they stared at Doctor Babylon. 
Their surprise was understandable. From an outside perspective, she looked like a ten-year-old girl. 
The leader of the dwarves exhaled softly and began to speak. 
“Are you maybe from a race with a longer lifespan than most?” 
“Mm... Something like that. Let’s put that aside for a minute, though. Did you invent that thing behind you?” Doc Babylon shoved her hands into her lab coat pockets before gesturing toward the Dverg with her head. 
“Hmm... It’s certainly rough around the edges, but I sense a lot of pride in its craftsmanship. It’s far superior to that miserable Frame Gear copy I analyzed a while back. As for the core... You’re using a mana kiln? That’s clever... You’re drawing from the atmosphere and using a magical core in the middle as a catalyst for fuel efficiency...” 
“Y-Y’figured that much out jus’ by lookin’?!” 
The dwarven leader was taken aback. Don’t be deceived, she just used her [Analyze] spell covertly. 
“But I don’t think it’s as efficient as it should be. The magic power you’re extracting isn’t being utilized properly. I think each move it makes is expending excess magic power, so you’re operating at a magical loss.” 
“Guh... You ain’t wrong... But we’d need higher output to get the magic juices flowin’ through the whole thing. Even if we got leakage, that’s just because we ain’t got a strong enough system yet. Unless y’got an alternative?” 
“I do, actually. Engrave the magical conduits into the frame of the machine itself with Ether Lines, and use Adamantite as the base material.” 
“Ohh... Of course!” They started an in-depth conversation and left me in the dust. 
I thought up a little idea so I whipped out my smartphone and made a call to someone up in Babylon. 
“Hey, Rosetta? There’s an interesting conversation going on down here that I’m sure you’d love to be part of. Yup, Doc’s here too.” I think having her join would be a good idea. 
After a while, the overall-wearing fiend appeared. She suddenly began to rattle off a bunch of improvement ideas for the Dverg. 
After a shorter while, the dwarves walked over and began tinkering with the Dverg. I was surprised they weren’t waiting until they got home. 
While Rosetta argued with the dwarves about which parts to use, Doctor Babylon came over to me. 
“You’ve shown me something interesting, today. As an inventor, I enjoy seeing new concepts from other creators.” 
“Isn’t this just the same as the situation with the Steel Battalion, though?” 
“That’s a matter of perspective, if you ask me. There’s no doubt that both machines have clearly made use of Frame Gear technology, but the Dverg isn’t entirely derivative. It has original dwarven tech in there too. It’s not just an imitation of the original, so I consider it something new.” 
That made sense. They’d built something entirely new based on the Steel Battalion, and what was known about Frame Gears. I didn’t really know much about the dwarves being talented magic engineers, but it made sense. They and the Elves were species that had long lifespans. It wasn’t strange to assume that they’d have inherited some knowledge from the ancient civilization. 
I’d actually heard that some of the engineers working on the upcoming magic train in Felsen were dwarves. 
“Is this safe, though?” 
“Again, that’s a matter of perspective. We can hardly halt progress, nor the rise of technology and civilization. Unless of course, you plan to confiscate this Dverg, murder all these dwarves, and send back their bodies to Ryle as a warning.” Doctor Babylon grinned wide toward me. Hell no would I ever do something like that! 
“This machine would’ve been invented no matter what. In a sense, they’re late to the party. Since the Frame Gears are already five-thousand years old. It’s simple scientific advancement.” 
“I guess so...” 
“I suppose it’s more of a revival, though. Right now this Dverg could be destroyed with a single magic blast, and isn’t ready for domestic use.” That was true. It didn’t really seem like much of a weapon, either. 
In the future, it could become something similar to a Frame Gear, though. 
Compared to the Reverse World and its Gollems, magitech just wasn’t on the same level in this world. Mr. Sancho’s crab bus was a lot more advanced than the Dverg. 
Still, it got me thinking. If the engineers of the Reverse World could somehow collaborate with the ones of this world, they’d probably be able to make something immense. Though that would be too hard to arrange. 
Still... I couldn’t help but wonder about the possibilities if I could bring two worlds together as one. I shook my head and turned back to the dwarves. 
“I’d like to see how this thing moves. Can I pilot it?” 
“Aye, even a greenhorn could! Y’wanna give it a shot?” I sat down in the cockpit that protruded from the back. Unlike the Frame Gear, the Dverg couldn’t read the intentions of its pilot, so everything was manual. 
“Right... Pour yer magic into the spellstone near the control stick. That’ll fire up the kiln... Then make it walk slow.” 
“Alright... Step one, then... Gonna pour in my magic...” 
“Ten-hut! Stop! Sir, yes sir! You gotta stop! Master’s magic power is a little...!” Rosetta tried to warn me, but I just casually poured my magic in as usual. 
A moment later, the Dverg began to make some weird noises. Then it exploded. 
“WHAAAAAT?!” Shrieked the dwarves. 
“What the...?” The armored portion of the Dverg’s abdomen was blasted clear off, and smoke began to rise from its insides. 
I freaked out and hopped out of the cockpit. The dwarves were standing there, mouths agape, as they stared from the Dverg to me. 
Did I do that? 
“Master, sir... No magic kiln can handle your level of magic without compression, sir! It’d be like trying to light a candle with an advanced firestorm spell!” 
“...Touya, your magic power is far more than the limits of the furnace. You poured in enough to make it overflow... Then the excess simply detonated, with nowhere to go.” 
“Why didn’t you tell me?!” I didn’t know what to tell the dwarves. I really, really hoped that they’d believe me when I told them it was an accident. 
I stared quietly at the poor dwarves, who were still staring in horror at their wrecked machine. 
I quietly arranged for several barrels of booze to be given to them as an apology. 
 
Brunhild, like most countries, had an area dedicated to medical care. In layman’s terms, we had a clinic. A standard facility where people who were ill or concerned went for medical checkups. 
Medical technology was definitely far behind Earth’s standards in this world, but they also had restoration magic. In fact, most treatments were performed using this kind of magic. 
Restoration magic was an umbrella term for magic that cured injuries, recovered vitality, removed curses, sucked out poisons, and so on. There was also resurrection magic, but that was sort of a field of its own. 
It wasn’t easy to bring someone back from the dead. There were certain conditions that needed to be fulfilled, and even risks to the caster. 
For the most part, resurrection magic wasn’t carried out as a normal procedure. Not to mention the fact that the magic wasn’t even guaranteed to work. If it went wrong, it could even kill the person casting it. 
Still, that was neither here nor there. 
The point was that Brunhild had itself a clinic. Doctors and nurses were employed there and were often on call. Brunhild’s castle town was a relatively small capital, but the clinic still handled injuries every day and night. 
And it just so happened that I was visiting the clinic on that day. 
I wasn’t really there to formally inspect it or anything, I guess I just wanted to check the place out. 
“Come forth, Light! Soothing Comfort: [Cure Heal]” A soft light came out of Sue’s palm before wrapping around a child’s injured arm. The damaged skin was restored to normal in the blink of an eye, and the open cut was now nowhere to be found. 
“Does it hurt?” 
“Not anymore...” 
“Good. Be careful not to play in the forest alone, okay? Your mommy might get upset.” The child’s eyes were wet with fresh tears, but he sniffed and nodded toward Sue. His mother smiled and thanked us before walking out of the clinic with him, hand in hand. 
Even though restoration magic existed in this world, not everyone could use it. It also still required magical power. That meant that the number of times someone could use it to heal someone else per day was set in stone. 
That’s why we tried to avoid using magic unless it was really necessary. Which was also why healthcare could get pricey, depending on the injury or magic supply. If we treated every reckless cut and scrape with magic, then our staff would quickly run out of magic. Our treatment costs were still fairly cheap compared to the other nations, though. 
“Good work. You’re getting pretty good at this, Sue.” 
“Ah, I’m not all that... If I could use [Area Heal] like you, Touya... I’d be a lot more efficient.” Eh... It’s not that simple. That spell’s a super advanced one from the light school... In my case, the fact that I can use it is more thanks to god than anything I did... 
Sue liked to come to the clinic to help out now and then. Her butler, Leim, always accompanied her during her visits. 
She had a good aptitude for Light magic, so she enjoyed using it to help people out. 
The child mortality rate was pretty high in this world. There weren’t just diseases and accidents to worry about, the threat of monsters was pretty high in some regions too. 
The little boy Sue had just gotten done with healing had wandered around in the forest and been scratched by a Lone-Horned Rabbit. Children who grew up in urban environments didn’t have too much experience with magical beasts. Because they weren’t familiar with such creatures, they didn’t realize how careful they needed to be. 
We’d hunted down the monsters in the vicinity of the town, but they had a habit of breeding fast and were on the rise again. I considered using my smartphone to target every beast in a wide vicinity in order to destroy them all, but Guildmaster Relisha asked me not to. 
She said that if we killed every low-tier monster, then there’d be no reason for adventurers with a lower rank than Red to come around Brunhild too often. She raised a fair point, so I erected a barrier around the castle town to prevent monsters from coming into the city itself. 
The barrier prevented monsters from coming in, but it didn’t stop people entering or exiting. The little boy was only injured because he left the town and was caught in the forest. 
There happened to be an adventurer in the forest at the same time. If he hadn’t come along, the boy might’ve died. I decided to have Fiana, the headmistress of our town’s school, teach a special lesson on safety. 
“Touya, can I get a top-up? The magic in my engagement ring is nearly dry.” 
“Already? Goodness... You’ve really been working hard.” Sue and my other fiancées all had engagement rings enchanted with the [Transfer] spell, allowing them to draw from the deep pool of magic power I’d stored into it. This allowed them to tap into my own magic reserves and cast more spells than they’d ordinarily be able to. However, the reserves weren’t infinite. The rings would eventually run out, so I had to refill them now and then. 
But man... Sue really used it all up already...? I guess she’s been working pretty hard in the clinic, but I bet she’s been practicing magic a lot at home, too... I’m pretty sure I put enough reserve magic in these things to last a ton of time, so she must be really going at it. 
I hoped Sue was keeping an eye on her own health, I didn’t want her overdoing it. I leaned over and took Sue by the hand before pouring my magic back into her ring. 
“Don’t train too hard, alright? Leen said you’re in the middle of a growth period right now, so overexerting your magic could have an adverse effect on you when you’re more mature.” 
“I got it, geez... You always worry about me, Touya!” 
“Of course I worry about you. You’re one of my brides-to-be.” It was true that I had a habit of fretting about Sue more often than others, though. She often ran headlong into danger. She wasn’t the kind of person to ruminate on things for a while, she just went for stuff. It wasn’t a bad trait to have, but it did kind of lead to her being a little hardheaded. 
I was glad she was passionate, I just didn’t want that passion to be detrimental to her. It was good to be focused on things, too. 
“You’re always worried about me, Touya... You get worried about the others, too. But don’t you know how much more worried we were when you went to that other world...?” 
“I know... I’m sorry.” I knew it well, they’d all made a point to tell me. 
When I went to the other side and vanished from this world entirely, they must have been extremely nervous. I felt extremely guilty, especially for making a girl as young as Sue be so worried for my wellbeing. 
“That reminds me, Touya... I’ve been talking with my mother.” 
“With your mother?” 
“Mhm. My mother was blind for such a long time, so she couldn’t go outside due to how dangerous things could be. Then she regained her eyesight thanks to you, and the world opened up to her again... But now she has a baby in her tummy, so she can’t really go out and overdo it again. So I was wondering if there was anything we could do for her to cheer her up without her having to leave the house.” Ellen had been rendered bedridden and blind for a long time thanks to her affliction. It must have been liberating to finally be freed from that, but then she went and got pregnant which meant she couldn’t afford to strain her body... 
It was no surprise to hear that would make her a little depressed. 
“What does Ellen like to do?” 
“She likes to watch stage plays! Father tried to call in a theater troupe to our home once, but mother stopped it. She said to call a performance for only one person would deprive another audience of the theater’s splendor.” Man... Calling a private theater performance for your house? Talk about luxury... Pretty amazing of Ellen to refuse it, though. 
If we did a stage production for her at home, that would certainly remove the need for her to go outside... But she wouldn’t want something like that, so it wouldn’t feel enjoyable for her. 
“Hm... Maybe I can fix something for her.” 
“Really?! Amazing, Touya...! Thank you so much!” 
“To be honest it won’t be me sorting this. There’s an artifact Doctor Babylon has that I think we can make use of.” Sue’s eyes were still sparkling with joy as I gave her a wry smile. I felt a little pitiful, though. 
The artifacts in the storehouse were certainly incredible, but they had pretty specific uses. There were many fantastic things in there that just didn’t really have applications in daily life. 
“Alright. I’ll go get things prepared. Would you mind if we did it tonight?” 
“Hmm... I’ll ask father and mother, but I’m sure it’s fine!” Sue smiled before bolting out of the clinic. I needed the kings of Belfast, Refreese, and Regulus to introduce me to the major theater troupes of their countries. The major theaters were basically state-owned, so this wouldn’t be an issue. 
The problem was probably more in the kings themselves... They could be pains at times. Also, the artifact I needed to use to make my plan work was vital. I needed to produce some more at the workshop. 
I used [Teleport] to leap off to Babylon immediately. 
“Now then... Please try putting a little magic power into this crystal ball.” 
“Like this...? Oh!” Ellen reached out toward the small baseball-sized orb in front of her. As she let her magic flow into it, it began to light up and project the image of a stage performance into the air in front of it. The dim room was then filled with the very atmosphere of the theater. 
“Ooh! I can hear them and see them...! It’s like I’m really there!” 
“Amazing... Did you record this on your smartphone, Touya?” Sue and her mother looked on in amazement as the theater began to unfold in their home. Ellen’s eyes lit up as she watched the play unfold. 
“This is different from one of my recordings. It’s a live feed... Or rather, this artifact lets you see the inside of a theater from a far distance away. It works similarly to our Frame Gears’ cameras. The camera faces toward the stage, so I guess you could say it’s like being in a cockpit.” The artifact was called the Overseer’s Eye. Originally they were used for watchtowers and defense. Some were even installed into the underside of Babylon. 
I decided to co-operate with the leaders of each nation in order to visit their respective major theaters. Then I had them install a statue in the best viewing location, and have the monitoring artifacts installed into the eyes. 
Thanks to that, the stage plays could now be viewed on demand from afar. 
There were six different crystal balls that could be swapped out on to the pedestal, allowing a view of six different stages. All you had to do was swap them out, kind of like a TV remote control. 
Ellen sat on the couch and held her hand against her stomach. 
“See, mother...? Now you can watch the theater even at home. I’m so happy...” 
“Sue... Thank you so much for this. And to you, Grand Duke... I can’t put into words how much this means to me.” 
“Nah, please don’t worry about it... I didn’t really do much this time, honest.” Doctor Babylon had already invented the orbs, and I had relied on the kings to grant me permission. I was really just a middleman in facilitating all of it. 
I also decided to give those kings their own Overseer’s Eyes, so they could tune in as well. They’d probably watch the same performances as each other over the next couple of days. 
I smiled and let the mother and daughter talk for a bit before handing a sheet of paper to Duke Ortlinde. 
“What’s this?” 
“This is a schedule for all the major theaters. It’ll tell you what shows are airing, which theater, and at which time. I’ve arranged to have an updated schedule sent to you every month.” 
“I see... We’re truly thankful. For you to go this far for my family, even though you’re a head of state... Forgive us for our demands.” 
“Sue asked for it, so I don’t mind at all.” Besides, I wanted to do something nice for my future mother-in-law. Though I did want her to avoid watching anything too intense, since I didn’t want her or the baby becoming agitated. 
“When you’re born, we’ll all watch the shows together. And I’ll get to hold you, so don’t worry... I can’t wait to see you...” Sue smiled and spoke toward Ellen’s tummy. The child would end up being my brother or sister-in-law. I hoped that they’d grow up to become as wonderful as Sue. 
 

Ellen got a little queasy now and then, but her pregnancy had been alright. I ended up making some rice porridge for her and gave Duke Ortlinde plenty of citrus fruits to keep her in good health. Morning sickness wasn’t unnatural, so [Recovery] didn’t help to alleviate it. 
Husbands had it rough during pregnancies, but not as rough as their wives. Still, their lack of power to ease sicknesses and aches must have been frustrating. They had to do everything within their power to support their wives, regardless. 
Eventually, I would have to experience the same feeling, too. Though that wouldn’t be for a good while yet. It definitely seemed like raising a child would be difficult, but I also knew in my heart that it would be truly rewarding. 
As I thought of a future yet to come, I left Duke Ortlinde’s estate.