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Chapter IV: The Two Worlds 

“Are you ready?” 
“A-Are we gonna be fine? We won’t come out anywhere weird, will we?” 
“It’ll be fine, relax.” I laughed softly toward Elze. She was usually so hot-headed, but she could be surprisingly cautious at times. Still, that was part of what made her cute. 
This time Elze, Yae, and Hilde were coming with me. That was to make up for the fact that they didn’t come last time. 
Sue and Sakura were busy, so I promised to take them later. 
This time we were going not through the dimensional disruptor, but through my own divinity. 
According to Karen, I needed to be careful to only leap into worlds that I knew were safe for the people coming with me, or else I ran the risk of putting them in danger. 
“Uhm... Just holding my hand is fine enough, you know...” 
“N-No, Touya-dono... I just want to be safe, I do.” 
“That’s right! This is much safer!” Hilde and Yae were tightly clinging to my left and right sides, while Elze was clinging on to me with a hug from the front. It was nice, but I still felt a little shy. I decided to quickly take us all to the Reverse World. 
“A-Alright, let’s do it.” I blushed as I let my own divinity flow through me, gently enveloping the girls by my side with it as well... Then, we leaped into space-time itself. 
 
We ended up on a hillside, overlooking a forest. There were some mountains in the distance. There were also a settlement and a few roads nearby, but it didn’t look all that busy. It seemed like we were on some kind of frontier. 
“I wanted to warp us to Allen, but I guess I missed my mark a bit...” I checked my map and found we were quite far from the Allent Theocracy. We were still within the nation, but nowhere near the capital city, Allen. 
“It really doesn’t seem like another world out here... Just looks like any other countryside.” Elze gazed along the highway and muttered quietly. I felt the same way when I was reborn for the first time. 
“These worlds run in parallel, so they aren’t too different in terms of general terrain. Anyway... Elluka... Let’s see here...” I searched for her on my smartphone map. She seemed to be north of Allen city. 
I decided to stop by the capital using [Gate], and then use [Fly] to get the rest of the way afterward. 
“We haven’t had lunch yet. Do you guys wanna stop by in the capital?” 
“That sounds good to me, it does. I would like to have something to eat, I would.” Yae and the others seemed to get pretty excited at the prospect of lunch, so I fired up a [Gate] and took us to the city. Before we settled in at the Cafe I’d gone to last time, I picked up another newspaper. The headline on the front page quickly caught my eye. 
It said, “Golden Monsters Appear Once More.” It looked like the Mutated Constructs had appeared in the Reverse World again. In Allen City, no less. 
Apparently, the battle Gollems and the templar knights of the kingdom managed to fend them off, but one of the nation’s major nobles lost his life in the conflict. But apparently that man had been planning a revolt against the current royal family, so most of the citizens took it as some form of divine retribution. 
I was amazed that they’d even surfaced in a city like this, though... 
From what I understood, the wicked god’s aura was drawn to negative human emotions, but maybe they were just becoming indiscriminate in what they attacked. 
I also wondered if the Reverse World’s boundary was becoming weaker due to the incoming merge... If that was happening, then I needed to figure things out fast. I decided that I needed to hurry up and meet with Elluka immediately, but the girls wanted to take more time with their lunch. That’s why I decided to use [Fly] and blast off alone. 
Everyone hated going up there with my [Fly] spell anyway, so it was better for me to scout ahead and open a portal for them later. I really wished that they’d just get used to flying, though. 
I didn’t want to make any kind of undue comment, so I held my tongue and set off, making sure to cast [Invisible] on myself as I rose into the air. I didn’t want to get seen by any airships or anything like that. 
I ended up going pretty far north, floating above the area equivalent to where the Kingdom of Hannock would be in the regular world. 
“She ought to be around here somewhere...” I slowed down, slowly lowering myself closer to the ground as I started scanning the ground below me. According to the map marker, she should’ve been walking around the road I was nearby. 
“Hm... That her?” I saw a figure on the highway in the distance. Two, actually. A wolf-like creature dragging a fallen woman along by the scruff of her neck. 
That was absolutely Fenrir and Elluka. 
Elluka herself wasn’t moving at all, and Fenrir was just dragging her along the road. I wondered if she’d been injured. I dispelled my invisibility and headed over to Fenrir’s side. 
“Hey, you guys ok?!” 
“Hm?! Oh, if it isn’t Touya! Are you well?” Fenrir dropped Elluka and turned around to greet me. His voice was as manly and baritone as ever. 
“Forget that, what happened to her?!” 
“Hm? Ah. Don’t fret. My master simply purchased one too many frivolous things in town. She neglected to buy food supplies.” 
“Seriously?!” I stared blankly for a moment until a loud growl from Elluka’s stomach snapped me out of it. 
“...Food... Hungryyy...” I pinched the bridge of my nose and heaved a sigh. Was this moron in front of me seriously someone I was hoping could help me defend the Reverse World? 
“...Are you okay?” Her stomach growled loudly in response as if to say “No, I am not okay.” 
I just shook my head. 
 
“Ahh... That was good! Man, I haven’t eaten in like three days or something. Was starting to get worried I’d have to go after bugs or frogs or something gross.” I’d pulled a bunch of food, including a few dragon meat skewers, out of my [Storage]. The amount she ate could have put Yae to shame... But there was no point worrying about it. 
“Why are you here anyway, Touya? Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad, but still...” 
“I was actually looking for you.” 
“You were? Needed something Gollem-related?” 
“Kind of, I guess... I’m not really sure where I should begin but... I guess we can start with you looking at this.” I handed her the newspaper I’d picked up earlier and pointed toward the article about the Mutated Construct attack. 
Elluka mulled over the words, and Fenrir peeked over to look as well. The wolf can read, too? That’s wild... 
“I see... What about it? I know those golden monsters are a hot topic and all, but what does that have to do with anything?” 
“I’ll be blunt. Those golden monsters are beings birthed from a wicked god. They can be considered the scouts for an inevitable takeover plan. Soon enough they’re going to appear all over this world, and wreak havoc on it. This entire world is in danger, Elluka.” 
“...Did you hit your head? Do you want me to take you to a doctor?” She looked at me through those thick glasses almost as if she felt sorry for me. 
Fenrir was giving me a similar sympathetic kind of look. 
Look, I know how stupid that sounded just now, alright?! Gaaah! Fine, I’ll give you more details then!! 
“Look. My actual identity is the grand duke of Brunhild, I rule over a whole country.” 
“...You’ve completely lost your mind.” 
“...He looks so normal from the outside, this is truly a shame.” Please stop looking at me like that! Auuuugh! I sighed quietly and shook my head, taking a good few hours to explain the full situation to them. It was far more annoying than it had to be... 
“I see, interesting. Well, it’s not like what you’re saying isn’t theoretically possible. This talk of invaders from another world, and a different world in parallel to our own... The whole thing reminds me of Noir’s abilities, really.” 
“Noir?” 
“The black crown. It has mastery over time and space. It can pull things through from other realities, but I never expected to meet someone from such a place... Although perhaps it’s a little different to how Noir does it. I’m not entirely sure of the chronological specifics...” Another crown? And this black crown can manipulate space-time? I wonder if Palerius came into contact with that crown five-thousand years back... 
“Either way, you can’t expect me to just believe you off the bat. I can hardly just nod my head and accept that you’re from another world. That kind of thing is unreasonable. You could be attempting to pull some kind of scam, after all.” 
“Indeed. If you are trying to trick us with such a story, you must be quite the fool.” Even if I can’t blame your skepticism, there’s no need to be rude... Then again, I did hardly even manage to convince myself of everything I just said, so it must be even harder for them to believe it. 
The existence of the Phrase would be more than enough to prove what I was saying, but as luck would have it, they hadn’t yet attacked this world. Then again, I wondered if that’d count as enough proof after all. Elluka would’ve probably considered it some new breed of magic beast. 
Guess I could just drag her to the regular world and convince her by force...? Oh, I know...! 
“I’ll show you both something that doesn’t exist in this world. That ought to do it.” 
“Hmm? Something that doesn’t exist?” I reached into my [Storage] and pulled out my personal Frame Gear, Reginleif. It landed on the ground with a tremendous thud. 
“WHAAAAAAAAAA?!” 
“HUHHHHHH?!” If they were cartoons then their eyes would’ve popped out of their heads. They simply stared on in absolute disbelief at the crystal-lined mech in front of them. 
“This here is a Frame Gear. It’s a mechanical warrior I created to defend my homeworld from the Phrase, those otherworldly invaders I mentioned.” 
“A Frame Gear? You mean it’s not a Gollem?” 
“It isn’t. Unlike Gollems, Frame Gears don’t act autonomously. They’re controlled directly by humans.” 
“A mechanical frame without a mind? Curious... But yes, that’s certainly not like a Gollem. More like a weapon, or a tool.” 
“Well, we still have sentimental value attached to them. Fighting inside them makes it feel more like a partnership. I think they at least have that in common with the Gollems of this world.” I got into Reginleif and made it move around a bit as a demonstration for the two. I got a little too into it and even showed them the Fragarach moves. 
I checked through the monitor to see their reactions, and the two of them were about as stunned as I expected. Seemed like this had worked as proof enough that I was something unknown to them. 
I hopped out of the cockpit and landed back on the ground, prompting Elluka to charge right toward me. 
“Let me have that thing!” 
“Absolutely no way.” Elluka pouted at first, then started to sniffle, before pulling an expression of such despair that you’d think the world was about to end. I wasn’t gonna give up my precious Reginleif that easily. 
She threw a little tantrum before finally calming down after Fenrir angrily bit her on the behind. She was still muttering something angry, though. 
Since it seemed like they’d been convinced, I shoved Reginleif back into [Storage] and began talking to them again. 
I basically wanted to know if they had any ways of dealing with the inevitable influx of Mutated Constructs. 
“Hmm... Well, this enemy sounds like it can be defeated by strong Gollems, but it might still be a challenge. After all, many of the Gollems in this world lack any combat aptitude at all.” That was certainly true. Mr. Sancho’s Crab Bus didn’t exactly seem useful for anything except transport, it wasn’t like it could fight if it had to. The three Étoiles I’d obtained didn’t seem all that strong, either. 
“Master, would the military-grade Gollems not suffice? They certainly wouldn’t lose in terms of sheer numbers.” 
“Hm... Numbers are one thing, but a bunch of low-quality Gollems won’t exactly turn the tide.” 
“Military-grade Gollems? What are those?” I quickly butted in. 
“As a general rule in this world, people typically only own one Gollem. That’s mostly because attempting to command multiple Gollems at once causes crossed wires and signal jams... But the military-grade Gollems, or Soldats, don’t have any such restriction. A single person can easily command an entire squad of them.” 
Apparently the Soldats were able to move as a coordinated platoon under the command of individual commanding Gollems known as Sergents. 
So a person could take control of a single Sergent, which would then be able to control a platoon of Soldats. 
That would prevent any crossed wires since he’d only be commanding one Gollem. That made sense. 
“The only issue with that is that all the Soldats are factory models. That means they lack the unique skills that legacy Gollems would have. Not to mention the fact that the amount that can be controlled through the Sergent depends on the individual. I’d say that the average number that can be controlled per person is about five. There’s also the fact that all Soldats in a single platoon will be deactivated if that platoon’s Sergent is destroyed.” 
“...So what does that mean?” 
“I’ll be blunt with you. A single legacy Gollem would probably be better than an entire Soldat platoon.” 
That was a pain. Ultimately, the situation came down to having a single person control one strong Gollem with a power level of ten, or a single person controlling five weak Gollems with a power level of two. That seemed pretty situationally dependent... 
“I have three legacy Gollems under my command, though. I never got anything like that jamming, or crossed wires.” 
“Three Legacies? Are they perhaps from the same series?” 
“Yeah. They’re all Étoiles.” 
“My... That’s quite rare. It’s almost hard to believe you gathered three Gollems from the same production line, given how many creators there were. It’s highly unlikely that there are many others out there with multiple Legacies under their control.” 
She had a point. The three of them were sold to me because they wouldn’t boot up properly. It would make sense that rare legacy models would be snapped up by different people and separated. 
“I’d say that if such a situation as you described happens if this world was attacked en masse... We would have no means of a unified defense.” That was bad news. Even if the crowns were powerful, there’d be a limit to how much they could fight. Not to mention the trade-offs for using their power. 
The other Legacies would probably be able to handle Lesser Mutants, but Intermediate and Upper Mutated Constructs would be impossible to handle. 
But that info wouldn’t really help if we had no means of detecting the attack. As far as I knew the Reverse World didn’t have an adventurer’s network like the Guild, so there’d be no place to reliably install Phrase detectors. 
“Actually, Touya... I have a question, or rather, a request.” 
“Hm? I’m not giving you my Frame Gear.” 
“Tsk.” She seemed annoyed by that. 
“While I am personally interested in that thing, let me set it aside a moment. You said you ruled a country in that other world? Something about being a Duke?” 
“Grand Duke.” 
“So you have more of those Frame Gears, right? And you have the authority to relocate them?” 
“I have hundreds of them, yeah... They belong to me. Nobody else in the world except my country has them.” 
That wasn’t entirely true, I had given a Dragoon to Ende, but that wasn’t relevant. 
Ultimately the Frame Gears belonged to me, rather than Brunhild. I didn’t use the national treasury to develop them, or anything like that. It was all funded out of my own coffers, usually financed by trade deals with Olba. 
“Anyway, I want you to lend the power of those Frame Gears to a small country not far from here.” 
“What do you mean?” 
“That country is currently suffering an invasion, and they’re in a spot of trouble. I would like you to help me repel the invaders.” 
Apparently, the country was a small kingdom known as Primula. They were being invaded by a country called the Triharan Holy Empire. Let’s see here... 
I projected the world map into the air using my smartphone. The map was the inverse of how I usually saw it, but Primula’s territory seemed to roughly cover where Xenoahs was in the regular world. Which would make Triharan... This world’s territorial equivalent of Yulong. 
Guess they’re similar here, too... Doesn’t matter if it’s the regular world or the Reverse World, they’re the same kind of people. It reminds me of that time Yulong attacked Hannock. 
“What can you tell me about this Holy Empire?” 
“It’s an extremely authoritarian nation, they have a holy emperor who sits at the top, but he’s basically a puppet. The actual political power lies in their senate, and they’re the ones who ordered this invasion.” Even that sounded similar to Yulong. First an Empire of Heaven, and now a Holy Empire... Geez. Although in Yulong’s case, the emperor held all the power alone. 
“Triharan is also one of the few nations that makes use of Soldats in its military. In terms of sheer numbers of military-grade Gollems, the Holy Empire only falls behind the Gardio Empire and the Isengard Magitechnocracy.” 
“Other than those three, there aren’t really any other nations that use Soldats.” 
That just makes it the weakest Soldat-using nation, then! Ah well, I guess it is what it is. 
Still, I didn’t exactly want to interfere. If you considered every time I’d done that in the past, nothing good usually came of it. Then again, I didn’t really need to worry about my social status in the Reverse World. 
“I don’t really think it’s my place to butt in without at least knowing more details. I’d be fine with ending a war, but only if I learn more about it.” 
“Very well. You can talk to the king of Primula and hear the situation from him, then. There’s not much time, though. The battle between the Primula Knight Order and the Holy Empire’s army has begun.” 
Then there was no time to lose. I didn’t want more people to die just because I was taking it easy. It didn’t matter if it was the Reverse World or not. 
“Alright, then let’s go quick. [Levitation].” 
“Wah?!” 
“Whoa?!” I took the woman and the wolf floating up into the air with me. Since I was moving anyway, I decided to bring in Yae and the others once I made it to Primula. 
“We’re about to fly up in the air, alright? Don’t move too much. It won’t be dangerous, but you might wanna close your eyes. It can be a little scary the first time.” 
“Flying?! What?!” I didn’t give them a chance to protest before casting [Fly] and blasting thousands of meters into the air. 
It wouldn’t take long to reach the destination if I went full-pelt. 
My two passengers shrieked in horror as I accelerated toward the Primula Kingdom. For some reason, they were making horrified expressions and looked like they were crying. That’s when I realized I hadn’t actually made wind-blocking barriers for either of them. 
It was a pain to set up on the go, so I just cast [Prison] around them and quickly set it to prevent wind pressure from passing through, and maintained an oxygen level similar to that of the ground. 
That way I’d be fine to go at my full speed. 
Elluka was screaming something at me from inside the [Prison], but I paid her no heed. 
So long as I maintain my speed, it should only take about five minutes to get there... 
Thus, I flew away like a missile, breaking the sound barrier in the process. 
 
“...S-Scary... Too scary...” 
“Gwuuuh...” Elluka was looking down at the ground while muttering to herself, while Fenrir was simply flat on the ground, twitching. 
Come on, you babies. It wasn’t that scary. Just think of it as riding high up in the sky in a supersonic aircraft made out of glass... Actually, that does sound scary. Even though I thought I’d saved time by making it to Primula in just five minutes, they’d been suffering from motion sickness for a full ten. 
“...Is this really one of the most renowned Gollem Technologists in the world?” 
“I-I am, I assure you...” Hilde, who I had called through a [Gate] earlier along with the others, looked over Elluka with a disapproving face. Her doubt was valid, with those thick glasses, tattered clothing, and grumbly disposition, she didn’t exactly seem like a genius. 
“Oohh... He is so fluffy, he is...” 
“Are you really a Gollem? You don’t look the part at all.” 
“M-Miss, I need to inform you that I’m a mighty wolf... Please do not treat me as a house pet...” 
“Hm? Are you? Sorry, then.” Yae and Elze were frantically petting Fenrir, but let up when he asked them to stop. 
I’d introduced my three fiancees to the duo here, but I wanted them to get up and get going already. 
“C’mon, we gotta go to the castle. The fight started already, didn’t it?” 
“Ah... You’re right... We need to hurry!” Elluka quickly scrambled up and adjusted the glasses on her face. 
Primula’s Capital City was known as Primulet, and we weren’t too far away from it. 
When we arrived at the city limit, Elluka flashed some kind of card to the guards there, and they immediately brought us a six-wheeled Gollem carriage. It seemed like she definitely had connections with the Primula royalty. 
We hopped on the Gollem carriage and the knights started taking us along the road to the castle. 
I looked out along the streets and saw people with misery cast over their faces. It wasn’t surprising, they’d probably just found out they were at war. 
The first thing I noticed about the castle up-close was that it was far bigger than the one back in Brunhild. We were greeted by a broad-shouldered, bearded man decked out in fancy clothing. He came charging at us with a smile on his face. He was also extremely fat. 
It was honestly comical to see a man of his size running as fast as he could. 
“Miss Elluka!” 
“Ah, Grand Chamberlain Every.” 
“What a pleasure to see you, it’s been too long!” Grand Chamberlain Every looked to be in his fifties. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath and then shook hands with both Elluka and Fenrir. Although in Fenrir’s case it was really more of a pawshake. 
“Thank you for coming. His Highness will be so pleased to see you. You’ll be able to bring the Primlarge to its fullest potential, no?” 
“Elluka... What’s the Primlarge?” 
“That’s this country’s royal Gollem. It’s a legacy model. I stop by every few years to run maintenance on it.” Every turned his eyes to look at me. I had been a bit rude by butting in just there. 
“Hm? Who is this?” 
“He’s an assistant of mine. In fact, if things go to plan, he may be able to repel the Holy Empire’s army.” 
“Wh-Wh-Whaaaat?!” Grand Chamberlain Every’s eyes shot open and he sprawled his arms out wide in a ridiculous pose. He would’ve put a kabuki actor to shame with those moves. He was so ridiculously expressive that I had to hold back my laughter. 
“Could you arrange a meeting with the king? Ideally somewhere private... We have a complicated story to tell him.” 
“Very well! Please wait a moment!” Every wheezed slightly, then patted his chest. After that, he took off running back into the castle. Seeing him totter off like that, I really couldn’t help but be reminded of a nursery rhyme character... He was very much a Humpty Dumpty. 
As I thought rude things about the chubby old man, Elluka turned and looked into my eyes. 
“Touya. Do you know why I believed your story?” 
“Hm? Isn’t it because I showed you my Frame Gear? And something to do with that black crown you mentioned?” I was curious as to why she’d brought this up all of a sudden. 
“Those were factors, true... But there was another reason. This country. You see, of all the nations in the world, this country has the oldest history. Five-thousand-and-two-hundred years ago, there was a world war that ravaged this planet. This country is the only surviving nation that immediately sprouted up after the war.” I remembered hearing about an ancient world war. If I recalled correctly, it was started by two major superpowers that enveloped the world by the end. Something about Gollems running wild and ruining everything. 
The world slowly came back together from the pieces, despite losing most of its advanced technology... If that was five-thousand-two-hundred years back, that meant it happened even longer ago than the Phrase invasion in the world I came from. 
“You see, this nation has a legend. They say that five-thousand or so years ago, in the ashes of the ruined world... A man appeared. This man spoke a tongue nobody else understood and wielded magic nobody could comprehend. He was eventually accepted by one of the small tribes, and with them managed to conquer and unite the other minor civilizations that sprouted up. He was the founder of this country. But according to the royal family, he lay on his deathbed and left us with a series of cryptic dying words. He said ‘I am sorry for keeping this from you... But I actually came from another world.’” 
“What?!” Elluka’s words shook me. 
The first king of this country was from another world? What the hell? That can’t be... 
“This country is called Primula, after the tribe from that legend. But the name of the royal bloodline is something else entirely. The surname of this country’s royal family is Palerius. They’re all descended from the first king, a man named Lerios Palerius.” 
“Palerius?!” 
Alerius Palerius... That was the name of the Sage of Hours, a man who lived in Partheno long ago. He was a master of space-time manipulation and successfully hid Palerius island from the world. 
But... There’s no way he could’ve used it. Didn’t Doctor Babylon say that his gate didn’t work...? No, wait... It was that it just didn’t have enough magic power. 
But... Hold on... If the black crown could pull things from the other world, and maybe visit the other world... Could Palerius have come here? This is too much to take in. 
“Is that name familiar to you?” 
“...The Palerius part, at least. That’s the name of a space-time mage who lived in my world five-thousand years ago. But his forename was Alerius, not Lerios. There’s a landmass in the world I’m from named Palerius island, and the descendants of Alerius live there.” If the royal family was really part of the Palerius Bloodline, then that would be interesting... 
At the very least it would mean that the people of this kingdom were distantly related to Mentor Central from Palerius island. But there was still a discrepancy in the timeframe. If this bloodline started two-hundred years before the Phrase invasion in the regular world... Did he somehow travel back in time, or something? 
“...Hold on a little... It might be better if I bring someone from that era over...” 
“Do you mean Babylon-dono, do you?” 
“Yeah. I think she’d be better here. She might have more to add than we would.” Elluka seemed confused by my exchange with Yae, so she butted in. 
“From that era? What do you mean?” 
“Sorry, can you just sit tight a moment? I’ll be back very soon.” 
I left a very confused Elluka behind and teleported myself to Babylon in the regular world with my divinity. 
I walked into the Hangar and found several Minibots carrying various tools and attending to their duties. I saw Monica in one of the open garages, she was replacing Gerhilde’s shoulder armor. 
“Hey, Monica. You seen the doc?” 
“Hm? She’s like... Right over there, and stuff.” Monica pointed in a direction, and that’s exactly where Babylon was. She was completely passed out... On the floor, no less... She looked extremely unsightly. 
She had a child’s body, so this kind of thing would be cute if I didn’t know the truth about her. “Ufu... Hehee... You got some good panties, missy... Mind if I see them...? Yeah... Take them off... That’s right... Bend over... Ufu... Ahaha...” She was muttering something decidedly un-cute in her sleep. “Wake up, dummy. It’s an emergency.” 
“Huh?” I shook the sleeping, grinning creep by the shoulders to wake her up. She looked at me with half-lidded eyes before reaching out toward me. 
“Mm...” 
“Gah!” Before I knew it, she grabbed ahold of me and pressed her lips against my face. She’d scuttled up my body and wrapped her arms and legs around me, I was practically immobilized by her grip. 
Her tiny tongue probed into my mouth, intertwining with my own as she licked and sucked at me. Wh-What the hell?! Where did you learn this kind of advanced shit?! 


 

“Hhghh... S-Stop!” 
“Whuh?” I broke her away from me and tossed her to the ground. That was... Seriously dangerous... 
“Hm...? Where’d my cute little honey go...?” 
“You were asleep, you idiot.” 
Doctor Babylon looked around in a half-asleep daze. Apparently, she’d been dreaming about french-kissing a girl... I set all that crap aside and explained the current situation, then took her to the Reverse World with me. 
“Sorry for the wait.” 
“Huuuuh?!” Elluka and Fenrir weren’t too bothered by the fact that I’d suddenly materialized in front of them, but Grand Chamberlain Every almost bent ninety degrees backward and threw out his arms in an exaggerated jazz-hands gesture. Elze had to hold back her laughter at the sight. 
“Don’t worry, Every. This man can use teleportation magic.” 
“A-Ah, I see. Forgive me.” His breath was a little ragged, but Every managed to compose himself. I felt like if he was born on Earth he’d probably be cut out for making reaction videos. 
“Is this child someone from the other world as well, Touya?” 
“That’s right. She’s a doctor named Regina Babylon. She’s the creator of the Frame Gears.” 
“But she’s so young!” Elluka stared at her in stunned silence. That wasn’t too surprising. At first glance, she just looked like a twerp in an oversized outfit. 
Doc Babylon already had [Translation] cast on her, so communication would be simple enough. I decided to introduce the two properly. 
“Doc, this is Elluka. She’s a renowned Gollem Technologist. This is her Gollem companion, Fenrir.” 
“Most interesting. Oh yes... I quite like the sound of you. I’m Regina Babylon, the pleasure is all mine. I’d quite like to have a discussion with you after all of this.” 
“I’m Elluka. Actually, I’d like to have a conversation with you, I’m most curious about the technologies of your civilization.” The two of them shook hands while attempting to conceal sinister grins on their faces. I wondered what that was all about... 
“Hey, Touya... Why are they both making that face? It’s creepy...” Elze picked up on it too. I couldn’t tell if they saw each other as rivals, and were grinning in a two-faced way... Or perhaps they were happy they’d found a new source of relatively unknown knowledge. Part of me felt like I’d just mixed two elements that should never have interacted. 
“A-At any rate, now that we’re all gathered... We should head to see the king!” Grand Chamberlain Every, who seemed somewhat shaken by the atmosphere, ushered us toward the castle. 
As we walked down the hallway, I stopped to ask Babylon if she’d heard of anyone named Lerios Palerius before. 
“Lerios... Yeah, he was old man Palerius’ second son, I think. He worked to assist his father, along with his brother. They were pretty into the whole magitech stuff. From what I understand, he died at a young age and his remains weren’t recovered.” But now I knew the truth. He hadn’t died at all. He’d been blown to another world and managed to become royalty there. 
As weird as the story was, I actually felt a bit of kinship with the man. My story was basically the same. 
We continued through the hallway until we came to a heavy door with two guards standing in front of it. 
Grand Chamberlain Every walked up toward the door and had it opened for us. We were checked for weapons, but I had Brunhild in my [Storage], so that was fine. 
Yae and the others also had their weapons in the [Storage] pocket of their engagement rings, so they were let through without a word as well. 
The door opened into a fairly simple room, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t pleasant. It looked regal and felt well aged. 
There was a man on the opposite side of the room, he stood up from his desk and walked over toward us. 
He looked to be in his forties. He was relatively well-built, but was no beefcake. He basically had well-defined muscles along his thin frame. 
He had short brown hair and a very neat mustache that flowed into a long beard. He looked like a pretty cool guy. Atop his head was a plain golden crown, nothing fancy. 
That meant he must have been the king of Primula. Which in turn made him a descendant of Palerius. 
“Good day, Elluka. It has been some time.” 
“That it has, Your Highness.” The two of them greeted each other like old friends and went to shake hands. He wasn’t speaking to her like a king would to a commoner. 
The king of Primula looked from Elluka toward me. 
“And this is the one you said could halt the Holy Empire?” 
“That’s right. But more importantly, I think he could decipher the stone tablet that the first king left behind. He’s from the Otherside.” 
“He’s what?!” After hearing Elluka out, the king of Primula audibly gasped. He looked at me with focused eyes and spoke up. 
z?/????? ?z???/????? ???????/??????? ????/???? ??????/???????? 
“Huh?” I didn’t understand what he was saying, and apparently, that made the king annoyed. His eyes narrowed and he was about to open his mouth... But then the same language was suddenly spoken by someone next to me. 
“??????/????? ??. Is that the language that your first king left behind? I’m afraid that there’s practically nobody in my world now who speaks Parthenese.” Doctor Babylon grinned. Oh, that makes sense. I could’ve spoken it if I used my translation spell though... 
Seemed like it was the right call to bring her with me. 
“Aha, I see... Is that what you call it? We only know it as the Bygone Tongue, and it is passed down in our royal family. You need to learn it to be able to take the throne, as is tradition.” 
That was interesting. It was likely that the first king believed that his father would be able to complete the dimensional disruptor and bring the people of Palerius island to the Reverse World, so he left the language behind... 
I couldn’t exactly blame him for holding on to that kind of hope. He must have been scared. 
He probably thought that the world outside Palerius island had been obliterated by the Phrase, just like the islanders did. 
The king of Primula smiled and took a step forward. He extended his hand to me. He seemed pretty down-to-earth. 
“Welcome to my kingdom, friends. Allow me to introduce myself properly, I am King Ludios Primula Palerius.” 
“I’m the grand duke of the Duchy of Brunhild, Mochizuki Touya. This is Doctor Regina Babylon, and these girls are my fiancees, Elze, Yae, and Hilde.” I reached out to shake the man’s hand. I couldn’t tell if the surprise on the man’s face was because of him learning that I was royalty, him hearing the doctor’s name, or him realizing just how many fiancees I had. 
 
“Take a look at this.” I used my smartphone to project a video into the air. 
“Oho?!” 
“What in the world...” We’d drawn the curtains and closed off the room. The only people in here were me, Elluka, Fenrir, my fiancees, Grand Chamberlain Every, the prime minister, the king, and the knight captain. 
I was showing them a recording of a bunch of crystal monsters fighting against massive, mechanical knights. 
“These monsters are the Phrase. But the golden ones are mutated offshoots of the species. Right now our world is being invaded by both. For the most part, we’ve managed to repel them every time they’ve attacked.” I looked around at the people in the room. They were staring in disbelief. But frankly, I didn’t care if they believed. I was just here to deliver logic and facts. 
“And I know that these monsters have started showing up in your world, too. Eventually, they’ll start pouring through in tens of thousands.” 
“Are you certain about that?” 
“Yes. I’m sorry for delivering such blunt news, but the only thing that could possibly fend these things off in this world are legacy Gollems.” I felt bad for the people, but I couldn’t exactly lie to them. When the two worlds joined as one, this was inevitable. 
“...Then if what you say is true... What do you expect us to do, Grand Duke?” 
“I want your country to support my efforts in taking these monsters out. I want this country to unify with other countries. In my world, the vast majority of countries have joined together in a league of nations. I’d like to see if the countries in this world could do something similar...” 
“You can’t expect us to just be at peace with countries like the Holy Empire! They’re the same as any other invader!” The knight captain smacked his fist against the table. He was a grizzled looking man in his forties. His red hair was very apt for such a hothead. 
“I know it’s difficult to reconcile with enemies. That’s why we need to reach a state of negotiation first.” 
“I think if the other side is unwilling to listen, this will be fruitless. It’ll escalate to a military conflict no matter what.” The abnormally gaunt and thin prime minister chimed in with his opinion. He felt like he’d completely resigned himself to fate. I could understand why he felt the way he did. 
“Alright, then. All we have to do is show them a little force, right? Then we can force them to hear us out. How about that?” 
“Oho? You mean to crush the Holy Empire, then?” 
“No, no. Not that. I don’t want to do that, it’d be a major pain in the ass. I’d have to deal with the fallout.” I shook my head at Babylon, who was cackling like an idiot. The prime minister was startled by my casual words, but quickly gave me a wry smile. 
“It’s all well and good to fantasize... But it’s not as if you could defeat the Holy Empire.” 
“Uhh... I mean, I could. If it’s just a country, I could go ahead and wipe them out no sweat. What I really hate is the fallout afterward, where I’d have to figure out what to do with the broken nation. I don’t really enjoy the idea of conquering nations and expanding territory, honestly.” I shrugged slightly, but my words left the Primulan people stunned. 
That was just how I felt, though. I was having trouble with Brunhild, and that was a relatively small nation... I didn’t want to think about having more territory. I had to be really careful not to accidentally become royalty in the Reverse World. “S-So, Grand Duke... You said you could save us from the Holy Empire, even so?” 
“Sure. But the Frame Gears I showed you, those giant knights... They aren’t designed to be used against humans, so I won’t deploy them.” 
“Then how do you intend to stop those savages?!” The knight captain yelled again. He and the prime minister weren’t exactly treating me with respect. Elze and the others seemed irritated by their behavior, too. 
Now that I was having Doctor Babylon talk with them on my behalf, it’d probably be fine, but their attitudes were a little rude for my liking. 
To be fair though, I could understand their doubts. I’d just showed up and say “What’s up fellas I’m royalty from another world!” As I mulled over such things, the king of Primula reprimanded the knight captain. 
He’d gotten a bit mad at the outburst, which was fair. It made a king look bad if his confidants were out of control. 
I tried to steer the conversation back on-topic, so I turned to the king. 
“Who’s in charge of the Holy Empire’s invasion?” 
“Er... That would be the second heir. Is that right, Prime Minister Beroah?” 
“Quite. The second heir to the Holy Throne. Listin La Triharan.” 
Oh...? An heir? That’s perfect. 
“Okay. We’ll just kidnap him, then. If we can hold him as a hostage, we can just force negotiations.” 
Everyone except Doctor Babylon and my fiancees opened their mouths in disbelief. They raised their brows and stared at me as if to ask what I was even suggesting. I knew I was saying we should perform a kidnapping, but it didn’t seem that bad. 
“He can freakin’ teleport, people! It would be fairly simple for him to warp into the enemy camp and steal the commander.” Doctor Babylon explained it in concise terms. She was pretty much correct. 
It was definitely cowardly, but it was simple enough to work well. I didn’t exactly want to kill all the invading soldiers... No matter what happened, that imperial commander would end up disgraced, so kidnapping was the path of least bloodshed. 
“If... If you could do such a thing, the Holy Empire may well withdraw...” 
“Let me just make one thing clear, though. If I kidnap this second heir for you, then our only demand will be a ceasefire. I don’t want you taking advantage and asking for ransoms or anything. Obviously, we’re not going to hurt or kill the hostage, either.” I wanted to end the war, not trash another country. I didn’t want them using me for selfish ends. 
“And what if they invade again after we return him?” 
“I’ll just pepper some threats in when I return him. I’ll say that next time I’ll come for their god-king or something.” I had realized at some point that I sounded much like a villain, but there was no going back at this point. 
“...You’re certainly forceful, Grand Duke.” 
“I think it’s a better tactic than having any more people die. In the world I’m from, countries rarely even have conflicts with each other anymore. Like it or not, this world will have to follow suit as well. Countries that don’t co-operate will end up collapsing.” I glared softly toward Prime Minister Beroah. To be fair, I didn’t exactly mean it. I wasn’t about to let any but the most irredeemable of nations fall. 
But I also couldn’t be everywhere at once. Even if I wanted to save something, I couldn’t always manage it. 
“Then... Grand Duke. What do you want us to do after all of this, exactly?” 
“Once things have settled, I want you to ally with my country. It’s not like we have any presence here, though. I’m not really sure how you’d feel about an alliance with a Duchy in another world.” 
“That’s not a problem. I trust you to a degree. My bloodline hails from the Otherside, after all. I don’t doubt that such a place exists based on the evidence, and the good words Elluka has for you.” Hmm... To a degree, huh? Guess I still don’t have their full trust, but it’ll do for now. They might believe I’m a guy from another world, but aren’t necessarily convinced I’m a royal. 
“Display map. Show the location of the current battle between the Primula army and the Holy Empire’s army.” 
“Understood.” My smartphone projected a map of Primula into the air and began to zero in on the location. 
Reyvan, huh...? Some kind of fortress city? Seems like the Holy Empire’s army is coming in from three directions. 
“That seems dangerous, it does.” 
“Yeah. Seems like they’re barely holding the enemy back...” Yae and Hilde muttered to each other upon seeing the situation. It seemed to be a fortified location, but I wasn’t sure if it’d last much longer against an onslaught of Soldats. 
“Search. Triharan Holy Empire’s Second Heir.” 
“Searching... Twenty-three found.” 
“That’s twenty-two too many...” 
“Hrmph...” I grumbled while looking the map over. It meant the search criteria was too broad. Since it was based on my perception, it identified twenty-three people I could mistake for the target. An imprecise spell as ever. 
“Do you know anything about what this second heir looks like? Or if you had some kind of image that’d be great. I need to narrow the results.” 
“Er, well... He’s nineteen. He supposedly has a fair and beautiful face. His hair is blonde, too! Ah, and he has a pale complexion due to being sickly. He should also be wearing the Imperial Emblem of his family.” A blonde hunk, huh... Sure would be nice if I was born like that. I sighed internally as I asked to see what the emblem looked like. 
It was two swords crossed together above a two-headed lion. I kept that image in my mind and repeated the search, it provided me with one result. 
That meant he must have been the target. 
“Alright, I’ll be going.” 
“Oh, take me with you as well.” Doctor Babylon suddenly asked to tag. 
“And us, too!” Elze piped up as the other girls nodded. 
“Uhh... Sure, I guess?” I definitely didn’t want to leave everyone sitting around. Grand Chamberlain Every and the others were obviously still a bit suspicious, so I didn’t want them to be left alone. 
It’d be better for my own peace of mind if we were together, anyway. 
“Alright... The distance is this much... In this direction... I think... [Teleport].” I took my companions with me immediately and teleported off. We landed right in the middle of a tent within the enemy camp. 
Since I learned how to use my divinity to travel across worlds, my precision with [Teleport] had gotten considerably better. I could basically do it perfectly within a certain distance from me at this point. 
A young man stood in front of us, staring in surprise at our sudden appearance. He seemed to match the description of the second heir, Listin. His hair was a beautiful blond. He basically looked just like the kind of princely man you’d see in manga aimed toward women. 
There were also two women in the tent with us, they seemed to be maids. 
“Wh-Who are you?!” 
“Uhh... I guess we’re representatives from Primula? Would you be Listin, Second Heir to the Holy Throne?” The prince immediately drew his sword and pointed it toward me. 
“Intruders! Guards!” 
“Yikes... [Prison].” I set up a barrier around us within the tent, sealing off the outside. 
Soldiers rushed toward the tent with their weapons drawn, but found themselves blocked by an invisible wall within. 
“Hiyaah!” 
“Oh. Careful, Touya-dono.” Listin charged toward me with his sword but Yae reached out and grabbed the blade, twisting it upward and disarming him. It pained me to say it, but my fiancees were clearly becoming something more than human as well. 
“Sorry about that, Yae.” I grabbed the stunned heir and cast [Paralyze] on him. 
As he slumped to the ground, an older-looking knight yelled from outside the tent. 
“Bastard! What are you planning to do with our venerable heir?! Return Sir Listin to us at once!” 
Oh good, I do have the right person. I’m glad there weren’t any mix-ups. 
“For the time being, stop your advance into Primula. We’ll be keeping ahold of your precious heir until then. I’ll return him only when the Triharan Holy Empire is completely out of this country. Understand?! You won’t ever see him again if you don’t listen to me!” I yelled my demands out toward the men crowding the tent. The men gnashed and snarled, and directed hateful glances toward me. I kind of wanted them to stop, because I could sense their sorrow... It made me feel like the baddie. 
“Truly the words of a villain...” 
“That is just how Touya-dono is, it is...” 
“...It’s certainly not chivalrous, but war forces hard decisions... I shall avert my eyes this once.” 
“Geez...” C’mon, guys... This isn’t that bad, is it? For some reason, the doctor was grinning down at the fallen heir, as if she knew something we didn’t. I’d cast [Paralyze] on him, so he should’ve still been conscious. He could clearly see and feel Babylon prodding and staring at him. 
“Oho... Eheh... Aha... Now I see... Ohhh my... This is most interesting.” 
She was muttering stuff while patting the guy here and there. Since it was beginning to border on sexual harassment, I dragged her away from him. I didn’t want the other side to think we sexually abused hostages... 
“Touya. We should bring these maids with us so they can tend to the hostage. We can’t just leave it all to Primula, after all.” 
Babylon spoke up. She had a point. 
“You two, please come over here. You can help take care of him while he’s in our custody.” The two maids nodded and started walking forward. I modified the [Prison] to let them pass through, and once they got close they pulled out knives and attempted to stab me in the neck. 
I’d expected as much. I calmly dodged their attacks and took them out with [Paralyze]. I wasn’t an idiot, I knew a battlefield was no place for a regular maid. 
“Alright, we’ll be taking the heir with us now. If you retreat from Primula, he’ll be returned without any harm done to him.” 
“Do you mean that?” 
“I do. I won’t let anyone in Primula touch a hair on his head.” The man who spoke to me was the same older knight from before, I could sense more intensity behind his feelings than anyone else. I wondered if he knew the heir more closely, perhaps he was a teacher or something. It didn’t matter, since I was done with all I needed to do. 
I used [Teleport] to move the [Prison] and its contents back to the room in Primula we’d come from. 
When we appeared out of nowhere, the Primulan government kicked up a fuss. They weren’t startled by me, but rather by the three paralyzed people on the ground. 
“G-Grand Duke... Are these...” 
“Yeah. The Triharan Holy Empire’s Second Heir, and two of his maids.” As I explained the situation, I quickly frisked the heir for weapons. I passed his blade, which had the imperial emblem on it, to the king of Primula. That proved it was the genuine article. 
I had Doctor Babylon frisk the maids, but she started to massage their breasts halfway through, so I punched her in the head. 
“You should be able to hear me. You’re in the royal castle of Primula. I’ll free you in a moment, so please don’t do anything rash. I’ll make sure nobody from Primula hurts you.” The man nodded his head as much as he could when I spoke to him. Seemed like he understood. I cast [Recovery] on him to undo the paralysis. 
He gradually realized he could move his body again, and he stood up. It was only then that I realized just how short he was. 
“...You aren’t from Primula?” The young man surveyed me with frightened, suspicious eyes. Given that I’d kidnapped him, I could understand his wariness. 
“No, I’m not. I’m just a person who wants to end this conflict. That’s why I’ll fight the Primulan side if they hurt you, too.” 
“...I feel the same as you. This conflict is pointless. If humiliating me as a hostage is what it will take, then I will accept such a fate.” 
Huh. Didn’t expect that... Seems like he’s reasonable. As I pondered to myself, I felt Doctor Babylon tug at my coat. I wondered what she wanted. She very quietly whispered something into my ear. 
Wait... Huh?! No way! 
I stared at the man in front of me. What Babylon had told me was true... But the only question was... Why? “What is it, Touya?” 
“Nothing...” Elze was curious, so the doctor went and whispered the same thing into her ear. Then, she whispered it to Yae and Hilde. The three of them shot open their eyes in shock. They’d realized the same thing as I. 
“Ah... Your Highness. Can you arrange a room for him, please? I’ll brief him on the full situation in private.” 
“Hm? A-Ah... Of course.” The king of Primula was still staring at the sword in his hands. He must’ve still been shocked I’d kidnapped someone so important so easily. 
The hostage and his two maids still had [Prison] cast around them, so nobody could touch them. Once they were made aware of that, they obediently followed a few knights to their room. 
Me, Babylon, and my fiancees also followed them. The Primulan government needed to discuss how to proceed, and I didn’t want any part in that... That’s what I told them, at least... But I actually wanted to check something else. 
I entered the hostage’s room and expanded the [Prison] to cover the entire area, blocking any sound from leaking out. I didn’t want anyone else to hear what I was about to say, after all. 
“...I’ll introduce myself properly, then. I’m the Grand Duke of Brun... Actually, forget that. I’m Mochizuki Touya. You can just think of me as a wandering mage. This is Elze, Yae, Hilde, and Doctor Babylon.” 
“A mage?! That explains all the strange things you did... I see.” 
“Right... So... Nobody can enter this room right now, or hear what we’re saying. That’s why I need to ask you this... Are you... Not an heir after all? Are you actually... An heiress?” The young man... Or rather, the girl in front of me stopped in her tracks. It confirmed my suspicions. Just as Doctor Babylon had told me... She wasn’t a guy! 
 
“...How did you know?” 
“It wasn’t really me, it was the doc here...” 
“The shape of your hands and your facial structure are a dead giveaway that you’re a girl. Not to mention your body was softer to the touch. Plus I have an excellent ability to sniff out the lewd pheromones emanating from your special spots!” Doctor Babylon... Proudly stated something completely weird and abnormal. She was a degenerate. A goddamn off-the-wall degenerate. 
Hilde cast an uneasy glance toward Babylon and then began speaking to Listin. 
“Tell me... Are you perhaps a body double for the real heir, then?” 
“No. I am the second heir to the holy throne... Listin La Triharan. Though... My real name is Listis Le Triharan.” I wondered why she was projecting the image of being male to other nations. That was odd. 
Her two maids seemed to be aware of it, which made sense enough. If she didn’t want the word getting out, she’d need attendants willing to guard the secret. That was probably why Doctor Babylon asked me to bring them along. 
“My father, my mother, and my elder brother are the only others who know I’m a girl... Ah, and Sir Zerorick, my teacher. His wife is also aware... She’s named Marr and is the royal physician. Ah, and these two maids are named Lala and Lili.” Her teacher? Guess that Zerorick guy might be the older guy who was yelling earlier. I tried asking her that, and she confirmed it. While the second heir was formally recognized as the commander behind the invasion, the actual logistics were left to Sir Zerorick. This was Listis’ first battle. 
“So... What now?” I looked toward the others with a shrug. I thought we were kidnapping a dude, but it was a girl the whole time. I wondered if it would be right to tell the Primulan government. 
“I guess nothing changes? Doesn’t matter if she’s a guy or a girl, right? She’s still royalty... So we can still use her as a hostage, right?” 
“I’m not so sure...” Listis suddenly cut in on what Elze was saying. I wondered what she meant by that. “The senate probably won’t care, even if my father protests. They think of us as mere figureheads, after all. We’re disposable when it comes down to it.” That sounded bad. I remembered Elluka said something about the senate earlier. “So then...” 
“I think in a worst case scenario, they’ll just announce that I’m already dead without even trying to negotiate. Then they’ll just continue the invasion as scheduled.” 
I sighed in frustration. I couldn’t have expected that kind of outcome. 
I realized that they could easily spin it as some kind of holy crusade of vengeance for the death of the people’s beloved royalty. 
“Mmm... Then... That means there was no point in capturing you, Listis-dono, was there not?” 
“I’m afraid that might actually be the case. Or rather, it might have just made things worse. If people start thinking you took me and killed me, it’ll only rile up the troops more.” Ah crap... This is bad... If that happens the Primulans are gonna be pissed at me... They’ll totally brand me as an idiot who can’t be counted on. 
Doctor Babylon looked over at me with a fiendish grin on her face. 
“Well then, Touya. What now? Gonna crush the army yourself?” 
“You know I can’t just do that... Damn it... The only reason I did this was to prevent any further casualties.” 
“You really kidnapped me for that purpose? You really wanted to put an end to this conflict?” The second heir turned toward me with a hint of wonder in her eyes. 
“It’s not that I want. It’s that I will. It’s true that I should’ve thought about the method a little better... But I thought it would be a lot simpler. This whole war is foolish.” 
“My father said something similar... But those monsters in the senate still went ahead with their plans. Not even the holy emperor can ignore their decrees, after all... He’s just a figurehead for them.” Listis spoke in a way that seemed as though she was beating herself up. It sounded like the holy emperor was a reasonable guy. 
But I was surprised that the senate had that level of actual control. It was a far cry from the Roman senate I’d read about in history books. I wondered if it was just because it was something in another world, or maybe it had developed differently due to social norms being different... Either way, I understood that this particular senate seemed to be corrupted as all hell. 
Apparently, there were about fifty members of the senate, with the senate chairman as the head. The senate was entirely made up of nobility, and it was considered a lifelong position that would be passed on to their children. 
It started out as a simple board of advisors until they began to experience a slow creep of power. Eventually, they held authority that exceeded the holy emperor’s. 
They apparently ignored the pleas of the people and did as they wanted. If anyone ever rose up to try and change their ways, they’d simply crush the voice before it got too loud. 
“The current chairman is a man named Morlock Lapitos. He’s very old, he’s actually close to seventy... But that doesn’t stop him from being a force that scares even the other senate members.” 
“He even scares the holy emperor, though?” 
“Officially, the senate is in place to advise my father. That means he cannot propose policies without running them by the senate. That’s how they control him. They veto anything that could threaten their authority.” 
That made sense to me. Groups like that often prioritized themselves over everyone else, even the war they were currently facing was the result of them ignoring the holy emperor. 
“But hold on... Can I just ask... Why are you pretending to be a guy?” 
“If I were raised as a woman, my father knew that the senate would have forced me to marry one of their children to solidify their political positions. Just thinking about it disgusts me... Originally they planned on saying I was stillborn, but Sir Zerorick volunteered to take me under his wing and train me as a man.” It seemed like no matter what world I was in, people were trying to gain political power at any cost... 
Apparently, her elder brother had already been made a victim of this. He’d been forced to get engaged to the chairman’s daughter. 
Apparently, he was completely opposed to the arrangement, because his prospective partner was a lot older than him, and had a hideous personality. I felt terrible for him. 
I was glad that all of my fiancées were so kind to me, even if they could get... Scary at times. 
“Were you thinking something strange just now?” 
“Not at all!” 
I answered the very perceptive Elze with a straight face. I wondered when she got so good at figuring me out. Either way, I could understand why the holy emperor and his wife decided to do what they did. I’d also go to any length to protect a precious daughter. 
While the crown heir, her older brother, wouldn’t be able to reject proposals due to mounting pressures, it would be easier for a secondary heir to reject those things. That didn’t mean they didn’t care about their firstborn, of course, but their hands were clearly tied. 
After all, they hadn’t been able to stop him from getting engaged. It was probably a ploy to usurp the throne, anyway. If anything they’d be fine not to marry off the second son, because they’d want his bloodline to die with him. 
Ultimately I had gotten the picture. The senate was crooked. They’d gone to all the trouble of orchestrating this war, and then didn’t even have any of their families participate. 
“So you’re saying the best way to end the war would be to do something about that old man and granting the holy emperor’s authority back...” 
“Y-Yes, that’s right! If Chairman Morlock loses his grip, the other senators would be thrown into utter disarray! Father would be able to call back the army, and the Primula invasion would be completely stopped! That’s a great idea!” Listis suddenly started yelling and flailing her arms around. I understood her feelings, but she definitely wasn’t good at masking her intent. I could see through the fact that she really wanted me to solve the mess. 
I decided that I might as well do it, though. That way I’d be able to make some solid connections with the holy empire. 
I quickly worked out the pros and cons in my head. 
“Alright, how’s this then... I take care of the chairman, and you tell your father that the war needs to end. Alright?” I looked straight into Listis’ eyes and voiced my suggestion. 
She looked shaken for a moment and audibly gulped. Then she began to speak. 
“...If you can do it, then I swear upon my very life that I will end this war. Please, mage... Please save Triharan... No, save both Triharan and Primula.” I looked over to Elze and the others, and they gave me silent nods. 
It was decided. That meant I needed people to help me pull it off. I couldn’t exactly take Listis with me due to the political situation and the agreement I’d made with Primula, so I decided that my best bet would be with that older knight. That Sir Zerorick guy would probably be trustworthy. I checked my map and verified that he was still inside the tent I’d kidnapped the Listis from. 
Alright. I should be able to warp in, grab him, and warp out. Easy! 
I was not ignorant of how much like a real kidnapper I sounded at that point. My thoughts were borderline criminal... I was kind of scared by how easily I’d accepted it, it wasn’t something I was meant to be proud of! 
I decided going alone would be the best course of action this time. 
“[Teleport].” I whizzed off to the tent from before and was immediately spotted by several knights. Among them was Sir Zerorick. 
They were having some kind of discussion around the central table, probably about figuring out who the criminal was. 
“Wh-?!” 
“Y-You bastard, it’s you!” I dashed through the crowd of knights until I was behind Sir Zerorick. I whipped out Brunhild and pointed the weapon into his back, causing him to sheathe the saber he was holding. He then put his hands up. 
“The situation has changed, so he’s coming with me too. I’ll return him along with the heir, so please don’t worry about it. See ya.” I said what I wanted before warping me and the new hostage back to the room in Primula castle. I was in and out in under a minute. 
“Sir Zero!” 
“Oh... Miss!” I let their heartfelt reunion play out for a couple of minutes before briefing Sir Zerorick on the situation. I didn’t want him to try attacking me with his sword, so I wanted to clear up the misunderstanding immediately. 
After Listis explained the situation, Zerorick went quiet for a while. He folded his arms and closed his eyes. 
After a while, he opened his eyes and looked right at me. 
“Touya, was it? So I understand you’re a mage... Given what I just experienced, I can’t exactly refute that. But tell me, what will you do with the chairman? Kill him?” 
“No way. Even if someone’s wretched, I don’t kill. It’s not my place to judge him for the foul things he’s done, anyway.” 
“Then what?” 
“Hmm... Oh, here’s an idea. We could send him and his entire household to an uninhabited island that has no hopes of ever seeing a boat. Or, oh! How about I curse him so he can’t speak unless he shoves his fingers right up his nose or something.” Everyone except Doctor Babylon drew back from me and gave me a funny look. Was it something I said? 
I had spells that could suck out people’s will to live, spells that could induce sickness, fear, or confusion. Those were just some of the effects of my ancient Dark spells. I was completely equipped with the ability to nullify an opponent without killing them. Hell, I could even rewrite the chairman’s memories through [Hypnosis] if I really wanted to. 
I also had the option of asking the Triharan holy emperor for what he wanted. 
I imagined that just searching the chairman’s house would end up producing enough evidence of corruption to put him away for life. 
“I’d advise caution. He’s the chairman, so his entourage of guards is befitting his position. He has several powerful Gollems around him at all times. And it’s rumored that he recently managed to hire a personal knight who can use unprecedented abilities.” 
He has someone like that? I wonder if he’s a spellcaster like me. Or maybe it’s something similar to Tsubaki’s ninjutsu. Either way, I guess it might not be as easy as I want it to be. But so long as I put my enemy in a [Prison] it should be okay. 
“You can leave those Gollems to us, you can.” 
“Of course, they won’t be a problem for us!” 
“That’s right! I’ll crush them all!” My fiancées were excited to fight. But I didn’t really want them to overdo it... To be honest the three of them were capable of one-shotting dragons at this point. 
“We’ll handle the guards and stuff, then. Sir Zerorick, can you explain the situation to the holy emperor?” 
“...You wish for me to act as a turncoat within my own nation?” 
“If you don’t want to, I won’t force you... But I’m going to do what I want regardless, so don’t complain if you don’t help and I end up beating up someone you know.” I didn’t want him coming up to me and whining that I kicked the crap out of his son or something if I ended up getting charged by random knights. I wanted him to inform the holy emperor so things would be a bit easier. 
“Sir Zero, please lend him your aid. If we use his magic, we could maybe even end this wretched senate once and for all...” 
“...If the young miss wills it, then I will move these old bones for the sake of ending this foolish war.” Sir Zerorick knelt down and bowed to Listis. 
... I’m not asking you to lay down your life, man. 
I used [Recall] on Zerorick to get general information about the country and identify the chairman. Then I searched for him using my phone. 
I found him pretty easily. He was in the holy empire’s capital, in the senate building itself. 
The distance was within my [Teleport] range. It was approximately as far away as Belfast was from Brunhild, so I was confident I could precisely land there. 
“Okay. So first up we’ll take out the Gollems and that bodyguard of his, then we’ll capture Chairman Morlock and bring him to the holy emperor. After that, we’ll see what he decides. Sound good?” 
“Sounds good. If such a plan works, that is.” I laughed internally a little at her doubt, but I wasn’t surprised. I hadn’t shown either of them my combat capabilities, after all. 
According to the map, Chairman Morlock was on the move. I decided to bide my time a bit and fight when he was in an open space, since fighting in a corridor was a bit of a pain. 
Heh... Just gotta wait for the target to move to the center of the main hall, then I’ll attack him. 
...I’m thinking like a criminal again. Auugh... I’m not a bandit! I’m an honorable grand duke... I am! 
He had three knights and five Gollems escorting him. Security was about as tight as I’d expected. 
“Sir Zerorick, you should leave the moment we get over there. If you move in and help, things could get complicated.” 
“...If I must.” I activated [Teleport] the moment I confirmed with Zerorick that he was in the middle of a large, open room. 
We appeared within the room in a matter of moments. In the sudden confusion, Sir Zerorick retreated and hid behind a nearby column. 
One of the knights escorting the chairman saw us and yelled out. 
“Intruders! Defend the chairman!” Two of the five Gollems answered the call by moving themselves between me and the target. 
They were tall and well-proportioned Gollems that looked suitable for combat, and they had knight-like visors down over where their eyes would be. They also had gun-like attachments on their wrists. It seemed like these were the Soldat models I’d heard so much about. One of the five, furthest at the back, looked distinct from the others. It had a horned helmet. That meant it was probably the Sergent, the commander for the Soldat platoon. 
“Fire!” The knight yelled out a command, and the two Gollems raised their arms to fire a hail of bullets at me from their wrist-mounted guns. The pace wasn’t as rapid as a machine gun, but it was still pretty fast. 
“Not so fast!” Elze jumped in front of me, deflecting all the bullets with her gauntlets. I wasn’t exactly in a position to say anything, but her abilities seemed absurd... 
She had closed the gap between her and one of the Gollems in a matter of seconds, smashing her fist into it and reducing it to a broken pile of scrap metal. She did the same for the second Gollem in just as timely a fashion. 
“Do not forget about us, do not!” 
“That’s right!” Yae and Hilde leaped into action, approaching two of the escort knights and attacking them each. In the blink of an eye, both of the men fell to the ground alongside their armor. They were completely unharmed, but were clearly traumatized by what had just happened. 
Their blades were made out of Phrasium, and they could use their inner magic to decide whether or not to slice through the things they were striking. The level of precision that it took to only cut the men’s armor off was frankly inhuman... Even I found it absurd. 
I felt a little emasculated only watching them do all kinds of amazing things, so I decided to pick up the slack a little as well. 
“Come forth, Lightning! Pure Sparking Javelin: [Thunder Spear]!” I scored a direct hit with my Lightning magic on the Sergent unit in the back. 
It was completely immobilized as a result, deactivating the remaining Soldats. It was exactly as Elluka had told me. Soldats seemed strong, but that was a pretty crucial weakness. 
“Heeey, I wanted to crush them!” 
“Ah, sorry.” Elze grumbled a bit at me, but I wanted to verify the Sergent’s functions. 
“Gh... K-Kill them, Weiss!” 
“...As you command.” The chairman yelled out, and the last remaining knight stepped forward. I couldn’t make out his face for his helmet, but he wasn’t wasting any of his motions at all. This guy, whoever he was, wasn’t some chump. He was probably the knight I’d heard about. I blinked, and he was no longer there. It took me a second to register his speed. I sensed a presence behind me and immediately crouched down low. His sword passed through the space that my head had been occupying not a minute ago. I didn’t even notice him get behind me. I stood up and converted Brunhild to Blade Mode and started clashing against his sword. He was good, but he wasn’t quite as skilled as Yae. 
I was amazed and shocked that I was actually having a hard time against him... So I decided to act without restraint. 
“[Slip]!” 
“Hgh...!” The knight immediately lost his footing, so I converted Brunhild to Stun Mode and moved in to paralyze him. I felt bad for resorting to something so cheap, but I couldn’t have him getting in my way. 
That was my plan, at least. But he managed to contort his body as he fell. Brunhild only managed to strike the side of his helmet, knocking it off. 
He spun around in the air and attempted to kick me in the side of the head. I managed to dodge the attack and jumped back. I’d underestimated him again. Alright, if he’s gonna be like this then I’ll just seal him... With... What... 
“Hey... Hold on... What are you doing here...?” The knight stood up and assumed a combative stance. With his helmet removed, I immediately recognized the face staring at me. 
He didn’t have the ephemeral vibe that usually accompanied him, but there was no mistaking his identity. 
“Ende...?” He showed no reaction at all to my words. I had no idea what he was doing in a place like this. I had no idea why he was acting as my enemy... 
I turned to see Elze restraining herself after she saw how I’d almost been hit. 
“Hey, Ende! What are you doing here?!” 
“...Who are you?” 
He coldly answered my words with a glare. I had no idea what was going on... 
“It’s me, Touya! Mochizuki Touya!” 
“Never heard of him.” Ende stepped in and slashed at me without hesitating. I stepped back and stared at him in shock. There was no way this guy wasn’t Ende, he was powerful enough to actually be a threat. I decided to try casting a little bait. “...Hey, don’t you want me to tell you what happened to Melle?” 
“...Melle...” Ende’s eye twitched, and his body stopped moving. His eyes began swirling around in his head as if trying to find a focus. That meant that somewhere inside him, he remembered the Sovereign, even though he seemed to have completely forgotten me. I wondered if he’d lost his memories... Or if he’d been messed with somehow. “What are you doing, Weiss?! Kill the enemy!” Ende’s spasming ended the second the chairman yelled out, and he snapped back into hostility. He came charging toward me with his blade. Goddammit, this isn’t funny! Fine... I’ll put you in timeout! 
“[Prison]!” 
“Wh?!” Ende was immediately sealed within a pale blue cube. He crashed into the wall of his new container, stumbled backward, and fell to the ground. 
He got up and started slashing at the walls, then kicked at the walls, but it didn’t give way. 
There was nothing he could do. Once you were enclosed in my perfect cell, only something with the power of a god could shatter it. 
Hell, it could even hold an Upper Construct if I needed it to. 
I decided to leave Ende in there for the time being, since I had pressing questions for the chairman. 
“Bastard!” 
“Die!” The two other knights, despite their lack of armor, came slashing at me. They were strong, but nothing compared to Ende. But before they did anything, they were unceremoniously stopped in their tracks by Yae and Hilde. Rest in peace, fellas. 
“You wretches! Do you not know who I am?! I control this senate! I am Morlock Lapitos, chairman of this entire hall! Begone!” 
“Yeah, I know who you are. You’re an old fart trying to bargain using power that means nothing to me.” I spoke frankly toward him, prompting him to snarl and yell. Veins bulged along his red forehead. If he was really pushing seventy, he was doing a good job of hiding it. 
He had grey, scraggly hair, and a long beard. He was clad in a fancy gold-embroidered robe. He was also holding an equally fancy scepter in his hands. His body was tall, thin, and gaunt. But his face had distinct traces of arrogance painted all over it. His hooked nose, narrowed eyes, and crooked brow gave off the image of him judging everyone around him. 
“Well, I don’t really care about you all that much. Tell me what you did to him.” 
“Him? Ah... You knew Weiss? Heheh...” The old man grinned slightly as he tilted his scepter around in his hands. 
“One of my subordinates found that man near the castle, he was quite close to death. He had all kinds of interesting objects on his person... I tried to ask him where he’d obtained them, but it seemed like his memories weren’t all there. That’s why I had him... Re-educated in one of our special facilities. I renamed him Weiss, and gave him the luxury of serving me directly.” Memory loss... And on the verge of death? That sounds like Sakura’s situation... Wait, no. Given that he seems to have been brainwashed, this is way worse. I can probably fix it up with [Recall]. Or at least, I hope so. 
But still... Ende, being left on the verge of death like that? How? Who could’ve been strong enough to do that to him? 
“...Heh... And among Weiss’ possessions was this! The world’s mightiest Gollem!” The chairman pulled a small microscope slide out of his sleeve. Wait... That’s... 
A cracking sound rang out as he broke it between his fingers. 
A blinding light enveloped the room, and a massive armored knight appeared, partially demolishing the roof of the room we were in. 
It stood tall, sleek, its monotone colors gleaming in the sunlight. I looked it up and down, my eyes settling on its wheels. 
It was the Dragoon, the Frame Gear I had given to Ende. 
... You seriously let that get stolen, Ende? 
“Heheh... You can’t even comprehend it, can you?! You’re finished!” The chairman scurried up into the Dragoon’s cockpit. He moved with such speed and grace that I found it hard to believe he was nearing seventy. The hatch closed around him. 
The Frame Gears had been tweaked so even amateurs could control them, even if less proficiently. It was something akin to playing a simulator in an arcade, or a controller on a game console. The Frame Gear itself assisted in some of the processes, too. 
But... 
“Now, you pesky little worms! Prepare to be crushed beneath my heel!” I ignored the voice of the old man that was blaring through the Dragoon’s speakers, and I pulled out my smartphone. Then I pushed a button. 
“Ahahahaaaaa, huh?! Wh... Huh? Why isn’t it moving? It moved fine before...?!” The voice coming from the speakers descended into panic. The Dragoon slowly lowered itself, and showed no signs of getting back up. 
Yae let out a sigh as she looked up at it, while Elze just grinned and shrugged her shoulders. 
“He is truly a fool, he is.” 
“Well, it’s not like he could’ve known, right?” 
“Move! Gah! Move, damn you!” As he continued to freak out, I hopped up to the cockpit and unlocked the hatch that was protecting the manual open/close lever. I pulled it. 
With the hissing sound of whooshing air, the cockpit sprang open. 
“Eek!” 
“Sorry to burst your bubble, pal... But I invented this thing. That makes me the master of this Gollem. Understand?” ...Technically, this was invented by Doc Babylon, Rosetta, and the others... But I’m not gonna sweat the small stuff. 
There was an emergency override built into all the Frame Gears. Given how powerful they were, that was a perfectly normal safeguard. 
“W-Woaaah!” I used [Levitation] to forcibly remove chairman Morlock from the cockpit. He flailed his arms and legs in an attempt to resist, but it was futile. When I brought him back down to the ground, Zerorick came back out of hiding. 
“Oh! Z-Zerorick! Strike this fool down! He’s trying to destroy our holy empire!” 
“I’m afraid not.” 
“Wh-What?!” 
“This man has Lord Listin as a hostage, you know? I’m afraid my hands are tied, Chairman. I can’t do a thing.” He attempted to hold back a grin as he said that. I was amazed by how smooth this guy was, he actually used the hostage situation as justification. 
“Y-You idiot! What do you think is more important?! Me, the vital and important chairman, or Listin, an incompetent second-born?! I’ll have you executed for this!” 
“Enough.” 
“Grugh?!” Elze, clearly fed up with his rambling, chopped him hard in the back of the neck. I was getting tired of him too. 
I wondered how he had the gall to say something like that. This country had a lot of problems if it was letting a man like this sit at the tippy-top. 
I gave Sir Zerorick a reassuring pat on the back, but the moment of sympathy was held up by a cracking sound. I turned around to see Ende physically breaking out of the [Prison]. 
“What the hell?!” 
No way... I know I didn’t pour divinity into it this time but normal attacks can’t possibly break through it! Ende had two blades in his hands that I hadn’t noticed. They weren’t quite long enough to be considered longswords. Wait... What’s that coming off them...? What... How? 
I dodged the strikes from his blades by jumping back, then quickly chanted a spell. 
“Spark forth, Ice! Frozen, Jolting Maelstrom: [Vortex Mist]!” 
“Hrgh!” Ende got his hand caught in the sudden mist cloud, shocking him enough that he let go of one of his weapons. I reached in and grabbed it, then jumped back. I took a closer look... And it was exactly as I’d suspected. 
The shortsword in my hand had divinity leaking from it. There was no mistaking it... He was wielding a Sacred Treasure... A weapon bestowed by the gods. 
“How did you get something like this, Ende...” Sacred Treasures were gifted to worlds as a last-hope kind of deal when they were threatened by wicked threats of divine origin. Heroes usually wielded them to repel the enemy, and the items were commemorated in legend and myth. 
Since Sacred Treasures could become potential birthing spots for wicked gods if they weren’t handled properly, they were usually destroyed or replaced with a replica after their purpose was served. That’s what I was told, at least. 
“Haaah!” He charged forward with the remaining blade in his left hand. 
Guh... This is getting annoying, Ende! Get your shit together! 
“[Accel Boost]!” I charged headlong toward Ende. 
“Wh-?!” 
“Don’t take this personally... But Yumina asked me to hit you for her.” I smacked Ende right across the face and sank my free fist into his stomach. 
“Bwugh!” 
“Go to sleep.” After he keeled over, I brought the hand I’d used to slap him down over his neck in a chop. The remaining Sacred Treasure fell from his hand, and he collapsed on the spot. 
“He was certainly going all-out, he was...” 
“Indeed. He almost gave you a run for your money, Touya.” 
I was mostly just annoyed at Ende. Sure he’d lost his memories, but I wasn’t so keen on him acting like this. 
I picked up both Sacred Treasures and threw them into [Storage], then sealed Ende in another [Prison]. I decided to wait a bit before recovering his memories, I had other fish to fry. 
I shrunk down his holding cell until it was the size of a die, and slipped it into my pocket. 
Unlike [Storage], time wasn’t halted within the enclosed space... I decided to hurry up and finish things before the guy woke up and needed to use the bathroom. 
I cast another [Prison] around the chairman, and Zerorick took me toward the holy emperor. I took that opportunity to recover the Dragoon as well. 
The whole stuff with the Frame Gear raised a commotion, so several soldiers were in the area. I ended up using [Invisible] to mask us, so we got by without any hassle. According to Zerorick, entering the palace was usually forbidden unless the Senate expressly permitted it. 
Given that this was the home of the holy emperor, I expected the palace to be a little gaudier... It honestly looked plain compared to the grand senate house we were in earlier. 
There weren’t many Gollems or knights on guard duty, either. It really put into perspective that the holy emperor didn’t mean much in this country. 
“Your Highness!” Sir Zerorick opened a door at the end of one of the hallways and yelled out. There was a man in the room sitting at his desk with a book. He seemed to be in his fifties. When he heard the voice, he looked around in confusion. 
The man had white hair and a small white beard, as well as a pair of round glasses on his face. He looked much like an academic. Not the image I expected of the Triharan holy emperor. There was nothing intimidating about him, really... But that wasn’t too bad, he seemed fairly casual. 
I quickly realized why he was looking around in confusion. I’d forgotten to cancel our invisibility spell. 
When I finally undid it, the shock of our sudden appearance made the man fall out of his chair. 
“Uwah! S-Sir Zerorick?! A-Are you not supposed to be on the Primulan front...?” 
“Please forgive me, Your Highness, but I am here to ask something urgent of you. It’s a matter that could decide the fate of our holy empire.” The holy emperor looked confused, so Zerorick pulled out a letter from Listis explaining the situation, and handed it to him. 
At first, he seemed skeptical and confused, but then I pulled open the [Prison] I’d used to contain Chairman Morlock and sent the older man tumbling to the ground. 
“...I see... This is serious indeed. Guards! Bring Lupheus to me at once!” A guard peeked his head in from the outside, then nodded and ran down the hall. 
I asked Zerorick something that I wanted to be sure of. 
“Who’s Lupheus?” 
“The firstborn son, crown heir to the holy throne.” That made him Listis’ older brother. Given how poorly the holy emperor was treated, I wondered how badly he had it in daily life. 
After a while, the knight from before brought a young man into the room. 
He had golden blond hair just like Listis. He was definitely in his early twenties. He was fairly handsome, and the glasses he wore gave him an intelligent aura like his father’s. He didn’t seem the type to take up a blade and fight on the front. 
When he entered the room, he was initially shocked and confused, but after his father and Sir Zerorick filled him in on the details, a fire seemed to light up in his eyes. 
“Father! This is a golden opportunity! This is a chance for us to abolish that dreaded senate and restore peace to our entire empire! If we listen to this man and end the war with Primula, we can work toward peace!” 
“Hm... Mm... Yes... You’re quite right.” His speech was so loud and passionate that he even seemed to unnerve his father. 
I remembered that he’d been forced to get engaged to the chairman’s wretched daughter... I’d heard she was a lot older and had a crappy personality, so he was probably desperate to get out. 
I asked about it later and discovered she was in her forties, had a sadistic streak, and was so hideous a lot of people mistook her for a guy. I could understand Lupheus’ desperation. 
The senate held absolute power, but it wasn’t integral to the country’s government. If it was abolished, there’d be some initial confusion, but things would eventually settle. 
The senate had treated the holy emperor and his family as disposable, only to be disposed of by them in the end... A cautionary tale indeed. 
“Very well. Lupheus, take some guards and some Gollems, search the estate of the chairman’s family. I am certain that evidence of his embezzling will be in there somewhere. Zerorick, head out and order a retreat of our army. We shall make peace with Primula this day.” 
“And what do I do with this guy?” 
I pointed toward the chairman, who was still flat-out unconscious. 
“...This might not be fitting with due process, but... We’ll have him imprisoned in the dungeon until we find evidence of his guilt.” Normally you wouldn’t go locking someone up without proof, and hearing that statement without context would make it seem suspicious... But there was no doubt that he was guilty of what he had done. 
I was sure that the other members of the senate wouldn’t be let off too lightly, either... But in the end, what goes around comes around. 
Lupheus made off for the chairman’s estate immediately. He definitely seemed happy, not that I could blame him. 
I asked the holy emperor for a handwritten letter that I could pass on to the king of Primula, then took Zerorick and my fiancées to the camp we’d initially kidnapped him from. 
He immediately gave the order to retreat, but was met with slight resistance by some nobles who were visiting. Apparently, they had ordered some men to pillage spoils of war from the conquered city. 
The moment we showed them the emperor’s letter and told them the senate was to be dissolved, they quieted down really quickly. 
Seemed like they’d been plotting bad stuff in the background, too. Seeing that their senate-based backing would soon be over likely sent them into a panic. It was too late for them, either way. Sir Zerorick wouldn’t miss their guilt. 
After the order to retreat had been given, I warped us back to Primula castle. 
I passed on the letter from the holy emperor to the king of Primula and told him the war was officially over. Everyone simply stopped what they were doing and stared at me blankly. 
I couldn’t blame them, to be honest. It had only been six hours since Elluka brought me to the country. The fact that I’d saved not one, but two nations from disaster, was not something any reasonable person should have to understand. 
“How can we even begin to express our gratitude?” 
“Nah, seriously... It’s fine. I could only come to this world to begin with thanks to the device your ancestor made, so really I should be thanking you.” 
Everything was just about done, so we headed over to see Listis. When she saw me, Zerorick, and the king of Primula, she heaved a sigh of relief. 
Sir Zerorick summed up what had happened while we were away. 
“Amazing! I can’t believe it.” 
“Indeed. The senate is dissolved and the chairman is imprisoned... This is a bold new future for our holy empire!” Zerorick and Listis grinned happily toward each other. I was glad that she was now free from living a life of pretending to be someone she wasn’t. 
Elze and the others were smiling too. 
“I’m glad the war’s over.” 
“Same here. It happened faster than I expected.” 
“All is well that ends well, it is.” 
Though everyone was happy, I was still pretty bummed out. Because even though the mess in Primula had been resolved... 
“I’ve still got another mess to deal with...” I sighed softly as I looked down at the die-sized [Prison] I’d just taken out of my pocket. Ende was still out cold inside it. 
 
The two nations signed a peace treaty, and the war finally came to a concrete end. 
Everything from then on was up to the two countries, I wasn’t planning to interfere any more than I had. Well, I did safely return Listis to her family. 
Though there was some slight resistance, the holy empire dissolved its senate, and most of the senators were imprisoned and had their estates repossessed. 
The chairman and the corrupt senators would likely receive their sentences, but I didn’t care enough to find out their fates. 
I’d also managed to secure connections and support within the Reverse World’s governments, two nations now trusted me. 
I hadn’t exactly created a sturdy defense against the inevitable Phrase attacks, but it was a start. 
Just as I was about to call it a day and head home to Brunhild, another problem came up. 
“Take me with you!” 
“Uhh...” Elluka started whining that she wanted to come with me. Please stop clinging to my leg like that... Elze and the others are staring daggers into my skull right now! 
“Touya, she definitely has a lot of good know-how. There’s stuff I wanna ask her about, too... So let her tag.” 
“Thanks, Regina! I knew you were reliable!” Elluka winked and pointed toward Doc Babylon. Even though I knew she was intelligent... Her personality was a pain. I wasn’t sure if I wanted her and Babylon talking unsupervised. 
Fenrir coming along too was a little bit of a relief, but I wasn’t sure if it was completely reassuring. 
“When you say let her tag along, you mean take her to Babylon?” 
“Yeah. We won’t have her roaming around the ground, so we’ll just let her hang around the Workshop or the Research Lab.” Hmm... If her Gollem research can help us improve the Frame Gears, then it might be indispensable for the coming conflicts... 
I looked over toward Elze and the others. They all nodded. 
“Why not, right? She’s probably gonna be helpful.” 
“Well... If everyone says so, then...” 
“Wahoo! We did it, Fenrir! We’re going to another world!” 
“I’m glad for you, master.” I felt a teeny bit anxious as Elluka immediately lifted up Fenrir by the front paws and started dancing with him. 
“Another world, eh... Touya, please take me there someday. I’d like to see the world of my ancestors.” 
“Someday, for sure. I’ll introduce you to another person on that side from the Palerius lineage, as well. She’s quite pretty, you know.” 
“Ohoho, I like the sound of that.” The king of Primula laughed and shook my hand. I promised I’d return, and told them that if anything dangerous happened, to look for the Silver Dragon on Drakliff island. 
I ordered the dragons on that island not to harm any humans unless they attack first. Most of them didn’t speak the language of humans, but they pretty much all understood it. So long as they explained what they were there for, Shirogane would be able to help them out. 
“See you later, then.” 
“Mm. Thank you again for helping us. Farewell.” I waved off the king of Primula and used [Gate] to take us all back to Drakliff island. Then we used the Dimensional Disruptor Mk. II to return to Babylon. 
I asked Elluka to wait a little bit because I wanted to fetch Yumina. I didn’t exactly suspect Elluka of anything, but I wanted Yumina’s Mystic Eyes to determine her intentions. 
Yumina judged her to be pure of heart, so I had Doctor Babylon give her a tour of the place. Elluka was already looking around in a mixture of confusion, awe, and wonder. 
They were getting pretty hungry, I warped Elze and the others back down to the surface. Just as I was about to warp the two of us back down, Yumina tugged at my sleeve. 
“Touya... That woman isn’t going to be a tenth, is she...?” 
“Absolutely not! Hell no! She’s just another member of staff, I promise!” 
“Alright, then.” Yumina was smiling, but I felt a frightening amount of pressure behind that face of hers. I hoped she understood I had no plans to increase my wife count. 
I didn’t understand why she was fine with me having mistresses if she got that concerned about more wives... Not that I was planning on having any, anyway. 
Yumina and the others seemed to consider Doctor Babylon and the Babylon Gynoids as my mistresses already, apparently. I wondered if they were fine with me having mistresses so long as they were infertile or something. 
“Oh, right. I met Ende in the other world. That dumbass had lost his memories and gotten brainwashed.” 
“Wow, really? What happened to him?” 
“Hm? Oh, I beat him and put him in this cube.” I pulled out the die-like [Prison] and tossed it out on to the grassy knoll in front of us. 
“Release.” Registering my keyword, the [Prison] shattered apart and released its prisoner. 
In a matter of seconds, Ende charged at us. He was dashing toward Yumina with his fist about to fly right at her. 
“Gaah!” 
“Eek!” Goddammit! I caught his hand just before it struck Yumina, then tossed him over with a perfect ippon seoi nage judo throw. When the dumbass was flat on his back, I hit him with [Paralyze]. 
“Gwaugh!” After he went limp, I let go of him. 
“Sorry... Didn’t realize he’d woken up yet. That’s one drawback of [Prison].” Time flowed normally in there, unlike [Storage], so he’d probably woken up a while ago. He’d been biding his time and waiting for his opportunity. 
I was pretty livid that he’d tried to hit Yumina of all people. I wanted to hit him a few more times. 
“He’s certainly out of his mind, then...” 
“Yeah... His memories are probably all jumbled up. I’m gonna bring him to Melle and hope he can come back to his senses.” It’d be bad if he kept attacking us no matter what. 
I lifted his body up with [Levitation] and made for Babylon’s rampart with Yumina. 
We reached Melle’s room, and I set down Ende on the ground near the despondent girl. 
“Endymion?!” Melle, who had been unresponsive since I left her, suddenly snapped to her senses and began cradling the unconscious man in her arms. 
“This is awful... Who did this to you?” 
“Ah... That was me, kinda... But hold on! Don’t get upset! I’m sorry! It’s not my fault! He lost his memories and tried to attack me...! It was self-defense, okay?! It was just self-defense!” Melle looked up at me with teary eyes, sniffling softly, so I spewed out my defense. I ended up getting a little excessive, but I didn’t really like being guilted. 
“His memories?” 
“He was apparently on the verge of death when he was found. He lost his memories as a result, and after that, some bad guy implanted bad ideas into his head, which made him see me as an enemy. He seemed to remember you a bit, though.” 
“...I understand. I’ll heal his mind at once.” 
“Huh?” Melle completely ignored me and extended her fingers until they took the form of thin, crystal tentacles. They snaked outward and latched on to various parts of Ende’s head. 
“I’ll undo the psychological damage that Endymion has suffered. You may wish to cover your ears, the sound is rather shrill.” 
The moment she finished speaking, the tendrils began emitting a piercing shriek. It rippled through the air, causing an amplified tinnitus-like sensation. I couldn’t stand it, so I backed out of the [Prison] with Yumina. 
“Did she say this was healing him?” 
“It might be similar to my [Recall] spell, or maybe she’s using vibrations to mess with his brain.” I could only really guess, but being in there made me feel like I was in a microwave oven. I hoped Ende’s head wouldn’t explode or something. 
After a while, Melle turned toward us and made a puzzled expression. Something seemed to be wrong. Yumina and I stepped back into the [Prison], Melle began speaking in a concerned manner. 
“Umm... I should have fixed him, but he’s not moving...” Ende’s eyes clearly had life in them. He was laying atop Melle’s knees, but he couldn’t move or talk. He moved his eyes to shoot me a glare. 
“Oh, right... I used [Paralyze].” I’d totally forgotten, it was no wonder he couldn’t move. 
I walked up to Ende and cast [Recovery] on him. I decided that I’d cast [Paralyze] on him again if he tried anything funny, though. 
After I undid his paralysis, Ende reached a hand out to Melle’s face, and gently caressed her cheek. 
“Hey, Melle. Been a while, huh...” 
“Endymion!” Melle held him tight against her. 

 

It seemed like he was back to his old self. I was glad. 
“You have your memories back...” 
“Thanks to you... I remember what happened when I lost my memories, as well... Touya, you hit me pretty hard.” 
“That’s all your fault, man. Can’t blame me for it.” If he could speak to me so casually, that meant he was fine. Ende looked around the room with narrow eyes as Melle embraced him. 
“Touya... Why is she in a place like this? Did you bring her here by force?” 
“...Please don’t make me out to be some kind of kidnapper. This is for her own protection. The Phrase can’t sense her while she’s in here. This space is completely isolated, so it’s the safest place in the world for you both.” Don’t make me out to be some kind of kidnapper. I was pretty angry that Ende was assuming I’d do something like that, so I met him with a light scowl. 
We continued to stare each other down until Yumina stood between us. 
“Let’s allow Ende and Melle some time to talk their personal business out, okay? We’ll take our leave for now.” 
“Huh? Wha- Yumina?!” Despite my protests, Yumina dragged me right out of the [Prison] and into the corridor. I wondered what that was all about. “That’s enough, Touya. The two of them are lovers, aren’t they? They’ve been separated for a long time. You can’t sour their reunion with a petty argument. There’s no wonder he’d be suspicious if he found her confined.” 
“...Ah... I mean, I guess.” Yumina explained the situation, and I looked back at the door with mixed feelings. Guess I was a little dense... My bad... 
At least I knew now. 
“...As they say, he who interferes with love needs to get kicked by a horse and die.” 
“Do they say that?” 
“Back in my birth country, at least. The idea is that infringing on people’s romance is such a heavy-handed thing to do that getting kicked in the head by a horse is the only suitable punishment.” Well, it wasn’t like I meant it literally. If I got kicked by a horse I wouldn’t die with the body I had. There was a lot I wanted to ask of Ende, but I decided to respect him for the time being, along with Yumina’s wishes. 
Besides, it wasn’t like he could escape the [Prison], and I’d taken his Sacred Treasures, as well. 
The two of us walked away from Ende and Melle’s room. 
 
“Alright, time to hear you out.” I rapped my knuckles against the table Ende and I were seated at. We were in a dim room, only illuminated by a dim amount of Light magic, but it was enough to see his face. 
“Let’s make this real easy-like... I wanna hear the whole story. Want a cutlet? Reminds you of your mother, right?” 
“...Touya, you’re acting pretty weird... But I am hungry, so I’ll have some.” ... Guess I got a little carried away there... Usually, in interrogation scenes in TV dramas they offer culprits some katsudon, but I guess it’s not the same here... 
Cesca brought in three bowls of pork katsudon. One for me, one for Ende, and one for Melle... If she actually ate. 
“Is that for me?” 
“I know the Phrase don’t need to eat or whatever, but it’s been cooked so... You might as well try it.” Melle turned to Ende, she seemed puzzled. But once she saw him pick up his chopsticks and eat the cutlet, she awkwardly followed suit and put a bite into her own mouth. 
“Oh?!” 
Melle’s eyes went wide and she began happily chowing down. She seemed to really like it. 
“...What’s the relationship between Dominant Constructs and food, anyway?” 
“The Phrase, in general, can operate just fine so long as there’s a little sunlight and magic power, so they’re not really versed in the many flavors out there. Although, Lycee was pretty big on food.” 
“I see... Actually, what happened to her? Wasn’t she with you?” 
“I’ll get to that later. Let’s enjoy our food, first.” That was fair. I wanted to finish my bowl before it got cold, after all. It was delicious... Which probably meant Crea had made it. Then again, it could’ve also been Lu. Even though she was a princess, she was on the level of a pro chef when it came to kitchen antics. 
We finished our food, even though Melle seemed like she wanted more, and Ende began to speak. 
“You know about them, right? Those golden Phrase, I mean.” 
“The Mutated Constructs?” 
“Mutants, huh? Yeah, that’s a good term for it. The Phrase that came to this world have divided into two factions. There’s Ney’s group of loyalists and Yula’s group of insurgents. Yula got some weird new power from somewhere, and is capable of morphing the species into a weird hybrid species.” I think I remember meeting Ney one time... And Yula’s probably that other guy who creeped me out. I remember thinking his eyes were shady, so he must be the guy with the wicked god’s power. 
“I was attempting to figure out the power of Yula’s faction, and I tracked them down in the gap between worlds. It was there that I met with the twins, uh... They’re two Dominant Constructs named Leto and Luto. They defeated me. It’s a little embarrassing to admit, honestly... But they completely overpowered me. They were far stronger than they’d used to be, it came as quite a shock. They’d been infected with that golden stuff, and their power had increased along with that change. It took everything in me just to get out of there.” 
“...They’ve got more Dominants on their side? And you’re telling me some of them are mutated already?” 
“That power of theirs is not of this world. I’ve traveled through many worlds before, Touya... What I’m about to say might shock you. They have... The power of a god. They have unthinkable might, a power that could create or destroy worlds!” 
“Nah, not quite. They actually have a wicked god’s power. It’s more of an imitation god that was born in the mortal realm, the power they’re currently wielding is nothing compared to actual divinity.” Ende stared at me with a blank face. He blinked. It was clear from his vacant expression that he had no idea how I could know this. I ended up snickering a bit at how dumbfounded he’d become. 
“...There’s been something on my mind for a while, Touya. Just who are you, exactly? It’s clear you aren’t an ordinary human.” 
“Ah, well... I guess it’s fine to show you two.” I cleared my throat and triggered my Apotheosis, letting divinity flow through my body and seep out into the room. I let out just enough for the two of them to notice. 
When the wave hit them, they both opened their eyes in shock and backed away a bit. Might’ve overdone it a little... I changed back into a regular human and nodded toward them. 
“That... aura just now...” 
“Yeah. Basically, I’m a god. A trainee one, but... Yeah.” 
Ende and Melle stared with their mouths hanging open. I couldn’t exactly blame them for it. The aura granted by my Apotheosis basically forced anyone bearing witness to it to acknowledge me as a god on some fundamental level. Mine wasn’t quite as powerful as Karen and the others’ yet, though. 
“...Sh-Should we be praying to you?” 
“Please don’t, that’d just be awkward. I’m a god-in-training, not a fully-fledged one yet. So please just treat me normal.” The two of them glanced at each other and leaned forward a bit. They still seemed a little uncomfortable, but I was sure they’d get used to it. 
“So... You lost your memories after the twins beat you up?” 
“...You don’t have to say they beat me up... I mean, they did... But still... Either way, no. I managed to escape. The issue came when I realized what I was up against, so I set out to obtain a power to rival theirs.” 
“Are you referring to these?” I opened up my [Storage] and pulled out the two shortswords. They were Sacred Treasures. 
“That’s right. They’re weapons from a world a few steps away from this one. The world was under attack from some evil dragon something or other, but it was saved by a hero who wielded these blades. The swords were passed down that hero’s family line or whatever, so I decided to borrow them.” You nabbed some Sacred Treasures from another world?! Well... I guess having them lying around could’ve been dangerous, so Ende having them is fine. 
“But then a mysterious man appeared in front of me. He said ‘Whoops, we forgot to retrieve these, can’t have these lying around the mortal realm,’ and beat the crap out of me when I refused to hand them over. I used my ability to jump to another world just before I lost consciousness, but I ended up landing in the wrong world. After that, the old man picked me up and the rest is history.” 
Retrieve...? Lying around the mortal realm? Was that a god, maybe? I asked the two of them to excuse me for a moment, then made a quick call to God Almighty. I explained to him the gist of the situation, and he merrily replied. 
“Ooh, that was the god of battle! He has been talking about that encounter, he said he would like to take on that young man as his apprentice since he is so very promising. Ah, also... You may keep the swords. Just make sure not to lose them, please!” 
Well. That answers that. 
It was honestly pretty amazing Ende had survived against a god like that... But at the same time, he almost died and lost his memories as well. So it was just barely surviving. 
I told Ende who he’d faced up against, and he smiled wryly. 
I could understand his feelings. He’d gotten his ass beat by the twins, gotten his ass beat by the god of battle, and then gotten his ass beat by me. It was three major losses in a row. I felt sorry for him, it wasn’t as if he was weak or anything. 
I put the Sacred Treasures back into my [Storage] for the time being. 
“Well... Now I know what happened to you. But what about Lycee?” 
“I sent her to Ney. I asked her to explain a few things, like the mutants and so on... They are sisters, you know.” I didn’t know that. They hardly looked alike. 
I wondered how family relationships even worked with the Phrase. Hell, I didn’t even know how they reproduced. I decided it wasn’t the time to ask about that, so I left it be. 
“So what are you planning on doing with us, Touya?” 
“Well... As crummy as it is, I can’t let Melle out of here. Not for the time being, at least. I don’t want the Phrase launching a full invasion against my country. And as for you, Ende...” 
He wasn’t exactly our ally in this situation, he was more on Melle’s side. The situation was stickier than I’d have liked. 
“I’ll work with you, Touya, so long as you guarantee Melle’s safety. Now that we’ve come this far, we might as well put an end to this madness once and for all.” 
“I... I wish to speak with Ney and Yula. I would like to face them head-on... And tell them to put an end to this. I know it may be difficult, but still...” Melle looked down at her hands as she spoke. Before we could do that, we needed to wait and hear back from Lycee. Still, it was unusual that neither Ney nor Yula had made a visible move in a while. 
“So for now we’ll live our day-to-day lives until something new comes up. You’ll both be in my care until then.” 
“Whaaat, me too?!” 
“You’ll keep her company as punishment for letting her be alone for so long. Don’t worry, we won’t check on you all that often, so feel free to get handsy.” 
“Wh-huh?!” I grinned and turned to leave the room. Ende was flustered, and Melle was glowing red in the cheeks. Before I left, I noticed that Ende and Melle were holding hands under the table. I had a feeling that Ende being there would do a lot of good for the poor girl’s mental health. 
“Have the talks finished, have they?” I headed into the rampart’s living room, and Yae greeted me. There were many empty bowls filled with crumbs on the table. I wondered just how many cutlets she’d eaten... 
“Yeah, pretty much. If things go well, we won’t have to fight the Phrase again. We’ll probably have to fight the mutants, though.” 
“That is excellent news, it is. Oh also, a letter came from my elder brother, it did. He says he wishes to have a rematch with Moroha, he does. He wishes to know when a good time would be.” A rematch? Huh? When did those two ever fight? “It was during the martial arts tournament, it was. My brother won, he did. So Moroha fought against him afterward, she did.” Ahh... Back then. That was the last day of the festival, so I was out cold because of the fight with Gila. 
I asked more about it and obviously, Moroha won without any difficulty. That came as no surprise to me. From what I was told, she also went all-out against the hapless bastard. She was more of a demon than a god, really. 
“I feel kinda sorry for the guy, but I’m pretty sure he’ll just lose if he tries again...” 
“He himself believes that as well, he does. But he wishes to use the opportunity to train.” 
If it was just that, then it’d be fine. I was glad he seemed to be a pretty upbeat guy. I’d have felt guilty for bringing Moroha down here if she ended up crushing his resolve. 
My smartphone started ringing, so I pulled it out of my pocket. It was a call from Kousaka. For some reason, I had a bad feeling... 
“Yeah, ‘sup?” 
“Your Highness. I would like for you to get through all of your work for the day, else there may be complications down the line. Where are you?” 
“Ah, right... I’ll be right there...” The recent issues in the Reverse World had been distracting me, so I had a lot of affairs to catch up on in relation to Brunhild. 
Ultimately my work as grand duke mostly came down to approving or denying planning proposals. Guildmaster Relisha had recently agreed to build a school for adventurers, so I needed to get on looking at that. 
Apparently, a lot of newbies had come to Brunhild because of our dungeon islands. That meant there were a lot of cases where untrained or inexperienced adventurers were pushing themselves to the point of injury or even death. A school would help teach the skills to prevent such tragedies. 
There was no downside to enrolling in a school that could teach you how to stay alive, that’s why I wanted to keep enrollment fees down as well. 
I decided to do my job and go help out Kousaka. 
“I’ll go take care of work for now. Later, Yae.” 
“Be safe, Touya-dono.” Yae waved me off as I opened a [Gate] to Brunhild castle. 
 
Leen was riding in Grimgerde. The massive Frame Gear raised its right arm and began firing its Gatling gun. 
Hilde’s Siegrune lifted its shield and deflected the attacks. She attempted to charge forward, but a grenade detonated at her Frame Gear’s feet, causing it to stumble. 
“Hold out a bit longer, Hilde!” Lu’s Waltraute stood atop a nearby hill, taking aim with its shoulder-mounted cannon. Its target was Leen’s Grimgerde. 
It was currently equipped with the C-Unit, meant for long-range shots. Its heels had it anchored into the ground. A mighty roar echoed through the air as a huge bullet came out of the barrel, headed straight for Grimgerde. 
“Gah!” Leen switched to evasive maneuvers, dodging just in time for Lu’s shot to make a massive crater in the ground where Grimgerde had been standing. 
Debris and dirt ended up being kicked up into the air, blinding the surrounding area. Hilde used that to her advantage, charging head-on with Siegrune toward Leen. Leen’s Frame Gear wasn’t built for close-quarters combat, so getting too close would mean the end for her. 
“You’re mine!” 
“Not so far, Hilde-dono!” Hilde’s blade was blocked by a katana. Yae’s Schwertleite revealed itself from the clouds of dirt. 
Hilde’s Frame Gear was very similar to Yae’s, except Siegrune was more defense-oriented, while Schwertleite was more offense-oriented. 
The purple samurai and the orange knight continued to trade blows, but both were at a stalemate. 
Leen and her Grimgerde had gotten a good distance away and were now engaged in a long-range battle with Lu’s Waltraute. 
Leen’s Gatling gun suddenly stopped spinning, it had overheated due to being used too long. Leen ejected the smoking weapon from her Frame Gear and carried on. Seemed she’d rather drop dead weight than carry a gun that she could use later. 
Lu used the cooldown period to switch from her C-Unit to her B-Unit, charging in toward Leen with the heightened mobility granted to her. 
Grimgerde opened up its shoulder missile pods, but by that point, Waltraute was already in too close. Grimgerde had been stabbed straight through the torso. 
“Not bad... But I’m gonna take you with me!” Grimgerde extended its arms and held Waltraute tight, then opened up its damaged chest to reveal two surprise Gatling guns. Waltraute was practically hugged up against the weapons, which immediately began to spin up and fire a slew of bullets. 
“Wh- No! No fair!” Waltraute was riddled with more holes than swiss cheese. It fell to the ground and exploded into pieces, causing Grimgerde to detonate as well. 
“Kokonoe Secret Style: Flying Swallow Rend!” 
“Lestian Sacred Sword: Fifth Swirl!” Siegrune and Schwertleite continued to clash, ending it by striking each other through the chest at the same time. 
“...It seems we have assured mutual destruction, we have...” 
“What a shame.” The two Frame Gears exploded into pieces, leaving nothing behind but wreckage. The battlefield was completely abandoned, all that remained was a smoldering waste. 
“Simulation over. No survivors on either side. Draw. Opening hatch.” The Frame Units all opened up at once. 
As I looked around the Babylon facility and then back up at the monitor, the four girls hopped out of their VR pods. 
“So yeah, that was a Frame Gear battle. Or rather, a simulation of one.” 
“Wow...” 
“Really wow...” Elluka and Fenrir were still staring with their mouths agape. 
“Good job!” I called out to the girls. 
“It was another mutual kill, it was...” 
“We keep doing that.” 
“I really thought I had you that time... Didn’t expect you to take me out like that.” 
“You can’t afford to be careless. The moment you’re sure of your victory is the moment you need to be the most careful, Lu. You still have a few things to learn.” I figured it was likely they’d end up drawing with the team matchups being what they were. 
After looking at the battle footage, I realized we probably needed to improve Grimgerde’s close-range abilities. If she couldn’t deal with nearby enemies, that’d be bad. I decided to ask Rosetta about it later. 
“So, what exactly do you think she can help with?” Doc Babylon stood by my side and motioned toward Elluka. 
“Well, first of all, I’d like you to bring her up to speed on the magitech stuff this world has, but then I’d like to see if we can get some kind of communication device going.” 
“A communicator?” 
“Yeah, but a special one. I want an object that can communicate between the regular world and the Reverse World. If you employ the same kind of Space-time magic used in the Dimensional Disruptor, it should be doable.” I figured that’d be useful. That way we’d be able to know immediately if any mutants showed up in the Reverse World. 
“So you mean to create an interdimensional smartphone?” 
“Pretty much. Yeah. I think if we can set up some kind of relay station on either side, it’d help. There’d probably be a slight message delay, though.” In that case, I’d probably need to give a smartphone to Nia from the Red Cats... Or maybe I’d be better off giving it to Est instead. 
“When the two worlds become one, there won’t be any need for a relay, you know.” Even if that was true, we still needed one in the interim. As the scout motto goes, “Be prepared.” 
In other words, you always had to be ready to face any kind of threat in any kind of situation. 
“I’ll leave it to you, anyway. Let me know when it’s finished.” 
“Sure. No problem. Oh, right... Whatever became of those magic trains in Felsen?” 
“Uhh... I think they’re almost done? The first two trains should be deployed in Belfast and Refreese respectively soon. We’ll be informed when they’re done.” I was the one who had to transport the trains to the two countries, anyway. 
The construction of a train line between Refreese and Belfast was well underway. They were using earth mages to flatten out the land. 
If the Refreese-Belfast line worked out, then the next project would be a line between Lestia and Felsen. After that, we’d move to connect Belfast and Mismede. 
It’d likely be used for hauling freight to begin with, rather than passengers. But who knew what the future would bring? I just hoped it’d work out. 
I went down from Babylon and headed over to Olba’s store. I was always fond of the Strand Company, since they dealt with things as small as capsule toys, to things as big as the Dverg mechas. 
There were a few kids gathered in front of the store, playing with various little toys and trinkets. 
“Ah, Your Highness! Greetings!” 
“Hey, mister!” One older kid greeted me, which prompted the younger ones nearby to wave in unison. 
“Hey there. I hope you’re doing well!” I took out some snacks and candies from my [Storage], making some small talk with the kids before handing them over and heading indoors. 
There was a benefit to staying in touch with kids. They often kept their ears to the grounds and knew subtle differences in the town. They heard the complaints of their parents and other rumors. Most of the stuff they said was completely useless, though. 
When I entered the store, Olba greeted me and brought me to a back room. 
“How’s the progress on the Ether Vehicle going?” 
“Ah, yes. I’ve given out several to various royal families. I’m just waiting for the various nobles to catch interest, now.” Ether Vehicles were not cheap purchases. They were definitely not something you could just frivolously purchase, so Olba’s idea was to plant them as some kind of status symbol. 
“What about the model magic trains?” 
“We’re preparing a good number of them. We should have a great deal prepared by the time the real railways open.” The benefit of selling toy versions and model versions of the trains was that we could use them to increase public awareness of the actual trains. 
If other countries began their own railway projects, then demand for the Dvergs would also rise. Felsen had a lot of mages, though... It was unlikely they’d need many. 
I spoke with Olba about a few more basic ideas like adding more toys to the capsules, different Ether Vehicle models, and so on. After that, I left. 
It’d been a while since I just walked around town. It was certainly livelier than it was last time, and there were more buildings popping up here and there. That also meant there was a slight increase in crime, so we’d increased our patrols. Fortunately, nothing major had happened, so I wasn’t too worried. 
I headed away from the town center and walked toward the school. Fiana, the principal, came out to say hello. 
Everything seemed to be going fine at the school. I asked her if they needed anything, and she said that they lacked instruments for their music classes, so I gave her a grand piano as a gift. 
Apparently, they were just having Sakura come in to sing, or Sousuke come in to perform. I decided it’d be best if the teachers themselves could play the instruments on demand, too. Sousuke would be able to teach them the basics. If he couldn’t, I’d certainly wonder why he had the divine position he had. 
I also gave them some recorders and castanets for the students. They were pretty vital for elementary music class. 
I spoke to Fiana for a bit about official matters, then headed outside. I found Mr. Mittens waiting for me at the door. I wondered what he wanted. “Meowlord! Halt fur a moment and hear my humble propawsition!” 
“...I can’t ban the Overlord from Brunhild, I’m sorry.” 
“Tsk... That’s not what I want! I want companions!” 
“Huh? Don’t you have like... A whole army of cats?” Mr. Mittens had streetcats and housecats galore. There wasn’t a feline in town that wasn’t under his heel, and they were all working for the good of this town and its people. 
Hell, there were more incidents where people annoyed the cats than the other way around. 
“Those are my stalwart soldiers, sir! But I need equals! Understand?! I need Cat Siths, like me! Furry feline friends for fighting ferocious foes! I can’t keep on managing this menagerie on my own!” Mr. Mittens ran up to me and clung to my leg. You have your claws out, asshole! “Isn’t Sakura your master? You’re... Meowing up the wrong tree, buddy.” 
“Sakura can’t specifically call Cat Siths when she tries to summon familiars! I have three buddies that I need brought here! I’m begging you! I swear on at least three of my nine lives that I need this!” 
“...Fine, whatever! I’ll do it.” For the first time in my life, I had witnessed a cat bowing. It was weird. To be honest, asking Mr. Mittens to manage every cat in town was unreasonable. Especially since he was meant to be helping Fiana every day, as well. 
“I’ll need to borrow your memories, then. Visualize those three friends of yours.” 
“Gotcha!” I grabbed Mr. Mitten’s paws and pressed my thumbs up against his little pawpads. Then I pressed our foreheads together. If someone saw us now they’d probably wonder what the hell I was doing. 
I saw the image of the three Cat Siths in my mind. I drew back and let go of his paws. 
I set down the summoning circle in the school courtyard and poured my magic into it. A black mist began to form in the air until it condensed and finally dispersed. 
Three small figures appeared in the middle of the circle where the black mist once was. Just as Mr. Mittens had done when he was summoned, the three felines pulled out their swords and raised them high into the air. 
“All for one, and one for all!” One of them was an American shorthair. His face seemed stoic and serious. The other seemed like an elegant Siamese cat. The last one was a large, stocky Persian kitty. 
They all wore the same stuff that Mr. Mittens did. They had feathered hats, big boots, capes, and rapiers. All three were clearly model cat knights. 
“Good day to you, milord. Please grant us names.” The American shorthair knelt down and spoke. He wasn’t appending any stupid cat jokes to his dialogue, fortunately. 
Thanks to Kohaku, I didn’t need to fulfill any conditions to make a contract with summoned creatures like them, so all I had to do was give them names... I knew exactly what to call them. 
“You’re Athos. You can be Aramis, and you’re Porthos.” 
“Very well!” Athos was the shorthair, Aramis was the Siamese, and Porthos was the Persian. 
“Good meowning, people! It’s been a while!” 
“Oho, it’s you! It’s not actually morning, though... How’ve you been?” 
“You seem the same as ever.” 
“Gahaha, you seem a little on the scrawny side, buddy. Sure you been eating right?” They were clearly old friends, so they were hitting it off well. 
“Alright, well. You guys are gonna be helping Mr. Mittens, but otherwise, you’re free to roam around town.” 
“...Mr. Mittens?” 
“N-No! Erase that name from your minds right meow! I’m D’Artagnan!” Mr. Mittens flailed his arms around out of embarrassment. I had totally forgotten that Mr. Mittens wasn’t his real name. 
Since they were reuniting after a while, I gave them all a silver coin and told them to have fun on the town for a bit. All the bars in this area would be fine serving alcohol to the cats. Catnip-infused booze, of course. 
Since Mr. Mittens had to finish up helping Fiana, I took the three cats to the bar ahead of him. I decided to teach them the ways around the streets, so I didn’t use any fancy teleporting. It was already evening, so there were a few people out and about. 
Nobody seemed to mind the sight of me and the three Cat Siths. Everyone was used to Mr. Mittens, after all. I only got a few confused glances from traveling merchants. 
“This is quite a pleasant town.” 
“I’m glad it’s to your liking.” Athos cheerfully glanced around, but he seemed very alert. Aramis was already flirting with a nearby female cat. He was waving at her as she sat on a wall. Porthos, on the other hand, was hungrily staring at a stall that sold chicken skewers. 
I think I had a good grasp of their personalities even though I hadn’t known them long. 
“So basically, you guys are gonna protect this town from the shadows just like Mr. Mittens does. Make sure you do your best, now.” 
“Very well!” We headed into the bar and found a bunch of men who had been drunk under the table by Suika. She was still sipping booze. The little gremlin was at it again... I had no idea how she was paying for booze when I’d canceled her allowance. She’d probably been winning bets against guys who thought they could outdrink her or something. “Ohh... Big bwoooo... How’re... Hic... Youuuu?” 
“I’m fine. How much have you had to drink?” She was completely wasted. I cleared up the glass bottles that were scattered around and shifted my eyes toward the barkeeper. He just looked away. I see your game, mister. I’m sure she’s bringing in a lot of income for you... 
“Let’s get going, alright? Don’t want Karina to catch you in this state.” 
“Bweeh... Hic! Fhiiine... But cawwy me...” She had free control over whether or not she got drunk, so it seemed to me like she just preferred being completely hammered. If she wanted to, she could make herself sober in a matter of minutes... But it seemed like half of the fun of drinking was in losing your inhibitions. 
It was too late to blame her for it, so I just did what Suika said and put her on my shoulders. She really was a useless little gremlin. 
“Hey barkeep, get some catnip sake for these guys. Mr. Mittens is coming over soon, too. So save some for him.” 
“Gotcha.” The barkeep was a resident of Brunhild, so he didn’t even blink twice at the sight of three cats ordering booze. He certainly got used to the swing of things quite fast. 
I left the trio behind and headed back to the castle with Suika piggybacking on my shoulders. I felt like walking back on my own instead of using [Gate], for once. 
The cool air blew along the path. It felt nice, in all honesty. 
“Touya...” 
“Yeah?” 
“...I’m gonna barf...” 
“[Gate]!” I charged toward the portal I’d opened up in front of me, but it was too late. No way, this isn’t happening! 
“...Bureegh????Hrrrrk????Oooorkh...!!” 
“OH HELL NOOOO!! AUUUUUGH! IT’S ALL DOWN MY NECK!” I made a silent oath at that moment. A promise to myself that I would never carry a drunk person ever again. 
 



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