14-32. Water Peach Kingdom (5)
Satou's here. I think there's only a few people who can immediately draw their face without seeing a mirror or a picture. Unexpectedly enough, people tend to forget their face don't they.
◇
"Ichirou-nii, look at that!"
It seems Hikaru is pointing at the wall near the throne.
'I wanna see', so Arisa who jumped from my arm said, and then she looked at the thing Hikaru was pointing at.
--Painting?
A black-haired young man carrying a pink-haired little girl are drawn there.
He looks like a Japanese man and somehow feels familiar. He has athlete-style mustache, but it's hard to say it suits him.
"His face somehow looks familiar even though I never meet him~"
"You're right--"
Arisa tilted her head in puzzlement as she saw the picture.
I jump to Hikaru's side and ask the reason why she's surprised.
"What about that painting?"
"Eh? You really don't realize it? Look at it better!"
Hikaru pulls my arm and points at the painting like she can't believe it.
--I don't understand.
"It's how Ichirou-nii looked before!"
"I never grown that kind of mustache y'know."
"He looks exactly like you besides that part."
So Hikaru said, but does it look really like me?
My face doesn't look that strange y'know?
"His face looks somewhat lolicon-like isn't."
"Isn't that the face of a father who's adoring his children?"
Arisa's evaluation is harsh.
I said something to protect the man in the painting, perhaps it's because they're saying that it looks like me.
--Crisis perception.
A shadow overflowed from the gap of the painting.
Looks like the guardian of this room finally showed itself.
"Ichirou-nii, that shadow is dangerous. I've a really bad feeling about it."
"Agreed."
I hug Arisa and Hikaru, move onto the throne, collect the two princesses with [Magic Hand] and evacuate from between the thrones.
Nevermind Arisa, the two princesses would get hurt if I used Flash Drive normally, so I invoked two magic [Shock Absorption] and [Inertia Neutralizer] to protect them.
I dive into the hole created from the magic test-firing and jump out of the castle.
"Huu, I thought I'd die...."
Arisa who was dead tired in my arm said some dangerous remark.
"Ichirou-nii, it's coming."
"Looks like it."
I leave the two princesses to Arisa and Hikaru and look back at the castle.
Its information according to AR reading is--ＵＮＫＮＯＷＮ.
It's the same reading as the [Demon God's Casted Offshots] that attacked Shiga Kingdom's Royal Capital and the little girl who appeared during my fight with the Dog-Head demon lord.
--Then that is a god.
Or perhaps a god's familiar, no doubt about it.
"Hikaru, take the three along and escape to beyond the barrier wall."
"Un, got it!"
"Master, please don't overexert yourself okay."
Hikaru flies away with Arisa who said it like a worried mother.
Seeing that, the shadow lets out a suspicious roar from its crescent moon-like mouth.
It's a suspicious sound that makes your mind destabilize just from hearing it.
--ＬＯＷＲＷＹＥＥＥＥ.
>[Age of Gods Language] Skill Acquired.
The mysterious roar just now was a word huh.
I was preparing to use Break Magic since I thought it was a spell chant, it was a waste.
I quickly activate the skill since I might be able to avoid a needless battle with it.
『O scoundrel who snatched away God's brides.』
『You've mistaken them for another people. They are the princesses of Rumooku Kingdom.』
『O small one, your nonsense is useless. You are stealing girls who posses the mark that is their pink hair.』
Fumu, apparently, Rumooku myth has some truth in it.
However, I would not let some innocent little girls be sacrificed.
『Are you a God? If so, declare your name.』
『A god I am not. For I am the apostle guarding in absence of God.』
『Do pray tell of Apostle-dono's master.』
Oops, I caught on the apostle's strange way of talking.
At any rate, the [Dragon Talisman] that I've prepared as an anti-apostle countermeasure doesn't seem to be working at all.
『For it is insolent to ask the emperor name of God. For the name of the emperor who rules everything in this world is widely known in the whole world. You'd do well to worship the ally of the supreme--』
Our words can't connect, or rather I somehow feel like talking with a bad AI.
『--If that is be so, depart this world painlessly, and return anew.』
The shadow's extended arms are attacking from both side with speed so fast it looks like a frame skip.
--Fast.
Arms which leaped with speed so fast it's creating whirlwind cut rally before my eyes.
While evading them within a hair's breadth, I tried cutting them with the holy sword Durandal I had in my hand, but as expected it went through them.
So these Unknown Series really can only be wounded with the Divine Sword.
I have a hunch that the Holy Magic Sword from back then most likely can't cut them either.
Just in case, it might be better to prepare a replacement for the Divine Sword.
The shadow is still repeating its crude baby-like attacks, but each of them is too fast, it's creating sonic boom-like shockwaves.
It's not that I can't evade them, but it's quite hard.
The shockwaves turned the trees inside the barrier into a disastrous scene. Fortunately the area outside the barrier is unaffected.
Looking at the map, Hikaru and the others have safely evacuated outside the barrier.
Now I can fight without worry.
With a speed that makes it looks like it has clone bodies, the baby's repeated blows come flying at me.
I use Flash Drive to evade those, and then jump toward the shadow's chest when I find a chance.
"Uoo"
Sharp shadow spears attacked me from the shadow's chest.
I put the Divine Sword in front of my body like a shield to block them.
I cut the shadow in front of me while scattering purple sparks.
I had let my guard down since the opponent was human-shaped.
However, I changed this predicament into a chance.
I arrive at its chest and stab the Divine Sword into it.
『Impossibleeeeee』
I ignore the shadow's scream and cut it until its head.
『You small one shouldn't have been able to cut a familiar of God.』
I evade the giant arms that are trying to stop me within a hair's breadth, and then cut the shadow's face which has a shocked mouth that only serves as an appearance.
『You....Who are you....』
It seems the Divine Sword is giving more damage than it looks like, the places that have been cut are disappearing into purple dust.
『Hero Nanashi』
『....Damn you....Parion's pawn....』
The castle is gradually disappearing into dust together with the shadow.
>[God's Soldier Silhouette] is defeated.
It's quite different than the Parion Holy State's pseudeo-god's soldier.
The reason why the Auto Loot isn't working is probably because the adventurers and the explorer probes they bring into the area.
I collect the probes I found in the area, and throw the adventurers who had wounds all over their body to outside where Hikaru and others are.
It wasn't a fatal injury, so I'll let them feel the pain to reflect on their own recklessness.
It looked like I spent too much time, most of the loot inside the castle had turned into dust along with the castle, I was only able to get the power reactor part.
It seems I'll have to wait for another chance to get the precious so-called age of gods documents.
"Wlcome~?"
"I'm back Tama."
Tama jumped to my head when I teleported outside the barrier.
I settle things while apologizing for making her worry.
I pushed the princesses to the knights, collected everyone and teleported back to the solitary island's palace.
Today is tiring.
Investigating the new mystery can be done later.
I lay my body in the bed together with the others like usual.
Is it just my imagination, I feel that there are more people than usual, but I'll check if after I wake up.
Losing to the drowsiness, I slept like a log.
◇
"Your Highness, is that it?"
The next day after we saved the princesses from the Shadow Castle, we formally visited Rumooku Kingdom with the tour ministry's airship.
After doing some greetings in the Royal Castle, I requested to take a look at the Japanese-summoning site, and since they pleasantly agreed, I immediately went to see it.
"That's right, we can't go from here due to the fissure. It's a bit troublesome but we need to go around the spire over there."
The crown prince of this country is graciously guiding us.
At first, the half sister of Princess Menea, the fourth princess was the one going to do it, but he volunteered to be the guide almost forcefully.
"Viscount Pendragon, this is the place where the Japanese were summoned. As you can see, the building has collapsed from the greater demon's attack, the magic equipment for the summoning have been broken, and more than half of the summoning magic circle is damaged."
The crown prince led us to a partially destroyed palace.
The scenery that can be seen from there is completely different than the town where we enjoyed the festival at yesterday.
The town on the opposite side of the Royal Castle is in shambles.
Burnt carbonized pillars and wreckages are piled up, crows seeking the dead flesh are eerily crawling.
Nevertheless, it seems they've started rebuilding, slaves are engaged in labor supervised by the soldiers.
"Was that done by the greater demon?"
"--That's right. If they felt like it, this country might have already been erased from the map."
The crown prince answered me while looking grim.
It's understandable seeing that there's hardly anyone strong enough to fight a demon-class enemy in this country.
"Viscount-sama, let us confirm the magic circle."
Hikaru who's acting as Lady K the guard reminded me about our original purpose.
"Ah, that's right--Your Highness, may I?"
"Of course."
We already got the permission from the king, but I checked with the crown prince who's accompanying us to show deference.
"Hm~m, so this is the magic circle used to summon people from another world..."
Hikaru muttered in a low voice.
--What is this? I can read it normally y'know?
『Hikaru, can you read this magic circle?』
I silently asked through 『Telephone』, Hikaru lightly waved her head.
Apparently, only I can read it.
"The weaselkin magician was boasting how they had remodeled the transcribed summoning magic circle of the Saga Empire. Apparently, it was written in an ancient language."
Crown prince, thank you for the information.
Apparently, I'm able to read it thanks to the [Age of Gods Language] skill I got from the fight with the Silhouette of the God's Soldier.
Easy mode is nice indeed.
I can understand the content to some extent even if it's broken as long as I can read the writing.
There's probably no point to this in simple form, but I might be able to learn the way to go back home if I compare it with the hero summoning magic circle in Saga Empire.
I'm already fully planning to stay here, but I don't want to sever my connections with the people in my former world dryly, and I might use it to send Aoi and Shin back to their worlds if they wished for it.
After getting the necessary information, I saw some kind of purple thing in the gap of the wreckage.
According to the AR reading, it's a [Yuriko's Hair].
It's probably the reincarnated person, the king's little sister and the pivot of the summoning, Yuriko's hair strand.
"Viscount Pendragon, that hair is of my aunt."
"By aunt you mean--"
The crown prince holds out his hand while looking stiff toward me who's holding a purple hair strand.
After I gave him the hair, he wrapped it in a handkerchief and preciously put it in his chest.
"Due to the greater demon's magic attack, there was not even a body remaining of my aunt to mourn for. Even though she might be a great criminal to your kingdom and Saga Empire, she was our important family.... I'd like to put at least a hair into her royal family grave."
--No body was remaining huh.
It's not unusual with ranged advanced level magic or forbidden spell, but if this were a shounen manga, she might reappear while saying, "I'm actually alive all along" or something....
Apart from that, I wonder what he meant by [great criminal]?
From the Japanese's point of view, it's inevitable for her to be called a [great criminal], but I wonder if there's a law saying [Summoning Japanese people is forbidden] in Shiga Kingdom and Saga Empire?
We left Rumooku Kingdom without any particular impression perhaps due to that incoherent things distracting me.
It must be because the event in the day before left too deep of an impression.
◇
Now then, I'll confirm various things before leaving the country.
The criminals who kidnapped the sixth princess Rimia are naturally executed.
As a punishment for the fifth princess Rumia who left the Royal Capital without permission, she's prohibited from eating after-meal snacks for 10 days.
Capital punishment was also considered for the officials and soldiers who drank liquor and let the royalty to be kidnapped, but they only ended up getting whipped due to both the princesses' appeal and the lack of personnel.
I feel that it's quite a generous punishment, but it's another country's problem so I decide not to care.
The country confiscated the firm of the suspected weaselkin, but the weaselkin who was the owner of the firm had escaped, the confiscated property of the firm was too little compared to its scale, so they concluded that it was a planned offense and the king dispatched an official protest and a messenger to the Weasel Empire.
The three adventurers seem to have fled the country along with the artifacts they safely got from the Shadow Castle.
It seems they pushed half of the artifacts to Hikaru who they mistook as their life savior.
And, the blond sixth princess Rimia is--.
"Thank you very much, Viscount-sama."
"It's nothing much. I'm only doing as His Majesty asked; to send Your Highness to the Duchy Capital."
I'm only going to help the princess who's smart beyond her age to enter the childhood school of Shiga Kingdom Royal Academy.
She should stop being conscious with her non-pink hair complex if she lives in a different place, and her big sister Princess Menea should be able to help her when she's troubled if it's in the Royal Capital.
While being careful as to not raise some little girl flag carelessly, I directed the ship to toward the Duchy Capital and solemnly drove the taxi.
We reunited with the one-armed magic hunter Kon boy when we stopped by the [Puta Town] to stock up tomato seedlings.
On top of being trained the basic by a Shiga Eight Swords, he also got a magic sword from a mysterious black-clothed person.
....Even good luck should have a limit.
As he wanted to go to the Labyrinth City, I sent him to the Duchy Capital together with Princess Rimia.
He got along with Princess Rimia in the journey, so he was probably going to be her guard until the Royal Capital.
I pushed the things after that to Toruma, so it should go well no doubt.
After that, as Nanashi, I told the King of Rumooku Kingdom that the Shadow Castle in the barrier had disappeared, and I had set it so the fixed barrier would be opened if the [Rumooku King] recite the command word.
Further, in consideration for sightseeing, I've also made it so that the stereoscopy image of the Shadow Castle can be seen outside the barrier.
Many magic tools suited for the power reactor part are too dangerous, and it seems like it'll bring unnecessary misfortunes if a small country were to posses it, so I told the king about undiscovered gold and coal pit sites instead.
People would probably stop calling it a poor country in 10 years.